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

Gorillaz
Madison Square Garden
Rocktober 8th

Damon Albarn was once simply known as the frontman for the Brit-pop band called Blur, who were popular worldwide, but moderately successful in our neck of the shore (unless you count the amount of times ‘Song 2′ has been used in adverts and other stuffs).  Then something happened, something moist incredible: Albarn and his flatmate, renowned animator Jamie Hewlett,  cooked up an idea to make a virtual cartoon band, a Banana Splits meets a hodge-pudge of every musical style conceivable, that could possibly conquer this brave new world

Three albums later, the latest landing at #2 on the US Charts (with the other two within the top 20!), and the furthest thought is that the new world conquerers Gorillaz are a joke.  The combination of Albarn’s voice and vision, Hewlett’s visuals, ingenious producers (first Dan the Automator, then with Danger Mouse, and then Albarn alone!),  a large array of rappers (Del The Funky Homosapien, De La Soul, that dude from the Pharcyde), worldclass world musicians (Buena Vista Social Clubber Ibrahim Ferrer), and long loved, but lately ignored legends (Ike Turner, Bobby Womack) has equaled and continued to equal nothing short of brilliance.  People from the future (we pity you) will look back at marvel at these talents collaborating on what each album has become: a once in a lifetime opportunity, which will stand the test of time

Damon Albarn had finally cracked America, and we were better for it.  The Gorillaz’ first tour in 2002 was a rawkin, yet curious hocus pocus act, featuring incredible theatrics and toons, but left many a concertgoer befuddled and remote from the musicians, since they played the entire show behind a sheet in silhoutte.  Then came the landmark residency shows in Manchester and at the famed Apollo Theater, but 10 masterful shows in total isn’t really reaching your entire audience.  That was a mistake Albarn & Co wouldn’t let happen again, as their latest jaunt to support Plastic Beach is a global one, including multiple stops all over our country

And so, how is the show?  Uh, we saw Roger Waters’ can’t miss Wall show earlier in the week, and our early collected thoughts have the Plastic Beach extravaganza topping it!  Yes!!!!!!!  Sure, the other stops won’t include Lou Reed, Mos Def or Cibo Matto’s Miho Hatori reprising her Noodle ways, but that won’t make the show any less memorable or can’t can’t can’t can’t miss.  This show cannot be missed cause this show will never exist as it is again.  Ferrer, Turner and Dennis Hopper are all dead, and can no longer monkey around with Albarn on stage.  We hope and pray for the long life of Bobby Womack, but lettuce juss say you won’t be able to here him belt out ‘Stylo’ in 30 years time.  Also, how often will Clashers Mick Jones and Paul Simonon play together again, and with Albarn, and with the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble!!!!  O M GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blur was never big enough to play Madison Square Garden, and probably never will (booooooooo!!  although we’re glad we saw em at Hyde Park last summer), but the Gorillaz are, and they did, and even if the show wasn’t sold out, they owned the place and everyone’s attention in it.  Sure, not everyone was digging Def’s ‘Sweepstakes’ entry, but as we left da Garden, heading to the usual White Castle afterparty, people couldn’t help but shout ‘SWEEEEEEPSTAKES!!!!!!!!!’  We’re still screaming it

Gawd bless you Damon Albarn.  Now figure out a way to get Graham, Alex and Dave to the Garden Party

setlist

Orchestral Intro
Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach
19/2000 (with Miho Hatori)
Last Living Souls
Stylo (with Bobby Womack)
On Melancholy Hill
Rhinestone Eyes
Superfast Jellyfish (with De La Soul)
Tomorrow Comes Today
Some Kind of Nature (with Lou Reed)
Empire Ants (with Yukimi Nagano)
Dirty Harry (with Bootie Brown)
El Mañana
White Flag (with Bashy)
To Binge (with Yukimi Nagano)
DARE (with Rosie Wilson)
Glitter Freeze
Sweepstakes (with Mos Def)
Plastic Beach

Encore
Cloud of Unknowing (with Bobby Womack)
Feel Good Inc. (with De La Soul)
Clint Eastwood (with Bashy)
Don’t Get Lost In Heaven
Demon Days

more pictures

+ watch the Gorillaz’ 44 minute triumph on Live On Letterman

Roger Waters: The Wall Live
Madison Square Garden
Rocktober 5th

TEAR DOWN THE WALL!!!!!

ON SECOND THOUGHT, DON’T, EVERRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!  KEEP BUILDING THEM, ROGER WATERS!!!! ON STAGE AFTER STAGE, CITY AFTER CITY, UNTIL YOUR RESTLESS 67 YEAR OLD LITTLE HEART IS TIRED OF DOING SO!!!!!!!!!!!!!  IT’S BEEN A LIFELONG DREAM TO SEE THE WALL PERFORMED IN ITS ENTIRETY LIVE AND WHAT YOU PULLED OFF LAST NITE AT DA GARDEN WAS NOTHING SHORT OF A DREAM COME TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TRULY AND REALLY AND SINCERELY, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU MR WATERS!!!!!!

There was no David Gilmour (guess this wasn’t that one lucky show) or Pink (he wasn’t well, he stayed back at the hotel), but Roger and the sent along surrogate band brought The Wall to life in a moist spectacular fashion (juss like he did with his Dark Side of the Moon tour, which we saw twice! but this was even more spectacular!!!), combining elements of the original 1980 tour, the 1982 Alan Parker film and some new dazzling theatrics!!!!!  It was more than just a big arena concert, and more than just an ultra-elaborate stage production that bests any piece of theater playing 8 blocks north on Broadway!!!  It was an experience like NONE OTHER, and once Mr Waters departs this earth (unless we find the cure to death soon!), there won’t be another chance to experience this, so do whatever you have to do to see this show as it tours the globe, 9REALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Price shouldn’t be a factor, cause this sh$t is PRICELESSSSSSSS$$$SSSS!!!!!!  We plan on seeing this show at least once more, if not 1383838 times more!!!  ANOTHER BESTNESS IN THE WALL PART III!!!!  COMFORTABLY FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mo photos from Jonathan Bayer

Phish
The Garden
December 2nd

There’s something seriously wrong with me/we. How on Earth have we been goaded into seeing Phish twice in one year (the previous show, our phirst ever, was this past summer at Jones Beach), esp since we’ve now see them play ‘A Day In The Life’ as many times as we’ves seens Paul McCartney do it (so that makes it FOUR times we’ve heard that song in concert since June!!!?!?!?)?? Last nite’s show was fab lobvs course, but didn’t have a clue as to what was going on (elastic, elastic, balls apart?) and now wees needs to take 8 showers to get the stench of middle class dirty neo-hippie semi-homelessness off of mees! Two things we learnsed this time that we didn’t the phirst time: crowds are 86% men (mainly sweaty ones) and the 12% of womens are usually 81% smokin’ (the remaining 2% is butterscotch ripple, btw)! The other thing is that no one claps during the songs remains the sames. No one does that at any concert in general and in sergeant cause everyone is lame, but the Phish peoples are so into Phish that you’d think they’d have more clapping going on, but guess theys too busy smelling like mid-90s post-teen spirit to bothers. OK, enuff of the whatever, and now for the real chocolate reasons why yer still reading this… our totally made-up made-down set list (with no repeats from last nites tweet guesses)

(real set list)

and oh yeah, there’s a bit in Phish’s ‘Slave To The Traffic Light’ that was totally jacked from the Ewok celebration joint to end all joints, ‘Yub Yub’. basterds!!!