photos by Bao Nguyen

"If anyone tells you the Gorillaz show at MSG on Friday was anything less than incredible, they're lying to you. Some bands you wish to see in their earlier stages, but now is the time to see Gorillaz. They have never been better, and there's no guarantee they can top this. This is their prime time, and the brilliance of their collaborative musical geniuses was amplified in concert. Not only did we see Damon Albarn in flesh - a personal idol - but he was accompanied by the incredible artists that were featured on Plastic Beach: Mos Def, Lou Reed, Bobby Womack, De La Soul, Little Dragon, members of The Clash, etc. Co-creator of Gorillaz, visual man Jamie Hewlett also peeped out from backstage to say hello - to whom Damon planted a big ol' kiss. The entire show was almost too epic to be true... You know when all your favorite superheroes get together and form a league? That is what this was. And this 'league' leader, frontman Damon Albarn, was clearly having the time of his life. He was constantly dancing, jumping around, running around the stage, hugging people - never keeping still unless he was playing the piano. Reminded us of his good old Blur days, sigh. They played almost all of their latest album and included old time favorites like "Clint Eastwood" and "Feel Good Inc."" [morningafterpills]

After launching their tour in Boston, Gorillaz and N.E.R.D. played the giant NYC room that is Madison Square Garden on Friday night (10/8). As the quote above points out, there were many special guests in the house, some of whom are on the whole tour and some who just stopped by for the New York show (like Jay-Z though he was just there to watch).

More pictures, some videos and the full show setlist, below...

Continue reading "Gorillaz played MSG w/ N.E.R.D., Lou Reed, Mos Def & many other special guests (pics & setlist) "

by BBG

N.E.R.D. in Times Square (photo by Matt Kole)


Gorillaz play Boston on Wednesday (10/6) to kick off of the US leg of the Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour, hitting MSG two days later. Tickets are still available. The live band, led by Damon Albarn, will also be joined by a killer lineup up special guests including De La Soul, Little Dragon, Bobby Womack, as well as Mick Jones and Paul Simonon of The Clash. AND, to quote the legendary Onyx, "buh-buh-buh-wait-gets worse!", as N.E.R.D. will join Gorillaz as opener on all dates.

Opening with "Hot N Fun" and ending with "Lap Dance", N*E*R*D* played a three-song pop-up "show" on 9/23 in Times Square as part of a Honda promotion. A pic from that appearance is above and video from that show (as well as all tour dates) are below.

Continue reading "Gorillaz kicking off tour w/ N.E.R.D. & special guests"

Gorillaz @ Coachella (more by Rachel Carr)

Videos from last night's episode of Colbert, below...

Continue reading "Gorillaz stopped by the Colbert Report (videos) "

by BBG

Dan Auerbach, Jim Jones, Mos Def, Patrick Carney, and Damon Dash

Just in time for the holidays and to remind the hip hop listmakers that The Ecstatic was/is the truth, the two-time Grammy nominated Mos Def has scheduled a show on 12/20 at Highline Ballroom. Tickets, though not cheap, are on sale.

Mos Def was also recently announced as a contributor to the new Gorillaz record, along with a host of notables

The third Gorillaz album will feature one newly announced GPS voice, two iconic frontmen of the '60s and '70s, and more, lending to a contributing line-up as eclectic as the one heard on 2005's Demon Days.
The GPS voice, Snoop Dogg, plus Lou Reed of The Velvet Underground and Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, will be heard alongside Mos Def, Bobby Womack, The Horrors and the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra in Plastic Beach, out 2010.

Mos Def is also part of another notable crew, Blakroc, a project featuring The Black Keys as a backing band for a crew of killer MCs!

The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney have wanted to make a hip-hop album since they were teenagers....
"All the blues music I liked was super simple and stripped down. All the hip-hop I liked was super simple and stripped down," says Auerbach. "We always heard that connection."
The Black Keys' first demo reflected their hip-hop tastes. It featured drum loops and samples, which their first record label later told them to scrap. Years later, following recent praise for their minimalist, bluesy jams, The Black Keys have finally recorded a hip-hop album. Their collaborative ensemble is called BlakRoc.
"What makes this special is the guys' sensibility of hip-hop," [Pharoahe Monch] says. "The drum loop-like timing and patterns make a groove that is easy to rhyme to and to write over."-[NPR]

The self-titled, Damon Dash-presented BlakRoc LP is out now and also features Q-Tip, ODB, RZA, Raekwon, and Jim Jones among others.

Raekwon is on tour now and also has a NYC show coming up.

The Capo Jim Jones and Mos Def, along with the Black Keys, (BlakRoc) played Letterman last night (12/8) - the same night that Jawbox was burnin' Fallon to the ground. It was also rumored that the group might play a secret show at new venue Under 100 (in the basement of Damon Dash's building) later that night, but though Mos Def was there hanging out (again), he and the group didn't actually play (pictures from that event coming later).

Dig on the live Blakroc video from Letterman, the official video for the same song, as well as more videos from Mos, below...

Continue reading "Mos Def on new Gorillaz album, playing Highline, in Blakroc w/ Black Keys & Jim Jones (video from Letterman last night) "

Iggy Pop & the Stooges @ Virgin Fest (more by Bao Nguyen)

The nominations for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum were announced today. The nine nominees are: Jeff Beck, Chic, Wanda Jackson, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Metallica, Run-D.M.C., the Stooges, War, and Bobby Womack. Ballots will be sent to more than 500 voters, who will select artists to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the 24th Annual Induction Ceremony on April 4 at historic Public Hall in Cleveland. For the first time, tickets to the ceremony will be made available to the public.
To be eligible for nomination into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an act must have released its first single or album at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. This year's nominees had to release their first single no later than 1983.