Recent Galleries

Revelry Music and Arts Festival 2013 : Oh Land, Phox, Delta Spirit, Toro Y Moi, Chance the Rapper, and The Mowgli's. April 4th, 2013 at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Revelry Music and Arts Festival 2013

john brunner

Oh Land, Phox, Delta Spirit, Toro Y Moi, Chance the Rapper, and The Mo ...

Updated: May 07, 2013 6:37pm PST

Marky Ramones Blitzkrieg : May 03rd at Santos Party House New York, NY

Marky Ramones Blitzkrieg

Yoshiaki Ito

May 03rd at Santos Party House New York, NY

Updated: May 05, 2013 1:17am PST

Robyn Hitchcock & Venue 3 : Apr 27th at Webster Hall New York, NY

Robyn Hitchcock & Venue 3

Yoshiaki Ito

Apr 27th at Webster Hall New York, NY

Updated: May 04, 2013 3:08pm PST

Rovers Ahead : Riot Concerts@Lygten Station

Rovers Ahead

Jan Kokholm

Riot Concerts@Lygten Station

Updated: Apr 30, 2013 10:44am PST

Nitty Gritty : Riot Concerts@Lygten Station

Nitty Gritty

Jan Kokholm

Riot Concerts@Lygten Station

Updated: Apr 30, 2013 9:58am PST

X Teenage Rebels : Riot Concerts@Lygten Station

X Teenage Rebels

Jan Kokholm

Riot Concerts@Lygten Station

Updated: Apr 30, 2013 9:14am PST

Grotæsk : Riot Concerts@Lygten Station

Grotæsk

Jan Kokholm

Riot Concerts@Lygten Station

Updated: Apr 30, 2013 8:16am PST

Fleetwood Mac, Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, April 26, 2013 : Just some fun shots with a point and shoot.

http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/fleetwood-mac/2013/consol-energy-center-pittsburgh-pa-3d825a7.html

Fleetwood Mac, Consol Energy Center, ...

Gary

Just some fun shots with a point and shoot. http://www.setlist.fm/s ...

Updated: Apr 29, 2013 7:10am PST

KRS-ONE, Michael Rose & Sister Carol (Apr 13) : I finally got to see KRS-ONE live.  I had seen him almost 20 years ago at a NSBE conference and didn't much of it.  He was a great artist, but I was too dumb to realize that he is probably one of the top 5 MC's to ever live.  By the time I did, he wasn't on tour near me much at all.  So I wait...  For years...  Then The Shrine announced that he was coming!  Nothing was going to keep me away, not even a Monday night show.

The opening acts were reggae artists Sister Carol and Michael Rose (from Black Uhuru).  Sister Carol has nearly a dozen albums under her belt and did a very long set to open the night.  She even did a curtain call.  Michael Rose was a bit more of a mellow performer with a mix of fast and slower reggae songs.  He even did "One Blood" from his Black Uhuru bandmate Junior Reid (who knew?).  The best part about Rose's performance was the exaggerated choreography that is the calling card for all kinds of reggae artists.  You don't just walk/march/bounce across the stage... You run over there like Shawn T is telling you to dig deeper and high step from side to side (That's an "Insanity" reference for the sloths among us).  

The openers each did very long sets which was not cool.  They were good performers, but they must have been used to being the headliners.  When you are an opener, you have to play your position.  Sister Carol's curtain call was excessive given that many in the crowd were already cheering for her to leave before she finished her main set.  She was very good on stage, but most had come to see KRS do hip hop, not reggae.  Rose did the same thing, but it felt even longer.  At one point during the set he even did a song while seated.  It seemed like he was tired of his own set.  No disrespect to either artist, but KRS' crowd is now a lot older than we were 20 years ago.  It would have been nice if he could have come out an hour earlier since we can't run like we used to!  That said, KRS' crowd is also more mature than some of the knucklehead crowds that come to hip-hop shows, so everyone showed respect for both openers who have literally been on the scene for decades.

KRS was the real deal on stage.  His act covered several genres of music - hip-hop, reggae, and even classical.  Yes, go to youtube and search "Krs-one classical rap" for a taste.  He touched nearly all of his solo and BDP hit in one way or another.  It was crazy.  As expected "The Teacher" took several moments in his show to teach the crowd.  He taught about being a real MC, being spiritual, standing for principles, taking care of your body, and respecting those around you.  His views on being a real MC were tight and on point for sure.  Despite being a fairly self-absorbed MC on stage (with even reason to be that say - he is the #1 MC of all time in my book), he paid tribute to several other artists by letting their beats go and even dropping a few of their verses as a show of respect.  They inculdes:  Dead Prez, Tupac, Biggie, Black Rob (Whoa), Wu and others.  He also gave love to Chicago's house music history and the Pink House (which I don't know).  It's worth mentioning that I didn't catch his hype mans name, but he reminded me of Larenz Tate's character from Menace to Society.

One of the nice interludes during the show was a break from the music to poetically teach the crowd about the "3 Yous" (Past, present, and future).  Essentially (I'm not going to do this justice), the past You has to be happy the present You because the present You should be trying to be what the past You envisioned.  The present You should try to "be a friend" to your future You, by making the decisions today that will keep your body healthy in the future.  The future You is looking back on the present You, and hoping that You learned from the past You.  I think I followed most of it, and judging from the weed in the air, I think most of the crowd felt they were following it too.

KRS did multiple freestyles and a cappella rhymes during the show.  For most songs, he let the beat drop just long enough to get us hyped, then told the DJ to cut the music way low so his voice would be all you heard.  That's how real MC's who don't need auto-tune and over-produced soundtracks can roll.  

KRS closed the show by signing autographs on stage and offering to take a photo with EVERYONE in attendance.  He is, to me, the best MC of all time.  Hopefully the pix will do him justice 8-)

#GOAT

KRS-ONE, Michael Rose & Sister Carol ...

KBev

I finally got to see KRS-ONE live. I had seen him almost 20 years ago ...

Updated: Apr 26, 2013 6:51am PST

The Dead Milkmen : Apr 23rd at Bowery Ballroom New York, NY

The Dead Milkmen

Yoshiaki Ito

Apr 23rd at Bowery Ballroom New York, NY

Updated: Apr 24, 2013 5:43pm PST