Photos courtesy of Gregg Greenwood | www.gregggreenwood.com
Posts Tagged ‘Gregg Greenwood’
Robyn - Webster Hall - August 4, 2010
Thursday, August 5th, 2010Spiritualized - Radio City Music Hall - July 30, 2010
Monday, August 2nd, 2010
The Black Keys Sell Out
Thursday, July 29th, 2010The Black Keys - Terminal 5 - July 28, 2010
Historically any musical innovation has come from a hybridization of styles. In the case of the Black Keys, they’ve taken their love of the bare-bones sound of drums and an electric guitar and traced its origins all the way back to the Delta blues, then combined it with a variety of influences like Link Wray and Wu-Tang among others, eventually collaborating with Mos Def and Q-Tip on the rap-rock album Blakroc. Longtime friends since high school, guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney didn’t necessarily set out to pioneer a unique sound. They took elements from the music they grew up with and added tried-and-true classic-rock screaming distortion.
The Black Keys played three sold-out show in two days, and they headlined Terminal 5 last night, having just left Central Park’s SummerStage a few hours before, not that it showed in their performance. The stage show was as stripped down as the duo—although they played their new material as a foursome, adding keys and bass to the mix—no lasers or elaborate lights, just a huge drum kit stage right, a stack of amps behind Auerbach and a huge banner of two black hands clasped together inside a tire, a reference to their recent album, Brothers, and even Auerbach and Carney’s personal connection, at the back of the stage.
The Keys played their Zeppelin-referenced blues with big crunchy distortion guitar that became another voice alongside Auerbach’s eerie Hendrix-like vocals, which are as equally at home delivering hushed falsetto on “The Lengths” as getting the Led out on “10 A.M. Automatic.” Hardly pausing between songs, they seemed to be taking their Ohio Midwestern work ethic to heart onstage, delivering on the promise of two friends getting to do what they sincerely love: Brothers in riff-heavy blues rock. —Jason Dean
Photos courtesy of Gregg Greenwood | www.gregggreenwood.com
The Flaming Lips Light Up SummerStage
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010The Flaming Lips - SummerStage - July 26, 2010
Earlier this year Wayne Coyne, frontman and face of the Flaming Lips, turned 49. For lesser musicians and performers, the late 40s mark artistic decline and looming retirement. However, for Coyne, aging is simply an opportunity to express bold new ideas, bolstered by the credibility of psychedelic rock’s premier band. Last year the Flaming Lips released Embryonic, a double album sprawling with bizarre imagery and extended psychedelic meditations. While the album fit comfortably in the band’s sizable discography, spanning 12 studio albums, it also came as a surprise. Embryonic, ironically, finds the Flaming Lips pushing forward rather than retreating into the comforts of their definitive style. Similarly, on a tepid Monday night at Central Park SummerStage, Coyne and the rest of the band displayed their boundless energy, presenting a live show unlike any other current group.
The entire performance unraveled as a life-affirming experience with “songs about optimistic ways of life.” This mantra began with Coyne descending into the crowd in a giant bubble. OK, maybe that wasn’t original for the Flaming Lips. However, over the course of their two-hour set spanning the group’s choice tracks, Coyne brought out new tricks such as a light-triggered gong, an audience sing-along for Embryonic’s “I Can Be a Frog” and a music visualization that would make iTunes jealous. Additionally, long-time fans gained their rewards from Transmissions from the Satellite Heart’s hit “She Don’t Use Jelly,” while more recent admirers got to sing along with “Do You Realize??” and the politically charged “The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song.” So, though Coyne and the rest of the Flaming Lips are quickly aging toward AARP membership, their penchant for engaging live shows progresses and thrives. —Jared Levy
Photos courtesy of Gregg Greenwood | www.gregggreenwood.com
CocoRosie - Terminal 5 - June 11, 2010
Monday, June 14th, 2010
Public Image Limited - Terminal 5 - May 18, 2010
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
Massive Attack - Terminal 5 - May 12, 2010
Thursday, May 13th, 2010
Broken Social Scene - Webster Hall - May 7, 2010
Monday, May 10th, 2010
Sia - Terminal 5 - May 6, 2010
Friday, May 7th, 2010
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears - Bowery Ballroom - February 25, 2010
Sunday, February 28th, 2010
Don’t Miss Dawes the Next Time They’re in Town
Monday, February 22nd, 2010Dawes - The Bowery Ballroom - February 19, 2010
The L.A.-based quartet Dawes played a handful of NYC shows last year, all of them as openers. But on Friday night, serving as headliners, they sold out the venerable Bowery Ballroom. Much has been made of their musical roots and the precociousness of their debut album, North Hills—most often mentioning Americana and alt-country, or comparing their sound to that which has come out of the legendary rock and roll neighborhood Laurel Canyon, comparing their evocative lyrics to those of the Band and comparing their harmonies to those of Crosby, Stills and Nash. Instead, though, let’s just go with this: If Dawes were a van, there’d be a DON’T COME A KNOCKIN’ sticker on the back bumper ’cause this band rocks.
The group is led by its 24-year-old frontman, Taylor Goldsmith, who has serious pipes, dexterous guitar skills and exuberance and stage presence to spare. (Plus, he resembles a beardless Charlie Day.) And although he sings and rips it on guitar, the rest of the band—Wylie Gelber on bass, Griffin Goldmsith (Taylor’s 19-year-old brother) on drums and Alex Casnoff on keys—is just as talented. The show began with a mellow one-two punch of “When You Call My Name” and “Give Me Time” before Taylor happily addressed the crowd: “Last February, we were the first of three bands to play here. And look at us now!”
But something special about this band is how easily they move from a slow song, like the harmonious new tune “So Well” to an upbeat one, like “My Girl to Me,” which really comes to rocking life onstage. Of course, the high point of the night was probably the band’s set closer, the anthem “When My Time Comes,” which inspired the most rousing, fist-pumping sing-along The Bowery Ballroom has seen in quite some time. That moment would have been a fitting end to the show. But this was Friday night in New York City, and the headlining Dawes didn’t disappoint with their two-song encore—a pitch-perfect take on Warren Zevon’s resplendent “Lawyers, Guns and Money” and a dreamy, swirling, jammed-out “Peace in the Valley.” It made for one hell of a Friday night. —R. Zizmor
Photos courtesy of Gregg Greenwood | www.gregggreenwood.com
Trey Anastasio Medals at Terminal 5
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010Trey Anastasio - Terminal 5 - February 16, 2010
Toward the beginning of the second set of Trey Anastasio’s marathon show at Terminal 5 last night, someone tossed the Phish guitarist a Brian Leetch USA hockey jersey, which he displayed on his amp the rest of the night and then wore during the encore. It was appropriate because Anastasio was playing like an Olympian. From the get-go, it was pure joy, as the mind-probing lights seemed to be induced purely by his smile and energy. Hopping around the stage like a moguls skier, he eased his band into the evening with strong versions of “Push On ’Til the Day,” “Mozambique” and “Gotta Jibboo.”
The Classic TAB, with a horn section and a bass-drums-keys rhythm section backing Anastasio, acted more like a jazz ensemble than a jam band. While it would have been easy for everything to devolve into filler between axe solos, Anastasio has fleshed out this side project with its own fully functioning repertoire. This got mixed up a bit at the end of the first set with an extended solo acoustic sing-along featuring the typically rocking Phish songs “Sample in a Jar,” “Chalkdust Torture” and “Wilson” that was pure joy for musician and audience alike. The second set featured counterintuitively horn-heavy covers of classic-rock staples “Black Dog” (mightily sung by Jennifer the trumpet player) and “Sultans of Swing.”
Still the highlights of the night were when the band relaxed into a groove and Anastasio just shredded. The band reduced to a quartet on songs like “Jibboo” and “Sand”—the bass and drums transforming into gates in a slalom downhill, and Anastasio barreling downhill, gaining momentum and dangerous speeds, with just fractions of a second the difference between gold and crashing and burning. And at the critical moment, the horns would return for a tremendous climax, and there was no question about who would be taking the podium. —A. Stein
Photos courtesy of Gregg Greenwood | www.gregggreenwood.com
Hot Music on a Cold Night
Monday, February 1st, 2010Cold War Kids - Terminal 5 - January 29, 2010
On one of the coldest nights the city has seen this winter, the California rockers Cold War Kids rewarded the sold-out Terminal 5 crowd for braving the weather with a stunning set. Bathed in dark purple light, the band crawled through a moody intro while four projectors flashed on square screens behind them. Simple and beautifully melodic, their music started out punchy and brimming with blue notes, which set the tone for the rest of the show. The laid-back “Audience” awoke the fans from their winter coma, while the following “Red Wine, Success!” set the groove.
Jonnie Russell’s raw guitar sound expanded all the way to the top floor of the venue, ringing out clear with nothing more than the most basic distortion. And he belted out awesome harmonies that complemented lead singer Nathan Willet’s unique voice. All the while bassist Matt Maust stumbled around the stage, leaning into his bandmates and kicking at the piano stool when Willet manned the keys. By the time they played “Hang Me Up to Dry”—the biggest single off their first album, Robbers & Cowards—the crowd was screaming with excitement, which carried through to the end of the hour-plus set.
The rest of the show featured much more percussive and fast-paced songs, like a rowdy version of “Something Is Not Right with Me,” highlighted by a horns section erratically stomping around the stage, blaring into any available microphone. Willet and his band then treated the crowd twice more: First, they finished their encore with an explosive version of crowd-favorite “We Used to Vacation.” And second, as the fans trekked back out into the cold, they were met with flyers for a free download of the entire concert they had just experienced. —Sean O’Kane
Photos courtesy of Gregg Greenwood | www.gregggreenwood.com
Julian Casablancas Returns Home
Friday, January 15th, 2010Julian Casablancas - Terminal 5 - January 14, 2010
Everyone was calling Julian Casablancas by just his first name. Near the ticket window it was “Julian” and upstairs in VIP it was a more familiar “Jules.” Opener Tanlines even referred to him as the vaguely messianic “JC.” Apparently New York City assumed it was on a first name basis with the guy who allegedly saved rock and roll from the Lower East Side in 2001. As if winking at 3,000 people at once, Casablancas opened with “Ludlow St.,” an overly sentimental ode to the street he helped make famous. Of course it was also to say that if we thought we knew him, he most assuredly knew us better.
Casablancas, dressed almost head to foot in black leather came to the stage last, a subtle tip to the significance of his return to the city that bore him. After “Ludlow St.,” he directed the band in the wailing and enormous “River of Brakelights,” a song that few outside the first 20 rows grasped or reacted to appropriately. Following quickly with “11th Dimension,” Casablancas turned Terminal 5 into a sea of jumping heads and bobbing angular haircuts. And during “Out of the Blue,” he whipped around the microphone by its cord before ripping through the last chorus. It was the kind of maneuver that said, “I’ve still got it” and “I never really left.”
Of course this return couldn’t be complete without an unscripted ending. After closing his first encore with “4 Chords of the Apocalypse,” Casablancas slammed the microphone to the stage and reached into the crowd with all the magnanimous effect of a messiah. The crowd pushed toward its hero and he seemed visibly affected by this display. Terminal 5 turned on the music and the crowd was supposed to leave. But no one moved. So Casablancas returned, rather sheepishly, saying, “We really were done.” He then played “Tourist,” as if to indicate that even the messiah feels a little weird when everyone tries to know his name. And the crowd, unabashedly, sang along with their Julian. —Geoff Nelson
Photos courtesy of Gregg Greenwood | www.gregggreenwood.com
Arctic Monkeys - Terminal 5 - December 10, 2009
Friday, December 11th, 2009
Bat for Lashes - Webster Hall - August 12, 2009
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
TV on the Radio - Prospect Park Bandshell - August 11, 2009
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
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