Fleetwood Mac
Prudential Center Newark
April 24th

Dude, THE MAC!!  Mick, Stevie, Lindsey & John Mc totally still have it, just like they did when we saw them back in the ’009.  TUSK!  That’s pretty much that.  What, you want to know more?  Dude, you can go your own way!

Setlist – Second Hand News / The Chain / Dreams / Sad Angel / Rhiannon / Not That Funny / Tusk / Sara / Big Love / Landslide / Never Going Back Again / Without You / Gypsy / Eyes of the World / Gold Dust Woman / I’m So Afraid / Stand Back / Go Your Own Way

Encore –  The World Keeps On Turning / Don’t Stop

Encore 2 –  Say Goodbye

Leonard Cohen
Madison Square Garden
December 18th

Oh Leonard.  You did it again.  And it was JUST as amazings as the first time, but now it was the second time.  Your voice was still gravelly, but it was still like silk gravel!!  Most incredible thing about Leonard Cohen?  He’s 78 and gets down on his knees more than a 24 hour hooker who never takes a vacation.  Lenny, you wearing knee pads or did you get robo-knee implants?  Wanna be the running back for the Jets?  Second most incredible thing about Leonard Cohen?  He may be Dustin Hoffman

Matthew Friedberger
Le Poisson Rouge
October 22nd

What was that?  Yeah Matt, what the fcuk was that?  You had like two keyboards on stage.  And you kept touching them, but you weren’t really playing them, even though music was being played from them.  One time you touched one for a second, and then moved over to the other one and touched that for a second, and then went right back to the first one and touched that for a second, and then back to the second one for a second.  Who’s on first?  More like who’s on würst!!!  Well, it wasn’t the würst, but we don’t know what you were doing Matt!!

Sure, your music can sometimes be super dense and moody boos, and REALLY hard to listen to, but you are also capable of producing wonderful sounds, that ooze with breazy fluidity and peppy happiness and playful playfullness that is so full and rich and rich of fullness.  Tonight you leaned toward the former, and it was strange.  You didn’t engage your audience, but maybe you meant to do that.  But whatever it was, it was strange, but your hair looked awesome.  It always does.  But seriously, what kind of performance was this?  You were like karaokeing to your own music, if it were microwaved in an 8-bit bowl of sonic vomitace.  What was that all that?

We always thought you were better off without your sister (who was in the audience), even though we love her and you, and your sibling riving-rule-ing.  Yer first solo album (the Winter Woman half) was brilliaaaaaaaaaaaaaaant.  Easily one of my moist flavorite albums of the 2000s.  Never got to hear it live.  Then you released EIGHT solo albums last year.  Only heard one of them, cause we don’t own a record player.  You have a new album.  It has no words, and I’ve only listened to it twice, but I looooves it already.  Are you exhausted?  You probably are.  It’s OK.  We all need rest, even when there’s no time for rest.  But what was that show all about Matt?  We want to know cause we care, cause we love you and we want you to succeed.  Is this how you succeed in the music bidness, by not really trying?  I don’t know, maybe it is, but keep on keeping on, and pleeeease, one day I’d love to hear you play Winter Woman from start to finish, or even from start to infinity.  Then I won’t have to ask questions.  I’ll just say statements like ‘THAT SH!T FCUKING ROCKEXXEEEDDDD, YO!!!!!!!!!!!!’

Donovan
New York Society For Ethical Culture
October 19th

You all pretend not to know AND care about who and what Donovan is, but you do know him AND you should care about him.  He’s Europe’s Bob Dylan, and based on how well the troubadour has held up over the years, he’s in better shape and sound than Mr Zimmerman is is.  WHY YOU SUCH A JERK DYLAN??!?!?!  Whatever, you all can have your mouth-dead Dylan messiah, and I’ll stick with Dono (he is MY Dylan), the nice guy who sings about chicks with Irish names and who goes all coo-cooing and Barabajagaling, CAUSE THAT SH!T F#&KING ROX IN A NICE GROOVY WAY, YO!!

We saw him play a sweet but short 9 song set 5 years ago, but that was merely an appy appetizer for what we were treated to the other night – 15 of his acoustic dandies + 10 of his electric jammy jams, and it was all one GIANT 2 hour+ish dandy jammy jam that was JAM DANDY REFFIC!!!  Wish it was a 9+ hrish dandy jammy jam, but he’s only human, even if we’re not.  We’re part robot, part Jewish, all bacon

Although we DO have to admit that the greatest song of all time, ‘HURDY GURDY MAN‘, didn’ts exactly live up to its full awesomeness live.  PROBABLY CAUSE IT’S JUSS TOO DANGS BEYOND AMAZINGS TO BE REPRODUCED ANYWHERE OUTSIDE OF A STUDIO!!!!!!!!

setlist

Solo Acoustic Set - The Enchanted Gypsy / Catch the Wind / To Try for the Sun / Little Tin Soldier / Josie / Ballad of Geraldine / Sunny Goodge Street / Sand and Foam / Guinevere / Lalena / I Love My Shirt / The Promise / Colours / Happiness Runs / Universal Soldier (Buffy Sainte-Marie cover)

Electric Set with band - Sunshine Superman / Jennifer Juniper / There Is a Mountain / Season of the Witch / Young Girl Blues / Riki Tiki Tavi / Barabajagal / Hurdy Gurdy Man / Mellow Yellow

Encore - Atlantis

oh, and Jill Sobule opened, and she totally f#@king roxed it, even though we had zero expectations of her doing anything of the sort.  she sang this song called “Heroes’, which is about why our heroes kinda suck, and she even mentions how Dylan was a dick to Donovan!!!  FITTING IRONY!  PUMP IT, THAT IRONY!!!

Clannad
New York Society For Ethical Culture
October 2nd

DUDE, SEEING THE CLANNAD WAS THE MOST, BESTEST IRISH THING I’VE EVER SEEN/DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! EVEN MORE SO THAN GOING TO IRELAND!!!!  It’s actually kinda true, cause the Clannad are like the bestest Irish/Celtic pub band who doesn’t need a pub filled with drunk people to shamROCK THE HOUSE, YO!!!!  THEY DID IT!!!!  Even if you hate everything Irish like Lucky Charms, it’s impossible not to love the Clannad (you know Enya used to be in the band, and her siblings ARE the band, right?).  The C’nads put the I-CAN in that Last of The Mohicans movie.  They said love the player and the game for Harry.  And morsel importantly, they CREATED THE GREATEST SOUNDTRACK EVER (that isn’t Tommy). Which one?  THE FCUKING ONE FOR THAT ROBIN OF SHERWOOD SHOW THAT IS SO GREATESTTESTTSTST!!!!!!!!

AND THEY DID A FCUKING RAWESOME MEDLEY OF IT IN CONCERTSZ!!!!!!!!!!!!

BUT WHAT THEY REALLY NEEDS TO DO IS PLAY THE ENTIRE SOUNDTRACK IN FULL CAUSE IT’S MY FAVORITE IRISH THING THAT ISN’T CIARÁN HINDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh, and btw, Moya/Máire Brennan is GOOOOOORGEOUS!!!!

not kidding.  we love Irish-British looking women and women with a lil extra, AND HARPS!!!!