Live Performances


31
Mar 09

American Idol Recap: Season 8, Top 9

American Idol Recap: Season 8, Top 9 live music

Welcome back Idol fans. We’re down to the bottom 9, and right on cue, Ryan begins his introductory speech. As he speaks, the camera pans across the contestants and we’re treated to Scott’s hair who is doing what his pink pants did last week: Make him look insane. Allison looks like she and Scott started sharing hair people and her hair is doing its best Flock of Seagulls impression. Anoop has this crazy chain thing wrapping down his arm through a lapel on his shoulder, and I’m trying to figure out if that’s his rosary or maybe his wallet is attached. Anyway, the judges are announced, walk through the giant gate in the front of the stage (Paula is not wearing a tutu tonight, but she is still wearing a pink cocktail dress that looks like it was made for a 16 year old. Here we go! We’re on to the final 9! Continue reading →


31
Mar 09

Prince – Ol’ Skool Company

[rating:68/100]
Prince   Ol Skool Company listenHe’s still got it!

While it’s not a spectacular track, or one that will be all over the radiowaves, Prince’s new track, “Ol’ Skool Company,” is something worth listening to.

Debuted last week on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, “Company” features Prince’s trademark soulful, groovy crooning and mixture of funk and rock that not many artists have mastered. Add that to his as-always phenomenal stage presence, a beastly harmonica breakdown in the middle, and a gospel melody at the end meshed with Prince’s wailing guitar, and you’ve got yourself a great Prince track! Continue reading →


26
Mar 09

American Idol Recap: Season 8, Top 10

American Idol Recap: Season 8, Top 10 live performances

Alright Idol fans. It’s that time of the week. President Obama may have harshed the A.I. flow last night, but we’re ready to go tonight. This… is American Idol Recap (think of it the way Ryan says it).

The idols are lined up and there are all sorts of backlights shining. Ryan tells us that these guys are the most talked about singers in the nation, but that may be a little hyperbolic for my taste. Either way, we’re introduced and on our way. Thanks Seacrest!

The judges come out from behind the stage, and… WHAT IS PAULA WEARING? It’s 50% prom dress, 50% tutu, 100% strange. No wonder she loves Adam so much (they shop in the same stores). Conversely, Randy looks like he opened his closet, picked his favorite sweater, and was ready to roll. Continue reading →


18
Mar 09

American Idol Recap: Season 8, Top 11

American Idol Recap: Season 8, Top 11 live performances
Welcome to PMA’s American Idol Recap (AIR). This is a new segment that’s admittedly directed to American Idol fans (although, everyone is welcome). Basically, it’s my play-by-play and opinions of the music, contestants, and all things American Idol. I know we should’ve started this last week when there were 13 contestants, but since I didn’t think of it until halfway through that show, we’ll start here tonight.

And here… we… go! Continue reading →


28
Feb 09

Get Very Excited For Kanye’s VH1 Storytellers

Get Very Excited For Kanyes VH1 Storytellers listen

Let’s get this out of the way: this is going to be epic.

Kanye’s VH1 Storytellers episode will air TONIGHT, at 9:00 pm Eastern time. Click on for more information, including the setlist, rumors, and a sneak peak video of Ye’s fantastic “Stronger” performance. Continue reading →


27
Feb 09

The Hold Steady Tours, Covers Springsteen, Makes Documentary

The Hold Steady Tours, Covers Springsteen, Makes Documentary covers

The Hold Steady, one of the greatest and most consistent rock bands of this generation, is releasing a live documentary called A Positive Rage, which, considering their live reputation, should be phenomenal. The DVD comes out on April 7th, along with an extra live album.

Make sure to check out the band’s fantastic cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” (for the latest charity covers album, War Child: Heroes), right here. The cover adds horns to brilliant effect, and since Finn already sounds a lot like Springsteen, it works really well overall. Listen to the cover:

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And click on for the documentary trailer and the band’s many upcoming tour dates, courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan. Continue reading →


21
Feb 09

Did You Catch Conan’s Final (Fantastic) “Late Night”?

Did You Catch Conans Final (Fantastic) Late Night? listen

If you missed it, the highlights are all worth a watch- Will Ferrel’s appearance, Andy Richter’s triumphant return, classic “Late Show” moments, O’Brien’s heartfelt thank yous and The White Stripes’ strange, debated performance.

I say the performance was strange because Jack and Meg played a stripped-down, changed-up version of “We’re  Going To Be Friends,” and I thought it sounded awful. Now I’m a huge Stripes fan, and I understand that part of their charm is Meg’s lacking musical ability and Jack’s unpredictability. But that’s no excuse for the song sounding lousy. At times it was haunting in a good way, yes, mostly due to Jack’s obvious emotion and the connection he has with O’Brien. But for the most part, it was haunting in the bad sense of the word.

I figured the world would agree about this, but apparently not: Stripes fans are defending Jack and Meg on Stereogum’s message board, calling it a great performance. Watch and judge for yourself, letting the world know what YOU think in the comments. Then click here for more highlights from last night’s show. I recommend Ferrel’s hysterical cameo.

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21
Feb 09

Coldplay and Bono Join Brandon Flowers For “All These Things That I’ve Done”

Coldplay and Bono Join Brandon Flowers For All These Things That Ive Done live music

This is one of those crappy Youtube videos that’s just going to make you jealous of people who were actually at this concert, but it’s DEFINITELY worth the post. Three of our generation’s biggest rock stars (all with correspondingly big egos) performed together the other night at a War Child benefit concert, playing arguably the Killers’ best song, “All These Things That I’ve Done.” A high-quality video has yet to surface, so now we’re stuck with 3 or 4 crummy ones on Youtube. Watch the video below (my personal favorite of the crap), and allow Chris Martin, Bono, and Brandon Flowers to make you wish you were at this concert. Oh, and Gary Barlow too. Thanks to twentyfourbit.com for the pic.

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20
Feb 09

Ra Ra Riot Does A Take-Away Show!

La Blogotheque’s Take-Away show series continues to be the best way to watch your favorite bands play music. Every video is fantastic, from Arcade Fire playing “Neon Bible” in a cramped elevator, to Zach Condon singing “Nantes” with Beirut on the streets of France, to Fleet Foxes harmonizing in a gymnasium, and now Ra Ra Riot jamming in a skate park. The shows always fill me with joy- you’re able to watch a raw performance with no studio layers, just your band playing their heart out. Check out Ra Ra Riot’s “Dying Is Fine” below.

http://www.vimeo.com/3265424

9
Feb 09

5 Best GRAMMY Performances 2009

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the GRAMMYs were last night. It was a great show, one of the best GRAMMY Ceremonies in years. This year we enjoyed great performances from Radiohead, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, Robert Plant & Allison Krauss, U2, M.I.A., Kanye West, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, T.I., Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder… the list goes on and on. The performances were so good that I just had to list my 5 favorite performances of the night! Don’t forget to tell me about your favorite performances of the night in the comments.

HM: Adele & Sugarland – What I’d Give / Chasing Pavements

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I may not be the biggest country fan around, but I think Jennifer Nettles’ vocal delivery was fantastic, and you know what, the song isn’t so bad either. It’s great to hear beautifully sung music, regardless of genre. And Adele’s followup performance was amazing too. Highlight: Sugarland joining Adele on stage towards the end of “Chasing Pavements.”

5 Best GRAMMY Performances 2009

Continue reading →