Global Citizen Festival at the Great Lawn, Central Park

International advocacy organization Global Citizen today hosted the 2019 Global Citizen Festival in Central Park's Great Lawn. Throughout the six-hour event, world and business leaders, non-profit organizations, socially conscious artists, and thousands of Global Citizens committed to further the world’s progress toward achieving the United Nations' Global Goals for Sustainable Development and ending extreme poverty by 2030. The festival led to 18 commitments totaling $932.1 million, which are set to affect the lives of 7.6 million people, as well as announcements from partners and members of congress worth $1.6 billion. Since 2012, Global Citizens have mobilized $48.5 billion in commitments and policy announcements from world leaders that have impacted the lives of 880 million people living in extreme poverty.

Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness hosted the 2019 event, and co-hosts included Forest Whitaker, Taraji P. Henson, Kal Penn, Dakota Johnson, Rami Malek, Rachel Brosnahan, and Becky G. Queen + Adam Lambert, Pharrell Williams, Alicia Keys, OneRepublic, H.E.R., Carole King,  French Montana, Ben Platt, Jon Batiste & Stay Human, David Gray, and NCT 127 performed live. H.E.R. joined Alicia Keys for a rocking cover of Aerosmith's "Dream On," and Kelly Clarkson joined Carole King for one song.

Planners may make next year's event the biggest Global Citizen Festival yet. In 2020, a 10-hour global media event entitled Global Goal Live: The Possible Dream will span five continents for the largest live-broadcast cause event in history. Deborra-lee Furness & Hugh Jackman, Idris Elba, Jill Vedder, Rachel Brosnahan, Trevor Noah, and Uzo Aduba have committed to host the event, and Alicia Keys, Billie Eilish, Coldplay, Cyndi Lauper, D’banj, Eddie Vedder, EXO, H.E.R., Janelle Monáe, Lizzo, Metallica, Miley Cyrus, Muse, Ozuna, Ozzy Osbourne, Pharrell Williams, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shawn Mendes, Tiwa Savage, Usher, and others will perform.

French Montana

Jon Batiste & Stay Human

Ben Platt

OneRepublic

Iman

Kelly Clarkson

Carole King

Taraji P. Henson

Dakota Johnson

H.E.R.

Deborra-lee Furness & High Jackman

Alicia Keys

Bill Nye, the Science Guy

Leonardo DiCaprio

Lars Ulrich

Parrell Williams

Angelique Kidjo & Forest Whitaker

Laverne Cox

Natalie Portman

David Gray

Chris Martin

Rachel Brosnahan

Rami Malek

Queen + Adam Lambert

George Thorogood & the Destroyers at the Town Hall

George Thorogood

Born in Wilmington, Delaware, George Thorogood in the 1970s played second base in a local semi-pro baseball team. Inspired by a John P. Hammond concert he attended, he also began performing as a solo acoustic performer in the style of blues giants Robert Johnson and Elmore James. Thorogood soon formed a band, the Delaware Destroyers, with high school friend and drummer Jeff Simon, who also played center field in his baseball team. Adding musicians and playing the regional rock club circuit, the band eventually shortened its name to the Destroyers. During this time, Thorogood supplemented his income by working as a roadie for Hound Dog Taylor. Relocating to Boston, Massachusetts, the new George Thorogood & the Destroyers began touring and releasing albums; the band sold 15 million albums worldwide, scoring two platinum and six gold albums in the United States. The band's 16th and most recent studio album is 2011's 2120 South Michigan Ave., although more recently in 2017 Thorogood released a solo album, Party of One. George Thorogood & the Destroyers presently consists of Thorogood, Simon, saxophonist Buddy Leach, rhythm guitarist Jim Suhler, and bassist Billy Blough.

George Thorogood & the Destroyers headlined at the Town Hall tonight, performing high-energy guitar-fueled original songs plus a handful of vintage cover songs. Thanks to the band's loyal fans, the concert was already a rock and roll party even before the first song, "Rock Party." Lyrics that honored bad behavior and alcohol drinking added to the festive spirit. Most of the set was comprised of charging rockers deeply rooted in Chicago blues, classic rock and roll, and boogie, and Thorogood played almost non-stop slide and finger-picking guitar leads, only occasionally stepping back to allow the saxophonist to shine. Thorogood's musicians ably supported his rampaging drive, and Thorogood's gritty vocals added to the raw thrust of the set. George Thorogood & the Destroyers capitalized well on retro rock and roll riffs that will remain thrilling in any music epoch.

Setlist:

1. Rock Party
2. Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley cover)
3. Help Me (Sonny Boy Williamson cover)
4. Night Time (The Strangeloves cover)
5. I Drink Alone
6. One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer (John Lee Hooker cover)
7. Gear Jammer
8. Get a Haircut
9. Bad to the Bone
10. Twenty Dollar Gig
11. Move It on Over (Hank Williams cover)

Encore:

1. Born to Be Bad

Alter Bridge at the PlayStation Theater

Mark Tremonti & Myles Kennedy

After 10 successful years, the band Creed became inactive in 2003. In 2004, Creed's lead guitarist Mark Tremonti and bassist Brian Marshall teamed with original Creed drummer Scott Phillips and recruited the Mayfield Four's vocalist, Myles Kennedy, in Orlando, Florida. They named the new band Alter Bridge after a bridge near Tremonti's home on Alter Road in Detroit, Michigan. Alter Bridge was an immediate success; the 2004 debut album sold 750,000 copies worldwide and achieved gold status in the United States. Alter Bridge paused in 2009 when Creed reunited for an album and tour and Kennedy began singing with Slash's new band, a back and forth pattern that has repeated itself. Alter Bridge's sixth studio album, Walk the Sky, will be released on October 18, 2019.

Alter Bridge's Victorious Sky tour was scheduled to hit Terminal 5 tonight, but the venue suffered a small fire in a storage room and the concert was moved to the PlayStation Theater. After strong sets by Dirty Honey and Skillet, Alter Bridge performed a 70-minute set that showcased 10 older songs and three new songs. Behind the band, a line of LED panels showed swirling colors and shapes; other than that, Alter Bridge's staging was kept simple, with no fog, flames, lasers, confetti, or other gimmicks. The performance was strictly about fast and furious hard rock, powered by Kennedy's bluesy vocals and Tremonti's frequently raging guitar leads. "Ghost of Days Gone By" and similar ballads showcased the band's lighter side, but melodies were prominent in the chunkier rockers as well. Tremonti proved to be a solid singer as well on his one lead vocal turn, "Water's Rising." The newer songs fit neatly into the band's signature post-grunge style. While many of the popular bands from the beginning of the century have exhausted their creativity, Alter Bridge gave evidence that the alt-rock era is still alive and well.

Setlist:

1. Wouldn't You Rather
2. Isolation
3. Buried Alive
4. Pay No Mind
5. Rise Today
6. Ghost of Days Gone By
7. Waters Rising
8. In the Deep
9. Addicted to Pain
10. Cry of Achilles
11. Blackbird
12. Metalingus
13. Open Your Eyes

Skillet at the PlayStation Theater

John Cooper, bassist and founder of Skillet, began singing at a young age, playing guitar around age 18 and bass guitar at 19 in Memphis, Tennessee. From 1989 to 1995, Cooper was in an experimental and progressive rock band called Seraph, which released a four-song demo before disbanding. Cooper co-founded Skillet in 1996, but by 2000 he was the only remaining original member of the band. The hard rocking band cultivated an audience in Christian rock, and became one of the biggest sellers in the genre, while also touring numerous times with secular hard rock bands. Several of the band's bombastic anthems songs have been adopted by sports teams or used in sporting events over the years. One Skillet album achieved double platinum status, one hit platinum, and two hit gold. The band released its 10th album, Victorious, on August 2, 2019. Skillet currently consists of husband John (lead vocals, bass) and wife Korey Cooper (rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Seth Morrison (lead guitar), and Jen Ledger (drums, vocals).

Co-headlining with Alter Bridge on the Victorious Sky tour, Skillet stunned many of the attending hard rock fans at the PlayStation Theater who had never before heard the band's music. Skillet focused on its five most recent albums, and in those albums concentrated on the more anthemic arena-rockers. With or without his bass, Cooper was the consummate showman, his body moving dynamically on the stage in tune with the aggressive music, all the while singing in a muscular, gravelly voice. On a couple of songs, his deeply masculine voice alternated with Ledger's light feminine voice, and the vocal arrangements proved to be stellar. Skillet employed a line of canons to create fog pillars along the front edge of the stage, and for one song two roadies strapped smaller cannons to Cooper's wrists for a superhero effect. The music was heavy and highly melodic, always building to a crescendo for the choruses, and the lyrics were positive, encouraging and uplifting. Skillet proved to be the perfect antithesis for the current trend of dark and morbid metal.

Setlist:

1. Feel Invincible
2. Not Gonna Die
3. You Ain't Ready
4. Whispers in the Dark
5. Legendary
6. Awake and Alive
7. Back From the Dead
8. Hero
9. Undefeated
10. Victorious
11. Comatose
12. Monster
13. The Resistance

Nick Cave at the Town Hall

Nick Cave was born in Warracknabeal, a small country town in the Australian state of Victoria. When he was a child, his family moved to Wangaratta in rural Victoria. There, at nine years of age, he joined the cathedral choir. A few years later, he moved with his family to the Melbourne suburb of Murrumbeena. There, in 1973, Cave founded a band and sang cover songs. By 1977, the band members were writing and performing original songs, and enjoyed regional popularity as the Boys Next Door. In 1980, pursuing grander success, the band became the Birthday Party and relocated to London, England, then West Berlin, Germany. The Birthday Party drew a following but disbanded in 1983, and Cave formed Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Cave also has written a libretto for an opera, novels, screenplays, and movie soundtracks, and has acted in a few films. Cave was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2007, and named an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2017. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' 17th studio album, Ghosteen, will be released on October 3, 2019. He currently is based in Los Angeles, California.

Nick Cave's latest project has been Conversations with Nick Cave, a tour in which Cave performs solo on piano and fields questions from the audience. At the Town Hall tonight, he intermittently performed songs from his catalogue and responded to unscreened and unfiltered questions. With music sheets arrayed on the piano and a nearby table, Cave's selections of songs seem whimsical in some cases, while others were responses to audience requests. Barren arrangements spotlighted Cave's rich baritone and emotional intensity on his compositions inspired by love, death, violence and religion. The audience came for more than music, however, and given a microphone, fans gushed over their admiration of Cave; some asked questions about his music and, perhaps given the bleakness of his works, a great many seemed to seek his solace in coping with grief, a recurring theme. In many of his responses, Cave emphasized his positive and optimistic outlook. "Happiness is an act of defiance," he said. At the end of the two-hour program, however, the audience was left to connect the dots as to how the upbeat person he projected authored such dark, brooding music.

Setlist:

1. The Ship Song (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds song)
2. The Weeping Song (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds song)
3. God Is in the House (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds song)
4. Shivers (The Boys Next Door song)
5. Into My Arms (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds song)
6. Far from Me (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds song)
7. Girl in Amber (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds song)
8. The Mercy Seat (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds song)
9. Avalanche (Leonard Cohen cover)
10. Devil Town (Daniel Johnston cover)
11. Jubilee Street (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds song)
12. Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds song)
13. Palaces of Montezuma (Grinderman song)
14. Love Letter (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds song)

Encore:

1. Stagger Lee (Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds song)

King Crimson at Radio City Music Hall

Robert Fripp does not allow any photographs to be taken
during a King Crimson concert until the show ends
and he pulls out his camera.

In 1967 in Dorset, England, guitarist Robert Fripp first recorded with a psychedelic pop trio called Giles, Giles and Fripp. Upon seeing Clouds perform live, Fripp was inspired to incorporate classical melodies and jazz improvisation in his compositions. Musicians were added and others left, such that by 1968 the original band was no more and had evolved into what would become King Crimson, the forerunner of the progressive rock movement. Seemingly with each album, King Crimson's membership changed radically, quickly leaving Fripp as the only consistent member. Fripp disbanded King Crimson in 1974, reformed a new line-up in 1981 for three years, revamped it in 1994 for another three-year cycle, revived it from 2000 to 2008, and most recently restored the brand in 2013. King Crimson presently consists of Fripp, Jakko Jakszyk (lead vocals, guitar, flute, keyboards), Mel Collins (saxophones, flute, bass flute, mellotron, backing vocals), Tony Levin (bass, Chapman stick, synthesizers, backing vocals), and three drummers, Pat Mastelotto, Jeremy Stacey, and Gavin Harrison. King Crimson's 13th and most recent studio album is 2003's The Power to Believe; since that album, the band has released numerous live albums, with the band's 15th live album, Audio Diary 2014–2018, scheduled for release on September 27, 2019.

At Radio City Music Hall tonight, King Crimson reflected on 50 years of creative, mind-bending music, and yet reproduced not one song as it was originally recorded. Rather than remain a static treasury, the catalogue was given new breath. Frequently a song began with some familiar strokes before the musicians began deconstructing and refashioning them in a manner suitable to the strengths of the current musicians. In an unusual move, three drummers held the front line, with the remaining four musicians on platforms behind them. Throughout the set, the drum syncopation was uncanny and mesmerizing, featuring beats upon beats. The back line of saxophone, keyboards, guitar and bass propelled the music into futuristic arrangements. There were several passages where the musicians' expansive improvisation leaned towards directionless noodling, but before long, another musician barged in and charged forward, igniting a new dynamic chaos. Jakszyk’s swooning vocal melodies, much like those of his predecessors Greg Lake and John Wetton, then calmed the frenetic storm and grounded the compositions. Being present to the music in the court of King Crimson was at times dizzying, but consistently instilled a sense of awe.

Setlist:

Set 1:

1. Hell Hounds of Krim
2. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One
3. Suitable Grounds for the Blues
4. Red
5. Epitaph
6. Cat Food
7. EleKtriK
8. Moonchild (with cadenzas)
9. Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part IV)
10. Islands

Set 2:

1. Drumzilla
2. Easy Money
3. Radical Action II
4. Level Five
5. The Court of the Crimson King (with coda)
6. Starless
7. Indiscipline

Encore:

1. 21st Century Schizoid Man

Bloc Party at SummerStage Central Park

Kele Okereke

Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler) and Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards) first met in 1998 in London, England. A chance encounter at a music festival in 1999 led to them committing to forming a band. They used several names before settling on Bloc Party in 2003. The band got its break after Okereke gave a demo copy of "She's Hearing Voices" to radio personality Steve Lamacq. Lamacq subsequently played the song on his program, labeling the track "genius," and invited Bloc Party to record a live session for the show. In 2005, Bloc Party's debut album, Silent Alarm, certified platinum, selling more than a million copies worldwide. After more successes, the band went on a hiatus in 2009 to focus on side projects. The musicians reunited from 2011 to 2013, then resumed the hiatus to continue with their respective side projects. In 2015, Okereke and Lissack recruited Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle (drums, percussion) and released Bloc Party's fifth and most recent studio album, Hymns, in 2016. Bloc Party has sold over three million albums worldwide.

Bloc Party began playing its seminal  2005 debut album in its entirety in Europe in 2018 and this summer brought the Silent Alarm concert to select cities in the United States. Although it was the current incarnation of the band and not the original lineup that originally recorded the album, tonight's SummerStage concert at Central Park's Rumsey Playfield showed the maturity of the band's vision, as the album was performed with perhaps more finesse than on the original recording. Okereke and Lissack drove the songs, but the subtle star of the evening was Bartle, whose imaginative drumming turned the songs into suites. Perhaps acknowledging the dichotomy that albums generally start with the strongest songs and concerts end with these heavy hitters, Bloc Party played the album in reverse order. Beginning with the softer and more ambient songs, the band worked its way to the crowd-pleasing indie-rockers. The band also included UK bonus track "Little Thoughts." For the encore, the band returned with two Silent Alarm era b-sides and three later songs. The current Bloc Party proved it can play its old songs perhaps better than ever.

Setlist:

1. Compliments
2. Plans
3. Luno
4. So Here We Are
5. Little Thoughts
6. Price of Gasoline
7. The Pioneers
8. This Modern Love
9. She's Hearing Voices
10. Blue Light
11. Banquet
12. Positive Tension
13. Helicopter
14. Like Eating Glass
15. Encore:
16. Skeleton
17. The Marshals Are Dead
18. The Prayer
19. Flux
20. Ratchet

Adam Ant at the Beacon Theatre

Born and raised in London, England, Stuart Goddard, better known by his stage name, Adam Ant, was at the right place at the right time when his band, Adam and the Ants, joined the burgeoning punk rock and new wave movements in 1977. The "Antmania" that ensued in United Kingdom was not duplicated in the United States, where Adam and the Ants developed a cult following. Disbanding the group in 1982, Ant launched a solo career with "Friend or Foe," to date his best-selling solo album. Ant paused his musical career in 1985 to focus on his acting career. In recent years, Ant's output in both recording and acting has diminished, but he has significantly increased his touring. His sixth and most recent solo album is 2013's Adam Ant Is the Blueblack Hussar in Marrying the Gunner's Daughter; the subsequent Bravest of the Brave has been promised since 2014 but still has no release date.

Following the success of the 2017 tour in which he played the Kings of the Wild Frontier album in full, Adam Ant embarked on a 2019-2020 tour in which he is performing his Friend or Foe album in its entirety. At the Beacon Theatre tonight, Ant and his band (guitarists Will Crewdson and A.P. Leach, bassist Joe Holweger, and drummers Andy Woodard and Jola) performed the album and then played more than a dozen other signature songs. Periodically, Ant played guitar and Crewdson, Leach and Holweger played floor tom drums for a thunderous tribal sound. The weaker moments (as in Ant's cover of the Doors' "Hello, I Love You"), the curious moments ("Goody Two Shoes" performed without horns) and the liveliest moments (the rousing "Antmusic," the big percussion sound on "Kings of the Wild Frontier," and the call-and-response of "Beat My Guest") made for an exciting show. The outcome was lighthearted party music, not messages with deep meaning, and Ant's fans would not want it any other way.

Setlist:

Friend or Foe album:

1. Friend or Foe
2. Something Girls
3. Place in the Country
4. Desperate But Not Serious
5. Here Comes the Grump
6. Hello, I Love You (The Doors cover)
7. Goody Two Shoes
8. Crackpot History and the Right to Lie
9. Made of Money
10. Cajun Twisters
11. Try This for Sighs
12. Man Called Marco

Remainder of main set:

1. Dog Eat Dog (Adam and the Ants song)
2. Kick! (Adam and the Ants song)
3. Vive le Rock
4. Antmusic (Adam and the Ants song)
5. Zerox (Adam and the Ants song)
6. Cartrouble (Adam and the Ants song)
7. Ants Invasion (Adam and the Ants song)
8. Prince Charming (Adam and the Ants song)
9. Strip
10. Lady/Fall In (Adam and the Ants song)
11. Kings of the Wild Frontier (Adam and the Ants song)
12. Beat My Guest (Adam and the Ants song)
13. Stand and Deliver (Adam and the Ants song)

Encore:

1. Press Darlings (Adam and the Ants song)
2. Red Scab
3. Physical (You're So) (Adam and the Ants song)

Angels & Airwaves at the PlayStation Theater

Tom DeLonge

Tom DeLonge received his first guitar as a Christmas present while in the sixth grade in the suburbs of Poway, California. While in high school, he co-founded Blink-182 in 1992; the band's third album, 1999's Enema of the State, featured three hit singles and went quadruple-platinum in the U.S., selling upwards of 15 million copies worldwide. From 2001 to 2003, DeLonge experimented with post-hardcore music on a side project called Box Car Racer, pursuing darker concepts that he felt were not suited for Blink-182. When Blink-182 dissolved in early 2005, DeLonge pursued an effects-laden progressive-inspired sound, experimenting alone in his home studio before gathering musicians to form a band. In late 2005, DeLonge announced Angels & Airwaves, which would be an alternative rock band and an "art project" encompassing various forms of media. DeLonge reunited with Blink-182 from 2009 until his dismissal from the group in 2015; during that time, DeLonge also worked on Angels & Airwaves, solo recordings, films, and business projects. Angels & Airwaves' fifth and most recent album, 2014's The Dream Walker, was followed by promises of films, soundtracks, and graphic novels, much of which have not yet seen light. Angels & Airwaves consists of Tom DeLonge (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass), David Kennedy (guitars, keyboards), and Ilan Rubin (drums, keyboards, bass, backing vocals).

Angels & Airwaves, featuring DeLonge, Kennedy, and Rubin, with former Taking Back Sunday bassist Matt Rubano, is on its first concert tour in seven years and headlined tonight at the PlayStation Theater. Amid lights that flashed and blinded the audience much too frequently, the four musicians appeared on stage blasting like a rocket, launching with "Surrender" and maintaining that burst of energy for most of the set. DeLonge sang wordy lyrics well, and the band provided a wall of sound to amplify the immediacy of the sonic moments. Several songs utilized pre-programmed accompaniment, however, noticeable when keyboards or synthesizers dominated the melodies and no one stood by the two keyboards on stage. Slower songs like "It Hurts" and "Wolfpack," interspersed through the set, softened the band's punch while still cracking a throbbing pulse. Midway through the set, the tempo relaxed when DeLonge sang a three-song acoustic medley of parts of Blink-182 and Box Car Racer songs. Angels & Airwaves recorded two songs earlier this year, "Rebel Girl" and "Kiss and Tell," and rocked both towards the latter half of the set. Overall, the concert rallied and satisfied the band's fans, but the fans left unclear as to whether Angels & Airwaves will resume the recording and touring regiment of earlier years.

Setlist:

1. Surrender
2. Overload
3. It Hurts
4. Everything's Magic
5. Paralyzed
6. Moon as My Witness
7. Anxiety
8. The Wolfpack
9. Kiss with a Spell > Drum Solo
10. Rebel Girl
11. The Adventure
12. Anomaly
13. Medley: I Miss You (Blink-142 song)/There Is (Box Car Racer song)/Aliens Exist (Blink-142 song)
14. Hallucinations
15. Young London
16. Breathe
17. Kiss & Tell

Encore:

1. Do It for Me Now
2. Heaven

Band of Skulls at Webster Hall

While attending college in Southampton, England, vocalist/guitarist Russell Marsden and bassist Emma Richardson played in a band called Fleeing New York, which performed in music clubs in the greater London area. The band became Band of Skulls in 2008 and released its debut album in 2009, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey. The track "I Know What I Am" appeared in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. Another track that was not on the album, "Friends", was included on The Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack in 2009. Band of Skulls released its fifth and most recent album, Love Is All You Love, on April 12, 2019.

Although Band of Skulls promoted its most recent album with a Mercury Lounge concert only three months ago, the performance at Webster Hall utilized a different marketing tool. The band was celebrating the 10th anniversary of the release of its debut album and promised to perform all 12 tracks. With the help of drummer Julian Dorio of the Whigs and Eagles of Death Metal, Band of Skulls played not only the entire album, but also performed "Hollywood Bowl," a song found only on the British pressing. Marsden sang raw and gritty blues-rock songs that often hinged on his muscular guitar riffs. The trio also demonstrated its softer side on the song "Honest," with Marsden and Richardson switching to acoustic guitars and singing harmonies into a common microphone. After performing the first album, Band of Skulls concluded with several pop-flavored songs from later albums. As a finale, the band started playing "Carnivorous," then put down their instruments to dance in the audience to the pre-recorded rhythms of the song. Band of Skulls mix of bluesy garage-rock with soulful pop will appeal to fans of many rock genres.

Night Gallery at the Red Party at Mercury Lounge

Mark Demon & Kitty Hawke

In 1986, Kitty Hawke heard a bass line in a dream and remembered it upon waking. This bass line formed the skeleton of what would become her first musical composition, "Funeral Parlor." She continued playing bass and writing songs, forming the gothic rock band Night Gallery in New York City in 1991. Night Gallery played the local club circuit and recorded some of its music, but then ceased in 1995. Ten years later, Hawke was inspired to revive the brand with new musicians. Night Gallery released its one album, Inside Out, in 2013. In recent times, the band has consisted of Hawke, vocalist Mark Demon, guitarist Gerry Barnas, keyboardist Jennifer Bobbe, violinist Helen "Destroy" Buyniski, flautist Cheryl Pyle, and drummer Jimmy Dragon.

Hawke and her husband, Demon, are relocating to Florida. Hence, Night Gallery fittingly performed its final concert at the monthly gothic celebration called the Red Party at Mercury Lounge. Demon sang dark, melodic songs with a haunting voice, pausing midway into the songs for the violinist, the flautist, or keyboardist to grab the melody and run with it. This was the frequent point when the band shifted from gothic to a more psychedelic folk style until Demon's ominous vocals reentered the songs. Other songs exuded a mysterious aura or Bowie-esque dramatic flair. As such, Night Gallery broke open the traditional confines of gothic music. Freshly dismantled, the innovative Night Gallery will be missed in local gothic circles.

Jesse Malin at Webster Hall

As an adolescent, New York City native Jesse Malin gravitated to the hardcore punk rock scene at CBGB's, hanging with the musicians even though he was only 12 years old. From 1980 to 1984, Malin sang in Heart Attack, a hardcore band in which the musicians were 12 to 16 years old. Malin later worked as a gas station attendant, a health food store clerk, and a "man with a van," returning to the stage with the glam-punk band D Generation from 1991 until 1999. He ultimately launched a solo career in 2001. His released his eighth and most recent studio album, Sunset Kids, produced by Lucinda Williams, on August 30, 2019.

Jesse Malin plays his hometown often. Tonight he took the stage at Webster Hall, perhaps the largest local venue he has headlined so far, backed by his regular band (guitarist Derek Cruz, keyboardist Rob Clores, bassist Catherine Popper, drummer Randy Schrager). As this was a record release party, the set featured seven of the 14 songs on the current album, along with a smattering of older originals and cover songs. Malin promised guests for this party; selected songs featured guest spots by singer/songwriters Alejandro Escovedo, Joseph Arthur, Tommy Stinson, Liza Colby, and Kia Warren, as well as saxophonist Danny Ray and trumpet player Indofunk Satish. As usual, Malin introduced many songs with personal anecdotes about how life events invoked the lyrics, some of which were sentimental and others which were powered by an aggressive New York attitude. Malin sang well and the sharp musical arrangements contributed by the band gave additional depth and vitality to the story-songs. On many songs, Malin was carried away by his own manic energy. The performance was explosive, with Malin breaking his microphone stand several times, the first time tossing into the photographers in the photo pit. The stage proved to be not big enough; Malin sang through the audience, winding up standing on the bar in the back of the venue. Count on Jesse Malin to perform every concert as if it was the last on the planet.

Setlist:

1. The Archer (Jesse Malin & the Saint Marks Social song)
2. Death Star
3. Brooklyn
4. Do You Really Wanna Know
5. Chemical Heart
6. Shining Down
7. Riding on the Subway
8. Strangers & Thieves
9. If I Should Fall from Grace with God (The Pogues cover)
10. She Don't Love Me Now
11. Hateful (The Clash cover, with Tommy Stinson)
12. Boots of Immigration
13. Turn Up the Mains
14. Shane
15. When You're Young
16. Meet Me at the End of the World (with Alejandro Escovedo , Joseph Arthur, Liza Colby, and Kia Warren)
17. Room 13
18. Queen of the Underworld (the song was stopped before the first chorus)
19. You Know It's Dark When Atheists Start to Pray (with Don DiLego)

Encore:

1. She's So Dangerous
2. Wendy
3. Revelations (Jesse Malin & the Saint Marks Social song)
4. Russian Roulette (The Lords of the New Church cover)
5. Here's the Situation (with Liza Colby and Kia Warren)
6. Sally Can't Dance (Lou Reed cover, with Alejandro Escovedo, Joseph Arthur, Liza Colby, and Kia Warren)

Dina Regine at Lola

Dina Regine discovered her passion for rock music as a New York City teenager, and began taking photographs at the concerts she attended. She fell into a singing career, first as a backup vocalist on a Jimmy Cliff album. This led to other background vocals gigs until she auditioned for Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run tour. The Boss told her she ought to front her own band. So she did. After three bands,  the Dina Regine Band, Naked Grape, and Swamp Honey, Regine went solo. Songs from Regine's second and most recent album, 2014's Right On, Alright, were featured in movies and television soundtracks, and Steven Van Zandt’s Underground Garage radio show named "Gotta Tell You" as the Coolest Song in the World. Regine followed with a series of singles, videos, and collaborations, and performs these songs both solo and with other musicians in local clubs. Meanwhile, her rock photography continues to appear in museums, album covers and books (including the official Led Zeppelin book in 2018) and she djs on weekends.

Regine opened tonight for Steve Conte & the Crazy Truth at Lola, a music club where she was a regular weekend dj when the venue was known as Coney Island Baby. Throughout her set, Regine showcased original, easy-flowing, melodic songs with honest, homespun inflections of blues, folk, and rhythm and blues marinated in deep-rooted rock and roll. Straddling between sweet and melancholy, her introspective lyrics were thought-provoking and heartrending. Above all, her gentle delivery was all heart and soul. Regine played a standard guitar, a four-string tenor guitar, and harmonica, backed by guitarist Tony Scherr, bassist Mark Plati, and drummer G Wiz. The sparkling touch of Charlie Giordano's accordion on most songs and Michelle Casillas and James Maddock's dual backing vocals at the end of the set added extra polish to an inherently robust production. Regine is a class act. She does not perform regularly on the club circuit, so her few engagements must be sought and treasured.

Setlist:

1. I Love
2. Look Out Little Sister
3. Never
4. Sweet Little Pill
5. Gotta Tell You
6. Can't Find You Anywhere
7. Firewall
8. Astoria
9. Like a Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan cover)

The Liza Colby Sound at Lola

Liza Colby

Liza Colby hails from Avon, Connecticut, where her father, a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning producer and composer of television and film scores, and her mother, the only woman ever to sing in the a cappella group the Persuasions, perform in nightclubs as the Colbys. At age 19, Liza moved to New York City, began singing hooks on rap tracks, and finally in 2009 teamed with comic Denis Leary's band, the Enablers. They became the Liza Colby Sound in 2009. The band quickly grew a following on the local club circuit, recorded three EPS over the years, and finally released its debut album, Object to Impossible Destination, on July 19, 2019. The Liza Colby Sound presently consists of vocalist Colby, guitarist Jay Shepard, bassist Alec Morton, and drummer Charly "C.P." Roth.

On this third night of a four -Thursday residency at Lola, the Liza Colby Sound highlighted almost all the songs on the new album, plus a few more from the past. The band has evolved with the addition of Shepard, a lead guitar virtuoso who has recorded his own album, worked with the High and Mighty Brass Band, Angela McCluskey, Mark Hudson & Friends, and Rock of Ages, and was the musical director for the show Rebel Rebel: the Many Lives of David Bowie. In past years, the Liza Colby Sound might have been compared to the Who; the musicians now align closer to Van Halen or Guns N' Roses. All this hard rocking chemistry was fronted by a seductive, smoky-sounding, mega-watt singer who wore very little on stage and shook, shimmied and crawled to the swirl of her acid-rock and blues-rock accompaniment. Colby's lyrics frequently expressed yearning, usually regarding unfulfilled or unhealthy user relationships, all while a stoner haze blasted behind her. The performance was loaded with classic rock swagger, built more for arenas than clubs.

Morrissey at the Forest Hills Stadium, Queens

Steven Patrick Morrissey, better known by his singular stage name of Morrissey, was born in Davyhulme, England, and spent his childhood in nearby Manchester. He worked as a clerk for the civil service and then the tax collection agency, as a salesperson in a record store, and as a porter in a hospital. In the early 1970s, his passion for music led to him forming a British fan club for the New York Dolls. In 1977, he fronted the unsuccessful punk rock band the Nosebleeds, followed by Slaughter & the Dogs. In the early 1980s, he moved into music journalism and authored several books on music and film. He finally found economic security when he and Johnny Marr formed the Smiths in 1982. After four popular albums, mounting personal differences between Morrissey and Marr erupted and ultimately ended the Smiths in 1987. Morrisey launched a solo career in 1988, initially enjoying far more success in Great Britain than in America. Relocating to Los Angeles, California, he took a musical hiatus in 1998 and resumed recording and touring in 2003. Morrissey released his 12th and most recent album, a collection of cover songs called California Son, on May 24, 2019.

Morrissey often makes headlines with controversial and highly opinionated statements. Recent quotes that many interpreted as anti-immigrant caused waves on the internet, with rock fans campaigning for a boycott of his tour. Nevertheless, four months after his week-long concert series at a Broadway theater, Morrissey co-headlined with Interpol at Forest Hills Stadium to a substantial audience. Accompanied by guitarists Boz Boorer  and Jesse Tobias, keyboardist Gustavo Manzur, bassist Mando Lopez, and drummer Matt Walker, Morrissey performed 15 songs from his solo work, two Smiths songs, and five cover songs written decades ago. The set opened with "You're Gonna Need Someone on Your Side," reportedly performed live for the first time since 2007. Rather than sing with a Manchester accent, Morrissey articulated so clearly that hardly a lyric was lost. He crooned and brooded with his rich baritone voice, singing lyrics that frequently were dark and bleak while searching for peace and clarity. The up-tempo and mid-tempo songs were fine, but his choice of covers was puzzling. Laura Nyro? Melanie? Gary Puckett & the Union Gap? Where was he going with these sappy 1960s tunes? The music was fine when it rocked but too much of the show seemed to become a lounge act. Hopefully Morrissey will reinvent himself and forego these cabaret elements.

Setlist:

1. You're Gonna Need Someone on Your Side
2. Alma Matters
3. Hairdresser on Fire
4. I Wish You Lonely
5. Satan Rejected My Soul
6. Morning Starship (Jobriath cover)
7. Wedding Bell Blues (Laura Nyro cover)
8. Lady Willpower (Gary Puckett & the Union Gap cover)
9. I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
10. If You Don't Like Me, Don't Look at Me
11. Munich Air Disaster 1958
12. Seasick, Yet Still Docked
13. Why Don't You Find Out for Yourself
14. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore (The Smiths song)
15. Never Again Will I Be a Twin
16. Back on the Chain Gang (The Pretenders cover)
17. The Bullfighter Dies
18. Jack the Ripper
19. Some Say (I Got Devil) (Melanie cover)
20. Irish Blood, English Heart

Encore:

1. Everyday Is Like Sunday
2. How Soon Is Now? (The Smiths song)

CRX at Mercury Lounge

Nicholas Valensi was born in New York City, where at age five he began learning to play his father's guitars. As a teenager he and a few schoolmates formed a band that in 1998 would become the arena-headlining Strokes. Valensi also worked as a songwriter and session guitarist with Sia, Blondie, Regina Spektor, Kate Pierson and others. In 2013 in Los Angeles, California, Valensi founded a side-project, CRX, for which he is the singer, songwriter, lead guitarist and rhythm guitarist. CRX also includes Darian Zahedi (guitar, backing vocals), Jon Safley (bass) and Ralph Alexander (drums). The band released its second and most recent album, Peek, on August 23, 2019

Mercury Lounge can claim to have been the club that launched the Strokes to success, and Valensi tonight brought the program back to the start button by bringing his new band to that same stage as part of the venue's 25th anniversary slate of artists. The performance started a little after midnight, prompting Valensi several times to thank the fans for staying out late and noting that many old friends and even some parents of the band members were in the audience. CRX performed a set that mostly debuted live the songs from the band's new album, fleshing them out with the addition of touring keyboardist Brad Oberhofer. As Valensi sang, the Strokes' familiar formula of raging garage rock surfaced on most of the songs, while other songs showcased a calmer singer-songwriter-with-a-smoking-guitar. Angular guitar leads and riffs kept the music very indie and even somewhat experimental. CRX may not turn out to be the band that will make Valensi a star in his own right, but it is going to draw a considerable audience because if its unique indie twist on garage rock.

The Raconteurs at the Hammerstein Ballroom

Jack White

Two vocalists/guitarists, Jack White and Brendan Benson, were inspired by a song they wrote while jamming in Detroit, Michigan. This led to them forming the Raconteurs in 2005 with bassist Jack Lawrence and drummer Patrick Keeler, both of a band called the Greenhornes. The Raconteurs recorded and toured in 2006 and 2008, but then, as all the members engaged in other projects, the band remained dormant for about 10 years. The Raconteurs released a third album, Help Us Stranger, on June 21, 2019. The band currently is based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Thanks in part to Jack White's marquee name, the Raconteurs headlined two nights at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Fans may have been surprised to learn upon arrival that they had to lock their cell phones in pouches until the end of the concert. The Raconteurs demanded full attention and achieved it. With the addition of touring multi-instrumentalist Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age and the Dead Weather, the Raconteurs performed a set featuring eight songs from the current album and five songs from each of the earlier two albums. White and Benson shared lead vocals fairly evenly, but many of the songs pivoted on bursts of coarse guitar leads and crunching riffs that sometimes were louder than the vocals. Guitars dominated, and vocal melodies followed closely behind, insuring that this was more than a head banging experience. As such, the cohesion of the pounding music and the occasionally loose in-the-moment guitar jams made the show very alive. Maybe the cell phone embargo was a good idea, because the concert was far more exciting than anything on our cell phones.

Setlist:

1. Bored and Razed
2. Level
3. Old Enough
4. Help Me Stranger
5. Somedays (I Don't Feel Like Trying)
6. Don't Bother Me
7. Live a Lie
8. You Don't Understand Me
9. Hands
10. Only Child
11. Broken Boy Soldier (with a snippet of Them's "Gloria" before the final verse)
12. Top Yourself
13. Blue Veins

Encore:

1. Consoler of the Lonely
2. Sunday Driver
3. Now That You're Gone
4. Carolina Drama
5. Steady, as She Goes

Ellis Dyson & the Shambles at Mercury Lounge

At age 18 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Ellis Dyson started listening to jazz swing and Appalachian folk music. Inspired by the unique banjo picking of Kentucky coal miner Roscoe Holcomb, Dyson began playing old-time banjo. Dyson found a like-minded college student when he met saxophonist and clarinet player Danny Abrams, and in 2013 the duo began playing as a saxophone and banjo duo. Now working as a quintet, Ellis Dyson & the Shambles continues to play old-time Americana music. The band currently consists of Dyson, Abrams, acoustic guitarist Eli Wittmann, bassist Butler Knowles, and trombonist Danny Grewen. On April 5, 2019, the quintet released its third album, Greetings from Shambylvania, a musical collection featuring whimsical vignettes from the fictional town of Shambylvania.

Ellis Dyson & the Shambles brought to Mercury Lounge tonight a musical sound that relatively few 21st century musicians explore. With a tremendous debt to Prohibition Era music, these five ardent students of swing, ragtime, dixieland, jump blues, gypsy jazz, and other old-time foot-stomping sounds took the audience for a lively trip to a bygone period of party music. Mixing new songs and cover songs. the band preserved a nearly lost form of American music and also added to its canon. Using almost all acoustic instrumentation, the band took front-porch music to hootin' and hollerin' levels. Using the structures of early New Orleans jazz to Piedmont murder ballads, the lyrics advanced the tradition of storytelling through songwriting, painting colorful characters, situations, and panoramas through agile musicianship and showmanship.  Ellis Dyson & the Shambles is a band on a mission to preserve early forms of American music, and more than likely will gather a growing legion of admirers to further this enterprise.