This charming man.
Andy Rourke of the Smiths at the Crazy Donkey!

Rourke spun a rad set that included Joy Division, Happy Mondays, New Order, Blur, Pixies, David Bowie. Aside from being the bassist from one of the greatest bands of all time, he is also a super cool fellow.



andy and kenyon.

Coney Island + Schmiren Fest + Current Status Via Photos
-------------------------------------
2009 Siren Schmest in Coney Island was announced last week.
The initial line-up for July 18 is:

BUILT TO SPILL
THE RAVEONETTES
FRIGHTENED RABBIT
GRAND DUCHY
MONOTONIX
MICACHU & THE SHAPES
more TBA

Built to Spill is a logical choice for headliner, though the Raveonettes are too cool to be subjected to psuedo schmipsters at a free show to see Built to Spill or Frightened Rabbit. Coney Island is not even a place were the elite music snobs hang out on any other day. Not to mention the Village Voice print version has shrunk. It was in the pool. There was significant schrinkage. The exclusive beer sponsor is Budweiser. BUDWEISER. This is very important if you want to get trashed there and irritate people.



It just so happens that i was in Coney Island April 26. There is some confusion about the status of Coney Island's operation. Some of it has closed, though much is still opened. Here is the proof, which includes lights on the rides, stuffed animals in place for artistic photos, and a mannequin vomitting into a toilet. -Kenyon

Pretty Things Peep Show
last nite at Broadway, Amityville
(this is where i DJ yo, come down next friday!)

clicky on photos to make the burlesque bigger.

kenyon in southeast florida. werrrd.

boynton beach

dada in delray beach

WWE Royal Rumble at Madison Square Garden January 27, 2008.
surprise appearances: John Cena, Mick Foley, Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka.

clicky on photos to see bigger.


fireworks.


"nature boy" Ric Flair still not retiring.


Chris Jericho getting revenge on JBL.


Edge about to retain his championship against Rey Mysterio.


Jeff Hardy down after getting RKO'd by Orton.


Undertaker and HBK starting the rumble match.


John Cena, last man to enter the Rumble, shocking Batista, Triple H and everyone else.


John Schmena wins the royal rumble match.

rock n rolllll [guitar riff] never looked so beautiful.
Semi Precious Weapons last night at Galapagos Brooklyn [main room] plus k3nyon DJing!

autodrone was originally the only band on the bill i cared to see, based alone on songs posted on webby. ironically enough, autodrone was unavailable and Brooklyn's Semi Precious Weapons ended up setting the night on fire with late '70s punk rock n roll breaking the law with Diamond Nights, a glammed-up Ima Robot and a hard rocking Placebo. photos are mine from last nite but my camera battery power was lost (mainly on me stupidly taking photos of myself with flash), so the video is from another SPW gig (recorded by user wwwhatsup at youtube). the band was f-ing great, the only thing is that it's unclear whether the singer is completely serious or putting on an act. maybe a little of both? you decide. either way i'd be surprised if they aren't headlining venues the size of Bowery Ballroom or bigger within the year. -k3nyon

and because they're my favorite new band of the week-

dm photo

u2 photo

Every little thing that you say or do.
Madonna at Madison Square Garden, NYC. June 28, 2006
photos by Kenyon from section 424.


If her previous record was shit, Madonna's 2005 release Confessions on a Dancefloor is THE shit. Like the flowing trance-based tracks on Confessions, the event--Madonna's first date in New York City on this tour--was a non-stop run of glittery disco-electro dance that featured a whirlwind of lights, dancefloors with lights, dancefloors with trap doors, dancers doing headspins and gliding on rollerblades, and moving stage floors. Just when you thought the visuals at U2 and Nine Inch Nails had blown your mind, Madonna takes it one step further, without looking back at much of her past if only to modify it. When she did treat us to classic hits ("Like a Virgin" and "Lucky Star"), it was in an updated fashion that would fit in with the rest of her latest style. The new, more uptempo songs from Confessions were just as exciting as "Ray of Light" or "Music," the latter of which was mashed-up with "Disco Inferno." After an unbelievable 2 hours with no real breaks for an encore (although Madonna did get breathers while the visuals on screens took over or other people danced or sang), "Lucky Star" segued into "Hung Up" for a strong finish that had everyone singing about time moving slowly. Yea, she was on a cross for "Live to Tell." Calm down.


set list included: Confessions on a Dancefloor, Like a Virgin, Live to Tell, Ray of Light, Music, Lucky Star, La Isla Bonita

crowd report: we had a wave going just before showtime, hell yea! gay guy next to me says to his friend- "oh i have to call Francesco during "Sorry." blech. girl in front of me was friendly. Overall the usual but not bad, and definitely the most enthusiastic crowd at MSG i can remember, with the wave and all.

Until the End of the Show
U2 @Madison Square Garden, November 21, 2005.
Section 218, row B, seat 15.

Main Set: City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow (with additional lyrics towards end), I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Beautiful Day, Original of the Species, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday (snippet, "Rock the Casbah"), Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One.

Encore 1: Until the End of the World, Mysterious Ways, With or Without You

Encore 2: The First Time (acoustic), Stuck In a Moment (acoustic), Instant Karma (with Patti Smith), Bad (snippet, "People Have the Power").




This review is a little shorter than the other two shows i went to on this tour (May 18, October 10), because i already wrote all about it and the main set this time was so similar to October 10 in particular. As a result, boring and predictable, I know there's a schedule and routine the band and crew follows and there's only so many songs they can have ready, but come on U2, you have like 300 other songs available. I guess they have to play it safe most of the time as far as what songs to choose. U2 has to cater to the general fans and play the popular and succesful songs. That really is a shame and we wind up hearing a lot of the same stuff. Now there are some songs which i am truly sick of (i already hated "Elevation"). I know there are people there who haven't yet seen U2 on this tour but the band has to know that people are going to multiple shows. Here's some suggestions: New Year's Day, Even Better Than the Real Thing, something from the second side of Joshua Tree, something from Zooropa. Being in section 218, relatively close to the stage but mostly seeing their backs, doesn't help too much. If i was in the "ellipse", i know it would have been a different story and i wouldn't even care what they were playing. Well, at least this time i took photos with a sweet zoom lens.

So after the lame main set (really, i just couldn't get into it much), the band came back for the first encore with the ZOO TV images on the screen to start. I was like, oh no, here we go again with "Zoo Station" and "The Fly". Shit. Then i got the biggest, best surprise of the night: "Until the End of the World" (awesome, only saw them play it once on Zoo TV tour which i barely remember), and "Mysterious Ways." (although "New Year's Day" really is a great transition from "Until"). So by now i was praying for "Bad", and after the acoustic songs and the John Lennon song, we got it. And i think that, along with "Until the End" made my night. oh yea and after reading about the following night at MSG (show cut a little short, no "bad") i am so so glad i went to the first one. sorry guys!

Crowd and seat report: energy level was definitely better and more intense for October 10 (though an earplug in my left ear may have clouded my meter-reading). as usual, the people around me were total deadbeats. hardly moving or dancing or responsive. the guy behind me was a total jerk talking to his girlfriend. i didn't even bother making small talk with the girls to the left of me. aside from the jerk behind me though, it was a good spot because i was at the end of my row (the odds are 1 in 15, yea?), therefore as soon as the arcade fire song came on, i went right in the isle and had plenty of space to dance (very lucky to be at the bottom of the section, with the guardrail in front of me). so, i had a clear view of the stage (see photos).

Notes: Among the snippets, Bono sang a line from the chorus of "Please" somewhere, forgot what song. I'm sure few people caught that. Young boy pulled onstage for "Sunday Bloody Sunday", not sure what to think of that. girl for "With or Without You" worked better. Patti Smith just had to comment about the war. Said there is no reason to be there. Half the crowd booed, half cheered.

Last note: I wore an old long sleeved shirt on which i wrote U2 lyrics and images from achtung baby tour. to my surprise, absolutely no one at the show commented on this. i purposely wrote lesser known lyrics, but come on. yea, i mean COME ON.

U2: beautiful. Cell phones and beer: bad.
(or, love and peace or else I'm going to hurt someone)

U2 at Madison Square Garden, New York, October 10, 2005
-Kenyon Hopkin


You'd think that after three dates in the area in May and two at Madison Square Garden in the past weak would produce less of an energized crowd. With U2, that's just not the case. At least, not for this impressive third gig at MSG. And you'd think that being in section 419, facing the side of the stage, would be a drag. Not so. Not when it's an open stage and you're in Row A!

When they first came on for "City of Blinding Lights" (after the Arcade Fire over the PA got my fists pumping) the crowd was nearly deafening and a lot of the time it was difficult to even hear the music. Several people that posted at u2tours.com said that Bono's voice was a little off. I remember the singer from Keane (who were not bad) even mentioned that his voice wasn't up to par tonite (no one should be pointing that out, cause it only brings attention to it). I really didn't notice any flaw with his voice, but come on people, U2 is playing like 200 shows in a year, so what do you expect. It's amazing that they can play two hours each nite at all.

I was very ecstatic that they started with "City" again, but "Vertigo" and "Elevation" (why they chose to keep this in the set so long is beyond me, that song is weak), was like they were just going through the motions. I know they can't mix up sets TOO MUCH, but I'm just sick of those songs. The next two songs, however, more than made up for this: "I Will Follow" and "Electric Co." Most of the crowd was into "Follow" but (surprise, surprise) only a small percentage even knew "Electric Co." That was the first of a few songs where I was dancing and jumping around while the people around me were sitting down or just standing there like zombies.

"I Still Haven't Found" unexpectedly followed, I've never known of that song coming so early in a set. Then of course the crowd got energized again with "Beautiful Day." "Miracle Drug" slowed it down and again Bono had to dedicate the song to nurses, etc. and then "Sometimes You Can't Make it", which i don't even clearly remember them playing because I was probably sitting and putting my head on the guard rail in front of me. Good time for a break.

Then came the sorta charged-up-with-a-political-message segment with "Love and Peace," "Sunday" and "Bullet the Blue Sky", all which were pretty rocking, with Bono playing a little drum kit on the ramp for "Love and Peace". After "Bulllet" was probably the most unexpected song (for me at least) of the nite: "Miss Sarejevo," a song they recorded under the name "Passengers" with Brian Eno and opera singer Pavorotti. Holy cow! Are you kidding me? I assumed it would be "Running to Stand Still" cause that's what usually comes after "Bullet". The Edge played piano instead of guitar for "Sarejevo" and sadly, most of the crowd didn't know it, and since it's a quiet song, I could hear people talking. As a result at that point, I pretty much hated most everyone there. This was a really special moment, and Bono was even singing Pavorotti's part, wow, impressive.

Favorites "Pride" and "Streets" of course followed and then the so so boring and overrated "One". (I'm pretty sure) just before "One" Bono had the crowd do the thing with the cell phones, which I find pretty ironic since he was talking about how they can do everything including lending support to the ONE campaign and yet here they were annoying the hell out of me with people calling their friends before and during the show (I kid you not, this guy next to me, who thankfully later moved cause he was in the wrong seat, called his friend during Keane like 5 minutes after getting there and says "yea, they're pretty good" and holds the phone up to record some of it to send to him. jerk)

The main set ended, they took a short break, and then the Zoo TV-like images were on the screens. Totally sweet. The best part of the show, second only to start of "City". It's like a new concert is starting, like you're at the Zoo TV tour in 1992. I happen to love "Zoo Station". Of course it's not a "hit", so not as many people are into it. I wish Bono moved around more for the song though as he did in the Zoo TV live from Sydney Australia video. Here he kinda just did the same movements when I saw them May 18, so that was just going through motions there. "The Fly". I'm sorry, that song is very average for U2. Why aren't they playing "Even Better Than the Real Thing" on this tour? That would work so much better, especially earlier in the set. "With or Without You" I was hoping would flow in from a previous song, it doesnt work too well after "Fly".

At that point it was 11:25, and my friend and I decided we needed to catch the 11:42 train (the next was at 1:04, dammit. yea yea I know, it's U2!), so just as they came on for the second encore with "All Because of You", we left, realizing it otherwise would have taken like 30 minutes to get from section 419 to the ground. I really hated to leave, especially after finding out they played "Bad" and "40". However they did play that May 18 so I'm not as upset. Hopefully they will play "Bad" November 21 (I'll be in a 200-level section near the stage). After the show, I was having second thoughts about Nov 21 and I wanted to sell the ticket. (get ready for the rant) I'll tell you why: phones, talking and beer. People, again: YOU PAID GOOD MONEY TO SEE U2, AND HERE YOU ARE DRINKING BEER (and spilling it on people), going to the bathroom or to get more beer (MSG is dumb for selling it) AND TALKING DURING THE SHOW ("yankees are down 2-1!"). I am sure there are bigger fans that deserved tickets more than you and got shut out. You just don't get it, this is one of the best bands and shows you will ever see, and some people appreciate it more than you and want to be incredibly focused and immersed in it. It's a chance/risk you have to take though. I guess my section could have been worse, it wasn't as awful as I am making it sound, it was just typical. I'm trying my luck on Nov 21, because well, U2 is the BOMB and this may be my last chance to see them, particularly at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Oh yea and um, I think I forgot to mention that the lights were pretty cool too.

Main Set: City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, I Will Follow, The Electric Co., I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For (snippet of In a Little While), Beautiful Day (snippet of lou reed song), Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Happy Birthday/Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One (snippet of Ol' Man River.)

Encore 1: Zoo Station, The Fly, With or Without You. Encore 2: All Because of You, Yahweh, Bad, 40

photos and more at U2tours.com