Benedum Center, Pittsburgh, PA..... With a Morrissey concert, one always wonders whether it will take place at all--given Morrissey's well-documented history of shows cancelled at the last minute. So it was concerning when several recent of his concerts had to be scrapped due to credible death threats on the former Smiths frontman. But, it turned out not to be a concern and the show went on as scheduled. Morrissey was in fine voice but I had some issues with the setlist. Towards the end of the main set, I thought it's got to be bangers all the way down, but I was disappointed. Some deeper cuts, but more problematically, midtempo songs that didn't get the energy up except for the hardest-core of Moz-heads. There were a lot of people heading to the exits early, and my daughter (first time seeing him live) said to me at one point, "The music for each song sounds good but once he starts singing, they all sound the same." The last time I saw Morrissey , while a showcas...
Garden State Arts Center/PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ.... I wrote a contemporaneous review of this concert for injersey.com. Here it is. Sometimes seeing a concert is better in the intimate setting of a nightclub or other smaller room. However, sometimes larger venues--while still not ideal--can contribute small touches which can make a show more fascinating to watch. Seeing Tori Amos perform at the Arts Center held several such unintentional touches--like the fireflies which occasionally buzzed in from the wooded areas which surround the amphitheater, blinking on and off like nature's contribution to Tori's light show. The show was also full of intentional details which distinguished it from previous New Jersey performances--to date, Tori had only played indoor halls, like the Count Basie Theater (Red Bank) and the State Theater (New Brunswick). The Arts Center, with its soaring ceiling, expansive stage, and combination seating (the actual seats plus the lawn area), was a...
State Theater, New Brunswick, NJ Sheik performed with a second guitarist, a bass player, and a percussionist. The sound mix was terrific. Very mellow, yet you could hear every note... As a sidebar, here's a 1996 interview I did with Sheik on his birthday (11/18): Mike: One of the things I love about your album is it's not just great music--songs, I mean--but also it's such a great sonic environment. Was that the kind of thing you heard in your head when you were composing the songs, or was this something that evolved in the studio? Duncan: Well, definitely my aesthetic comes from people like Brian Eno or David Sylvian or the later Talk Talk records. Whether they're electronically produced or they're acoustic-instrument produced, I still like these things that sound really organic and moody and have their own kind of darkness. That's always been a really important part of creating recordings for me. Mike: So when you have something like in "Reasons For Livin...
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