“Is this weird for you? ‘Cause it’s weird for me,” said a grinning Kyp Malone at Wednesday’s Knitting Factory Brooklyn show. The falsetto-voiced, hirsute TV on the Radio singer was playing songs from his Rain Machine project, completely solo. The last time I saw Malone sing was at TVOTR’s huge Prospect Park show (video here), backed  by a band and a brass section—so it was kind of extraordinary to see what Malone brings to the band in such a stark manner, almost as if those elements had been plucked out of the mix. And what a contrast with singer Tunde Adebimpe’s gorgeous solo set at CMJ as Fake Male Voice; while Adebimpe backs his hot, breathy voice with clipped microbeats, Malone’s solo wanderings are far frillier; romantic, but all over the place, as much in thrall to sweetness as to dissonance. Check out Malone’s performance last night, and Adebimpe’s set after the jump, and see what you think.

Any more weirdness? Well, the show was in celebration of a film called Until the Light Takes Us, a black-metal documentary—but besides a few flyers lying around, the connection between the film and the artists was unclear. One sensed, however, that the distinctly male crowd that came to see Papa M (a.k.a. Slint cofounder Dave Pajo) would’ve braved an afternoon in Topshop to catch the guitar whiz in action. Bathed in blue light, Pajo performed flanked by a bass player and guitarist. The trio performed mainly instrumentals built around Pajo’s exquisitely looped phrases, while men (and it was all men at the front) gazed on, gently humping the side of the stage in rhythm. The set neared its close with the three musicians delivering ten or so minutes of heavy, brutal distortion; the supporting players left the stage, and the show ended with Pajo picking out a just-perfect “Northwest Passage.” After the jump: Videos of Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe Read more »

And the prize for hottest video of the year goes to…Beyoncé and Lady Gaga for this hot ‘n’ heavy remix of Beyoncé’s “Video Phone” (from her Sasha Fierce LP), directed by Hype Williams. It’s actually pretty difficult to listen to the song if this is your first time, such is Beyoncé’s captivating sexiness; she pants and grinds her way through the song in a variety of meager outfits (plastic bikinis, cutaway leotard and Zorro mask, Bettie Page pinup swimsuit, and—er—M.I.A.-style T-shirt and suspenders). Gaga struts on for a guest appearance at the midway mark, clutching a yellow water pistol, but it’s clear whose gig this is.

Photos: Taso Hountas

When Metallica released its Death Magnetic album last year, we reviewed it as “the record Metallica needed to make.” Helmed by Rick Rubin, Death Magnetic was a brutal, kick-ass return to form—as was the band’s first live show in NYC earlier this year (our review here). TONY photographer Taso Hountas caught the action (and the energy) at Metallica’s Madison Square Garden last night; included in his pics are some shots of show opener Lamb of God.

Neko Case at the Beacon Theater
There are many things to love about singer Neko Case that have nothing to do with her being voted Playboy’s Sexiest Babe in Indie Rock or voicing a character on Adult Swim—and everything to do with her magnificent voice and bold, beautiful lyrics. Check our preview of the show here, and our Hot Seat Q&A here to find out why the cover of Case’s latest album has her standing on a car hood waving a sword. See, we told you there were other reasons.

Red Hook Ramblers at Sycamore
Did you catch Friday’s edition of Live at TONY? If so, you’ve seen this awesome Dixieland/swing combo in action: Brooklyn’s finest incorporates tuba, cornet and banjo into its raucous, good-time songs.

The Jesus Lizard at Fillmore New York
Drunk and disorderly singer David Yow leads his punk ‘n’ roll crew through the first of two nights at the Fillmore. Check out our show preview here.

Kinky Friedman at B.B. Kings
The cult cowboy-turned-writer brings his ’70s hits to town.

Robert Palmer Tribute at (Le) Poisson Rouge
Rock scribe Anthony DeCurtis and filmmaker Augusta Palmer lead this tribute to New York Times music critic Robert Palmer; musical delights include Bachir Attar, leader of Moroccan luminaries Master Musicians of Jajouka.

Reggie Watts at Pianos
The stand-up comedian Reggie Watts is also a breathtakingly talented musician and beat-boxer. Check out this video of Reggie in action, here.

Holden at Bar Matchless
Parisian duo Holden makes sweet, winsome retro pop—but you could’ve guessed that, right?

Tuba, cornet, shuffly drums and great hats? There are a lot of reasons to love Brooklyn crew Red Hook Ramblers, and we hope we’re providing one for you right here: Check out the band’s joyous performance at the TONY office. If it gets you jumping like it did us, you’ve got a ton of chances to see ’em in action this week. First they’ll be at Maxwell’s with Squirrel Nut Zippers tonight (November 13), then the band plays Sycamore Monday, November 16, and the Slipper Room on Wednesday, November 18. Fancy hat recommended.

We’re betting R&B fan and musical polymath Dave Longstreth is pretty stoked about this one: Beyoncé’s li’l sis Solange has covered Dirty Projectors’ summer indie anthem, “Stillness Is the Move.” Unlike the DPs’ version, which starts off bare and then builds to a string-strafed climax, Solange’s reworking is slow and smooth, and has the singer backed up by a mellow bassline and a gorgeous tickly guitar hook. Check it out for yourself, here (thanks to Pitchfork.) After the jump: The official video with Longstreth and a llama.

Read more »

As we reported last week, Yeah Yeah Yeahs played a secret showbizzy gig on Friday, at the launch of a fancy new mobile phone. TONY photographer Lizz Kuehl took these awesome shots.

You don’t have to be a fan of either Weezer or Kenny G to be at least a smidgen curious as to what the hell this strange collaboration would sound like. A couple of weeks back, Weezer taped five songs for AOL Sessions, with cameo appearances from rapper Chamillionaire, Sara Bareilles and pop-jazz icon Kenny G. Before recording began, G admitted, “I don’t know anything about Weezer—nothing. I’ve heard the name, but I never knew any of their songs [except] some song about a sweater…with the wool coming apart?”

But you know what the funny thing is? Kenny G’s funny little sax spot is easily the most interesting thing about the song. “I’m Your Daddy” is Weezer-by-numbers; power chords, hand claps and a bored-sounding Rivers Cuomo singing the line, “This ain’t predictable” (umm…). Maybe the band thought it would be hilarious to have cheesy old Kenny G play on the track, but musically it’s the creative highlight of the performance. Check it out!

After the jump: G’s diabolical “Songbird.”

Read more »

“It’s a punk rock show, what the fuck did they expect?” muttered one girl to her friend at Saturday’s Halloween Vice party. She was bitching about the heavy-handed security men who were trying (and failing) to keep order during Bad Brains’ headline set (“Leave it to Vice to hire the Mafia for security,” wrote one partygoer on Brooklyn Vegan). What was funny about the hoo-ha was that across the street at Brooklyn Bowl, Deer Tick had just finished playing its Sex Pistols tribute show—so you could stroll from pretend punk to the real deal. Find out the full story after the jump.

Read more »

“Weezer fans have the Halloween spirit!” declared Rivers Cuomo, at Weezer’s Hammerstein Ballroom Halloween party, Saturday night. The band took the stage dressed as bugs, following sets by Matt & Kim and PT Walkley, and TONY photographer Lizz Kuehl was there to catch the action. The band also welcomed a special guest onstage for its new single, “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To”—Gossip Girl Leighton Meester. Check the vid after the jump.

Read more »

Noah and the Whale at Mercury Lounge
There are few things quite so satisfying and horrifying as a good breakup album (Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks, Ryan Adams’s Heartbreaker to name but two) and Noah and the Whale has arguably delivered 2009’s top breakup album in The First Days of Spring (sample lyric: “Regretfully lying naked, I reflect on what I’ve done, her leg still forced in between mine”). What makes it even more surprising is that the British band made its name with such perky, folky songs as “5 Years Time.” As we mentioned in our show review earlier this year, watching frontman Charlie Fink sing that summery hit postbreakup is like watching someone being forced to read out their own ransom note. A good reason to see the band live? Why, of course!

Maria Muldaur’s Garden of Joy Jugband
Something jollier? This veteran of the Village folk scene presents her latest project: sweet, authentic takes on vintage Jugband music (John Sebastian and Taj Mahal guest on the album.)

Fuck Buttons at Bowery Ballroom
The British duo brings its techno/post-rock/indie/psychedelic sounds to NYC. If that seems like a bit of a mangle, rest assured, the sound itself is simply colossal. Check our review of the band’s new Andrew Weatherall–produced album here.

Girls at Maxwell’s
Girls singer Christopher Owens was raised in a scary cult—though it did provide him with his first guitar, via cult member and ex–Fleetwood Mac man Jeremy Spencer (read our preview here). Tonight his band brings its sweet, sinister psychedelia to town.

Shawn Colvin at City Winery
Glossy country hit-maker Shawn Colvin sings the gutsy acoustic sounds of her latest disc, These Four Walls.

Before CMJ becomes but a foggy memory, we’d like to get a mention in for one of its finest performers. Not some fast-rising, HOTT young band, but rather the soul veteran Lee Fields, who stormed the Daptone showcase at the Knitting Factory—check out the full review and slide show here. Fields strutted onstage in a tight, shiny suit, beaming wickedly, his awesomely ravaged voice backed up by a super-tight brass section and bongos. His finest moment? Undoubtedly the musky, romantic funk of “Ladies.” Ladies flocked to the stage, and Fields knelt down to hold their hands, whispering the song’s sweet nothings: “Young lady, what’s your name? Wow, I know your man’s pleased all the way down to his knees…” and so on. Speaking as one of these ladies, I felt like one of the screaming girls in Top Secret.

And then I discovered that the track had been remixed by Jay-Z–signed rapper J. Cole! The delicious hooks are all there, plus some hilarious “romantic” moments: “Come hop up on this ski jet, you scared of that water or you just scared to get your weave wet? Good lord.” It’s all too much.

Brooklyn’s Hopewell played Union Pool—the band’s last show for some time, they say (singer Jason Russo will play ATP in the U.K. with a re-formed Harmony Rockets, and a new album is in the offing). The set was fittingly loud: A melee of deliciously psychedelic geetar action, horses’-hooves-style drumming and Russo’s battle-cry vocals.

Photos: Sophie Harris

The new Knitting Factory on Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg was a great spot for Daptone Records to celebrate the release of its Daptone Gold compilation. The venue is sleek and low-lit, and though it could do with a little scuffing round the edges, it perfectly suited tonight’s soulful performers—who were themselves perfectly suited: Gravel-voiced soul veterans Lee Fields and Charles Bradley performed, along with Sharon Jones and Naomi Shelton. The Budos Band took the whole dressing-up-thing a stage further by donning zombie/Scream-style Halloween masks and playing in green light the whole way through its funksome set. Click past the jump for more!

Read more »

.

It was difficult to know what to expect from this set from TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe as Fake Male Voice—other than the fact that it would surely be mobbed. Maybe it was the drizzly rain on Friday afternoon or the unsexy time of day, but strangely, only a handful of people made it to Bruar Falls for the show. The plus points of this decidedly intimate set? It felt like the perfect match for Adebimpe’s lonesome, but fiery-red solo work. I also felt incredibly lucky to be one of the few people watching the show—undoubtedly my CMJ highlight.

Click past the jump for more

Read more »

Photographs: Sophie Harris

With a red rose in one hand and a bottle of what appeared to be Mountain Dew in the other, the Rev. Al Green made good on his promise of bringing love to B.B. King Blues Club & Grill on Friday (see 1 bold question). Women flocked to the front of the stage to receive a rose from Green with a hysteria that recalled Elvis doing his kissing rounds in Vegas. But what’s so crucial to Green’s appeal, particularly as a live performer, is that while the romance is turned to high and a sexual sizzle runs through damn near every song (yes, even now that he’s 63), there’s a real joy in Green’s performance, and humor, too. He laughs a lot, cracks jokes and even flicks his sweat out, like a kid in a bathtub. Click past the jump for our full review.

Read more »

…And it’s fair to say we’re pretty excited about it. The soul man and minister with the most hits town tonight, and he promised TONY he’d be playing favorites and rarities, such is his love for the venue, B.B. Kings. We’re especially excited to hear cuts from his newest album, last year’s exceptional Lay It Down, which was produced by Questlove (see photo above). Read the full Q&A with Green here, plus our show preview here, and look out for our review and pics of the show, coming right up!

Photos: Sophie Harris
And so finally the eagle has landed. Or rather, the diminutive lady riding on a massive plastic skull descending from the top of the stage has landed: Kylie Minogue played NYC last night as part of her first-ever USA tour. The show was as razzle-dazzle a spectacle as you could feasibly put on at Hammerstein Ballroom—and in fact, one wonders if it wouldn’t have been more sensible to play one big arena date, rather than three packed nights at this venue where sight lines are so limited. Still, such quibbles didn’t seem to bother the 2,500-strong crowd last night—and Minogue  knows her audience. In addition to the multiple costume changes and slick dance routines, her video screens beamed out images of naked hunks in the shower (while real ones faux-showered onstage) as well as Minogue in black-and-white 1940s-style homages to such classics as Now, Voyager. More details? Read on!

Read more »

Photos: Sophie Harris

Last night, Terminal 5 hosted the fourth annual Hennessy Artistry event. Which is what exactly? Well, the famous cognac basically holds superswanky parties in four states (the show visited Chicago, Atlanta and Houston before winding up in NYC), curated by hip-hop and pop icons. This year’s lineup was pretty spectacular: The Roots and Common welcomed rising talent such as Colin Munroe (read our interview here), with special guests Caron Wheeler (of Soul II Soul), Q-Tip and Queen Latifah. Gossip mag readers may thrill to learn that guests included Eve, Penn Badgley, Lucy Liu, and Ashanti.

The show itself had all the razzle-dazzle you’d expect of an event put together by the blingy booze brand; chandeliers, Hennessy cocktails and a hugely up-for-it crowd. It’s not hard to feel elevated, though, watching the Roots—whose tuba-fattened funk was irresistible as ever. Common had ladies literally screaming at him from the front row, and kindly took his own picture on a fan’s camera phone (see our pictures above). Colin Munroe sang like an angel, and wore the most disgusting skinny jeans known to man; Caron Wheeler sang gorgeous, smooth renditions of “Keep on Movin’” and “Back II Life”; Q-Tip delivered a crazily bouncy “Bonita Applebum”; and Queen Latifah kicked ass (of course she did). The show felt like a coming together of old friends—and while it might’ve been exciting to see some of this year’s emerging mixtape rappers shaking things up, this was still a heck of a party.

London’s Jamie T must get irked (at the very least) by the lazy nicknames bestowed on him: He’s been described as being “like the bastard lovechild of Billy Bragg and Mike Skinner doing his best Joe Strummer impression,” and worse still, as a “one-man Arctic Monkey.” It wouldn’t be so bad if the comparisons were accurate and not just a case of insert-a-cockney-poet-here, but really, Jamie T sounds like Jamie T; a scrawny kid from Wimbledon who half-sings, half-raps in his own weird way—as you may have already heard on his lauded debut album, Panic Prevention.

Today he releases its follow-up, Kings and Queens. “Chaka Demus” is the second single from the album and features shuffling drums and a lazy but damnably catchy “Woah-oh-oh” chorus. Its slackness is like the sonic equivalent of jeans slung below ass level—kind of ridiculous but kind of great. You can check the video here, a Wacky Races–style car chase that has Arab sheiks in a 2CV, Marcel Marceau mime artists pissing against a tree, and what appear to be kamikaze pilots. Does this have anything to do with dancehall champ Chaka Demus? Apparently not. But it sure as hell doesn’t have anything to do with Arctic Monkeys either.

After the jump: The video for Chaka Demus & Pliers’ awesome “Murder She Wrote.”

Read more »