Last Thursday I had the pleasure of checking out the legendary “Queen of Rock,” Miss Wanda Jackson, as she hit Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory.
Although the evening was supposed to start rather early (with Wanda hitting the stage around 9pm), Snowmageddon caused a delay in her flight, and the 72-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer was coming directly from the airport to the gig. Openers Luster Kings vamped their set with jokes comparing Wanda to Santa Claus (or Waldo), asking the audience “Where’s Wanda?” and giving updates on her current status (“She’s landed! She’s on the ground.”)
I was thinking about how much travel takes out of you and wondering if Miss Wanda would be tired, but as soon as she sauntered onto the stage, there was no doubt — this lil’ lady still had it, and was raring to go!
Dressed in sensible black wedge shoes, black pants, and a sparkly red blouse with a diamante musical note pin, Wanda was ready to rock — thanking the crowd for their enthusiastic welcome. She played the hits — “I Gotta Know,” “Mean, Mean Man,” a cover version of “Hard-Headed Woman” and a rendition of her Japanese number one rock and roll single, “Fujiyama Mama” — putting her famous growl into the sassy pro-female lyrics of the songs.
Yes, I’m JUST getting caught up with CMJ right now as I’m sitting here watching the World Series (no, I’m not sure why I’m watching).
Here are a few photos from the excellent After the Jump showcase that we held at the beautiful Brooklyn Bowl on Oct 24th. Seriously, if you have not been to Brooklyn Bowl yet, run don’t walk.
It’s such a great space — you can tell the owners really took the time to get things right. Not only is there one of the most classy looking bowling alleys you’ll ever see, there is a bar with local beer, a delicious Blue Ribbon restaurant, AND a kick-butt stage for bands to play, adjacent to the lanes.
Enough gushing! On to the photos.
Harlem (from Austin, TX) drew a great crowd with their fun and quirky rock songs. Not hard to understand why Matador Records recently signed these guys up:
Catching up from last weekend — so many activities!
OCTOBER 22nd
Started the evening at the SPIN offices for a special rooftop performance by Portland, Oregon’s Hockey. Like The Rapture and The Virgins before them, these boys know how to get girls dancing. Love love love them. Find songs like “Work,” totally irresistible.
Thoroughly enjoyed this Brooklyn-based duo. Dancey rock, and a great cover version of Joy Division’s “Control.”
Screaming Females @ Mercury Lounge
There’s no doubt that the Screaming Females know how to rock out. The trio from New Brunswick, New Jersey, is fronted by the unstoppable Marissa Paternoster. The 22-year-old Paternoster has a distinctively ambiguous look. You can hardly tell if she’s 18 years old or 40 years old — a young boy or an old lady. I like to think of her as a mix of both Harold and Maude — a baby face with a boyish shaggy bowl haircut + an old lady chic wardrobe.
All looks aside, Paternoster can roll out some incredibly mean guitar solos, her small finger fingers flying up and down the fret boards with impressive speed. When she wails into her microphone, you can’t help but think that this little lady is a star.
NEW YORK
Salman Rushdie (!!!) teams up with Dregg for a special collaboration for SPIN.com’s Liner Notes event on October 1st. Proceeds to to Housing Works. Tickets are $25.
There are a crap-ton of events leading up to the Season 4 premiere of Showtime’s Dexter on September 27th. Definitely have to check out la casa de Dexter at the Metropolitan Home Showtime House at 415 Greenwich St. in Tribeca, and the blood slide portrait of ol’ Dex being shown at Grand Central terminal. There are also events in LA.
WASHINGTON, D.C. Dan Deacon and MGMT are both playing free shows this coming weekend as part of Kia’s “Soul Collective”
Yes, it was last week, but here are the photos from days two and three of the third annual After the Jump Fest that happened at Littlefield.
There were some amazing performances by some great up-and-coming bands. My particular favorites were the brute and manly Wild Yaks (men playing ridiculously fast guitar-laden music, fueled by aggression, and probably some alcohol), the joyful Drink-up Buttercup (cheery, exuberant ditties peppered with the noisy clashes of garbage cans – would fit very nicely into an Apple commercial), and the daringGet Haunted (folky, bluegrassy sounds with an emphasis on the occult).
