Concert Review New York On My Mind- “The Bottom Line Tribute Show”

Concert Review

New York On My Mind- “The Bottom Line Tribute Show”

World Financial Center

River to River Festival NYC

June 22, 2011

If you’re a music loving New Yorker over a certain age, you probably have great memories of the now defunct Bottom Line club.

My favorite acts at The Bottom Line were the masterful Sonny Rollins and comedian/pianist/ventriloquist Uncle Floyd. I also saw The Main Ingredient, comic Richard Lewis, a post-August Darnell Dr. Buzzard’s Savannah Band, The Weather Girls, McCoy Tyner, and countless other greats.

This event was a smorgasbord of lovely sounds with a dozen or so name stars coming out for very brief sets. Frankly, sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t.

Roseanne Cash seemed unrehearsed and was disappointing. The tremendous Garland Jeffries was slighted by them having him do just one song, although great he was. Newscaster Budd Mishkin’s personal reminiscences and Vin Scelsa’s reading of poetry seemed a bit out of place in the midst of a concert, particularly while acts of Jeffries’ stature were rushed off the stage.

But there were also some fabulous moments. Singer Dar Williams was a standout with her booming voice. Willie Nile has a lot of soul. Marshall Crenshaw is always wonderful, and particularly on this evening as he had a vocal harmony group, The Groovebarbers, backing him.  Their rendition of Up on the Roof was just tremendous and even soothing. And Loudon Wainwright III was a show stealer.

The flawed but lovely show was a warm, fuzzy night for New York baby boomers. Let’s hope the Bottom Line does eventually return as they’ve been saying, for more wonderful music just like this.

--Evan Ginzburg www.legendsradio.net

Evan Ginzburg celebrates 20 years of radio July 12 at Gizzi’s Café 16 W 8^th St. NYC 7-11 PM with a No Cover concert featuring 6 of his favorite virtuoso acts- all genres of music- and a 10 PM jam session.

Concert Review- Donald Harrison/Cyrille Neville/Mardi Gras Indians/Henry Butler

Concert Review-

Donald Harrison/Cyrille Neville/Mardi Gras Indians/Henry Butler

A Day in Treme- The Musical Majesty of New Orleans

BAM R&B Fest Metro Tech, Brooklyn NY

Thursday June 23

When jazz sax giant Donald Harrison said this was going to be a New Orleans’ party, he wasn’t kidding.

This was just great to say the least.

Opening up with some wonderful straight jazz, he didn’t kick it New Orleans style until about the twenty minute mark. The crowd who braved a rainy morning, sat in the off and on drizzle, but didn’t much mind. For this was the happiest of dance music, that had everyone either clapping along, on their feet, or just plain grooving to the noontime happening.

When audience member Henry Butler was lured onstage, the blind virtuoso pianist played lightning fast, and reminded me of the late, great Professor Longhair. The party was on full force. This was followed shortly by two Mardi Gras Indians in full regalia, playing percussion, and dancing to the jamming band. Cyrille Neville proved to be both a strong and charismatic instrumentalist and singer as well. Interestingly enough, late in the show Harrison even did a bit of rapping to a New Orleans beat. And although Harrison is a far better sax man than singer or rapper, it all “worked.” And wonderfully at that.

This was a joyful noise.

At the 90 minute mark the Heavens opened up and a torrential downpour hit. The host announced that due to the threat of lightning, the show had to be cut by “a few minutes.”
I can attest to the fact that not a single person left unsatisfied.

Bravo to Mr. Harrison who I saw when he was a youth with Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers. He’s developed into a great band leader and showman and this was right up there with one of the best shows I’ve seen in quite a while.

--Evan Ginzburg www.legendsradio.net

Evan Ginzburg celebrates 20 years of radio July 12 at Gizzi’s Café 16 W 8^th St. NYC 7-11 PM with a No Cover concert featuring 6 of his favorite virtuoso acts- all genres of music- and a 10 PM jam session.

Invites to 2 huge NO COVER celebrations at Gizzi's Cafe NYC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Gizzi’s Café announces first anniversary under current management party/show on Tuesday July 5

New York, NY- June 12, 2011   Gizzi’s Café prides itself on not only its quality food, drinks and ambiance, but on the unique and eclectic music shows it regularly puts on with no cover. Like the legendary 1960s scene in Greenwich Village, Gizzi’s Café offers musical variety unlike anywhere else, with live bands of virtually every possible musical genre all on the same bill.

On Tuesday July 5 from 6:30-11PM, Evan Ginzburg presents a truly memorable show with eight talented bands showcasing their musical virtuosity. From jazz and blues to folk to pop/alternative to virtually everything in-between, you will see the very best that New York has to offer. Artists from as far away as New Zealand will be appearing.

This huge event is the premier of the Evan's Tuesday Events Series at Gizzi's where I will mix great live music with notable events. Free champagne to all in attendance at 10PM.

Evan Ginzburg is the host of Legends Radio (www.legendsradio.net) , Associate Producer of The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke, and Producer of the upcoming film Theresa Sareo: Alive Again (www.aliveagain.com) . He is proud to be booking and hosting what will be a memorable event. The line-up is as follows-  

6:45 PM Chad Mcloughlin/Billy Likitsakos duo (Jazz)

7:30 PM  Ron B and Mandola Joe (Folk music- guitar/mandolin)

8:00 PM Useless Beauty (Pop/alternative)

8:30 PM Marc Raphael (singer/songwriter/guitarist)

9:00 PM William Saffery (from New Zealand)

9:30 PM Curtis and the Dilettantes (Country and folk rock www.curtisandthediletantes.com )

10:00 PM Alex Montanez  (Noted singer/songwriter/promoter/actor) 

10:30 PM Stacee Mandeville (Jazz/blues vocalist)

Don’t miss what will be an eclectic musical voyage. If you’re a music fan, you will not see another show like this anywhere in New York City.

Contact:

Evan Ginzburg

Evan_ginzburg@yahoo.com

Gizzi's Cafe

16 West 8th Street (west of 5th Ave., east of Macdougal)

New York, NY 10011

Take the N or R train to 8th Street, walk west or take the

A,B,C,D,E,F,V train to West 4th Street; walk north, then east on 8th Street

212-353-0099

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Gizzi’s Café announces Legends Radio host Evan Ginzburg’s 20^th Anniversary in radio celebration Tuesday July 12

New York, NY- June 19, 2011   Gizzi’s Café prides itself on not only its quality food, drinks and ambiance, but on the unique and eclectic music shows it regularly puts on with no cover. Like the legendary 1960s scene in Greenwich Village, Gizzi’s Café offers musical variety unlike anywhere else, with live bands of virtually every possible musical genre all on the same bill. They continue this tradition on July 12 when Legends Radio host Evan Ginzburg, formerly of 99.5 WBAI-FM, celebrates his 20^th year in radio with six of his all-time favorite acts.

On this eclectic evening from 7-11PM, Evan Ginzburg presents a truly memorable show covering the musical spectrum. John Hammond Sr.’s final discovery in Ned Massey is as brilliant a songwriter as you’ll ever hear. SoSoon harkens us back to the era of Gil Scott Heron and Curtis Mayfield where quality music was also socially relevant.  Latin jazz great Edwin Vazquez will stun you with his virtuosity as will blues giants Robert Ross and Felix Cabrera who have recorded with some of the greatest names in the history of blues including Big Joe Turner. Luanne Surace brings us spirituals, Americana, and Memphis Minnie. And Nikki Iliopoulu will delight you with her jazz stylings. Then at 10PM virtually anyone may walk up on that stage for an unforgettable jam session.

This huge event continues the Evan's Tuesday Events Series at Gizzi's where I will mix great live music with notable events. 

Evan Ginzburg is the host of Legends Radio (www.legendsradio.net), Associate Producer of The Wrestler starring Mickey Rourke, and Producer of the upcoming film Theresa Sareo: Alive Again (www.aliveagain.com) . He is proud to be booking and hosting what will be a memorable event. The line-up is as follows-   

7:00   Edwin Vazquez Musica  

7:30   SoSoon

8:00   Felix Cabrera and Robert Ross blues duo

8:30   Ned Massey

9:00   Luanne Surace and her Bleecker Street Band, featuring Adam Tagliamonte and Aaron Lowry- Spirituals/Americana            

9:30   Nikki Iliopoulo Jazz

10:00 OPEN JAM SESSION

Don’t miss what will be an eclectic musical voyage. If you’re a music fan, you will not see another show like this anywhere in New York City.

Contact:

Evan Ginzburg

Evan_ginzburg@yahoo.com

Gizzi's Café 

16 West 8th Street (west of 5th Ave., east of MacDougal) New York, NY 10011

Take the N or R train to 8th Street, walk west or take the

A,B,C,D,E,F,V train to West 4th Street; walk north, then east on 8th Street

212-353-0099

Dragon Gate USA Uprising 2011 PPV Live Review

Austin Aries Image via Wikipedia

Dragon Gate USA Uprising 2011 PPV Live Review

NYWC Sportatorium Deer Park, Long Island

Review by Evan Ginzburg

When you attend live wrestling events for 37 years and literally around the world, there’s not a whole lot of firsts. And it’s hard to impress this jaded old-schooler.

Well, this was my first live Dragon Gate show and I was, shockingly, more than impressed.

In the opening spotfest, current indie darling Sami Callihan reigned supreme. This was Caleb Konley vs. Flip Kendrick vs. Jon Davis vs. Louis Lyndon vs. Pinkie Sanchez vs. Rich Swann vs. Sami Callihan vs. Scott Reed, wherein they exhibited a barrage of impressively insane moves. Now, part of me loves this kind of sensory overkill, while part of me doesn’t quite get the whole “everybody feigns being hurt and waits while the two guys in the ring get their moves in” type psychology. Nonetheless, a thrilling way to start the evening.

This was followed by Brodie Lee’s defeat of Tony Nese, which  was a decent enough match, but in the death slot following the creative chaos of the opener. Frankly, I won’t remember this one a year from now.

The third match saw Austin Aries lose to Susumu Yokosuka. Now, with the exception of Nigel McGuiness, Aries is my favorite active wrestler as he’s a brilliant technician. Nonetheless I was disappointed by this one. It just had this uneven feel, going from Aries’ total working of the crowd and overly long stalling, into a frenetic couple of minutes of high quality action. Simply put, I’ve seen him in far better matches in ROH.

In a freestyle match, it was Open the Freedom Gate champion YAMATO vs. CIMA vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Masato Yoshino. Like the opener, this was heaven for those who love highspots and creative wrestling moves. Yours truly prefers a good storyline and a singles match where you actually care about who wins. But you can’t take it away from these guys. This was great, great action and non-stop at that. I give this 3 ¼ stars and again, I’m jaded as this was tremendously entertaining.

Alex Reynolds over Papadon (who I had brought into The Wrestler movie), was a solid enough indy match, but pretty hard to compete with the high-flying mayhem that had already been presented. Interestingly enough, during this match one Williamsburg hipster type, who incessantly threw out snarky comments throughout the evening, was reprimanded by a fifty-something fan in front of him for being overly critical of all the bouts. When you start throwing out comments like “You’ve never accomplished anything in the business” to a hard-working athlete, you probably have crossed a line of decency and good taste. Yeah, show some respect, kid; the show’s not about YOU. The sheer joy some of these smart mark fans get at critiquing occasional botched moves may, in fact, indicate they need a life.

On a happier note, Masaaki Mochizuki defeated Arik Cannon in another quality match. In short, I’ve seen better, I’ve seen worse, even on this night.

Then came the show-stealer. Akira Tozawa is not only a tremendous wrestler, but has through the roof charisma, which I can’t honestly say about some of the other “wrestling machines and human highlight reels” on the card. But this guy’s the “total package.” His defeating of the extremely talented AR Fox drew chants of “This is awesome.” And it was. 3 ¾* easy. Truly memorable.

In the main-event, Richochet’s surprise victory over the great Pac and Rich Swann was another tremendous match, slightly marred by an abrupt ending. Again, non-stop action and brilliant moves, elevating pro wrestling to art. 3 ½ stars.

When you hit my age and have seen it all, including Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid live, you do get that “been there done that” feeling at a lot of indy wrestling shows. Such was not the case tonight with 4 matches over three stars and not a clunker on the show. This is quality wrestling worth supporting any way you can. Inexpensive merchandise and wrestlers readily accessible to the fans for autographs and pictures made this all the more fun and worthwhile. I’d also like to point out that my buddy took his 10 year old nephew and three friends to the event and each and every one of them said they enjoyed it more than live WWE events because of the fan friendly nature of it and being up close and personal. It just makes for a better entertainment experience.

Dragon Gate, you’ve made a new fan in this jaded old-timer.

Bravo.

www.legendsradio.net

Dragon Gate USA Uprising 2011 PPV Live Review

Dragon Gate USA Uprising 2011 PPV Live Review

NYWC Sportatorium Deer Park, Long Island

Review by Evan Ginzburg

When you attend live wrestling events for 37 years and literally around the world, there’s not a whole lot of firsts. And it’s hard to impress this jaded old-schooler.

Well, this was my first live Dragon Gate show and I was, shockingly, more than impressed.

In the opening spotfest, current indie darling Sami Callihan reigned supreme. This was Caleb Konley vs. Flip Kendrick vs. Jon Davis vs. Louis Lyndon vs. Pinkie Sanchez vs. Rich Swann vs. Sami Callihan vs. Scott Reed, wherein they exhibited a barrage of impressively insane moves. Now, part of me loves this kind of sensory overkill, while part of me doesn’t quite get the whole “everybody feigns being hurt and waits while the two guys in the ring get their moves in” type psychology. Nonetheless, a thrilling way to start the evening.

This was followed by Brodie Lee’s defeat of Tony Nese, which  was a decent enough match, but in the death slot following the creative chaos of the opener. Frankly, I won’t remember this one a year from now.

The third match saw Austin Aries lose to Susumu Yokosuka. Now, with the exception of Nigel McGuiness, Aries is my favorite active wrestler as he’s a brilliant technician. Nonetheless I was disappointed by this one. It just had this uneven feel, going from Aries’ total working of the crowd and overly long stalling, into a frenetic couple of minutes of high quality action. Simply put, I’ve seen him in far better matches in ROH.

In a freestyle match, it was Open the Freedom Gate champion YAMATO vs. CIMA vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Masato Yoshino. Like the opener, this was heaven for those who love highspots and creative wrestling moves. Yours truly prefers a good storyline and a singles match where you actually care about who wins. But you can’t take it away from these guys. This was great, great action and non-stop at that. I give this 3 ¼ stars and again, I’m jaded as this was tremendously entertaining.

Alex Reynolds over Papadon (who I had brought into The Wrestler movie), was a solid enough indy match, but pretty hard to compete with the high-flying mayhem that had already been presented. Interestingly enough, during this match one Williamsburg hipster type, who incessantly threw out snarky comments throughout the evening, was reprimanded by a fifty-something fan in front of him for being overly critical of all the bouts. When you start throwing out comments like “You’ve never accomplished anything in the business” to a hard-working athlete, you probably have crossed a line of decency and good taste. Yeah, show some respect, kid; the show’s not about YOU. The sheer joy some of these smart mark fans get at critiquing occasional botched moves may, in fact, indicate they need a life.

On a happier note, Masaaki Mochizuki defeated Arik Cannon in another quality match. In short, I’ve seen better, I’ve seen worse, even on this night.

Then came the show-stealer. Akira Tozawa is not only a tremendous wrestler, but has through the roof charisma, which I can’t honestly say about some of the other “wrestling machines and human highlight reels” on the card. But this guy’s the “total package.” His defeating of the extremely talented AR Fox drew chants of “This is awesome.” And it was. 3 ¾* easy. Truly memorable.

In the main-event, Richochet’s surprise victory over the great Pac and Rich Swann was another tremendous match, slightly marred by an abrupt ending. Again, non-stop action and brilliant moves, elevating pro wrestling to art. 3 ½ stars.

When you hit my age and have seen it all, including Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid live, you do get that “been there done that” feeling at a lot of indy wrestling shows. Such was not the case tonight with 4 matches over three stars and not a clunker on the show. This is quality wrestling worth supporting any way you can. Inexpensive merchandise and wrestlers readily accessible to the fans for autographs and pictures made this all the more fun and worthwhile. I’d also like to point out that my buddy took his 10 year old nephew and three friends to the event and each and every one of them said they enjoyed it more than live WWE events because of the fan friendly nature of it and being up close and personal. It just makes for a better entertainment experience.

Dragon Gate, you’ve made a new fan in this jaded old-timer.

Bravo.

www.legendsradio.net

Concert Review- George Clinton BAM R&B Festival Brooklyn, NY 6/2/11

Image via Wikipedia

Concert Review-

George Clinton

BAM R&B Festival Brooklyn, NY 6/2/11

When I look back at my fifty plus years on Planet Earth, I tell people that many of the best nights of my life were seeing live James Brown, Al Green, Chuck Brown, Sonny Rollins, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Sun Ra, Bruno Sammartino and George Clinton.

Sometimes they look at me like I’m nuts, but I mean that with all my heart.

So when I heard that George had been hospitalized last weekend, right around the time another musical hero of mine in Gil Scott-Heron passed, a legitimate sadness came over me. I thought back to that cruel April Fool’s Day when we lost Marvin Gaye, and the kick in the teeth I felt when James left us a few Christmases back.

So after Clinton cancelled several dates this past weekend to deal with the staph infection in his leg, a doctor friend who is also a P-Funk fan told me, “He won’t make it Thursday. He’ll be lucky if he’s alive.”
Well, funk must very well be the powerful force that George claims it is, because the 69 year old not only made today’s gig, but he was “on”. And I’m talking two solid hours of P-Funk power “on”.

Covering just about all their hits, and even throwing in a ten foot or so alien life form on stage, George danced, pranced, did poetry, and sang in that gravelly voice of his that won’t make Al Green lose any sleep. Sure, he took a few uncharacteristic rests in a chair in back of the stage, but great this was. And when the twenty or so musicians jammed, it was indeed a joyful noise.

And yours truly was joyful that one of my heroes still walks the Earth- and travels the spaceways- spreading the funk.

We love you George; take care of yourself, willya?

Evan Ginzburg

www.legendsradio.net