It's a Nugget If You Dug It: Live Photos from City Winery, NYC 8/31/14

In 1972, future Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye assembled the garage rock compilation Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era.

 Fast forward 40+2 years later, Lenny Kaye has been curating 'It's a Nugget If You Dug It' shows at City Winery which have included a who's who of local musicians as special guests. For the show on Sunday night, Kaye brought out Patti Smith, John Ford (from the Strawbs), Jesse Malin, Joan as Policewoman, Richard Barone and a number of other guests.

Kaye's core band was razor tight and consisted of Patti Smith bandmates Tony Shanahan and Jay Dee Daugherty along with Glenn Burtnik, Jack Petruzelli and Andy York. The first special guest, John Ford, got the excitement going but it was Patti Smith who got the (seated) crowd on their feet with rousing version of "Gloria". Jesse Malin was the only other artist to get the crowd on their feet (outside of the encore) as he blasted through "Lies" and got on the tables toward the back of the room for for a raucous cover of The Seeds' "Pushin' To Hard".

The set list for the show was as follows:

"Psychotic Reaction" (Lenny Kaye vocal)
"Journey To The Center Of The Mind"(Glen Burtnik vocal)
"Double Shot (Of My Baby's Love)" (Tony Shanahan vocal)
"No Time Like the Right Time" (Jack Petruzzelli vocal)
"Part of the Union" (John Ford vocal)
"I Fought the Law" (John Ford vocal)
"Go Back" (Glen Burtnik vocal)
"A Question of Temperature" (Lenny Kaye vocal)
"Open Up Your Door" (Tony Shanahan vocal, with Patti Smith)

"Hey Joe" (Patti Smith vocal)
"Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" (Patti Smith vocal)
"Gloria" (Patti Smith vocal)
"Lies" (Jesse Malin vocal)
"Pushin' Too Hard" (Jesse Malin vocal)
"Nobody but Me" (Andy York vocal)
"Open My Eyes" (Jack Petruzzelli vocal)
"Just Like Me" (Glen Burtnik vocal)
"Good Thing" (Steve Addabbo vocal, with Richard Barone)
"Outside Chance" (Edward Rogers vocal)
"I Need You" (Tony Shanahan vocal)
"Kind of a Drag" (Lenny Kaye vocal)

"She's About a Mover" (Glen Burtnik vocal)
"Put The Clock Back On The Wall" (Joan As Police Woman vocal)
"Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl?" (Joan As Police Woman vocal)
"Don't Look Back" (Joan As Police Woman vocal)
"My Little Red Book" (Lenny Kaye vocal)
"7 and 7 Is" (Tony Shanahan vocal)

Encore:
Wooly Bully (Group vocal)
Louie Louie (Group vocal)


Links:
Lenny Kaye
Nuggets

Living Colour - Live Photos from City Winery, NYC 6/1/14

I really hadn't kept up with Living Colour since the 90's until seeing them earlier this month at City Winery.  While Living Colour had only broken up for five years (1995 - 2000), they haven't been as much in the public eye as they were during their initial run (when they opened for the Stones and made numerous late night TV appearances).  With the show at City Winery, Living Colour proved hands-down that they are every bit as relevant today as they were back in their original run and the band is a long way away from playing the reunion circuit.

The one thing that seems to happen with musicians as they get old is that they slow down...but this hasn't happened to Living Colour.  Vernon Reid is still the guitar player's guitar player and Corey Glover's voice may even be better than it was on those early albums.  One example of this was a ballsy rendition of "Amazing Grace" which was the lead-in into "Open Letter (to a Landlord)" and Glover pulled this intro off with pitch-perfect ease.  I saw Doug Wimbish play with Tackhead in the late 80's and he and Dave Allen (Go4 / Shriekback / Low Pop Suicide) still have to be two of the best bass players that I've ever seen.  Wimbish worked more sounds out of his bass than I thought imaginable and jumped into the floor section for an extended jam (which included stopping by my table to jam with the table's water bottle).  Glover, who always seemed so serious in the 80's, was clearly enjoying himself this night.  He was also in the crowd and stopped to pose for a selfie with one patron.

 I wasn't able to snag a copy of the band's set list but the set included covers of James Brown's "Sex Machine", MC5's "Kick Out the Jams" and The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go" in addition to staples like "Memories Can't Wait" and "Cult of Personality" (which was one of the encores).  I don't know whether the band played any new songs but they announced that they are working on a new album (their first since 2009's The Chair in the Doorway) which will be out this fall.

Living Colour's next local show is at NJPAC Theater Square on August 21st.  This is a free show that starts at 5PM and Danielia Cotton opens.

Links:
Living Colour