It Happened Last Night | SPIN.com

The Black Angels Play New Album at Private Show

Ken Bachor — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:53:16 -0500

The Black Angels were made to play a place like this: a mid-19th century neo-gothic synagogue, the oldest in the city, nestled in the heart of Manhattan's bar-packed Lower East Side. And not because they wear eye shadow or black nail polish—there's nothing goth about them. These guys are all jeans, flannel, and shaggy hair. No, it's their music, that mix of blissed-out, rapturous psychedelia and darkly frantic guitar-pop—soul and sin.

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Photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Tuesday night's show at the Angel Orensanz Foundation (that's what the restored synagogue is called these days) was an invite-only event, so if you didn't know the Angels or knew someone who knew them or knew someone who knew someone who knew them, you probably didn't get in. Which is to say you missed a great show—and that the wine was free.

The reason for all the fuss? The Austin quintet has a new album to promote, Phosphene Dream (due out next Tuesday), and something of a new sound. Largely gone are the extended blues drones, the odes to Hawkwind and The Velvet Underground (the band's name is taken from the Velvets tune "The Black Angel's Death Song"), from 2006's Passover and 2008's Directions to See a Ghost. Instead, Phosphene is lighter and easier to love, packing more in a single song than the Angels used to do in half an album.

Which at least partly explains how they managed to run through their entire new record in just 45 minutes. They got in and got out of these songs quickly.

"Sunday Afternoon," a ditty about taking acid on the Sabbath (there's that soul and sin again), built into a frenzied guitar solo from Kyle Hunt.

The neo-psychedelic sing-along "Telephone" neatly summarized the entire "Nuggets" box set in just under three minutes—and that was with the extended coda the band tacked on live. "You never call my name on the telephone!," Alex Maas howled, his newsboy cap slung low over his bearded face, while the organs bleated and whirred around him.

Everyone but drummer Stephanie Bailey switched instruments after nearly every tune. Nate Ryan was a bassist then a guitarist then a bassist again. Hunt jumped from organ to bass to guitar and back. Maas, who divided his time between organ, bass, and tambourine, even managed to take a crack at throat singing on Phosphene's "True Believers."

After the Angels closed out Phosphene with album standout "The Sniper"—which sounded something like Jimmy Page sitting in with the 13th Floor Elevators (credit Ryan's wicked slide-guitar)—the band took a quick break before diving into three older, and therefore jammier tunes.

"You on the Run," which had Ryan playing his guitar with a tambourine, was as wild and menacing as it was on Directions. And though the largely-improvised "Empire" dragged a bit, particularly considering it was the last song of the night, the Passover fuzz-athon "Young Men Dead" more than made up for it. "Fly for the hills / Pick up your feet and let's go!" Maas demanded. We went.

Setlist:
Bad Vibrations
Haunting at 1300 McKinley
Yellow Elevator #2
Sunday Afternoon
River of Blood
Entrance Song
Phosphene Dream
True Believers
Telephone
The Sniper
You on the Run
Young Men Dead
Empire

Big Boi Plays Old and New Hits in Brooklyn

Matt Kiser — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 05:44:19 -0500

The sweet sound of falling pins met its match Monday night the minute Big Boi charged down the side staircase leading to the stage at Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg. With his tour spinner, DJ Swift, already in place, Big Boi darted past the turntables and began slapping hi-fives to the fans who fought their way to the front.

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Photos by Kathryn Yu

The intimate but amped crowd of 700 began belting out the lyrics to the opening song, "ATLiens," the second the record began spinning, not even giving the rapper a chance to locate his microphone.

Big Boi tore through the bars of the old-school Outkast track, to the delight of a small crowd gathered to the left of the stage paying homage to his hometown by waving their Atlanta Braves baseball caps. "I can feel the love," he answered, before beginning a series of Outkast classics.

As DJ Swift scratched into "Ms. Jackson," the vocally agile rapper varied the speed of his delivery, while keeping his deep Southern accent crisp and easy to understand.

The he asked, "Do you want the new shit?" Yes, they did, raising their drinks in the air to show approval.

Big Boi kicked into "General Patton," from his solo album "Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chinco Dusty." He hurled aggressive lines over the opera-infused production: "Get the South d--k up out yo mouth!"

Then he hit "Daddy Fat Sax," with its cotton-soft hook against a pounding bassline, complete with twingy guitar samples. But as he worked through the song's bridge, he was upstaged by the best dancer in the house—his oldest son, Cross.

The nine-year-old crept up behind his father on stage and flashed an impressive array of break-dance moves. "You believe this guy?" laughed Big Boi.

Then Big Boi got sentimental, and broke some news in the process: "Yo, I really love the people in Brooklyn and I wanna let you in on a little secret. Me and Andre [Benjamin] are in the studio and we're almost dome with the new album. It's like nothing you've heard before and it's for the fans who have always stuck by us."

As the crowd roared, the insanely futuristic bass line of "Shutterbugg" rang out. Bog Boi transformed his voice into a robot's, with a deep rumble you could feel in your gut.

The 60-minute set concluded with "You Ain't No DJ," and a surprise guest visit from up-and-comer Yelawolf. The duo stood back-to-back, Big Boi's low drawl butting heads with Yelawolf's high-pitched scowl as the green lights above them faded.

Setlist for Big Boi
ATLIENS
SKEW IT N THE BAR-B
ROSA PARKS
SO FRESH, SO CLEAN
MS. JACKSON
GENERAL PATTON
FOLLOW US
DADDY FAT SAX
ROYAL FLUSH
GHETTO MUSIC
B.O.B.
PLAYER'S BALL
ELEVATORS

(ME & YOU) SHINE BLOCKAS
FO YO SORROWS

THE WAY YOU MOVE
SHUTTERBUGG

KYRPTONITE

YOU AIN'T NO DJ (featuring guest Yelawolf)

Eminem and Jay-Z Headline Detroit Stadium Show

Matt Kiser — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:11:26 -0500

"Take a look around," commanded Jay-Z, as he brought the house lights up on the 42,000 gathered fans Thursday night at Detroit's Comerica Park. "This is hip-hop!"

He was mid-way through a set of hits that played like the soundtrack to pop's last decade. The crowd was coming up on its buzz and Shawn Carter's infectious grin was beaming. This was, indeed, hip-hop's night. The first in a four-concert "home-and-home" set from the genre's biggest names—Jay-Z and Eminem. For Jay-Z, it was a chance to cement his status as music's kingmaker. For Eminem, it was a homecoming on the grandest scale—and his shot at proving himself after a tumultuous and dark couple of years.

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Photos by Joe Gall

Both men stepped up huge with a one-two punch of sets that over four hours encapsulated the hip-hop flavors of their cities and pop music in general. For his part, Jay was at ease delivering a catalog of career-spanning crowd-pleasers from "The Dynasty" to "Hard Knock Life" to a majestic "Empire State of Mind."

Jay and guest Young Jeezy stalked the stage, bantering like high school pals, backed by an orchestra-sized live band that Jay commanded with a conductor's subtle touch. The multimedia display on the massive three-sectioned oblong monitors behind him delivered visuals that would make Pink Floyd hang their head in shame and downtown Tokyo proud.

Jay is, simply, a rock star. At one point pausing to "Take off my sunnys, I need to know who I'm rockin' out with tonight" before pointing out specific people in the audience, giving them a "I see you there, with the Mexican flag," "I see you with the Recovery t-shirt. We made some money on merch tonight!" Maybe it's just the big guileless eyes behind those "sunnys" but it felt genuinely personal—even on this massive stage. "I appreciate y'all singing 'New York' at the top of your lungs at the Tigers' stadium," grinned Jay just before he gave up the stage and set the crowd to buzzing about the spectacle of his set and the prospect for Em's.

A wirey, amped up, and twitching Eminem burst onstage in a black hoodie, like a boxer about to throw down. Eminem entered his ring to the "Recovery" track "Won't Back Down." Turns out it was a declaration for the evening. His own backing band was positioned atop a set constructed from the grilles of smashed hoopties.

"Did you miss me Detroit? Cuz I sure missed you."

This was Eminem's night, after all was said and done. Where Jay put on a full-on polished show, Em hosted a loose cannon revue and seemed to enjoy every minute of it. He's made clear that he's through with the "game" element of hip-hop. And Thursday he let it be known what that looked like, opening up his biggest stage to performances from past and present collaborators, including homeboys D12, 50 Cent, and hip-hop's newest prince, Drake.

You know you're in the presence of something special when even a bona fide hip-hop godfather like 50 Cent comes off as the evening's only filler. 50 and Em paired on "Patiently Waiting," and Em let 50 and Nate Dogg take center stage on "In Da Club."

But where 50 felt rote, Drake's guest spot felt organic, lively, and at times competitive, as he and Em both stepped up battle-ready for their verses.

And the guest appearance later in the set by mentor Dr. Dre, was pure celebration. Dre came on to much bombast, delivered tight rhymes with energy to burn, and split while the crowd was peaking. On "G Thang" Em showed his chops with spot-on Snoop flow on the track. Em, clearly giddy at this point simply asked the crowd "Do we love you or what?!"

His live band brought an absolutely huge, rocking arrangement to familiar hits like "Cleaning Out My Closet" and a ballsy, tight energy to "Stan." During the latter, there was an inspired alchemy happening between the live band, 40,000 screaming people, and one dude spitting the ferocious rhymes live and just killing the hyper-articulate verses.

Of course, there were lighter moments, too. During "White Trash Party"—the hilarious homage to the trailer park lifestyle from Recovery—the massive video monitors ran a catalog of "tramp stamps" that could very well have been taken live on-site.

And when Em brought on the D12 crew—the group he shared with his fallen mentor Proof and with whom he came up in Detroit's underground hip-hop scene—he took the entire joint down the basement of the Shelter with him. This was pure, chaotic, and rough Detroit hip-hop with emcees trading leads so fast the soundman couldn't keep up.

This segment of the homecoming party ended with the D12 jam "My Band," punctuated by fireworks, a big-screen close up of rapper Bizarre's Proof tattoo on his giant belly, and a festive-yet-reverent Em demanding the crowd "give it up for the real lead singer of this band: Proof!"

Then Jay hit the stage, and he and Em ripped into a ferocious take on their 2001 track "Renegade."

By the time Eminem closed his set with the powerful statement of clean and sober purpose, "Not Afraid," the hands were waving, the whole joint was sweat-soaked, and the fireworks display that capped the song felt well-earned, not cheesy.

And before you could say "8 Mile," the lights came up blue over that pile of hoopties and the band launched into the opening chords of "Lose Yourself." And the crowd lost it. By this time (past the city's midnight curfew), it was clear that Eminem had more than seized this moment.

Jenny & Johnny Take Their Show to San Fran

Matt Kiser — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:45:44 -0500

Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice played the first of two gigs at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall Thursday night (their third show ever under the new Jenny & Johnny moniker) to a capacity crowd who already knew most of the words to songs that had been released just two days before.

Such are the loyal Jenny fans, who can recite Rilo Kiley lyrics and debate which songs on J&J's debut album, I'm Having Fun Now, are initially the best—and which stand out after repeated listens.

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Photos by Misha Vladimirskiy

Without saying a word, Lewis, Rice, guitarist Tod Wisenbaker (of Whispertown2000), and drummer Jason Boesel (Rilo Kiley) launched into "Scissor Runner," the dreamy, peppy pop ditty that opens I'm Having Fun Now and announces that "a scissor runner stole my heart."

It made sense that Lewis, in particular, would want to open both the album and the show with such a breath of fresh air: After hearing Lewis channel her inner Linda Ronstadt on her recent solo releases, it seems like fans are once again getting a glimpse of the singer they fell in love with on Rilo Kiley's The Execution Of All Things. And in the process, it sounds like she's having more fun than she's had in years.

Sporting a sleeveless jean jacket that matched the playful retro-kids-in-love artwork that adorns I'm Having Fun Now, Lewis joined Rice in sticking to the business of playing the new songs. All but one, "While Men Are Dreaming," made it onto the setlist.

Still, they found the energy to banter a bit, with Lewis asking about neighboring strip clubs (the infamous O'Farrell Theatre is next door) before Rice introduced the folk-poppy "Just Like Zeus" as a "song about all the strip clubs in L.A. that Jenny drags me to."

Lewis and Rice shared vocals, sometimes harmonizing and other times going tag team. Lewis even took part in a brief drum jam session with Boesel at the end of the S&M groove thing "Slavedriver."

After getting everyone swooning with the My Morning Jacket-sitting-around-the-campfire-like "Switchblade," Jenny and Johnny made their only real missteps of the night by revisiting the Acid Tongue era, airing out all nine blues-rock minutes of "The Next Messiah" and acoustically covering "Love Hurts."

But all's well that ends well. Even though the band didn't do an encore, despite all of the hooting and hollering that continued after the house lights went up, they did close with "Big Wave," a bubbly pop tune about California going bankrupt. That kind of juxtaposition is right in Lewis' wheelhouse.

Setlist for Jenny and Johnny:
Scissor Runner
New Yorker Cartoon
My Pet Snakes
Just like Zeus
Straight Edge Of The Blade
Slavedriver
Switchblade
The Next Messiah
Love Hurts
Committed
What Am I Going To Do?
Animal
Just One of the Guys
Big Wave

Vampire Weekend Kick Off Tour in Vancouver

Ken Bachor — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 10:16:47 -0500

Halfway through Vampire Weekend's Friday night set at Vancouver's Malkin Bowl, singer-guitarist Ezra Koenig made a surprising confession: The group had a mild case of the jitters.

The reason? According to the well-mannered, Topsiders-sporting frontman, he and his bandmates had just come off a three-week break. The men of Vampire Weekend evidently keep up a work schedule that's never going to get them pegged as slackers, and the time off seemed like an eternity to them.

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Photos by Rebecca Blissett

Having been away from each other for a while, the New Yorkers were worried that the kick-off show of their current North American tour would find them sounding rusty.

Sorry, but nothing doing. Right from the set-opening "Holiday," the band came off as a well-oiled, firing-on-all-pistons machine. Playing an open-air venue in Vancouver's heavily treed Stanley Park, Vampire Weekend didn't exactly blow the bank on staging. All you got was a bargain-basement light rig and four guys who looked like they do their shopping at Old Navy.

Instead, Koenig, bassist Chris Baio, drummer Chris Tomson, and guitarist Rostam Batmanglij pretty much let the music do the talking. And right from the moment they first bounded out, Vancouver was on board, the crowd busting its best moves during "California English" and belting out en masse the chorus to "M79."

Surprisingly, Vampire Weekend was heavier than it sounds on its self-titled debut, and the recently released Contra, unleashing sprays of machine-gun punk during "One (Blake’s Got a New Face)," and laying down a mammothly menacing groove in "Cousins."

It was during such standouts that Tomson proved himself the group's unsung hero. Visually he looked great, attacking his kit with a thrilled abandon that was part Ringo Starr and part Keith Moon. Musically, the guy was a marvel, his endlessly inventive stick-work verging on mesmerizing.

His bandmates were equally tight, with major props going to Baio, who spent most of the night busting crazy-legged, Muppets-like dance moves. Batmanglij looked like he could have used a can or two of Red Bull, but his complete lack of presence was compensated for by Koenig, whose enthusiasm was infectious right from the moment he trotted on-stage while waving to the crowd.

Vampire Weekend wasn't shy about mixing things up. In one of the show's highlight-reel moments, Baio rolled out a stand-up bass and Tomson left his kit to position himself mid-stage in front of a single snare. That mid-set diversion was for "Byrn," a drone-soaked dalliance that dragged indie-rock through the backstreets of Istanbul.

Mostly, though, Vampire Weekend gave its clearly enraptured audience exactly what it came for. The band has made its name—not to mention the cover of SPIN—by blending sun-splashed pop with breezy Afrobeat. There was no shortage of that mix on this night, from the percussion-bombed "I Stand Corrected" to the genre-hopping epic "Diplomat’s Son."

Koenig and Batmanglij might call New York home, but, from the exotically incandescent, highlife sounds they wrung out of their guitars, you'd swear they'd just stepped off the plane from rural Ghana.

And, most impressively, they didn’t seem to blow a note all night long. If this was Vampire Weekend when it's rusty, the group can seriously stop worrying about using up its vacation time.

Radiohead's Philip Selway Launches Tour in Tokyo

Ken Bachor — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:21:45 -0500

"Good evening," said Philip Selway. "And welcome to our quiet night in."

He wasn't joking. Thursday night in Tokyo, the 43-year-old Radiohead drummer clutched a small-scale acoustic guitar and unveiled for the first time his new backing band, playing enchanting renditions of all 12 songs from the Japanese edition of his debut solo album 'Familial'—and plenty more besides.

Selway kicked off his tour of Japan, Europe, and Britain at Duo, a plush Tokyo venue in the youth district of Shibuya. It speaks volumes that Selway's songs are short, sweet acoustic pop tunes—far more accessible than the glitchy electronica of Thom Yorke's 'The Eraser' or Jonny Greenwood's various soundscapey movie scores.

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Photos by Wataru Umeda

Dressed in white slacks, a white waistcoat, and white shirt with pale stripes, the jovial Selway acted like he was entertaining guests at a wedding rather than a crowd of Japanese fans. He cracked self-deprecating quips—for example, introducing sticksman Alex Thomas as being "here to show me how a real drummer does it."

The night's intimate tone was bolstered by the softness of his music: warm, tender acoustic nuggets whose cadence flowed as much from Selway's percussive fingerpicking as it did from the drumkit, punctuated by flourishes of violin and whispered backing harmonies.

Instrument-swaps were common throughout the 80-minute set. Nu-folk artist Adem Ilhan was on bass and double-bass duties, though he also played box accordion and sang. The other three members of the group have all been plucked from Bat For Lashes' live band: Caroline Weeks (also a solo artist) played keyboard, xylophone and flute; Kath Mann switched between keyboard, violin and bowed saw; and drummer Thomas even picked up the bass at one point.

At this fragile volume, Selway's voice stood out magnificently, the mic picking up every tiny nuance. Each bout of reverent applause came as a deafening shock; this being Tokyo, there was no heckling, no chatter, just total immersion.

As the album title suggests, Selway's songs are laced with references to his kith and kin. 'A Simple Life' and sublime non-album track 'Days And Nights' are odes to his wife; the 'In Rainbows'-esque 'The Ties That Bind Us' to his children; 'Broken Promises' to his parents; and 'The Witching Hour' to the bandmates with whom he became famous (the song’s about a camping trip they went on together).

The clickety-clack of drumsticks on rims, deep double-bass, and ethereal bowed saw propelled the dark, simmering 'The River', which Selway announced as his newest song. Much older was a version of 'Slide,' a track he recorded for singer-songwriter Lisa Germano's 1998 album of the same name; Ilhan inherited Germano's vocals and played the box accordion as Selway touched the xylophone keys gently with a violin bow.

Album-closer 'What Goes Around' ended the set, with Selway performing a delicate synth line over a simple drum loop, as Ilhan, Weeks, and Mann played recorders. One by one, the five musicians congregated around the drumkit and bashed out interlocking rhythms on one drum or cymbal each before reaching a gentle climax, exiting the stage and then coming back on for a soothing performance of 'Pale Blue Eyes,' which Selway joked he’d written for Lou Reed in the '60s.

With a new Radiohead album reportedly almost complete, it won't be long till Selway returns to his usual spot: a drum stool at the back of a cavernous stage. All the more delicious, then, to spend an intimate summer evening in his company as talented frontman.

Setlist:
By Some Miracle
A Simple Life
Falling
Patron Saint
Broken Promises
Days and Nights
Every Spit and Cough
Running Blind
All in All
The River
Slide
The Ties That Bind Us
All Eyes on You
Don't Look Down
The Witching Hour
Beyond Reason
What Goes Around
Pale Blue Eyes

Hitmaker Bruno Mars Wows the Ladies in NY Debut

Matt Kiser — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:16:20 -0500

Bruno Mars' talents are much in demand these days. Earlier this year, the 23-year-old co-wrote and produced two of the biggest hits of the spring—Travie McCoy's "Billionaire" and B.o.B's "Nothing On You"—the latter of which spent two weeks on top of Billboard's Hot 100. His production team, The Smeezingtons, are also behind K'Naan's "Waving Flag," which became the official anthem of the 2010 World Cup, and Matisyahu's "One Day," NBC's theme song for the recent Winter Olympics.

All that production work has been good for Mars and his partners Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine—it certainly helps pay the rent. But ever since his days as a 4-year-old performing with his family's band the Love Notes in his native Hawaii, Mars has always wanted to be a frontman, to sing his own songs. As his debut EP, It's Better If You Don't Understand, proves, he's certainly got the voice (that's his honeyed tenor singing the hook on "Billionaire"), he's got the looks (think Karate Kid Ralph Macchio crossed with La Bamba Lou Diamond Phillips), and we know he's got the songwriting chops.

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Photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

All of which made Mars' headlining show last night at Manhattan's Bowery Ballroom, his first in New York City, something of a coming out party. He did not disappoint.

Mars and his four-piece band (featuring Lawrence on backup vocals) dressed in matching bright-blue tuxes, white shirts, and skinny black ties that made them look like the house act for some '60s sock hop. And the audience, mostly women and their boyfriends, were as giddy as teenagers (some of them of course were). When they weren't singing along they were screaming, usually at one of Mars' goofy smiles.

But there was good reason to be excited. Despite a couple pitch problems here and there, Mars proved to be nearly as good a performer as he is a songwriter.

He introduced two new songs, both from his upcoming debut LP Doo-Wops & Hooligans, due out Oct. 5. "Marry You," an homage to the fleeting charms of a Vegas wedding, paired Mars' effortless melodicism with his winning sense of humor. "Who cares if we're trashed / I've got a fist full of cash," he sang over jaunty, staccato keyboard runs (no word yet on the identity of the lucky lady).

While "Grenades"—the evening's only certifiable ballad—cast Mars as the spurned lover, threatening self-mutilation to prove his love. "I'd catch a grenade for ya / Put my hand on a blade for ya," Bruno vowed, quietly strumming his Strat. The ladies went wild.

Bruno Mars may be the guy you'd bring home to mother, but he's also the guy who'd teach her how to dance. Mars and Lawrence pulled off a few synchronized dance moves that looked like James Brown one moment and old-school vocal groups like the Temptations the next. And without Mr. McCoy to rap over the verses in "Billionaire," Mars and the gang turned the track into a reggae vamp that had him grinding and swaying.

Mars closed out the evening with his latest single, "Just the Way You Are." It may be a touch saccharine, but it's also a perfectly engineered pop song—and the Bowery's sold-out crowd sung along to every word. "When I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change / 'Cause you're amazing just the way you are."

Indeed.

Setlist for Bruno Mars:
1. "The Other Side"
2. "On Top"
3. "Marry You"
4. "Money (That's What I Want)" (Barrett Strong cover)
5. "Billionaire"
6. "Somewhere in Brooklyn"
7. "Grenades"
8. "All About You"
9. "Count on Me"
10. "Nothing On You"
11. "Just the Way You Are"

Encore
12. "Dirty Diana"

Scissor Sisters Kick Off Fairy Tale Tour

Matt Kiser — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 07:17:46 -0500

Saturday night, the Scissor Sisters kicked off their world tour in front of a sold out Atlanta, GA, crowd. Their third album, Night Work, has been called "gayer" than their previous two albums. And though the show catered to a homosexual crowd, everyone, gay or straight, had an amazing time. After all, a good show is a good show—and the Scissor Sisters put on one damn good show.

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Photos by Erik Dixon

The set began modestly in appearance and sound. Somber synthesizers lulled the rowdy crowd into stillness while most of the band took the stage wearing all black. The moment of 'calm' lasted for an impressive 40 seconds, until lead singer Jake Sears emerged wearing a bright red leather jacket and denim spandex. The show instantly went from zero to eighty and never slowed down.

Jake and Ana Matronic took charge. Ana danced and sang sensually (especially during solo song, "Skin This Cat"), while Jake brought nearly every '80s dance gyration back from the dead—and then some.

In contrast, guitarists Baby Daddy and Del Marquis gave, at most, a deep head nod (until their mid-show guitar battle that was shockingly breathtaking).

This paradoxical marriage of intensity and nonchalance worked brilliantly on stage, but was absent in the audience—as if there was a mandatory 100% participation clause with the purchase of every ticket. When one hand went up, every hand went up. Every lyric was sung, and every dance move was imitated.

This was the Scissor Sisters at their best. Night Work was crafted for live shows and nightclubs, and the band erformed the entire album, except for the track "Sex And Violence." They also relied on hits off of the first two albums, Scissor Sisters and Ta-Dah.

Since the New York band rarely performs in the south, many in the crowd were hearing the beloved singles "Take Your Mama," "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'," and "She's My Man" live for the first time—and you know what they say about the first time.

Later, the glitter-covered fans were treated to a three-song encore, which included arguably the Scossor Sisters best-known tune, "Filthy/Gorgeous," along with a wardrobe change from Jake and Ana. He gave a heartfelt thank you, she simulated oral sex on her microphone, and everyone lived happily ever after.

The Scissor Sisters Setlist
Night Work
Laura
Any Which Way
She's My Man
Something Like This
Whole New Way
Tits On The Radio
Harder You Get
Running Out
Take Your Mama Out
Kiss You Off
I Don't Feel Like Dancin'
Skin Tight
Fire With Fire
Paul McCartney
Night Life

Comfortably Numb
Invisible Light
Filthy/Gorgeous

Ke$ha Throws a Party at Solo NYC Show

Eric Nowels — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 09:44:21 -0500

Love her or hate her, Ke$ha knows how to throw a party.

The pop provocateur sauntered onstage for her free concert at NYC's Roseland Ballroom in aviator sunglasses, ripped glitter t-shirt, and fingerless cheetah-print gloves while a recording of rapper Flo Rida's 2009 hit "Right Round" blasted in the background. Singing the hook on the track was Ke$ha's first big break. The song is also responsible for the dollar-sign addition to the Nashville transplant's stage name—a reference to the fact that while recording it Ke$ha had minor celebrity, but not a whole lot of cash.

PHOTOS:

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Photos by Kelsey Paine

A year later, though, the packed house was there to see Ke$ha perform her own hits.

The 9-song, 40-minute set was a celebration of her recent cover for Paper magazine, showcasing fan favorites from her No. 1 debut album, Animal. And the exuberant, dance-ready crowd knew every word.

Smutty electro-pop come-on "Blah Blah Blah" opened the show, while the rambunctious banger "Party at a Rich Dude's House" found Ke$ha's two male back-up dancers outfitted in high school band uniforms with bass drums attached to their bodies, which she vociferously pummeled.

Later on, new synth-heavy single "Take It Off" found these same dancers stripped down to nothing but their tattered jean shorts.

Ke$ha eventually took a break from jumping around the stage for the auto-tuned slow burner "Stephen," installing herself at the keyboard as violet-hued lights created a soft halo around her wild blonde hair and glitter makeup. Of course, she undercut this moment of sincerity with her explanation of the song: "Not to be a pussy, but I'm gonna sing a song about a dude…the motherf***er won't call me!"

That's the thing about Ke$ha, she doesn't seem as though she's taking herself seriously and doesn't beg anyone else to. She layers her insanely catchy pop music and over-the-top stage persona with a comic irony. And as she closed out the set with her chart-topping hits "Your Love is My Drug" and "Tik Tok," blasting her glitter-filled toy bazooka into the crowd, her fans screamed along to show they wouldn't have it any other way.

Setlist:
1. Blah Blah Blah
2. Party at a Rich Dude's House
3. V.I.P
4. Dinosaur
5. Stephen
6. Animal
7. Take It Off
8. Your Love Is My Drug
9. Tik Tok

Brandon Flowers Plays First Solo Show

Eric Nowels — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:36:11 -0500

He often sang with a hand over his heart, in a "Pledge of Allegiance" pose, looking as earnest and hopeful as a man asking for his sweetheart's hand in marriage.

Brandon Flowers is not one to camouflage his emotions—when the Killers frontman hits the stage, he holds little back, smiling wide, pistoning himself up and down, gesticulating as he sings.

Less than a month away from the release of his solo debut Flamingo, due out September 14, Flowers played a sold-out show on Sunday night at the Las Vegas Hilton's Shimmer Lounge, a cozy little showroom with a capacity of only a few hundred, adjacent to a small alcove whose walls are lined with framed black and white photos of Elvis Presley.

Flowers turned in an impassioned 10-song, 45-minute set, where the prevailing mood was of optimism and anticipation. "Be an advocate of joy," Flowers urged on "Swallow It," a climactic pop rocker with dramatic keyboard. "Find your little heart's desire and follow it."

Flowers seemed to be heeding his own advice on this night, debuting much of Flamingo, starting with "On The Floor," a spare, slow-simmering number that began with him singing over a soft keyboard riff before building into a gospel-like hymnal complete with stirring backing vocals from a pair of female singers.

A few of Flowers' songs would not sound out of place on a Killers record, namely first single "Crossfire," with its ringing, triumphant guitar lines, and the buoyant, big voiced "Jilted Lovers & Broken Hearts," which came outfitted with a hands-in-the-air chorus that Flowers delivered while stomping the stage like he was trying to kick start a motorbike.

Elsewhere, Flowers branched out a bit. The dusky "Magdalena" was flecked with country western guitar flourishes, while "Was It Something I Said?" rode a bright, funky bass line.

"This next song is more on the romantic side of things," Flowers said by way of introducing the wistful, lovelorn "Hard Enough," which Flowers sings with Rilo Kiley frontwoman Jenny Lewis on the record.

There was a mix of the old with the new, including a stripped-down take on the Killers "Losing Touch" and a hot blooded cover of Kim Carnes' "Bettie Davis Eyes."

The show climaxed with "Playing With Fire," a bluesy torch song with touches of lap steel where Flowers ratchets his voice up to near falsetto heights.

As the song built momentum, Flowers became increasingly animated, climbing atop a stage monitor, fists clenched, punching the air. "I've got this burning belief in salvation and love," he sang, its flames rivaled by the fire in his belly.

Setlist:
"On the Floor"
"Crossfire"
"Magdalena"
"Bettie Davis Eyes"
"Jilted Lovers & Broken Hearts"
"Was It Something I Said?"
"Hard Enough"
"Losing Touch"
"Swallow It"
"Playing With Fire"