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The Gigs / Concerts Review

Iron Maiden Live at Izod Center

Iron Maiden

Live from Izod Center, East Rutherford, NJ, 14 March 2008. The last time Iron Maiden and this writer crossed paths, it wasn't particularly pretty. A stop at New York's Nassau Coliseum back in '06 resulted in a painfully indulgent set that saw the band playing their then-new album, "A Matter of Life and Death," in its entirety. Classics were limited to a mere handful, and at the end of the set.

Merz Live at Bush Hall, London

Merz

Live from Bush Hall, London, 25 March 2008. "Thanks for coming to see me play. In my house." It may be a joke on the grand stature of the venue he finds himself in this evening, but given how relaxed Conrad Lambert, aka Merz, appears to be, you'd be forgiven for thinking we have just stumbled into his living room for a late-night jam. Bush Hall witnesses a bit of history tonight, albeit tenuous, as Lambert announces this is to be his first gig with a full band ensemble for six years and the only time that his third album, Moi Et Mon Camion, will be played in its entirety.

Mountain Goats at Music Hall of Williamsburg

Mountain Goats

Live at Music Hall of Williamsburg, NY, 19 March 2008. The Mountain Goats show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg was a quick affair, and when I walked out on to North 6th Street an hour and fifteen minutes after John Darnielle had taken the stage, I was sure my watch was wrong. The seventeen songs flew by with a minimum of muss or fuss, and Darnielle still managed to connect with the audience and throw some stage banter in to the set.

Band Of Horses at Beta Bar, Tallahassee

Band Of Horses

Live from Beta Bar, Tallahassee, 23 March 2008. Recording and performing remain two distinct disciplines. Even with live recordings, the raw power of the likes of Deerhoof can hardly be transferred to tape. And even with great musicians, the refined spatial constructions of John Vanderslice do not fare well onstage. Few groups like The National can strike a ripe balance in both the recording and performing aspects of being in a band. So would Sub Pop-signed Band Of Horses have the stage presence necessary to back up the spacious recordings of last year's album Cease To Begin?

Mars Volta Live at Brixton Academy

Mars Volta

Live from Brixton Academy, London, 14 March 2008. First time Volta viewers would be recommended to bring a few things though. First up, an overnight bag. The band crash landed on stage well before 8:30 at Brixton, and were still hurling down massive musical gestures and solos two and a half hours later. In that period there was no let-up, no reason for the crowd to take their eyes off the stage. In front of them, eight people were playing their musical hearts out, and, in the case of stick man Blake Fleming and his occasional rhythm section, drumming for their lives.

Panic At The Disco at Academy, Glasgow

Panic At The Disco

Live from Academy, Glasgow, 13 March 2008. Playing a set that seems on paper to be a little inside out, Panic At The Disco open and close with newbies. Fortunately the opener turns out the one of those strange little bolt on tunes that lead in to something else, and that something turns out to be current single Nine In The Afternoon. The rammed and mostly under-18 crowd is instantly swept up in the magic and the madness, singing about eyes the size of the moon at the top of their little lungs - and for the entirety of their hour-long set, Panic don't let the momentum drop.

Snoop Dogg at Steiner Studios, NY

Snoop Dogg

Live from Steiner Studios, NY, 13 March 2008. Among the musicians were Soopafly, Battlecat, DJ Quik, Teddy Riley and Terrance Martin. The last three, along with Snoop Dogg, form the production group QDT (Quik, Dogg and Teddy), which crafted the bulk of Snoop's latest album, "Ego Trippin'." Sporting a varsity jacket, two braids and a rhinestone-encrusted microphone, the MC ironically opened the set by saying, "I ain’t got no story for this song," before breaking into "Whateva U Do." The track was followed by the autobiographical "Neva Have 2 Worry," assisted by Martin on the saxophone.

Jose Gonzalez Live at Highline Ballroom

Jose Gonzalez

Live from Highline Ballroom, NY, 11 March 2008. The first three songs were enough for José González to hypnotize the audience during the last of his two shows Tuesday night (March 11) at New York's Highline Ballroom. The Swedish songwriter showed up quietly, sat down and tuned his guitar for the opening number, “Deadweight on Velveteen." By the time he reached the third song, “Fold,” the silent auditorium was hooked into his mellow, unclassifiable guitar-centered tunes. But the delicate folk atmosphere quickly turned into a more visual and flavorful scenario as a background projection lit up the stage.

Yeasayer Live at ICA, London

Yeasayer

Live from ICA, London, 6 March 2008. It's all about Brooklyn tonight at the ICA. The New York borough's star is firmly in the ascendent at present with acts as diverse as Vampire Weekend, MGMT and Hercules And Love Affair experimenting with sounds well outside the traditional, guitar-led indie gamut. Into this heady brew, Yeasayer drip with a kind of spiritual exoticism mistakenly taken as 'new age' by some. Having first come to attention at last year's SXSW festival, they have since been creating quite a buzz with debut album All Hour Cymbals, which is set for a re-release this side of the pond at the end of this month.

The Beastie Boys Live at Terminal 5

Beastie Boys

Live from Terminal 5, NY, 4 March 2008. The Beastie Boys took over New York's Terminal 5 (March 4) for a good cause. With proceeds going to the Institute For Music and Neurologic Function and Music Has Power, the sold-out event was hosted by Moby and the Beasties, in conjunction with MTV and VH1. Opener DJ D-Nice spun a variety of hip-hop hits as the crowd steadily streamed in. Moby opened with a few words about the IMNF before welcoming Jeremy Delliotte, a patient whose hands were amputated after 2001 fire. He sang "I Can See Clearly Now" with Moby on guitar and his physical therapist on the keys, and the trio received thunderous applause.