Cody Chesnutt Apollo Music Café Setlist

Review to come.

CODY CHESNUTT - 06.14.14 - APOLLO MUSIC CAFÉ (1 hour, 17 minutes)

SET -

That's Still Mama / Let's Go Pop (Let's Pimp the Ghetto Lie) / 'Til I Met Thee / When I Find Time / Up in the Treehouse / Everybody's Brother / Under the Spell of the Handout / What Kind of Cool (Will We Think of Next) > Goin' Downtown (tease) > What Kind of Cool (Will We Think of Next) / Goin' Downtown (tease) / Love is More Than a Wedding Day

ENCORE -

Gunpowder on the Letter

The Next Round - Episode 21: Jeremy Messersmith

This week on the podcast, Jeremy Messersmith sat down with me at One Mile House before his show at Bowery Ballroom.  He revealed how different elements of his life, from his Christian upbringing to his computer science degree to his job as a college professor have all played a part (be it subliminal or obvious) in his songwriting process.  Find out why all of his albums have 11 songs, including his latest, Heart Murmurs, which has garnered praise from NPR to Time Magazine.

(This episode also features a tease of an upcoming interview with Jon Cleary.)

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Follow Jeremy on Twitter.
Check out his tour dates.
Buy the album on hot pink vinyl.

Jeremy Messersmith Gives the Fans What They Want at Bowery Ballroom

It had only been four months since Jeremy Messersmith was last in New York, playing his sold-out album release show at Mercury Lounge.  While that set was heavy on Heart Murmurs, only dipping back as far as 2010's The Reluctant Graveyard, Messersmith made sure to give his fans something more than a repeat performance, playing tunes from all four of his albums, a new song, and a surprise cover.

Jeremy began with "I Don't Trust That Boy," an unreleased cautionary tale played solo on electric guitar.  As soon as he finished, the band charged into an energetic "Tourniquet."  A jolly "Lazy Bones" had Jeremy and his comrades flashing smiles at each other.  As "You'll Only Break His Heart" wrapped up with Messersmith strumming his acoustic and guitarist Peter Sieve experimenting with harmonics, the other members snuck off the stage.  The two axmen performed the soft "I Want to Be Your One Night Stand" to chuckles and "aww"s from the floor.  As he departed, Sieve put a reassuring hand on Jeremy's shoulder as if to say, "You got this, man."  Standing alone in the middle of the Bowery stage, he polled the crowd for requests.  Although it was unclear if he'd actually taken someone's suggestion, Messersmith made up his mind.  "This is one from the subgenre of subzero Minnesota songs," he announced, gently fingerpicking into the emotionally gutting "Beautiful Children."  Then he granted a concertgoer's wish with a cover of Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend."  Jeremy revealed that "Novocain" was "the first song I wrote that I actually kind of liked a little bit."  He explained that he penned the tune while contemplating life at his first job: "Is this the American Dream?  Working in a temp office and driving a Ford Festiva?"  As the song progressed, his bandmates joined in one by one to complete it as a unit.  With the band back together, Messersmith chose to rock out for the rest of the set, which included "Dillinger Eyes," "Heidi," and "Hitman."  Jeremy informed the crowd that he and the band would be hiding offstage for thirty seconds, adding, "I want you to just promise me that you'll applaud the whole time we're over there."  The smitten spectators had no problem obliging.  After two full-band numbers, "Ghost" and "Violet!" Messersmith thanked his band and closed with a "song he stole off the Internet" (actually just inspired by a Reddit post), the sweet yet profane "Someday, Someone."

I had a pre-show drink with Jeremy for The Next Round, so subscribe on iTunes so you don't miss it when it drops.

JEREMY MESSERSMITH - 06.10.14 - BOWERY BALLROOM (1 hour, 7 minutes)

SET -

I Don't Trust That Boy / Tourniquet / It's Only Dancing / Lazy Bones / Franklin Avenue / You'll Only Break His Heart / I Want to Be Your One Night Stand / Beautiful Children / Call Your Girlfriend / A Girl, a Boy, & a Graveyard / Novocain / Dillinger Eyes / Organ Donor / Heidi / Hitman

ENCORE -

Ghost / Violet! / Someday, Someone

The Soul Rebels & Jon Cleary Celebrate NOLA in Prospect Park

When the weather is perfect in New York, there are few things better than a Celebrate Brooklyn concert in Prospect Park.  Last night's show brought New Orleans to the borough, with sets from the Soul Rebels and Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen.

Jon Cleary and his Gentlemen represented NOLA's cherished history of piano-based fonk, continuing a lineage of artists that includes Jelly Roll Morton, Professor Longhair, and James Booker.  Beginning with a medley of "Fools Game" and "Just Kissed My Baby," Cleary interjected, "Somebody needs to shake somethin'!" and swerved into "Loose Booty."  The sound was great, but a careless cameraman stood right in front of Jon, blocking him from view.  This was especially annoying because it wasn't apparent why they were actually shooting it, considering the bandshell doesn't use screens during their concerts.  As Jon sang, "I feel so damn good I'll be glad when I got the blues," no one was more the embodiment of that feeling than drummer Jeffrey "Jellybean" Alexander, who played the entire set with a huge grin.  Though Cleary took obvious pleasure in performing fan-favorites like "When You Get Back," he also made time for some new numbers, which included "Beg, Steal, or Borrow" and "Pump It Up."  The latter took on an island vibe with its chorus of copious congas from percussionist Danny Sadownick.  A low-flying helicopter sent a quick burst of excitement through the crowd during "Groove Me," and the funky ditty sustained that momentum, ejecting several asses from their chairs.  They remained standing for the Absolute Monster Gentlemen's anthem, "Mo Hippa," which featured some supremely fat synth flourishes from Cleary on his Nord keyboard.  I taped a podcast interview with Jon earlier in the day, so be on the lookout for that.

The Soul Rebels took the New Orleans tradition of the brass band and updated it for the 21st century.  After coaxing the crowd to their feet, they used "2013" to teach some simple choreography to the crowd, miming a lasso movement.  Following "Rebelosis," a screen descended behind the eight-piece, and it lit up with a live feed from the cameras.  (It was nice to see Celebrate Brooklyn stepping up their game, but why did they have the camera guys out there to block Cleary?)  The group proceeded with "Thank You," a Jay-Z medley found on their new mixtape, Power=Power (Download it for free.).  Finishing with "Hard Knock Life," the brass mash-up was a hit with the Brooklyn crowd.  For those too old to appreciate rap, the band embarked on a cover of "Billie Jean" with Marcus Hubbard's trumpet replacing MJ's vocals.  They segued into "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)," this time with Erion Williams' saxophone playing the part of Daryl Hall.  A large portion of the crowd took a minute to relax during a drum solo from Derrick Moss and Lumar LeBlanc, but they rocketed upwards at the first notes of the Latin scorcher "Work It Out."  "504" allowed for some easy hand choreography, and then the Rebels educated the audience on the 2-1 handclap to set the pace for Pharrell's "Happy."  Cameras tracked across the barricade, capturing Park Slope matrons unabashedly shimmying to the mom-dance song of the millennium.  During closer "Get Up," Hubbard instructed the Brooklynites to get down as the band lessened its volume.  Singling out a few ladies that remained upright, Marcus scolded, "Y'all with the umbrellas need to get down.  I know you second line."  The raingear-wielding women obeyed.  He continued, "I want people on the other side of the park to say, 'Man, what's going on over there?' letting us know that we were supposed to go wild.  With everyone crouched and ready for liftoff, the band teased the classic "engine, engine number 9" line from "The Choice is Yours," and the crowd exploded with delight.

JON CLEARY & THE ABSOLUTE MONSTER GENTLEMEN - 06.07.14 - PROSPECT PARK BANDSHELL (1 hour, 3 minutes)

SET -
Fools Game > Just Kissed My Baby > Loose Booty* / So Damn Good / Unnecessarily Mercenary / Beg, Steal, or Borrow / Right Here in My Arms* / Sometimes I Wonder / When You Get Back / Pump It Up / Groove Me / Mo Hippa

THE SOUL REBELS - 06.07.14 - PROSPECT PARK BANDSHELL (1 hour, 14 minutes)

SET -

Here Tonight* > 2013 > Rebelosis / Thank You (Jay-Z Medley) / Turn It Up > Billie Jean > I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) > New Song* > Now That We Found Love (tease) > New Song (cont.)* / Drum Solo > Work It Out > 504 / Happy > Get Up > The Choice is Yours (tease) > Get Up

*If anyone knows the titles of these songs, please let me know.

Kishi Bashi Music Hall of Williamsburg Setlist

Review to come.

BURIED BEDS - 06.05.14 - MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG (39 minutes)

SET -

Wolf Confessor / Begin Again / Oh Lonely Fortress! / Children of the Sea > Your Modern Age / Breadcrumb Trail / Stars / Consolation > 1000 Acres

KISHI BASHI - 06.05.14 - MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG (1 hour, 38 minutes)

SET -

Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It! / Carry on Phenomenon / Improvisation > Bright Whites / Wonder Woman, Wonder Me / Q&A / Hahaha pt. 1 > Hahaha pt. 2 / Improvisation > Beat the Bright Out of Me / Evalyn, Summer Has Arrived / Bittersweet Genesis for Him & Her / I Am the Antichrist to You / Drum Solo / Atticus, In the Desert / The Ballad of Mr. Steak / It All Began with a Burst

ENCORE -

This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody) / A Sunday Smile / Manchester

The Next Round - Episode 20: Maxïmo Park

Just prior to Maxïmo Park's gig at Gramercy Theatre, I took Paul Smith to The Globe to chat about the band's fifth record, Too Much Information.  We discussed everything from the late-night writing sessions to the mixing via Skype to the tongue-shaving artwork.  As if that weren't enough information, Smith also shared some of his favorite Pearl Jam tunes to sing at karaoke, why he can't help but dance onstage, and his love of root beer.

Subscribe on iTunes, download directly, or stream below:


Visit the band's website for tour dates, and follow them on Twitter.

Fancy Colors Turn Mercury Lounge into Island of the Dead

Last night, Fancy Colors played the early show at Mercury Lounge, treating fans to a set that included the first half of their hours-young album, Island of the Dead (Stream it below.).  Less a George A. Romero spinoff and more a mashup of Talking Heads with a Pure Moods compilation, Island expands on the sound established on 2012's Near Equator.

The band drifted onto the stage without fanfare, singer Zac Colwell wetting his saxophone reed as he double-checked his pedal setup.  Zac thanked the crowd for coming early, and proceeded to lay down a flute loop.  Dave Heilman clacked into "History of Civilization," two drumsticks in each hand, fanned out like antennae.  The song built into a burning groove, at the end of which Zac recorded a new flute loop to segue into "Africa."  They followed that with "Infinity," a highly danceable track from the new record before chilling things out with the single "Love is Easy."  "This one's called 'Island Rose.' It's the theme of the album," announced Colwell, and the band embarked on their best performance of the night.  The dreamy intro gave way to a jaunty bassline, which got damn funky as the song progressed.  Oh yeah, there was a sax solo too.  After the always-welcome "The Way You Walk Away," Colwell questioned his bandmates, "Should I do some stuff?"  "Sure, I love stuff," responded guitarist Steve Wall (who also mastered the album).  The "stuff" consisted of layering sounds made from the sax's neck and the flute's headjoint into a heady goulash before Heilman dropped into the chugging beat of "Castle in the Snow."  Fancy Colors' only weakness is that some of their songs hit this righteous fucking groove and then just end.  "Castle" eschewed this nicely, with Heilman ramping up ferociously as Colwell sang a final crescendoing "castle in the snoooooow."

FANCY COLORS - 06.03.14 - MERCURY LOUNGE (37 minutes, 30 seconds)

SET -
History of Civilization > Africa / Infinity / Love is Easy / Island Rose / The Way You Walk Away / Castle in the Snow

Phil Lesh & Friends Central Park Saturday Setlist

Review to come.

PHIL LESH & FRIENDS - 05.31.14 - RUMSEY PLAYFIELD

SET I (1 hour, 26 minutes) -
Jam > Dear Mr. Fantasy > Cassidy / Night Time is the Right Time / Blue Sky / Mountains of the Moon / The Shape I'm In

SET II (1 hour, 28 minutes) -
Jack Straw / New Minglewood Blues / The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys > Caution (Do Not Step on Tracks) > Hard to Handle > Caution (Do Not Step on Tracks) > All Along the Watchtower > Death Don't Have No Mercy / In the Midnight Hour > Purple Haze (tease) > In the Midnight Hour

ENCORE (9 minutes) -
Donor Rap / Into the Mystic