Concert Reviews

Jul
30

Rufus Wainwright At Celebrate Brooklyn!

Posted in Concert Reviews, LGBTQ, Music |

By Maureen

I hadn’t even realized that I had expectations about Rufus Wainwright’s show for the Celebrate Brooklyn! series until I saw it. I guess was expecting some old classic songs, a few new ones, and an opening act by Loudon Wainwright III. What I got, however, was an entirely different experience altogether.
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Jul
30

Steroid Maximus At Celebrate Brooklyn!

Posted in Concert Reviews, Music |

By Julie Finley
All photos © 2010 Julie Finley

Prospect Park, Brooklyn NY
June 18, 2010

steroid maximus 171

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Jul
22

Sextreme Ball 2010: My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult/Lords Of Acid

Posted in Blog, Concert Reviews, Music, Retrovirus |

By Christian Lipski
Photos by Deborah Lipski

lords of acid mlwttkk 432 THUMB
Praga Khan’s girlfriend
tempts the audience

Dante’s, Portland OR
July 14, 2010

Touring together for the first time in 15 years, Lords of Acid and My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult are the main events on the Sextreme Ball 2010 tour, which began in Seattle on July 13. Both bands were part of the techno music movement of the late ’80s/early ’90s, and judging from the first two sold-out shows, both are still popular among the electronica crowd.
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Jun
29

Eureka! Rooney At The Wonder Ballroom

Posted in Blog, Concert Reviews, Music |

By Christian Lipski

rooney thumb

The Wonder Ballroom, Portland OR
June 24, 2010

A backdrop painted with a California sunset hung at the back of the stage, setting the scene for the music to come. Though not all the bands came with the West Coast sound, the vibe was there anyway.
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Jun
4

Punks In Portland: Buzzcocks

Posted in Concert Reviews, Current Faves, Music |

By Christian Lipski

buzzcocks SMALL

Berbati’s Pan, Portland OR
June 1, 2010

Even if it’s in print, it’s not always true. The concert ticket said eight o’clock, but once we got to the club, a sign indicated that opening band The Dollyrots would start at nine. Inconsistently, the ticket was right about the door time, so from seven until nine I had plenty of time to take in my surroundings.
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May
30

Kinks Kommentary: CD, DVD, And Live Reviews

Posted in Concert Reviews, DVD, Music, Reviews |

By Julie Finley

My fandom with the Kinks goes back as far as pre-school age. They are the reason I love and obsess over music as much as I do, and they raised the bar of excellence for my tastes to follow throughout my life.

They are not a recent fad with me. I didn’t decide they were great once I heard The Village Green Preservation Society, like bullshitting journalists out there claim to give themselves street-cred. I even obsessed over them during the ’80s when it wasn’t cool to like them! So, my reviews come from a lifetime commitment of love and knowledge. . . which are going to be exceedingly honest. The following reviews are listed in chronological order based upon when I first observed them.
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Apr
23

Rufus Wainwright, All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu

Posted in Blog, Concert Reviews, Music, Reviews |

By Alex Arnott

songs for lulu

Listeners unfamiliar with Rufus Wainwright would probably be surprised to hear that this obliquely named, classically influenced, piano-driven album is in fact, one of his more understated works. This masterful musician, who has a penchant for impressively orchestrated pop songs, has a great deal of unusual achievements under his designer lederhosen. In the past three years, Rufus has accomplished two incredibly ambitious projects that your run-of-the-mill pop star would never dare to undertake.

First, he challenged himself to reproduce the legendary Judy Garland Concert at Carnegie Hall song for song, even recreating some of Judy’s banter. Many of the songs in Judy’s repertoire are quite dissimilar to Rufus’ usual style, yet he pulled it off with aplomb.
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Mar
30

Shouting Birds Into Existence: Yoko Ono/The Plastic Ono Band

Posted in Concert Reviews, Current Faves, Feminism, Music |

By Matt Keeley

Brooklyn Academy Of Music, Brooklyn NY
February 15, 2010

Every music geek has a list of bands that they’re certain they’ll never see live, but would just about kill to get the chance. For me, that includes Kraftwerk (seen once), DEVO (seen three times), and The Residents (seen twice). And Yoko Ono (now seen). And not one person killed or even maimed.
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Mar
16

Playing The Hits: Electric Six At Canadian Music Fest

Posted in Blog, Canadian Content, Concert Reviews, Current Faves, Music |

e6 tix SMALL

By Less Lee Moore

With Ben Stevenson & The Wondertones/Hot Panda/Sweet Thing
Lee’s Palace, Toronto ON
March 13, 2010

For a band to reach an exalted position on my list of all time faves they must possess two qualities: wonderful musicianship and witty lyrics. Because they have consistently excelled in both categories, Electric Six have ascended quickly up my own personal charts over the last three years. Put another, less pedantic, way: they crack me up and they fucking rock.
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Feb
19

Embracing Pop: Throwback Suburbia

Posted in Blog, Concert Reviews, Current Faves, Music |

By Christian Lipski

Backspace, Portland OR
February 16, 2010

Although they are from my home base of Portland Oregon, I first heard about Throwback Suburbia from Indiana resident Gidget Bates, a DJ for Woody Radio. They’re her favorite modern band, and they’re neighbors of mine, so I went to see them at local venue Backspace.
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