Sunday, January 20, 2008

Blondes have more fun

Blonde Redhead put on a good show at Terminal 5 last night before a sellout crowd. They have great chemistry on stage and captivated the audience as they barreled through their set with minimal banter. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that singer Kazu Makino's accent makes it sound like she's saying "Fuck you" every time she thanks the crowd.

For me, though, even more impressive than them were openers The Raveonettes. Their music is definitely more accessible than BRH's to a casual listener, but their stage presence, anchored by a stand-up drum kit consisting of only a snare and a floor tom, was great. I'm excited that they're coming back here in March.

After seeing Editors there on Thursday night, Saturday's show also solidified my love for Terminal 5 as my favorite concert venue in New York. Within three tiers, it holds 3,500 people, but it has the atmosphere of a tiny club. The bars are fully stocked, bathrooms are plentiful, the coat-check is efficient and the sound is crystal clear. Couches on the second and third floors provide ample space to comfortably lounge while you're trying to tune out the opening band's set.

Today I saw guitar goddess (and Golden Globe nominee!) Kaki King at the Apple Store in Soho. I had heard about her wizardry on the gee-tar, but was completely dumbfounded to see it in person. She uses a really interesting technique of recording parts of songs as she's playing them, so she can set them on a loop begin playing a different track of the song. In other words, she created bass, percussion, rhythm and lead guitar parts completely on her own. My words aren't doing her performance justice; you really need to see it for yourself to truly appreciate her talent. And, she became probably the first artist to cover both Morrissey and Justin Timberlake in the same set, with awesome, innovative covers of "Tomorrow" and "LoveStoned."

Speaking of good venues, Kaki's performance marked my first time seeing an in-store performance at an Apple store. Obviously, like all of Apple's ventures, the "theater" setup in the store was really cool - comfortable plush seats, great sound quality and an intimate feel with less than 100 people watching the performance. All in all, It was definitely worth standing out in below-freezing temperatures for a half hour waiting to be let in.

1 comment:

D. Paul said...

great reviews, as per usual, Liz. i was first introduced to Kaki King by my friend, Johnny. he and i would listen to her as Amber and Kristin would shake their heads and leave the room. she's a good time.

AND you got to see The Raveonettes? color me jealous. man!