Mick Jagger, Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters: "SNL" Finale is Full of Stones Tunes

Mick Jagger sent the 37th season of "Saturday Night Live" off with a big musical bang last night, thanks to help from some heavyweight friends and an extra dose of Rolling Stones tunes. Before the show I was wondering how "SNL" would fit Jagger, Arcade Fire, Foo Fighters, and Jeff Beck into one hour-and-a-half program, and they did it by having two of the bands backing Jagger and adding in an extra musical segment to the show's traditional two-performance limit by musical guests.


Mick Jagger performs a medley of "19th Nervous Breakdown" and "It's Only Rock and Roll" with Foo Fighters.


Jagger sings "The Last Time" with Arcade Fire.

The third musical segment was Jagger performing "Tea Party," a blues song he wrote about the upcoming U.S. election. He performed this song with Jeff Beck and band (including Tal Wilkenfeld on bass). An odd piece, to be sure.


Jagger performs "Tea Party" with Jeff Beck and band.

The final musical performance, which closed the show, came at the end of a skit about a high-school graduation, with departing "SNL" cast member Kristin Wiig being singled out. The other "students" each took turns dancing with or hugging Wiig as Arcade Fire performed a medley of "She's A Rainbow" and "Ruby Tuesday."


Jagger and Arcade Fire send off Kristin Wiig with a medley of "She's a Rainbow" and "Ruby Tuesday." 

Wiig shed a few tears as she said goodbye to her cast members, and even "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels gave her a during the finale. John Hamm, Steve Martin, and Amy Poehler were also on hand. With her recent film success, especially the big hit "Bridesmaids" (which she starred in and co-wrote), Wiig becomes the latest talented comedian/actress to "graduate" from "SNL" to bigger things.

Live Music Notes: Springsteen Week on Fallon and Jack White on SNL

There have been some memorable musical performances on TV this past week, featuring Bruce Springsteen and Jack White. In case you weren't up late to watch, here are the highlights.

Jimmy Fallon celebrated "Springsteen Week" on his show this past week, with appearances by Bruce and band on two nights, and covers of songs by The Boss done by John Legend and Elvis Costello (videos below).

Springsteen is prepping for the release of "Wrecking Ball,"his latest album with the E Street Band, which comes out Tuesday. Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune and public radio's "Sound Opinions" gives the album a rating of two stars out of four. 

(Speaking of live music, you can see a performance of an entirely different kind tonight [Sunday], when WFMU wraps up its 2012 fundraising marathon with a revival of Hoof and Mouth Sinfonia, an event at Maxwell's in Hoboken in which FMU DJs perform karaoke backed by a live band. Admission is only $5. If you can't be there, you can watch it or listen to it live. The festivities begin at 7 p.m.)


Springsteen performs "Jack of All Trades."



Springsteen plays "The E Street Shuffle" with Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine.



John Legend plays "Dancing in the Dark."



Elvis Costello covers Springsteen's "Fire"...



... and "Brilliant Disguise." 

Jack White took the stage at the NBC studios last night as the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live." His two songs (both from his forthcoming album "Blunderbuss") looked, felt, and sounded completely different, and I liked both of them. The first, "Love Interruption," featured an all-female band and White on acoustic guitar. For the second number, "Sixteen Saltines," White amped up the intensity, ripping it up on electric guitar with a band of sharp-dressed dudes in jackets and ties.

Unfortunately, you'll have to wait a while to get "Blunderbuss;"it doesn't drop until April 24th.


Jack White getting in touch with his more mellow feminine side on "Love Interrupted"...



... and rocking out on "Sixteen Saltines."

That's a pretty good week of rock & roll on TV, I'd say.

Sleigh Bells Played SNL a Day After their T5 Show (VIDEO)

Following up on its sold-out (and webcast) show at NYC's cavernous Terminal 5 Friday, Sleigh Bells moved over to Rockefeller Center the next day to be the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live."

The Brooklyn-based band first performed "Comeback Kid" and then returned with "End of the Line," both off their second album, "Reign of Terror" (out Tuesday). On the SNL performance the contrast between the sweet, poppy voice of singer Alexis Krauss and the distorted, thrashing guitars of Derek Miller and another guitarist who's accompanying them on tour, identified as Jason Boyer in an article in today's New York Times.

[Update, Feb. 20th: a few reviews of "Reign of Terror" have appeared online today, and they're pretty positive. See the writeups by Greg Kot (Sound Opinions, 3 of 4 stars), the L.A. Times' Pop & Hiss (3 of 4 stars), and Consequence of Sound (4.5 out of 5 stars).]





Krauss's voice was sweet enough to front a jangly pop group, and in fact she was in a teen-pop band in the past. In the webcast of Friday's show, the overall sound was rougher and more raucous, with Krauss often shouting rather than singing the songs with the controlled, more delicate vocals in the SNL versions.

No doubt the venue and setting having something to do with that; performing to a large audience at Terminal 5 and being heard over stacks of Marshall amps is a different matter than singing on the SNL sound stage (though the same Marshall amps were present at SNL, it's unclear how many were actually turned on). Personally, I thought the shouting vocal performance was a more complement to the searing guitar of the songs.

To compare the versions, see the video below and the Terminal 5 versions of three other songs at youtube.com/bowerypresents: "Infinite Guitars," "A/B Machines," "Kids," and "Riot Rhythm."

Lana Del Rey Played SNL (VIDEO); Controversy Rages On

The meteoric rise of Lana Del Rey continued when she performed as the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" last night, and like everything else involving this young singer, there was much controversy before and after the fact. (See her SNL performances below.)

I like Lana Del Rey's voice and songs (all three or four that I've heard), but found her performance on SNL tough to watch (especially "Video Games"). She has limited touring experience, and clearly didn't seem ready for such a big stage. She did seem more relaxed and expressive on her second number, "Blue Jeans." Watch the videos and see what you think.



For those not familiar with Del Rey (real name: Elizabeth Grant), she came out of nowhere last year to become a sensation (and a lightning rod for criticism) upon the release of her song "Video Games." The 25 year old has a voice that is sometimes sultry and sometimes vulnerable, and the tune itself is catchy.

Del Rey's good looks (and willingness to show them off in sexy clothes and poses) no doubt contributed to her rising popularity... and to the inevitable critical backlash. According to Wikipedia, Del Rey/Grant's father is a millionaire investor who has used his money and marketing skills to promote his daughter's career.

The fact that a performer with such limited experience got the plum SNL gig just stirs the controversy even more. (Her first full-length album as Lana Del Rey doesn't even come out until the end of this month; she apparently had an album under the name Lizzy Grant a couple of years back.) (You can pre-order the forthcoming album, "Born to Die,"here.)



Some music critics see her as an intriguing new voice (such as the hosts of NPR's All Songs Considered, where I first heard the song). Others are not impressed with her voice or style, and see her as a manufactured pop princess. As often happens, there are plenty of new Lana Del Rey fans, and haters, who are just jumping on the bandwagon.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs on Saturday Night Live

New York's Yeah Yeah Yeahs appeared on the pre-Easter edition of Saturday Night Live, and Karen O. and the band were in good form. Naturally they were promoting their brand-new album It's Blitz!, which just came out March 31st. (Video of "Zero" from SNL below.)



I've liked the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for a few years but haven't yet caught them live. But they'll appearing at this year's All Points West Festival, a good local gig for them, and I'm hoping to see them there.
They'll be performing at the festival in Jersey City's Liberty State Park July 31st, in between European gigs. Check their Web site for Yeah Yeah Yeahs tour dates.

Free Stream of Wilco Concert

Even though Wilco has been around for about a decade, there are still plenty of music fans who've probably never heard of them. That probably changed tonight when they were the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Also helping to raise their profile is a concert Webcast by NPR recently.

If you missed the Webcast, don't worry: you can stream the entire Wilco show for free (including the opening set by John Doe, formerly of X).

To find out about Wilco and their tour plans, check out the official Wilco Web site.