SOME FRESH GIGS...

Ok, right to it. I've seen three gigs lately that I want to tell you about:

EDITORS: Once again, Editors popped up here, this time at Irving for what might be their last leg of their US tour. I had one too many sips of Sochu before walking over to the gig, but the crew was good, the vibe was good and goddammit, these guys have yet again progressed leaps and bounds since the last time we saw them at Webster. In fact, this was miles better than the Webster gig and almost as good as the Rothko gig where we first saw them. This time they brought their full light show and a newfound confidence that seemed to grow as the evening progressed. They effortlessly delivered a fast and furious set that included a wealth of B-sides and new tracks. As I have said many times before, Editors live is an amazing experience, and one you wouldn't believe just from hearing the CD, which is much colder and distant than the live show, which is warm and powerful. They really draw you in and keep you there for the duration of the set. Excellent, and I believe they recorded this gig for something, so hopefully it will surface soon.

MUSE: As I mentioned probably last time I saw them at Webster Hall, Muse is mostly Irene's band. I hear them, I like it, I listen to it, and then I don't go back to it for like a year. The new album BLACK HOLES AND REVELATIONS is their best, but it lacks the killer singles that the previous album had (i.e TIME IS RUNNING OUT). However, thanks to Mattagement, tickets were obtained and off we were to Hammerstien, which was probably the best place to see them. Why? Because these guys are not some club band. They are the epic arena/stadium shit and they need the space to allow the scope of their sound and vision to be felt. Within the first minute of the first song, I could completely get why these guys are able to sell out three nights at Wembley this Christmas. The are the huge. The stage set, the lights, the video and the sound are pure 3D 70mm Cinemascope and the ballroom fucking SHOOK. A great setlist that combined the best of the new album along carefully and properly placed hits kept the show sharp and focused.

FRESCO: About six months ago, Brandt, in an attempt to track down some earlier albums by Leandro Fresco (Cerati's keyboardist/programmer/collaborator) he actually came into contact with Fresco himself, who was nice enough to burn copies of the earlier albums for Brandt. They stayed in touch, B told him all about HF (of course) and Fresco and B had a very sorta loose plan to hook up whenever the Cerati tour hit NYC. Well wouldn't you know it, Fresco kept his promise and spur of the moment B and I were at the posh Roosevelt Hotel having drinks with the guy. What a sweet dude with a super knowledge of music and tastes similar to our own. We talked for ours about everything from the Stone Roses to Duran Duran and he gave us the inside scoop on working with Cerati, which was cool in itself. Fresco knows his shit, is a good guy and we were totally pumped after meeting him. He now has some HF, which hopfully he will enjoy and try to collaborate with us on. An awesome musician and meeting him is totally one of the highlights of 06.

CERATI: The next day, after a fine uptown brunch with Danny, Lurch and B, we walked over to the Central Park Summerstage to check out some live Cerati. Fresco had warned us this would be an abbreviated set, which I was pissed off about, cause seeing Cerati is usually an epic 2 hour plus encounter, but this time, because it was a free gig in the park, we weren't going to be so lucky. Happily, the heatwave had started to break and we consumed beer at a rapid rate. We got a comfortable spot with a good view and waited in anticpation as the man arrived. And there he was, cool as fuck as always and ready to bring it. And he did, though not to the levels of genius we had seem him reach previously. The new songs, of which we are not all in love wit, were much more enjoyable live, because they were designed to be played live. The band, as always, was tight, the energy was up and Fresco himself brought a lot of the tunes, even with the cowbell. The thing with Cerati is that live he is never bad, he's just great or really fucking great. And today, he was great, especially when playing previous solo material or Soda Stereo stuff (he might have been played a song from his 80's era side project Friccion). I'm always happy to see Cerati, and would love to see him more. And even though it was a free gig outdoors, I would rather have paid money to see him at a proper concert venue with his full live show because I know that is where he thrives. Fresco later called B and told him the band were miserable after the gig as they felt it sucked, but I don't agree.

Anyway, I am exhausted. Someone is having an 8th birthday this week and we had a "fake" birthday celebration for the young man in Stewart Manor yesterday that was just a fun day of high energy, great food, and some sweet presents. Lucky boy!

F