Cleaning up his karma - Sonny Rollins tells it like it is

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On the scene: Jack White Sells Out Fans at Sold-Out Show at Radio City Music Hall, 9.29.12

Reviewed by Liz Maher exclusively for Stupefaction - thanks Liz!:


WTF? That was the reaction of the audience of  Jack White fans as they sat in disbelief when after 50 minutes, White left the stage and refused to come out for an encore.

The audience, who paid a steep price for tickets, either from White's Third Man site or Ticketmaster or even higher from Stubhub or other resale sites, clearly expected more than 50-minutes of White. After an explosive opening, White chided the audience for not applauding loud enough, comparing them to people at an NPR convention. Since the crowd was cheering loudly, this was a little odd.

White then played mostly tunes from Blunderbuss with a White Stripe, Dead Weather and Raconteurs song thrown in.

The show was going along pretty good, except when White would talk in a Bob Dylan voice and even sang the beginning of Top Yourself Dylan-esque. At one point, he mentioned he loved NYC and then sarcastically referred to "the 10% of the audience who were cheering so loud he couldn't hear himself think." Again, strange since mostly everyone was cheering, clapping and into it. After covering, Love Interruption, to the crowd's applause, White asked the crowd, with some annoyance in his voice, if he should do the rest of the show in  all acoustics. That would have been fine as with him playing, it's bound to be great. White went onto play I Guess I Should Go To Sleep and Hypocritical Kiss and Take Me With You When You Go on piano and guitar.  Follow-up by  Ball & Biscuit, after which White left the stage not to be seen again. Wide disbelief through the hall. Cheering and booing (certainly) didn't work. After 25 minutes the ushers came around and asked everyone to clear the arena.

At the concession stand, people were simultaneously returning and purchasing White merchandise.

So why did White cut the performance so short? Surely it couldn't have been the quality of the sound, since all those things get worked out ahead of time and White agreed and accepted compensation to perform a show there. And why then stiff a loyal fan base that had to endure a sound he himself wasn't pleased with but put up with out of love and respect for him? Was it the cell-phone people? He hates them but did not refer to them. Radio City staff did ask a women from the audience with a cell-phone to go with them. Was it the faux-redheaded band photographer who also rubbed the audience the wrong way? Hhhhmmm...

As a White fan, I feel puzzled and short-changed. Encores are part of the whole concert experience and actually create some superficial feeling of intimacy between fan and performer. I could live without encores, though, if the show itself was a respectable length. Robert Smith once reminisced that before he got big with the Banshees and Cure, he was a big Rolling Stones fan and was terribly disappointed after he saved up to pay Stones' high ticket price and traveled very far to see them perform, only for them to play a barely 30 minute show. He vowed never to do same to his fans.

Unless White suddenly became ill or had a family emergency, it was a diva stunt. Or ill-conceived marketing stunt? Or somehow S&M fan punishment, stemming from a repressive upbringing as a Catholic in bleak Detroit.

But, then again, he's a genius so we are supposed to accept these types of things. On the plus side, I hope this make his tickets easier to get and cheaper.

White will be back Sunday to disappoint and piss-off fans once again.

Movie of the Week: Led Zeppelin - Live at the Royal Albert Hall (1970)

January 9, 1970: Zeppelin Put the Excitement Back Into Pop: It isn’t hard to understand the substantial appeal of Led Zeppelin. Their current two-hour plus act is a blitzkrieg of musically-perfected hard rock that combines heavy dramatics with lashings of sex into a formula that can’t fail to move the senses and limbs. At the pace they’ve been setting on their current seven-town British tour there are few groups who could live with them on stage. (Source)

Movie of the Week: Deep Purple Live In Concert 1972-1973 Copenhagen & NewYork

I have a friend, old enough to remember, who insists that any contemporary band would shit their pants if they caught Deep Purple in the era this concert footage dates from. I can't say I agree, but I love to hear him say it.

For more Deep Purple, click here.

On the scene: Dirty Projectors, Port Chester NY, 9.25.12

The DP's latest album, Swing Lo Magellan (Domino Records)

Reviewed by Liz Maher exclusively for Stupefaction - thanks Liz!:

“Poor Chesta,” David Longstreth incredulously pronounced at the opening of The Dirty Projector’s gig at Westchester’s newly refurbished Capitol Theater on 9/25/12. For a moment it flashed through my head that Longstreth was making a heartfelt reference to Linkin’ Park. But no, he was just in a state of sleepy disbelief and sounded as though he had dozed off on the B46 and wound up at the Capitol by accident. He did look a little unwashed, too.

I never thought of the Projectors as a guitar band until this show, but Longstreth’s and the diminutive Amber Coffman’s highly thoughtful arrangements made it clear they are one - with a whole lot of harmonizing thrown in. (Continued after the jump.)

Brooke Shield's punk rock roots

Ok...so yesterday's internet sensation of a photo with HR of the Bad Brains, smoking weed with "Brooke Shields" is most likely NOT Brooke Shields. However! Thanks to Artifacting for hipping me to the video below of the actual & very young Brooke doing an interview for Manhattan cable show, Efrom Allen's Underground TV. You need proof of her punk rock roots? Watch the video & check out the photo session she does with the one & only Stiv Bators!

Does anyone know what the shoot was done for? Maybe Creem magazine or something?

Frank Wilson RIP

Frank Wilson - RIP

My Charles Mingus autograph from Tom Dowd

I've never been one those fans who puts too much stock in autographs...Or maybe I should say, I've never expended too much energy tracking them down. I have a few that I'm very happy I have, but I got them because I met the person involved or knew someone where it was just too easy not to ask. In this case, besides spending actual money on it, I'm particularly excited because: 

A) Mingus is one of my all time favorite musicians

B) He's been dead for over 30 years

C) This particular signed album came from the personal collection of Tom Dowd, legendary audio engineer - best known for his work with Atlantic Records on MANY of their classic jazz (including Mingus) and R&B recordings (see his absurdly long discography here). As they say in the biz, this album's provenance is sterling.

I came upon this thanks to my friend, Bob Perry, one of the nicest guys & best record dealers in the country. Bob is located in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and I visit him once a year, usually in January. Besides selling all sorts of incredible soul, jazz, reggae, rock, and you name it, he KNOWS about the stuff he's selling, and he has stories to burn. He also charges extremely buyer friendly prices. I highly recommend checking him if you happen to be in south FLA, or on eBay where he regularly lists great stuff (see link below). This includes many other items from the Tom Dowd collection.

Charles Mingus - official website

Tom Dowd - official website

Bob Perry Records (bluenote5 on eBay) - on eBay

Friday Ephemera: The Bags at Rock Corporation (1979)

Thanks to Alice Bag

Surf's Up: Nightclubbing catches a wave with the Raybeats

This week, Pat & Emily of Nightclubbing revisit the often underrated Raybeats - a band formed from the ashes of the short lived No Wave scene. If you've never heard them, the Raybeats probably don't sound like what you'd expect from former members of the Contortions and 8-Eyed Spy.

In 1980, the pendulum swung again for four of No Wave’s most influential musicians. Jody Harris, Donny Christensen and George Scott III were veterans of the Contortions and Pat Irwin had performed with George in 8-Eyed Spy with Lydia Lunch. They were done with moody lead singers and wanted to try another way. They formed The Raybeats. Continued here.

Here's the band performing in 1980 at Danceteria:

Before & After: Colony Records

Before:

After:

Courtesy of Flaming Pablum.

Congrats to RA Dickey - a huge bright spot in an otherwise usual dismal Mets season

Now, go see Knuckleball - its a spiritual journey:

The Rolling Stones 2000 Light Years From Home video (1967)

Bad Brains new album, Woodstock Film Fest, smoking herb with Brooke Shields

Brooke Shields(?) partaking of the sacred herb with HR of the Bad Brains back in the day.

The above candid shot was posted to the Flipside mag facebook page today, and it seemed as good a time as any to mention the new Bad Brains album. Into The Future, self produced by the band, will be released on Nov. 20 via Megaforce Records. If you want to check out the title track, you can do that here. The band are into their 35th year of existence.

In other news, the Woodstock Film Festival (Woodstock NY) will be screening Band In DC - about the Bad Brains, as well as Charles Bradley: Soul of America, about the Daptone Records very own Screaming Eagle of Soul.

Bad Brains - official website
Charles Bradley - official website

Charles Bradley doc trailer:

Bad Brains doc trailer:

I been searching low & high: The Who in 1966 & 1970

Substitute/Man With the Money with live sound at The Halle Music in 1966

Rare promo film for "The Seeker" circa 1970.

Dirty animals, we hate you: The Stones in 1966

Courtesy of the always interesting Letters of Note comes this "fan" letter to the Rolling Stones, circa 1966. All you have to do is read the words spelled out in all caps to get the overall gist of the note.

Dirty Projectors setlist, 9.25.12 @ the Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY

Thanks to Liz Maher...review forthcoming

Andy Williams RIP

Andy Williams - RIP

New video (and book, and...): Neil Young & Crazy Horse "Walk Like A Giant"

Neil Young is a busy man! Not only is he releasing his SECOND full length release of the year - out on 10/30 (see the first video below) - he has a memoir out, Waging Heavy Peace, and its available this week! Check out this excellent article from last Sunday's NY Times magazine.

New video: "New York City" by Joey Ramone

"New York City" from the recently released ...Ya Know? by Joey Ramone. It includes over 1600 photographs with appearances from Tommy Ramone, celebrity chef and author Anthony Bourdain, Andy Shernoff of the Dictators, Matt & Kim, Andrew WK, Reggie Watts, members of Les Savy Fav, The Drums, and the Flatbush Zombies, JP Patterson, Ricky Byrd, Tish & Snooky Bellomo, and legendary photographer Godlis, stars of television’s 30 Rock (Scott Adsit, John Lutz and Kristen Schaal), Ramones’ producer Ed Stasium, and Joey Ramone’s brother, musician and author Mickey Leigh.

Its a great video...Gotta love these proud New Yorkers!

Hell no, we won't go!

The Baez sisters can't resist draft resistors, 1968.

According to the post over at How To Be A Retronaut: “Joan Baez encouraged draft resistance during her concerts, and is believed to have suggested that women opposed to violence should go for men who were resisting the military draft. This suggestion soon turned into the poster featuring Baez, which was created by Larry Gates and sold to raise funds for the Draft Resistance movement. The poster features the Joan Baez, along with her sisters Pauline and Mimi.”

Shot by: Cathy Campbell

On the set of Wild Style with Patti Astor: This luscious color-drenched photo by Cathy Campbell from Wild Style, 2:00AM outside the Dixie, South Bronx. LEE (Quinones) and I are about to get held up by the three "Bad Guys" in the rear, great story about this in the book. Excitement is building for the NYC party Oct. 6! Pre-order today to save $10. off the bookstore price, be on the VIP Door List and be guaranteed a book. What's to lose shorty? Head over to www.thefungallery.com.

Chicks Dig Vinyl

John Gannam illustration for Pacific Sheets advertisement, 1945 via Vintage Gal

Shot by: Burt Glinn

Andy Warhol, Edie Sedgwick and Chuck Wein, by Burt Glinn via World of Wonder

Smoke 'em if you got 'em

Sam Cooke for L&M Cigarettes, Ebony magazine, April 1964

Movie of the Week: Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band - Full Beat Club Sessions, Bremen (4/12/72)

Photo by Philippe Gras

Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band
Radio Bremen, Funkhaus, Bremen, Germany
TV Program 'Beat Club'
April 12, 1972
1. Hair Pie Bass Solo (The Mascara Snake) (0:00)
2. Click Clack Take 1 (3:08)
3. Click Clack Take 2 (6:51)
4. Golden Birdies and Band Intro (8:18)
5. I'm Gonna Booglaraize You Baby Take 1 (11:12)
6. I'm Gonna Booglaraize You Baby Take 2 (15:41)
7. Steal Softly Through Snow (Band Instrumental) (20:49)
8. I'm Gonna Booglaraize You Baby Take 3 (24:18)

Shot By: Chris Stein

Jeffrey Lee Pierce (The Gun Club) by Chris Stein, 1981

Movie of the Week: Gram Parsons - Fallen Angel (2004)

Photo by Jim McCrary

On September 19, 1973, the musician and heir to a million-dollar fortune died under the influence of drugs and alcohol near his favourite place - the Joshua Tree National Monument in the Californian desert. As the founder of the Flying Burrito Brothers, a member of the hit-making, legendary Byrds, an important influence on the Rolling Stones and the man who catapulted Emmylou Harris to fame, Gram Parsons made music history in only a few years. The film was made on location by director and musician Gandulf Hennig and American music journalist, musician and biographer Sid Griffin. Friends, contemporaries and devotees of Gram Parsons talk about the importance of his work and the bizarre circumstances of his early death. Rare footage of his performances shows why Gram Parsons has become a legend. Interviewees include Gram's wife Gretchen, his sister and his daughter, Keith Richards, Emmylou Harris, Chris Hillman and "Road Manager" Phil Kaufman.

Before & After: Gimme Shelter

Before - The Rolling Stones (set to footage from Apocalypse Now - bonus!)

After - The Sisters of Mercy

Just Because: John Lee Hooker (1969)

Swing For A Crime!

One of my all time favorite compilations, I picked up Swing For A Crime sometime back in the 80's on vinyl and haven't looked back since. To my ears, its right up there with the timeless Beat-inspired comp, Pictures From The Gone World (featured here years ago), and has lead me in all sorts of directions as far as listening habits go. Twilightone!, an MP3 blog well worth following, has just posted this album, and if you don't check it out...well, lets just say you should. Comps this good do not grow on trees. Grab it here.

1. The Hollywood Persuaders: Drums A-Go-Go 

2. Patsy Raye & The Beatniks: Beatnik's Wish 

3. Johnny Brown & The Joy Boys: Suspense 

4. Ric Gary: Pimples and Braces 

5. Barney Kessel: Honey Rock 

6. Sy Oliver: Stu's Blues 

7. Les Baxter: Boomada 

8. Bing Day: Mama's Place 

9. The Vikings: Nicotine 

10. Art Van Dam: Voodoo Doll 

11. Cozy Cole: Big Noise From Winnetka 

12. Linda Burnette: My Old Model T 

13. The Triumphs: Joust About 

14. The Originals: The Whip 

15. Viscounts: Harlem Nocturne 

16. Nat Kendrick & The Swans: Hot Chile 

17. The Royal Jokers: Vibrations 

18. Tony Rodelle Larson: Bear Rug 

Old Loves: Catching up with ex-Creation artists

The old flames always seem to resurface, and hopefully they still sound good, or at least interesting. Here are a couple of related releases that may interest those of you who, like me, have a very fond place in your heart for Creation Records...and yes, they still sound good.

Mr. Peter Astor (The Loft, The Weather Prophets) released his latest solo album sometime within the last year, and I just found out about it. Songbox is available on the Second Language label. Here's the video for "Dead Trumpets," directed by none other than Gina Birch of the Raincoats! Keep up with Pete on Facebook. And check out Pete's all time top 10 over at Louder Than War.

The second of these brings together two artists from two different Creation bands, Pete Fij from Adorable (whose catalog seems to be completely out of print - not even available digitally), and Terry Bickers from the House of Love. They're giving away their new track, "I Don't Give A Shit About You," via their Soundcloud page. Check it out below...that Bickers guitar sound is unmistakeable. You can also get some more info here, and like them on Facebook. Its great to see these guys back in action!

Before & After: Morrissey & The Ramones

Before:

The above image really made the rounds yesterday...thanks again to Alex for pointing me to it. This morning I just had to rerun what he posted over at Flaming Pablum. One of these days I'll have to dig up some more of the fan letters he wrote professing his adolescent love of the New York Dolls.

After:

Friday Ephemera: X, Plugz, Alley Cats, Zeros & Go-Go's (1979)

X, the Plugz, Alley Cats, Zeros & Go-Go's at Elks Hall, Los Angeles (1979) via Hardcore Show Flyers

Northern Irish Punk Gets Its Due - Good Vibrations: The Film

Finally...a film about northern Irish punk and the main driving force behind it's scenes, Good Vibrations is a biopic that tells the story of Terri Hooley and his record shop & label. Without him the world may have never known about the Undertones, as well as several other excellent bands. Its a story that deserves telling about a scene that tends to get overlooked in the historical overviews.

Below is a short documentary with the man himself which will give you a good idea about the story. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any trailers available just yet of the actual film. Visit Louder Than War for a review of the film.

Official Facebook page here.

Ramones Rubbish Says Morrissey

Thanks Alex!

Paul Newman digs vinyl

Via

The Beatles rooftop concert in full: January 30, 1969

I can't believe I've never seen this entire thing. And like the recently posted Charlie Is My Darling, I'd watch this now as I'd be surprised if its up for very long. Although this has been on YouTube since January, so maybe it'll be available for a while...

Famously recorded on the roof of Apple in London on January 30, 1969, it was to be their last performance as a band in public. The footage was included in the Let It Be documentary released in 1970. Songs included:

Get Back - 01:03
Don't let Me Down - 04:18
I've Got a Feeling - 07:53
One After 909 - 11:35
Dig a Pony - 14:38
Get Back 18:30

For Replacements fans: Color Me Obsessed coming on DVD

Its crazy that its been over two years since I first mentioned it here, but the Replacements documentary, Color Me Obsessed, is finally going to be released on DVD!

For a film about a band that doesn't include any music by it's subject, the filmmakers have managed to put together a compelling watch & thorough history of the Replacements. A definite surprise & well worth your time. The official release date is Nov. 20, and the movie includes appearances by Grant Hart & Greg Norton of Hüsker Dü, Tommy Ramone, Colin Meloy of The Decemberists, Craig Finn of The Hold Steady, the Goo Goo Dolls and many more.

The bonus material includes: Nineteen deleted scenes, three complete interviews (Grant Hart, Robert Christgau, Greg Kot & writer Jim DeRogitis), behind the scenes interviews with director and producer (Hansi Oppenheimer), two commentaries and four trailers!

Order from Amazon here.
Official Website here.
Official Facebook here.

Daily Travels: 6th Avenue

The Young Things know what time it is

Steve Sabol RIP

Steve Sabol - RIP