The night before the MSG show, Gorillaz and guests played a 45 minute set at the Ed Sullivan Theater in NYC. Watch the whole thing below...

Continue reading "Gorillaz played 45 minutes 'Live on Letterman' (video)"

here are two pictures...

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(via)

After the city denied Jay-Z and Eminem from performing on the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater, they just moved their Letterman taping to the roof of the building. The above pictures were taken earlier this evening, Monday, June 21st. The mini-concert will air on Letterman on Friday night.

And as I type this, Red Bull is hosting an event in Bowery Ballroom named "Red Bull Emsee: The Road to 8 Mile". Not surprisingly (based on that event name, their promise of "Special Guest Performances", and Eminem's location earlier today), Eminem is rumored to be making an appearance (after midnight). Maybe Jay-Z will stop by too?

UPDATE: Eminem did in fact play Bowery Ballroom. a picture below.

Tickets to Eminem and Jay-Z's upcoming show at Yankee Stadium go on sale soon.

Continue reading "Jay-Z & Eminem played the Ed Sullivan Theatre roof (instead), Eminem playing Bowery Ballroom tonight (update: he played)"

Mayor Bloomberg was in no Empire State of Mind yesterday.

Jay-Z had planned to put on a surprise performance atop the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater Monday but the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting put the kibosh on it yesterday.

Like Paul McCartney last year, the Brooklyn-born rap superstar had planned to use his appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman" to give a show in the middle of rush-hour Midtown.

"There was discussion of a concert, and ultimately it was decided there would be no permit," said Julianne Cho, spokeswoman for the film office.

The mini-concert was axed abruptly after weeks of planning and negotiations, sources said.

The decision came on the heels ofa free performance by rapper Drake at the South Street Seaport that was canceled Tuesday after 10,000 people -- triple what was expected -- grew unruly when the entertainer kept them waiting for 90 minutes.

Six people suffered minor injuries. Two people were arrested.

Sources told The Post that a permit for Jay-Z's performance would have been granted only if organizers could keep the show secret, but word of the show leaked out yesterday.

"Many permits are granted on the condition that the event is not made public beforehand for capacity and security reasons," Cho said. "This event was made public." [NY Post] (via)

Note that the NY Post says "10,000 people -- triple what was expected" which is different than that NY Times article which said "The concert space at the Seaport can hold about 10,000 people, but far more came on Tuesday. The police did not release a crowd estimate, but some reports have put it at 25,000..." Which is it?

That said, I wouldn't exactly start caling this the end of free shows in the city. Jay-Z for free in midtown doesn't really seem like it was ever a great idea, Drake show or not.

Speaking of free shows, JG Thirlwell leads an orchestra in Prospect Park tonight (6/18). Morning Benders, Freelance Whales & Wild Nothing play Governors Island on Saturday.

And in related news, tickets to see Jay-Z play Yankee Stadium go on sale in a week.

photos by Tim Griffin

"Paul McCartney's historic three-night musical christening of New York's Citi Field, witnessed by 120,000-plus attendees and universally hailed as a concert experience for the ages, will be immortalized November 17 when Hear Music/Concord Music Group releases "Good Evening New York City". This momentous musical experience will be available in two formats: a 3-disc (2 CD + 1 DVD) standard edition and a 4-disc (2 CD + 2 DVD) deluxe version featuring expanded packaging and a bonus DVD including McCartney's traffic-stopping, headline-making July 15 performance on the Ed Sullivan Theater marquee (including bonus numbers not aired on the Late Show with David Letterman broadcast). The set will also be made available in high quality vinyl. In any configuration, the 30+ songs and nearly 3 hours of music comprising "Good Evening New York City" are a must-have for attendees wishing to relive the July 17, 18 & 21 shows, those who couldn't get tickets and/or anyone interested in an audiovisual document of a living legend. "Good Evening New York City" marks McCartney's 2nd release for Hear Music. The first was 2007's highly acclaimed Memory Almost Full. The standard version of "Good Evening New York City" will be available at participating Starbucks company-operated locations in the U.S. and Canada and wherever music is sold."

The concert footage featured on Good Evening New York City standard edition features concert footage directed by Paul Becher, who has overseen live visuals for McCartney for some 200 performances and counting. The 33-song 2 hour 40 minute performances were shot in High Definition using 15 cameras and digital footage incorporated from 75 Flipcams handed out to fans over the course of the three night stand. The audio mix, in both stereo and 5.1, was handled by longtime McCartney engineer Paul Hicks, whose credits include the recent Beatles remasters, The Beatles Anthology, Let It Be... Naked and two Grammy awards for his mixing work on the Beatles' Love album.

I posted a set of pictures from the first night at Citi Field, but never posted the set Tim took on the third night (Tuesday, July 21st). The rest of them, with some more info on the CD/DVD, below...

Continue reading "Paul McCartney releasing Citi Field show CD/DVD w/ Flip cam & Ed Sullivan show footage ++ a new set of pics from Night 3"

Paul McCartney on the Ed Sullvan Theatre - July 15, 2009

"Paul McCartney returned in grand fashion to the theater that launched his career in Manhattan more than 45 years ago.

It was February of 1964 when The Beatles took the stage on The Ed Sullivan Show and sent the nation into a frenzy that would become "Beatlemania." This time around, however, McCartney passed on the stage for this performance, and instead took the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater with a surprise performance on the marquee for Wednesday's taping of the Late Show with David Letterman.

Thousands of fans packed the streets outside the theater to see the legend's spectacular return to his roots, a rare opportunity now with McCartney preparing to kick off what he's said will be his final tour." [CBS]

The above picture was taken some time between 5 and 6 pm. Video clips, some taken from neighboring buildings, below...

Continue reading "Paul McCartney played on the Ed Sullivan Theater (video)"