Concert Review: B.o.B at SOB’s in NY 11-24-14

The potent smell of marijuana flooded my nostrils as I stepped into the venue SOB, changed from Irving Plaza just a few short days before the show. The venue was small, much more restaurant and bar than concert venue. Judging by the amount of fans that came out, I am going to guess it was moved because the limited turn out. The moderately sized crowd filled out SOB nicely but it would have left Irving Plaza half empty.

The opening act Kevin Gates was spectacularly underwhelming. I will try to put aside the genre of music (gangster rap) as this is a review of the performance, not his songs or lyrical quality (trust me, that would be a scathing review). One of the major problems I had with Gates was that he lip sang a few of his songs. Unless you are a pop singer who has to execute intricate and practiced choreography, it is unacceptable to lip sing live. Trust me when I say that Gates didn’t have any choreography, as he sluggishly lugged his body from one end of the stage to the other end only mere feet away. Another major problem is that he and his “crew” took themselves way too seriously. Unsmiling and wearing a look that was an amalgam of disgust and annoyance peppered with just a hint of “I’m too good to be here”, Gates and his group were not the most pleasant performers I have ever seen to say the least. When you take yourself so seriously to the point that you act like you are the second coming of Jesus Christ, you don’t seem “hard”, you come off as comical and a joke. Overall his performance was one of the worst I have ever experienced.

A moderately energized B.o.B leapt on the stage. He had a good flow with the audience, high fiving fans in the front and taking selfies with audience members’ cell phones while performing. His performance was fine, not bad but nothing to write home about either. The most interaction he had with the crowd is when brought two girls from the crowd and had them twerk for money. The one who received the most applause from the crowd was given $100. So yeah… that happened. I am not a fan of such blatant objectification of women, and do not take pleasure in seeing unsuspecting girls shake their butts for money. I just find it all too sleazy. But I get it, that is just a part of the gangster rap music culture, so I won’t criticize him too much for that. The show ended with B.o.B and  his crew singing together on the stage, which was fun to see everyone taking part in the last song together. However, though this may have been my favorite moment of the night the good vibes were short-lived. Even though the show never really had many high points, it was some how able to end on a low note. The set lasted about an hour and as B.o.b left the stage I waited for the encore. After roughly 12 minutes, I realized there was not going to be an encore. The lights had come on, the dj was packing what little was left with his equipment, and the crowd began to disperse. I have been to over 65+ concerts in my lifetime(this includes rap concerts), and never has an artist not performed an encore. It was a very apropos ending to the evening, disappointing and deflating. Overall it was a very underwhelming concert, with performers who were mediocre at their best moments.

Favorite Moment of the Night: B.o.B with is crew of six or so people crowded on the small stage of SOB, dancing and enjoying the last song together.

If you enjoyed this post than why not follow me on twitter, where I post concert photos, music news, and other great stuff that keeps you in the know.

Tweets by Matt_Xuereb

BabyMetal- Hammerstein Ballroom -NY- 11/5/2014 Concert Review

Wow, well what can I say about Babymetal- a J-pop metal band that features three teenage girl singers. Hilarious? Stunning? Exorbitant? To describe Babymetal in one word is impossible, you have to see them and listen to them multiple times to understand. Instead of spending half this review describing their music, just check out this link to understand.

Already creating a die-hard fan base, thousands of dedicated fans lined up outside Hammerstein Ballroom Wednesday night to see the eclectic band play. Upon arrival at Hammerstein Ballroom I saw a wave of misfit fans mesh together. The fifteen year old boy who looked like he leapt from the pages of some sort of manga stood side by side with the forty year old bearded man who looked like he rode his Harley to Hammerstein Ballroom coming from a Metallica concert. The line for this concert was one of the lengthiest I have ever seen. I arrived at 5:30 with the doors opening at 7, anticipating I would be one of the first people in line. I was wrong. There were at least a few hundred ahead of me already. This concert was some serious business.

Once inside, I waited eagerly a few rows away from the front of the stage. There was no opening act, which was a bit surprising but did not bother me so much. However, I can understand fans having an adverse reaction to the absence of an opener to get the juices flowing. The show began around 8:30 when the jumbo screen on stage showed a Star Wars themed introduction which told the story of gods, Babymetal, and their calling to journey to the USA. This segued into the three lead singers of Babymetal rising to the stage and pumping out their first song “Baby Metal Death”. This song was my favorite of the night; partly because it is the one of two songs that have any English lyrics, and partly because it is such a good concert song. It was great to shout “Baby Metal Death! Baby Metal Death!” and have an entire venue scream out the spelling of Babymetal in their best death metal voice. Babymetal is the only band I know that can make the spelling of the word baby so hardcore.

The theatricals of this concert were quite enjoyable. Babymetal packaged a story with their tour which played out from beginning to the end, and even the encore. The choreography was a blast, blending the physical movements of your stereotypical J-pop band with the harsh instrumentals of metal.

While there was so much to love about this concert there are some aspects of it that fell flat. While Babymetal was great, the crowd was less than outstanding(this is referring to those near the front of the stage where I was standing). People were pushy and throwing elbows in selfish attempts to pry their way to the front. And no this was not moshing. In between songs and at instrumentally calm moments, a plethora of people throughout the whole night were blatantly shoving, pushing, and elbowing their way to the front. I have been in rough concert environments and this sort of pushiness is not acceptable. Besides this pocket of obnoxious fans, Babymetal has a fun fan base.  I really enjoyed seeing how diverse Babymetal’s fan base was.

The only other minor quibble I had with this concert was that Babymetal’s music falls susceptible to mosh confusion. The crowd seemed befuddled; some fans thought it appropriate to mosh at certain points, others not, and then another group of fans kind of just stood there questioning “Can I mosh to this right now?”

Overall the concert spirited, weird, and a bunch of fun. While the crowd that surrounded me and the lyrics being in Japanese may have limited my experience, this was a great experience and I will be seeing them again next time they come to New York. If you are looking for something a bit weird, off-kilter, and a loads of fun, check out Babymetal.

Favorite moment of the night: A lot of great moments in this one. I have to say that one of my favorite moments was during the introduction when USA was mentioned and everyone started chanting “U.S.A, U.S.A”. I just find it hilariously wonderful that you can get a USA chant going anywhere and everyone will immediately join in.

Real favorite moment of the night: The guitarist performing on the right side of the stage was a joy to watch. He was so interactive with the audience and looked like he was having an immense amount of fun. When the band has fun, I have fun.

If you enjoyed this post than why not follow me on twitter, where I post concert photos, music news, and other great stuff that keeps you in the know.

Tweets by Matt_Xuereb

Imelda May Rocks Irving Plaza in New York City

The night started off as all concerts do, with an opening act trying to get the crowd warmed up. I have found that opening acts usually fall into one of three categories: background music, mildly entertaining performers who are good enough to garner your attention, or show stealers- bands so good that the main act pales in comparison. The opening act The Bellfurries, fell into that second category quite nicely as their fast paced songs got the crowd going and they did their job as an opening act.

Then followed the reason why people convinced themselves to come out on a mundane Monday- Imelda May! I had seen her live about two months ago during the Outside lands festival in San Francisco and was really impressed by her performance skills. I was curious to see if those skills would transfer over or if her excellent performance was just a one shot deal. After her performance at Irving Plaza I can safely say that she is a great performer. She joins that rare group of artists that are vocally better live than they are on record.

The setlist was heavily populated with songs from her new album Tribals with all but “Little Pixie” and “I Wanna Dance” being played. Imelda May’s delivery was lively and dynamic as she had the crowd energetically moving to her fast-paced songs. The transitions from one song to the next were smooth, and she interacted with the crowd well exchanging banter and ushering the crowd into the Hell Fire club-telling the origin story of one of her newest songs. The whole band showcased their skills on a variety of instruments including the drums, guitar, upright bass, saxophone, and even a ukulele which was brought out for two cover songs during the four song encore.

Most of the night was a heart pounding feet stomping performance until a nice switch of pace when she came out for her encore. A quietness and calm settled over the crowd as she covered Cher’s “Bang Bang(My Baby Shot Me Down)” and Blondie’s “Dreaming”. This deviation of pleasant stillness was followed by “Pulling the Rug” and “Right Amount of Wrong” which truly was the right amount of energy to conclude a wonderful night. After having the opportunity to see their performances twice on the same tour, hopefully she brings her talented voice and her rockabilly sound back to NY soon.

Most memorable moment: The drummer Steve Rushton. He was lemon-faced the whole time, smiling from ear to ear as he pounded away on the drums. His excitement and energy was contagious, you couldn’t help but smile when he looked at him and how enthusiastic he was.

I will be consistently be posting new material which will include concert reviews, album reviews, pertinent music information, and topics of interest. Check back regularly as I will be posting  on a weekly basis and more frequently if time permits.If you liked this post and will like others like it, follow me on twitter, tumblr, and pintrest.

Tweets by Matt_Xuereb

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/consonancevdissonance