Music Report

Now that Spring has officially sprung, we’ll go a little bit heavier on live music in The Report this week.

The Black Keys represent a popular choice with nine upcoming sold out shows including the one at NYC’s Terminal 5. A hard rocking blues duo, the Black Keys are not completely unlike the White Stripes. Heck, their hometown of Akron, OH is a mere 3 hour drive from the Motor City by Mapquest’s count. Listen for yourself to their latest album Attack & Release produced by none other than Danger Mouse (who will be playing Highline Ballroom with his band Gnarls Barkely on Thursday April, 10th . . . My Experience: Brief show, great costumes). The Black Keys reportedly planned a collaboration with Ike Turner as their next release but the effort was curtailed by his death.
http://www.theblackkeys.com/
http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=261717

The Erin Bode Group is a jazz quartet from St Louis I first saw at the Jazz Standard (which happens to be a hip spot, as Peter Farrell would say) and have listened to intermittently ever since. Erin has a sweet voice that eschews the sultriness you get from jazz singers. She plays with the excellent accompaniment of a top notch jazz pianist, drummer and bassist. Their material is mixture of originals and excellent classics like “Graceland” and “Time After Time.” Moreover, the covers take on a slightly different character instead of being just a cheap imitation of the real thing. They’ll perform at Living Room (154 Ludlow) at 7pm this Sunday. A terrific date show. I know this because I went with a girl and later learned that she presumed it was a date.
http://www.erinbode.com

Monday night, April 7th, if you find yourself in the mood for some aggro rap music, take a trip out to Brooklyn for the Jedi Mind Tricks show. As this is a family Music Report, I will not transcribe any of the lyrics although they remind of a more obscene Canibus, sometimes complex and always extreme. Almost in spite of those lyrics though, my two preferred albums Visions of Gandhi and Violent by Design are extremely listenable thanks to the MCs’ clear, confident lyrical flow and the unique, melodic sampling. Southpaw (125 Fifth Ave. in Park Slope) is not a venue I have ever visited but looks like a cool place, especially with the opening of its expansion DownSouth.
http://www.jmthiphop.com/

A little bit of an early notice on “Video Games Live” at the Beacon Theater on Saturday, April 26th. Watch as the “power and emotion of a symphony orchestra is mixed with the excitement and energy of a rock concert.” The most famous themes from Mario and Zelda games on the NES to Bio Shock and God of War on Xbox 360 will be on offer for your ears and eyes with synchronous lighting and out-of-this-world visuals. Rad. Try to score tickets now, or wait until the day of the show and be at the whim of the nerds as they cackle, ‘all your tickets are belong to us.’ Don’t take this lightly, Ogden, Utah and Fort Wayne Indiana were both sellouts.
http://www.videogameslive.com/index.php?s=home