Concert Review Site

It’s been 17 years since Britt Daniels and Jim Eno formed Spoon but the indie-rockers are still getting better as a band. Spoon is one of the only bands in the last decade that churns out Rock N’ Roll that is both contemporary, yet, rooted in the genre. Daniels is one of the best rock songwriters in the business. The band struggled to gain the audience it deserved until a major label deal failed in 1998, and the band moved to indie label Merge Records at the turn of the century. Girls Can Tell was released in 2001 to critical acclaim and Spoon’s fan base at home and abroad began to grow. Spoon released their fifth album, Transference, with Merge Records this past January. Just in the last week, Spoon opened for Arcade Fire at Madison Square Garden and played a terrific set at Lollapolooza in Chicago. Spoon will tour the US into October before jumping across the pond in November to tour Europe.

Out of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Cage the Elephant are developing into a reputation for infectious punk rock both in the US and UK. Their debut album scored a surprise hit with the gritty storybook punk parable “Ain’t No Rest For the Wicked”. It’s rare that a rock song that touches on the desperate, dirty side of life gains traction on the charts, but Cage the Elephants single was a Top 40 hit in the UK and was Top Ten hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock and US Modern Rock charts. The young band led by lead singer Matthew Schultz has toured with bands like Silversun Pickups and The Pigeon Detectives.  Their sophomore album, Computer Says More, is expected in the near future. For now, the band heads out on tour with alternative rock legends Stone Temple Pilots.

Americans might not be aware of the Isle of Wight Festival, but the three day festival held on England’s largest island has developed into one of the best music festivals in the world. This year the show’s saw hip hop superstar Jay Z, the return of The Strokes, and the legendary Sir Paul McCartney perform. Despite the muddy conditions, concert goers poured into the festival with such big names on the bill. Jay Z headlined the show on Friday night which marked a special guest appearance from Kanye West. On Saturday fans tuned in on big screens to watch England and USA’s 1-1 World Cup tie and saw bands like Vampire Weekend, Blondie, and The Hold Steady. Sir Paul brought the festival to a epic crescendo on Sunday night with his rip-roaring set which included a cover of Jimmi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady” and Beatles gems “Helter Skelter”, “Yesterday”, and “Let It Be”.

The Strokes lead singer has been making his rounds supporting his debut solo release, Phrazes for the Young, has toured the United States, Europe, and Australia the past few months. The 31-year-old will rejoin The Strokes for a number of dates in June and July including the Isle of Wight Festival in England, the Openair St. Gallen Festival in Switzerland, and Lollapalooza in Chicago all while continuing his solo tour in Europe. Stops at The Montreux Jazz Festival, The Peace in Love Festival in Sweden, and the Super Bock Super Rock, and T in the Park in Scotland. Phrazes for the Young has earned heaps of praise as well as being called Paul-Simon-esque. Fans can even download the album for the bargain price of $4.99 on ITunes. Casablancas is likely to the studio with his band mates soon to record another The Strokes album, but his solo career looks to be just taking off.

Gorrilaz looks poised to have a huge year in 2010. Gorillaz, the genre-defying project of Blur front man Damon Albarn and cartoonist Jamie Hewlett, released their third album, Plastic Beach, last month. In the past Gorillaz has performed with big stage shows featuring numerous musicians huddled in the shadows why images of the four piece cartoon character band flashed on screens. In their first performance in London in nine years, Gorillaz rocked the Roundhouse last night in a show that featured more than 30 performers. Albarn acted as lead singer on a number of songs while playing piano, but De La Soul, Bobby Womack, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon of the Clash, and a number of other surprise guests. Gorrilaz are a real testament to the beauty of collaboration in music. Keep your eyes pealed for US tour dates to be announced soon.

English Rock band Muse has quietly become one of the biggest bands in music quietly since forming 16 years ago in the English countryside town of Teignmouth. Now Muse tickets are selling out venues like the Staples Center in United States and mammoth soccer stadiums in Europe. Songwriter Matthew Bellamy’s operatic voice blends beautifully with the bands space rock sound. Now with five studio albums to their name, Muse has plenty of material in their songbook to lace their performances with numerous hits. Some early critics dismissed Muse as a wanna-be-Radiohead cover band, but the band quickly displayed their originality on Absolution, Black Holes & Revelations, and their most recent release The Resistance. Both singles off The Resistance “Uprising” and “Resistance” topped the charts in US, furthering the band into America’s Top 40 music scene. The band will be touring the United States playing mostly indoor arenas in the Fall, before returning to England to play a number of shows including a number shows at the massive Wembley Stadium.

The quartet from Columbia University, Vampire Weekend, is becoming almost impossible to ignore. The band’s self title release in 2008 garnered them praise as they became the “It” band, but also heaped a boatload of pressure for the band to follow up with a equally successful album. “Contra” (released this past January) has been a instant success and tracks like “Giving Up the Gun” and “Diplomat’s Son” have been burning up ITunes. Their most recent show at the Marquee Theater in Tempe, AZ earned great reviews from The Arizona Republic. The reviewer remarked about the growing up Vampire Weekend has done in the past two years, calling the band “full blown rock stars”. Their is a great enthusiasm for the band in young people across the country and by the next album I wouldn’t be surprised to see the band playing biggest venues…maybe even arenas.

If you want to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day for seven days straight, make sure you’re in Boston from March 13th-March 17th. Boston’s finest, the Dropkick Murphys, will be taking up a week-long residency at the House of Blues. The Murphys’ Celtic-punk sound has become synonymous with the city of Boston since the band first started playing gigs in the nearby town of Quincy. The band will be releasing a live album, Live on Landsdowne, recorded over seven shows last year at the House of Blues. Running through most of their entire catalog of songs dating back to 1996. If your headed to Boston for St. Paddy’s make sure you stop by the House of Blues for the best of Irish punk.

Worldwide pop icon Celine Dion has been a busy lady lately. The artist will releasing a much-anticipated concert documentary, “Celine: Through the Eyes of the World” profiling her 2008 Taking Chances Tour, attempting to have another baby with her husband Rene Angelil, and returning to Las Vegas for a three year contract. The renowned vocalist will perform around 70 dates a year at the world famous luxury hotel & casino, Caesar’s Palace. Dion’s last venture in Sin City was a huge success with her Las Vegas show, A New Day…, that ran for five years and grossed over $400 million. Celine’s next Vegas show will feature a 31-piece orchestra and have a classic Hollywood film theme. Celine Dion is quickly becoming the next Queen of Las Vegas setting a new standard for how successful a show in “The Entertainment Capital of the World” can be.