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The Black Crowes begin a three-night stand at the TLA tonight, touring behind the new Warpaint. Here's Chris Robinson getting his vintage Rod Stewart on on "Sometimes Salvation," from 1998's The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion.
James Bond wants to be The Boss. Former 007 star Pierce Brosnan, having essayed ABBA in Mamma Mia!, in which he stars opposite Meryl Streep, now wants to do a musical made up of Springsteen songs: "His songs have got such imagery and poetry," the would-be Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen told BANG Showbiz. "I would like to star in it - I'd have a crack at it," Brosnan, shown showing up at the London Mamma Mia! premier with his wife Keely Shaye Smith, went on: "I really enjoyed doing 'Mamma Mia!' so why not? In for a penny, in for a pound!"
Somehow, I'm shaken by this. not stirred. Though it is perhaps a not as frighteningly dreadful of a notion as Springsteen fan Colin Firth's thankfully tongue-in-cheek idea to do a musical based on the songs of Radiohead. Please, someone call the Karma Police. What's next? Nathan Lane in a musical based on the songs of the Notorious B.I.G.?
Speaking of unintentionally funny Springsteen ideas, here's one that's meant to elicit some yuks. It's Pete Hulne's send-up of The Boss' working-class image, from Funny or Die, that takes aim at American laziness. Check out the Springsteen lookalike as he answers the front door to get a package intended for Rick Springfield.
Along with 50 Cent at the House of Blues in Atlantic City on Thursday, the really big show this weekend is John Legend, for free, at the Art Museum on Friday night. There'll probably be a few people there. Here's an interview I did with the former John Stephens in 2006, just as his second album, Once Again, was coming out. And here's a video of Legend tickling the ivories for Oprah. And really, he's right: He has no cause to complain.
In the "Independence Day" sweepstakes, I'll take Springsteen's over Martina McBride's. Also, Dave's Alvin's "4th of July," over Shooter Jennings. Here's the Boss doing what may the greatest of his father-son songs, from Passaic, New Jersey in 1978, in glorious black and white. Note the difference in the lyrics between this version, and the one that showed up on The River, two years later.
Here's a couple of cell phone photos of Seun Kuti at the World Cafe Live on Saturday night. I missed the bulk of his set because I was down at Citizens Bank Park being let down by J.C. Romero and Flash Gordon. By contrast, Seun, son of Nigerian superstar and political firebrand Fela Anikulapo Kuti, did not disappoint. The last 40 minutes or so of Seun's show with his father's band, Egypt 80, made for a gloriously polyrhythmic Afrobeat party. Here's my interview with him from Friday's paper. David Stampone's review of the WCL show is in Monday's Inquirer. Below is a video of Kuti doing "Mosquito Song" from his new album, Seun Kuti & Fela's Egypt 80. Below that is a clip from a documentary about his father.
The Summer Songs story and playlist is here. And here's a bunch of YouTube videos to go with it.
Black Kids, “I’m Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You.”
Lykke Li’s “Little Bit.”
Duffy, doing “Mercy” on Later With Jools Holland.
The Os Mutantes, the “A Minha Menina,” McDonald’s commercial.
Vampire Weekend, “Oxford Comma.”
Santogold, “L.E.S. Artistes.”
Bruce Springsteen, “Girls In Their Summer Clothes.”
Lil Wayne, “A Milli.” "Lollipop" is here.
The Ting Tings, "Shut Up And Let Me Go." Below is the iPod ad. The official video is here.
She & Him, "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?." It's an Urban Outfitters ad.
John Mellencamp's new album Life Death Love and Freedom feel likes penance for torturing TV viewers by selling "Our Country" to Chevy Trucks. Nobody's going to mistake the austere, haunted by mortality songs on LDLF, which was produced
by T-Bone Burnett and comes out next Tuesday, for flag-waving anthems. Mellencamp, whose head may or may not be as large in real life as it appears to be in the photo above, kicks off his summer tour at the Mann tonight, with Lucinda Williams opening. Below are clips of "My Sweet Love," the new Mellencamp single, and "Jena," a song about the racial strife in Jena, Louisiana in 2006 and 2007. The third shows Williams doing "World Without Tears," live in 2006.
Fleet Foxes, the Seattle dudes who are all about hanging out in the woods and draping their enticingly rootsy songs in Beach Boys and Crosby, Stills & Nash harmonies, will make a beautiful sound at the First Unitarian Church tonight. Perhaps the snow-covered and spooky "White Winter Hymnal" will even be enough to provide a little aural air conditioning in the sticky church basement on a hot summer night.
Here's winking at you. Russian emigre pianist pop-songstress Regina Spektor plays the Mann tonight, opening for Ani DiFranco. Here's the video for "Fidelity," from Begin To Hope.
Even though Abe Vigoda is not dead, the Barney Miller (and Godfather) actor, who was immortalized in the Beastie Boys' "Posse In Effect," will not be at the First Unitarian Church tonight. However, his namesake band, Abe Vigoda, will. The Los Angeles quartet on the FU bill with headliners No Age (with whom they share a home base in the L.A. club The Smell), specialize in stirring up angular Minutemen-influenced SoCal punk with Caribbean stylings. Here's "All Day and All Night," from Skeletons.
Chuck Prophet plays the Xponential Festival in Camden tonight. (Here's Nicole Pensiero's story on the weekend long Fest, whose excellent lineup tonight also includes the great Alejandro Escovedo, Beth Orton, The Brakes and The War on Drugs.)
Daryl Hall plays the Keswick Theater on Saturday. Here's a link to Daryl's House, the web show where Hall and Prophet recently hooked up to sing Prophet's "Summertime Thing" in Austin, Texas. And below is Prophet's "Freckle Song," from the excellent Soap & Water.
Iggy Pop wasn't in the house at the Xponential Music Fest in Camden on Friday, but he was there in spirit. First, San Francisco rocker Chuck Prophet closed out his terrific set with "I'm Bored" ("I'm the Chairman of the bored, I'm a lengthy monologue, I'm livin' like a dog") from the Igster's 1979 album New Values.
Then, after Philadelphia's The War on Drugs' sneering singer Adam Granduciel led his four piece band that included keyboard player B.C. Camplight (pictured below) through a tour of the winningly verbose Wagonwheel Blues, Alejandro Escovedo got back down to Iggy business. Escovedo (that's him pictured above) brought along violinist Susan Voelz and cellist Brian Standefer, but his tight festival set mostly used those chamber rock elements to deepen a cranked up, propulsive wall of sound.
Real Animal, Escovedo's new album - produced by Tony Visconti, who helmed Iggy's The Idiot, along with David Bowie - is the Texan's hardest rocking, and strongest, offering in years. To bring it to a crescendo, he brought out Prophet, with whom he wrote several of Animal's songs, and did the title cut, which is a tribute to the untamed life force that is James Osterberg.
Friday night was the only night I made it out to the annual WXPN presented fest, which carried on through Sunday with the Spinto Band, Mutlu, Shelby Lynne and others. But it was enough to make me think the same things I always think when I go to a show at Wiggins Park. Such as: How come there aren't more shows there? Sure, it can be a bit of a logistical challenge to get to Camden on a shore traffic Friday night (though with no big Susquehanna Bank Center show next door it was easier this year). But as a grassy, tree lined venue with a picture postcard view of the Philadelphia skyline across the river, it could hardly make for a more inviting small festival setting. So, how come there aren't more shows there?
That's how Robert Plant referred to the Raising Sand adventure that brought he and Alison Krauss to the Mann Center in Fairmount Park on Saturday. And it was indeed spectacular, a two hour display of impeccable musicianship and rock star charisma, a pairing of goldilocks hair farmers (see more 'Which one's the dude?' photos below) smart enough to realize that their voices meld in a heavenly blend, so why not put that Led Zep reunion off and head out on tour together?
Plant roams the stage like a lion, albeit one working to keep his innate magnetism from overwhelming the other musicians on stage. Krauss can't stop grinning to herself, and who's to blame her? It's not only that she was backed up by a fabulous band that included project mastermind T-Bone Burnett, who dressed up like a preacher and played acoustic guitar) and Buddy Miller who played electric, and also, autoharp, plus multi-instrumentalist Stuart Duncan (who Krauss described as "my favorite musician in the world"). And that the band kicks up a much more raucous storm on stage than on the at-times too atmospheric Raising Sand recording, allowing Krauss to cut loose like she rarely does on her own records.
On top of that, Robert Plant, the Golden God himself, is flirting with her on stage, slyly singing Allen Toussaint's "Fortune Teller" as if there was nothing he'd rather be doing more. (Speaking of "Nothing," the ensemble also did a staggering take on Townes Van Zandt's song of that name.) Other high points included Plant's "In The Mood," moving into Krauss' beautifully sung rendition of the trad ballad "Matty Groves." And her beginning O, Brother Where Art Thou's ghostly "Down the The River To Pray" solo and a capella, before being joined by Plant, Duncan and Miller as a trio of harmonizing sirens. And yep, they did a slow, smoldering "Black Dog," too.
The show played the Borgata last month, and Steve Klinge reviewed it. At the Mann, Plant name checked North Wales' own Sharon Little, who wore her party dress and showcased her powerful voice impressively in the opening spot. And with the Raising Sand tour winding down, he sounded a bit wistful, saying "it's getting down towards the end now, and we're all feeling a little bit sad." Good times, bad times, he's had his share, and he realizes this unexpected interlude has made for some of his very best.
Never mind that Obama terrorist fist bump cover. Look inside The New Yorker, and check out Ben Greenman's inspired mock Broadway show script, A-Rod, The Musical. (This being The New Yorker, you also can find out that Harold Bloom is dismayed by A-Rod's failure to come though in the clutch.) In Greenman's goof, Madonna sings "If you want to get in my good graces, grab your bat and round the bases" and Guy Ritchie rages against his slugging tormentor: "I’ll ruin him. I’ll wreck him, I’ll kick out his teeth. I’ll bend him like Beckham." Lenny Kravitz makes an appearance, and C-Rod gives A-Rod an earful: "You put me at great risk, you know— Emotional, venereal/I’ve retained a lawyer, so now let’s see which girl’s material."
I've been getting e mail this morning from people who read my story about seeing shows at the Spectrum over the years that ran in today's Inquirer. That story is here.
A bunch argued for the Sept. 24, 1999 Springsteen show as being equally great as the Dec. 9, 1980 show. I was at both, and the 1999 show, which had originally been scheduled for the new building across the street but was moved and rescheduled due to a hurricane, was a special night, for sure, and the best argument for why the old building was a better place to see a show than the new one. The 50th birthday celebration started off with Springsteen playing a fan's homemade recording of "Happy Birthday" on a boombox he carried on stage before launching into "Growin' Up." I'd still vote for the 1980 show, though, which was less of a celebratory night and more one of those rare instances at a a rock show - or any kind of public performance - where matters of life and death seem to be at stake in stark, clearly definable terms, and the performer succeeds in making the audience an equal partner in the battle he's fighting on stage.
But enough of what I think. Michele Curio, of Millville, wrote:
"My favorite Bruce concert at the Spectrum (of many!) was Sept. 24, 1999 (E Street Reunion/"Ministry of Rock and Roll" tour). That concert had been rescheduled from earlier in the month because of a hurricane threat (Andrew? can't remember) that never materialized. The concert was supposed to be at the Wachovia Center, but I think there was a Flyers game scheduled on the new date so the concert was at the Spectrum instead. The new date happened to be Bruce's 50th birthday and he was in rare form. He opened with "Growing Up" and also played "The Fever". I think my only disappointment was no Rosalita, although I think he played Incident.
My other favorite Spectrum concert was my first-ever rock concert; I think it would have been Nov. or Dec. of 1974. It was George Harrison with a backup band that included Billy Preston (right when "NOthing from Nothing" and "Will It go Round" were big hits) and Tom Scott. Ravi Shankar played during intermission. I went with my first boyfriend and I remember he leaned over and kissed me during "Something" and I still remember that as one of the most romantic moments of my life."
Dennis McClatchy wrote, "As a very passionate Bruce fan (and Lennon as well), I too was there December 9, 1980. Sat in an aisle in the second level to Bruce's right. That show stands as my the best Spectrum show I ever saw. All others pale in comparison. The overwhelming feeling of sadness coupled with the energy, intensity, passion and performance can never be duplicated. My memory is foggy and I realize I am wrong but I would have sworn he opened with Twist and Shout, but too many folks have corrected me as have the boots.
I saw quite a few shows (and memorable games) at The Spectrum as I worked there from 1979 through 1983 ... Perhaps lost in the "best of" shows was David Bowie's 4 night run behind Modern Love (with Stevie Ray Vaughn and Nathan East). I worked all 4 shows in the pit (right in front of the stage). I am not a big Bowie fan but on those 4 days he was Michael Jackson, Fred Astaire and Elvis morphed into 1 body. Dressed in a pastel double breasted suit each night, he was magnificent. Great show, tight band and a great performer--as smooth as it gets.
I will be very sad to see that building go as I love the narrow corridors, the sight lines and the "tight feel" of the place as compared to Wachovia."
Eileen Mathers of Fairmount wrote:
"Its in my top five only because it was my first...
Rush with opening act Blondie, Jan 21, 1979.
$6 standing room only
I got the date from the official Blondie website
which claims that,the band was "unable to perform
because of riotous fans throwing things at the stage
after Chris gave then the finger."
I remember them actually playing for a while but yes, riotous, unwelcoming
Rush fans didn't care for "that punk crap."
Ahh.......... Philadelphia, you'll never change."
Tim Kline of Audubon, Pa. pointed out one that I missed: "I just wanted to let you know I found it disappointing that you omitted Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience from your article regarding cornerstone classic rock bands that played The Spectrum. Axl Rose and Slash over Hendrix and Clapton?? My wife was 9 months pregnant when we saw Cream in January of 1969. When the revolving stage placed us in a straight away position from Clapton's mountain of amplifiers, the feeling of auditory thrust was amazing. Third row for the April 12, 1969, Hendrix show was magnificent! Cream and Hendrix at The Spectrum go down as 2 of my greatest concerts ever."
Patrick Berkery, a former Inquirer freelancer who's now at Phillyburbs.com - and also an ace drummer for the Pernice Brothers and others - had these recollections: "One of my top 5 shows of all time is a young, hungry, just-starting-to-break Guns n' Roses opening for Aerosmith at the sprectum, aug. 88. First of a two-night stand.
Tailgating in the parking lot before we saw Axl getting into a tussle with the cops.
Guns was on fire, Aerosmith was coming through the area the 2nd time on the Permanent Vacation tour so they dropped a lot of the new s- and did a bunch of old stuff.
Saw Van Halen the night they filmed the 'Panama' video in 84. Also good.
Petty/Del Fuegos/Ga. Satellites on the R'n'R caravan tour in '87. Smoked my first joint that night.
I saw them all. So long as I could get a ride. Or the weather was nice enough to walk to the Patco station in Westmont."
Jeffrey Scharff of Washington, D.C. caught The Who in South Philadelphia when Keith Moon was still alive: "The Who concert at The Spectrum on 12/15/75 is widely considered one of the best Who shows ever (which is saying a lot). I drove down from college in Binghamton to camp out for tickets in freezing weather. The show was the best concert I have ever seen and I have seen a lot over the past 35 years."
Nancy Savoth of Swarthmore got backstage for Bruce: "Great article today about The Spectrum. I remember that night too...
I was in the third row of The Spectrum with my Pentax K1000 when I
snapped a photo of Bruce as he posed for me in a turned-up black fedora,
leaning against a four-foot speaker on the night of December 9, 1980.
The experience of that audience's collective feeling, the news of John
Lennon's death and the attitude that rocking onward was the only thing
we, Bruce, anyone could do, left me numb for weeks. A twenty-year-old
senior at West Chester University, I met Bruce that night with a
cherished backstage pass. I kissed him on the cheek and told him I was
from Neptune, New Jersey; but, it wasn't a night for any kind of small
talk. He was exhausted and emotional; I was a bramble of mixed emotions
I'd never untangle. Both my husband and I grew up on Bruce. We came of
age by his message and his mystique and have never been able to equal
such a powerful spiritual "minister of rock n roll' or even try to
explain it. Quite amazingly, however,
our sons seem to understand. On that night in 1980 I was as close to
"Almost Famous" as I've ever been and I was rocked forever."
Tom Witanek from Cypress, Texas wrote:
“…the Rolling Stones played two nights on their tour for Exile on Main Street, with Stevie Wonder as the opening act.”
The Stones did three shows in 2 days
They played Thursday evening the 20th, then Friday afternoon and evening on the 21st. The Friday night show was my first trip to (the first trip at would come later) the Spectrum at the ripe young age of 14. I lived in the Burbs up 309 in a little town called Sellersville. Bought a $6.50 ticket for 25 bucks with money I earned washing dishes."
Chris Liberatore wrote: I've seen hundreds of show at the Spectrum (even Boy George).
Rod Stewart and the Faces was one of my favorites in the early 70's.
I pushed my way to the front and took this photo:
Bob Berens of Troy, Michigan wrote:
I grew up in Philly (Havertown), living there until I was 28, then moving on. For rock concerts, Philly was the best per capita music city in the U.S., and the Spectrum was integral to that reputation.
My concert going days wound down by the early 80's, but the period of 1971 - 1980 was basically monthly trips to South Philly to see one big band after another.
How does one properly explain to their kids, what it's like to see so many bands, year after year, in one venue. I saw: Yes (3 times), Moody Blues (3 times), Jethro Tull (3 times), Led Zeppelin, The Eagles (2 times), McCartney (1975), Billy Joel (2 times), Dave Mason (3 times), Queen, Van Morrison.
Acoustics
Amongst the worst in the U.S., but we wore our shame proudly. On the Doors Live album. you can even here the air conditioner during the quieter parts of the music.
Rowdiness
There were certainly moments. Odd, considering that Philly is a pretty sophisticated city, musically. Listen to the Doors Live album... One memory: I saw Ian Anderson get hit with an orange, thrown from about row 10, right at the closing line to "Thick as a Brick". The line goes: "... to be thick, (then, splat!) ..." Boy, was he pissed, but then rose to the occasion, changing the final lyric to, "... as a f***ing brick, like you, you f***ing dick!" To thunderous applause, of course.
Best Concerts ...
Yes, about 1973. It was billed as a "dance concert", meaning you could sit - or stand - anywhere. I think the floor was only partially filled with chairs, with a big open area extending for 40 yards in front of the stage, which is where I was. Yours is No Disgrace, segueing right into Starship Trooper... man, I still get goosebumps. (Two years before, as an unknown, they had opened for the Moody Blues).
McCartney (Wings Over America) - My worst seats ever, waaayyyy in the back. But who cared - it was McCartney! The flashbulbs never stopped the entire night.
My only regrets are missing The Who and Pink Floyd. I'm not even sure why, except for possibly a lack of money. I did always skip the Rolling Stones, even when most of my friends would go see them. I also passed on Springsteen, as he'd gotten too commercial for me by 1980. But, I'd seen Bruce at Villanova in 1973 in a performance that nobody in attendance will ever forget. As a total unknown, Springsteen (with band), opened for Jackson Browne. He proceeded to steal the night completely and thoroughly, so that poor 'ol Jackson, over cries of "Springsteen!, Springsteen!", had to apologize more than once for doing only an acoustical set.
Definitely, the good ol days. Fare Thee well to the Spectrum. They should leave behind a plaque. I also hope they make the seats and brick, etc. available to the public."
Chris O'Brien wrote: "I was there for that Springsteen concert. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever been to - I still remember those opening comments and Twist & Shout.
Maybe there should be a final concert event for the building; they could invite Jethro Tull, Billy Joel, Kansas, Styx and Rush… - with special guest: Spinal Tap!"
...Never really die. They get reborn as indie-pop bands from Springfield, MO. Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin plays the World Cafe Live Friday night. The quartet led by Will Knauer and Philip Dickey's new album Pershing, is a sweetly melodic summer charmer, particularly "Beach Song." The man behind the name is above. The video for "Pangea," from 2006's Broom, is below.
Dr. Dog's Fate came out on Park the Van yesterday. An interview with the band is in today's Inquirer. Fate is streaming in its entirety at the band's My Space page. The accidental head butt in the neck that Toby Leaman took from his wife while floating on an inner tube has caused him to lose his voice and the band to reschedule its New York City dates this week for late August. They're still due to play Rittenhouse Square for free on Aug. 13 as part of the Philadelphia Weekly's summer concert series, however. The album cover for Fate, by the way, is a weaved depiction of Bonnie and Clyde posing for photographers while on the lam in the 1930s that the band bought from a artist/bartender in Chicago last year. The oversized original hangs in their studio. Scott McMicken is not shown in the old, bearded photo above. He's replaced by some guy in green who clearly wishes he was in Dr. Dog. Here's a video of "The Old Days," from Conan last week.
The Ting Tings are back in town, at Johnny Brenda's tonight. That's a pic of Katie White banging on her drum at the Popped! Festival. My interview with Jules De Martino from back in June is here. Here's a Yo Gabba Gabba remix of "That's Not My Name" and below that, the "Great DJ" video.
Addendum: Here's Jon Valania's review of the Johnny Brenda's show.
Nas' much discussed self titled CD opened at Number One yesterday, selling 187,000 copies and taking its place on top of the Billboard charts one place above Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III. (Maybe Hip Hop Isn't Dead should be his next album title.) My story about Nas and the N word from Sunday's A & E section is here.
Nas was on last night with Stephen Colbert, who said of the rapper "he has street cred, but I have gated community cred." Nas, for his part, dubbed Colbert "a gangsta host." The two bonded over their mutual obsession with Bill O'Reilly, who Nas called "worse than any gangsta rapper".The MC talked about how the word he intended to title his album "scares people - it has a horrific origination," and "a history to it that's terrible," and Colbert pointed out that if you spell the word backwards it sounds sort of like "Reagan."
Here's the clips of Colbert's bit on the Nas' Fox News protest. Later, Colbert made the point that rap lyrics do cause violence because "I blame Bing Crosby's 'White Christmas' every time it snows."
That's what my friend Luke called She & Him, the duo of Zooey Deschanel and Matt Ward, who play an all-ages show at the Trocadero tonight. To which I say: Really? Worse than Hoobastank? Archers of Loaf? Live?
My interview with Deschanel and Ward for yesterday's Inquirer is here. Most of their charming folk-pop debut, Volume One, can be heard at their MySpace page.
Watch Deschanel get her head lopped off several times in the "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" video below. Underneath that, there's the duo performing "Change Is Hard" on Craig Ferguson and Deschanel's shower-singing scene from Elf, with Will Ferrell.
