Music Notes: Replacements Reunion, Amazon's AutoRip Service, Maura Johnston's New Gig, & More

Here are some interesting recent pieces of news on various aspects of the music scene:

* Longtime Replacements manager Peter Jesperson talks about the band's reunion and its guitarist Slim Dunlap, who suffered a stroke last year, at Consequence of Sound. It was Dunlap's medical condition that got the band members back together to record an EP to raise money funds for his care.

* Amazon has thrown down another gauntlet in its battle with iTunes by introducing AutoRip, a feature that, when you buy certain music CDs, instantly gives you the MP3 version to download (and store in your Amazon Cloud Player, of course). The deal is good only on eligible AutoRip CDs; there seem to be over 37,000 listed now (the company says it is starting with 50,000, with many more to be added).

* Pioneering music blogger Maura Johnston, let go from the Village Voice a few months back, has launched her own publication, Maura Magazine, for the iPhone and other iOS devices on a subscription basis. The Columbia Journalism Review took a look at Johnston's new venture a few weeks ago.

No doubt contributing to her decision to start her own magazine was her thinking on the state of music writing, as expressed in a blog post on NPR last month.

* Finally, here are a couple of good recent TV music performances: The Joy Formidable on Jimmy Fallon, and The Lumineers on last week's Saturday Night Live.



The Joy Formidable, "This Ladder is Ours"


The Lumineers, "Hey Ho"


The Lumineers, "Stubborn Love"

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.

Concert Notes: Many Festivals this Weekend; Metric & More On Sale Friday

It's not even officially summer yet, but this weekend is shaping up to be one of the busiest of the year in the NYC area. There are no less than seven festivals going on (in addition to events at the usual concert venues), and tickets for a number of popular shows are going on sale soon. And there's news about a very popular concert on the West Coast...

NYC Popfest is on now with low ticket prices and hooks galore.

This Weekend's Festivals:
Maura Johnston of the Village Voice gives a brief synopsis of all seven festivals, but here the ones of interest to readers of this blog:

NYC Pop Fest (today through the 20th, Manhattan and Brooklyn) — An affordable pop explosion with advance tickets for many events only $10 (and one free show). Among the acts are 'Allo Darlin, Seapony, and Habibi.

The Bamboozle (May 18th to 20th, Asbury Park and environs) — Top acts include Skrillex, Incubus, and Mac Miller (18th), Foo Fighters and My Chemical Romance (19th), and Bon Jovi, The Gaslight Anthem, and Brand New (20th).

The Great Googa Mooga (May 19th and 20th, Prospect Park, Brooklyn) — This new festival celebrates food and live music (oddly, the food vendors were announced before the bands). Also odd: free tickets were given away but didn't last long, and the only other way to attend is to buy a VIP pass for $249.

Great Googa Mooga music acts include The Roots, Holy Ghost!, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and Bear Hands (19th) and Daryl Hall & John Oates, Fitz & the Tantrums, Lez Zeppelin, and Peelander-Z (20th).

Tickets for Metric (featuring Emily Haines, above) go on sale May 18th.

Concerts On Sale:

• Metric at Radio City Music Hall, Sept. 23rd, on sale: Friday, May 18th, 9 a.m.
• Leonard Cohen at Madison Square Garden, Dec. 18th, on sale: Friday, 12 Noon.
• Jackson Browne at the Beacon Theatre (with special guest Sara Watkins) Aug. 3rd, on sale: Friday, 11 a.m. [UPDATE: 2nd show added, Aug. 4th. Tickets for both here.]
• Neon Trees at Webster Hall,  July 10th, on sale: Friday, 12 Noon. 
• Brandi Carlile at Wellmont Theater (Montclair, NJ) with the Barr Brothers, July 31st, on sale: Friday, 12 Noon.
• Conor Oberst at Carnegie Hall, Nov. 21st, on sale: Monday, May 21st, 11 a.m.

Saturday Night Live Finale:
Yes, "SNL" always has a musical guest (and sometimes a musician host), but this week's season finale is packed to the gills with music and should be something worth tuning in to. (Besides being the season's last show, this is the May sweeps period for networks.)

Mick Jagger hosts, and the show has announced that the Foo Fighters, Jeff Beck, and Arcade Fire will also appear. I have no idea how they'll fit all this in to one-and-a-half hours without doing one of those annoying everyone-on-stage all-star jams, but I'll be checking it out.

Coachella 2013 Advance Sale:
No, it's not your imagination: tickets for the 2013 edition of the California festival are on sale now. Once again, Coachella will take place on two weekends (April 12th to 14th and 19th to 21st). From the Coachella home page:

"We are excited to announce Coachella 2013 will again be held over two consecutive weekends.

Advance passes go on sale beginning this Thursday, May 17th, 2012 10:00 am PDT through the following Thursday, May 24th, 2012 10:00 pm PDT. This advance sale will be the only opportunity to take advantage of the Coachella Purchase Plan. New for 2013, the price you see is what you pay — prices reflect all fees included. The general on sale will happen early next year."

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.

Billy Preston: He Played with Everyone from Ray Charles to Beatles and the Stones

Seeing Billy Preston on last night’s replay of the first Saturday Night Live show reminded me of what an amazing talent he was. Preston, who died a couple of years ago at the age of 59, had a number of hits in the 1970s as a solo artist (including “Nothing from Nothing,” which he performed on SNL) but he is best known as a versatile keyboard player who collaborated with a who’s who of star musicians.

Billy Preston started performing as a child, playing with gospel and soul legends including Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Aretha Franklin, and Little Richard, among others.

He is the only musician to have played with both the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, and was often called the “fifth Beatle.” In fact, when the Beatles were nearing their end there was discussion of making Preston an official member of the band. That didn’t happen, but their single "Get Back" was credited to "the Beatles with Billy Preston" – said to be the only time that the band allowed a side player to be so credited. And Preston also was playing with the band their final public performance, the famous rooftop gig they played in London.[

Despite being hospitalized with kidney disease in his later years, Billy Preston continued to record and tour with various musicians. I was lucky enough to see him playing at part of Eric Clapton’s band a couple of years before he died, in a concert at Madison Square Garden. I was surprised to see him playing, since the show was not that long after he had been hospitalized.

It was good to see Billy Preston in his prime on SNL, but it was also sad to think of how many great talents from that show died too young: Billy Preston, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, and of course George Carlin.

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.