INSTA-REVIEW: Raising Sand

NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO BY ED KING ROCK EXPERT Today I set out to listen to and share my thoughts on the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss album, Raising Sand. This collaboration, which the artists have taken great pains to say is not an album of “duets,” was produced by T-Bone Burnett. I’ve been looking forward to hearing it in its entirety. I must note that unlike most of my Insta-Reviews, I couldn’t help but hear snippets of some of these songs on the artists’ recent radio interviews, but I’ll try to keep my thoughts as fresh as possible. You have […]

SHOCK & AWE: 15 THINGS THOU SHALL NOT KNOW ABOUT DAVID DYE AND THE WORLD CAFE

1. All things considered, he’d rather be a DJ than an author. As part of the relentless media blitz for his recently-published book The Best Of The World Cafe, Mr. Dye has been jet-setting from one affiliate to another, planting the flag in exotic capitals of commerce and culture such as Akron, Louisville and Milwaukee. There, he is invariably greeted by a grateful populace as the man who brought water to the arid, choice-less deserts of the airwaves over middle America; a welcome, earthy alternative to the grating crackle and slick drivel of corporate radio. Having just touched town in […]

All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping

HOOT NANNY: Perkasie At The Fire, Last Night FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PERKASIE AT THE FIRE LAST NIGHT 1. Country/folk outfit Perkasie might seem more at home performing in an old Texas saloon with a worn-out bar piano, but they manage to get folks at The Fire tapping their feet to a collection of catchy Southern-style tunes. Subject matter ranges from grillin’ and drinkin’ some beers to more subdued whistle-along ballads about small-town life. With alternative acts like Bright Eyes and Murder by Death making mid-career transitions into country territory, it’s refreshing to see a band like Perkasie […]

EXIT, STAGE LEFT: The Amy Winehouse Object Lesson Guide To Pop Stardom

Today’s Lesson: If you can at all avoid it, try not to call the audience “monkey cunts.” From the BBC: Amy Winehouse [pictured, right, at the Electric Factory this past spring] was booed by fans as she delivered a shambolic set on the first night of her UK tour in Birmingham. The singer also dedicated a song to her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, who is being held on remand pending charges including GBH. During the show, the 24-year-old told the crowd: “To them people booing, wait ’til my husband gets out of incarceration. And I mean that.” Shortly after the show […]

INSTA-REVIEW: 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT JAY-Z AT THE FILLMORE LAST NIGHT

1. I can’t prove this, but I am pretty sure he doesn’t have anywhere near 99 problems. I would be surprised if he has more than four or five problems. And in all likelihood, they are of the broken shoelace variety. 2. To the best of my knowledge, he has not made a false move in his life. Even when he was dealing drugs, he played the game, the game didn’t play him. 3. Exhibit A would be the fact that he, like, gets to bang Beyonce every night. 4. No matter what happens next, he will be remembered as […]

INSTA-REVIEW: Five Things You Need To Know About Melt Banana At First Unitarian Last Night

1. Lead singer Yasuko O. is cute as pie, which is a delightful contrast to her seemingly bad-ass reputation. Live, she barks, chokes, shriek and screeches her incoherent English lyrics just as she would on any album. But then she stops to take a breather and she’s all smiles and peace-fingers. 2. My guess is that 75% of last night’s crowd has an Asian fetish going on (which is fine by me). When Yasuko stopped mid-set and said to the crowd, “we have tee-surts, um… tee-shuts, hehehe, tee-shirts!” half the crowd swooned at the sound of her adorably broken English […]

SECOND OPINION: 5 MORE Things You Should Know About Jay-Z Last Night At The Fillmore

H TO THE IZZO: Jigga, The Fillmore, Last Night 1. Live hip-hop could use more live instrumentation. Jay-Z’s 8 piece band, plus DJ, breathed new life into classics like “99 Problems” and ” P.S.A” giving them the deep kick and crunchy shred that only a live band can deliver. 2. Black is gangsta. From Hov’s upside down Betsy Ross Flag (the one with thirteen stars) T-shirt with black stripes instead of the traditional red, white and blue version, to the band decked out in vintage black suit vests, white shirts and black ties — Hov’s political statement can be summed […]