Easy Star All-Stars Almost Thrill Irving Plaza, Need a Little Help from Their Friends

Known for their reggae cover albums of OK Computer, Sgt. Pepper's, and their masterful debut Dub Side of the Moon, Easy Star All-Stars brought together these dub tributes with ones from their latest record, Thrillah, last night (and into today) at Irving Plaza.

I decided to have a delicious meal in Brooklyn over getting there for Passafire, another Sublime clone.  Thankfully I arrived just in time to see this video playing on the screen in between sets:

I could have watched it all night, but L.A.'s Aggrolites had to go on.  They opened with a medley of "Free Time," "Work It," and "Faster Bullet," and rarely took time to pause for the duration of their 53-minute set.  Their brand of "skinhead reggae" was enjoyable enough, mainly thanks to Roger Rivas' impressive organ workouts.  With shoutouts to Delroy Wilson and Ernest Ranglin, the fellas have obviously done their homework, and it paid off with crowd singalongs for "Mr. Misery" and closer "Don't Let Me Down."

A little after 11pm, the main act crept onto the stage.  They opened with Radiohead's "Electioneering," which they have definitely transformed into their own song.  "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" started off the MJ hits, but as on the album, it was too faithful a cover for me personally.  Following that with "Lovely Rita," it became clear they weren't going to play the LP straight through.  Kirsty Rock sang "P.Y.T." and bassist Ras I Ray and axeman Shelton Garner, Jr. sparred on "The Girl is Mine."  While not bad, "Girl" was lacking the soul it has on the album, where Mojo Morgan (of Morgan Heritage) and David Hinds (of Steel Pulse) trade lines.  This is the main shortcoming with Easy Star live.  For their records, they have been able to enlist the vocal talents of such reggae luminaries as Toots Hibbert, Sugar Minott, and the Mighty Diamonds, but as a touring band, their voices aren't on that same level.  The only guest they were able to wrangle was some Donal Logue-looking motherfucker from Passafire for "Karma Police."  Sure, their dub arrangements of classic songs are inspired, but their original material is limited both vocally and lyrically, "Bed of Rose" withstanding.

After a nice Dub Side trip that went "Climbing Up the Walls," Ras I Ray plucked a string on his bass and instructed the crowd to hum the note. We hummed, but not loud enough. "Although I've been smoking, based on the number of faces out there I see, there should be much more 'mmm' than that," he egged us on. We hit the note louder and longer. Ras hugged himself with delight. "That was one love," he said, and the band went into "With a Little Help from My Friends," a crowd-pleaser.  Then they backed the group's toaster, Ruff Scott, on his dancehall track "Tell Dem Fi Gwaan."  Over the course of the night, all seven singles from the Thriller album were played, finishing their set with the title track, which went into spooky dub territory with Ruff Scott croaking out the Vincent Price voiceover.  "Billie Jean" found its way into the encore after a solo "Redemption Song" by Shelton that was sadly interrupted by some dipshit in a yarmulke.  And it wasn't even a cool yarmulke like this one:

And if you want to see how people dance to this music, here's how their version of "Billie Jean" affected a fan in Baltimore earlier this year.

When the bong hit and cough samples singalled the intro to "Money," my favorite of their Pink Floyd renditions, I got really excited. Unfortunately, they played the song at a quicker tempo that didn't serve it well. With a dub band, it's not about how fast you can play; it's about how slow. While I had a good time, I feel like if they brought along some of their featured guests on tour, the show would've improved greatly. On their own, I wouldn't mind seeing them as the house band at some Caribbean resort.

EASY STAR ALL-STARS – 10.04.12 – IRVING PLAZA (1 hour, 48 minutes)

SET –

Electioneering / Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ / Lovely Rita / P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) / The Girl is Mine / Karma Police (feat. Passafire) / Breathe > On the Run > Time > Climbing Up the Walls / With a Little Help from My Friends / Tell Dem Fi Gwaan / Beat It > Any Colour You Like > Human Nature / Thriller

ENCORE –

Redemption Song / Billie Jean / Money

The Jacksons Compete with Fireworks in Coney Island

It was a beautiful Saturday night in Coney Island for the Seaside Summer Concert Series to continue with the Jacksons, making a free appearance on their Unity Tour.  There was a solid setlist and the musicians were top notch, but the show was incredibly disorganized.

When I arrived at the venue, it was quite clear this thing was a clusterfuck.  Greeted with a confusing maze of barricades going the entire length of the block, it wasn't obvious where anyone was supposed to go.  "This is the line to pay," said an employee.  I thought it was a free concert, but you could pay $5 for a seat.  If you brought your own chair, you could be penned into another area.  If you wanted to stand, you had to stand way the fuck in the back.

We got there in time to hear misogynistic warm-up comic Artie Fuqua delivering some groundbreaking comedic material: the difference between men and women.  A 
dick-sucking parade for borough president Marty Markowitz followed.  As Marty began trotting out a list of sponsors so long it seemed as if every Brooklyn business was represented, and then asked the audience to contribute money to the men going around with blue buckets, it became increasingly obvious that they didn't have the funds to pay for the show.  Or at least for a decent sound guy.

The Jacksons started things off with "Can You Feel It," which would've been more appropriately titled, "Can You Hear It," the bass and drums creating a nasty muck that the vocals and guitars couldn't cut through.  Amazingly, the sound wasn't fixed for the entirety of the show, and it really put a damper on what could've been an excellent concert.  Jermaine, Marlon, Tito, and Jackie blazed through a mix of Jackson 5 and Jacksons' songs, and even five of Michael's solo efforts.  Three Jermaine Jackson tunes, including my favorite, "Let's Get Serious," were performed, likely a contractual obligation, considering his refusal to join the Jacksons when they signed to CBS.

A hokey scripted segment where the Jacksons sat on stools and recounted the first time they went to Detroit to meet Berry Gordy accompanied a video slideshow of Jackson 5 photos from the '70s.  As they finished up "Time Waits for No One," fireworks from the Cyclones game at neighboring MCU Park lit up the night sky, the explosions ricocheting off the surrounding buildings.  "Heaven Knows I Love You, Girl" was completely obscured by the cacophony, and many audience members shifted their eyes to the pyrotechnics to the right.  Following a tribute to Michael of "Gone Too Soon" by Jermaine, they finally went off-script, asking with a chuckle, "Did you enjoy the fireworks?"  At least they could laugh about it.

A rushed medley of Jackson 5 hits including "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save," "Never Can Say Goodbye," and "All I Do is Think of You" snatched back the crowd, everyone's hands swaying during the mélange's finale, "I'll Be There."  After the one-two MJ punch of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," they rocked the crowd with an extended "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" and danced their way offstage.  Marty Markowitz got on the mic and asked for more money.  No "Dancing Machine?"  The sound crew's paychecks should all go into the blue buckets.

THE JACKSONS – 08.11.12 – CONEY ISLAND SEASIDE SUMMER CONCERT SERIES (1 hour, 37 minutes)

SET –

Can You Feel It / Blame It on the Boogie > I Wanna Be Where You Are / Rock with You / Show You the Way to Go / Lovely One / Lookin’ Through the Windows / Time Waits for No One / Heaven Knows I Love You, Girl > Push Me Away > Man of War / Gone Too Soon / I Want You Back > ABC > The Love You Save > Never Can Say Goodbye > All I Do is Think of You > I’ll Be There / Dynamite > Let’s Get Serious / Do What You Do / Can’t Let Her Get Away / This Place Hotel / Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ / Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough / Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)

Your Butt is Mine

I laughed at this email subject from Amazon.com:

Dustin Sherman: New Michael Jackson

You know I'm bad, I'm bad. C'mon.

Michael Jackson is Dead.

I was at the Associated Press today when I overheard the people in the newsroom: "Michael Jackson is sick.  Isn't he supposed to do a tour in July?"  Fifteen minutes later, on CNN: "Breaking news: Michael Jackson hospitalized."  Fifteen minutes later, on the street: "Michael Jackson died."  It was strange to see how news breaks.  It was stranger that no one seemed to care that Farrah Fawcett also died today.  There is hope though:

It's not unreasonable to assume Michael Jackson could return.  Keep an eye on your floorboards!