The Outdoor Concert Experiment...

8/27/10 @ 5:00pm   FREE   4 out of 10 stars rating

The J & R Music Fest is being held Friday and Saturday downtown at City Hall Park. Went on saw 4 Troops, a band which singes in Christian pop music style but sings of how great America is. Not fun.

8/26/10 @ No Time   FREE   0 out of 10 stars rating

This is the first day I didn’t have a day where I had a concert to go to and I did not actively look for one. I am going to Burning Man for a week and I only have 1 pair of shorts. I went on a major shopping spree instead.

8/25/10 @ 12:45pm   FREE   0 out of 10 stars rating

I called the church and looked at the website and there was no place where it stated that the concert had been moved indoors because of the rain way earlier in the day. Oh well, have to get back to work anyway. I have a million things to do.

8/24/10 @ 6:00pm   $3.   6 out of 10 stars rating

Since it is the end of August, every day there are fewer concerts. On my rundown list for shows; I had today as blank. But I found these 3 boys in Union Square. After cop Ali harrassed them, they were allowded to play. They had a permit to play without amplification and they still had to have a worker come and verify that it was OK for them to play, since Union Square is run by the Parks Department. But the time they played, there were around 30 people and I put $3 in their bucket. Rythmic drumming, all around not bad.

8/23/10 @ 6:00pm   FREE   0 out of 10 stars rating

Funny how the weather was always crappy during these concerts and this is the day it is cancelled at the Clinton Concert Series. The first time it was crazy crazy humid (6/28) and the next time it had been raining earlier and the show still went on (7/26). Since those always went on, I did not check the website until I got there and found no one. Phooey.

8/22/10 @ 5:00pm   FREE   10 out of 10 stars rating

The perfect day. I believe this might be one of the best days of the year. Had a wonderful night the day before, slept in until noon, had breakfast and coffee, wrote in my journal. Even the brief periods of rain downpour could not put me in a good mood. Kid Sister was coming back!!! Kid Sister is a super hot Chicago rapper which I saw earlier this summer at Santos. She was just put on the list for the pool party a few weeks ago. She wore the exact same outfit as she did at Santos. She again blew me away. I love her. She is one my new favorite artists this year by way of Nikki. Because of the rain, all of the acts got pushed back. Chromeo finally made it to the stage and the rain stopped after the second song. Everybody was soaking wet but no one minded. The boys from Montreal had come to play for us. Electronic 70s sounding funky pop. Their main consoles are set atop glowing ladies legs. Super hot. It started pouring again towards the end of the set. I loved every second of it!!!

Some songs from the Kid Sister setlist:
-Right Hand Hi
-Pro Nails
-Daydreaming
-Switchboard
-Get Fresh
-Control
-Night by Night

Some songs from the Chromeo setlist:
-Needy Girl
-Tenderoni
-Bondafied Lovin
-Don’t Turn the Lights On

8/22/10 Kid Sister playing “Control” @ the Pool Party
http://vimeo.com/14358648

8/22/10 Chromeo playing “Bondafied Lovin” @ the Pool Party
http://vimeo.com/14360372

8/21/10 @ 4:00pm   FREE   0 out of 10 stars rating

By the time I arrived the venue was to capacity and there were around 100 people sitting near the entrance whp could not get in. I had no idea who this person is, she is an R&B singer I found out. Apparently, she has a lot of fans. 

8/20/10 @ 7:00am   FREE   8 out of 10 stars rating

When I got to the Rumsey Playfield at 6am, I thought I had heard someone mention Usher’s name. But since I had just awoken on 2 1/2 hours of sleep, I did not question it. But yes, Usher had replaced Rihanna. Sigh. Is it really worth it? This early in the morning? :/ I was exhausted. But good thing, unlike the diva Mary J. Blige who did not come out and even do  soundcheck, the 8 dancers along with Usher were on stage for a good 30 minutes practicing choreography. So that was nice to see. He is so adorable…great singer and hot dancer. They sang “OMG” and another song which I could hum along to at but don’t know the name of.

8/19/10 @ 12:30pm   FREE   7 out of 10 stars rating

I went to Tears For Fears at Hammerstein (which is inside) so for my outdoor show I went downtown again for a lunchtime performance. Warren Chiasson must be the man on the xylophone, awesome! Along with men on saxophone, guitar, upright bass and drums. I saw them play Caravan & My Funny Little Valentine.

8/18/10 @ 7:00pm   FREE   6 out of 10 stars rating

I really like this Jackie Robinson Park, with its outdoor pool and London Plane covered bandshell patio. Tribe was giving out little hummus samples. I got this in Union Square once with a sample of pita chips. What, Harlem is not good enough for pita chips? Luckily, i had some ostrich jerky in my bag to use as a spoon. Before the opening act Salt from Salt-N-Pepa came out and did a song. I had heard that she was into the whole gospel thing and I was excited I got to see her because I missed her (8/2/10). A book on her spiritual journey will be out soon. The opener was Wes Morgan, a gospel singer from Tennessee. He reminds me of my brother Jeffery when he dreamed up being a country singer. He had mammoth tattooed biceps and he was addicted to cocaine for 15 years and now he is on his 7th year of being sober. This is alot of gospel for me. Had to leave. I did not stay for headliner Tye Tribbett.