The National – Beacon Theatre – December 15, 2011
December 16th, 2011
(The National play the Beacon Theatre tonight and tomorrow.)
Tag Archives: Beacon Theatre
Simply the Best
October 24th, 2011Gillian Welch – Beacon Theatre – October 22, 2011
Gillian Welch’s sold-old performance at the Beacon Theatre on Saturday night was a study in the perfection of simplicity. Welch and her long-time musical partner, David Rawlings, stood side-by-side before a black backdrop on the large stage, empty but for some microphones, guitar stands and Rawlings’ weathered guitar amp—a minimal and striking tableaux. The duo’s musical collaboration on a modern blend of country, bluegrass and Americana is perhaps most remarkable for its ease and comfort. As they performed new material from Welch’s recent album, The Harrow & the Harvest, along with favorite cuts from her catalog and some choice covers, the duo effortlessly harmonized, weaving their guitar (and occasional banjo) lines and voices and into a seamless tapestry.
Some of the evening’s high points included a riveting rendition of “Revelator,” with Rawlings masterfully reaching out his hand to tune a string in the midst of a shredding guitar solo (and still managing to keep time), a lovely rendition of “Hard Times,” highlighting the interplay of banjo and Welch’s delicate voice, and the spirited addition of Welch’s percussive clapping and shuffling of her cowboy boots over Rawlings’ harmonica and banjo during “Six White Horses.” Toward the end of the second set, the duo mixed in several verses of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” during Rawlings’ “I Hear Them All,” and ended the night with a powerful version of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit.”
Welch and Rawlings’ performance was proof that the duo needs little more than a handful of instruments and an audience to put on a great show. With these simple elements in place, the stage was perfectly set to showcase the music itself, at times delicate and nuanced and buoyant and cheerful—the most wonderfully complex element of the night. —Alena Kastin
Lucinda Williams Takes No Prisoners
July 21st, 2011Lucinda Williams – The Wellmont Theatre – July 20, 2011
(Photo: Getty Images)
Last night after a rousing performance by singer-songwriter Amos Lee, whose smooth, soulful voice resonated within the expansive Wellmont Theatre, Lucinda Williams began her set with some upbeat numbers from 1998’s Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, her band getting right into the groove. Williams seemed to be feeling pretty good, swaying as she listened to the twang of the guitar and driving drum beat.
After rocking for a few more songs, Williams introduced the song “Copenhagen,” acknowledging that it was written to address her shock and sadness at the death of her longtime manager, who passed away when she was touring in Denmark. Befitting our New Jersey setting, Williams also took a moment to acknowledge the recent passing of Clarence Clemons of the E Street Band before beginning to sing the song’s earnest and poignant lyrics, adorned with a beautiful solo from guitarist Blake Mills. As the song rang through the venue, the large space began to feel charged, heavy with the sentiments of the tune—a reflective moment not just for those onstage, but perhaps for many in the audience as well. Williams followed the song with a duet with Lee, the sweet and nostalgic “Little Angel, Little Brother,” afterward joking, “We’re gonna make y’all cry, then we’re gonna take y’all up.”
Indeed, the sad songs kept coming, with renditions of “Fruits of My Labor,” “Born to Be Loved” and “Unsuffer Me,” the last of which showed Williams at her most raw, her palms outstretched toward the sky as she sang, as if providing an offering. Of course, true to her word, Williams did take us up again and ended the show with versions of “Honeybee,” “Joy” and “Changed the Locks,” songs that all perfectly depict her signature swagger and take-no-prisoners attitude. By the night’s end, the only constant among the full range of subjects and styles within the music was that incredible voice of hers. Whether upbeat or weighty, Williams always manages to powerfully convey the range of emotions within her music. —Alena Kastin
(Lucinda Williams and Amos Lee play the Beacon Theatre tonight.)
The Decemberists Heat Up a Cold Night
January 25th, 2011The Decemberists – Beacon Theatre – January 24, 2011
The Decemberists played their first of three sold-out shows at the Beacon Theatre last night. Their brand new record, The King Is Dead, is more of a folk, acoustic affair than their previous couple of releases, and so Colin Meloy and Co. took the stage with a lute, fiddle, acoustic guitar, upright bass and accordion to open with two of the stronger cuts off the CD, “Down by the Water” and “Rox in the Box.” Sara Watkins, formerly of Nickel Creek, has been enlisted for this tour, adding fiddle and vocals and plenty of country credentials. Meloy was his usual chatty and affable self from the start, playfully urging the audience to stand up early on, which served to move the show from folk performance to the rock concert that most had been hoping to be a part of—clapping, singing, song requests and shouting soon ensued.
Throughout the night, Meloy indulged in the crisp sound of a 12-string guitar so often it seemed he would have been twice as happy with 24 strings. After the opening stretch of new songs, the Decemberists delved backward into their catalog, with “We Both Go Down Together” and “Engine Driver” off the Picaresque album. “Los Angeles I’m Yours” was electric, figuratively and literally, and punctuated by a grooved-up bass and electric piano, it was one of the highlights of the night. Playing along with the sunnier and warmer theme on the coldest day of the winter (so far), they followed their “January Hymn” with “July, July!” Chris Funk colored the show all night, switching between electric and acoustic instruments and adding wonderful pedal steel to “Rise to Me,” off the newest album.
With the crowd properly heated and the set drawing to a close, Meloy was in good form, bantering between songs and belting out his engaging lyrics. Finishing with a flourish, he finally hit on those middle albums, The Hazards of Love and The Crane Wife with a raucous “The Rake’s Song” and a crowd-pleasing “O Valencia!” Not to leave them wanting, the Decemberists encored with a standout version of the epic “The Island” suite off Crane Wife and the promise of two more nights of engaging thesaurus rock. —A. Stein
Two Nights of the Levon Helm Band This Weekend
November 24th, 2010
Levon Helm is a member of rock royalty. He grew up in Arkansas but headed to Canada after high school to join rockabilly-star Ronnie Hawkins’ backing band, the Hawks. Eventually he played alongside Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Robbie Robertson before those five struck out on their own. By the mid-’60s, Bob Dylan was looking to go electric and he decided the Hawks were the perfect musicians to accompany him. While Dylan’s plugged-in takes on his folk classics would eventually gain widespread acclaim, it certainly didn’t happen overnight. As the audience’s booing and catcalls intensified, Helm decided to leave the band rather than face that negativity night after night.
In the meantime, Dylan and the Hawks headed to Europe and then to Woodstock after Dylan had a disastrous motorcycle accident there. While they were in upstate New York, they recorded a slew of material—eventually released as The Basement Tapes—at Danko, Hudson and Manuel’s house, affectionately known as Big Pink, in West Saugerties, N.Y. With things going so well musically, Danko invited Helm to rejoin them and write their own music, and somewhere along the way the band became the Band. They toured and released seven studio albums—including their spectacular debut, Music from Big Pink, and their fantastic sophomore effort, The Band—and one of the greatest live albums ever, Rock of Ages.
With their supreme musicianship, vivid storytelling and three of the finest voices (Danko’s, Helm’s and Manuel’s) in the history of recorded music, the Band went on to influence countless musicians and songwriters, and their songs, including “The Weight,” “Ophelia,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” and “Up on Cripple Creek,” are an enduring part of the rock canon. But, alas, all good things must come to an end. And so the Band closed up shop at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on Thanksgiving Day 1976. It was, quite literally, The Last Waltz.
Following the Band’s breakup, Helm toured and recorded music and dabbled in acting, appearing in Coal Miner’s Daughter, The Right Stuff and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada among others. And after a successful but costly bout with throat cancer, he began to stage monthly Midnight Rambles at his home studio in Woodstock. Helm sings, entertains and plays the drums and mandolin, accompanied by an all-world backing band of his own, led by sideman extraordinaire Larry Campbell and Helm’s daughter, Amy. And if that weren’t enough, Helm has even put out two new albums, the Grammy-winning Dirt Farmer and Electric Dirt, since 2007. But here’s the best part: Levon Helm (above, playing “Ophelia” on PBS) is bringing his Ramble to the Beacon Theatre on Friday, with Steve Earle, and Saturday, with Bettye LaVette. Do your best to make it there. But be warned that your face will hurt the next day from smiling so much the night before. —R. Zizmor
Ray LaMontagne – Beacon Theatre – November 5, 2009
November 6th, 2009
See Monsters of Folk This Weekend!
November 5th, 2009Monsters of Folk play United Palace tomorrow and the Beacon Theatre on Sunday. Check them out, above, playing “Dear God” with the Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
Spend Two Evenings with Monsters of Folk
November 3rd, 2009Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis (of Bright Eyes), Jim James (of My Morning Jacket) and M. Ward have put together their significant talents to form Monsters of Folk and to record a terrific self-titled album (stream three songs here) that has taken them out on the road and earned them favorable comparisons to the Traveling Wilburys and Crosby, Stills and Nash. They recently played Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit, and tonight they’re performing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. But if you want to see these MoFos in person—playing a mix of originals, covers and songs from their respective catalogs—you’re got two chances: They play United Palace on Friday and the Beacon Theatre on Sunday.
(Check out the the video for “The Right Place,” above.)
Beware of Monsters of Folk!
September 15th, 2009
Like Godzilla or that thing from Cloverfield emerging from the East River, the Monsters of Folk are descending upon our fair city (United Palace on November 6th and the Beacon Theatre on November 8th). Although these monsters—singer-songwriter and guitarist M. Ward, Bright Eyes’ singer-songwriter and guitarist Conor Oberst and multi-instrumentalist and producer Mike Mogis and My Morning Jacket’s singer-songwriter and guitarist Jim James—are far more talented than scary. This supergroup formed in 2004, and they finally have an album, Monsters of Folk, coming out next week. The tour begins next month, and you should expect at least a two-and-a-half-hour “musical event” consisting of well-crafted material from the album, covers and original My Morning Jacket, Bright Eyes and M. Ward tunes, plus a whole lot of guitar. But don’t just take out word for it, check out this American Songwriter interview with the four-headed beast. And if you want to get on this ride, get in line ’cause tickets are going fast.
(Check back with The House List next week for some more Monsters of Folk info.)
Five Questions With…John Parish
June 4th, 2009
John Parish is a musician’s musician. He writes, produces, composes and performs. He’s collaborated with many—including Tracy Chapman, Eels and Giant Sand—but most notably with PJ Harvey. Their first album came out in 1996. The follow-up, A Woman a Man Walked By, was released at the end of March. And now Parish and Harvey are touring the U.S. They play the looking-better-than-ever Beacon Theatre on Tuesday, June 9th. The well-spoken Englishman checked in from the road—in Kentucky—to answer five questions for The House List.
Is there something specifically difficult about playing a New York City show?
I think there is actually. A couple reasons: One, you’ve always got friends there—and it’s always a bit tougher playing in front of friends than it is playing in front of people you don’t know. And, secondly, you’re probably playing in front of your peers as well. And that makes me feel slightly more on edge.
Are there any bands that you listened to growing up that you still listen to?
Absolutely. My first few favorite bands are still very important to me, and I still listen to them. T. Rex’s Electric Warrior was the first album that I had as a kid, and I still play that record a lot. And I still use it as a reference when I’m making records because there’s something about the sound of it I really love. And also as a kid, after T. Rex, I was really into Led Zeppelin, and I still really like their records as well. So, yeah, they’ve really stuck with me.
Are there any new bands you find yourself gravitating toward?
Nobody brand new. The last records that really, really blew my mind were the two Wilco albums that Jim O’Rourke worked on, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and A Ghost Is Born. I think they’re fantastic albums. I mean, they’re not that new, but they seem pretty new on the grand scale of things.
Which NYC musician—past or present—would you most like to play with?
I really like that whole New York scene in the late ’70s, the CBGB’s scene: Patti Smith and Television and Talking Heads, the Ramones. All those bands I really, really like. And they were all important to me.
What’s your biggest nonmusical talent?
You know what? I’m not such a bad cook these days. That’s probably the area in which I’ve shown the most improvement, I reckon, over the last few years…. My family appreciates it, definitely. —R. Zizmor
