Tag: About Last Night (81-90 of 177)

Jun 24 2011 12:16 PM ET

Stephen Colbert debuts 'Charlene II (I'm Over You),' drops single on iTunes

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All this week, Stephen Colbert has been presenting music-themed editions of The Colbert Report in a series he dubbed “StePhest ColbChella,” featuring a number of great performances and a multi-part package about his visit to Jack White’s Third Man Studios in Nashville.

On Thursday night, the series concluded with Colbert’s performance of “Charlene II (I’m Over You),” the sequel to the stalkeriffic song the host first delivered in 2006. He was backed by the Black Belles, a mysteriously well-dressed goth garage group also signed to White’s record label.

In fact, Colbert is now an official member of the Third Man roster—”Charlene II (I’m Over You)” is currently available on iTunes and can also be purchased on vinyl. Check out Colbert’s live run through “Charlene II (I’m Over You)” after the jump.

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Jun 21 2011 01:42 PM ET

Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj live in L.A. on the Femme Fatale Tour: EW's review

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Image Credit: Splash News

As I walked through L.A.’s Staples Center for Britney Spears’ Femme Fatale tour last night, the lack of parochial-school uniforms, blonde wigs, and spandex jumpsuits—the sartorial choices of Britney fans of concerts past—had me worried.

The packs of twenty-something females—with some gay men and dutiful boyfriends mixed in—here to see Britney looked to be dressed for a night out in Vegas; certainly a far cry from Gaga’s wig-happy Little Monsters and the diehard Britney fans of yore.(Eleven years ago, some babysitting money, combined with an impassioned plea to my mother, earned this former teenybopper a ticket to her unforgettable “Oops!… I Did It Again” tour.)

Mere minutes after the the singer’s first sultry utterance of “It’s Britney, bitch,” it was obvious that my first instincts were very, very wrong. She opened with a sexed-up rendition of  her single “Hold It Against Me”; singing from a Game of Thrones-esque iron chair while a gaggle of beefed up “hot cops” grinded against her.

Britney’s back, alright.  And with her slim waist, her dangerously toned legs, and most importantly her engaged, wide-eyed smile, she looked happy to be there with us—the crucial element that has been missing from so many Britney shows of late. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 20 2011 04:15 PM ET

Katy Perry and Robyn take a sweet-toothed teenage dream tour to New Jersey

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Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Katy Perry brought her sugarcoated psychedelic dreamland to New Jersey last night, using her California Dreams tour to tell the story of a young lady who follows her feline companion Kitty Purry into a circuitous Candy Land-esque setting filled with hallucination-inducing brownies, a slutty slot machine (ha?) and a cavalcade of Top 10 hits.

Say what you will about Katy Perry—sure, she has a weak singing voice and her songs are mostly devoid of substance—but as a courier of frothy delights and eye-catching effulgence, she’s become one of today’s most-satisfying pop stars.

Her stage show—which boasted airborne mimes, floating cotton candy clouds and a gingerbread man kick-line—was a visual feast that brought to mind a tweenage version of Cirque du Soleil. And make no mistake: this stage show was a dream constructed for, and occupied almost exclusively by, teens. I doubt more than ten percent of the crowd was over twenty, and most of those adults were chaperoning fist-pumping teens in blue wigs and candy-button dresses. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 10 2011 02:56 PM ET

Kanye West and his G.O.O.D. team win at Brooklyn, NY show, in spite of rumors and inflated expectations

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Image Credit: 13thWitness

There’s an ugly sense of entitlement in New York City when it comes to expectations of hip-hop concerts. For lack of a true term, let’s call it “That’s all?” syndrome.

First off, let me explain what my idea of a good concert is. You, the customer, get an energetic, quality performance from the headlining artist—one worthy of the dollars spent for the evening. Sounds good, right? Wrong! Well, not in New York, at least.

Last night, Kanye West was the man of the evening in Brooklyn, New York, hosting the Heineken Red Star Access G.O.O.D. Music concert and showcasing his talented roster of G.O.O.D. (Getting Out Our Dreams) acts. Yes, Kanye West—the man who’s worked with everyone from Nas to Madonna, and is currently wrapping up a highly anticipated album with Jay-Z.

And there lies the problem, folks. A concert that in no way suggested it would be a “Kanye and his celebrity friends” event was clouded with that very idea. Twitter buzzed with rumors and hopes of Jay-Z dropping in for a surprise appearance. The two were “supposed” to announce the release date for their collaborative effort, Watch the Throne.

So by the time Kanye finally stepped on stage just after midnight, dressed in black from bandanna to designer shoes and with several Jesus pieces dangling from his neck, everyone in Skylight One Hanson (a gorgeous venue, but an acoustic nightmare) knew that they’d be in for a treat bigger than just Kanye and the G.O.O.D. team.

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Apr 22 2011 06:37 PM ET

The Kings of Leon's rock doc premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival: How high is the 'Talihina Sky'?

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Image Credit: WireImage.com

Sometimes I’ll go fishing for deals at strip malls or outlets (basically, any store that has “Basement” or “Rack” in the name) and I spend so long grazing the miles of Lycra and spandex blends that everything starts to look good, and suddenly I find myself walking out with a recycled bag full of ill-fitting lady suits. Then I wander into a full-price store and the sparkly new clothes with their unripped seams make me realize everything I just bought was crap.

That’s how I felt last night at the unveiling of Talihina Sky: The Story of The Kings of Leon. Now, I’m definitely not saying the Tribeca Film Festival is a strip mall stocked with poorly-sewn velour sweatsuits, but I am recognizing my unfortunate tendency to be mesmerized by a lot of sub-par films until a genuinely good one snaps me back to reality. READ FULL STORY »

Apr 9 2011 08:11 PM ET

Eric Clapton and Wynton Marsalis play the blues in Manhattan, Taj Mahal steals show

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Image Credit: Julie Skarratt

On Saturday night, Eric Clapton finished his three-night celebration of the blues with Wynton Marsalis and Taj Mahal at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater.

EW was on the scene at the concert, a disappointingly academic, PBS-ready affair with only a few glimmers of the throbbing passion and anguish that have defined this great American musical tradition. READ FULL STORY »

Apr 8 2011 01:09 PM ET

On the Scene: Nicki Minaj and the Roots play Times Square and geek out hard

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Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

Last night, Nicki Minaj painted Times Square pink.

Accompanied by the Roots, hip-hop’s most fluorescent femme fatale gave a concert at Manhattan’s Best Buy Theatre to launch Casio’s new Tryx camera.  It was a fun, unpretentious 11-song set, culled mostly from tracks off her debut album, Pink Friday.

The Roots kicked off the affair, blasting their comically schizophrenic, funkadelic sounds. After nearly 20 years, the Roots still remain one of the most immersive live acts to witness in person. The sheer number of bodies on stage can be overwhelming—I mean, where do you look? (Okay, to be fair, you’re probably looking at the Muppet antics of the ever mesmerizing ?uestlove on drums.) READ FULL STORY »

Apr 6 2011 06:26 PM ET

Hardly heralded R&B singers Marsha Ambrosius and Melanie Fiona fill New York City's Irving Plaza with soul

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Image Credit: Jeff Fusco/Getty

Every couple of years the same question is asked of R&B music: “What happened to it?”

The inquiry is made as if the genre is dead or has mutated into something grossly unfamiliar. Sure, top-tier artists like Usher and Beyoncé seemingly have both feet firmly planted in pop music. But essentially, they are rhythm and blues singers.

The problem is, to me at least, that what R&B purists are looking for—soulful, non-Auto-Tune–assisted voices sans European club-inspired bass lines and obnoxious synths—is hard to find. Or maybe folks just aren’t looking hard enough.

Last night a capacity crowd piled into New York City’s Irving Plaza to catch two oh-so-talented yet not-so-famous R&B songstresses, Universal Motown’s Melanie Fiona and J’s Marsha Ambrosius, for BET’s Music Matters tour. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 16 2011 12:02 PM ET

Nate Dogg: The hip-hop crooner's five standout collaborations

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Image Credit: Vince Bucci/Getty Images

A lot of my favorite songs wouldn’t be so if it weren’t for Nate Dogg, who passed last night. He wasn’t the best singer ever. But boy, Nate was necessary. Every track he blessed with his voice—monotone, melodious, and stern—became so much more intense. When he told us to “Lay Low,” you really felt like maybe staying inside was the best idea if you’ve crossed someone. He meant it. His tone and style was essential to Dr. Dre’s G-Funk era, which blended old school funk beats with rhymes that, at times, teetered on sinister.

Though Nate was also a wonderful fit on love songs, too—able to express his feelings without coming off soft. “I wrote the chorus to ‘21 Questions’,” 50 Cent said on Twitter hours ago of their collaboration on his 2003 hit. “I needed Nate to sing it for me. He had a way of making everything feel hard.” Hip-hop has lost its greatest hook man.

Here are some of my favorite Nate Dogg collabs.

Warren G. feat Nate Dogg, “Regulate”

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Mar 11 2011 12:25 PM ET

'American Idol': Diddy-Dirty Money and Skylar Grey perform 'Coming Home.' Your thoughts?

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The American Idol results show performance machine has been relaunched for season 10: Diddy-Dirty Money and Skylar Grey kicked it off by singing their thoughtful, haunting hit “Coming Home” last night. I’m a huge fan of this song and thought it was a great way to get back into these results-show performances, which sometimes can be rather lackluster. Loved seeing Skylar at the piano. (Does anyone get Posh Spice vibes from her?) Loved the vintage photos behind Diddy on stage. Loved figuring out (finally!) who Dirty Money is.

Watch the clip after the jump and tell me: What’d you think?

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