Women ruled the night on Friday as frontwomen April Smith and Elizabeth Ziman of April Smith and the Great Picture Show and Elizabeth and the Catapult owned the stage. With an animated performance and mesmerizing vocals, Smith and Ziman showed the audience how it’s done, with some help from the men in their respective bands.
Headliner April Smith and the Great Picture Show took the stage shortly after midnight for an hour-long set. While the four-piece band was dressed in slacks, button down shirts with vests and sweaters, ties and vintage hats, Smith graced the stage in a white tutu, black tights and heels. In fact, at times the audience forgot they were seeing a concert as Smith transformed into a ballet dancer as she extended her arms and danced along with the music, seemingly taking the crowd to a carnival or jazz club with her vaudeville like charm.
Named one of Rolling Stone‘s “30 Bands to Watch” at Lollapalooza, April Smith and the Great Picture Show did not disappoint. Their frst song, “Movie Loves a Screen” impressed with guitar, violin, bass and ukulele accompaniment as the audience clapped along.
Rascal Flatts had the Ed Sullivan Theater audience on its feet for the entirety of their 45-minute set Monday night, November 15, for ‘Live on Letterman,’ a concert series run by the ‘The Late Show With David Letterman’ crew. Frequently making jokes with each other and fans, the playful trio’s humorous vibe carried throughout their performance.
In New York promoting the release of ‘Nothing Like This,’ the Flatts took requests and even dedicated a track from their LP to a newly engaged couple in the audience. But most of the banter, whether joking or not, was aimed at reminding fans of their new album’s release. “Make sure you pick up a copy or 12 tomorrow. They make great stocking stuffers,” bassist Jay DeMarcus said of the new disc, which hits stores today (November 16).
With the album being Rascal Flatts’ first release on Big Machine Records, lead singer Gary LeVox joked that label president Scott Borchetta needed permission from Taylor Swift to sign them.”We said, ‘Scott, we’d love to be on Big Machine Records,’ and he said, ‘Hold on a minute, I need to call Taylor Swift and see if she’s OK with that.'”
For my complete review, visit The Boot. Watch Rascal Flatts perform “Life Is a Highway” below.
From the moment NEEDTOBREATHE took the stage at Irving Plaza November 5, it was evident that this wasn’t just any concert. The South Carolina natives have been honing their live show for the past 10 years and Friday night was no exception. Fans came out in flocks to see them and they didn’t disappoint.
As smoke engulfed the stage and guitar fuzz and percussion were heard in the background, NEEDTOBREATHE took the stage to screams. The band kicked off their set with the energetic “Prisoner.” With an impeccable electric guitar interlude mid-song and frontman Bear Rinehart teetering close to the edge of the stage, the band kept the audience on it’s feet. Not a complete deviation from their album, NEEDTOBREATHE proved their live show is like none other. While “Prisoner” neared eight minutes with instrumental features and improvisation, the band managed to keep things fresh and continually showcased their musicality.
“Thank you all for being here. It means a lot to us. We appreciate it very, very much,” Bear said before they performed “More Time” off their album Heat to excited fans who sang along word for word. With an instrumental breakdown and foot stomping rhythm mid-song the band impressed.
NEEDTOBREATHE has been working on a new record much to their fans delight and they debuted a track off their upcoming release called “Devil’s Been Talking.” With a memorable banjo intro, soaring guitars and powerful percussion, the song is only an introduction of what’s to come. While concertgoers no doubt enjoyed hearing new tracks, it was songs from their most recent album, The Outsiders, that received the loudest screams.
“Girl Named Tennessee” livened up the venue with funky guitar accompaniment and hand clapped rhythms. The floor shook as fans stomped along during the song’s entirety. Showcasing their ability to switch gears, moving ballad “Stones Under Rushing Water” slowed things down with light guitar and percussion combined with Bear’s relentless vocals. As the music lessened to the fadeout of the track, Bear sounded like a gospel singer as his voice reverberated throughout the venue.
The piano infused “Washed By the Water” followed suit before Bear once again thanked the audience for attending the show. “We’ve been together for 10 years and it means everything to us that you show up.”
After NEEDTOBREATHE performed for just over an hour they left the stage. But, not for long. As fans chanted “NEEDTOBREATHE,” the quintet came back out for a two-song encore, which included a jaw-dropping acapella version of “Valley of Tomorrow” to the hushed crowd. (Watch below!) NEEDTOBREATHE closed their impressive set with “The Outsiders,” to a sing-along. A testament to how far they’ve come, after 10 years NEEDTOBREATHE show no signs of slowing down.
Watch NEEDTOBREATHE perform “Valley of Tomorrow” acoustic below and for my interview with them, click here.
Brad Paisley performed an hour-long set for lucky New Yorkers earlier this month at the Ed Sullivan Theater. For those not in the Big Apple, the concert was streamed live for CBS Interactive Music Group’s ‘Live on Letterman’ webcast, allowing fans to watch the set in its entirety on CBS.com.
Moments before he took the stage, Brad tweeted, “About to go on here at the Ed Sullivan theater. Like the Beatles. Sorta.”
Though he’s in Manhattan for the next few days promoting his new greatest hits compilation, ‘Hits Alive,’ Brad never feels too far from home. “On the way in here, when we were coming in from the airport, we were in an SUV. Low and behold, somewhere right after we got out of the tunnel, we hit this little patch of mud. I don’t know where in the hell that came from. It wasn’t quite big enough to have much fun with with your truck, but it made me miss home,” Brad said before singing his huge hit, ‘Mud On the Tires.’
For my complete review visit The Boot. Watch Brad perform “Then” below.
No amount of rain could deter fans in New York City from seeing the Script and Joshua Radin at their first of two sold-out shows at Terminal 5. While the Script calls Ireland home, one never would have guessed it as the energetic concertgoers welcomed them enthusiastically, lining up early for the chance to land a coveted spot close to the stage.
Joshua Radin kicked off the show with a 45-minute set that began with he and his acoustic guitar for “No Envy, No Fear,” a song he said was inspired by an idea from Bob Dylan’s biography “to lose all envy and all fear.” The crowd went wild when Radin stepped away from the microphone to sing near the edge of the stage.
For my complete reviews and photos by Wendy Hu, visit Venus Zine.
On Wednesday I shared with you my review of Keith Urban’s impromptu train station performances promoting his new album, ‘Get Closer.’ I was lucky enough to spend the day with him in New York and Philadelphia and covered all the excitement for The Boot. You can read my complete writeup on The Boot and watch the video below!
“I’m playing at Penn Station … I can check this off my bucket list now!” Keith Urban yelled to a sea of surprised rush-hour commuters at the bustling New York City train station Tuesday morning.
The Aussie country superstar performed an impromptu concert at Penn Station, in celebration of the release of his brand-new album, ‘Get Closer.’ Joking that he wanted to make a set-list full of train songs, “like take the last train to Trenton,” he joked, Keith instead kicked things off with an old favorite, ‘Days Go By.’ (He did, however, change the line “better start livin’ right now” to “better start catching your train.”) That was followed by the first single from the new CD, ‘Put You in a Song,’ followed by the heartwarming ballad ‘Only You Can Love Me This Way’ and then another uptempo fan-favorite, ‘Somebody Like You.’
“Come up close,” frontman Kris Roe said before he kicked off his set at Maxwell’s Sunday night. “We’re a band from Indiana called The Ataris.”
Not that concertgoers weren’t aware. For most, The Ataris were a part of their childhood. Song requests were screamed out all night spanning their album catalogue. While Roe often joked with the crowd, most requests were played.
While the band has seen numerous lineup changes over the years, die-hard fans found comfort in that Roe continues to sing the songs they grew up on with the same passion he did over a decade ago.
Lady Antebellum Fan Club Party 2009 CMA Music Festival Photo Credit: Wendy Hu
Lady Antebellum filled fans in on the meaning behind their hits Wednesday night during the sixth annual benefit concert for Musicians On Call at New York’s City Winery. Having volunteered at St. Jude’s in Nashville, Lady A’s Hillary Scott explained how much the non-profit, which brings live music to the bedsides of patients at hospitals, means to the band.
“We’re very excited about helping the cause and raising money,” Hillary tells The Boot. “Music is so healing. Whether you’re in a hospital bed or you’re driving down the road just broken up with your boyfriend, it has such a healing power. What better way than to go into hospitals and equip musicians to sing for these patients who are just looking for a smile?”
Though Lady A have yet to perform at hospitals for Musicians On Call, with a chapter in Nashville, band members Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood say it’s a cause they plan to get involved with. “We’re not curing diseases or anything, but to be able to put a smile on somebody’s face during a tough time can always be a cure as well,” Dave says.
For my complete review of last night’s show, visit The Boot. Stay tuned for my exclusive interviews with Lady Antebellum and Amos Lee in the coming weeks!
New Jersey favorites the Gaslight Anthem packed Radio City Music Hall Thursday night for a marathon set of nearly two hours. While the band showcased songs from their entire catalogue, their gratitude to fans was apparent as frontman Brian Fallon continually thanked fans when he could find the words.
Shortly after 9 p.m. Radio City went dark while “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” played through the speakers. The band took the stage to screaming fans and powered through “High Lonesome,” “Boxer,” “We Came to Dance” and “The Diamond Church Street Choir,” an impressive variety of songs from their three full length albums before Fallon addressed the crowd for the first time.
“Radio City. We started playing in basements. Elvis might even show up. I know we’re in New York, but I imagine New Jersey is represented in the crowd tonight.”
