Goodbye 2010…Hello 2011!
It’s been a busy last week for concert fans and bands, and in case you missed any of the action, here’s a quick tour through top stories and reviews featuring exciting and crazy news about Chuck Berry, The Black Keys, Lauryn Hill, Girl Talk and a great set of hilarious touring tips from Gogol Bordello.
Chuck Berry Crashes At the Congress in Chicago
First up is the strange and disturbing news about Chuck Berry falling on stage during his show at the Congress Theater in Chicago.
We’ve wondered before about how painful situations like these impacts concert fans and this Chuck Berry story unfortunately allows us to continue that exploration.
The Chicago Tribune tells the story what happened to Berry and why, and then our friends over at Windy City Rock offered up some questions of their own to try and make sense of the madness.
I give WCR writer Andrew props for his excellent use of a candle dripping image to describe Berry’s career. Nice one Andrew — I’ll have to borrow that one some time!
Sound Citizen Puts Brothers and The Black Keys To The Test
Mike over at Sound Citizen put The Black Keys new album Brothers
Lauryn Hill Fires Up Fans To Complain
We just posted why we need a Concert Fans Complaints Choir . And last week, according to the New York Times, Lauryn Hill gave fans over three hours of complaining fodder after showing up after 12am for a 8:30pm concert on December 29th.
Oh, speaking of complaining, as the New York Times points out, Hill was super confident that she was worth the wait and that fans could get a refund if they wanted to. Now that’s an artist showing true love for her fans. Scope out the video above for a taste of what happened.
Girl Talk Never Slumps Nor Slumbers
After releasing his new album All Day for free in November, it’s no surprise that Gregg Gillis of Girl Talk is already hard at work rocking crowds in 2011.
One of his first stops was in the Cleveland area and Scene and Heard has all the glorious mash-up details.
Yeasayer Spills Righteous Odd Blood In Chicago
Yeasayer released a free live album for Christmas and Brooklyn Vegan has videos and photos sharing how the bands spilled the magical contents of their latest album Odd Blood
Gogol Bordello Gives Hilarious Inside Look at Touring Secrets
I’ve seen Gogol Bordello both live and in 3D courtesy of AEG. And I’ve never been let down — only amazed and inspired by their boundless energy to rock fans with their red hot and uber-fun gypsy punk sonic celebration. Phawker was amazed last week too.
But Wait. There’s More.
If you’re a fan, or a performing artist, you need to read this so you can benefit from the great knowledge and secrets behind Gogol Bordello endless supply of energy.
I suggest taking a long look at this extremely informative and hilarious blog post that the band posted back in 2006.
Even though it’s a few years old, I’m pretty sure much of what they say in it is still true. At the very least you’ll laugh you ass off and never look at a Gogol Bordello live show the same way again.
Here’s a snippet to get you going. Check out the full account here.
Secondly, don’t eat total shit and don’t drink total piss. I know that while touring in the US it’s nearly impossible, so just bring a bottle of the best extra-virgin olive oil on the planet (viva Greece!!!) and pour it all over whatever you got, it will still taste like something. Yes, there is hardly a musician who prefers touring the US over Europe… where a cool after-show dinner in a late restaurant with the still-buzzed-from-the-show constellation of anti-VIP characters will make for some of the best after-parties you can have!
That’s it for now! What shows have got you rocking so far in 2011? What shows are you excited about?