Emily Woesthoff Archive
Moneen – “The World I Want to Leave Behind”
Record Label: Vagrant Records
Genre: Rock/ Emoish
Band Link: www.moneen.com
Buy on Amazon.com
Moneen has, yet again, produced the perfect reason to sit with, listen to, and truly appreciate an album. The World I Want to Leave Behind is a masterpiece with carefully crafted details in each track. It is important to give this record undivided attention, since a distracted listener could easily miss some of the more intricate melodies hidden in these songs. Every sound fits like a puzzle piece and sounds so natural that some of this band’s talent might go unnoticed to a casual listener. With their fourth full-length album, Moneen has once again shown impressive musicianship that continues to push their talent to a new level.
Read more…
Shiragirl
Opening Bands:
Date:
Venue: Irving Plaza
City/State/Country: New York, NY
Band Links: link
If you’ve ever been to the Warped Tour, there’s no doubt that you saw a band on the most rockinist, DIY stage that exists: The Shiragirl Stage. If you were lucky enough, you might have had the opportunity to see the stage’s namesake, Shiragirl.
Opening up for Rancid on their fourth night at NYC’s Irving Plaza, the girls did not disappoint. Like a burst of energy, Shira (vocals) commanded the stage like a seasoned veteran. She was at ease on stage, and made no bones about jumping into the crowd and climbing onto the Irving Plaza speakers to look down on the dazzled crowd below. The band, equally as skilled, provided the perfect backdrop for her dynamic presence. Even though Shiragirl were enlisted to be the openers for Rancid this night, the band didn’t get the memo, because they killed it like they were the headliners. A 0
They showcased songs from their forthcoming album, “Scream Spit Sing.” Songs including Anthem, Days, and Tantrum are sure to leave you singing along afterwards. Those lucky enough to meet up with the band at their merch table, would have snagged a complimentary advance preview of the album as an added bonus to remember their set. Do yourself a favor and check out Shiragirl, they might be a band of girls, but they’re certainly not your typical girl band.
To catch the Shiragirl bug for yourself, you can see them in NYC at ABC No Rio on September 6th and opening up for NOFX on October 15th at Irving Plaza.
Here’s some photos from the show:
RATING & SUMMARY:
Bottom Line: Shiragirl kills it.
Favorite Songs:
Overall Rating: 
Rancid
Opening Bands: Sick of it All
Date:
Venue: Irving Plaza
City/State/Country: New York, NY
Band Links:
If the Punk Rock Academy had a 10 year high school reunion, it would look a lot like Irving Plaza did on August 13th. This, the first night of Rancid’s sold out five-evening stint at the club was the epitome of what punk rock is today, “kids” in their late 20’s, still grasping on to their formative years. The band on stage looked pretty much as they did ten years ago (never mind the drummer swap), while the crowd has gotten a little bit older, and a little bit balder. Everyone was pumped at first, with the pit in full swing, toward the end of the evening, however, the crowd was visibly worn out and more sing-along than dance-along.
The set started off with a few lone hi-hat hits from Branden Steineckert (formerly of The Used). Once they launched into their first song, “Radio” the crowd completely erupted. Lars commanded the stage and the mic as he left most of the onstage banter to himself. Th e set list was largely comprised of Lars-fronted songs like “Maxwell Murder”, “The Wars End”, “Bloodclot” and “Roots Radicals”. Lars even sang the vocals for the Op Ivy hit “Knowledge” while Tim (aka Lint) stayed quiet.
Whether he was sick or otherwise impaired, Tim seemed to have a bit of an off night. He came on stage donning an oversized trench coat, which he kept on well into the set. He kept pretty quiet and looked a little dazed, but whatever he was feeling didn’t stop him from still putting on an amazing show. Perhaps there was something going around the tour bus because Matt Freeman , the best darn bassist in the world, sounded (believe it or not) even raspier than usual.
The transplanted Branden Steineckert was solid on drums, but the show just was not the same without Brett Reed. Sure the new guy deserves credit, but Branden didn’t yet seem confident in himself. His performance lacked fluidity, but that will come with time. It must be pretty nerve racking to play the songs you grew up listening to as a fan and it showed, though only slightly. Branden has some big shoes to fill, and still s eems to be looking for the band’s approval with a watchful eye.
At one point, Lars made a mention of unity and solace to be found at punk rock shows, and how misfits had somewhere where they didn’t feel so out of place. Though more fit for a younger crowd, the speech was heartwarming yet slightly depressing at the same time. It’s unfortunate how most “punk” shows today are all about the mainstream and the underground world from which Rancid was able to emerge is now sleeping at best.
The essence of the underground was back for tonight, though, and will linger over the next four nights. With such a catalogue of gems, the band could feasibly play a different set each of the five nights. This quasi high school reunion is a welcomed one and will hopefully pave the way for a rebirth of the scene Rancid helped to create.
Here’s a bunch of photos of Rancid:
RATING & SUMMARY:
Bottom Line: Rancid never disappoints. They just go out there and do what they do best, while let ting the crowd relive a little bit of their lost youth.
Favorite Songs:
Overall Rating: 
Mighty Mighty Blogtones
At the end of 2003, when The Mighty Mighty Bosstones announced their hiatus, my little plaid world crumbled to pieces. I just couldn’t understand it. “Pay Attention” certainly didn’t get the recognition it deserved, but “Jack Knife to a Swan” was a really solid album. I was sure if they went out and played a little bit more, the rest of the world would don their creepers and dance. I will always remember one of the best shows I’ve ever been to as The Bosstones at Bowery Ballroom back in 2000, and one of the high points of my rock and roll life as meeting Dicky Barrett a year prior at The Roseland and having him sign my ticket. Ah, to be young again.
Fast forward to December ‘07 as the Bosstones forego the hiatus and get set to play their 10th installment of the Hometown Throwdown and I’m nowhere to be found. Nope, I’m on tour with friends of mine, and I miss the entire, wondrous event. I never thought I’d get over that, until Bamboozle rolled around. Finally, I’d see The Bosstones once again.
Making the arduous trek to Giants Stadium on Sunday at first seemed more of a hassle than it was worth. Fifteen dollars for parking? You’ve got to be kidding me. They didn’t even give me a parking pass, at least something to show for my hard-earned money; they just took my money and allowed me to drive away. I arrived early since there were a few other bands I wanted to see, but The Bosstones were certainly my main squeeze of the day. Looking at the crowd I felt old and way out of touch and then it happened. A friend of mine (to remain nameless) had a dayglow pink bracelet around her wrist. As she was about to leave, I asked her where that bracelet got her, she quickly slipped it off her wrist and on to mine saying that she wasn’t sure, but probably back stage or something. It was that “or something” that quickly made life worth living.
Ten minutes before the Bosstones went on, they were standing right behind the stage, reuniting with other bands and giving bro hugs. And there I was, about ten feet away from all of that glorious plaid. It seems that this bracelet didn’t only get be backstage, but physically on the stage. So, as the band played their set, and sweated in front of a huge crowd, I stood on the sidelines of the stage, between the guitar rack and the speakers. It’s quite possible that this was the high point of my life, as Someday I Suppose brought tears to my eyes.
The performance was flawless. There was no time for in-between-song-banter; after all, they only had a 45 minute set. It was like they had never left, all sporting suits and looking rad in plaid. They played fan favorites like “Hope I Never Lose My Wallet”, “The Rascal King”, “1-2-8″ and of course, the ultimate crowd-pleaser, “The Impression That I Get”. Even though they left out my favorites, “Pictures to Prove It” and “Toxic Toast”, I wouldn’t have traded their set for the world. The crowd was going nuts, and was captivated by the crowded horn section, the magnetic Dicky Barrett, and of course, the dancing guy.
They left the stage with the crowd calling for more and chanting “Mighty Mighty” and “Bosstones”, but to no avail; the band did not return for an encore. Hopefully, Barrett’s exiting words, spoken to the ska-thirsty Jersey crowd, will hold true, “we’ll see you again real soon”. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
My Night at the Rumble
I wasn’t sure what I was in for as I slowly stepped with a mass of people toward the turn styles at Madison Square Garden. All week, I had heard the Royal Rumble described as “amazing” and “worth the $80 per ticket”. In my mind, words like “white trash” came to mind. Still, I gladly accepted my “limited view” ticket with a smile because, apparently, I was lucky to have gotten a ticket at all.
I saw a lot of young mothers with kids in tow, some red bandannas a la Hulk Hogan, lots of gaudy t-shirts and tons of championship belts. As I showed my ticket and walked through, I noticed everyone else who was doing the same was letting out a victorious “woo.” No, not like Homer Simpson, this was instead a tribute to wrestler Ric Flair.
I took my seat. The lights went out. It turns out our view wasn’t really very limited at all, we just couldn’t see anyone walking down the catwalk, which was fine by me. The crowd sang the National Anthem, which was followed by booming chants of “USA, USA.” I thought I was about to get shot at or something, it was a bit creepy.
I have to say, five minutes after we were seated, we encountered one of the evening’s highlights. Michael Buffer stepped into the ring and let it out. That’s right! I heard him utter that famous line, live! It completely was worth my 80 bucks. For all of you who aren’t Michael Buffer enthusiasts, he’s the guy who says, “let’s get ready to rumble!” Man, typing those words just don’t do this moment justice.
When the lights came up, the audience was nearly blinded by Flair’s sparkling golden robe. It was quite a sight. Nothing says “Royal Rumble” like an iridescent gold robe. Flair was the first to wrestle. It was a “career threatening match” for the aged mass of flabby muscle. Flair was met with “MVP”, a guy I’ve never heard of before. Though that doesn’t mean much, I had a feeling that this most valuable player wasn’t going to be the one to end Flair’s career. The match began, and every time Flair slapped MVP’s naked chest (yeah, it’s like that), the crowd would let out a series of WOOs. At one point, the referee counted to three, and it was suddenly over with MVP as the champ. Oh, but wait, Flair’s leg was on the rope, so it turned out that didn’t count. Boy, they sure had me fooled with that technicality!
MVP ended up losing via the “tap out” which is the wussiest way to loose a wrestling match. But, just when you thought there was some integrity left in the evening, Flair starts crying! It’s sad to see an old man weep.
If all that wasn’t enough, now here comes Chris Jericho (who is still affectionately known as Y2J, which is so 8 years ago) and his opponent JBL. Even though he was disqualified because of a steel chair hit, Mr. Turn Of The Century came out on top. He choked JBL with the extra long and readily available chord of a microphone. For some reason, this struck a chord (pun intended) with me. It was just a way too realistic looking and accessible means of possibly killing someone. Kids shouldn’t be cheering for this.
Then again, kids shouldn’t be cheering for the too scantily clad bimbos who appeared in the ring later on, strictly to talk about posing in Play Boy. The kid behind me, sitting next to his mom couldn’t have been more than seven years old, but went nuts cheering when the audience was asked if they’d be interested in seeing bimbo #2 in the buff.
But, as for the real action, there was also a match between Edge and Rey Mysterio. At least this gave the ladies in the audience a little somethin’ somethin’ to look at, if you know what I mean (and if you don’t, I’m totally referring to Rey). Edge ended up the victor and the match ended up working miracles for Vickie Guerrero, the wheelchair bound, homely widow of Eddie Guerrero. She actually stood up from her wheelchair and walked! Woah, everyone fakes it in wrestling! Though, I’m not sure exactly why she’s in a wheelchair. When I asked, no one else seemed to know either, and they didn’t seem to want to talk about it, so I stopped asking.
Moving on, the last regular match of the night was between Randy Orton and the arm glove-wearing Jeff Hardy. Orton won, nuff said.
Now. We’re about two hours into the evening and the Rumble hasn’t even started yet! I’m doubtful of my stamina when I realize the rules. Every 90 seconds, a new person enters the ring. That sounds fine, but this is a 30 person match we’re talking about here. That’s 2,700 seconds! I had at least 45 more minutes to go, oofa. I was assured that time would simply fly, but was still skeptical. That is, until The Undertaker (one of my faves from when I used to actually watch wrestling) came into the ring. At first, it was him vs. Shawn Michaels, who ended up eliminating The Undertaker much, much later in the Rumble. At least it was off to a good start.
Santino Marella joined in, then The Great Khali came in to chants of “you can’t wrestle.” I kept quiet because he’s probably the most massive guy I’ve ever seen. Hard Core Holly was next, followed by Jim… I mean, John Morrison, Tommy Dreamer and Batista. By this time, it got difficult to keep track of who was hitting who. Then, the little leprechaun Horn Swaggle’s number was called and he quickly ran under the ring to hide.
Nothing too monumental happened over the next few entries. A bunch of guys ran in, hit each other and some other guys got eliminated. The climax of the evening was Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka coming into the ring. Quickly and not-so-randomly followed by Rowdy Roddy Piper. Apparently, these guys have some sort of history. They started going at one another and every other huge dude in the ring stepped aside, stopped pounding whoever they were next to to watch this rivalry unfold between these two ancient characters. Kane was next to be called in and ended up eliminating both of them.
As the match went on and bodies were flying,things got more and more confusing. The kid behind me was cheering for Batista and I was tempted to call the little womanizer out and say that Batista had been eliminated ages ago, but there he was hiding out in the corner.
The last two to enter were also the final two in the running. Triple H and John Cena. I had no idea why, but when Cena came out every person in attendance was on their feet, well, except for me and probably Vickie Guerrero. I even saw tears in some people’s eyes and I had no idea what was up. It seems that Cena had gotten hurt, and no one expected him to even be able to wrestle by the time Wrestle Mania rolls around. Now, all of the emotional bro hugging aside, I didn’t really think it was fair that Cena ended up winning after being in the ring the shortest amount of time. He wasn’t as tired as the other guys and didn’t have as many people to face. But there he was, the winner.
Everyone seemed pretty happy with the outcome. All the K-Fed wannabes can relate to Cena, he’s one of them. I must admit the Rumble was pretty cool and I feel like it was worth the 80 bucks. I did get a solid three hours of entertainment. Well, except for the ten minutes of gratuitous breasts shoved between two matches. That, I could have done without.
Senses Fail
Opening Bands:
Date:
Venue: Knitting Factory
City/State/Country: New York, NY
Band Links:
The show was so emotional it was almost poetic. Senses Fail is no longer a Knitting Factory-sized band, but their set translates so well to a Knitting Factory-sized venue. It was purely insane with energy and the band was nearly flawless. Even minus ex-bassist Mike Gilta, who announced his departure from the band on December 8th. Jason Black from Hot Water Music fame filled in and nailed the bass. With all the commotion and intense flair of the show, no one even noticed the difference.
Singer Buddy Nielsen, with his massive head of hair, a too-tight cut off t-shirt, and some long shorts was pure dynamite. He eagerly invited kids to jump on stage and show their moves as they stylishly jumped off. As kids flew in the air toward the band, they were either met with an embrace as a long lost brother, headlocked and forced in front of the mic, or quickly pushed, shoved or tossed right back into the crowd. It all depended on Buddy’s whim and just which intense feeling he happened to be feeling at the moment. The stage flips and somersaults were pretty He made himself no stranger to the crowd, and dove right into the massive sweaty sea of people repeatedly during the set.
They didn’t play one of their fan favorites, “Steven” but no one seemed to notice as they blasted through “The Rapture”, “Calling All Cars”, “Buried A Lie” (aka Dr. Dave), and “Rum is For Drinking, Not For Burning”. It’s mind-blowing to see the band’s intensity and rabid feelings while they play songs they’ve been playing for over five years. It’s as if the song and the feelings are new every time.
The set was short, clocking in at just under an hour, but it was long enough to work the crowd into a messy frenzy. Everyone in the front was getting slammed with bodies flying from the stage, but loving every minute of it. The back of the room was singing along, wide eyed and just as stoaked. The band played no encore, but there was really no need. As steam rose from the crowded room, kids eagerly chanted for “one more song”, but to no avail. It didn’t matter much since there really is no proper follow up to “One Eight Seven” anyway.
The band mentioned being in the midst of writing a new album to follow up 06’s “Still Searching”. There’s an eager crowd waiting, so bring it on.
RATING & SUMMARY:
Bottom Line: Pure energy, truly an amazing show
Favorite Songs: ‘Buried A Lie’ and ‘The Rapture’
Overall Rating:
I Waited All Season For This?
A mere week ago, the Mets were up 7 games. 7 games in contention against the Phillies for the NL East title. It seemed like it would be a shoe-in for the team that lead the division since May 15th. Going to the playoffs was just a definite next step, right?
It’s a funny thing about the Mets and the month of September; they just do not go together. It seems nearly impossible for a team’s lead to drop from 7 games to a 1 game lead in a span of 18 days. So, as far as the playoffs were considered, it all came down to this one weekend. The magic number didn’t mater any more. They would either win it or lose it to the Phillies – it was as simple as that.
Unfortunately, the Mets couldn’t hold on to what little hope was left for the last game of the season. After a week’s worth of losses, John Maine miraculously was able to pitch an 8 inning one hitter on the same day the Phillies would lose; tying both teams for first place. It all came down to the last game of the season. Fans packed into Shea Stadium, and those without tickets waited outside eagerly at the box office with hopes for tickets to be released at the last minute. Those who were lucky enough to get inside witnessed the surge of energy before the game. As the lineup was announced, the crowd was on its feet, cheering and screaming for their favorite Mets, and booing the threatening Marlins.
And then it happened. Disaster. Before the end of the first inning, veteran Tom Glavine, who had been a hero for the Mets all year, had already given up 7 runs. Tom Glavine celebrated his 300th career win this year and has always been a favorite. Any fan would have gladly handed him the ball today over almost anyone else on the team. It’s unfortunate that Glavine, who has done so much for the Mets during his career, had to leave the field to booming boos from the crowd. Considering it might be his last game with the Mets, it was an extremely unfortunate way for Glavine to go out. Calling it a disappointment is a grave understatement, it was an embarrassment just like the rest of September had been for the Mets. The entire season can’t be blamed on Tom Glavine’s one horrendous inning, though. The Mets just have a tendency to crack under pressure.
It’s hard to understand how it could have all fallen apart so quickly, but the Mets became a disgrace in the matter of two and a half short weeks. It’s like this, there are a bunch of middle of the road players who can make great plays from time to time, but don’t consistently deliver. This is Beltran, Delgado, Anderson and LoDuca. Then there are the younger stars who just can’t always hang in stressful situations, Chavez, Reyes and Wright. Yes, Wright. The man who, without fail, takes the field to chants of “MVP”. He just doesn’t have it when the pressure is on. It’s the same story with Reyes. This guy is dynamic, he has so much personality and a ton of heart. He’s leading Major League Baseball in stolen bases, but where are his hits and home runs this month?
Consistency is lacking with the Mets, but some players still haven’t been a disappointment. Shawn Green for one, although recently taken out of his usual right field position in the daily lineup; still came in to pinch hit and delivered in just about every game. Shawn Green is Mr. Consistency. He might seem like someone to overlook in the outfield, but this Gold Glove winner isn’t getting enough credit. You need more players like this guy on the Mets. He plays the field well and delivers RBIs at the bat, what more could you ask for?
Moises Alou, perhaps. Despite a left quad injury early in the season, the Mets could still count on him when he was in the line up, and he’s turned it on even more in September when the rest of the Mets bats had been asleep. A 30 game hitting streak? Anyone else on the Mets would have probably given their first born for half that. He is on fire and carried the team until the end. It wouldn’t have been surprising if Rick Peterson decided to put Alou in to pitch relief for those last few games against the Marlins. He’d certainly do a lot better than the mess that comes out of the bullpen for middle relief every game.
It’s hard to even pinpoint exactly what is wrong with the Mets bullpen, there are just so many points to be made. The starting pitching with Glavine, Pedro, John Maine and even Ollie Perez can be counted on, for the most part. But these guys get tired into the 6th and then you have 3 innings of complete and utter chaos where the game truly becomes a free for all. When the call to the bullpen brings up Pelfrey, Schoeneweis, or Sosa stomachs turn, and runs inevitably score. These guys continuously get themselves into trouble and the Mets have had to suffer. Even the closer, Billy Wagner puts groaning fans through the same agony. Sure, his record looks good on paper, but this guy rarely has the ideal 1-2-3-put-it-in-the-books 9th. When the “Sandman” comes up, there’s often at least some trouble, it can never just be a simple outting for Wagner.
Nevertheless, the season came down to this one game and all of the Mets let it go, not just Glavine. The hitting wasn’t up to snuff for this last game. How else can the Mets explain only getting one run across the plate when they knew how bad the damage was from the beginning? The Mets can chalk this season up to experience and learn a lesson for next time. Hopefully they will learn not to get so comfortable in that number one spot. After all, there’s always next season.
Blaqk Audio
Opening Bands:
Date:
Venue: The Grand Ballroom
City/State/Country: New York, NY
Band Links:
Whoever thought kids would be bringing glow sticks to see a show fronted by AFI’s Davey Havok? Yes, Davey Havok. The same genius behind the masterpieces “God Called in Sick Today” and “He Who Laughs Last…” was now attracting the sort of crows that would bring raver gear to a show? Apparently.
Upon entering the Hammerstein Ballroom, the crowd was whisked up seven floors in old fashioned elevators (the kind with that gate you have to pull across before moving anywhere) little by little to the Grand Ballroom. Is this venue a secret tucked high above the massive Hammerstein? Who even knew this room was up here? The Grand Ballroom opens up a whole new world of possibilities for NYC concerts. The room is not only beautiful, and about as big as Webster Hall, but the sound
was amazing too.
The crowd waited patiently for 10pm with an interlude of dance music blaring from the speakers. On stage there was nothing but two mic stands on either side with a keyboard, a Mac and some synth equipment all in front of a projector screen.
When Blaqk Audio triumphantly took the stage, the duo comprised of both Davey Havok and Jade Puget of AFI fame were sharply dressed in black… or blaqk. The crowd was laden with the rocker kids who are closet weekend clubbers along with the nouveaux emo kids who once proudly suffered through the mid 90’s rave scene. No one knew what to expect, yet everyone was genuinely excited to be there and exploded once Blaqk Audio launched into their first song, “Again x3″ .
Davey powerfully commanded the stage, as he does with that other band of his. Only he seemed to interact with the crowd more for this show. Seeing AFI nowadays, you are met with a persona that rarely breaks the fourth wall on stage. The rock star in Blaqk Audio, however, talked and laughed with the crowd at least a little. He even caught some of the various objects like t-shirts and bracelets that were thrown his way. Davey’s confident, fluid motions gave the music such a strong presence and made all the difference for someone who might not have been into the album, but was able to fall in love with the live show.
Jade mostly kept to his synth fort, except for the instances in which he presumably put his equipment on auto pilot and stepped to the front of the stage to perform backing vocals. Jade who is used to having a guitar to limit him, looked a bit unsure of himself and nervous at times. It was only Blaqk Audio’s third show, he might just need a little time to adjust to the change. Overall though, the entire show was fantastic. More so than anyone would have expected. Given the duo’s sound, it is hard to imagine how the album will translate live,
but it was extremely well done.
Blaqk Audio played all but one song (The Fear of Being Found) off their debut album CexCells (maybe one thing this band needs to work on is their spelling). They also added a cover of Blur’s “Girls and Boys” to their set. Yes, Blur does that song. Yes, the same Blur who did the woo hooing “Song 2″. This particular song was the only disappointment of the evening. It sounded alright, but Jade sort of sung back up on this song, sort of because he only sporadically sang the words “girls” and “boys”. Aside from sounding weird, and not necessarily harmonic, Jade and Davey definitely had their dancing shoes on for this one. The performance for “Girls and Boys” was very Broadway. It seemed like their moves were choreographed, missing everything but the jazz hands, and it proved to be a little embarrassing. But, being the only sub par point of the show, it’s easy to overlook that one cover song and really love the rest of the performance. So what if kids were dancing with glow sticks? Everyone had a great time, including the band it seemed.
RATING & SUMMARY:
Bottom Line: Don’t be mislead by the new style, Jade and Davey still rock it just as hard as they do in AFI with Blaqk Audio.
Favorite Songs: ‘Girls and Boys’… just kidding, everything else.
Overall Rating:
Rock The Bells
Opening Bands: The Roots, Mos Def, Cypress Hill, Wu-Tang Clan
Date:
Venue: Randall’s Island
City/State/Country: New York, NY
Band Links:
This summer, as bands like The Police and Smashing Pumpkins are reuniting for various reasons, Rage Against The Machine are doing so for political reasons, naturally. What better time than now to get back together and speak out against a system that has spun so far out of control? Ok, maybe three years ago was the ideal time to spring into action; but nevertheless Rage came back onto the scene at Coachella a few months ago with a long awaited reunion performance.
Over last weekend, Rage graced the east coast with its presence playing the hip hop heavy Rock The Bells festival at Randall’s Island. RATM might not be the first headliner that comes to mind on a bill with The Roots, Mos Def, Cypress Hill and Wu-Tang Clan but these acts played the main stage throughout the day leading up to Rage’s 9:45 performance. The crowd was massive, unbelievably massive for Saturday’s sold out show. Picture a sold out Giant’s Stadium times three, it was completely unreal. Halfway through the sea of people there were two enormous screens to see the stage from afar and an insane setup of stacked speakers. The stage was bigger than any regulation stadium stage and made the Wu-Tang Clan look like ants, itty bitty incoherent ants. The crowd was predominantly comprised of poseur “pretty fly for a white guy” types who got all too excited for Cypress Hill’s on stage bong hits, and the mere mention of pot, smoking pot or growing pot. You might expect a nicely mixed crowd for such a hip hop line up, but it was mostly all white kids. The kind who were probably never bold enough to put up their Ws and sing along to Wu-Tang outside the privacy of their own bedrooms, until Saturday anyway.
Cypress Hill seemed to be a big deal. The crowd was probably just way too stoned to know what was going on to realize that the music was pretty awful. Still, they cheered and smoked and watched people on stage smoke and cheered some more all while wearing their now threadbare and vintage “cannabis” (made to look like adidas) t-shirts that really were never cool to being with. There are really no redeeming qualities about Cypress Hill, which then brings us to something even worse, cue the Wu-Tang Clan.
Rap probably shouldn’t be considered a performance art. It’s fine to listen to on your stereo at home, maybe at a club or a bar; but there is just something extremely embarrassing about grown tough guy-looking dudes standing on stage and loudly mumbling into mics. It’s one thing if it is just one guy, that wouldn’t be too bad. But take a group, a clan if you will where you have eight guys on stage. This means that at any given time at least six of them are just standing around like idiots while the other two should unintelligibly at the crowd. It has been debated back and forth for years, so let it be clear, this is not music. At least it doesn’t come across as music when it’s live. The other issue here, possibly even worse is why, why can’t rappers just finish a song live? It’s insane! Wu-Tang, for example, play a hook just long enough to hear some “ohhhhs” and “that’s my jam”s and then they jump to something else. You would never catch a band playing only the chorus to their popular songs and then promptly moving on to something else. All of Wu-Tang Clan’s set was like a 45 minute series of mumbles. Good thing this can easily be looked past for the earth-shattering greatness that was about to follow…
Rage took the stage like an explosion. As soon as they started; no matter if you were in front of the stage or nearly half a mile away, the crowd went nuts and a wave of energy surged through Randall’s Island. RATM’s set was nearly flawless, with absolutely no evidence of a seven year hiatus. The band was tight and on point as they played hits like, “People of the Sun”, “Bulls on Parade”, “Down Rodeo”, “Guerilla Radio”, “Vietnow” and “Killing in the Name”. Rage had so much power and enough energy for the entire sold out crowd to feed off of and go completely bananas.
Rage’s songs don’t need any introduction, so Zach de la Rocha wasted no time with pointless banter. Instead, he chose his time to speak wisely. Toward the end of “Wake Up”, the singer paused for a moment to clarify something. He had been accused of calling for the assassination of George Bush because of a statement made at Rage’s reunion set at Coachella. “No.” Zack explained, “He should be brought to trial as a war criminal and hung and shot. That’s what we said”. He also added that Bush and Cheney should be tried as war criminals, and then without hesitation they launched back into the song with Zack screaming “wake up”.
This statement was met with roaring cheers of agreement. Though it was only a brief part of the entire day’s events, this moment alone was worth the 83 bucks, and was definitely worth the seven year wait. It was the most direct and powerful statement spoken against the Bush regime with none of the typical liberal sarcasm land humor that often mute otherwise intelligent points. De la Rocha’s courage is admirable. He should be thanked for making an historical statement and speaking up when so many others remain fearfully silent.
Rage’s popularity surged after the release of “Evil Empire” in 1996. Maybe it was de la Rocha’s passionate voice or Tim C.’s thriving bass lines that won Rage so many fans. Or, it could have been how perfectly they were able to fit the line “Get the f**k off the commode” into an amazing song. Whatever the reason, RATM’s politics and intelligence are what should keep us interested in them. Their message is just as relevant now as it was ten years ago, and it may be even more important today.
Saturday was the second performance of the Rock The Bells tour. It spent the next day at Randall’s Island and then will make its way south and then west until the final show on September 1st in Honolulu. Rage is rumored to be planing a set of tour dates of their own which will likely be announced as the tour progresses. If their own tour will prove to be anything close to Saturday’s performance it is certainly not to be missed.
RATING & SUMMARY:
Bottom Line:
Favorite Songs:
Overall Rating:
Scan This
As overall record sales continue to plummet, I’d like to take a few moments to discuss the sales for a few records for last week.
Bon Jovi debuts at #1 this week with “Lost Highway”. It sold a whopping 291,532. Congrats Jon Bon, a number one record! Sounds like it’s a big deal, doesn’t it? I mean, can you believe that Bon Jovi gets a number one debut twenty years after the fact? I can’t either. Maybe the 80s fashion comeback has something to do with giving an 80s band a comeback too? Or could it be, just maybe that Bon Jovi can attribute this week’s success to the fact that in order to buy pre-sale tickets to their upcoming concerts, you actually were forced to BUY a copy of the album? Yes, that’s right. The terms of the pre-sale required purchase of “Lost Highway”. Although the sales numbers are accurate, I don’t think the Jovi would have a #1 record had he not pretty much forced his fans to buy his album. So, I suppose congratulations are in order for Meg and Jack?
#5 Paul McCartney’s “Memory Almost Full” comes in at #5 selling 64,351 in its third week on the chart. I’m a terrible fan because I still haven’t heard this record. I’ve seen the odd ghost video and heard a song or two, but not the full album. This is a bit strange for me since I’m a huge Beatles fan, but we’re talking about Paul McCartney, not the Beatles. Yesterday, however he was very Beatlesesque and gave the folks at Amoeba Music in Hollywood a fantastic hour and a half long performance. He showcased a number of Beatles songs, and from the clips I saw on the news it looked absolutely amazing. Heck, even Ringo showed up!
Mandy Moore put out a new album? Yeah, she did and it debuted at #30 this week selling 25,146 copies. Man, I bet she wishes the “License to Wed” Marketing people were behind this one! I’ve seen countless ads for that bad movie, and heard nothing about her bad album. Ok, that’s not fair, I don’t know her album is bad, I’m just guessing. This is the first album being put out by The Firm, and by the looks of things they should just stick to management.
I bet John Nolan and Shaun Cooper are kicking themselves so, so hard right now. Straylight Run’s “Needles The Space” debuts at #72 selling 9,831 units. Nuff said.
Polyphonic Spree’s “Fragile Army” debuted at #124. Their previous release, “Together We’re Heavy” debuted at 121 on Hollywood, too bad they couldn’t beat it for a career high. At #124 they sold 6,007 copies. I didn’t hear anything about this album’s release either, I don’t think I’m that much out of the loop.
Let’s hear it for Mike Patton who is continuously able to get people to buy into his wacky endeavors. One of his many projects, Tomahawk put out “Anonymous” which debuted at #158 selling 4,906.
I must say I’m surprised that I ever heard the name “Rodrigo Y Gabriella” again after that YouTube clip of them on Letterman was passed around like mad. I have to say, they were impressive but I just didn’t think anything would ever come of them. I’m not saying that # 178 and 4,497 copies is stunning by any means, but I am saying bueno for Rodrigo Y Gabriella at least their talent is being somewhat appreciated.
All Posts
