Wilco and Nick Lowe Played Central Park - Pictures, Review, Setlist

Last night we stopped in at Rumsey Playfield to catch the first of Wilco's two nights in New York.  The band is helping to close out the final days of the year at the Central Park venue, and despite predicted rain, the evening managed to go off without any serious interference from the weather.  Alongside the band was legendary musician and producer Nick Lowe.  The band recently covered Lowe's "I Love My Label" as a B-Side to "I Might", and apparently dug doing so enough that they decided to bring him along for their inaugural tour under dBpm Records.

Nick Lowe was touring without a band, and delivered a set in true singer-songwriter style with his voice and a lone acoustic guitar.  Much akin to his longtime friend and collaborator Elvis Costello, Lowe can still command a crowd even with such simple implements.  Lowe's voice is unquestionably in top form, and hearing him live was a real treat; Roy Orbison came to mind as we listened to the delivery.

If anything, the years have improved Lowe's voice, by giving it an even warmer, more even timbre - sweet without being saccharine.  His set started off with a fair dose of his newer material, which definitely held its own.  However, Lowe managed to truly win over the crowd when he delivered his own "Cruel To Be Kind" and "What's So Funny (About Peace, Love, and Understanding)?", as well as a cover of Elvis Costello's "Alison", at the end of the set.

Wilco took to the stage soon thereafter, and launched in to a 2+ hour set that covered the breadth of their entire catalog.  Before we go any further, we'll start by saying this:  Wilco is one of those bands who, no matter what, in any circumstance, always seem to win us over live.  Even if we're dragging a bit on the way to the show, the opposite is always true on the other side.  Inevitably, we spend the next few weeks revisiting their entire catalog and getting back into the band.

This is why it was such a surprise, that last night, this simply didn't happen.  Did the band put on a bad performance?  Not particularly, but it wasn't great either.  There was something in the band's approach and attitude that simply felt staid; like they were just going through the motions.  It didn't help things that the crowd was a bizarre mix of insanely devoted fans, and arbitrary New Yorkers who didn't even seem aware that they were at a concert.  There were no quiet moments, but there were no truly raucous moments either.  Everything chugged along a steady, neutral pace.

The new material from the band's latest, The Whole Love, was certainly tolerable, but it didn't have any real grip on the crowd.  Moreover, the arrangements of the band's old material were the same ones that we've been hearing for the past few years, with little deviation or inspiration.  The lone standout was a somewhat updated version of "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart", that added some fuzzy tones and textures, no doubt culled from the recent album sessions.

It's difficult to issue such a negative assessment of a Wilco show, because the fact remains that they are a fantastic band, and they do truly deliver, even when they're a little bit off.  Nonetheless, after watching their shows for the past ten years, we also feel pretty confident saying that they've reached something of a creative impasse, and perhaps need to find a way to get "unstuck".  It brings to mind the scene from the film I Am Trying To Break Your Heart where Jeff Tweedy opts not to play it safe as the band constructs their live setlist.  Mr. Tweedy, it may be time to take some of your own advice.

Wilco Setlist 09-22-2011
Art Of Almost
I Might
Ashes Of American Flags
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
One Wing
Bull Black Nova
At Least That's What You Said
One Sunday Morning
Shouldn't Be Ashamed
Born Alone
She's A Jar
Handshake Drugs
Standing O
Rising Red Lung
Impossible Germany
Dawned On Me
A Shot In The Arm
Hummingbird
--
Via Chicago
Whole Love
War On War
Jesus, Etc.
I'm The Man Who Loves You
Monday
Outtasite Out Of Mind


Wilco and Nick Lowe play Central Park again this evening.

Flaming Lips Coming To Central Park, Conquering Dark Side Of The Moon

Flaming Lips at Treasure Island Festival, from the HAD Archive. Photo by Brian Fong.

After the already-monumentous news that Pavement will be there at the end of the season, it is with great anticipation and glee that we came upon the news that none other than the Flaming Lips will be gracing this year's Central Park Summerstage. Backed by the awesomeness of their latest record Embryonic, there is frankly nowhere we would rather see Oklahoma City's favorite sons than under the stars on a beautiful summer evening.

On top of that, the band has taken their iTunes-only version of Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon live, with a New Year's Eve performance last month, and now the announcement of a similar gig at this year's Bonnaroo. While there's no news yet as to whether the Central Park gig will be Floyd-homage or otherwise, we can pretty much guarantee you it'll be an awesome show, and that you'd be a fool to miss it.

Tickets go on sale Friday at noon.

mp3: Flaming Lips - Money (Pink Floyd Cover)

Phoenix And Passion Pit Played Central Park - Pictures, Review, Setlist

On Saturday night, after hearing a chat with Ryan Adams, we headed uptown to see Phoenix and Passion Pit rock out in Central Park. The pair had already played Rumsey Playfield the night before, and by all accounts it was a spectacular show. We were eager to take in what would be one of the final outdoor concerts of the summer.

Passion Pit opened the night, and despite what we had from some haters the night before, the band delivered a solid set that was firing on all cylinders. The vocals were on point, the instrumentals were tight, and most importantly, they got the entire crowd dancing without exception. Not only that, but they were the perfect opener for Phoenix: fun, cheery, and full of energy.

Phoenix took to the stage around 8:30, and started things off with a bang: "Lisztomania" was the first song out of the gate. From there the band dove into a traversal of their last three records with "Long Distance Call", "Lasso", and a searing version of "Run Run Run". From there the set, while occasionally making a step into the back catalog, focused heavily on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. This obviously wasn't much of a stretch for the crowd, who eagerly sang along to every word of the band's latest record.

After closing out the set with a jam that included "Rome" and "Funky Squaredance", the band returned for an encore. The encore began with Thomas Mars and Christian Mazzalai delivering stripped down versions of "Everything Is Everything" and "Playground Love". This was followed by the full band kicking into killer versions of "If I Ever Feel Better" and "1901". Needless to say, we, and the crowd, were extremely pleased.

If you're even a semi-regular reader of HAD, you've probably picked up on the fact that we're pretty smitten with Phoenix, in particular their live show. Well, Saturday night did nothing to change that: the band expertly delivered a set that not only traversed their catalog, but never had a dull moment. The bottom line is that this is a band who are perfectly in line with their ever-expanding popularity, and show no sign of slowing down any time soon.

Phoenix Setlist
--
Lisztomania
Long Distance Call
Lasso
Run Run Run
Fences
Girlfriend
Love Like A Sunset
Too Young
Rally
Consolation Prizes
Rome->
Funky Squaredance ->
Rome
--
Everything Is Everything (quiet)
Playground Love (quiet)
If I Ever Feel Better
1901

Many more photos at the HAD Archive

First Pavement Date Confirmed, Tickets On Sale A YEAR In Advance

Sure, it's huge that Pavement has finally decided to reunite. But even so, it's baffling to learn that tickets are going on sale more than a year in advance. Yes, you heard that correctly: tickets for the band's September 21st, 2010 date at the Central Park Summer Stage will go on sale tomorrow morning, September 19th, 2009.

Tomorrow's on-sale is a presale via the band's new site crookedrain.com, and apparently a full on-sale will occur on Tuesday September 25th. The password for the pre-sale is ZOWEE and the ticketing link is here. Apparently once the full on-sale occurs, there will also be tickets "without surcharges from the Nokia Theatre box office in Times Square and from Earwax at 218 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg."

If you can already feel the megahype starting to build, you're not alone.

mp3: Pavement - Type Slowly (Live)

Floored By Four (Nels Cline, Mike Watt) and M. Ward Played Central Park Summer Stage - Review, Pics, Setlist

On Saturday night, the rains managed to hold off just in time for an amazing evening at Central Park's Summer Stage. Not only was the gig free and the headliner a Mr. Matt Ward, but it was also the live debut of Nels Cline and Mike Watt's new project, Floored By Four. It was beautiful summer evening event that was not to be missed.

Floored By Four opened the night with a fantastic set that not only showcased all four member's talents, but ran the gamut stylistically as well. The tunes the band played could be described as everything from prog rock to ambient to experimental jazz. Suffice it to say, it was interesting.

Suprisingly, the audience seemed relatively uninformed of the band's considerable artistic legacy, and we overheard little beyond "some guy named Mike Watt with the guitarist from Wilco" as a descriptive phrase. Suffice it to say, kids, time to do your research. Nonetheless, the set was fantastic, and those who did appreciate it, did so in spades.

While the whole set was a blast, we have to say that the highlight of the set was the searing guitar work by Cline at the end of the set. Every time he reached a plateau that didn't seem possible to exceed, he would go further, and then some. It wasn't hurting things that Cline and Watt clearly have a long established dynamic, and play off of each other ridiculously well. We can't wait to hear this record.

M. Ward hit the stage promptly at 8:30, to a crowd that was devoutedly engaged with him. Dressed as the man in black, Ward delivered an hour twenty set that hit decidedly upon all the fan favorites. Apparently the set was the last one of the Ward's tour in support of Hold Time, and it was clear from the get go that he was there to deliver.

Despite some technical difficulties with an amp, Ward delivered an incredibly solid set. In fact, our only complaint would be that it was almost too solid. It seems that Ward has gotten so comfortable with his band and his carefully manicured sound, that there was little adventure or surprise to be had in his performance.

Granted, surprise is not necessarily the key to a good rock show, and Ward unquestionably gave exactly that. As always, his voice was in top form, the band was dead on, and the crowd loved every minute of it. Still, having seen Ward a number of times, we have to say that this was probably the most staid and reserved we've seen him. While there's little you can argue with given a fantastic free set from an amazing artist, we're just hoping that his outing with Monsters of Folk will put a bit more of an edge on him the next time he's in town.

M Ward Setlist
--
Sad Song
One Hundred Million Years
Post War
Chinese Translation
Rave On (Buddy Holly Cover)
Never Had Nobody Like You
Hold Time
Jailbird
To Save Me
Poor Boy, Minor Key
Poison Cup
Fool Says
Magic Trick
Big Boat
Bean Vine Blues (John Fahey Cover)
Fisher Of Men
Requiem
Roll Over Beethoven (Chuck Berry Cover)
--
Helicopter
--
To Go Home

Phoenix Plots Second Leg Of US Tour

Phoenix At The Paradise, From The HAD Archive

After a killer US Tour that (sadly) missed San Francisco, Phoenix are taking a summer break. But, not to fear - the break will be short lived, and the band will be back in the US during September and October for a bunch more dates.

The dates will span the US, and if you're motivated enough, there's probably one within a day's drive of you. For San Francisco, that means a stop at the Warfield, while New York will include two dates (one already sold out) in Central Park. You can check out all of the additional dates below.

The dates are still a good two months off, so in the meantime you can occupy yourself by watching some videos the band recently recorded. We've included an awesome acoustic version of "One Time Too Many" below, and you can see three more vids (including an interview) over at the band's blog.


Phoenix Fall 2009 US Dates:
September 13 : Monolith Festival – Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO
September 16 : Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
September 17 : Warfield, San Francisco, CA
September 19 : Urban, Salt Lake City, UT
September 21 : Slowdown, Omaha, NE
September 22 : First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
September 25 : Rumsey Playfield – Central Park, NYC
September 26 : Rumsey Playfield – Central Park, NYC
October 1 : Tipitinas, New Orleans, LA
October 2 : Austin City Limits Festival, Austin, Texas

mp3: Phoenix - Lisztomania