The Specials @ Terminal 5 in April (more by Chris La Putt)

"The Specials will not be appearing at a free show on Sunday, August 22 at Central Park Summerstage due to visa issues. The legendary ska pioneers will, however, play their scheduled Toronto date on Friday, August 27 at Sound Academy and plan to return to the US in early 2011 for additional dates."

photos by Rachel Carr

Devo

"An aggregate 225,000 people bought tickets to see a [Coachella] roster headlined by Jay-Z, Muse and Gorillaz during the April 16-18 event at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio.

The previous attendance record was set in 2007, when the headliners included a reunited Rage Against the Machine. Final figures are still being tallied, but AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips said the gross will exceed $20 million.

Phillips said the future looked bleak for AEG Live's nascent All Points West festival, which took place in 2008 and 2009 across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J.

"We're probably going to kill it," said Phillips. "As beautiful as (the site) is, it's very hard to get New Yorkers to cross that river. All Points West is an experiment that just didn't work." [Reuters]

Continue reading "more photos from Coachella, more confirmation that All Points West is not happening"

photos by Leia Jospe

"No openers. Show was crazy. Time flew and you don't want them to stop playing. The Specials are legends". - uncleltrain

The Specials closed their two-show run at Terminal 5 on Wednesday, April 21st. They started it the night before. The band's short tour also hit L.A. and Coachella, though they canceled a Monday show in Toronto.

They'll be back in August, and that tour will include a free show at the Central Park SummerStage on August 22nd (and a make up show in Torotnto).

More pictures from Wednesday night at Terminal 5, plus videos from both nights and the setlist from night one, below...

Continue reading "The Specials played Terminal 5 again - pics, setlist & videos "

photos by Chris La Putt

"The Specials had Terminal 5 dancing" - Joe Saturday

Boy, oh boy, did the Specials get their skank on at Coachella Friday afternoon.

The reunited English band, one of the pioneers of "2 Tone" ska-punk music, played their second U.S. show in nearly three decades (their first was a L.A. warm-up gig the night before) and they must've been hanging out at the Red Bull tent beforehand. Though the bandmembers are all over 50, they hopped, skipped, spun, and danced non-stop all over the stage. It was like a ska-punk fitness class.

The 10-piece band -- all original members, missing only founding keyboardist/songwriter Jerry Dammers -- blasted out classics like "A Message To You, Rudy," "Do the Dog," and "Monkey Man."

Organs soared, a three-piece horn section blared, and lead singer Terry Hall shuffled his feet and spat lyrics in an upbeat reggae cadence, as bassist Horace Panter fingered nimble dub lines, drummer John Bradbury cracked echoing rimshots, and Roddy Byers and Lynval Golding traded slinky guitar riffs.

"That's a dance-y song -- you can dance to it," singer Neville Staple said of "Monkey Man." You bet your checkered pants and mohawk you can dance to it -- and most fans at the Beer Garden stage did just that. [SPIN]

Continue reading "The Specials played Terminal 5 in NYC - night 1 pics "

The Specials @ Coachella (more by Rachel Carr)

The SPECIALS first concert in Toronto in over 29 years originally scheduled for tomorrow (monday) has been POSTPONED until August 2010 due to an emergency medical ailment

The NYC shows are still on, and the Toronto show is already re-scheduled for the 4th week of August pending clearing dates/holds at the Sound Academy of which we hope to announce the re-scheduled date this Friday afternoon (4-23)

All original tickets will be honoured for the August 2010 date, and as usual full refunds will be available (starting Monday) at the original point of purchase until the end of June

Please don't e-mail any of us or call looking for more info as there is isn't any to give other than I'm personally emotionally heartbroken over the postponement, and so are all the Specials, who have been here since sat night ready to skank out - but since we've all been waiting 29 years for this re-birth, what's a couple of more months? and besides, anyone looking to hitch a ride with me to NYC Tue or Wed?

Rude Boy - Monkey Man
jc the collective

The Specials have so far played Jimmy Fallon and Coachella. Toronto and the NYC shows were all they had left on this short North American tour. As you can see above though, they will be back in August. That trip includes a NYC show too.

Videos from Coachella (where a rude boy from Yo Gabba Gabba was skanking on the side of the stage), below...

Continue reading "The Specials played Coachella (video), but cancelled Toronto"

photos by Rachel Carr, words by Daiana Feuer

Jay-Z, Beyonce & Johnny Rotten

This year, the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival reveals that tattoos are more ubiquitous among social scenes than ever before. A walking museum of quotes and legendary faces from Jesus to Michael Jackson decorates the backs, shoulders, calves and fingers of people fashionably reliving their favorite historical decades at this heat-stroke inducing music marathon.

I thought Wale didn't show up, but later found out that he showed up late. Baroness demonstrated the art of rocking out at least three to five times before each song reached a satisfied climax. Metal can be a real turn on, especially surrounded by sweaty good-looking people. Deer Tick performed an R+B version of "Ashamed" followed by John McCauley caressing his nipples. LA band Iglu and Hartly had enthusiasm, but is this Mickey Avalon without the drugs and prostitutes? Which leaves what? Sleigh Bells began with a booty melting bass line palpable from the VIP section across the field, soon overtaken by hipster hop metal pop for people that like beaches and children. The Avett Brothers made an exciting second Coachella appearance on the Outdoor Stage. Two years ago, the band played Sunday gospel time, all manners and simplicity, but the Bros returned with a full band, and a few thousand people singing every word, stomping to the banjo, and hugging during the sweet parts. The banjo will take over America. Just wait. Country music is infiltrating avant-garde and above ground indie worlds alike.

Standing midway between the big stages, just a few feet from yet another girl with the words "Have u seen my friend Molly?" scrawled on her back, the Avett Brothers' heart-wrenching "January Wedding" got a reggaeton remix from Calle 13 booming on the Main Stage. This Puerto Rican dancefloor marvel used a tea kettle for a mic effect, and taught the audience to say "No me jodas las pelotas" against negativity ("Don't fuck my balls"). Speaking of balls, Yeasayer's crowd went absolutely nuts screaming, but the guys barely seemed aware, transported as they were to some space station cloud. The harmonies rocked like angelic aliens-but, smile, guys. Hockey demonstrated a genuine interest in moving indie rock standards forward, especially attracting the PG-13 festival contingency. M. ward raspy singing "Roll Over Beethoven" during She & Him's set delivered tingly shivers, but Zooey Deschanel's approach to "I Put A Spell On You" did not crumble souls. Her jazzy voice and bouncy energy otherwise made for a good time that elicited repetitive shouts of "I Love You!" from the first row.

Gil Scott-Heron

Music should be at least marginally weird or infinitely classic, but Tom Morello's band, Street Sweeper Social Club, brings nothing new to either category and so seems a waste of great musicians. Get weird or the future will never arrive. That being said, the musicians Coachella digs up from history often present the most exciting moments. Rock steady ska pioneers The Specials sent a crispy, warm message to Rudy that every witness appreciated immensely, but it was outrageous that barely any photographers showed up for Gil Scott-Heron's smooth, soulful set [editor's note: ours did!]. The man is partly responsible for getting Martin Luther King, Jr. a holiday, godfathered hip hop, and that doesn't merit attention? A large crowd attended his every word, but the photos won't show it. Later on, James Murphy screamed Gil Scott-Heron's name during "Losing My Edge" as if it were the name of God. Glad he gets it. LCD Soundsystem's first single in 2002, "Losing My Edge" is a historical document worth preserving for the ages, an essence that speaks to what Coachella seems bent on capturing and rewriting every year. Echo & The Bunnymen rode the high-hat zealously-as many have copied since-giving chapped lips sugar kisses. Public Image, Ltd., could not take Jay-Z's audience away from him nor unglue Fever Ray fans from Karin Dreijer Andersson's encompassing fog spell, but I'll be damned if PiL wasn't the best show all day. John Lydon's hair stood on edge and he rolled his rrrr's heroically. His gang of old men put the good junk in post-punk.

As this first 12 hour music summary comes to a close, a few acts remain worth giving a hoot about. Grizzly Bear's hypnotic power hardly needs mentioning and Vampire Weekend knows you love "Horchata." New cool La Roux magnetizes with a disco flavor that Anita Ward might approve. As hoped, Little Dragon's gentle fire breathing soul pop fronted by Yukimi's sexy voice and adorable stage presence comes in as Friday's second favorite. The music's weird enough, bent on discovering surprises. One-woman band Imogen Heap, as well, is the queen of surprises. She moves around her instruments, looping this and dubbing that as if casually mixing a magic potion or prepping a sandwich. Jay-Z's "On To The Next One" is an appropriate theme song for the attention span needed to get your money's worth at Coachella. And then Beyonce came out. We all bowed down before her short shorts.

Them Crooked Vultures, Passion Pit, Dillinger Escape Plan, Yo Gabba Gabba, and The Whitest Boy Alive also played sets on Friday. The Cribs were among those who could not. Coachella continues for a second day today/Saturday (Record Store Day). More pictures and videos and stuff from the first day, below...

Continue reading "Coachella 2010 - Day One in pics, video & review "

"The Specials prove that old age doesn't mean you have to be boring. Dudes danced, ran, kicked, while playing for an entire hour." - A Thousand Grams

Ra Ra Riot @ Coachella - 4/16/2010

Traffic is moving smoothly outside the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, as attendees make their way onto the grounds without any problems. Guests are slowly making their way through the front gate after earlier delays caused crowd members to become impatient. Staff kept running out of wristbands they hand out to indicate an attendee submitted a valid ticket to enter the event, Indio police spokesman Ben Guitron said.

"As far as I know, it's moving right along now," he said. Bumper-to-bumper traffic continues to fill the streets surrounding the Empire Polo Club, although not as much as before. Traffic on Monroe Street is backed up to Avenue 48, while traffic on Jefferson Street is moving smoothly after being backed up to Interstate 10 for several hours. Police are monitoring everyone to prevent any criminal activity. As of 7 p.m., seven people were arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs, Guitron said. Meanwhile, officers caught about six people selling T-shirts without business licenses in the area.

"We're shooing them away," Guitron said.

Police learned at least two people, including a 16-year-old girl, were turned away at the front gate because they bought fake tickets from outside the area. [The Desert Sun]

As I type this, the not-live Coachella stream continues with a fine performance by Ra Ra Riot (pictured above). Yeasayer and Deer Tick (who played new songs, an MG&V song, and a ZZ Top cover while crowd surfing in a sundress) have been among those streamed too. The Specials played in real life and will be streamed soon.

Delphic's video for "Halcyon" below...

Continue reading "Delphic not making it to San Francisco or Coachella (where there are long lines & Ra Ra Riot & the Specials played) "

The Specials on Fallon...


Central Park SummerStage has yet to announce their schedule of free summer shows, but when they do, it will include The Specials on August 22nd. Speaking of the Specials, the band appeared on Fallon last night as a kick-off to their very short April North American reunion tour. The next show is Thursday, April 15th in LA followed by Coachella on Friday. Then there's a Toronto show and two NYC gigs at Terminal 5 (April 20th & 21st). The first of those still has tickets.

The songs they played for Jimmy Fallon were "Message to You, Rudy" (on TV) and "Little Bitch" (which Fallon posted as a web-only clip). Videos of both of those, and all dates, below...

Continue reading "The Specials are here! - played Fallon (videos), playing LA, Coachella, Toronto, Terminal 5, and then.... Summerstage"

by Andrew Frisicano

The slackers...

So I got to see the Specials in Leeds this may 24th. It was definitely a trip. I was sitting on a corner of the stage watching the band (minus Jerry Dammers). They came on the stage suddenly. John Bradbury did the opening drum fill of "Do the Dog" and they were off. They were launched into it like it was 1979. They seemed a little bit older but surprising well preserved. They mostly played the first album and the first half of the 2nd album. plus a couple songs off their eps.

I got to say i was impressed. I had seen some of the half reunions in the 90s and been underwhelmed. This time they seemed like they had something to prove. Hearing Terry Hall do "Friday Night Saturday Morning" made me think about being 16 yrs old again. It made me think about nights driving around San Diego looking for booze and a party in the 1980s. Their energy was profound. It was like seeing the dance craze movie unfold in front of you. All those songs. "Too Much Too Young." "It Doesnt Make it allright." "Concrete Jungle." [Dave Hillyard of the Slackers]

The Slackers opened for the Specials when they played the UK last spring. While the Specials have a new live DVD on the way, the Slackers are prepping the releasing of their new album, The Great Rocksteady Swindle, set to come out April 20th on Hellcat. It'll be their first album on the label in four years. Recent releases, including 2009's well-done b-sides and versions comp Lost & Found, have been on their own labels - Indication, Special Potato and the online label Whatevski. The latter recently put out an NYC Taper-recorded bootleg of the band's pair of holiday gigs at Knitting Factory last December. When one of the opening bands didn't make it through the blizzard that hit on the second night, the Slackers stretched into two sets with songs from all seven of their studio records. The band's tour plans include shows in Japan, the West Coast and Europe. Those lead up to a hometown record release show on June 4th at Highline Ballroom. Tickets go on sale at noon.

Slackers tenor sax player Dave Hillyard (responsible for the review above) has been playing around NYC with his Rocksteady 7 project, a mostly-instrumental group that plays a mix of early ska, jazz and latin music. He's pared it down to 3 (sax, congas & bass) for his show tonight (2/12) at Sunny's Bar (253 Conover St) in Redhook (the same band played at Spike Hill on Monday). Clips of the Rocksteady 7 in action are below. Slackers' frontman Vic Ruggiero also has solo shows coming up. Those and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Slackers tour dates & new album info, Specials add 2nd show"

Last July, Magne mentioned in a radio interview that a-ha would return to America in 2010, and fans have been waiting eagerly since then for news of US tour dates. The wait is over...

Back in 2005, a-ha played a single show in America, at Irving Plaza in New York on September 12. The concert sold out in 52 minutes and fans from all over the United States traveled to New York for the one-off show.

Martin Sexton is playing Nokia Theatre on June 5th. Tickets are on sale (@ noon)

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for The Specials show at Terminal 5. Updated North American tour dates (all four of them) below.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the Sia show at Terminal 5. How was her appearance with Gonzales at Joe's Pub last night?

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the Drive By Truckers / Langhorne Slim show at Webster Hall.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the Frightened Rabbit show at Webster Hall.

Tickets are on sale (@ noon) for the Black Keys show at Central Park Summerstage.

Pitchfork Music Fest tickets go on sale today too.

Sharon Jones, Ringo Starr, and Porcupine Tree tickets went on sale earlier today.

Girls, Owen Pallett, The Bronx, The Soft Pack, Japanther, Washed Out, Monotonix, Album Leaf & other tickets went on sale today too.

Continue reading "A-Ha, The Specials, Martin Sexton, Sia, Black Keys, Drive by Truckers, Frightened Rabbit & other tickets"

After a slight delay, Tickets are on AmEx presale (@ 11am) for the Specials show at Terminal 5.

Tickets are on AmEx presale (@ 11am) for the Sia show at Terminal 5.

And as previously mentioned, tickets are now on AmEx & "Apollo Theater" presale ( password = ALIST ) for the Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings show coming to the Apollo Theater.

by Andrew Frisicano

back in the day...

The Specials have not been on American soil since a grueling 6-week, coast-to-coast tour launched in January 1980 (one of the colder winter's in U.S. history) all but broke the band up. Many U.K. bands have been unprepared for the distance between U.S. cities and the amount of travel time that is required to go from the east coast of the U.S. to the west coast and everywhere in between.

While The Specials may have been ready to kill each other off stage, on stage they channeled their anger at one another into stellar live shows. They opened a number of shows for The Police during the tour, whipping crowds up into such a frenzy that they often stole the show from the headliners. Adding to the band's fervor had to be Jerry Dammers edict that the band not travel in a 'rock and roll' style, banning limos or stays in expensive hotels while in the U.S. Horace Panter documented this in great detail in his memoir 'Ska'd For Life' noting that the band's tour manager was sent ahead on some occasions to ensure the band's accommodation were not too luxurious. In fact, Jerry Dammers hated touring the U.S. so much that not even finding out that their EP "Too Much Too Young" had gone #1 in the U.K. could raise his spirits. [Marco on the bass]

They'll also be playing the next week, at NYC's Terminal 5 on Wednesday, April 21st. Tickets go on sale Friday, January 29th at noon.

Unless the band makes it known otherwise, it's assumed that Jerry Dammers still isn't part of the reformed band. Dammers and his bandmates were both vocally acrimonious about his absence last year, but didn't totally rule out the possibility of him joining up. The shows last year were organized to celebrate the band's 30th anniversary, and a DVD of the tour is on the way later this month. Videos from those shows and footage from their last US tour, in 1980, are posted below...

Continue reading "The Specials are coming to the US - playing Coachella & NYC"

Wow...Public Image Ltd, The Specials, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Echo and the Bunnymen, Grace Jones, Fever Ray, Devo, Hot Chip, Phoenix, Orbital, Spoon, Sly and the Family Stone, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sunny Day Real Estate, Yo La Tengo, Mew, Camera Obscura, Gil Scott-Heron, The xx, John Waters, Dillinger Escape Plan, Deer Tick, Gary Numan... Full Coachella 2010 lineup below....

Continue reading "2010 Coachella line up announced (Faith No More, Pavement, Muse, Gorillaz, Thom Yorke, Jay-Z, LCD Soundystem, ???)"

Mutek banner in Montreal - May 27, 2009 (bneely)

Mutek, the electronic music festival celebrating its tenth year, is currently underway in Montreal. The five-day fest runs to Sunday, May 31st, and it's streaming online. Moderat, the Modeselektor & Apparat supergroup, performed at Mutek on Thursday, May 28th; the group plays NYC's Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday, May 30th (the show was originally planned for Webster Hall). Tickets are still on sale.

Speaking of parties up North this summer... three other biggies are Ottawa Bluesfest (July 8th-19th), Vancouver Folk Music Festival (July 17-19th) and Calgary Folk Music Festival (July 23rd-26th). Each of those suitably transcend the "blues" and "folk" labels, hosting bands like The Dead Weather and Yeah Yeah Yeahs (in Ottawa), The Weakerthans and Rock Plaza Central (in Vancouver), and The Decemberists, Apostle of Hustle, Kid Koala and Akron/Family (in Calgary). Full lineup for the Calgary Fest (Ottawa in particular is much too massive to post) and ticket info below.

And don't forget about the previously reported Breeders-headlined Sled Island Fest in Calgary on June 24th-27th, Montreal's Osheaga, NXNE, and Toronto's Olympic Island Fest on July 11th, which will host Broken Social Scene and its Arts & Crafts cohorts.

Across the pond, UK's Glastonbury Festival, which runs from June 24th to 28th, has been sold out since February even though the full lineup wasn't announced until this week. Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, and Blur will be joined by The Specials, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Spinal Tap, Jarvis Cocker, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Madness, Tom Jones, Animal Collective and many others.

And finally in the States, Monolith Festival, which runs from September 12th to 13th at Red Rocks Ampitheatre in Colorado, has announced its intial lineup, Girl Talk, Passion Pit, and The Walkmen included. The whole thing is posted below.

The weekend before Monolith, Bumbershoot will take place in Seattle (September 5th-7th). That fest's lineup has been updated too. New additions include Vivian Girls, Akron/Family, and Elvis Perkins. All new additions, with previously announced acts, are below. Tickets are still on sale.

In Michigan, the Rothbury Festival over July 4th weekend will feature the only summer fest performance by The Dead, as well as sets by Bob Dylan, String Cheese Incident, Broken Social Scene and more. A few more jam-friendly acts were also just added to the bill. Full lineup below. Tickets are on sale.

Info on all the above fests, with ticket info, below...

Continue reading "Mutek underway, Monolith & Glastonbury lineups, Rothbury, Bumbershoot, Calgary Folk & other festival updates"

most of these guys are getting back together

The Specials will finish their reunion tour next May with a special gig in their hometown of Coventry. The band have now been confirmed to play the city's Ricoh Arena on May 15. As NME.COM previously reported, The Specials are reuniting to celebrate their 30th anniversary. [NME]

Continue reading "The Specials - 30th Anniversary reunion Tour Dates"