Imelda May
Pianos
September 15, 2009

Click here for full Photolog from the show

It’s hard to ignore the dearth of rockabilly bands hitting the Big Apple as part of their tour itinerary. So, when I get an invite to check out an up and coming rockabilly diva at an NYC show, I do not turn it down.

In the case of Imelda May, the show lived up to the hype. May is a country crooner straight out of the extremely not western-style country of Ireland. She’s petite, she’s spunky, and she belts out original and traditional rockabilly and rhythm and blues as if she were Etta James.

Pianos was packed to capacity, last week, as May and her backing band to stage for solo show between Chuck Berry gigs. The crowd was a mix of fans and curious onlookers, but everyone was sold by the second note of “Feel Me”. The show was clearly a night for the band to let its hair down, as May eschewed her usual fancy dresses for a bitching Electric Frankenstein shirt and heels. Not that anyone seemed to mind. She rocked and they were there to be rocked. Read the rest of this entry »

Green Day/Kaiser Chiefs
Madison Square Garden
July 27, 2009

Click to view more photos from show

Thousands of fans packed NYC’s biggest venue for two evenings of stellar punk rock courtesy of a band heralded as this generation’s U2, and judging by the audience reaction at MSG, the band is more than worthy of the moniker.

The band is currently on tour supporting their latest release “21st Century Breakdown,” so it wasn’t surprising that the set list skewed heavily towards the band’s last two records—at least for most of the first hour. While “Holiday” and “Song of the Century” are  tremendous tunes, there was some worry that Green Day was going to pull a Beastie Boys and ingore their earlier work. Boy was I wrong. Starting with “2000 Light Years Away” the band tore through every hit from “Dookie,” played a heavy version of “Brain Stew/Jaded,” and punctuated the old school set with “She” and “Disappearing Boy.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Damned, The BelRays, Electric Frankenstein
Fillmore at Irving Plaza
May 14, 2009

It’s sad to say, but the number of living legends from the early part of  punk history is dwindling rather quickly. With the death of three quarters of The Ramones, Joe Strummer, Arthur “Killer” Kane, and (most recently) Lux Interior, the need to see bands that are still alive (and killing it on stage) is a must.

Luckily, the dark princes of punk, The Damned, are still vivacious as ever, churning out new records and putting enough emotion in their concerts to show up even the rowdiest new band.

The Damned made good on their cancelled December dates, returning with two pure rock acts in tow—Jersey street rockers Electric Frankenstein and R&B rave up act The BellRays. Read the rest of this entry »