My Brightest Diamond at Castle Clinton

I love this lady's moves!

I'm an avid fan of the eccentric lead vocalist. So, it should come as no surprise that I leapt at the chance to see the enigmatic band, My Brightest Diamond for FREE at the historic Castle Clinton in Battery Park as part of the NYC River to River Festival!

What an incredible opportunity and gift this show was! The venue was unique and distinctly New York City. Castle Clinton is an outdoor venue setting in a former fort that was built to protect New York from foreign invaders in the 1800's. The small stage was speckled with lights and instruments set before 600 white folding chairs arranged in comfortably spaced rows. There was even a moderately priced concession stand! The turn out was surprisingly low, considering My Brightest Diamond has sold out a 1000 seat capacity venue, maybe the rain earlier in the day had scared people away? Whatever the case, it was lucky for me, because by some miracle of God I managed to snag a seat in the second row! What a stellar view I had!

As the sun's heat began to die down in intensity, we were warmly greeted by the host for the concert as well as Castle Clinton's own park ranger Jim. As I'm a person effected by the vibes of the crowd and stage at concerts, I'm happy to report that the waves of positive energy were radiating! The opening act was music performed by My Brightest Diamond's supporting orchestra for the evening, yMusic. We were regaled with exquisite contemporary arrangements. Meticulously timed and well developed, yMusic's orchestrations were clean, intricate, and expertly layered- not to mention whimsical. I haven't had that much fun listening to an orchestral performance since... Well, ever!

Just as the rigorous applause began to quiet down, it inevitably started again, as the songstress Shara Worden emerged from her hiding place back stage. Dressed in a shocking electric blue satin dress and adorned with what can only be described as a hunch back cape of hot pink and flaming orange taffeta poof balls and shreds of ribbon. Her small head blossomed  out of the costume like the single head of a calla lily.  Her black hair was slicked back and into a small curl at the side of her head. Her eyes were dark, her mouth tiny and ready to express itself.

The Sun was Setting as Shara played...

Seeing Shara Worden perform is like watching my inner teenager cut loose. Never have I felt such a kindred spirit! Her coy smile and demure manner and conversation before a song gives you no clue to the uninhibited power about to be unleashed upon you with her bluesy inflections and shameless dancing. I envy the shameless audacity of Shara's voice, her lyrics, and especially her movement. It's a common theme found among my favorite performers, for sure. There's a certain purity to Shara though that is distinctly her own. This purity makes her unique, and strikes me at my core. I know the feeling she emulates. I am not an exceptional performer because I have a phobia of cutting my own reservations loose like that. I see Shara Worden sing and I question myself. I feel a connection to her because she allows you to access her as a musician. Her performance becomes a tribalistic offering. It was as if the stage was an altar and I was an attendee at an emotional mass. Part of this vibe comes from My Brightest Diamond's pronounced influences. This petite white woman is clearly inspired by soul and blues. The influences have deepened in recent years since Shara has moved to Detroit. She even shared with us a story to give you a sense of the blues community, faith, and dedication.

"Every Sunday this old man would roll out a carpet in front of his house and he and his friends would gather and sing the blues all day... The old man died and his house was knocked down... yet his friends still come and gather outside of the spot where hi house stood, roll out that carpet, and kept on singing the blues..." Shara smiled and her eyes looked out and got lost in the memory of it. She said you could here it carry itself to you on the wind, and it was beautiful. This story alone was inspiring. I can only imagine what it's like to be there and to hear it for myself.

Jessica Dessner

The brevity of this style of music and the depth of emotion is what makes My Brightest Diamond such a powerful show to witness. They premiered songs from their yet to be released album that's due to come out in October as well as three instrumental pieces Shara specifically composed for yMusic, which were accompanied by dance interpretations by Jessica Dessner. While I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to hear any songs familiar to me, all the new music was an abundant consolation! The dance pieces were intriguing and odd, to say the least. Especially when considering Shara adorned her head with an anime-esque mask that stared vacantly out as Jessica pranced about. Between Jessica's interpretive dance, Shara's wild gesticulations and howlings, and yMusic's beautiful orchestral accompaniments... there was never a dull moment!


My Brightest Diamond is the kind of group whose shows you can go to knowing absolutely nothing about them... and leave in love. I even have hard evidence of this- my friend who decided to come with me- who knew absolutely nothing about My Brightest Diamond- turned and smiled at me at the end of the show and said, "That was my favorite show we've seen together so far."

Here's a Very Rough Set-List:
1. Love binds the world
2. Reaching Through to the Other Side
3. Orchestra Performance and Special Interpretive Dance by Jessica Dessner 
4. In the beginning, hallelujah
5. Escape Routes
6. "The flood"
7. Orchestra Performance and Special Interpretive Dance by Jessica Dessner 
8. Velvet curtain
9. A rat!
10. Orchestra Performance and Special Interpretive Dance by Jessica Dessner 
11. For her son, "about the breeze"
12. High low middle
13. Everything is in Line
14. Be my husband man 

The Hurricane Club is my 1st stop for Restaurant Week!

Florence + The Machine at Central Park Summerstage 06/24/11

We staved off the thunderclaps and the howling rain by putting on funny rain boots and by packing hideous yet awesome red plastic ponchos in our bags. Isn't that always how it works? Wear rain boots so it WON'T rain. So, I'd like to say "you're welcome" to the endless throngs of irritating morons that were in attendance at the Florence + The Machine show at Central Park Summerstage this past Friday. Yes, I believe me and my friend were the reason that it in fact did NOT rain and destroy the sold out Florence show, and beliefs are hard to shake. Now, on to the more daunting task... explaining why I referred to the majority of people in attendance as "endless throngs of irritating morons".

If you don't know already, Central Park Summerstage is a large general admission outdoor arena surrounded on all sides by concession stands selling top-quality overpriced crap to consumers. While some services are "inspired" ("Come charge your dying electronic equipment in the AT&T Tent") to outright thievery ($7 for a warm dixie cup of cheap white wine) it's overall just one big shit show of Urban American consumerism. Having this insight about Central Park Summerstage, my friend and I decided to hang back from it until the very last possible minute, for as we all know with any concert, once you enter you cannot escape.

Sorry, this is the best I could do. 

Once we finally did enter, we were immediately overwhelmed by the epic cues surrounding us from all sides. Want to use the port-a-potty? Better get in line and have a napkin handy. Want a wristband to consume alcohol? Better have your ID out and ready and get in line. Want to consume alcohol? Be ready to have your wallet emptied and get in line. Want to see the show? Well, there's a line for that too. All of the concert goers were nasal pitched cattle being herded left and right all around me. My friend and I abandoned all ventures for refreshments, and attempted to stake out a spot to enjoy the show from. This, it turned out was an impossible task.

The problem with any outdoor arena show is that the sound ends ABRUPTLY from about 100 feet from the stage. This doesn't normally bother me so much, because usually the people who paid good money to go to a concert SHUT THE FUCK UP and listen to the music as it is being performed in front of them. This was NOT the case at Florence + The Machine. From start to finish most of what I heard was mindless chattering of silly girls and slurred grunts from sweaty drunken oafs drowning out the ethereal notes of Ms. Welch. What's worse, the cacophonous din of idiocy would end the SECOND the song had ended in order for these neanderthals to let out some off key "WOO'S". Don't get me wrong, I like to enjoy a nice recreational conversation as much as the next broad, but at a concert, I try to keep those conversations BETWEEN songs. It got so bad, that I barely RECOGNIZED some of the songs Florence was singing! The only thing worse than that was that she chose to perform NEW songs I haven't even heard yet, and they were all swallowed whole by the sound of the crowd. At one point there was a weak crowd chant of "Louder, Louder" sung out, but, it fell upon deaf ears. What can they do? It's an outdoor show. There's only so many speakers.

Apparently, people paid $40 to talk, get drunk, and MAYBE hear "Dog Days are Over". If you were a genuine "Machinehead" (as I've taken to call true Flo fans) I guess you had to be at the gate at 5:30, have a wad of cash, wear a diaper, and pack a granola bar to eat for dinner in order to get up front to see and hear our red-headed goddess.

I'm sure Florence + The Machine's performance was stellar as always... if you were up front. In the dregs of the rear, the show was good, but hard to hear thanks to chatty Kathys and mumbling Michaels. While my belly was full of reasonably priced food and drink and I managed to have a good time with my friend, I couldn't help but think that my concert going days at Central Park Summerstage, are over.    

Here's the Set list:

My Boy Builds Coffins
Lungs
Drumming Song
Strangeness & Charms
Howl
Ghosts
Hurricane Drunk
What Water Gave Me
Cosmic Love
Blinding
You Got the Love
Rabbit Hearts
Bedroom Hymns
Dog Days are Over

Life is good. #CalexicoCart

Smells like it's gonna be good!!

CSS & Sleigh Bells at Webster Hall

CSS

Lately, I've been eager to see a band that I like that I hadn't seen live before. This sadly, is an ever-shrinking category for me. It's been a while since a band has toured that I was willing to pay money to see. So, naturally, when I heard CSS was co-headlining a show with Sleigh Bells, I jumped at the opportunity to swipe tickets. It proved more difficult than I had imagined. Turns out that A LOT of people like CSS & Sleigh Bells, and were far swifter at swiping tickets than I. Twenty dollar tickets quickly became fifty dollar tickets via stubhub, but I figured 50 clams for a sold out show featuring two bands (whose albums I actually enjoy) wasn't an entirely unfair price to pay- even if it WAS a show at Webster Hall.

I can't iterate enough my distaste for Webster Hall. They suck. The venue is disorganized, they keep lineups cryptic, the hall reeks of mold and stale beer, and, the sound there BLOWS. Did I mention it smells? Yeah? Ok. I don't care if it's an INSTITUTION, so was CBGBs, and they went the way of the Dodo because they were WAY past their prime. Webster Hall has been a lousy venue for a while now, and yet, bands keep playing there. I assume it's for some unknown financial reason, like the overhead is cheaper for moderately successful bands. That seems to be who plays there these days. Bands on the brink or bands that are big enough to sell out to a NY crowd, but not to a NJ crowd. Am I right? Ok, rant over. Now, on to what transpired.

Look! Instruments!

The crowd was a lot younger than I am accustomed to... although, I must admit, I think I am getting to that age where I will be the oldest person up front at any show, singing along and dancing. I am not a "go to a concert just to sit in the rear of the theater and drink" type, which inevitably puts me up front with the enthusiastic youngins. I don't mind, really, it's just, a little sad for me to accept that I am getting OLDER. The crowds enthusiasm was welcome though, despite my self-loathing agist phobias. The pre-show music they were blasting was a satisfyingly ecclectic mix of late 80's and early 90's music. TLC, Nirvana, Guns-n-Roses, and Van Halen were the more memorable tracks being blasted out, with myself and all the little ones screaming out the words, for the sad truth was that this would be the closest to hearing those bands live that we'd ever get.

A KEY-TAR!

CSS came out with a welcome BANG opening with the rocking tune "Art Bitch" -one of my favorite tracks on their debut album. From start to finish CSS got what being performers were all about. Even if you're not a huge fan of their work, seeing them live is an enjoyable experience. They play their instruments well, are sonically organized, their attitude is gracious, and well, they're fun as hell. The lead singer known only as Lovefoxx was a good front-woman for their act. She was high energy with pure enthusiasm and kept the audience on their toes. She jumped into the crowd, danced around, launched herself into a crowd surf, and she also successfully managed a handful of costume changes without ever leaving the stage! I've never seen a woman with so many layers of clothing on in my life. The energy on the stage was amplified by the smiling dancing bodies on the floor, which was literally buckling beneath us to the very beat of the music. They played a healthy mix of both albums, and a few choice new tracks from their forthcoming album. I had a lot of fun and found myself happy for paying to see them live.

Sleigh Bells

I wish I could say the same for Sleigh Bells. At first, I was along for the ride. They started the show by blasting Black Sabbath's "Iron Man", and while all the kids were screaming and thrashing I decided to do the same. It was fun and cathartic, but, as the show went on, I came to the realization that the rocking energy was coming from the crowd and NOT from Sleigh Bells. By the time I walked out of Webster Hall, I found myself mumbling, "I could'a stayed home, and just pressed play." The shift of talent was extreme. They were all gimmick and no substance. The wall of amps and the rack of guitars wheeled out during set up had given me a sense of hope. I knew that Sleigh Bells was only a 2-person operation, but, so's Death From Above 1979, and they fucking WAILED when I saw them open for Nine Inch Nails. So, it stood to reason that Sleigh Bells could wail too. I was sorely mistaken. Sadly, everything was a recording that they pumped through the speakers, and the girl Alexis Krauss, was barely doing what I would call singing.

The Elusive Guitarist Derek

As for the guitarist Derek Miller- I GUESS he was playing, but it didn't seem to matter, because the background track playing through was louder than he was. There was also a good chunk of time when Derek wasn't even on the stage- he wasn't bothering to PRETEND to play while Alexis "sang". At those moments, when Alexis was alone on the stage with a track playing steadily beneath her barely audible shaky vocals, it just appeared to be an overpriced karaoke performance. Once the spell of the crowd's enthusiasm dissipated I was ready to migrate to the back of the theater so I could have a speedy exit.

What happened next for me was fascinating. Every foot that I walked further away from the stage, the more shallow Sleigh Bells sound became. In the front where I was it was pure noise pop blasting through oversize speakers where I could barely hear the "live" guitar and vocals. It was infectious and fun to rock out to, sure, but it was VERY temporary. As I walked to the back the entirely pre-recorded music seemed to go mute, and all you could hear was Alexis' vocals... and they were weak. The kids at the show seemed to really enjoy Sleigh Bells and CSS. CSS I got, for sure, because they were musicians with a strong female lead. As for Sleigh Bells, as much as I enjoyed their studio album, I wanted more "oomph" out of them live than what I got, which left me feeling overwhelmingly disappointed.

"Singer" Alexis Krauss

Maybe I am just getting too old to "get" the appeal of a synthetic band that doesn't actually play the music they composed live. No thanks, Sleigh Bells. I'd give you a go if you bring out a BAND with you next time that could play the loud balls to the wall noise pop that your album brings.

CSS is who you should be paying money to see, because, ultimately, humans put on a better show than computers any day.    

CSS/ Sleigh Bells Set List Sampling

In case you were curious, 

here's a rough list of what each band played:

CSS

Art Bitch

Off the Hook

Air Painter

Music is My Hot, Hot Sex

Move

Alala

Let's Make Love (And Listen to Death from Above)

Let's Reggae All Night

SLEIGH BELLS

Tell 'Em

Kids

Treats

Riot Rhythm

Infinity Guitars

Rill Rill

A/B Machines