Angry Citizen

Skyzoo @ Bowery Ballroom 1/24/07 | MP3

Opening up for Clipse last Wednesday was Brooklyn's own Skyzoo. Skyzoo is a young gun on the scene trying to make a name for himself, which he's been doing by working with members of the Justus League and 9th Wonder. The hardest move has to be opening a show and rhyming to a sea of faces who aren't familiar with your material. You know when you see a new artist on stage and you can tell he or she has been on stage maybe five times in their life. There's that unmistakable look of desperation mixed with confidence on their face. Hard moves aside, Skyzoo hit the stage, lifted up the crowd, and put us on his shoulders for the next thirty minutes. Skyzoo had the look of a veteran short on desperation and long on confidence. He was going all out connecting with every single audience member. If possible he would have walked the floor spitting rhymes for each and every individual present. But he couldn't on account of everyone being on his back. He's also worked with Dilla and Premo to name a few. His flow definitely harkens back to '90's NY hip-hop without a whiff of nostalgia. He's all forward thinking and moving with an aesthetic reminiscent of O.C., AZ and even Murs based on his style and 9th Wonder beats. Skyzoo is at the point where he’ll continue to climb the ladder or fade into mix-tape obscurity. Who knows if he’ll progress past the mix-tap game, either way he’s worth checking out. Did I mention he's from Brooklyn?

Skyzoo's Myspace page
Buy Skyzoo - Present Cloud 9: The 3 Day High
MP3 Skyzoo f/ Torae & Premo - Get It Done
MP3 Skyzoo - Way To Go
MP3 Skyzoo - The Bodega
MP3 OC - Times Up
MP3 AZ - Get High
MP3 Murs - 3:16

Clipse @ Bowery Ballroom 1/24/07 | MP3

First, let me get one thing out of the way. The Bowery Ballroom never ceases to amaze me. I thought the sound last night was fantastic. (commenter's have disagreed with this assessment). I’ve been to countless hip-hop shows where the vocals and music are either too high or too low muddling the sound. I can’t count how many times I‘ve listened to microphone feedback rather than lyrics. There was none of that nonsense last night and it was the cleanest sounding hip-hop show I’ve ever attended. Book 'em all at Bowery please.

    Hell Hath No Fury is far from a classic so all of you unabashed lovers need to tone it down. But it’s not an overrated lyrical disappoint as the contrarians would have you believe. It's much better than your average hip-hop album and some of its reviews are deserved. It definitely leans more to the classic side then the run-of-the-mill side, if we're going to take sides, which is what we're here for. I don’t find anything wrong with Pusha and Malice eluding Tubs and Crockett. It’s strangely amusing, similar to the way Raekown and Ghost are trying to make that Julio Iglesias cream. The Clipse traffic in punch-lines, some are nice like “From Italy's Milan, To The Shores Of Nā Pali, now I consider Ferrari And Salvador Dali's” and others like “...with the keys, move over Alicia” are silly but never Lil’ Wayne stupid. That's the difference. If Lil' Wayne is the barometer for what's whack, Hell Hath isn't even in the same ballpark. C'mon, if we can love an album were Ghostface talks about Fallopian Tube Boulevard there's room for a Samuel L. Jackson sample and your average Wamp, Wamp.

But there's another side of Clipse that's not factored into these discussions. Clipse are a great live act, one of the better hip-hop acts around, and last night was no different. From the opening gun Pusha and Malice brought their ferocious brand of energy to the proceeding. They had their back and forth working strong with Malice delivering a smooth and steady performance and Pusha counterbalancing with an excited, earnest performance. Clipse treated the night like a grand show even though it was moved from the much larger Webster Hall to the friendly, more intimate Bowery due to poor ticket sales. They rampaged through most of Hell Hath No Fury, dipped back to Lord Willin' and touched on their mix-tapes. (And announced We Got If For Cheap Vol III will be released soon.)

Clipse connected with the audience instantly and then re-connected with the rest of the re-up gang, Ab-Liva and Sandman as well as Roscoe P. Coldchain for good measure. Ab-Liva and Roscoe jumped in for a hot version of Cot Damn. (Click here for the video or scroll down to watch) To see Clipse live is to really get a feel for their style and what they’re about. Their clever word play becomes a game with the audience of who's-going-to-sing-the-line-louder, with the audience winning out most of the time. More then anything else Clipse are fun live. There was no bullshit state of hip-hop address, no hype-men (or weed carriers) fucking up the songs, no delays between tracks, just one hit after another. When you factor in how good Hell Hath No Fury and their live show is, where does this leave Clipse? I don't buy the argument that Hell Hath No Fury received great reviews because nothing good was released in '06. This argument has no merit because it dismisses their album and the many other good albums released in '06. Furthermore, Hell Hath grows with each listen. Originally the album hit fast, but it has progressed into a slow burner. What’s interesting is that on repeat listens, Pharrell's beats, which are so prevalent on first listen tend to fade into the background, while the lyrics push up to the top. Clipse clever word play is a lot harder to pull off then people give them credit for. After numerous listens I’m still picking up their play on words and clever quips. Isn’t this what people want? Maybe it’s time for the haters to begrudgingly accept that these guys are not only good, but one of the better acts making music today, crack rap or not.

Cot Damn - Ab-Liva/Clipse/Roscoe P. Coldchain

MORE PHOTOS: Clipse @ Bowery Ballroom 1/24/07

Clipse handed out biodegradable Hell Hath No Fury paper bags as part of their campaign to save the environment. 

MP3 - Clipse f/ Sandman, Ab-Liva - Hate It Or Love It
MP3 - Clipse f/ Sandman, Ab-Liva - Run This Shit
MP3 - Clipse f/ Sandman, Ab-Liva - Roll With The Winners

Check out BrooklynVegan for my Clipse photos and a discussion about the show.

Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton @ Hiro Ballroom 1/09/07

Emily Haines' solo album is a departure from her work with Broken Social Scene and her band Metric. It's more of a meditative, contemplative, and soul bearing experience. At the Hiro Ballroom, Emily played songs from her beautiful and criminally underrated solo album 'Knives Don’t Have Your Back'. The Hiro ballroom was the perfect setting for her new batch of songs which did not require her punky screaming, sweating Metric persona. Emily’s voice can only be described as beautiful and soft, but with an edge. It’s not the complete whisper you hear on Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl. Her voice has become more grown up and weathered over the last few years, yet it still retains a soft, charming, and depressing quality. Her style is more sophisticated and less frenetic then Fiona Apple, and more edgy and less country then Jenny Lewis. It’s a perfect mix that made for a compelling performance which was accompanied by three video screens playing black and white movie clips synched to her performance. It was all very well done and made for a beautiful evening. Highlights included The Lottery and Reading in Bed.

Also there, Counting Stars on the Ceiling, Letters From a Librarian, Crackers United,

Check out this photo from Emily's Philly show a few days before Hiro. Photo by Oliver J. Lopena: oliverlopena.com

 

End of Year ('06) Clean Up Part 2 - Lord Jamar and Sadat X | Jeru The Damaja | DJ Premiere | MP3's

Part two of my year end ('06) clean-up covers some of the performances I never got around to publishing when I should have...
End of Year ('06) Clean Up Part 1

Lord Jamar & Sadat X @ Webster Hall 8/18/06

I can’t say I’m familiar with Lord Jamar’s solo material. The same could be said for a lot of the crowd at Webster Hall. Even so, the crowd gave Lord Jamar tremendous respect for being a veteran in the game. He ran through songs from his solo album and for the most part kept the crowd engaged. Some of the youngins in the audience started to get restless towards the tail end of his performance. The restlessness had more to do with their unfamiliarity with Jamar's new songs and not their ignorance of his status. A quick look around the venue made it clear that everyone was hoping for a Brand Nubian reunion. Where's Sadat? Puba? Towards the end of Lord Jamar’s set, much to everyone's gratification, Sadat-X hit the stage, sans Puba, and both men ripped into Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down. Needless to say the crowd went nuts. It was a great moment and one of the perks of attending a hip-hop show in NY; You never know who's lurking backstage.

On a sad note, Sadat is going away for a year. See ya soon.

MP3 - Brand Nubian - 'Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down' (remix)
MP3 - Grand Puba - '360 Degrees' (What Goes Around)

Lord Jamar

Sadat-X

Jeru The Damaja @ Nokia Theatre 4/22/06

Call this part two of you-never-know-who's-lurking-backstage. Nobody was expecting Jeru to pop out. No buzz in the crowd, no Jeru scuttlebutt. Premiere announced he had a special guest and that got the crowd hot under the collar. Everyone was screaming Guru. The idea of Guru hitting the stage cluttered my mind and left no room for a Jeru thought. Before I could even get my stuff together, out walked Jeru to perform Come Clean. The crowd went ape-shit. It was a quick, but amazing hit, and Jeru was gone before we even knew what happened. I would have loved a few more songs. Some You Can't Stop The Prophet action would have been nice. I'm tracking you Jeru, you better play some more shows.

MP3 Jeru The Damaja - 'The Frustrated -----'

DJ Premiere @ Nokia Theatre 4/22/06

        If you frequent hip-hop shows in New York, more likely then not the artist or DJ screams at you to respect “real-hip-hop” or “real-New-York-hip-hop” or something along those lines. They’re preaching to the choir which makes it extremely annoying and energy draining.  At Webster Hall, some  guy walked on stage before the Roots and yelled at the crowd for not being “old-school-enough.” He then proceeded do the running-man, while rapping along to Scenario as it played in the background. Everyone looked at each other, laughed, and felt a little sad for the guy. When did Scenario become old-school?
    In August, before Wu-Tang hit the stage, Ed Lover came out and blasted the crowd with the same respect-the-old-school-message. He delivered his plea in a comedic way but it still came off bitter and annoying. The one thing he did do was get the crowd all charged up and ready to rumble. But the energy dissipated over the next fifty-minutes while we waited for Wu-Tang.
    This leads me to DJ Premiere. At Nokia Theatre Premiere received a reception that made you think he was the headliner. He engaged in the same "real-hip-hop” speech but it carried more weight coming from Premiere. Nokia Theatre was the classroom, Premo was the professor, and hip-hop was on the lesson plan. He took the audience on a tour of his greatest hits which pretty much tracks NY hip-hop in the '90's. Out of everything he played, N.Y. State of Mind received the biggest crowd reaction. So basically what I'm trying to say is, shut-up about nobody respecting NY hip-hop, play some damn records, have fun, and produce some good music. Oh, and only Premo is allowed to yell at you. Speaking of yelling, someone needs to yell at Premo to leave Aguilera alone and get Gang Starr back together. And to get Nas out Kelis’ ass and record an album. (Sorry for the poor Jeru and Premo photos.)



MP3 Group Home - Livin' Proof
MP3 Group Home - Supa Star

Top Concerts of 2006

Instead of ranking the top concerts of the year in order I've decided to list the ten shows that made the biggest impression followed by every other concert I've seen in '06. Forgot about what you just read for a second because it's not 100% accurate. Sleater Kinney was hands down the best show of the year. That being said, I saw a lot of concerts in '06. Most were enjoyable, some were awful and a handful were off the charts fantastic. The ten concerts below made the biggest impact for various reasons. Sleater Kinney was a juggernaut on stage delivering the best performance of the year. It might just be the best performance I've ever seen, it was that good. Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown was able to maintain his zealot like intensity all four times I saw him perform. Wolfmother proved they were an amazing live act regardless of your disdain for their sound. Wu-Tang and Ghostface showed everyone that the Wu still has something left on their fastball by delivering passionate and soulful performances. Will Sheff of Okkervil River provided the most earnest and heartfelt performance of the year. Rakim, Sonic Youth and Pearl Jam showed how to age gracefully and still maintain an intense and lively show. And last but not least, TV On The Radio backed up their press by offering a stripped down hard rocking performance which revealed even more layers of their sound. Overall I had a great year hitting up dozens and dozens of shows and I hope to bring even more photos and re-caps of your (my) favorite bands in the new year. Here's the list...

Sleater Kinney @ Webster Hall 8/02/06

Sleater Kinney was hands down the best concert of 2006. The ladies played a ferocious set in a 100 degree Webster Hall. Don't mistake their performance for a Rolling Stonesesque  one-last-lap-around-the-block-victory-tour-taking-bows-and-kissing-babies performance. Sleater Kinney approached their last New York show like a prize fighter. They came out swinging early and didn't stop punching until the crowd was damn near ready to pass out. They performed as if their legacy depended on it, trying to prove their worth and fighting against irrelevance. It made for a compelling and memorable performance.

See my original Review: Sleater Kinney @ Webster Hall 8/02/06
More Photos:  Sleater Kinney @ Webster Hall 8/02/06
Video: Dig Me out

Sunset Rubdown @ Bowery Ballroom 9/24/06

From my original review:

I don't know if it's the magic of the Bowery Ballroom or the fact that the band has gelled since their Mercury Lounge shows. Whatever the reason, Sunset Rubdown sounded more concise then any Krug led band I've seen this past year. Krug opened with a new song similar to Winged/Wicked Things and then rolled right into Stadiums And Shrines II. Speaking of Winged/Wicked Things, the crowd was treated to a dead on version of the song that was recorded for a Daytrotter session. Winged/Wicked Things sounded better than any song played all night and makes you wonder why it didn't make the album? The first half of the set was out of control amazing. I was waiting for an ebb in the flow but the energy kept building and the ebb never materialized. The band played pretty much everything off of 'Shut Up I Am Dreaming', as well as an "old song, re-worked" according to Krug. The band closed the first set with crowd favorite, I'm Dreaming of Places Where Lovers Have Wings. Then came back out for an encore and performed a haunting version of The Empty Threats of Little Lords.

See my original Review: Sunset Rubdown @ Bowery Ballroom 9/24/06
More Photos: Sunset Rubdown @ Bowery Ballroom 9/24/06
Videos: Three Colors

TV On The Radio @ Irving Plaza 10/18/06

From my original review:

During Blues From Down Here, Tunde, delivered the intense line "pull the pin, drop it in, let it wash away" with a steely gaze. Later on in the set, I Was A Lover and New Health Rock, provided a powerful one-two punch that had Irving Plaza on its knees. Wolf Like Me played as the thundering and marauding rock and roll song it was meant to be. During Let The Devil In, the band brought out Grizzly Bear and friends to dance around, conjure up the devil, and transform the song into a spiritual hymn. TV On The Radio put everyone on notice that they're the best rock and roll band around.

See my original Review: TV On The Radio @ Irving Plaza 10/18/06
More Photos: TV On The Radio @ Irving Plaza 10/18/06

Rakim @ BB Kings 11/25/06

From my original review:

Speaking of crowd control, Rakim had it covered from step one. He stalked the stage like a bull, fully aware of his lyrical power and legendary status. He made the crowd beg for his hits, which they willingly did. When Rakim quieted down, the crowd followed suit waiting for Rakim to speak. As the show carried on Rakim became more comfortable, even changing his sneakers mid-set. The crowd caught the bug, loosened up, and from then on it was a full fledged love fest. Rakim signed autographs and even gave me pound. He could have asked everyone very nicely to hand over their wallets and people would have obliged.

See my original Review: Rakim @ BB Kings 11/25/06
More Photos: Rakim @ BB Kings 11/25/06
Videos: Follow The Leader, Paid In Full, Microphone Fiend



Okkervil River @ Bowery Ballroom 10/14/06 

From my original review:

The sound was great, Sheff''™s voice was superb, and the band was tight in all aspects. All forces were pulling in one direction, and that direction led to a memorable show. Highlights of the night were The President's Dead, Last Love Song For Now and Kansas City. Before Kansas City, Sheff announced this was the last time they would play the song live. What a shame, because the last half of the song had the Bowery Ballroom bouncing with excitement. The intensity and sense of urgency was present from beginning to end... 

See my original Review: Okkervil River @ Bowery Ballroom 10/14/06
More Photos: Okkervil River @ Bowery Ballroom 10/14/06

Ghostface Killah @ Nokia Theatre 4/22/06

Ghostface could do no wrong in '06. Even with the sound system fighting him all night, Ghost still managed to connect with the crowd. The only downside was the entire Theodore Unit screaming Ghost's lines over him. So pipe down next time Shawn Wiggs and let the master take it home.

More Photos: Ghostface Killah @ Nokia Theatre 4/22/06

Wolfmother @ Bowery Ballroom 4/11/06

Love 'em or hate 'em, you can't deny Wolfmother's prowess as a live act. When you listen to Joker And The Thief you think it's impossible for Wolfmother to pull it off live. Not so. Not only do they pull it off live, they manage to make it sound more brash, pompous and balls to wall then you can imagine. Not to shabby. If you're in to throwing devil horns, guitar solos, huge afros, pilfered riffs and a good time, check out Wolfmother. If not, you can hang out at home and spin a White Stripes or Black Sabbath album. Either way it's a win-win. 

More Photos: Wolfmother @ Bowery Ballroom 4/11/06

Sonic Youth @ McCarren Pool 8/12/06

From my original review:

On night two Sonic Youth continued to roll along. They played Teen Age Riot right off the bat, riling up the crowd, and producing one of the highlights of the weekend. Check out the Teen Age Riot video I youtubed. The set-list was even more 'Rather Ripped' heavy with the exception of Eric's Trip and 100%. The one song which exceeded my expectations live was Turquoise Boy. Thurston Moore hijacked the song around the three minute mark giving it more muscle. Due to...curfew restrictions Sonic Youth wasn't given an opportunity to stretch out their wings and produce an epic show.  Regardless, for two days Sonic Youth's mastery was clearly on display for all of Brooklyn to see.

See my original Review: Sonic Youth @ McCarren Pool 8/12/06
More Photos: Sonic Youth @ McCarren Pool 8/12/06
More Photos: Sonic Youth @ McCarren Pool 8/11/06
Video: Teen Age Riot, The World Looks Red

Wu Tang Clan @ Webster Hall 8/18/06

From my original review: 

After a long wait Wu-Tang finally hit the stage. Each member came out separately to one of his solo hits. It was a Wu-Tang roll call with Method Man and Ghostface being the last two out. After each member got their minute in the spotlight they went straight into Method Man, and never looked back. Over the two nights they played everything off of '36 Chambers' except, Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber and Clan in da Front. On night two they almost ran through every song on '36 chambers'.

See my original Review: Wu-Tang Clan @ Webster Hall 8/18/06
More Photos: Wu-Tang Clan @ Webster Hall 8/18/06
More Photos: Wu-Tang Clan @ Webster Hall 8/17/06
Videos: Method Man, Triumph Part 1 and Part 2, Bring Da Ruckus, Mystery of Chessboxin'

Pearl Jam @ Verizon Center 5/30/06

I don't know what I can say about Pearl Jam to combat your preconceived notions. I've seen them live so many times I've lost count. Their live show continues to blow me away and their consistency and dedication to their fans remains strong after all these years. Even if you don't like the band or their more recent material, I recommend checking them out live at least once.

More Photos: Pearl Jam @ Verizon Center 5/30/06

The Best of the Rest.

So close to greatness.

Broken Social Scene @ Webster Hall 1/26/06
The Ponys @ Bowery Ballroom 4/04/06
Wolf Parade @ Webster Hall 4/10/06 Photos : Video of Hadji getting down on the theremin.
The National @ Webster Hall 5/21/06 Photos
Broken Social Scene @ Prospect Park 7/06/06 Photo
The Roots @ Webster Hall 8/14/06 Photos
Sonic Youth @ McCarren Pool 8/11/06 Photos : Video The World Looks Red
Wu-Tang Clan @ Webster Hall 8/17/06 Photos
The Evangelicals @ Bowery Ballroom 9/08/06 Photo 1, Photo 2
Asobi Seksu @ Bowery Ballroom 9/08/06 Photos
The Danielson Familie @ Hammerstein Ballroom 9/25/06 Photos
Viva Voce @ Bowery Ballroom 10/12/06
Grizzly Bear @ Irving Plaza 10/18/06 Photos
Mudhoney @ Knitting Factory 11/18/06 Photos : Video Suck You Dry, Video two
Styles P @ BB Kings 11/25/06 Photos : Video Wild Out
Every other time I saw Pearl Jam this year

Not bad, not bad at all.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Bowery Ballroom 2/24/06 Photos
Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Bowery Ballroom 2/25/06
The Strokes @ Hammerstein Ballroom 3/03/06 Photos
Art Brut @ Bowery ballroom 4/04/06 Photos
Wolf Parade @ Webster Hall 4/09/06 Photos
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Bowery Ballroom 4/14/06 Photos
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Bowery Ballroom 4/15/06 Photos
Slick Rick @ Nokia Theatre 4/22/06 Photos
Baby Dayliner @ Webster Hall 5/21/06
Sunset Rubdown @ Mercury Lounge 5/24/06 Photos
Ryan Adams @ Bowery Ballroom 6/24/06 Photos : Video Cold Roses
Voxtrot @ Prospect Park 6/30/06
Siren Festival: Dirty on Purpose/Tapes N Tapes/The Cribs/Serena Maneesh/Art Brut/Scissor Sisters @ Coney Island 7/15/06 Photos
Fiona Apple @ Central Park 7/26/06
Bloc Party @ McCarren Pool  7/29/06 Photos
Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ McCarren Pool 8/11/06 Photos Video Cheated Hearts
The Pharcyde @ Webster Hall 8/14/06
Boris @ North Six 9/11/06 Photos : Video
Flaming Lips  @ Hammerstein Ballroom 9/25/06 Photos : Video Yeah Yeah Yeah Song, Vein of Stars
Be Your Own Pet @ Bowery Ballroom 9/28/06 Photos
Elvis Perkins in Dearland @ Bowery Ballroom 10/14/06 Photos

Could have been better.

Arctic Monkeys @ Webster Hall 3/25/06 Photos : Video  Fake Tales of San Francisco
Papoose @ Nokia Theatre 4/22/06 Photo
Band of Horses @ Bowery Ballroom 6/15/06 Photos
Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ McCarren Pool 8/12/06 Photos
Lord Jamar @ Webster Hall 8/18/06 Photo
Frank Black @ Southpaw 8/19/06 Photos

Get me out of this venue.
Animal Collective @ Webster Hall 3/23/06 Photos
French Kicks @ Webster Hall 4/10/06
Rhymefest @ Webster Hall 8/17/06 Photo 1, Photo 2
Black Lips @ Bowery Ballroom 9/28/06 Photos
Silversun Pickups @ Bowery Ballroom 10/12/06 Photos
Modest Mouse @ Bowery Ballroom 11/18/06 Photos : Video  Johnny Marr and David Cross