

Since Moving In
Stereo: Volume 16 hit browsers, shelves, and tables around
the world, a lot of worthwhile and attention-worthy releases
have reached the office CD player, including:
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Idlewild
Warnings / Promises
(Capitol) |
Nightmare
of You
Nightmare of You
(East West/Bevonshire) |
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The
Churchills
The Odds of Winning
(Near) |
Shannon
McNally
Geronimo
(Backporch/Virgin) |
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Iron
Maiden
The Essential
Iron Maiden
(Sanctuary/Sony) |
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…From The Stage
One of the most respected bands of the power-pop genre, Teenage
Fanclub recently headlined a two-night stand at The
Bowery Ballroom. Touring in support of “Man Made,”
the quartet – with an auxiliary keyboardist in the back
– gave fans an astonishing near-two-hour set. From “Bandwagonesque”
to “Songs From Northern Britain,” all corners of the
discography were covered with jangly guitars and note-perfect
harmonies. The Rosebuds, labelmates
of TFC’s on Merge Records, went
on before the Scottish superstars, showcasing selections from
their second full-length “Birds Make Good Neighbors.”
Poppy yet dark, this is surely a group to keep an eye on…
The recently-announced hiatus of New York’s
own Instruction surely saddened some
folks in the U.S. and U.K., but that time off has led to the formation
of Fires. Playing their first “official”
gig at Pianos, always-outspoken frontman
Arty Shepherd let it be known that
the four-piece had only seven rehearsals to its credit. However,
the near-capacity audience appeared blown away by new songs like
“Unfold” and “The Great Wake Up Call,”
which should soon be streamable at www.myspace.com/firesband.
Until then, readers must rest assured from yours truly that the
band’s sound fuses the aggressive, almost-metallic elements
of Instruction with the dynamics and guitar bleeding of British
legends like Ride and Swervedriver…
| Tracy Bonham –
whose “Blink The Brightest” made for recommended
listening a few volumes ago – has turned in a lot of
New York area appearances lately, including one at the
Central Park Summerstage.
Although performing selections from “The Burdens Of
Being Upright” and “Down Here,” her set
was balanced but generally focused on newer material. However,
first single “Something Beautiful,” as recently
performed on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,”
does deserve to be a bigger hit than “Mother Mother”… |
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Huey Lewis & The
News may play a lot of casinos, but that doesn’t
mean that the nine-member act doesn’t put on a high-energy,
fast-paced show. Performed in the round, nearly every hit from
the “Time Flies” compilation -- minus “If This
It” – was featured on this evening at the North
Fork Theatre at Westbury; kudos also going to the venue
itself for its renovations and upgrades on recent months. Although
few surprises in the set-list, Huey and crew’s mini-acapella
set proved to be a memorable highlight, showing nearly every member
of The News to be a competent vocalist. Casino entertainment doesn’t
come much better; nor Broadway-based entertainment, as Huey will
be starring as Billy Flynn in “Chicago” this fall.
…From The Screen
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Whether due to the
infamous “Chappelle’s Show” sketch featuring
Dave Chappelle and
Charlie Murphy,
or the fact that he had been “The King of Funk,”
Rick James’
popularity remains high as ever even a year following his
unexpected death. “Super Freak Live” chronicles
a full-length 1982 performance – on Germany’s
Rockpalast
program – by James and The
Stone City Band, showing
everyone in top-form. This DVD ought to clear up any misconceptions
about how serious Rick James was about music, serving as a
vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and style-switching ringleader… |
Fans of classic rock and classic television
will surely enjoy the three-disc set that is “The Dick Cavett
Show.” Featuring nine full music-centric episodes of the
series, these DVD’s feature Dick Cavett
alongside visionaries like David Bowie,
George Harrison, Stevie
Wonder, and Janis Joplin. Nearly
ten hours in length, bonus materials include new introductions
and a recent interview with Cavett. Fans of Ray
Charles should also be pleased with “The Dick Cavett
Show: Ray Charles Collection,” also available through Shout
Factory.
If you have news to report
for the next edition of Moving In Stereo, press
releases and all other correspondence should be sent to darren.paltrowitz@gmail.com.
© 2005 – Column
used with permission from Darren Paltrowitz. All right reserved.