Sunday, July 10, 2011

Concert Gallery: Cut Copy @ Royal Oak Music Theater

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Concert Review & Gallery: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., Prussia, Danny Brown



Saturday night the Ferndale duo of Josh Epstein and Daniel Zott , better known as Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. returned home to usher in the release of their debut album It's A Corporate World. If you're unfamiliar with the Jr. Jr. then check out MT Arts & Culture Editor Travis R. Wright's profile of the band heading out west last November. The Saturday show also featured two other of Detroit's best, indie rockers Prussia and rapper Danny Brown, who also have seen some ink here at MT, and seem to get better each show.

For their return to Detroit, just as they have this whole tour, Jr. Jr. came out and shed their Nascar jumpsuits for the slick corporate look to accompany the new album, which they played almost all of. Early highlights were the opening drones of "Morning Thought" to kick the show off and the smooth transition of their original "If It Wasn't You" into Dolly Parton's (or more famously Whitney Houston's) "I Will Always Love You" complete with a sax solo from Epstein.

Other covers included the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" and a slamming run through of Gil-Scott Heron's "We Almost Lost Detroit" that featured a few bars from SelfSays. Joining for "Skeletons" were MT cover couple Phantasmagoria, who added some percussion to the bouncy drum-heavy tune.

After about an hour, the duo came back for a loving encore, starting with a crowd pleasing rendition of Steve Winwood's "Higher Love" and closing with their own "Nothing But Our Love."

Jr. Jr. will hit Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza later this summer.

Check the video below of "Vocal Chords" from guyzeyez and listen to a run through of the Winwood jam from earlier this year in New York.

To view pictures from Saturday's show click the diagonals for a full screen view.




Thursday, February 24, 2011

Motorhead @ ROMT - Royal Oak

Lemmy @ ROMT

Rock icons Motörhead brought their signature prototype metal thrash to the Royal Oak Music Theater last night. Just as they promise, it was everything louder than everything else. The roughly hour and half set punched through early Motörhead classics and a few new tunes like "Get Back in Line" from the band's 20th release The Wörld Is Yours. The newer tunes however would be sparse as Motörhead after 36 years knows how to slam a show to a close--with quite possibly the two best songs in heavy metal history-- "Ace of Spades" and the encore of "Overkill." MT's Brett Callwood recently talked singer/bassist/general baddest man left on the planet Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister. Click the arrows for a fullscreen slide show of pictures from last nights show. Also check the trailer of Lemmy, which profiles the prolific frontman and only static member of one of rock's greatest acts.


Motörhead

Monday, October 25, 2010

Roger Waters @ The Palace of Auburn Hills

Sunday night Roger Waters brought his elaborate re-imagining of The Wall to the Palace of Auburn Hills. The current tour marks the 30th anniversary of the original Wall tour which lasted from February of 1980 to July of 1981. Check out “Outside The Wall” in the video below. Much like the classic 1980s tour, the current tour featured a two set theatrical performance of the classic Floyd album which featured a larger than life plane crash, inflatables floats of the cartoonish teacher, preying mantis vagina woman, a floating blimp pig and of course the gigantic wall.

At points the stage seemed a bit barren with only Waters at the forefront. Points standing in front of the large wall turned video screen which stretched the width of the Palace. In guitar heavy songs it would be an awkward two man replacement of Waters former partner in crime, David Gilmour, as a spotlight would show the replacement singer taking Gilmour’s vocal lead atop the wall only to dim and pop back up on the guitarist ripping through the solo of “Comfortably Numb.” However, Waters throughout the show was noticeably excited throwing his 67-year-old arms in the air hyping the sold out crow. The band among others featured Waters' son Harry on keyboards, as well as former Pink Floyd collaborator Jon Carin and the somehow still around G.E. Smith. I thought when Saturday Night Live reruns went off the air so did he, ah well at least you couldn't see his faces soloing... Check below to watch a collection put together by a Floyd fan on youtube and see photos from last night in the slideshow.




This is our third installment in The New Psychedelic. The new is old and the old is new. . Read earlier interviews with Umphrey's McGee's Jake Cinninger and Dr. Dog's Scott McMicken.


Jon Carin