I Like That From the People Up Top
I've come to a point in my life that's equally sad and satisfying. I have basically seen every musical act live that I care to see. Two exceptions are Busta Rhymes (I have no idea how he never popped up on stage at a concert I was at.) and Lil' Wayne, who charges too damn much for tickets. So, here are some of the greatest shows I've ever been to in roughly chronological order. Check out the first installment.
Luscious Jackson/Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Central Park Summerstage, July 4, 1999
Lucious Jackson were the headliners, but Starco and I were there to see the Blues! The Blues is number one! And Jon Spencer, Judah Bauer and Russell Simins did not disappoint. The Summerstage is always a great place to watch a show, but, of course you have to deal with the elements. On that day, the temp was hovering right around 100 degrees for the mid-afternoon 4th of July show, but Jon and the boys jumped around like maniacs and played like it was 40 degrees cooler. Spence was also wearing a black long-sleeve collared shirt that looked like it was made out of velvet and black leather pants, but that didn't phase him one bit. I mean, I was damn hot standing around in a t-shirt and shorts, but homeslice is a true professional and the band tore through all their hits. His Elvis shtick probably threw off some of the non-initiatied in attendance, but Starco and I could only gape in wonder at this incredible showman. I'm not sure he even said much more than "Thank you very much!" to the audience, he just let his rowdy party music speak for itself. As the show crescendoed to a climax, Spence just couldn't take the heat anymore and he tore off his shirt. Then, while Bauer and Simins kept the beat going, he stalked off stage without saying a word, grabbed his baby, who was being held by his lovely wife, Christina Martinez, on the side of the stage and ambled down to the backstage area without ever looking back. What a cool dude. I think I actually might've turned gay for a minute back then. Bauer and Simins kept the beat going for a few more minutes before the epic and steamy show finally ended.
Lucious Jackson, obviously, could not keep the momentum going. They came on stage and played as if they were half-asleep. I think we left early. I made it home and probably went to bed by about 10 o'clock. No fireworks for me. Jon Spencer and the Blues Explosion kicked my ass that Independence Day.
Lyricist's Lounge Tour featuring Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Bahamadia and others, Hammerstein Ballroom ca. Winter 2001
Bahamadia had a really nice soulful set and this was before Talib Kweli started his downward spiral into an embarrassingly bad live performer, so that was cool. But what I really remember was Dead Prez. Of course, the show climaxed with "Hip-Hop" and I'm still getting chills thinking about it over seven years later. The floor was literally jumping as the duo tore into it. It really almost collapsed. Then, for the second verse, when it seemed as if it couldn't even get any more intense, they just dropped the beat and rapped it acapella along with the couple thousand of us in attendance. The show ended and we all started streaming out of the venue, but nobody was ready for it to be over. The whole crowd, coming down the stairs, exiting from the first floor started chanting "It's bigger than hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop/DP got that crazy shit/We keep it crunk, huh?/John Blazin' shit . . ." Good times.
Brian Blade, Joshua Redman and Sam Yahel Smalls, ca. March, 2001
I was friends with a few jazzbos while I was in college so I went to a handful of jazz shows at Smalls, Blue Note, Tonic, etc. during my freshman year. This one, though, is the one that stands out. For those that don't know, Blade is a drummer, Redman plays the sax and Yahel is a keyboardist. I'd seen Blade and Yahel a couple times before this, but they were in rare form that night. Maybe it was the presence of Joshua Redman, who is certainly the most recognizable name of the three, or maybe it was because it was a mid-week late night show and the only people in attendance were serious fans . . . and me. My three jazzbo friends and I were right up close for this show. There's not really a stage at Smalls so we were pretty much right on top of the action. I could go on and on about this show and, in fact, I wrote a paper about it for a music theory class that I took in college. Without exaggeration, it was breathtaking.
The show climaxed with a slow dirge. Yahel played the same few notes over and over on his keyboard and Blade and Redman traded solos. Redman went first, I think, and he just made mad passionate love to his sax. He probably knew that Blade was gonna come with it in a couple minutes so he left it all out there and just wailed. At the end, he just collapsed on to a couch on the stage and let Blade take over and the drummer just went crazy. Blade is simply the most intense drummer imaginable. He didn't exactly play his drums, he kind of just beat up his drum kit. His technique was definitely not how your drum teacher would want you to play. He just slapped at his drums, stood up on occassion and every now and then he'd just let out a yell and everyone in attendance, probably 50 people at the most, would answer back. It was kind of like watching a waterfall. I know that sounds crazy, but that's what I thought at the time. You could see, hear and feel the passion that night. And Redman was just as enthralled as any of us. I remember looking over at him during the solo and he just had this look on his face like, "Are you kidding me? Is this guy really this good?"
The show ended around 3 a.m. and we were all wired. We went to Ben's for a slice of pizza and were pretty much speechless. We could not believe what we had just witnessed. Pound for pound, that was the greatest show I'll ever attend.
Luscious Jackson/Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Central Park Summerstage, July 4, 1999
Lucious Jackson were the headliners, but Starco and I were there to see the Blues! The Blues is number one! And Jon Spencer, Judah Bauer and Russell Simins did not disappoint. The Summerstage is always a great place to watch a show, but, of course you have to deal with the elements. On that day, the temp was hovering right around 100 degrees for the mid-afternoon 4th of July show, but Jon and the boys jumped around like maniacs and played like it was 40 degrees cooler. Spence was also wearing a black long-sleeve collared shirt that looked like it was made out of velvet and black leather pants, but that didn't phase him one bit. I mean, I was damn hot standing around in a t-shirt and shorts, but homeslice is a true professional and the band tore through all their hits. His Elvis shtick probably threw off some of the non-initiatied in attendance, but Starco and I could only gape in wonder at this incredible showman. I'm not sure he even said much more than "Thank you very much!" to the audience, he just let his rowdy party music speak for itself. As the show crescendoed to a climax, Spence just couldn't take the heat anymore and he tore off his shirt. Then, while Bauer and Simins kept the beat going, he stalked off stage without saying a word, grabbed his baby, who was being held by his lovely wife, Christina Martinez, on the side of the stage and ambled down to the backstage area without ever looking back. What a cool dude. I think I actually might've turned gay for a minute back then. Bauer and Simins kept the beat going for a few more minutes before the epic and steamy show finally ended.
Lucious Jackson, obviously, could not keep the momentum going. They came on stage and played as if they were half-asleep. I think we left early. I made it home and probably went to bed by about 10 o'clock. No fireworks for me. Jon Spencer and the Blues Explosion kicked my ass that Independence Day.
Lyricist's Lounge Tour featuring Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Bahamadia and others, Hammerstein Ballroom ca. Winter 2001
Bahamadia had a really nice soulful set and this was before Talib Kweli started his downward spiral into an embarrassingly bad live performer, so that was cool. But what I really remember was Dead Prez. Of course, the show climaxed with "Hip-Hop" and I'm still getting chills thinking about it over seven years later. The floor was literally jumping as the duo tore into it. It really almost collapsed. Then, for the second verse, when it seemed as if it couldn't even get any more intense, they just dropped the beat and rapped it acapella along with the couple thousand of us in attendance. The show ended and we all started streaming out of the venue, but nobody was ready for it to be over. The whole crowd, coming down the stairs, exiting from the first floor started chanting "It's bigger than hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop/DP got that crazy shit/We keep it crunk, huh?/John Blazin' shit . . ." Good times.
Brian Blade, Joshua Redman and Sam Yahel Smalls, ca. March, 2001
I was friends with a few jazzbos while I was in college so I went to a handful of jazz shows at Smalls, Blue Note, Tonic, etc. during my freshman year. This one, though, is the one that stands out. For those that don't know, Blade is a drummer, Redman plays the sax and Yahel is a keyboardist. I'd seen Blade and Yahel a couple times before this, but they were in rare form that night. Maybe it was the presence of Joshua Redman, who is certainly the most recognizable name of the three, or maybe it was because it was a mid-week late night show and the only people in attendance were serious fans . . . and me. My three jazzbo friends and I were right up close for this show. There's not really a stage at Smalls so we were pretty much right on top of the action. I could go on and on about this show and, in fact, I wrote a paper about it for a music theory class that I took in college. Without exaggeration, it was breathtaking.
The show climaxed with a slow dirge. Yahel played the same few notes over and over on his keyboard and Blade and Redman traded solos. Redman went first, I think, and he just made mad passionate love to his sax. He probably knew that Blade was gonna come with it in a couple minutes so he left it all out there and just wailed. At the end, he just collapsed on to a couch on the stage and let Blade take over and the drummer just went crazy. Blade is simply the most intense drummer imaginable. He didn't exactly play his drums, he kind of just beat up his drum kit. His technique was definitely not how your drum teacher would want you to play. He just slapped at his drums, stood up on occassion and every now and then he'd just let out a yell and everyone in attendance, probably 50 people at the most, would answer back. It was kind of like watching a waterfall. I know that sounds crazy, but that's what I thought at the time. You could see, hear and feel the passion that night. And Redman was just as enthralled as any of us. I remember looking over at him during the solo and he just had this look on his face like, "Are you kidding me? Is this guy really this good?"
The show ended around 3 a.m. and we were all wired. We went to Ben's for a slice of pizza and were pretty much speechless. We could not believe what we had just witnessed. Pound for pound, that was the greatest show I'll ever attend.
posted by Alonzo @ 8:52 AM
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