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!!!!

ZZ Top
& Lynyrd Skynyrd
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Maryland Heights, Missouri
September 15

Dude, for $12 me & BJNewms got to hear barely Lynyrydydyd Skykynarydydd (only one original member left) play ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ & ‘Freebird’ + hear Zed Zed Top play all their slutty hits (that ALL sound eggzactly the same – brrrraaa brrabbaaaa baaaa baa, wwwwwwweeeuuuu waaaaa waaaaeuuuah!) and you know what, it totally made us want to grow gigant-o beards and become a sharp dress mans and hump legs and tush!!

speaking of tush…

Eva Tushgoria by Jork!!!!!!!!!!

so yeah, got our money’s worth, but was disappointed that they didn’t spin their guitars, do that ‘dance’ thing with the hands, drive a roadster or hand off the keys to one, lets sluts be slutty on stage, and more importanterly – they didn’t play their ‘hit’ song from BTTFIII – ‘Doublecrap’

btw – the American Empire began the crumble the moment we let ‘Tush’ become a big thing

Rodriguez
Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
August 30th

New music is boo music, and that’s why we’ve let our summer be ruled by rocking 70 year olds.  First by the Boys of the Beach, then by the so good so good so good Jewish Elvis, and now by a man who no one outside of South Africa (and Australia, and odd parts of Detroit) had ever even heard of a month ago.  His name is Rodriguez, and if you’ve had your heart nuclearly warmed by his lost and found story to end all lost and found stories – documented in the MUSS MUSS SEE Searching For Sugar Man, then you know what wees talking bout.  If you don’t, you better recognize and get yer thighs tantalized OR ELSE!!!!

Ever since we walked out of that movie theater, we’ve over-over-dosed on his two lost gem albums, and the doc’s soundtrack [BUY IT NOW!!!  IT ONLY $6.99!!!!!!!!!], so much so that we actually bleed Rodriguez.  Don’t believe us?  Cut our arm and see what comes out – inner city blues!!!!  It’s true.  And in that one short month, Rodriguez has permanently etched a place in our heart, right next to the likes of them other CLASSIC old thighmers like The Beach Boys and Neil Diamond.  That’s saying something, and we juss said it

So what does a notoriously shy, unmade legend sound like in concert, probably well out of his prime?  There’s barely any internets info on the matter, and he doesn’t even have any listings over at the indispensable SetList.fm.  But who cares, cause Rodriguez didn’t thrive on being known, and now he’s thriving for being a mystery

The complete mystery will never be solved.  Rodriguez will always remain a mystery.  He slowly moves, quietly banters to himself, but kills any bit of stage awkwardness with a friendly smile, and owns an audience as soon as he starts singing his brutally honest and endearing songs, and strumming the fcuk out of his guitar.  His set was short, but it didn’t feel like it, and it was beyond sweet.  It was actually beyond amazing.  No backing band (unlike his triumphant, symphonic Letterman appearance), just Rodriguez, handing in an intimate experience that no one in the audience will soon forget

Here is a partial set list (we snagged)

which doesn’t include some additional songs he played + covers of Lou Rawls’ ‘Dead End Street’ & Elvis’ ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, but apparently he had other covers in mind!!  There’s a separate set list page scribbled with songs like ‘Let The Good Times Roll’, ‘Whole Lotta Shaking’, ‘Unchain My Heart’ and even ‘Lets Get It On’.  Wowsers.  Woulda LOVED to have heard him play all of those, plus more of his second album (which he seemed to neglect all together), so guess this means we’ll juss have to see him again, and again, and again, cause this mystery has many more layers yet to be unraveled, and who doesn’t love a good mystery, hispecially one with a soundtrack that’s even better than the mystery!?!?!?

We hope we’re this awesome at age 70, and we hope you are too

The Beach Boys
Jones Beach
June 24th

There’s just something about seeing The Beach Boys in an aquatic setting that just screams BEACHY KEEN!!!  And there was plenty of beachy screams too, by us, cause we become lil girls when seeing the American Beatles, although most of the ladies in the audience only got wetty wet when Uncle Jessie reared his pretty head, when the ladies should only be getting wetty wet at the sight of Al Jardine’s face, Brian Wilson’s crazed-genius, Mike Love’s a$$holey bravado, Bruce Johnston’s smile, David Marks’ marksmanship, and the non-original B-Boy member who’s the true glue making this show the tour of the summer - Jeff Foskett [read this article]

Most people wouldn’t bother seeing The Beach Boys in this day and age, and given their age.  Understandably, as one would think that their concert would be juss one giant geriatric wheelchair bound nostalgia stale air affair, but if one thinks that way, then one will miss out on perhaps one of the last chances to see Rock n Roll royalty reign, and if you do dis & miss out, yer a grade-AAAAA moron and should be deported back to Uranus or whatever anus you came from [we’ve said this before, but repeating things sometimes drives homeslice a point]

The show was basically the same as the Beacon one we saw a month ago, but the fellas dropped a few different tunes into the mix [set list below].  The biggest and bestest addition was ‘Our Prayer’, the actual lead-in intro to ‘Heroes & Villians’ (one of their bestest), and while the song contains no instruments and very few words (mainly ‘oooooh’s, ‘aaaaah’s and a bunch of ‘doooot’s), it captures the pure (cabin) essence of what The Beach Boys are – perfect harmony, in harmony.  YOU CAN HEAR THE LIVE VERSION OF ‘OUR PRAYER’ HEAR!!!

and - more of what they sound like live these days HEAR

Also, whilst wees here, their new album…

is what you would expect from the Beach Boys at 50 (the band’s age, not theirs).  there are slower paced songs about reflecting on times past, and cars and surfing, and other California dreamts.  As a whole, it doesn’t pack much of anything, but hearing songs like the title track & ‘Isn’t It Time’ live, alongside their hits of yesteryear, they sound like they is from yesteryear too!!!  That’s a good thing  Why?  CAUSE GOD MADE THE RADIO, THAT’S WHY!!!!!

First Set – Do It Again / Little Honda / Catch A Wave / Hawaii / Don’t Back Down / Surfin’ Safari / Surfer Girl / Please Let Me Wonder / Marcella / Wendy / Then I Kissed Her /Kiss Me, Baby / Getcha Back / Why Do Fools Fall in Love /When I Grow Up (to Be a Man) / Disney Girls / Isn’t It Time / California Saga / Cotton Fields / Be True to Your School / Don’t Worry Baby / Little Deuce Coupe / 409 / Shut Down / I Get Around

Second Set – Pet Sounds Instrumental /Add Some Music To Your Day / Our Prayer / Heroes and Villains / Sloop John B / Wouldn’t It Be Nice / I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times / Sail On, Sailor / All This Is That / That’s Why God Made The Radio / In My Room / Forever / God Only Knows / Good Vibrations / California Girls / Help Me, Rhonda / Rock and Roll Music / Do You Wanna Dance? / Surfin’ U.S.A.

Encore – Kokomo / Barbara Ann / Fun, Fun, Fun

Seeing the Boys shine together again, with zero signs of rust (just wrinkles), got we thinkings, what if John Lennon had lived?  We all think that a Beatles reunion was something that would have NEVER happened, but that’s mainly cause Lennon’s death rendered that idea moot.  The Beatles were only 10 years apart when John died, but had he lived, there’s no doubt they woulda reunited (even Led Zepp did, without Bonham, once!), and with a full backing band behind them, like The Boys of Beach have, The Beatles would have been able to reproduce that magical mystery studio tour sound on actual tour.  Imagine. What if.  WHAT IF!!!  If only.  And imagine there’s no religion too.  The only thing you don’t have to imagine is what Al Jardine’s face looks like, cause you can see it live, NOW!!!