photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Phoenix @ The Apollo, 5/13/2013

While Phoenix prepare for a much bigger tour that will include a stop at Brooklyn's Barclays Center in October (tickets), the French band wrapped up their post-Coachella tour of smaller North American venues at Harlem's historic Apollo Theatre last night (5/13). The band played a slightly longer set than their Sirius-sponsored show at Music Hall of Williamsburg last month, adding "Too Young" from their first album and "Fences" from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix to the mix. And like at MHOW, frontman Thomas Mars got into the crowd to sing as well.

Opening was Blood Orange, an increasingly rare sight from Dev Hynes who is spending more and more time in the producer's chair these days. Photos from the Apollo are in this post.

In other news, Phoenix's next single from Bankrupt! is "Trying to Be Cool" and the band have released the individual "stems" from the track so that anyone can have a go at remixing it. You can download them here and check out a Silver Swans remix below.

Continue reading "Phoenix played The Apollo with Blood Orange (pics, setlist)"

photos by Dana (distortion) Yavin

How to destroy angels_ at The Apollo - 4/29/13

Trent Reznor's band How to destroy angels_ brought their tour with DIIV in NYC last night (4/29) at The Apollo after hitting Coachella, Chicago, Montclair, NJ, and other cities. Like on their other dates, the band was complemented by elaborate on-stage visuals, and you can see pictures of the spectacle in this post.

How to destroy angels_ wrap up their tour tonight (4/30) at The Fillmore in Silver Springs, MD. It won't be too long until they return to the stage though, because How to destroy angels_, along with Trent's other band Nine Inch Nails, were both just announced for Asheville's Mountain Oasis Festival. More pictures and the setlist from the Apollo below...

Continue reading "How to destroy angels_ & DIIV played the Apollo (pics/setlist)"

As mentioned, Trent Reznor's project, How to destroy angels_ will be going on a tour this April around the time they play Coachella. The tour comes to the NYC-area for shows on April 28 at Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ and April 29 at Apollo Theatre in Harlem, and ticket info for the shows has been posted. Tickets for both the Apollo show and the Wellmont show go on sale Friday (3/1) at 10 AM. Presales begin Wednesday (2/27) at the band's tour page. More info on the presales is still forthcoming, but that tour page will be updated with new info as it comes and you may want to keep tabs on their Facebook as well..

The new How to destroy angels_ album, Welcome oblivion_, will be out on March 5. The band have also added a pre-Coachella show to their tour schedule, and updated dates are listed below.

In related news, Trent Reznor's other band, Nine Inch Nails plan to tour in 2013 and 2014 with a lineup that includes Eric Avery (Jane's Addition), Adrien Belew (King Crimson, Talking Heads, David Bowie, etc), Josh Eustis (Telefon Tel Aviv), and Reznor's NIN bandmates Alessandro Cortini and Ilan Rubin. No dates for that tour are announced yet, but Lollapalooza might be one of them.

Updated Htda dates are listed below...

Continue reading "How to Destroy Angels ticket and presale info, updated dates"

Charles Bradley at Firefly 2012 (more by Dana (distortion) Yavin)

As mentioned, soul singer Charles Bradley will release his new album, Victim of Love, on April 2 via Daptone Records, and is set to support it with a tour that hits NYC on May 16 at the Apollo Theater. When we first mentioned that show back in January, there was no ticket info, and now there finally is: Tickets go on Ticketmaster/Fan Club presale today (2/21) at 10 AM (password: "CBRAD") and general sale begins Saturday (2/23) at noon. We're also giving away a pair of tickets to the Apollo Theater show, and details on how you can enter to win are below.

Charles' tour has been expanded a bit since we last spoke, and it now also includes a trip to Austin for SXSW, where he will play the first ever DapTone Records Super Soul Revue SXSW showcase on March 14 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, The Budos Band, Menahan Street Band, The Sugarman 3, and The Como Mamas.

The flyer for the SXSW show, an updated list of dates, contest details, and a stream of "Strictly Reserved For You" from Charles' new album, below...

Continue reading "tickets on sale for the Charles Bradley Apollo Theater show (plus, you can win a pair!); Daptone coming to SXSW"

by Andrew Sacher

Passion Pit at Governors Ball in June (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Some good news and some bad news. The bad first: Passion Pit recently expanded their tour to include a NYC show scheduled to happen on July 23 at Apollo Theater (which sold out immediately) three days after they were scheduled to play Firefly Music Fest in Delaware. Unfortunately, both of those dates, and many others have been cancelled. Frontman Michael Angelakos posted this message to the band's website:

Hello all,

On behalf of the band and myself, I would like to greatly apologize for the show cancelations. In order for me to ensure that there will be no further disruptions, I am going to take the time to work on improving my mental health. For now, I'd like to thank all of our fans for their understanding. I hope to see all of you very soon in a much different light.

The tour page on our website currently reflects all upcoming tour dates.

With love,
Michael

On the bright side, the band are streaming their sophomore LP, Gossamer, on NPR. If you've had any doubts about this album, whether it be a distaste for their mainstream attention (and thus, tween fanbase) a feeling of "people still listen to Passion Pit?" or "who cares? Passion Pit sucks! (but I secretly have 50+ plays for Manners on my iTunes)," then let it be known that Passion Pit have more than succeeded in following up their debut and Gossamer is definitely worth a listen. Check it out for yourself.

Updated dates are listed below...

Continue reading "Passion Pit cancel dates (Apollo Theater & Firefly Music Fest included), streaming new album"

by Andrew Sacher

Passion Pit at Governors Ball in June (more by Amanda Hatfield)

Modest Mouse aren't the only band who recently played Governors Ball, will play Firefly Music Fest in Delaware, and just announced a NYC area gig around that fest. Passion Pit have followed suit, and will play Apollo Theater on July 23, after Firefly Fest wraps up. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday (7/13) at noon with an AmEx presale starting Wednesday (7/11) at noon.

Passion Pit's sophomore LP, Gossamer, is due out on July 24 via Columbia. They've already revealed two great and very different tracks from the album -- "Take a Walk" and "I'll Be Alright" -- and now they've got a third cut out, "Constant Conversations," which as just as solid and just as different. In case you haven't been keeping up, "Take a Walk" has got big vocals and Beach Boys-y drums, "I'll Be Alright" is a spastic, glitchy pop song with pitch-shifted vocal clips that aren't too different from Purity Ring (whose new album comes out the same day as Passion Pit's), and now on "Constant Conversations," the band are crossing into chilled out R&B territory with clap snares and a toned down, smooth vocal delivery from Michael Angelakos. In an interview with Pitchfork, Michael himself compared the song to James Blake, saying, "he does this really soft, serious stuff; I make a mockery out of it, because I make a mockery out of myself."

Stream that song below, along with a list of updated dates.

Continue reading "Passion Pit reveal new song (stream), expand tour, playing The Apollo Theater (dates)"

Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def) is playing the Apollo Theater on June 14 as part of the month-long Blue Note Jazz Festival (which originally announced the Mos Def show as happening on June 29). Tickets are on sale.

Today, 5/21, would have been Biggie Smalls' 40th birthday. In tribute to Biggie and Malcolm X, Yasiin Bey released a new song called "Bey", part of his continuing "Top 40 Underdog series". Hypetrack points out that the song is Bey rapping over the instrumental of Lil Tunechi's single "John (If I Die Tonight)". Listen to that, along with some just-uncovered footage of Christopher Wallace performing with Jay-Z, below...

Continue reading "Biggie would be 40 today; Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) drops "Bey" in tribute, is playing the Apollo"

The Jacksons (Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Tito Jackson) are touring together this summer for the first time since 1984, when they toured their Victory LP. According to a press release, they'll be playing all the band's classics, and Jackie Jackson is quoted saying, "I know at each concert, MJ's spirit will be in the house with us."

The tour takes place in June and July and hits NYC on June 28 at The Apollo before the band plays two NJ shows in Atlantic City (7/29) and Englewood (7/30). Tickets for the Apollo show are on Live Nation presale now and go on sale to the general public on Saturday (tomorrow, 4/14) at 10 AM.

All dates and some videos of the Jackson 5 below...

Continue reading "The Jacksons are going on tour (!), playing the Apollo (dates)"

by Andrew Frisicano

Bruce Sprinsteen @ the Apollo (Springsteen.net)

For those who were lucky enough to get tickets (a mix of celebrities, press and SiriusXM staff and subscribers), the show was a chance to see the E Street band play a two-plus-hour set in a venue a fraction the size of its upcoming stadium shows. Their show on Friday, March 9th included a couple of firsts for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The gig a private show hosted by SiriusXM Radio and streamed on their E Street Radio channel (which BrooklynVegan Blog Radio host Nick Masi also hosts a show on), was their first at the Apollo Theatre. It was also the first full show with new sax player Jake Clemons, Clarence's nephew. The presence of the recently-departed Clarence and that of the stage's past stars were felt throughout the night. Those touches added some weight to the event, which otherwise focused on prepping the band for their tour behind the new, somewhat uneven Wrecking Ball.

The show started with a nod to James Brown's Live at the Apollo, with a version of its opening fanfare delivered by Springsteen (who called himself "the hardest working white man in show business"). Before the end of the night the band further paid tribute to the Apollo's legends by playing the Smokey Robinson-penned Temptations song "The Way You Do the Things You Do," Wilson Pickett single "634-5789" and Sam and Dave's "Hold On, I'm Comin.'" For the latter, the last song of the night, Bruce kneeled down while Steven Van Zandt draped a black towel over his shoulder and began to lead him off stage a la Brown's legendary cape routine. Bruce rushed back to the center to sing a few more rousing bars.

During "The Way You Do the Things You Do," which began as an a cappella number that brought the group's numerous backup singers to the front of the stage, Bruce flubbed a cue, which he joked about, clearly embarrassed, remarking "Aw I fucked it up." That segued into "634-5789," during which the boss ventured into the theater's boxes and balcony (video below).

Bruce Sprinsteen @ the Apollo (ChuckGarfien)

Being a warmup show for the Wrecking Ball tour, and promotional show for the album, the set was naturally heavy on songs from that record. Some, like the title track "We Take Care of Our Own," and the Irish-inflected "Death to My Hometown," sounded quite good, with a shimmery Stax-like horn sound. Others--"Jack of All Trades," "Shackled and Drawn"--were patiently weathered by the crowd. But the vintage Bruce morsels were worth the wait: Darkness on the Edge of Town highlights "Badlands" and "Promised Land" and Born to Run classics "Thunder Road" and "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" (sadly, the fever pitch highs of some of those songs were also accompanied by crippling feedback).

Personally, the highlight for me was "Mansion on the Hill," a quiet song off Nebraska, which Bruce fingerpicked, harmonizing with wife Patti Scialfa (Soozie Tyrell added some violin color, too).

Bruce stopped several times to shout out Clarence, beckoning the crowd to cheer the missing member during a roll call. Again at the end, he called for cheers after stopping "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" after the line "When the change was made uptown/And the Big Man joined the band."

He also joked about his recent Fallon performance, remarking "This is our first non-televised gig. Wiggle wiggle wiggle."

The band has another tour warm-up show in Austin next week at SXSW, where Bruce will give the keynote speech which you'll be able to stream online. They're back in the NYC area for shows at the Izod Center and MSG starting on April 3rd (and another at Newark's Prudential Center on May 2nd).

Videos from the show, including Bruce venturing into the theater's balcony, and the set list are below...

Continue reading "Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band played the Apollo (review, video, setlist & a few pics)"

Bruce Sprinsgteen & the E Street Band play a private SiriusXM show at the Apollo tonight (3/9). If you're not one of the lucky that got, or won, a ticket from the satellite radio provider, you can always listen on E-Street Radio (if you are a subscriber).

Lionel Richie (!) will be honored at the same Harlem venue on June 4th as part of the Apollo Spring Gala 2012. As you can imagine, tickets are not cheap. They go on sale to the general public Sunday morning.

Lionel Richie is also playing SXSW this month. So is Bruce (and both at ACL Live's Moody Theater where Radiohead just taped an episode of the Austin City Limits TV show). Jay-Z plays there during SXSW too.

The Roots on the Intrepid (more by Dominick Mastrangelo)

The Roots and "special surprise guests" will celebrate the holdays at their 5th Annual Okayplayer Holiday Jam, which goes down at Brooklyn Bowl on Thursday (12/15), followed by the usual Questlove DJ stint shortly thereafter. The show is private, but you (and a guest) can win a special invite by signing up for the Okayplayer newsletter. Further details are at the Okayplayer site.

The Roots will also celebrate legendary delta blues musician Robert Johnson's 100th birthday at the Apollo on March 6th, joining a lineup that includes Shemika Copeland, Bettye LaVette, Taj Mahal, Keb Mo, Sam Moore, Todd Rundgren and more TBA. Tickets are on sale, and the show will double as a benefit for the construction of the Blues Hall of Fame by the Blues Foundation in Memphis.

The Roots recently celebrated the release of their new LP Undun and inddirectly called Michelle Bachmann a "Lyin' Ass Bitch" (and will no longer have carte blanche on the songs they play as a result).

Video of Questlove and Black Thought from Power 105 this morning discussing the Michelle Bachmann incident, as well as the concept behind Undun is below...

Continue reading "Roots playing Okayplayer holiday party & Robert Johnson's birthday (but not whatever they want on Fallon anymore)"

Stevie Wonder will be inducted into the Apollo Legends Hall of Fame at this year's Apollo Theater annual Spring Gala. The Gala Benefit Concert and Awards Ceremony brings together the best and brightest in business and entertainment to raise funds in support of the non-profit theater's remarkable legacy and its initiatives for emerging artists and community and educational programs in New York City and beyond. Stevie Wonder joins past inductees into the Apollo Legends Hall of Fame including Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, Patti Labelle, Smokey Robinson, James Brown, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Little Richard, and Ella Fitzgerald.

This star-studded concert and award show will feature music performances by some of the industry's hottest entertainers. Special guests who have appeared in the past include Jamie Foxx, Chris Tucker, Mariah Carey, Prince and many others. Sometimes the audience won't know who will show up until they walk out onto the famous Apollo stage!

Oh and speaking of Prince, he plays NYC again THIS MONDAY (with Cee-Lo).

Continue reading "Stevie Wonder being inducted into Apollo Hall of Fame (tix)"

photos by Ryan Barkan

"His band is the same it's been for most of the last decade, with the guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray, the keyboardist Paul Wickens, and the drummer Abe Laboriel Jr.; in a way their canned grimaces and corny gestures seem perfect, because they illustrate how much of the audience might dream of playing if given the chance to get on stage with Mr. McCartney, showing off but hitting all the marks. It's a machine that doesn't change arrangements from year to year, mostly replicating the original versions, down to the string parts on "Eleanor Rigby" as recreated by Mr. Wickens' synthesizer. It's also a loud, clear, efficacious, and sometimes bashing band, aiming to the back rows." [NY Times]

Continue reading "Paul McCartney played the Apollo Theater (pics & setlist)"

"On December 13 at 8:00 pm ET, history will be made. For the first time in his legendary career, Paul McCartney will perform at Harlem's world famous Apollo Theater, at an exclusive live concert event for SiriusXM listeners. This very special, invitation-only concert will celebrate SiriusXM reaching 20 million subscribers, a milestone the company expects to achieve shortly. As a thank you to its loyal subscribers, SiriusXM will broadcast the concert LIVE nationwide, as well as offer a few lucky subscribers the opportunity to attend this historic event in person." [SiriusXM]

Continue reading "Paul McCartney playing satellite radio event @ the Apollo, Beatles doing great on iTunes"

Prince on stage @ the Apollo, October 14, 2010 (Stephen Hill)

Today, Prince headed to Harlem to the iconic Apollo Theater to announce he would be serving as Master of Ceremonies for a new concert series called 'Welcome To America,' which will be kicking off this December.

Though he was mum on details like dates and tour stops, the 52 year-old singer/songwriter told the crowd that 'Welcome to America' will showcase some of his favorite artists including Maceo Parker, Janelle Monae, Mint Condition, Esperanza Spalding, Cassandra Wilson, Lalah Hathaway and Sheila E.

The Minnesota native also confirmed that he and the New Power Generation would also perform nightly alongside featured acts.

"If you've been to one of my shows, then you know what time it is," the usually media shy artist joked. "You need to come early and come often because every time we play it's always something new. I got a lot of hits. Bring friends, bring children, and bring foot spray because it's gonna be funky."

"I didn't want to talk too much but how many have seen 'Waiting for Superman,' " he asked before bringing out Harlem Children's Zone head Geoffrey Canada who also spoke briefly about how grateful he is Prince chose Harlem as the venue to announce the series.

Prince will play a special guitar for the duration of the concert series and then auction off the guitar for the benefit of Harlem Children's Zone. [Prince.org]

Paul Weller at the theater previously known as Nokia (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Though tickets are still available for his November 7th show at Best Buy Theater (formerly Nokia), Paul Weller has added a November 6th NYC show at Apollo Theater. Tickets for the new gig are currently on "AEG", "Venue" and "Fan Club" presale(s) (password = NOTEARS) and go on general sale Friday at noon (9/24). The NYC shows are two of three US dates scheduled for the ex-Style Council/The Jam member.

Speaking of The Jam, the band's 1980 album Sound Affects will be re-released on 11/1 in celebration of its 30th anniversary. The two-disc edition will feature 22 bonus tracks, as well as as demos, covers, b-sides and alternative versions. Tracklisting is below.

Paul Weller's Wake Up The Nation didn't win the Mercury Prize (that honor went to The xx), but Paul has another chance to win something. Q Magazine recently released its nominees for their annual "Q Awards" and Paul Weller was nominated for the "Best Male Artist". The list of nominees (and all Paul Weller tour dates) are below... some interesting choices...

Continue reading "Paul Weller adds 2nd NY show around 'Sound Affects' release"

The Apollo Theater's Spring benefit is taking place at The Apollo on June 14th. "The benefit includes special appearances by ANGELA BASSETT, DANNY GLOVER and CHRIS TUCKER and performances by SHARON JONES, ESTELLE, LESLIE UGGAMS, DONNIE MCCLURKIN, MARSHA AMBROSIUS of Floetry and Amateur Night winner CLARK KING. Music Director for the evening is RAY CHEW." Tickets range from $100 to $250 to way more.

N.E.R.D. are playing a free show at Brooklyn Bowl on June 16th. RSVP is Necessary.

Lee Scratch Perry returns to Highline Ballroom on August 17th. Tickets are on sale.

ZZ Top are playing the Beacon Theatre on September 12th. Tickets are currently on Internet Presale (password = HETOP). General sale starts Saturday at 10am.

photos by Ryan Barkan

"This past Saturday night it was a trip to the Apollo Theater on 125th Street in Harlem. The act was Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. After three albums and 10 years they are an overnight sensation. For the obvious reasons seeing this show at the Apollo was completely appropriate.

Let me just say that if you have not caught this act put it on your bucket list. Sharon Jones is a combination of the great funk-soul singers of years gone by. Names like Mavis Staples, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Tina Turner come to mind.

Sharon and the 18 piece band put on a fabulous show. Everyone in that band are top level A team players. Sharon and the Kings do a soulful version of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land' which had the entire audience up and dancing - rocking the Apollo...."
[Harry Sandler Productions]

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings played Fallon & Letterman (video) & 2 shows @ the Apollo (pics)"

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings @ Brooklyn Bowl, Dec (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings have added a second night to their Apollo Theater stint at the end of April. There are still some tickets available for their April 30th show. The new gig will be at the venue May 1st. Ticket info TBA.

They'll be going on a full North American tour in support of their forthcoming I Learned the Hard Way, due April 6th on Daptone. Those dates are below...

Continue reading "Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings add 2nd Apollo Theater show - updated 2010 tour dates"

Dap King @ Brooklyn Bowl (more by Kyle Dean Reinford)

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings will be returning to NY's historic Apollo Theater on Friday, April 30th. Tickets just went on Fan Club presale (password = SHARON). Then, Apollo Theater Foundation & AEG/Ticketmaster presales start on Wednesday at 10am, before they go on general sale this Friday, February 5th at 10am.

Sharon Jones & band will also be at Wanee Fest in Florida this April.

Their new album I Learned the Hard Way comes out April 6th on Daptone.

Sharon performed "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" with Grammy winner Michael Buble on SNL Saturday night (1/30). Video from that performance is reposted below with all dates...

Continue reading "Sharon Jones played SNL, returning to the Apollo Theater"

by Benjamin Lozovsky

Former Blackstar bandmates and continuing collaborators Talib Kweli and Mos Def are keeping up the busy pace they each set in 2009 with even more tour dates and releases to come in the new year.

After performing a spattering of shows with long-time producer Hi-Tek as a reunited Reflection Eternal last year, the much beloved pair is coming back to the New York area with a late show at Highline Ballroom on Friday, January 22nd (tickets are on sale). This date comes in the support of The Re:Union Mixtape, the fantastic new free compilation of fresh and unreleased Reflection Eternal cuts (with some classic Kweli and Hi-Tek jams throw in as well) mixed, mastered, and co-produced by Statik Selektah. If the new tracks are any indication, Kweli and Hi-Tek are poised to make a splashing return to form on their upcoming full-length LP Revolutions Per Minute, which has a tentative release date of March 2010.

Before that gig, Talib has two more scheduled local appearances. The first is this Sunday, January 17th, when he'll perform at Pyramid for an End Of The Weak party with special guest Webbafied.

The second, and definitely more eye-popping event is Mind Body Soul: A Concert Event To Raise Awareness For Diabetes. Organized by Heavy Sound and taking place at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn on Wednesday, January 20th, the benefit concert will feature hosts Michael Rapaport, Okayplayer (perhaps ?uestlove), and Phife Dawg, and performances by Kweli, Ghostface Killah, Jay Electronica (whom Talib just collaborated with for killer Re:Union track 'Just Begun'), and Consequence. Tribe Called Quest member Phife, a long-time diabetic, was first diagnosed with the disease back in 1990, and is making his first appearance in the public spotlight after recently receiving a much needed kidney transplant. Other performers are promised as well (an earlier flyer for the event had Blakroc listed, although that has now vanished from the more updated version...let's hope they might be one of the special guests). Email RSVP@heavysounds.com to get in for free before 11:00pm.

Meanwhile, Mos Def will be back to perform tracks from his Grammy-nominated album The Ecstatic this Sunday, January 17th, at The Highline Ballroom. The show is a rescheduled appearance from December 20th of last year, which was canceled due to weather ($45 tickets). Later in the month, the Mighty Mos performs two more times. First it's at the Apollo Theater for IMAN Presents: Special Edition of Community Café, on Saturday, January 23rd. He'll be there along side Daily Show correspondent and comedian Aasif Mandvi as well as other guests ($20 tickets). Then you can catch Mos when he opens for DOOM at Nokia Theatre on January 30th ($40 tickets)

Event flyers below:

Continue reading "Reflection Eternal mixtape & a show (on sale) + Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Ghostface and even a Phife Dawg appearance too"

Elvis Costello @ Bonnaroo 2009 (more by Graeme Flegenheimer)

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... fuses the best elements of talk and music television and invites viewers to enjoy an intimate conversation between host Costello and his guests, punctuated by rare musical performances by Costello, his guests and a wide variety of musicians.

Sundance Channel in the US, along with CTV in Canada have picked up the show for a second season, with taping scheduled at New York City's famed Apollo Theatre at the end of September.

Continue reading "Elvis Costello taping 2nd season Spectacle shows @ the Apollo - get tix (Neko Case, Levon Helm, Ray Lamontagne...)"

"PETA US has written to Michael Jackson's estate asking for the rights to the singer's first solo hit, "Ben," which was written for the 1972 film of the same name. This beautiful song is about the friendship between a lonely boy and a rat named Ben, and we hope it can be used to raise awareness about the plight of rats and other animals tormented in laboratory experiments." [PETA]

AEG, the world's second largest concert promoter, stands to take some sort of hit from the cancellation of Michael's 50 London concerts. Yesterday they announced that, "full refunds, including the service fee charges, will be handed out to those who purchased from authorized resellers, including Ticketmaster, Viagogo, See or Ticketline. For detailed information on the how-to's of claiming the refund, fans are advised to go to MichaelJacksonLive.com from July 1, Wednesday."

AEG also released pictures taken by concert photographer Kevin Mazur at one of Michael's final rehearsals for the 50 shows. One of those pictures is above. A few more, and some old videos of Michael performing "Ben", below...

Continue reading "Michael Jackson tribute @ the Apollo today ++ final rehearsal pictures, London ticket refunds & BEN!"

The Apollo Theater - June 25, 2009, 8:30 PM (hsupafly)

The Apollo Theater in Harlem posted the message, "In Memory of Michael Jackson, A True Apollo Legend" on its billboard Thursday after learning of Jackson's death at age 50.

In Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when television news flashed the news that Jackson had died. People began relaying the news to people by cell phone text messages.

Thirty-six-year-old Micheal Harris of New York City read from a message sent on his phone, "No joke. King of Pop is no more."

Harris said he will always remember being in Times Square when learning that Jackson had died.

The Rev. Al Sharpton issued a statement on the music legend's passing:

"A friend of Michael's for the last 35 years, I call on people around the world to pray for him and his family in the hour. I have known Michael since we were both teens, worked with him, marched for him, hosted him at our House of Justice headquarters in New York, and we joined together to eulogize our mutual idol, James Brown. I have known him at his high moments and his low moments and I know he would want us to pray for his family." [CBS]

Bonnie Prince Billy @ the Apollo Theater - May 21, 2009 (crespa´s)

"last nights bonnie 'prince' billy concert at the apollo was supreme. jim white on drums. emmett kelly on guitar. josh abrams on bass. cheyenne mize on violin and vocals. matt sweeney dueting on blood embrace." [here i am. there you are]

Bonnie Prince Billy concluded his two night, NYC run last night. More dates HERE. A shot from each of the NYC shows is above. Most of the Santos setlist is below...

Continue reading "Bonnie Prince Billy played Santos PH & the Apollo Theater "