Sat. Afternoon Videos: Springsteen Plays the Apollo, Watch The Shins Webcast Replay, & More

Since many of us were frantically clicking around on the web this morning trying to get Radiohead tickets, let's wind down by watching videos of some musical performances that made the news this week. One of the most notable (and the most recent) of these was last night's show at the famed Apollo Theater by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. (See a video excerpt of "We Take Care of Our Own" and "Wrecking Ball" below.)



The concert was to mark the 10th anniversary of SiriusXM radio; see the writeup by Spinner's Dan Reilly for a review, setlist, and another video in addition to the one above. Sounds like it was a fantastic show, based on the comments by Reilly and others who either attended or listened to the concert.

The Shins returned from a five-year absence with a free concert webcast on NPR Music last Thursday night that was streamed only through the organization's iPad app. The show, at New York's Le Poisson Rouge, is now available for viewing online; you can also listen to the audio only. You can watch or listen to the Shins' concert here. Incidentally, The Shins will be the musical guests on "Saturday Night Live" tonight, and Nashville-based singer-songwriter Jessie Baylin will be part of the band.

Bradford Cox, leader of Atlas Sound (and Deerhunter), got very literal last week with a heckler who demanded to hear "My Sharona": he played a jam based on the song for a full hour (see two excerpts below).





The incident, at an Atlas Sound show in Minneapolis last Friday, was only one odd aspect of the concert, which saw Cox asked the heckler to come onstage and take his clothes off, ans instructing audience members to hold their venue's chair above their heads. Some attendees, including the person who shot the video, called the "My Sharona" cover "awesome" and "fantastic."

Finally, Sarah McLachlan performed a set before a few hundred people at CBC Vancouver as part of the network's "Toque Sessions." She then left the stage to a choir of musicians from the Sarah McLachlan School of Music, which reportedly moved into a new home in Vancouver recently. Watch the video for "Possession" below, and see more videos from the concert at CBC Music.

Summer Concerts On Sale: Dave Matthews Band, Death from Above 1979, Governor's Ball, TV on the Radio, More

Tickets for the Aug. 22 show by Deerhunter (shown at River Rocks last summer) go on sale May 20 at 12 Noon.

It's still only May, but some of the summer concerts continue to be announced, and tickets are going on sale in the next day or two for some of the in-demand shows. This includes the Dave Matthews Band "Caravan" festival, the Foo Fighters two area appearances, and a show by the Canadian band Death from Above 1979. Here's a look at some of them, with other assorted summer concert information. (I'll have details on more free summer concerts in upcoming posts.)

The DMB show is already on sale; many of the others go on sale Friday, May 20th at 10 a.m. or Noon.

Dave Matthews Band Caravan - Fri. - Sun, Aug. 26 - 28 - Governors Island (full set by DMB each day; Dispatch, The Roots, Moe, Gogol Bordello, Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, The Head and the Heart, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, more)

(The DMB Caravan has another tri-state area show, in Atlantic City June 24 - 26.)

Governors Ball Music Festival - Sat., June 18 - Governors Island (Girl Talk, Pretty Lights, Empire of the Sun, Neon Indian, Big Boi (of Outkast), DJ set from Passion Pit)

Death From Above 1979 "with special guests" - Fri., July 22 - Williamsburg Waterfront

M. Ward with Kurt Vile & The Violators - Thurs., Aug. 11 - Wellmont Theatre (Montclair, NJ)

TV On The Radio with Broken Social Scene - Thurs., Sept. 8 - Williamsburg Waterfront

Roger Daltrey Performs The Who's Tommy, "plus Who classics and more" - Sun., Sept. 18 at Prudential Center and Fri., Sept. 23 at Nassau Coliseum

Deerhunter - Mon., Aug. 22 - Webster Hall

Foo Fighters - Mon., Sept. 26 - Izod Center

Music Notes: Live Deerhunter Webcast Tonight, Pete Yorn on Leno, Imperial Stars Stop L.A. Traffic

* Just found out that a Deerhunter show will be webcast live by NPR Music tonight, Oct. 12th. The show is set to begin at 10 p.m. Eastern time.

* Pete Yorn will be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Tuesday, Oct. 12th. And he's got a new video out, for his song "Sans Fear" (above).

* The Orange County hip-hop band Imperial Stars stopped traffic on an L.A. freeway this morning, and got arrested for it. The band played songs on a truck that was parked to block most of the 101 freeway in Hollywood. The stunt was apparently a promotional effort for the Imperial Stars song "Traffic Jam 101."

* Heard about this cool video on Twitter called "The Johnny Cash Project": a "global collective art project" that provides assembles countless user-created images for a visual backdrop for Cash's song "Ain't No Grave." And the creators encourage viewers to add their own contributions. It's hard to describe; check it out for yourself.

Free Album Streaming: New CDs from Neil Young, Deerhunter, John Legend & the Roots, Chromeo, More

Above: Deerhunter playing at New York's RiverRocks festival last month. Their new CD "Halcyon Digest" is streaming free on NPR Music. 

It's been too long since I've written about new albums that are available for free streaming, but with today's post I'm hoping to make it a regular weekly feature again. There are some great new CDs out or almost out that you can preview for free now, which motivated me to resume this feature.

As always, the Spinner and AOL sites don't indicate how long the free streaming is offered, while NPR Music and KCRW do tell when the streaming ends.

Spinner.com's Listening Party currently features more than 15 albums including:

* "Mobile Chateau" by Matt Costa

* "Buzzard" Margot and the Nuclear So and So's

* "The Sound of Sunshine" by Michael Franti and Spearhead

* "The Place We Ran From" by Tired Pony (haven't heard of them, but the description says "The music project is collaboration by members of R.E.M. and Belle & Sebastian with guest spots from She & Him, Editors, Snow Patrol, and more."
* "Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride" by The Black Ryders

* "Out at Sea" by Magnetic Island (haven't heard of these guys, either -- Brooklyn band less than a year old)

* "Imaginational Anthem v 4" by New Possibilities (compilation of acoustic guitarists)

AOL Music about 15 free album previews, which have some overlap with Spinner: 

* "You Get What You Give" by the Zac Brown Band

* "Guitar Heaven" by Santana

* "Audition" by the Cast of Glee (five-song EP from the first episode of Season 2)

* "Imperfect Harmonies" by Serj Tankian (former System of a Down singer)

* "Available Light" by James McCartney (debut EP from the son of that-guy-from-The-Beatles, & co-produced by the Dad)

* "Taken" by Rhonda Vincent

* "Killing. Mourning. Love" by Victory in Numbers

* "Bring It On" by Kaci Battaglia

NPR First Listen:

* "Le Noise" by Neil Young (streaming until Oct. 5)

* "Wake Up!" by John Legend & the Roots (until Sept. 28)

* "Halcyon Digest" by Deerhunter (until Sept. 28)

* "Business Casual" by Canadian hip-hop duo Chromeo (until Oct. 4)

* "Epic" by singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten (until Sept. 28)

* "Good Things" by soul singer Aloe Blacc (until Sept. 28)

KCRW Album Preview: 
* "Station to Station" by David Bowie (special edition reissue of his 1976 album) (until Oct. 3)

Deerhunter, Real Estate Give a Rocking Wrap-Up to Hudson's RiverRocks

Another summer concert series came to an end Thursday night with Deerhunter and Real Estate performing the last RiverRocks concert at Hudson River Park on Pier 54. It was a great pairing of bands, and the weather even cooperated for the most part, with light rain falling only toward the end of Deerhunter's set.

Above: New Jersey's Real Estate.

The concert drew a good crowd. Although most fans were there to see Deerhunter, Real Estate got a nice reception from the audience. They are apparently from Bergen County in the Garden State; they asked if anyone was there from (I'm guessing) their respective towns, which included Mahwah and Midland Park.

Above: Deerhunter closing the RiverRocks concert series.

Deerhunter hit the stage around 8:30 and played for a little over an hour and 10 minutes (I think... I left during the long, instrumental ambient tune the band was playing as its final encore, and it was still going on after I crossed West St. and headed east on 14th St.)

Deerhunter mentioned that Real Estate would be on tour with them this Fall. Deerhunter only lists a few shows on their schedule, coming up in the next few days. Real Estate plays only a few dates through early September, then has no dates schedules until their tour with Deerhunter the second half of October (which opens on October 15th in New York at Webster Hall).

Upcoming Deerhunter shows:

Fri., August 13 - Royale Nightclub, Boston, Mass.

Sat., August 14 - Pearl Street, Northampton, Mass.

Sun., August 15 - Flying W Airport and Pool, Medford, NJ

Upcoming Real Estate show:

Mon., Sept. 6 - Hampshire College, Amherst, Mass.

Free Concerts in NYC: Public Enemy, Deerhunter, Dr. Dog, Neon Indian, The Wedding Present, More

The summer concert season in New York is starting to wind down, but there are still a number of good shows coming up in the next few weeks. Here are a few highlights from this week (check websites for details on capacity, etc,; some venues have limited space):

Thursday, August 12
* Deerhunter with Real Estate, Hudson River Park's RiverRocks, Pier 54, Hudson River (entrance at 14th St.), 8 p.m. (doors open at 6)

* White Rabbits with Hospitality - "Dual drummers and a honky tonk calypso rhythm section bang out jarring sonics"- SummerStage, East River Park, 7 p.m.

Friday, August 13
* The Wedding Present, legendary U.K. band, with Brooklyn's Savoir Adore, Seaport Music Festival, Pier 17, South Street Seaport, 6 p.m.

Saturday, August 14
* Neon Indian with Prefuse 73, DOM and Nite Jewel - the Beach at Governors Island, 8 p.m. (doors open at 6)

* Chief, Frankie & The Outs, MINKS, Total Slacker - Jelly Presents at Rock Yard, 2 p.m.

* Bachata Fest (Latin American music): Andy Andy, Luis Miguel de la Amargue, Kiko Rodriguez, and Alexandra - SummerStage, Central Park, 3 p.m.

Sunday, August 15
* Public Enemy, Blitz The Ambassador, & DJ Kool Herc - SummerStage, Central Park, 3 p.m.

* Dr. Dog with Eli "Paperboy" Reed & The True Loves and Chief - the Beach at Governors Island - 8 p.m. (doors open at 6)

* !!! (chik chik chik), Lee Fields, Strange Boys, Future Islands - Jelly Pool Parties, East River State Park, doors open 2 p.m.