photos by Dana (Distortion) Yavin

NY. yall treated a brother right last night at BB.Kings. We off to Canada now, but thanks for the love yall show us, the funk never forgets a good funkin'! Now that the Funkship is up & runnin', we plan to make many more Big Apple stops. We love, we funk! -[Bootsy Collins]

Member of James Brown's band, Parliament-Funkadelic, a solo artist, and hands down one of the most fashion-conscious men in music, Bootsy Collins played BB King's on June 26th as part of the Blue Note Jazz Festival which comes to a close tonight (6/30). The starry-eyed one's 13-piece band Funk U-Nity, which featured former P-Funk members Bernie Worrell, Blackbyrd McKnight, and Frankie Kash, shook the booties of attendees at BB King's with the help of a special, and rather surprising guest:

Bootsy Collins brought the funk and Dr. Cornel West to B.B. King on Sunday night. The former Parliament-Funkadelic bassist and his all-star Funk U-nity band... tore the roof off the packed house with the help of the Princeton professor. West declared Collins an "unadulterated genius" before performing "Don't Take My Funk," a track off Bootsy's new CD, "Tha Funk Capital of the World." West guest-stars on the album, too, as does his Obama debating partner, the Rev. Al Sharpton. -[NY Daily News]

The funkin' legend (and Dr. West) played a set of dancefloor burning grooves that included Bootsy's amp literally bursting into a cloud of smoke. Too much funky, I guess.

More pictures and a video from BB King's and all upcoming Bootsy dates are below...

Continue reading "Bootsy Collins funked up BB King's w/ his funky band & special guest Dr. Cornel West (pics & video)"

words and photos by Nathaniel Shannon

On Sunday 1/17/10 at BB King's, vocalist Bobby Liebling once again proved why he is still the front man of one of the most influential doom metal bands ever, Pentagram. Taking the stage and delivering like a hammerstrike, the band laid down a great set covering all the "hits" (full set list below). Liebling was seemingly (and later confirmed in conversation) ecstatic to have a captive audience in attendance for him and the rest of the band 30+ years after their formation. From the peering whites of his eyes to his puppet like movements, Pentagram was once again better than almost anything I've shot in years.

The Gates of Slumber opened the show. No pictures of them, but more of Pentragram with the set list below...

Continue reading "Pentagram @ BB King's in NYC - pics & setlist"

John Waters & Divine

"Giving gifts is incredibly difficult. The smarter you are, the easier it is to find a gift for you, because you have interests. And if you're really smart, you tell people what you want and they get it for you. If you leave it up to people who you know are going to get you bad gifts, that's your own stupid fault. Basically, a lot of the time people want to be told what to get you, because then they don't have to worry if you'll like it. But the best kind of presents are when someone you know collects something, and you find something that they never even knew existed. That's the top present, even if it costs a nickle. It's just finding something that they want that they didn't know existed.

The worst present is something that's obviously regifted. In that case, you should demand a receipt. [John Waters]"

John Waters has added an 11pm Christmas show at BB King's on December 22nd. Tickets are on sale. The previously-announced 8pm show on the same day is now sold out. Ronnie Spector plays her annual holiday show at the same venue tonight (12/19) & tomorrow (12/20).

Continue reading "John Waters adds a 2nd Christmas show in NYC, Ronnie Spector plays BB King's Saturday & Sunday"

by Black Bubblegum

Talib Kweli + Hi-Tek = Reflection Eternal

Rock The Bells 2009 is SUNDAY (7/19, tix still avail). Reflection Eternal is among those scheduled to play the NY date @ Jones Beach, and they are scheduled to make their NYC return on August 28th at BB King's with three others on the Rock The Bells bill: the reunion of Slum Village (sans J.Dilla of course), Slaughterhouse (aka Joe Budden, Royce Da 5'9, Joell Ortiz & Crooked I), and freestyle kingpin Supernatural. No word on whether the show, billed as "The Rock The Bells Club Tour" is part of a larger tour (sure f'n sounds like it) or when tickets go on sale.

Reflection Eternal recently dropped a new single via iTunes, "Back Again", accompanied with a video that is viewable below. No word on the status of their new LP, tentatively titled Trainspotting, or if "Back Again" will appear on it.

Meanwhile, Rock The Bells 2009 has posted the set times for Jones Beach, with one suspicious hole slotted for "Special Guest" at 5:20 on the main stage. Hmmmm..... Set times for the show are below.

Slaughterhouse recently dropped a video for "The One" from their upcoming self-titled LP due on 8/11 via E1. Check that out below.

The other half of Black Star with Talib Kweli, aka Mos Def, has released the absolutely sick new record The Ecstatic. Mighty Mos is scheduled to play Governor's Island on 9/12. Tickets are on sale.

Videos and Rock The Bells set times below...

Continue reading "Reflection Eternal 'Back Again' - playing BB King's w/ Slum Village, and ROCK THE BELLS NY on SUNDAY (set times)"

The 7th Annual New York Burlesque Festival will be taking place Thursday, October 1st to Sunday October 4th. Festival venues include the Bell House, BB King's and Le Poisson Rouge.

The fest is being organized by NYC burlesque aces the Pontani Sisters (who performed June 25th at Santos) and Thirsty Girl Productions' Jen Gapay. Applications are currently being accepted for performers.

Three day VIP passes are on sale now. More info, with a video trailer of the 2008 fest, below...

Continue reading "NY Burlesque Festival (Oct 1-4, 2009)"

by Black Bubblegum

Idle Warship

Talib Kweli will team up with Res and Graph Nobel as part of a new group called Idle Warship on Dec 22nd at BB King's in NYC. Tickets are on sale. The crew are wrapping up their debut LP Party Robot, are streaming a few songs at their myspace, and recently released a video for "Black Snake Moan". Check it out along with the show flyer, below..

Continue reading "Talib Kweli, Res & Graph Noble = Idle Warship -- NYC show "

Controversial as it may be - "due to overwhelming demand", Sly & The Family Stone have added a 2nd night of performances at BB King Blues Club & Grill in NYC. The first date is December 7th. The new date is much earlier - November 20th - also 2 shows (early & late), and tickets will also be $86.00.

Also coming up @ BB King's: A Radiohead tribute band, Ronnie Spector's Christmas Party, Ja Rule, Chuck Berry, two shows by BB King himself, and two shows by Isaac Hayes.