Buster Blue Change Up Their Sound for Album #2

Folk music has made an enormous resurgence as an answer to the computerized sheen of today's pop.  Clever marketing teams have found ways to sell millions of records again even if every song sounds the same (Mumford & Sons) or reeks of inauthenticity (the Lumineers).  So many musicians are picking up their acoustic guitars and giving Americana a try that we've been confronted with an oversaturation of folk music to the point where every new artist I'm looking at comes with a "RIYL: Mumford & Sons, the Lumineers, the Civil Wars."  It's the largest folk explosion since the 1960s, and just like the '60s, there's a lot of shit to wade through to find the good stuff.  Fortunately, you've got me to put on the muck boots and do the dirty work.

In April, I was trudging through Daytrotter and discovered a folk quintet out of Reno called Buster Blue.  Their songs kept going in directions I didn't expect, just as you wouldn't expect Reno to produce many Americana acts.  On 8/23, Buster Blue will release their second full-length, Sleep Less Where the Heart Is.  Ironically, it's sleepier than the rest of their discography, a somber, subdued affair.  It gets off to a slow start, favoring traditional song structures and instrumentation.  Thankfully, the record wakes up on the b-side, the band members making better use of their talents and woodwinds.  While there's nothing on it as catchy as "Moonlight" from their previous EP, "Leave Me in C'oeur d'Alene" is the standout here.  With its almost orchestral feel and the heartbreakingly vivid image conveyed by the line, "Tell me is this some kind of joke / Or am I holding onto smoke?" the tune could easily be the tearjerking soliloquy in a Broadway musical.  The piano-based epilogue "Light in the Attic" evokes a similar mood, although it would be more appropriate as non-diegetic music in a film.  While I would've liked to hear more lead vocals from Rachael McElhiney, Buster Blue have still managed to do something that Mumford & Sons haven't: They made a record that doesn't sound exactly like their last one.

Edelweiss Gets Hazy on "Honduras"

The five members of Edelweiss are all under 21.  Three of them are still in high school.  The only reason worth mentioning their ages is that they have an even longer future ahead of them.  Having already released the proggy Pre-Columbians EP in 2011, this Tuesday, 8/6, they release their second EP, Honduras.  The opening track, "Grand," finds them expanding their math rock sound into shoegaze territory before they pick up the pace and the power with "Withering Heights."  Comparisons to Minus the Bear are warranted, but the main difference you'll hear is in the vocals.  While MTB's Jake Snider's are mixed on top of the tracks like most pop/rock songs, Edelweiss buries Tony Vitale's and Niko Porlier's a little deeper to create mood pieces instead of singalongs.  They still share that jittery energy though.  There might actually be too much going on by the middle of "March," what with the glockenspiel and all, but it chills out nicely in the end to almost an independent film score.  "Midas" wraps things up with a darkwave bow, but make sure to skip past 1:30 of silence at its end to hear a surprise acoustic gift from the band.

Stream/download "Withering Heights" below:

Allen Stone Sits Down at Rockwood Music Hall

After seeing Allen Stone command the crowd at Brooklyn Bowl, I vowed that I would see many more of his shows.  So when a little bird (Sister Sparrow) tweeted in my ear that he was doing a free last-minute gig at Rockwood yesterday, the plans were set in motion to get there as soon as I finished work.  Once let in, I was able to get my favorite balcony seat in the house.  I ordered a beer and waited for the magic to happen.

To my surprise, it happened almost instantly.  Lyle Divinsky, a subway station singer-songwriter, walked out in his bare feet and sat on a stool in the center of the stage.  Donning a hat and vest, if only his pants would have been rolled up one ring higher, he would've resembled a grown Huck Finn.  And then he started to sing... a cappella.  If Allen Stone is the neo-soul wunderkind whiteboy from Washington, Divinsky is his counterpart from the other top corner of the map, Maine.  The audience was hooting and hollering after that first little taste, so Lyle grabbed an acoustic and led a singalong of his tune, "Come on Home."  "Y'all excited to see Allen Stone?" he asked.  Cheers. "Me too. But I hope you like what's leading up to it too."  Keeping time by paddling his feet off his stool, he kept the soul train coming with "Push On" and "Disaster," the latter of which featured a groovy little jam led by his uncle, Andy Argondizza, on guitar.  The crowd whooped spiritedly at the line, "Fuck you, Cupid!" during "Hit Man," and Divinsky channeled Otis Redding on a series of "I got to"s on "I Can't Believe the Way That You Love Me."  Lyle paused at the song's end, and announced, "So for these last two, it is my pleasure and my honor to welcome my favorite singer in the world, my dad, Mr. Phil Divinsky."  It was the epitome of a healthy father-son relationship as the two traded lines, smiling widely while the other sang.  Acts like Divinsky and Moon Hooch are why I always pause my iPod when I come across a performer on the platform.  You just never know.

Frances Cone Band was up next.  The plucky bass and drums that kicked off "Better Man" reminded me a little too much of "Come on Eileen," but the set improved from there.  I didn't envy her position, sandwiched between two vocal powerhouses, but she made do, using her smoky voice on a cover of the Black Keys' "These Days" that actually had me struggling to remember who originally sang it.  By the next number, "Mercy," Frances had also stepped out of her shoes, feeling the room's energy through the floorboards.

The Rockwood crew lowered the piano from the ceiling, setting the stage for Stone.  He emerged from the back hallway and grabbed a stool between Brent Rusinow and Trevor Larkin.  Thanking everyone for coming on such short notice, Allen strummed an acoustic guitar and began "A Change is Gonna Come."  Screams from ladies and shouts from dudes.  He passed the guitar back to Larkin, and invited Josh Rawlings to have a seat at the piano that was taking up so much real estate.  "Contact High" and "Celebrate Tonight" followed, Allen's voice impeccable in the room.  "The more you drink, the better we sound," he offered unnecessarily.  "Amen, brother!" toasted a crowdmember.  Stone shot back, "Thanks for the vote of confidence.  Who the fuck invited you?"  The crowd chuckled, and Stone continued with "Quit Callin."  "We haven't done a show like this in a while. I can't remember the last time I sat down onstage," he remarked before "The Bed I Made."  It was amazing to see him in such an intimate setting.  Unfortunately, sometimes other people don't know how to behave in this situation, and I had to ask two yappy bitches behind me to quiet down.  Following "Sex & Candy," Allen stated, "We're gonna keep it in the same mood.  We're gonna do another cover song."  The song was "Is This Love."  Putting Marcy Playground anywhere near Marley for reasons other than alphabetical order is pretty much blasphemy, but I quickly forgot MP once he got to the chorus.  It was during this number that I looked down and realized what a special night it was.  This wasn't Allen Stone inciting a crowd to dance with a preacher-like authority; it was Allen Stone using his dazzling voice to make a room fall silent while his friend tickled the keys of a real, wooden piano.  Brent, on backup vocals, made hand signals to Josh to watch Allen for the end, but then found himself laughing in awe at Allen's vocal ability, not wanting the tune to stop.  Before the final song of the evening, "Last to Speak," Allen offered some words of advice not commonly given by rockstars: "Just be humble.  I believe that humility breeds confidence."  The audience listened with rapt attention as he spit the powerful lyrics.  No one even whispered, humbled by the man onstage with the spectacular voice.

ALLEN STONE - 08.02.13 - ROCKWOOD MUSIC HALL (54 minutes)

SET -

A Change is Gonna Come / Contact High / Celebrate Tonight / Quit Callin / The Bed I Made / Sex & Candy / Is This Love / Figure It Out / Unaware / Last to Speak

Frank Turner Closes Out a Two-Night Stand at Music Hall of Williamsburg

"If I'm gonna spend two days in one town, it might as well be New York fucking City."  So said Frank Turner last night at his second consecutive show at Music Hall of Williamsburg.  A near-flawless setlist competed for dominance with flawed sound, and thankfully won out by the concert's conclusion.

Greeted by cheers as soon as he emerged from the stage-left door, lanky singer-songwriter Ben Marwood should have been having the time of his life, seven days into his first U.S. tour.  "In the interest of honesty, I feel like death," he admitted, relaying a story about his stage fright-induced stomach problems.  Much like early Frank Turner shows, Marwood performed a set of modern folk songs accompanied solely by his acoustic guitar.  His voice sounded a bit like Christian Bale's (his native voice; not Batman's), and his banter betwixt songs (and even during them) gave his performance a relaxed, friendly vibe.  During "Oh My Days," he interrupted a line about gigging in Newbury to explain, "Which is a town near my town, so you think people would go."  He dedicated "I Promise You That It Will Be Okay" to Frank Turner, despite the fact that "he still spurns my sexual advances."  Before closing with "Murder She Wrote," Marwood invited everyone to meet him afterwards at the merch table: "We will hug. We will high-five. We will talk about the queen. That's all I know how to do."

Minneapolis punk band, Off with Their Heads, took the stage next.  A fight had broken out during their set on Tuesday, so the crowd seemed overly cautious not to rock the boat.  That's not to say there wasn't energy onstage, with the band blazing through 16 songs in under 39 minutes.  Even though his voice had quite the growl, frontman Ryan Young enunciated his words with so much precision that I was able to grasp the majority of the lyrics, an anomaly in punk rock.  Young opted to tune his guitar through the amp at the end of songs, allowing the band to keep plowing forward.  Almost all of the power chord-based two-minute tunes were melodically enhanced by backup vocals from guitarist John Polydoros and bassist Robbie Swartwood.  And drummer Ryan Fisher had a colossal beard.

"Good evening, Brooklyn!  How you fucking doing?" a grinning Frank Turner questioned the roaring crowd that only only got louder when he began singing "Eulogy."  At the song's end, the Sleeping Souls kicked into "Try This at Home," but the mix sounded like shit.  Nigel Powell's crisp drums overpowered everything except Tarrant Anderson's rumbling bass.  Ben Lloyd was clearly rocking out on his guitar, but he might as well have been unplugged to save the electricity, considering you couldn't make out a note.  At least his vocal mic was up, so you could hear him supplying the high harmonies to the finale of "Reasons Not to Be an Idiot."  The song led directly into "Glory Hallelujah," and while Frank spent much of the song repeating, "There is no God," I had no choice but to believe in a higher power when the guy who'd been singing horribly right behind me moved up closer to the stage.  I've found my enjoyment at Frank Turner shows is often based on how bad a singer I'm in front of.  "If today had been a film, it would've been The Hangover pt. II.  So a hangover, but not even very funny," jested Frank.  The Souls left the stage, with the exception of Matt Nasir, who backed Frank on keys for "The Way I Tend to Be."  Prior to the show, several fans had emailed requests that Frank perform "Redemption," a song rarely played due to its taxing vocal demands.  Turner dismissed Nasir to tackle the tune, acing the vox and pouring in so much emotion that it was without a doubt, my favorite performance of the night.  He continued solo on "Love, Ire, & Song," though solo is a misnomer, insomuch as the entire crowd was singing along.  Looking up at the swaying fans in the balconies when it came to the line, "If we're stuck on this ship and it's sinking, then we might as well have a parade," I imagined I was in a ship's belly, singing a shanty with the rest of the crew.  The sound had improved considerably during these songs without the overloud drums.  The mixer must've finally noticed the difference because once the band returned, he dialed back Nigel's drums a little and even raised Ben's level a tad, so it was pretty much a revelation when I finally heard him cut through on "The Road."  And even better to catch the otherworldly electric hum of him playing with an e-bow on "I Am Disappeared."

"Four Simple Words" picked up right where "Disappeared" left off.  By the end of the first verse, the tension had reached its breaking point, and with Nigel's furious drumroll, a circle pit broke out in the room's center.  While I'm generally anti-moshing, the sense of relief that came with it was worth the getting bumped a little.  "You guys are pretty fucking cool," Frank addressed the crowd once it was over.  But would we be able to combine singing, clapping, and jumping up and down into jumping jacks while singing the chorus of "Recovery?"  It sounded like a recipe for disaster, yet it actually turned out to be really fucking fun and a helluva calf workout.  After such a peppy number, Turner chose "Broken Piano" for a cool-down.  While improved from the studio version, it was somewhat anticlimactic to end the set with Frank crooning out-of-tune like the piano in the song.

Frank and Matt came back shortly thereafter, Matt picking up an electric mandolin to assist Frank on the debut performance of "We Could Get Better."  He asked that everyone put their camera phones away for this work-in-progress version.  Turner was visibly affected by the song's trial, lyrically an extension of the post-breakup subject matter of Tape Deck Heart.  The rest of the Sleeping Souls joined in on "I Still Believe," Tarrant Anderson dancing around with his bass like only he can.  Halfway through "Photosynthesis," the band vamped while Frank began his closing remarks.  Some fans preemptively got down on their haunches, forcing Frank to acknowledge the routine we'd participated in at Bowery Ballroom.  "The rule is everybody sit down on the floor; I'll explain the rest later," he offered.  Calves still sore from the jumping jacks, we crouched down to hear his spiel on concerts being unifying experiences, and exploded upward at the same moment to prove his theory.  With the sound issues at the concert's start, it wasn't exactly "the perfect way for the evening to begin," but it was damn sure a great way to end it.

BEN MARWOOD - 07.31.13 - MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG (29 minutes, 38 seconds)

SET -
Question Marks / We Are No Longer Twenty-Five / Five Little Secrets / Tampa International / Oh My Days / I Promise You That It Will Be Okay / Singalong / Murder She Wrote

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS - 07.31.13 - MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG (38 minutes, 30 seconds)

SET -
Start Walking > Drive / Nightlife > Theme Song > For the Four > Hard to Admit / Altar Boy > Don't Make Me Go / Janie > Focus on Your Own Family > Seek Advice Elsewhere > Always Alone / Stolen Away > Die Today > My Episodes > Clear the Air

FRANK TURNER - 07.31.13 - MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG (1 hour, 43 minutes)

SET -

Eulogy / Try This at Home / If Ever I Stray / Plain Sailing Weather > Reasons Not to Be an Idiot > Glory Hallelujah / Wessex Boy / Substitute / The Way I Tend to Be / Redemption / Love, Ire, & Song / We Shall Not Overcome > The Road / Polaroid Picture > I Am Disappeared > Four Simple Words / Recovery > Broken Piano

ENCORE -
We Could Get Better* / I Still Believe / Photosynthesis

Edelweiss Snags Some New Fans at Tammany Hall

Not to be confused with the Austrian dance band of the same name, Edelweiss is an indie rock quintet from Stroudsburg, PA.  In celebration of their Honduras EP, which drops next week, they played a gig last night at Tammany Hall.

It was my first time in the venue, and I had a strange sense of déjà vu before I realized it used to be the Annex.  It was also my first time seeing Edelweiss, and I didn't know exactly what to expect from the live show of a "math rock" band.  Would they be standing there, feet planted firmly on the ground while their fingers did all the fancy fretwork to form the precise guitar lines?  It turns out they were anything but stationary, a surging whirlwind of energy that swept up the audience.  While it's true that the crowd started off small, as more people entered the venue, they didn't just talk to each other while waiting for the headliner.  They said their hellos and then turned their undivided attention to the narrow stage, perhaps partly out of concern that one of the gambolling bandmembers might topple off.  Bassist/vocalist Tommy Vitale was particularly engaging, with his wild bunch of curls catching the light like the web of feathers dangling from his headstock intend to catch dreams.

Edelweiss started the set with "Grand" and "Withering Heights" from the new EP, not ashamed to front-load with fresh material.  Self-describing their songs as either "fidgety" or "atmospheric," "Himura" was a nice mix of the two.  Its jittery post-punk riffs concocted the feeling of an all-night dance party before opening up into a new dawn.  Days don't last forever though, and the sun fell back behind the horizon, party time once more.  The guys weren't slaves to technicality either, revealing some truly melodic moments in "Fiasco."  The groove before "Icarus" was especially tasty, new fans cheering at its climax.  The band finished the set with a medley of "A Sound from Pennsylvania" and "Toussaint," which escalated into a drum-led cacophony that even saw keyboardist Shane Cashman banging on a tom of his own.

I interviewed the whole band for The Next Round podcast, so stay tuned in the upcoming weeks for that.

Penguin Prison Plays in What Feels Like a Prison

Ozomatli had posed the question earlier in the evening during one of their songs: "¿Dónde está la after party?"  For me, it was a DJ set by Penguin Prison (Chris Glover) at NYC's newest nightclub, the Wall.  After catching him a month ago in Las Vegas, it was time to check one out on his home turf.  While Commonwealth was a nice escape from the glitz of the Strip, the Wall was like a place from which you couldn't escape.  Waiting to enter in a narrow black corridor with stenciled instructions (EYES UP FRONT. HANDS TO YOUR SIDES. NO SPITTING.), I heard someone say, "I feel like I'm going into a rollercoaster ride."  Once finally past the checkin podium, the venue felt a little like Sleep No More's McKittrick Hotel in that there were no directions as to where to go in the coal mine darkness.  After wandering around in an upstairs area, I made my way down to a bar, where four dim chandeliers provided the only light.  Around the corner from the bar was a dancefloor.  A DJ with a laptop was on a raised platform at the far end.   A woman in lingerie danced in a birdcage beside him.  You'd occasionally spot patrons hitting C0₂-filled balloons into the air.  That is, until they were popped on the disco ball ensconced in razor wire.  (You read that correctly.) I wasn't digging the DJ, so I waited patiently by the wall for PP.

He took over right before 1am, getting things started with his brand new remix of Hockey's "My Mind," posted just two days prior on his Soundcloud.  After his remix of "Blue Jeans," he grabbed the mic to sing "Hollywood," acting out the lyrics with his hands.  Shifting back into DJ-mode, he programmed a little Fleetwood Mac.  While he'd condensed his live vocal performances into a mini-set at Commonwealth, he interspersed them throughout the night here, continuing with new song, "Callin' Out Your Name."  After singing about his car called Jenny on "The Worse It Gets," PP announced, "Now I'm gonna do this song. This is a song about Prince."  While I'm still partial to the surprise Vegas version, his take on "I Wanna Be Your Lover" was excellent.  You could just tell he was having so much fun, coming out from behind his setup to sing unabashedly to the gyrating mass below.  That joy carried over into "You Can Call Me Al," where Glover didn't sing, but made sure to conduct the crowd on the horn hits, and save a miniature freakout for himself during that infamous bass solo.  "I hope you guys know this song," he said, dropping "Don't Fuck with My Money" on us for his final number.  It didn't reach the heights of the live version, however, with the omission of the screamed lines about "squeezing it 'til the eagle bleeds."  Penguin Prison was prepared to pass the platform to the proximate performer, but pleas from the people persisted.  "I could try one more," he said, firing off "Fair Warning" for an encore, slapping hands with those in the front as he sang.

PENGUIN PRISON - 07.27.13 - THE WALL

SET (with vocals) -
Hollywood / Callin' Out Your Name* / The Worse It Gets > I Wanna Be Your Lover / Don't Fuck with My Money

ENCORE -
Fair Warning

Ozomatli Play a Set for Each Generation at Lincoln Center

Ozomatli performed two shows—one for the kids and one for their parents—yesterday in Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park Bandshell.  Having already contributed songs to PBS Kids Rocks and the video game soundtrack to Happy Feet Two, it was only a matter of time before Ozomatli took the plunge into an entire album of children's music, 2012's Ozokidz.  While the record is clearly for its intended audience, I decided to show up early to see how an Ozo show would translate to the little ones.  Not surprisingly, very easily.  Running out on the stage in monochromatic Adidas tracksuits, each member in a different color, the band recalled a hip, urban version of the Wiggles.  They began with one of their "adult" numbers, "La Gallina," explaining it as sort of a chicken dance, throwing in extra squawks for good measure.  They interacted with the crowd like many children's TV hosts, by asking them questions like, "What's your favorite instrument?"  Incoherent shouting responded, but it was obvious the children were having fun, dancing wildly to songs about germs, exercise, and balloons.  Two more "adult" Ozo songs found their way into the set too, "Caballito" and "Como Ves," the latter on which they were joined by Dan Zanes on guitar.  As with most Ozo concerts, the band made their way off the stage and sambaed into the crowd, playing "The Hokey Pokey."  "Follow us, kids!" they yelled, as they proceeded onward.  Thankfully it wasn't an elaborate kidnapping attempt, but a chance to direct families to the merch table, where they bookended the set with the actual "Chicken Dance."  I must admit I was a tad surprised not to hear the theme to Sesame Street, which they've been known to play, but a lesson this big kid has learned is, "You can't always get what you want."

The band changed out of their matching outfits and emerged an hour or so later for the adult show, also beginning with "La Gallina."  "Come on, Lincoln Center, you don't sit down at an Ozomatli show," they urged, and everyone remained standing and cavorting for the rest.  It was apparent this show was for the adults when the band members came to the front in a choreographed thrust during "Chango."  If that didn't make it conclusive, Justin Porée turning around and shaking his ass at everyone during new song,"Paleta," did.  Along with "Paleta," the band served up a few cuts from the upcoming LP, including the reggae-infused "Brighter" and "Tus Ojos," which comes dangerously close to sounding like a Spanish version of "Crazy Train."  The show was a blast, as always, whether dip-diving-and-socializing on an actual "Saturday Night," scatting back Asdru's trumpet lines on "Elysian Persuasion," or jumping in the air during a high-energy "Nadas por Free," ironically at a free concert.  While all the members of Ozomatli were on point last night, Uli was absolutely killing it.  Any instrument he picked up, be it melodica, clarinet, or saxophone, he just lit on fire.  After supplying the melody to a surprise "Stir It Up" in "Cumbia" on his sax, he dropped another tasty solo in "After Party."  The song went its route in sampling from gems from the past like "Just My Imagination" and "Ooh Baby," and then Uli took center stage to dedicate one to the '80s kids.  "Those of you who grew up in the '90s, you're not gonna remember this shit at all," he said before ripping into a pitch-perfect "Careless Whisper."  The band invited some kids onstage to boogie down during "Como Ves" and "La Misma Canción."  One boy stole the show, looking like he was under the Cruciatus Curse as he flailed about crazily with an indifferent look on his face.  The band exited into the audience once more, teasing "Beethoven's Ninth," decidedly more adult than "The Hokey Pokey."  The band got all the way to merch table again, but this time they were completely encapsulated by fans.  When they attempted to stop playing, cheers forced them into doing one more song.  (If anyone knows what it was, let me know in the comments below.)  I guess adults can be more demanding than kids.

OZOMATLI - 07.27.13 - DAMROSCH PARK BANDSHELL

SET I (41 minutes) -

Intro / La Gallina > We Are the Ozokidz / Germs / Sun & Moon / Caballito / Happy Birthday / Like It's Your Birthday / Exercise / Balloon Fest / Como Ves (feat. Dan Zanes) > We Are the Ozokidz > The Hokey Pokey > It's Time to Dance! (tease) > Chicken Dance

SET II (1 hour, 27 minutes) -
Intro / La Gallina > Chango / Paleta / Saturday Night / Elysian Persuasion / Ya Viene el Sol / Tus Ojos > Cumbia de los Muertos > Stir It Up > Cumbia de los Muertos > Nadas por Free / Brighter / After Party > Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) (tease) > Ooh Boy (tease) > Careless Whisper (tease) > After Party / Caballito / La Temperatura / Como Ves / La Misma Canción > Ozomatli Exit Song > Olé, Olé, Olé > Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (tease)

ENCORE (3 minutes) -
Unknown*

Smokey Robinson Concert Ends Awkwardly in Coney Island

The Seaside Summer Concert Series, an annual concert series where they exhume the bodies of hitmakers from the '60s and '70s to make them perform in the worst venue possible, continued last night with Smokey Robinson.  While the sound wasn't great, it was miles ahead of the atrocious mix at last year's Jacksons show.  The audience was still oddly divided into people who paid $5 for a seat, those who brought their own chairs, and people like me who stood in the back for free.  This kind of segregation over such a large space doesn't unify the concertgoers into a crowd, making any audience participation fall extremely flat.  "Going to a Go-Go" started the show, but Robinson's vocals felt weak and overused.  By the fifth song, "Ooh Baby, Baby" his voice had warmed up, and he received a standing ovation from a number of fans.  "We should've played that first," he remarked.  Maybe, or maybe he shouldn't have front-loaded "I Second That Emotion" and "You've Really Got a Hold on Me" before he had a chance to find his pipes.  "This is Thursday night in Coney Island. You had a thousand choices and you came to spend it with us. We love you," said the gracious Robinson.  "Right now we are going to boogie," he said, taking the opportunity to show off some dance moves.  When they evolved into pelvic thrusting, Smokey stopped himself, admitting, "I got a little carried away, didn't I?"

I've seen Toots Hibbert (70), Mavis Staples (74), and Jerry Lee Lewis (77) this year.  Smokey is 73 years old, and among his fellow septuagenarians, he is up there with Toots in terms of impressive agility and mental clarity.  He had no memory lapses whatsoever when telling the tale of how he wrote "The Way You Do the Things You Do" for the Temptations while he was driving late at night on a cross-country tour.  He performed the song in a medley that included "Get Ready" and "My Girl," the latter of which saw moments of prime Smokey falsetto, most notably on the "I got sooo much love to give" line.  He seemed satisfied with the crowd's performance as well, stating, "Everybody out there was singing that one.  You sounded GREAT!  I thought that you may have just been here to see a concert, but I knew after that you are the Seaside Summer Choir."  He advised us not to miss Motown: The Musical on Broadway, and proceeded with a story about Stevie Wonder approaching him at a party with a song idea.  Exaggerating the duration of Wonder's head-swaying blindisms for comedic effect, Smokey said, "He offered to drive me home so I could get started.  But you know I wasn't gonna go for that.  He drives much too fast."  Smokey giggled with delight at his joke, and dropped into the track, "The Tears of a Clown."  Stories like this are why you go to see these legends in concert.  However, you don't go to hear them hawk their latest Cracker Barrel-released CD.  "For those of you who've never been, Cracker Barrel is a store restaurant.  You can go to Cracker Barrel and order some food.  The food is great.  Then you can go shopping, and when you're done, you can eat.  Women love it," Smokey laughed.  It was a weird bit of promotion that didn't go over particularly well.  After all, he did use the same adjective to describe the food at Cracker Barrel as he did our singing ability.  The song he performed following his pitch was called "That Place."  With a chorus that contains the line, "There's no place like that place," I couldn't help but think he was singing about the chain restaurant with the rocking chairs on the front porch.  It was only during the number's finale, where Smokey unleashed some orgasmic wails, that the crowd got on board.  "Just to See Her" came next, but it delved too far into '80s cheese with its "Flashdance... What a Feeling"-reminiscent ending to excite me much.  Accompanied solely by guitar for the first half of the tune, Smokey closed the show with "The Tracks of My Tears."  It's one of my favorite songs, so I'm glad I got to hear it, albeit past its prime.

The audience leapt to their feet, showering Robinson with cheers as he departed.  The stage lights remained on, and the drummer even seemed reluctant to leave.  We waited and waited, applauding for an encore.  Six minutes later, Borough President Marty Markowitz appeared.  "I feel exactly the same way you do.  Let me put it this way: It's show business," he said disappointedly with that same diarrhea-of-the-mouth he's famous for.  It made the lack of an encore that much more awkward.  He encouraged us to go to Luna Park and the Wonder Wheel, but everything was closed.  Nathan's was packed though, the talk in the long lines all revolving around the concert's anticlimactic ending.

SMOKEY ROBINSON - 07.25.13 - CONEY ISLAND SEASIDE SUMMER CONCERT SERIES (1 hour, 5 minutes)

SET -

Going to a Go-Go / I Second That Emotion / You've Really Got a Hold on Me / Quiet Storm / Ooh Baby, Baby / The Way You Do the Things You Do > Get Ready > My Girl / My Girl (tease) / My Girl (tease) / The Tears of a Clown / That Place / Just to See Her / The Tracks of My Tears