wax&wires » concert

VIDEO: Black Cab Sessions

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:08:37 +0000

Have you checked out The Black Cab Sessions? Similar to La Blogotheque, which we’ve mentioned here before, The Black Cab Sessions capture artists in their truest form; one take, one song, on the spot. The cinematography is captivating in an indie sort of way; raw, shaky, and uncut. Where TBC differs is in that all performances take place in the back of a London black cab. The film makers just ask a cabbie for a lift and then film the artist right in the backseat, forcing the performer to get creative with how to execute their song in its simplest form.

Running since 2007, TBC has accumulated quite a library of performances, each unique and equally brilliant. They’ve now done a few sessions outside of London, thus escaping the trademark cabs, but the spirit is still evident through all of their pieces.

Here’s one of my favorites, Doves performing Kingdom of Rust. I actually kind of like the cab version better than the one on the album. Remember, it’s a true testament to the strength of a songwriter when their songs can transcend genre, sound great, and still pack an emotional punch even on an acoustic guitar in the back of a cab.

There’s some other great ones from Ryan Adams, Bon Iver, Death Cab, My Morning Jacket, Fleet Foxes, Cold War Kids etc. etc. Be sure to check them all out!

The Swell Season – Tiny Desk Concert

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:43:51 +0000

Brandon Morgan linked me up to a cool little concert put on by The Swell Season (Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova), whom I threw a Wax Pick up about back in December. I wasn’t sure if the duo would keep this project running after Once, of course I hoped they would, and am thrilled to hear some new songs. I loves me some passionate Irish songwriter.

Glen does a brilliant job at inviting the audience in, even having them improvise parts on the spot with him. Great artists do one of two things: knock you on your back in awe with big songs, or pull you in for an intimate encounter. Glen is a prime example of the latter.

[via Stephen Thompson, NPR]

Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova record and tour together using the name The Swell Season, which is a shorter but far less descriptive moniker than “Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, Who Won Oscars for the Song ‘Falling Slowly,’ From the Hit Indie Musical Once.” So when we informed our coworkers that last Wednesday’s Tiny Desk Concert would feature the pair, the response generally ran somewhere along the lines of, “Um, okay. … Wait, who? THEM? REALLY?”

Read the full story, and see the video here

Free Coldplay Live Album

admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:02:58 +0000

Following up on their promise a few months back, Coldplay has now made it official that they will be giving away a live album to all of their concert goers through the rest of their stops this year.

Good morning. We’re pleased to announce that Coldplay will be giving away a live CD, LeftRightLeftRightLeft, at every remaining live show in 2009 (apart from festival shows). Starting with the band’s first North American tour date, at West Palm Beach in Florida on May 15th, every fan attending a show will be given a free copy of the nine-track CD, which won’t be available elsewhere. Also on May 15th, LeftRightLeftRightLeft will be made available as a free download right here at Coldplay.com, for all fans (and for the same time period).

According to the band, the give-away is meant as a recession-busting mark of gratitude to everyone who’s supported them: “Playing live is what we love. This album is a thank you to our fans – the people who give us a reason to do it and make it happen.”

The album was recorded over the past year in various cities around the world on the Viva La Vida tour. Its tracklisting is as follows:

1. Glass of Water
2. 42
3. Clocks
4. Strawberry Swing
5. The Hardest Part/Postcards From Far Away
6. Viva La Vida
7. Death Will Never Conquer
8. Fix You
9. Death And All His Friends

As I stated before, I’m not sure how “recession-busting” the album would be, unless recipients were to hock the albums on ebay. Now that the band intends to release it as a free download from their site anyway, even that proves a bit bust. Either way, it’s a cool gift to fans, and you shouldn’t need an excuse to show some gratitude.

NIN iPhone App Demo

admin — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 07:11:39 +0000

The much anticipated NIN iPhone App is here, and just in time for the NIN/JA tour. Check out Trent Reznor, Rob Sheridan and Kevin Rose giving you a quick look at the features here.

You can find more over at wired.com.

What MySpace Local Means For Musicians

admin — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:18:11 +0000

A lot has been made the past few days about MySpace Local, the NewsCorp response to sites like Yelp. Not to be outdone by CitySearch’s integration into Facebook Connect, MySpace local marries MySpace and CitySearch to offer users info and reviews of local businesses. Starting off, they’ve mostly focused efforts on restaurants and night life, with Coors and Outback as the main sponsors of the new venture.

The main difference between MySpace Local and Yelp is that MySpace Local will prioritize reviews and rankings based on your friends and interests, as gathered from your MySpace profile. “That’s a critical difference,” claims Jeff Berman, the MySpace president of sales & marketing. Reviews mean “a heck of a lot more when you know the reviewer.”

So let’s bring it home. How does this impact the local musician?

1) If you’re in a band that plays regularly at a club, users can review the music at venues for better or worse, so bring your best. Conversations regarding the bands at various venues can be opened up on MySpace Local for the rest of the world to see, creating a great opportunity for artist promotion. If you see that clearly you’re pulling in 200 people that wouldn’t otherwise come out to that club, maybe it’s time to show the club owner the reviews and ask for a raise. If you see that people are saying, “The sound sucks here, it’s so much better at Venue X.” Maybe it’s time to move the gig to Venue X. Make sense? Keep your finger on the pulse of what’s going on around your music.

2) If you’re looking to increase your fanbase, but don’t know where or how, you can tap into MySpace Local as a means of finding gigs. There’s no magic “gig finder” or anything, but because you can see reviews on venues and how different music was received at various locations, you can run a search to find venues that you might do well in and snag their contact info right off the MySpace Local page to get booked. That’s a heck of a lot better than randomly picking a club halfway across the country and hoping they have crowds and a decent sound system for you.

While all of that is an unintended side effect of MySpace Local’s intended purpose, it’s a great way to harness a new tool to promote your music. The most successful musicians will be the ones that hustle, and are not just simply keeping up on new trends, but constantly thinking of the ways in which every little thing could help their musical career.

You can check out a demo of MySpace Local here.

NIN Backstage Footage

admin — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:29:03 +0000

Here’s an interesting clip from backstage at a NIN concert in Sydney, where the power went out halfway through the show. It’s an interesting and candid look at Trent and the guys.

I mostly uploaded this because it was shot with the new Canon 5D mkII, and the video quality is stunning.

You can watch it in HD for full effect over at Vimeo, as well as other footage from the same show.

No Doubt Throws In Entire Catalog To Fans

admin — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 03:13:34 +0000

Fans purchasing Tour Club Memberships in No Doubt’s upcoming Summer tour pre-sale will receive a free download of the band’s entire digital audio catalog for each ticket purchased.* This offer includes “Stand And Deliver” (originally by Adam And The Ants) – No Doubt’s first new recording and only available here!

For a $15 per show membership fee (charged at the time of purchase), Tour Club members will receive the following…

GUARANTEED access to purchase up to 4 prime tickets (limited number of memberships per city!)
Tickets printed on custom designed commemorative No Doubt Tour Club ticket stock with club member name printed on each ticket
Exclusive No Doubt Logo Sticker
Exclusive No Doubt Tour Club Magnet
Exclusive No Doubt Tour Club Iron-On
Access to No Doubt Tour Club web page with exclusive photos and tour updates

It should be noted that the $15 doesn’t include tickets themselves, but rather the right to buy up to 4 tickets.

Not surprisingly, the event is hosted by LiveNation. It falls right in line with the game plan of Michael Rapino: sell tickets first, worry about album sales later.

This will definitely help spur on some incentive in a trying economy where entertainment seems to be the first thing to go.

Free Coldplay Album To Concert Goers?

admin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 07:02:06 +0000

According to The Sun, Chris Martin is hoping to give away live recordings of this year’s Viva La Vida tour to anybody who buys a concert ticket. He vaguely mentions the purpose having something to do with a sagging economy and wanting to take care of the fans. The only real way I see it helping the fans’ pocketbooks is if they unload the albums on Ebay or something of the like.

Either way, I like the move by Coldplay to create further incentive to see them live in an economy that is all too ready to cut out entertainment in favor of mortgage payments, gas and groceries. So ulterior motives tallied up, it seems like a win-win.

Read the full story.

NIN To Tour With Jane’s Addiction, Then “Disappear”

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:49:50 +0000

Trent Reznor just announced on the NIN site that they would be touring with Jane’s Addiction in 2009, and then taking a hiatus.

In NIN world, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of our first releases. I’ve been thinking for some time now it’s time to make NIN disappear for a while. Last year’s “Lights in the Sky” tour was something I’m quite proud of and seems like the culmination of what I could pull off in terms of an elaborate production. It was also quite difficult to pull off technically and physically night after night and left us all a bit dazed. After some thought, we decided to book a last run of shows across the globe this year. The approach to these shows is quite different from last year – much more raw, spontaneous and less scripted. Fun for us and a different way for you to see us and wave goodbye. I reached out to Jane’s to see if they’d want to join us across the US and we all felt it could be a great thing. Will it work? Will it resonate in the marketplace? Who knows. Are there big record label marketing dollars to convince you to attend? Nope.
Does it feel right to us and does it seem like it will be fun for us and you? Yes it does.
Look for tour dates soon and I hope to see you out there.

Trent

The news comes fresh off the heels of Jane’s secret show last night in LA, previously reported here. It looks like the co-headlining tour will bring about another banner year for NIN in 2009, who shook up the music world last year with an epic Lights In The Sky Tour, two independent digital releases (Ghosts I-IV, and The Slip), and introduced a new paradigm in content distribution by offering free torrent files of albums and video footage directly to fans. Then, book-ending their career with Jane’s Addiction in the beginning and the end, the band will fall silent for an unknown length of time.

You can read Trent’s full post at the NIN site.

Jane’s Addiction To Perform In LA On Monday

admin — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 07:35:06 +0000

[via LA Times]

While Jane’s Addiction had planned to play a last-minute secret show this past Monday, it appears the band has worked out the kinks and found the perfect-sized venue to once again tease fans this coming Monday.

This time, however, more than 150 or so will be able to get in. The original lineup of the Los Angeles-bred foursome will play to the JA faithful who sign up at Jane’s Addiction’s recently re-launched website at the Echo Park club for just $10. But, alas, there’s a catch: They will only take the first 500 or so comers, so the window to get into the gig is basically today for those who sign up.

Eric Avery, the band’s bassist, wrote on his blog Wednesday that the show is 18+, and that only the “first 500 folks” would be on some kind of guest list that will enable them to see the intimate gig. Dave Navarro gave away tickets to the upcoming engagement on his radio show Wednesday evening on the “new” Indie 103.1.com.

Further, Jane’s Addiction fan website xiola.org hints that the band, or at least certain members, might be in the studio with Trent Reznor working on new material. Pop & Hiss can’t yet confirm this, but it’s likely Jane’s Addiction is working on writing at least a few new songs. The recent spate of shows in small venues goes beyond nostalgia, leading some to believe the band is perhaps working toward something bigger (a tour, at the very least?).

The band’s manager, Peter Katsis, would only confirm today the band is “in the studio” and wouldn’t comment on a tour or on the Reznor rumors. He did confirm Monday’s gig and that the forthcoming box set “Cabinet of Curiosities” is on track for a spring debut, although the release date has been pushed back once again, this time to April 28.

Get Ready To Pay: What The Live Nation-Ticketmaster Merger Will Mean For Ticket Prices

admin — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:48:39 +0000

[via paidcontent.org]

Now that the Live Nation-Ticketmaster combination has been announced, the question is how will the new company make enough additional money to justify the deal? Certainly, some people have speculated (including Bruce Springsteen, among others) that the answer is higher ticket prices—but how much higher? The Department of Justice will, of course, be looking at what the increased pricing power of Live Nation (NYSE: LYV) Entertainment means for consumers; the company itself has been on mum this issue.

According to our analysis of the new company’s revenue streams, it will have to jack up ticket prices by double digits to make the merger worth the trouble. That would mean the average ticket price of $60 would jump to more like $70 (that difference is enough to buy a couple of beers at concert venues in some cities). Here’s the math, after the jump…

Read the full story.

U2 To Perform For A FULL WEEK On Letterman

admin — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:37:44 +0000

U2 will be on Letterman as the musical guest each night from March 2nd through March 6th.

This is an unprecidented event for the Late Show, and should be a good opportunity to catch some of the new tracks from U2′s new album, No Line On The Horizon, which releases that week (of course). I’m sure the band is hoping to generate buzz about the forthcoming tour with the added press as well, though I don’t know how they could sell anymore tickets than “sold out,” which it’s sure to be.

The band rocked the first single, Get on Your Boots, at the Grammy Awards this past Sunday.

Set your DVRs, and get ready for a U2 media blitz!

Bono, Bruce, Beyonce To Play Inaugural Concert

admin — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:00:35 +0000

Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, Bono and more than a dozen other music stars will kick off Barack Obama’s presidential inaugural festivities by performing at the opening celebration at Washington D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial on Jan. 18. The free event, which is open to the public, will also be broadcast on HBO.

Nineteen artists from across genres, including Mary J. Blige, Garth Brooks, Herbie Hancock, Usher, Shakira, and Sheryl Crow, are scheduled to appear at We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. Queen Latifah, along with Jamie Foxx, Martin Luther King III and Denzel Washington, will give historical readings at the event.

The We Are One opening celebration opens a four-day schedule of Inaugural events that will include 10 official Inaugural Balls, as well as an Inauguration-Day-eve youth concert at the Verizon Center.

A number of other music events celebrating Obama’s Inauguration are being planned to take place around Washington D.C. as well, including the Beastie Boys and Sheryl Crow headlining a “Hey, America Feels Kinda Cool Again” event on Jan. 19 at the 9:30 club; WAR and Marc Anthony appearing at the Latino Inaugural Gala at Union Station on Jan. 18; Jay-Z Jan. 19 at the Warner Theatre; and Bela Fleck and Wynton Marsalis performing at CNN’s Inaugural event on Jan. 19 at the Kennedy Center.

Here is the initial music lineup for “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial”:

Beyonce
Mary J. Blige
Bono
Garth Brooks
Sheryl Crow
Renee Fleming
Josh Groban
Herbie Hancock
Heather Headley
John Legend
Jennifer Nettles
John Mellencamp
Usher Raymond IV
Shakira
Bruce Springsteen
James Taylor
will.i.am
Stevie Wonder

[via Billboard.com]

Merry Christmas! Jingle Bells with Coldplay and Simon Pegg

admin — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 16:00:54 +0000

Here’s a little video I found on Coldplay’s site. I love Simon Pegg, and Coldplay, so this short little diddy is (fun)^2.

Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!