Category: Concert Reviews
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Godspeed You! Black Emperor Takes Beijing
The first snowfall of December 2025 kept many Beijingers at home on a Friday night, but some youth instead bundled up and stood in the cold outside Olympic Park, eyes closed and ears straining to catch the sounds coming out of Fulang Livehouse. Inside, a crowd pressed together shoulder-to-shoulder, jackets still on despite the hot Read more
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Nine Inch Nails Peels It Back
[Author’s note: This is the second of two nearly finished drafts that sat unpublished while I was busy relocating overseas for the past couple months. Better late than never, and who cares?] “Have to say I woke up this morning with a big cloud over my head. Thanks, I needed this.” Trent Reznor’s only words Read more
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Oasis Live `25 and Forever
[Author’s note: This will be the first of two nearly finished drafts that sat unpublished while I was busy relocating overseas for the past couple months. Better late than never, and who cares?] Late one night in a rural town in Wales, singer Liam Gallagher decided to bring some drunken strangers he’d just met at Read more
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Sermon of Sound: An Evening with Laraaji + Saapato
It’s Saturday night, and the pews are full at the Ridgewood Presbyterian Church in Queens, redubbed the Stone Circle Theater. The pulpit consists of two tables covered in electronic knobs, keypads, and percussion instruments. Projected behind the pulpit, a screensaver traces a river’s path through an autumn forest canyon, inadvertently making the life-size Jesus figure Read more
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Celebrating Time and Tradition at Ron Carter’s 88th Birthday
“My responsibility as a bassist and band leader is using every opportunity to create spectacular music,” writes Ron Carter in his Instagram bio. It’s no surprise, then, that the legend spent his 88th birthday week performing with his Golden Striker Trio at NYC’s Blue Note, a jazz venue famous enough to attract polo-shirted tourists but Read more
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Robert Fripp’s Exposure: Recorded in 1979, Performed in 2025
In 1979, British guitarist Robert Fripp released his first solo album, Exposure. Its aim was to “investigate the ‘pop song’ as a means of expression,” and it featured contributions from the likes of Darryl Hall, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, and Brian Eno. But when it came time to promote the record, Fripp didn’t tour with Read more
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The Deftones’ North American Tour: A Tale of 3 Energies
With shimmering guitar washing over Madison Square Garden, Deftones singer Chino Moreno snaked his way to the front of the stage. He took in the cheering crowd for a few seconds from atop a speaker before jumping off just as the band exploded into motion and pandemonium ensued. The audience knew exactly what was about Read more
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Indofunk’s Raga Jazz Jam
When a sitar weaves around a sax solo that’s handed off to a sliding trumpet, you’ve entered the realm of Indofunk. Named for his signature musical style, Indofunk plays the firebird trumpet, a 3-valved trumpet equipped with a trombone-like slide. He hosted an open Raga Jazz Jam at the Fifth Hammer Brewing Co’s Brewside Lounge Read more
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Back to the Futurism: Kraftwerk @ King’s Theatre, Brooklyn, 3/13/25
Man-machine, computer-love, dance music played to a sold out theater of seated adults, a song called “Musique Non Stop” immediately before the concert stops… Kraftwerk juxtaposes unlikely concepts with infectious rhythm, mesmerizing colors and anachronistic techno-optimism. German quartet Kraftwerk pioneered electronic music starting in 1970. Their music has inspired nearly everyone making electronica or techno Read more
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Fifth Hammer Brewing Serves Up Hoppy Jazz
It’s not every night that a rubber chicken squawks in the middle of a drum solo, but anything goes when jazz bubbles in a casual setting. Long Island City’s Fifth Hammer Brewing Co offers live music in the Brewside Lounge as eclectic as the beer selection. Wednesdays see brewery owner Chris Cuzme trade in his Read more