Prince on Leno, night 3: somewhere in the middle

I guess I was wrong. Either that, or he didn't live up to his promise.

"Ol' Skool Company," 3/25/09


Listen to Leno say that he will be performing a song from a different CD each night. That did not happen.

On his third night on Leno, Prince performed "Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful," from Lot3s Flower. Just as a reminder, "Dreamer," a song from the same album, was performed on night two.

The purple one's performance on night three was only okay. It didn't reach the heights of Thursday's performance, but wasn't as banal as Wednesday. He found some middle ground, where he does funk by-the-numbers, and it is entertaining, but at the same time not breaking any new ground.

That said, Prince has the ability to take an okay song and turn it into a great live song, which is exactly what he did on Friday night. It was a four-minute party, with some wicked guitar and lively dancing. Thursday's performance had originality, and for that it was better but it was just a good time on Friday night (Note: he tried for this on Wednesday for this).

Here is Friday's performance:

"Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful"



And here is Thursday's performance:

"Dreamer"

Prince on Leno, night 2: now that's more like it

With last night's old-man-trying-to-look-young-and-not-in-a-good-way act, Prince had a lot to live up to...and he did.

I'm serious. The man pulled it off Thursday night on Leno. Maybe it was a better song, maybe it was that he was more inspired, but instead of trying to sound relevant, he proved why he still is relevant. He was shit-hot tonight, instead of just being, well, shit.

This time, Prince performed "Dreamer," a song off of Lotus Flow3r. Instead of rooted in funk, the song is inspired by Hendrix (so much so that he kept teasing "Purple Haze" in is solos), riding a deep groove throughout. It rocked hard, and it gave him ample space to show off what he can do with a guitar. Those sounds are unnatural.

Since the early 00s, Prince has been showing more and more why he is such an underrated guitarist. "Dreamer" on Leno was just another great example, and it makes me want to see him play guitar more.

Jay Leno has said that Prince will perform one song from each of the three discs each night he is on. That leaves a song from the disc by his new protege, Bria Valente. I don't have high hopes.

Note: I liked his little stunt of giving his guitar away to an audience member and walking off, but not long after, I saw one of the show's workers cross the camera with it. Apparently it's only okay to tease someone by giving them a guitar, but once the cameras are (supposedly) not rolling anymore, they need it back. That was cold.

Prince on Leno, night 1: creepy old man

The purple one made his first of three appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this week to promote his new three-CD set, which will be released on Sunday (only at Target, screw you independent retailers!).

On Wednesday, he performed "Ol' Skool Company" from the second disc, entitled MPLSoUND. The song is reminiscent of his work with The New Power Generation, but not in a good way.

In the early 90s, Prince became obsessed with hip-hop, and while he succeeded at times, I am overall not a fan of those forays. "Ol' Skool Company" is a tired rehash of that sound, which makes me want to hate it. And I do.

On Leno, he started the song by teasing a bit of "Purple Rain." Those 15 seconds were the best of it, and it quickly became dull. Prince is supposed to ooze sex, but on Wednesday, I saw a middle-aged man trying too hard to sound like he still had the mojo (making references to Obama and AIG didn't help, especially since Ol' Man Purple has never stood up for the common man. Remember when I said he was only selling the album at Target?).

With "Ol' Skool Company," he did not have said mojo, and in any other circumstance, a 50-year-old man with makeup on would get arrested for doing what Prince did (while the guitar solo and backup vocalists singing the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey was entertaining and helped, it didn't redeem the blandness of the song). A track needs to be good to pull off that act, and it was not

Note: The recorded version of this song clocks in at 7:30. Steer clear, since the hip-hop is played up even more on MPLSoUND.

The beats got louder as the night went on: Ratatat at Metro, 2/23

Note: Photo courtesy of Beggar's Group.

On record, Ratatat comes off as almost lounge music for a new generation, mixing electronics with live instruments.

Live though, they become an entirely different beast. Sure, it still remains the two members (bassist Evan Mast and guitarist Mike Stroud), but the dance portion of the band's formula is played up. They had the sold-out crowd moving for the entirety of their 75-minute set, with pre-programmed beats and music augmenting their live guitars, keyboards and percussion.

While on record, the band is all about the future, in concert it is about the past...by means of the future. The screen behind them had videos projected onto it the entire night, ranging from men talking to the Paul Simon video for "You Can Call Me Al" (with Chevy Chase)...and they were all set on fire. Ratatat was paying tribute to the past in its own way.

The band spent most of its set performing a soundtrack for the background images, but as the show went on, it became all about them. Stroud is an incredible guitarist to watch (again, recalling the tone and style of Joe Satriani), especially as he used every square inch of the stage to dance, jump or bend over backwards.

Ratatat drew equally from all three of their albums, with the most highlights coming from their debut album. Still, "Wildcat" from their second album, Classics, and "Mirando" from LP3 sounded great.

As the night went on, it got more intense. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands, and they knew it. The songs got faster, more energetic, and much louder (in the balcony, I was able to feel the ground shake).

I couldn't resist the inkling that this band would work just as well as a metal band as I watched Stroud and Mast played. They are proficient enough on their instruments to do it. Ah well, maybe next time, but the thought stayed with me.

The band's encore only stepped up the intensity. Closing the show with "Seventeen Years," the audience kept dancing, just as they had the entire show.

Opening act Think About Life was a pleasant treat. While the three-piece Canadian group relied a bit too much on programmed beats (especially since they had a drummer), they had a lot of energy, and frontman Martin Cesar led it well.

While the band's music was based around the early 80s new wave style, they also added in hip-hop, funk and orchestral pop in the mix. Even if it was a little bit derivative, they had enough energy to make it fresh and entirely their own.

Despot was a different story altogether. While the New York rapper started off okay (I won't even warrant a "starting off strong"), it quickly became tiresome. His beats sounded like they were Atmosphere throwaways, and not in the good sense. Sure, "Get Rich or Try Dying" (which has been featured on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim), was entertaining, but that doesn't make up for the rest of the set. The rhymes became more forced, as if he was trying to strech it out as much as he could to fill time.

Note: While Illinois Hi-Fi did make arrangements to photograph, the band prohibited cameras at the show (this should not be read as a criticism. We are very grateful to have the opportunity to cover such a show for our first time).

The first show covered by Illinois Hi-Fi...Ratatat

Note: Photo courtesy of Beggar's Group.

The headline says it all. Illinois Hi-Fi will be covering its first show on Monday night, the sold-out Ratatat concert at the Metro in Chicago. We are incredibly proud and grateful that we will be able to cover a show at this level, especially for our first time around (this will be the first of many, as there are some exciting things planned for the future).

Ratatat is an instrumental rock/electronic band from New York City. Currently touring behind LP3, their (appropriately-titled) third record, the band is getting spacier and spacier as they make more and more music. In addition, the band is continually getting more and more exposure (so much so that their Metro show is sold out), touring with bands like The Killers, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand and more.

The first time I heard this band was when their first album came out in 2004. I was a senior in high school, and I started listening to them because I liked the name and artwork ("with a name like that, they have to be cool!"). I was right though, it was an interesting sound, very electronic but at the same time human. There was no disconnect between computers and man on that record, and Ratatat is still great five years later.

While LP3 may not reach those heights, it still has some highlights (check out "Shempi"), and should make for an interesting show (the band has a feeling that reminds me a bit of guitar mastermind Joe Satriani, but maybe that's just me). It's my first time as well (for Eric and Illinois Hi-Fi), so I'm hoping for a good show.

Ratatat, with Despot and Think About Life: March 23 at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., Chicago. Tickets are $23 in advance and $26 day of the show (sold out). Doors are at 8 p.m., show at 9 p.m.

A few albums on our radar...

For the inaugural article for Illinois Hi-Fi (congratulations?), I figured it would be a good time to write about a few albums that have been on our radar. These albums are by no means perfect or even "the next big thing," but they are definitely worth some time.

1. Benjy Ferree - Come Back to the Five and Dime Bobby Dee Bobby Dee

Anchored by the song "Big Business" (one of my most-played songs so far this year, Ferree's album follows the life of child actor Bobby Driscoll (he was in Disney movies in the 1940s and 50s). While the lyrics are rife with references to Driscoll's life, the music is a colorful, garage rock affair with some of the weirdest harmonies I have heard in a while. They are goody and funny yet accomplished.

At times the album veers a little too close to The White Stripes' brand of rock (Ferree is a dead ringer for Jack White), but there is still enough of a story arc and inventiveness to hold over for about 50 minutes.

2. Roxy Epoxy & The Rebound - Bandaids on Bullet Holes

Roxy Epoxy (formerly of the band Expoxies) sounds like a modern-day Joan Jett. Her music is part punk, part new wave and part just straight-up rock. She has an attitude that comes off strongly while she sings and plays.

Her new album is a perfect female counterpart to any of the pop-punk albums that will be shoved down the throat of radio listeners this year (the list is, and will be, endless). I'm not saying I'm above that, but Roxy Epoxy & The Rebound is miles ahead of that drudge. She comes off as very natural, even though the production is slick. It works.


3. Ben Kweller - Changing Horses

When I was 14, I heard "Falling" on AOL Radio. I loved it, and was shocked a few weeks later to find it at Target. I still love that first record, and the two albums that followed it are good as well.

I have done some growing up though. As I have gotten older and heard more Kweller, I realized that he is one of the stupidest lyricists I have ever heard. The words on Changing Horses are okay, but this time around I'm not as focused on the lyrics as much as I'm focused on the music.

Kweller took a country road this time around. There are almost no electric guitars on this record, and while he doesn't have the twang in his voice, the instruments sure do. It's pretty much Kweller doing his thing while being backed by a different band. I like it, but there are no tracks that stand out as much as "Falling." I guess I'll never feel like I'm 14 again.

4. Charles Spearin - The Happiness Project

Knowing that Spearin is a member of Broken Social Scene is not enough to prepare a listener for this record. It doesn't follow conventional song form in the least, and even after sitting on it for a while, I don't know how I feel about it.

The album is essentially a series of stories told by people from Spearin's neighborhood. The music is reactionary, often trying to find a melody in the inflection of their voices. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it fails badly. A great idea executed well for half the time, while the other half suffers from indulgence. Sometimes normal people don't make good melodies with their voices.

5. Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid

I love this record, and dare I say, it is better than anything he has done with The Black Keys.

...Okay, maybe that is going a little too far (I'm still thinking about it...), but Keep It Hid is still a great great album. The music benefits from being fleshed out by a full band (instead of just guitar and drums), and Auerbach escapes from the blues format he is normally tied to. I really hopes he makes more albums like this in the future, and that is wasn't just a break from his normal duties. Do them both, please.