I have heard about concerts for video game music (and had been to one of the Final Fantasy tours long ago) and live scores of films performed with a screening…
In my 20 or so years of concert going, I had never seen Red Hot Chili Peppers until their recent run at Madison Square Garden. I do recall the time…
Radiohead performed Creep in New York City for a lucky 15,000 people (give or take). Source: Radiohead's Sublime Return to New York City (MSG Photos) | PopMatters
Gabriel and Sting's 'Rock Paper Scissors' show is a crowd pleaser. Check out photos from their show at Madison Square Garden. Source: Sting and Peter Gabriel's 'Rock Paper Scissors' Tour…
Stromae is not a well known name in the United States. The lanky Belgian artist born Paul van Haver is however a strong enough performer to sell out Madison Square Garden as he did earlier this month. I took a few photos for the VIllage Voice that you can see at the link here but it is their review I want to share first. Sarah Grant wrote, “Stromae’s 2013 breakthrough album, Racine Carrée (English: “square root”), announces his passion for roots music and his polyglot background as a Belgian with Rwandan blood. The “square” part relates to his gawky yet lovable persona”. And I could see why he was lovable as his set was quirky, he sat at a table and drank wine at a couple points and he was a wild dancer throwing himself laterally across the stage. Many of his songs I was really into, as they sounded more powerful than they do on an album, but a few of them seemed to fall flat to me. One of the highlights was, “Stromae’s song to “turn up” to is contemplative and intense. “Papaoutai,” his monster hit, is a trompe-oreilles: a nonsense word that becomes a meaningful phrase. In this case, it means “Papa, where are you?” (ibid).
I really was excited to see Janelle Monáe open the show (I had missed her at least two other times in NYC this year) along with her Wondaland records friend Jidenna, the “Classic Man”, who I spotted enjoying Stromae’s set on the floor (but his friend with a cane wouldn’t allow me to get a photo unfortunately). Monáe is a real treat to photograph with her stark costumes and her vibrant antics, plus her music is great too. Shout out to her guitarist Kellindo Parker for being awesome and for sharing a photo of mine earlier. Someone found it and turned it into a sketch. Click through the jump to check out many more of my photos from the show or click this link to purchase Stromae’s work from Amazon!
Once again I have outtakes from a concert I shot, and this time it is of Morrissey the former lead singer of seminal Manchester band The Smiths, performing at Madison Square Garden on 27 June 2015. The Village Voice, where a couple of my other photos can be found, had a full review of the show (including openers Blondie), where they noted, “the opportunity to see Manchester’s Son and Heir grace the stage was enough to warrant tears. The time between Blondie’s exit and Morrissey’s opening track was soon forgotten as the percussive intro of the Smiths’ political stunner “The Queen Is Dead” began to play beneath the projected image of Queen Elizabeth flipping the bird. Morrissey wielded his microphone with finesse while gripping bright yellow maracas, and fans, following in the tradition of so many showgoers before them, threw flowers onto the stage.”
Check out the photos of his performance, as well as a message from a fan that didn’t likely get delivered, after the jump. Morrissey sure can whip the microphone cord good.