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"

words & photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Given that most of their gear was already on the stage, one would have thought the interim between opener James Dean Wells (of the Gay Blades) and headliner The Heavy on Saturday (1/16) would have been rather brief. The whirring of noise that begins "If I Were Going" from the Afghan Whigs classic "Gentlemen" came on the 92Y Tribeca loudspeakers and, despite a solid set, Wells had done little to capture the attention of those who arrived early. As track one bled into the title track and then "Be Sweet" the prospect of maybe one or two more tracks from "Gentlemen" was a welcome. Given the Whigs' soul, R&B and Stax records leanings, it seemed a more appropriate opener. Forty minutes - or eight and a half tracks - later, The Heavy finally sauntered onto the stage to the Spaghetti Western opening of "Short Change Hero". Frontman, Kelvin Swaby bounced from one end of the stage to the other, pointed at the ladies, and early on had the crowd shouting "What you say?" during the call and answer chorus of "Big Bad Wolf." The set was split evenly among older songs and new material from last year's The House That Dirt Built. "Colleen", "Girl" and "That Kind of Man" all off 2007's Great Vengeance and Furious Fire were among the highlights of a pulsating, hour-long set. Despite moving almost non-stop, Swaby and the rest of the band somehow had attitude and swagger to spare, cashing most of it in on set closer "How You Like Me Know" ,the single from the new record.

The Heavy, who also opened for The Hot Rats at Bowery and Music Hall last week, perform tonight (1/18) on Late Night with David Letterman backed by the Dap Kings Horns (Neal Sugarman, Dave Guy and Ian Hendrickson-Smith) before heading back to Europe to play a string of shows through the end of February.

More pictures and the headliner's setlist below...

Continue reading "The Heavy & James Dean Wells @ 92YTribeca - pics & setlist"

On Sharon Jones' birthday this year [May 4th], the band will release I Learned the Hard Way, their fourth full-length on Brooklyn's independent Daptone Records. The record marks a bold step forward for a band who almost singlehandedly stewarded today's return of soul music to its more traditional sound.

I Learned the Hard Way was produced by Bosco Mann and recorded on an Ampex eight-track tape machine by Gabriel Roth in Daptone Records' House of Soul studios, the record drips with a warmth and spontaneity rarely found since the golden days of Muscle Shoals and Stax. Sharon's raw power, rhythmic swagger, moaning soulfulness, and melodic command set her firmly alongside Tina Turner, James Brown, Mavis Staples, and Aretha as a fixture in the canon of soul music. From the lush Philly-Soul fanfare that ushers in "The Game Gets Old" at the top of the record, to the stripped down Sam Cooke-style "Mama Don't Like My Man" at the tail, the Dap-Kings dance seamlessly through both the most crafted and simple arrangements with subtlety and discipline.

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings announce 'I Learned the Hard Way' - their 4th studio album "

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

After an opening set by the Ivan Milev Band (I missed them, but Kyle didn't), Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings tore the roof off of Brooklyn Bowl on Wednesday night (12/30) (the night before New Years Eve when they played the 9:30 Club in DC). Crowd participation was at an all time high with various men joining Sharon on stage throughout the show and a stage full of women for one song. MC and guitarist Binky Griptite was absent that night. And though missed, the other eight members of the band did a fine job holding things down with him gone. After one encore, the sold out show ended around midnight (enough time for me to run to Europa and still catch Coalesce, though I was tempted to just stick around and bowl).

Last night I went and saw Jason Reitman's movie Up in the Air (good movie) and was pleasantly surprised to hear Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings again. Their version of "This Land is Your Land" (most, if not all of it) plays during the movie's opening credits. It's also the first song on the soundtrack CD.

More pictures from Brooklyn Bowl below...

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings played Brooklyn Bowl (pics), are on the Up In The Air soundtrack "

DOWNLOAD: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - Aint No Chimneys In the Projects (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Binky Griptite - Holiday Breakdown (MP3)

Christmas? Soul? Christmas Soul! Here you go, kids: Sharon Jones' debut holiday song! In this self-penned little jingle-jangler, Sharon takes us back to her childhood, where as a young girl in the projects of Brooklyn she wondered how Santa was ever going to bring her any toys when clearly, "There Ain't No Chimneys in the Projects." As she soon finds out, the true miracle of Christmas was no fat man shimmying down heating ducts, but rather the love with which her own mother had been secretly tucking those presents under that tree. Awww. With a little help from Sharon's backup singers and some tasty violin runs offered up by the Bushwick Philharmonic, the Dap-Kings lock into their usual nasty little pocket and the groove blossoms like a soulful red pointsettia beneath Sharon's story. The flip gives Daptone mouth-man Binky Griptite an instrumental taste overwhich he lays down a heartfelt holiday message of tolerance and togetherness. Right on, Santa!

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL: Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings have added a Brooklyn show. BUT THAT'S NOT ALL: That Brooklyn show is just a week away, in 2009, and in a bowling alley. It'll probably put all the New Years Eve events happening one night later to shame, and it's only $20 (translation: Sharon Jones is playing Brooklyn Bowl on December 30th!) (get tickets) (they play New Years Eve also, but in DC.)

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings recently played a private and super fancy Urbandaddy holiday party, and not long before that they played a show at Starland Ballroom in NJ. A couple of videos from the Jersey show with all tour dates below...

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings made a holiday song (MP3), annnounce a pre-New Years Eve show in Brooklyn! (tix)"

photos by Fresh Bread

"It wasn't until concertgoers arrived at the gates that they finally learned what classic album Phish would cover in its entirety during their "musical costume" set at Festival 8. Reviving a tradition that began in 1994 when Phish covered The Beatles' The White Album, last night the quartet staged an ambitious cover of the Rolling Stones' 18-song double LP, Exile on Main St. As in years past, the costume choice was a closely-guarded secret until the day of the show, when thousands of "Phishbill" programs (à la Playbill) were distributed, complete with bios of the "cast," which included Sharon Jones on vocals and members of the Dap Kings on horns." [LAist]

Continue reading "Phish, with help from Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, covered Exile on Main St. @ Halloween 'Festival 8' in Indio - pics "

photos by Ryan Muir

"Daptone Gold is a collection of hits and obscurities, album favorites and unheard exclusives from the Daptone Records catalog. Since first rearing it's head in 2001, Daptone has upheld it's reputation as both a premier source for new raw soulful music and a model for the possibilities of independent music today. With a library of albums and 45's spanning from rhythm and blues to afrobeat, gospel to funk, Daptone has established a sound that is consistently sincere, heavy, and soulful.

As Gabriel Roth (Daptone Records co-owner, engineer and bass player for Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings) sees it, "Over the past decade, a lot of blood and sweat was shed in this little house in Bushwick, and when people experience all these recordings together in a package like this, they are really going to feel what the "Daptone Sound" is all about."

Roth continues, "I'm very proud of this record. It's hard evidence of what the Daptone family has accomplished. I'm also excited to finally have so many of my favorite Daptone cuts, many of which were previously only available on vinyl seven inches, included on a proper album. People should really hear this."

After much heated debate, Daptone has selected and sequenced the tracks that were chosen to represent both the depth and breadth of the Daptone sound. It features some of the most popular songs such as Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings' "Tell Me" and the Budos Band's "Up From the South", alongside some deeper selections such as Lee Fields' "Could Have Been" and Charles Bradley's "The World (Is Going Up In Flames)" which have previously only been released as 45 rpm singles. With the inclusion of unreleased tracks such as Binky Griptite's "A Lover Like Me" and Sharon Jones' version of Gladys Knights' "Giving Up", Daptone Gold promises to be a special addition to the collection of Daptone die-hard fans, as well as a perfect introduction to the label for those who have not yet been experienced. As always, Daptone has made sure that the entire presentation is of a quality and design consistent with the music it contains: decadent gold foil packaging with the Daptone logo prominently embossed across the front, incentives for the vinyl fans, and extensive liner notes." [Daptone Records]

Continue reading "Lee Fields played Pop Montreal (pics), Daptone Records doing CMJ (lineup), releasing Daptone Gold (tracklist)"

"STREET SCENE, one of the nation's longest running music festivals, will celebrate its 25th anniversary with two full days of music Friday, August 28 and Saturday, August 29. The Black Eyed Peas, M.I.A., Thievery Corporation, Modest Mouse, The Dead Weather and Cake are among the more than 35 acts that will bring the streets of downtown San Diego's East Village neighborhood alive with music and entertainment from 4:00 PM to midnight daily. The venue site will include Tailgate Park (adjacent to Petco Park) in the heart of East Village, incorporating 14th Street as the main thoroughfare and bordered by Imperial Avenue to J Street."

Continue reading "San Diego's Street Scene Festival announces 2009 lineup"

photos by Natasha Ryan, words by Andrew Frisicano

Dark Was the Night live finally happened Sunday, May 3rd at Radio City. Right before showtime, there were still tickets available, but the auditorium seemed fairly full as the Dirty Projectors set began. The band sounded great with its newly fleshed out six-piece lineup (though I didn't catch the titles of the first Bitte Orca song). The reverb of the room was almost a special guest of its own and a welcome addition throughout the night. On new single "Stillness Is the Move" singer Amber Coffman really let loose with the dance moves and the added vocal acrobatics the song deserves. David Byrne joined the band on their Dark Was the Night collaborations -- the not-on-the-comp "Ambulance Man" and album opener "Knotty Pine."

Red Hot executive director John Carlin (Red Hot being the AIDS advocacy group that put out Dark Was the Night along with many other benefit comps) came out and said a few words about the performers before My Brightest Diamond/Shara Worden burst into her cover of Nina Simone's "Feeling Good." Worden was backed by Thomas Bartlett (Doveman) on keys, members of the National including the two Dessners brothers (who were obvious fixtures through the night), drummer Bryan Devendorf, plus horns and strings. Worden's massive voice filled the hall, but sadly took the lead for only one song.

The rest of The National guys came on stage for Boxer song "Slow Show," followed by new song "England." Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and band were on stage for backups, and for The National's Dark Was the Night contribution, "So Far Around the Bend," Vernon even picked up a guitar and took a solo. The band closed with another new song, which singer Matt Berninger mumbled the title of a few times (anyone catch it?).

For the next set, TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek took the stage in a sharp looking suit and performed one track, his DwtN Troggs cover "With a Girl Like You." Here it was backed by a fuzzed out bass, horns, keys, and a collection of the night's performers on handclaps and tambourines (Dirty Projectors, Dessners, others).

As John Carlin announced earlier, the first half of the show was to close with David Byrne's three Red Hot compilation contributions. Led by five hand percussionists, Byrne opened with Cole Porter's "Don't Fence Me In." Second, he played "Dreamworld: Marco De Canavesems" with Justin Vernon sitting in on vocals for Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso (who originally collaborated with Bryne on the track). The tune's hyped up bossa nova, with the Dessners on guitars, was one of the night's many highlights. Finally, Byrne sang with Feist (who subbed for the original's Marisa Monte) on the Antonio Carlos Jobim song "Waters of March" ("Aguas de Março"). Even with Byrne starring down at the lyric prompt for nearly the whole song, the jumping melody of that tune was an amazing end to the first set.

continued below...

Continue reading "Dark Was the Night @ Radio City Music Hall in NYC (Brightest Byrne Bon National Feist Projectors) - pics, review & setlist"

by Black Bubblegum

DOWNLOAD: El Michels Affair - "Bring Da Ruckus" (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: El Michels Affair - "C.R.E.A.M." (MP3)

El Michels Affair

They sound vaguely familiar, but it's not the same. That's the beauty of the El Michels Affair's covers of classics by Wu-Tang Clan - tracks like "Bring Da Ruckus" and "C.R.E.A.M." maintain the essence, but go off into a different realm. Both of the above tracks come from El Michel's Affair's sophmore album Return to the 37th Chamber (get it?), due on April 21st via the mighty Fat Beats Records.

Led by saxophonist/organist Leon Michels and producer/engineer Jeff Silverman, El Michels Affair began as a loose collaboration of session musicians (including members of top-selling acts Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, The Budos Band, and Antibalas) ...[and led to their] 2005 debut album Sounding Out the City, which earned critical acclaim and acted as the inaugural full-length release for Michels and Silverman's burgeoning label Truth & Soul (also the moniker for the duo as a production team).

In related news but more in the "i'll believe it when I see it" category, Raekwon's forever "coming soon" LP Only Built For Cuban Linx 2 is set to hit the store shelves this summer. So far, the new single "The New Wu" featuring Method Man & Ghostface is getting burn from mixtape DJs, and their publicist has released the following list of collaborators for the follow up to the 1995 Wu classic: The RZA, Dr. Dre, J Dilla, The Wu-Tang Clan, Jadakiss, Busta Rhymes, Bun B and The Game, among others. Dilla Dog and The Chef? Sign me up, yo.

Check out the below videos for more on the El Michels Affair, including a cover if the Wu classic "Can It Be All So Simple", and live videos with Raekwon including the Cuban Link classic "Criminology"!

Continue reading "El Michels Affair cover Wu-Tang, Raekwon releasing album"

DOWNLOAD: The National - So Far Around The Bend (MP3)

as promised...

Sharon Jones @ Nokia Theatre (more by Natasha Ryan)

4AD is pleased to announce Dark Was The Night - Live , a concert commemorating the newest Red Hot release Dark Was The Night. The show will take place Sunday May 3 at Radio City Music Hall and will feature several of the artists that contributed to the compilation including Dave Sitek, Dirty Projectors, Feist, My Brightest Diamond, The National, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings plus more to be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets will go on sale this Friday, March 13 at 11am 9am via Ticketmaster. Dark Was The Night - Live begins at 8pm (doors will open at 7).

Dark Was The Night was released by 4AD on February 17of 2009, and was produced by Aaron & Bryce Dessner of The National. The compilation, comprised of 31 exclusive tracks, benefits the Red Hot Organization - an international charity dedicated to raising money and awareness for HIV and AIDS through popular culture. A complete track listing for Dark Was The Night is listed below.

Pitchfork.TV (newly redesigned) seems to be down at the moment, but also:

This week also sees the release of several videos directed by groundbreaking filmmaker Vincent Moon. Moon shot the Dark Was the Night contributors The National, Dirty Projectors and Yeasayer each performing their song from the compilation in early February. These clips will roll out, one a day starting tomorrow, March 10, premiering on Pitchfork.tv

Continue reading "Dark Was the Night Radio City show CONFIRMED - Dave Sitek, Dirty Projectors, Feist, The National, Sharon Jones & more..."

LCD Soundsystem, RJD2, Devendra Banhart, Mum, The Decemberists, Neon Neon, Devlin & Darko, My Morning Jacket, VHS or Beta, Diplo, Gnarls Barkley, Tim & Eric, Black Moth Super Rainbow, and Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings are among the artists contributing tracks to Causes 2, an album to benefit Darfur (out March 2009).

Causes 1 is out now and has tracks by Animal Collective, Bloc Party, Death Cab, Spoon, The Shins, Bright Eyes, Cornelius and many others.

Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and the Decemberists are also among the artists who contributed to Dark Was the Night, a new comp to benefit the Red Hot Organization which will be released in February.

Sharon Jones just announced some tour dates. My Morning Jacket will be at MSG on New Years Eve.

A video trailer for Causes 2, below...

Continue reading "Causes 2 - a new CD comp for Darfur w/ LCD Soundystem, My Morning Jacket, Decemberists, Sharon Jones & many more"

Sharon Jones @ Highline Ballroom (Perez CMJ) (more by Faith-Ann Young)

Belting out such lyrics as "I can't have my cake and eat it too, so I gonna get up and walk out on you," funk-soul luminary Sharon Jones sounds like anything but a goody two-shoes. But like many divas before her, she was an angel when she discovered her pipes.

"I was somewhere between 5 and 8 years old when I played an angel at church, an itty-bitty angel with wings and a halo over my head," she recalls. "One time we did 'Silent Night,' and a lady at church said, 'Ooh-ooh, that little girl can sing.' That's where it all began." [The Isthmus Paper]

In other Daptone news, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings appear on that new Red Hot comp, Budos Band & Naomi Shelton are playing Mercury Lounge on December 19th, and the Menahan Street Band have a show coming up at Southpaw on December 20th. All Sharon Jones tour dates below...

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings -2008/09 Tour Dates (2xNokia)"

"What a fitting day to announce the complete list of artists involved with our upcoming album DARK WAS THE NIGHT - the February 17th 4AD release that will benefit the Red Hot Organization. It's World AIDS Day, and in honor of that, we bring you the exciting news."

Continue reading "Dark Was the Night - full 4AD comp artist list, cover art, etc"

photos by Faith-Ann Young

There were models at SOB's on [last] Tuesday [October 21, 2008] night. Or, at least, reasonable facsimiles thereof.

They might have been there for the aggregated talent from Washington, D.C., who headlined this showcase of artists on Allido Records. More likely, they were there for the label's co-founder Mark Ronson: onetime celebrity DJ, resurrector of vintage soul via his work with Amy Winehouse and others, and, it should be said, sometime squirer of models.

But if Mr. Ronson likes Wale, the rapper known best for his Seinfeld-themed mixtape "The Mictape About Nothing," then why couldn't they? To help plead his case, Wale enlisted the services of the go-go band U.C.B., likely one of the most proficient groups to be playing this festival, even if they weren't technically on the bill. Go-go music makes fantastic use of space in its rhythms, and when Wale gave in to the band's impeccable playing, as he did on "Nike Boots," he seemed at ease. But sometimes, he clustered his syllables together as if he were trying to out-percuss the percussion, making songs like "Back In The Go-Go" feel cluttered. [NY Times]

"Rhymefest kicked off his set....beasting out jams...He brought along with him suprise guest Rahzel (formerly of the Roots) mid set...Got the crowd perfectly rowdy.......especially when he ended with an Obama pitch : 'When I say O, you say BAMA' .....Next up, heavily hyped Brits, The Rumble Strips, took the stage with gleeful pop rock....(think Albert Hammond Jr. meets The Kooks.....) Got the killer hook-heavy jingle, Girls and Boys in Love, but also knocked out a sizzling cover of Amy Winehouse's Back to Black. Pretty damn cute. Aussie soul singer Daniel Merriweather brought major cred to the stage with the Dap Kings backing him.... Ronson played guitar at the end of his set....

Wale ended the set waxing lyrical to go-go influenced beats. He brought with him a heavy artillery of beatboxers, DC-based rappers, and friends- most of whom sported thick shades......In fact, most of the time, he relinquished the mic to his friends......as well as Daniel Merriweather who came back on stage for a rendition of 'Stop Me,' the hit from Ronson's solo album............Overall, Wale makes DC proud- a veritable talent....bringing home-grown DC music to more mainstream.... Was a jam packed night of talent.Ronson deserves a pat on his back.."

Continue reading "Mark Ronson's Allido showcase (Wale) @ SOB's, NYC - pics"

photos by Kyle Dean Reinford

Let's face it, anyone who is going to style themselves "The Dap-Tone Super Soul Revue" had better be able to represent. Or, as Jones put it, "TES-tify and REC-tify." After a JBs-style instrumental vamp and rave-up by the nattitly-attired Dap-Kings, Jones came shimmying out onstage, ushering in almost an hour of non-stop pyrotechnics onstage. Several times, Jones pulled audience members from the crowd or out of the wings to join her aerobics tutorial, but she really didn't need the company. A soulful belter whose most obvious contemporaries are Bettye Levette and Irma Thomas, Jones sang convincingly of love and loss and the sorry, no-good so-and-sos responsible for both. [Austin360]

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings @ ACL 2008 - pics"

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings are playing a benefit at Socrates Sculpture Park tonight (9/23). Tickets still seem to be available. More details below....

Continue reading "Sharon Jones is playing tonight! ($10,000 and cheaper too)"

Sharon Jones @ the Roots Picnic 2008 (Kyle Dean Reinford)

You can see a few more pictures like the above, at Kyle's Flickr. The Dap Kings share members with The Budos Band (not the first time I brought that up). Break it down, below...

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - 'Tell Me' & other videos "

photo by Bao Nguyen

Steven Bernstein leads an all-star jazz band this afternoon at Masonic Temple as her teaches a new generation to swing! Today's concert features Dap Kings dame Sharon Jones bringing her hard driving blues funk to all you kids out there!

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & kids @ the Masonic Temple in Brooklyn - pics"

DOWNLOAD: Crosby, Stills & Nash - Long Time Gone (MP3)

Central Park Summerstage concerts, NYC, 2008
04/20 - Vienna Teng
05/30 - Duran Duran (tix)
05/31 - Duran Duran (tix)
06/13 - Mavis Staples & Stephanie McKay
06/21 - kokayi, JLove Calderon, La Bruja, Lemon, Will Power
06/28 - Vieux Farka Toure
07/23 - Mark Knopfler (tix)
07/27 - The Skatalites
07/29 - Crosby, Stills & Nash (tix)
08/02 - Thollem (SmhSmh) & Germaul Barnes (BitahkizAyeli Movement & Sound)
08/03 - José James
08/06 - Sonny Rollins (tix)
08/09 - Latin Alternative Music Conference presents Scud Hero & ??

ALSO, according to the NY Times:

Crosby, Stills & Nash; Mavis Staples, the experimental Brooklyn rockers Battles and Black Dice; DanceBrazil; and the Mexican pop singer Julieta Venegas will be among the performers at Central Park SummerStage this year, the City Parks Foundation has announced. Crosby, Stills & Nash will play on July 29 in one of the six paid benefit concerts during this 23rd SummerStage season. The other performances, along with the Afro-funk scion Seun Kuti and the vintage-soul revivalists Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, are free, beginning with Ms. Staples's concert on June 13. The complete lineup will be announced in April.

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings Live on Fox 5 News (video)"

Also just announced at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple: "SHARON JONES sings for the kids with Steven Bernstein's BABY LOVES JAZZ project on Sunday afternoon, April 6." $15 tickets are on sale.

Up there is yet another picture from Sharon's recent show at Beacon Theater. She also just played Letterman. More tour dates below....

Continue reading "Sharon Jones singing for kids @ the Masonic Temple, tour"

Continue reading "Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings on Letterman (video)"