Franz Ferdinand
Hammerstein Ballroom
October 22nd

Ooh

It’s so good, it’s so good

It’s so good, it’s so good

It’s so good

Ooh

Thems are the opening lyrics to Donna Summer’s classic for all seasons ‘I Feel Love’.  Just hearing them words makes one FEELS good.  They also make you feel love.  And when Franz Ferdinand medleyed Donna’s delight into their own ‘Can’t Stop Feeling’ (hear below), it felt more than good – it felt ecstatic, and the crowd felt love, and everyone sent that love right back to the band, who put on the best show I’ve seen this year (and the best since Pulp’s triumphant RCMH shows)

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

hear, here…

Did I somehow forget how blam-mazin’ these Glaswegians were, even after 3 live dips with em - Webster Hall 2004 / free 2006 Myspace(!!!) show at Hammerstein / Roseland 2009????

But I knew what I was getting myself into, after logging hours upon endless hours listening to their latest (which they gave away free to all concert ticket purchasers!!!)

Oh dear lord is this album so FCUKING FRANZTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The fellas played SEVEN out of the album’s ten tracks, and to be perfectly honest, I wish they played all ten (how often would one ever ask for such a thing of a new album and a concert???).  That’s how stellar this album is.  It’s on par with their brilliant debut, and probably as time passes, I will regard it even higher than that one (!!!).  I tells you, it’s the best album of the 10s (that’s not the Daft Punk Tron 2 soundtrack).  Theses no jokes.  These are truths

Set List – Bullet / No You Girls / The Dark of the Matinée / Do You Want To / Evil Eye / Walk Away / Stand on the Horizon / Can’t Stop Feeling > I Feel Love (Donna Summer Cover) / The Fallen / Brief Encounters / This Fire / Take Me Out / Michael / Ulysses / Love Illumination / Goodbye Lovers & Friends 


Encore – Right Action / Darts of Pleasure / Outsiders

Guns N’ Roses
Hammerstein Ballroom
May 15th, 2006

In today’s world where Queen, INXS, the Cars, and the Doors tour without their centerpiece vocalists, it’s quite welcoming to see a band tour with the opposite DNA, aka, its original singer in tact, sans the supporting playas. Don’t spank me wrong, I love Slash and Duff McKegs like it was nobody’s bidness (it isn’t your bidness), but would I ever care to see a Velvet Revolver show juss cause they is members? Like Mr Poon and sugar in the same room, no never, never! And thus, whatever the cosmetics of Guns N Roses is today doesn’t make one bit o honey or difference to mes as shlong as Axl W Rose is involved (think our generation’s kinda sorta post-Waters Pink Floyd). Last nite, for 2 and 1/2 hiz-ours, I partied like it was 1992, and I rocked more than Iraned and although the faces may have changed, the song effin remained the same. Read: franzforkintastic!!! Bless you AWR (even if you love yerself more than I love myself) and co, who did quite an admirable job filling in the huge empty shoes… although I don’t understand why they didn’t play ‘Don’t Cry’ [d], which is by far, the bestest GNR song in their arsenal asshole. It’s waz almost a bigger let down then when i saw Duran² for the second time and they din’t play ‘Hungry Like The Wolf’. But after all’s said and Warrick Dunn, last nite’s show was probably the best $75 I’ve spent in a long arsed time, besides that 80s Astros jersey thats soon coming to my door. Here’s a rundown of what I got for my two cents (times 3,750):