It Gets Better: Lissie at Hiro Ballroom

Posted on October 23, 2010 by CenterOrch

There are recording artists and then there are those whose artistry come to life on stage.  Lissie is the latter.  I got turned on to the 28-year-old singer-songwriter from Rock Island, Ill., by a fellow music lover who suggested I check her out.  Being the hot new artist junkie that I am, I promptly downloaded her 2009 EP Why You Runnin’ and 2010 LP Catching a Tiger.  I liked her immediately, but it was a far cry from my typical new artist hysteria.   Sometimes seeing the real deal on stage fuels the fan in me.  After seeing your show at Hiro Ballroom, Lissie, I’m a fan.

She stepped on stage with a guitarist and drummer who you’d swear just stepped out of one of those caveman commercials for Geico.  Spitting images.  Lissie wore a simple pair of jeans (with her CMJ music festival credentials attached), a big, loose, plain white T, some her blond locks loosely braided and the rest perfectly disheveled.  She opened with the poignant and folksy “Wedding Bells.”  Right off the bat, I was struck by how her pitch-perfect voice captured the undivided attention of everyone inside Hiro.  She sang flawlessly and effortlessly.  I love it when a room respects an artist so much its inhabitants just shut up and listen.  The room was still.

Lissie went on to perform a solid set of songs off her debut record.  I really liked “When I’m Alone,” “Loosen the Knot,” and the gorgeous “Everywhere I Go.”  There’s a great video of Lissie singing this song with Ellie Goulding on her Web site.  Good Stuff.  She also sang a beautiful folk song called “Bully.”  It reminded me of all the bullying of young gay men and women going on in America lately.   It reminded Lissie as well.  She gave her own “It Gets Better” speech and talked about how her lighthearted song “Cuckoo” conveys that time in high school when you’re not able to see your future, and how you’re naively fooled into thinking that who were then is who you’ll forever be.  Of course that’s not true.  It does get better.  I captured her story and song on video.  It’s sort of awesome, and I love the flamboyance of her guitar strumming.  I also captured her performance of “Oh Mississippi,” which she dedicated to her aunt who recently died.  It’s about her growing up in Rock Island on the banks of the famous river that divides our country into East and West.  Check it out after “Cuckoo.”

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Bang Bang Bang: Mark Ronson at Music Hall of Williamsburg

Posted on October 16, 2010 by CenterOrch

My affection for Mark Ronson has been dormant, clearly.  I knew he made a name for himself as a DJ back in the ’90s, and more recently as one of the music industry’s most sought after producers (Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, et al), but recording artist?  He’s sort of becoming the Oprah of the music biz.  Careers are made if you work with him.  Monday night I got to take it all in, much to my surprise and delight, as he and his team of collaborators, the Business Int’l., played the Music Hall of Williamsburg.  After seeing this show, dormancy became an awakening.

His set reminded me of Miike Snow’s, which I just saw last week.  Lots of chrome keyboards and hexagon shaped drums.  Oh, the ’80s.  Ronson, sporting a platinum blond look, took to the stage about a quarter after 10 with the instrumental “Circuit Breaker,” off his brand new album, Record Collection.  His style defies category as he’s drawn to rap, R&B, jazz and just good clean pop.  Ronson shared with the crowd that he and the team on stage had recorded the new record just six blocks from the venue.

I didn’t know his music well, particularly the new stuff, until after the show.  But standouts included The OC theme song “California” and “Lose It (In The End),” featuring the mega-cute Alex Greenwald of Phantom Planet.  This guy is really cool, and very talented.  Great vocals and an accomplished musician as well.  I also loved anything that featured the English rose of a singer that is Rose Elinor Dougall of the Pipettes.  Her vocals on “Hey Boy,” “The Night Last Night” and “Oh My God,” recorded by Lily Allen on Ronson’s last album, was inspiring.  Her vocals reminded me of Sophie Ellis-Bextor mashed up with Allen, and looked like Thora Birch.  British Beauty, anyone?

Another surprise was “Bang Bang Bang,” the first single off Record Collection, featuring Q-Tip and MNDR (aka Amanda Werner), who I saw open for Kate Nash back in the Spring.  This chick is fascinating.  Sort of odd and awkward with her big glasses, no-fuss ponytail, ill-fitting leotard, she does not look like a pop star, but she’s fearless.  I’m happy to see her hit her stride with Ronson, who co-wrote the lead single with her.  Ronson closed the night with his next single, “The Bike Song,” again featuring my crush Mr. Greenwald on vocals.  I got home around 12:30 a.m., turned on the telly and there was Ronson and MNDR on Letterman!  They must have taped it earlier that day, which btw, is next door to my office in Manhattan.  Living in New York City truly is a surreal life.

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Easy Animal: Miike Snow and Dragonette at Terminal 5

Posted on October 7, 2010 by CenterOrch

I bought tickets to Miike Snow months ago after the Swedish band sold out Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg back in the Spring.  Perhaps best known for their song “Animal,” Miike Snow was back for two sold out nights at Terminal 5.  It wasn’t until a month ago I found out Dragonette would open for them.  How lucky!  Good music karma!

Miike Snow was formed in 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden, by childhood friends Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg.  In the mid-2000s while producing a Britney Spears record (random), they met American songwriter Andrew Wyatt to form Miike Snow.   The name Miike Snow is said to have come from one of their friends called Mike Snow with the spelling of Miike coming from the Japanese film director Takashi Miike.   I was wondering, so I thought I’d share in case you were too.

Dan Kurtz, Martina Sorbara and Joel Stouffer of Dragonette took the stage promptly at 9 p.m. for a truncated yet tasty set that opened with “I Get Around” off their debut album.  They went on to perform some of their best tracks off the 2009 album, Fixin to Thrill, including “Gone Too Far,” “Liar,” “Pick Up The Phone,” “Easy,” the Go-Go’s-esque “Okay Dolores” and the feisty and fun title track.  “Our Summer,” the most recent single off 2010′s Our Summer Volcano EP was also performed.  It was the fifth time I’ve seen Dragonette in the last 12 months.  And I’m still a big fan.  They’re just so much fun, and so cute.  Dan looked great as usual, wearing a really cool gray t-shirt from The Police’s Synchronicity era.  Martina, who always seems a little nervous at first, got into her groove and conjured up haircut envy among the girls around me (and my friend Brian).  And I got a quick hug from Joel after the set as he was running out the door for a cigarette.  Love these guys.  I can’t wait to see what they do next.

After Dragonette’s set, the stage was reconfigured with lots of shiny, chrome instruments — drums, guitars, keyboards — and chrome rabbit and antler accessories.  Very cool.  I’m not a rabid (or rabbit) Miike Snow fan, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  While I thought the lights, fog and strobes were amazing, the music doesn’t connect with me.  It’s not bad, just not something I get excited about.  But everyone there seemed to be so into them.  Am I missing something?  Two guys behind me were completely cracked out with eyes wide as the Hudson.  Ah, I got it then.  Still, “Animal” was fun to dance around to, as well as “A Horse is Not a Home.”  Probably won’t see them again, but glad I took the chance.  In the end, even my friends who are Miike Snow fans said it wasn’t great.  Something was off.  At least I left learning that these Swedes were the masterminds behind Britney Spears’ most tolerable song, “Toxic.”  They even won the Grammy for Best Dance Recording.  Speaking of Britney, how hot was Brittany in Glee last week?  Brittany out-Britney’d Britney.  But I digress…

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Everybody’s Starry Eyed: Ellie Goulding at Hiro Ballroom

Posted on October 1, 2010 by CenterOrch

When I first heard “Like all the boys before.  Like all the boys, boys, boys, boys,” come out of Ellie Goulding‘s mouth on “Under the Sheets” last Spring I knew I had a new musical crush.  Making her New York debut at Hiro Ballroom on a dark and stormy night (coincidentally the name of my drink of choice tonight), the 23-year-old English singer-songwriter dazzled a handsome crowd and beat my expectations on what I thought this promising new talent could deliver on stage.   But up first, the opening act.

Penguin Prison got the crowd warmed up, led by the New York-based singer, producer, remixer Chris Glover.   Best known for their superb remixes of songs by all my favorite Brits (and Aussies) – Goldfrapp, Marina and the Diamonds, Erik Hassle, Ellie Goulding and even Kylie Minogue’s latest infectious morsel, ”Get Outta My Way,” these penguins marched through a cool set of songs off a series of single EPs including “Animal Animal” and “The Worse It Gets.”

After a short break between sets, Ellie stepped on stage with little flair, pomp or circumstance, just her.  I love her style.  She’s cute, but not too polished.  She’s commercial, yet accessible.  And the night would prove she’s more than just another blond pop artist.  She opened with “Lights” and “Every Time You Go,” both off her debut album, also titled Lights.  It’s not available in the U.S. just yet, but her sample EP, An Introduction to Ellie Goulding, is now available on U.S. iTunes.   She really showcased her powerful vocals on “This Love (Will Be Your Downfall).”  I caught this one on video so check it out:

Other highlights of Ellie’s New York debut included her third U.K. single, “Guns and Horses,” which was brilliantly remixed by Tonka, and an odd choice, a cover of “Roscoe” by the Texas-based rock band, Midlake.  Apparently Midlake has an enormous following in Europe, and less-so in the States.  Interesting.  She also played “Your Biggest Mistake,” which I also caught on video (below), and one of my favorite songs off her album, “I’ll Hold My Breath.”  A surprise for me was “Salt Skin,” not a favorite of mine, but it was really incredible performed live.  That track deserves another listen.

In another interesting move, she covered “Sweetest Disposition” by the Aussie alt-rock band The Temper Trap.  I think it’s really cool that she covers music by musicians she respects.  It gives us a sneak peek into her heart and soul as an artist.  There’s a great video out there of Ellie performing “Everywhere I Go” with Lissie, another American up-and-coming singer-songwriter.  Ellie’s a smart girl to be showing different musical sides of herself so not to be pigeon-holed as a one-dimensional pop artist.

Toward the end of her set, she performed her fourth (and latest) single, “The Writer,” also caught on video, and “Under the Sheets,” her first single, and the song that first caught my ear back in the Spring.  For her encore, she performed “Wish I Stayed,” which she wrote and produced with fellow Brit Frankmusik, and was recently covered by American shooting star, Sky Ferreira.  She closed the night on a high note with her danceable breakthrough second single, “Starry Eyed.”  Needless to say, my friends and I were all a little starry-eyed in the end.  She is a fantastic live performer, and I have high hopes for her in the future.

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