MWK - The Sanctuary Live Sessions - First Reaction

As promised Thursday night, The Sanctuary Live Sessions, an acoustic EP was made available for download tonight on MWK's web site - and they're letting you choose what you think it's worth. This is the first time that I've heard of an artist doing this, but I think its nice that even if you can't afford much, you can still get the music. The EP is a compilation of 9 songs, all of which but 1 were released on previous albums. The new arrangements are in a word - gorgeous. I love the piano throughout the album and it's really nice to hear Neal doing backing vocals. He and Andy harmonizing is just incredible. Make Me, which to me is a song with a challenge weaved through it (Make me fall for you, as if I had nothing else to do) is now a piano ballad, which closes the album perfectly.

Till I'm Blue opens the EP with an arrangement similar to the original but with some amazing guitar playing by Neal. Add in backing vocals and Andy's voice which has matured over the years, and you have a song that captures the attention of the listener from the get go. And if that's not enough, having A Circle's Anthem right after Till I'm Blue will just make you stop what you're doing and just listen. This is my favorite track on the EP because I love how strong Neal's vocal is in the song. We don't get much backing vocal from Neal at all when he plays with David's band, so its really nice to hear it. I love his voice - its a great compliment to Andy's.

MWK - Under the Milky Way (Acoustic Cover)

This was a fun surprise!

On Friday 29th October 2010, @andyskib said:

Go to http://www.myspace.com/mwkmusic or http://www.nealtiemann.com to hear our cover of "Under The Milky Way" by The Church. The rest of MWK's "The Sanctuary Live Sessions" will be available for download at http://www.mwkmusic.com by 3pm PSD on Halloween!

It is AMAZING. You all need to go listen to it. Because I've never heard Andy's voice sound this rich and full in his lower register. Between that and the piano, its beautiful, sensual and intimate. I'll have my thoughts on the rest of the live sessions on the blog once I've had a chance to listen to and process it all.

Jim Cantiello's Glee Recap - Rocky Horror Style

Check it out! Jim Cantiello recapped this week's Glee (Rocky Horror style) with some help from Kris Allen. Too much fun.

MTV Shows

Ryan Star - Start a Fire VIDEO

The video for the new single Start a Fire, off of Ryan Star's album 11:59,  is here finally! This song is so incredible live and while there was conversation on twitter about what the video would be, sometimes less is more. The song is so kick ass, and the video gives a taste of what it is like performed live (amazing). So check it out! Also, Ryan is touring with Days Difference and Hope into November, so check out his web site for the tour dates. The tour wraps up November 26 at Webster Hall in NYC, and you know you want to be there. You can get tickets here.

Plain Jane Automobile - Bowery Electric, NYC 10.3.10

Plain Jane Automobile played a special 'secret' show in October 3 at the Bowery Electric in NYC - that I was lucky enough to be at. It wasn't really that secret - if you RSVP'd to the invite that they'd been circulating for weeks prior, you were in. The Bowery Electric is a tiny venue on the Lower East Side - and the room we were in holds maybe 100 people - and that's being generous. As Lisa and I were in NYC already that weekend to see Jimmy, we decided to stay for PJA's show and make the 3 hour drive home at midnight. We actually finished up dinner early and ended up heading over to the venue a bit early before doors opened, where the guys had just arrived and were loading in. Tiffanie was with them, and announced she wanted coffee or something, so we went with her to keep her company and it was great to just hang out with her and talk about everything and nothing.

Ryan Star & Alex Band - WMMX Concert For a Cure, Dayton OH 10.20.10

Last night Ryan Star and Alex Band teamed up and sang a gorgeous rendition of U2's One at the WMMX Concert for a Cure in Dayton Ohio. Concert for a Cure raises money for Breast Cancer Awareness, and all proceeds from this show went to the Noble Circle Project.

Check out their performance!

Special Upcoming Josh Groban Shows

Josh is asking YOU to help him plan the tour for his new album, Illuminations, dropping on November 15. He's booked a handful of small theater shows and wants to 'bring his living room to you'. The dates are mainly southern California, but there is one east coast date - in New Haven CT! Here's his official statement and dates. Tickets go on sale Friday morning, October 22 and included in the price of the ticket is a copy of Illuminations! This is something to not be missed.

Hey Everyone,

If you’re here reading this, then you know I’m getting ready to play a few “special shows”. Here’s what’s happening. As you may know, my new album, “Illuminations” is out on November 15th, and for me, the best part of putting out an album is that I then get to go on tour.

Kris Allen & Lifehouse - Orpheum Theater Boston 10.16.10

Saturday night I headed into Boston to see Kris Allen and Lifehouse play the second show of the Smoke and Mirrors tour. I was at the kickoff show Friday night at Foxwoods as well (Blog to come on that soon), but Saturday night was definitely the better of the two shows, mainly because the crowd was way more into it. Anyway, after hitting traffic and missing the entrance to the Boston Common parking garage, I met up with Sandy and Reenie and we walked over the venue together. Doors were open already, so we headed in to find our seats. The Orpheum Theater is pretty tiny - I believe it only seats about 1500, and even though we had 3rd row mezzanine, we were much closer then I thought we'd be. Actually even though I was farther away in Boston, I felt that those seats were better then my 9th row that I had at Foxwoods (off to the left side).

Jimmy Gnecco w/Plain Jane Automobile - Hard Rock Cafe, Boston 9.28.10

I was excited about this show when it was first announced as it's been about 2 years since Jimmy's played in Boston and headlined. He was here opening for Greg Laswell in May, but the last time Jimmy was in Boston with his band was September 24, 2008. Fun fact about that date - it was the first time I'd ever seen Jimmy play live - and as you can see, it certainly hasn't been the last. The fact that this show was almost 2 years to the date of my first show made it a bit more special. Michelle came up from Philadelphia to go to the show with me, and it was fun to see her - I really can't believe she did the trek from Philly for a day - but I'm glad she did!

I met up with her around 5:30 and we went, had dinner and caught up before heading over to the Hard Rock. We arrived a bit early and doors weren't open just yet, so we poked around in the store and wandered outside to see if we'd run into anyone we knew. Instead, we found that we could see Plain Jane soundchecking and watched them for a few minutes before Duke turned around, saw us standing there and waved. We hung for a little while longer before heading back into the Hard Rock where doors had just opened, so we made our way into the venue and grabbed a couple of seats on the floor close to the stage. There were plenty of tables which started to fill up, but we wanted to be close enough to stand up close to the stage later.

Josh Groban - New Song "Voce Existe Em Mim" Available Today on iTunes

Another song off of Josh's upcoming album Illuminations is available on itunes today! Voce Existe Em Mim is the first song Josh has sung in Portuguese. One song off the album per week is being released in anticipation of the full album release, and buying the songs off itunes as they are released will count towards the purchase of the full album download, available November 15. Higher Window will be available on October 26 and L'Ora Dell'Addio will be available November 9.

Download Voce Existe Em Mim here, and the album is available for preorder on Amazon. A special Limited Fan Edition is available through WB as well. This album is Josh's first in 4 years (Awake was released in 2006) and is being produced by  Rick Rubin.

Jimmy Gnecco - Videos from Amsterdam 10.10.10

For the next week, until October 17, Jimmy Gnecco and his band are in Europe touring with Ah-ha on their farewell tour. It must be a total trip for them to be playing arenas, and to just be a part of this tour at all. Anyway, I came across some videos from the show last night in Amsterdam, and if you follow me on twitter, you've already seen them because I tweeted them earlier today - but I thought it'd be nice to have them all in one place. Check out the videos, under the cut!

Trent Hancock - Harper's Ferry, Boston 9.27.10

An upcoming singer-songwriter, I first met Trent earlier this year in NYC at a Jimmy Gnecco show. A friend of mine heard him singing along behind her and introduced me to him, and he in turn introduced me to his music. Unable to catch some of his shows in New York over the course of the last 6 or so months, I was excited when I found out he was playing at Harper's Ferry in Allston, opening for Jason Reeves and Brandon James. I'd been listening to his CD that he had given me back in February and I'd also been listening to his solo EP that released over the summer - but I was absolutely impressed with him live.

He opened with Me and You, a catchy track off the new EP, which is one of my favorites, and also played Caroline (from the old EP and which was a bit of a surprise), Sunflower (a song he wrote for his brother's wedding that is beautiful), Strong Hands (a song that's about being in a bad relationship and when you actually listen to the words is really touching), Forgiveness (a Patty Griffin cover), and one other song that is escaping me at the moment.

Happy Birthday, John Lennon

Today is John Lennon's 70th birthday - had he not been killed in NYC on December 8, 1980. Even though I'm not old enough to even remotely remember him when he was alive, his music and legacy has carried on through the years. I learned about it in my music classes in school, and my parents introduced me to it as well. Its no secret he had a profound effect on so many people - musicians and music lovers alike. I figured it appropriate, on this day, to share a video of my favorite artist at the moment - Jimmy Gnecco - singing Mother, in tribute to Lennon. I know that Lennon's music and legacy will live on through so many - and that's all that any musician can ask for.

Jimmy Gnecco - A Light on the Grave and John Lennon Tribute videos

Here are a couple of videos that I thought I'd share. The first is Jimmy singing a hauntingly beautiful version of Light on the Grave, from Brett Manning's Singing Success site.




The second is Jimmy talking about John Lennon's Mother - in tribute of John's 70th birthday.

Kris Allen - I Need to Know Featured on The Vampire Diaries 10.7.10

This was a fun surprise tonight! I was watching The Vampire Diaries on the CW and heard a very familiar tune. It took me a minute, but very quickly realized that Kris Allen's I Need to Know was being used prominently on the show. It was the perfect companion to the scene and I'm honestly surprised it took so long for this song to be used on a tv show. This is the second time in as many days that we've been surprised with unexpected Kris news. In other Kris news, American Idol is in Conway shooting a promo for their 10th season, and there will supposedly be a surprise announcement while they're there. So keep an eye on twitter!

In the event that you missed I Need to Know being featured, here's the video, thanks to yendiders.

Kris Allen Announces 3rd Single - Alright With Me

It's true folks! Jive has listened and the third single to be released this fall is Alright With Me, which is an excellent choice. Its upbeat, catchy, and is going to explode on radio. Kris announced the news on his twitter this afternoon:

KrisAllen 

The next single will be "Alright With Me". Thanks to everyone that has already believed in this song. This fall is gonna be a lot of fun.

Here's a great live performance of Alright With Me from the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, CT in September. Be sure to catch Kris on tour with Lifehouse this fall starting October 15 at Foxwoods in CT. Tour dates and tickets are here.

Seventh Room - Guru Room, Plymouth 9.18.10

It's been a little bit since I've done a post on these guys - I actually saw them earlier in the summer too, but between vacation and real life getting in the way - that post never got written. But here I am with the show that kicked off the fall of concerts. I headed to Plymouth that Saturday alone - a friend was originally supposed to come with me, but plans changed and she was unable to come. I arrived and had dinner at a nearby restaurant and headed over to the venue close to 9 - ran into Ian on my way in and when I got into the room, it was completely packed! Seventh Room was playing with the Kristian Montgomery Band who had quite a local following themselves.