Ting Tings cross oceans to rock out All Points West

I always love visitors from across the pond, especially when they rock as hard as The Ting Tings. 

This duo just hit the scene 2 years ago with their singles “That’s Not My Name” and “Great DJ.” I have yet to see them live, but from what I hear, they’re not too shabby.

Katie White and Jules De Martino hail from England, but have been touring around the United States for the past year and a half selling out numerous shows. This summer they will tour with Pink following their visit to my park for All Points West on Saturday August 1^st.

These innovators take new-age rock to a whole new level with their sophisticated sound and their catchy lyrics. Martino holds it down with the drums, but also uses electronics to add color to The Ting Tings’ music. White plays a funky punky guitar and bass, but her playful yet seductive voice is what I am most excited for.

I cannot wait to see how The Ting Tings make their recordings come to life on stage. I’m just glad that I have the best spot in the house so I know I won’t miss it.

Cheers mate and see you at the show, 

Miss L. 

All Points West -- Miss Liberty's helpful tips of Do's and Don'ts

As the All Points West Music and Arts Festival draws near, I am going to give all of you festival goers my 2 cents in regards to the do's and don'ts of what to bring and how to behave. Remember, I'm old enough to be your great-great-great-great grandmother, so heed my advice.

Here are some crucial items to make sure you do NOT forget:

• Sunglasses
• Sun block
• Bug spray
• Comfortable shoes and clothes
• Rain coat/poncho
• Bathing suit for the Do LaB
• Money for water, food, booze, water, water, and more water
• Prescription medicine PRESCRIBED TO YOU!!!
  
  

  

Here are some items you may want to bring, but are not necessary:

• Medium sized backpack
• Cell phone
• Beach towel
• Cameras
• EMPTY water bottle
• Recreational toys (ie. footballs, frisbees)
• Cigarettes
• Lighter
• Pocket flashlight
• Stroller for infants/toddlers only

And of course, what NOT TO BRING TO APW:

• Drugs
• Alcohol
• Tents
• Professional cameras (if it has a removable lens, it is not allowed)
• Chairs
• Food
• Coolers
• Weapons
• Fireworks/explosives/pyrotechnics
• Laser pointers
• Pets
• Blankets, but you can bring a towel
• Musical instruments
• Flags
• Umbrellas
  
  
  

Security is well aware of sneaky hiding spots (cigarette cases, backpacks, chapstick containers, etc.) so please leave your special goodies at home.

For helpful tips on how to get to and from the festival visit www.apwfestival.com/directions/. For a list of local hotels/motels visit www.apwfestival.com/hotels/.

I hope all of that info helps. I cannot believe the festival is less than 2 weeks away!!!

Now who's going to look after my torch for the weekend?


The very divine Miss Liberty
Music Conductor
All Points West Music and Arts Festival

Best Wishes to Adam "MCA" Yauch for a speedy recovery

I would like to take this time to wish Adam Yauch, better known as MCA of the Beastie Boys, a speedy and successful recovery from surgery and radiation to remove the cancer in his lymph node and salivary gland. I have watched over these boys as they grew and evolved from a punk rock band into rap stars, and it saddens me to hear the bad news. According to Adam, the cancer is very treatable, and the Beastie Boys should be back on stage in late September.

 Adam "MCA" Yauch

For those of you who may not know, my Beastie Boys are one of Hip-Hop’s most influential and legendary artists. Their first album License to Ill (1986), features songs that continue to clog radio waves across the globe. You can be sure to find “She’s Crafty,” “Girls,” “Fight For Your Right,” “No Sleep till Brooklyn,” and “Brass Monkey” on my party playlist.

Over the past 20 years of touring and recording, Mike D, MCA, Ad-Rock and Mix Master Mike have consistently produced songs that invoke us to party and forget about our troubles as well as raise our social and political consciousness. Their new album Hot Sauce Committee Part I is unlike any of the Beasties’ previous albums. The Beastie Boys are back on their instruments pumping out hardcore punk tunes mixed with their classic rap style.

Ad-Rock

I wish I could have seen these guys perform these new songs in my very own backyard, but now I only wish the best for Adam and his family. I have no news in regards to who will replace the Beastie Boys, and I am just as anxious as you. I still hope to see you all there with me on the night of Friday July 31^st to welcome whomever comes to close the first night of a fantastic All Points West weekend.

Mike D

My Heart is With You Adam,

Lady Liberty

Will Tony Manero dance to Metal? Tragedy rocks Governors Island

Once in a while, something truly unique and wonderful happens. A band comes along and actually makes Disco music fun and worth a listen. Tragedy: All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees does just that with the timeless songs from their Disco idols. Tragedy is not quite a cover band, since they do put an original twist on these classic Disco songs.

Don't expect John Travolta to be strutting his stuff to “You Should be Dancing” at this concert, but do expect a colorful stage instead of a light up dance floor. Tragedy will be sure to turn The BEACH into a heavy metal discotheque. The disco ball will be shinning bright and “the hustle” will be in full action, mixed with the sign of the horns of course!

 

Tragedy is a full-fledged metal band. Distorted guitars, high-pitched screams and glittery stage costumes make this tribute band remind me of the days of Gary Glitter, The New York Dolls, and KISS. 

They are fun, exciting, supremely energetic and know how to Rock out on stage. Make sure you don't miss this free extravaganza at The BEACH @ Governors Island on Saturday July 18^th at 2:00pm, produced by Liberty Event and Highline Ballroom.

For Those About To Rock,

Lady Liberty Salutes You

Fueled by creativity, MGMT plays All Points West

What do you get when you mix two young creative minds, synthesizers, shaggy hair and psychedelic drugs in a bowl already filled with more drugs?

Well, MGMT of course.

I don’t usually condone drug use, but if it’s responsible for making great dance-synth-new-new-wave-pop, then by all means. These college graduates are not searching for jobs like everyone else who just graduated because they have the best job in the world: Rock Stars!

I am proud to call Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden, who met at Wesleyan University, my new neighbors as they currently hail from Brooklyn. Sometimes I wish I could live in Brooklyn, wear multicolored Nike Dunks and tight green jeans, but the President says I have to maintain a classy look.

MGMT’s debut album, Oracular Spectacular, blasted onto the dance-pop scene two years ago, and within one year helped make MGMT one of the most sought after bands of 2008. They will be touring this summer playing their hits from Oracular Spectacular, including “Time to Pretend,” “Electric Feel,” and “Kids,” as well as performing new songs from their upcoming album Congratulations.

These kids are fun, energetic and musically talented; a great recipe for a spectacular performance at All Points West on Sunday August 2^nd. And don’t be surprised if I happen to change colors during their performance. It will probably be because of something you just ate.

Catch you on the flip side, 

Miss L

I'm Fair Puckled for Mogwai at All Points West!

With no vocalist, Mogwai may be the only performer at All Points West without a vocal mic on stage.

Come Sunday August 2^nd, Liberty State Park will be listening to the intricate yet emotive melodies of Mogwai’s Scotish musicians. Instead of words (because there are none) Mogwai uses guitar, bass, drums, and electronics to deliver a musical message: Rock!

Stuart Braithwaite (Guitar) and Bassist Dominic Aitchison (Bass) met in Glasgow, Scotland in 1995. Four years later, when Martin Bulloch (Drums) was added to the mix, Mogwai was born, but the band needed something more. John Cummings (guitar) joined the band as another dimension to create an even more powerful guitar-focused Rock group. After their debut album Mogwai Young Team (1997) was released, Barry Burns (guitar/keys), who had been performing with the band, was added to the lineup. The band has not changed since this addition.

I’ve seen my fair share of Scots, obviously not as many as Irish and Italians, come into this great country. I enjoy their rough demeanor and country attitude, but when they rock, they rock hard. This skinny malinky longlegs is excited that Mogwai is traveling all the way to New Jersey the day after a show in London for their only U.S. show this summer.

Lang may yer lum reek! (May you live long and stay well!)

Miss L

DSO kicks off the Beach Concert Series with much smoke and jamming

On Saturday, July 11th, Miss Liberty watched familiar faces come together to share the timeless tradition of gathering together for music and dance. Tye-dyed Deadheads old and new converged to sing and dance to the Dark Star Orchestra for the first of many killer concerts at The Beach at Governor’s Island.

Early Saturday afternoon, the kickoff day arrived and the bands started rolling in with their gear. One by one, the bands set up, and played their sound checks. I knew I was in for a memorable night of music.

Around six p.m. Pete Francis, of the much beloved Dispatch, rolled on stage with his current backing band, Barefoot Truth. They got the crowd to move from the beach to the stage very quickly. I even found myself lost in a foot stomping frenzy (or at least trying to. It’s pretty hard to lift your leg when you weigh 450,000 pounds).

Francis led the band through originals, as well as killer extended versions of “Carry Me” and “Two Coins” that rivaled any take done by the band that made him a known name. At the end of their roots rockin’ set I was all warmed up and ready for more.

In between sets, hippies and music lovers alike continued to trickle on to the island from the ferries. Unfortunately, I was not able to join them as I will not leave my appointed post on Liberty Island.

However, standing a statuesque 150 feet tall, I had a terrific view of the party. Now that you can once again visit the inside of my head, I encourage you to join me for the next show. Best seat in the house.

Next up, was jam band icon and one-man band phenomenon, Keller Williams. Like me, Keller stands on stage alone, projecting more energy and excitement then he could as a whole band. Playing a set just over sixty minutes, Williams visited most of his catalogue, including fan favorites “Celebrate Your Youth” and “Kidney in a Cooler” as well as a ripping experimental cover of Phish’s “Birds of a Feather,” which was a pleasant surprise for a crowd who are most likely relishing in the return of the Vermont foursome.

Rob Koritz, drummer for Dark Star Orchestra, came out to do the percussion part of “Kidney,” and as I will mention shortly, Keller returned the favor. Keller is a really great person and an outstanding performer, and I hope the producers bring him back to The Beach again soon.

Once the sun went down, all I could see were the bright colorful lights from the stage. From what it seemed like, the crowd found their spots and let the feelings of Grateful Dead nostalgia take over. I have been standing here since 1886, and have experienced the Dead’s whole career.

Yours truly caught many an epic show in the tri-state area from Giants Stadium, to Madison Square Garden, the Capitol Theater in Passaic, and many more. I was even able to hear some parts of the fabled Barton Hall show at Cornell in May 1977. So yes, I would consider myself a Deadhead, and Dark Star Orchestra did not disappoint in replicating the Dead’s music.

Playing an original set list made up of famous songs by the Grateful Dead, Dark Star Orchestra pleased the crowd from the fans on the railing, to those dancing and twirling in the sand on the beach. With my torch in the air, I stood saluting the dead-ication of the Deadheads who danced and partied through the night.

Opening the set with a funky “Feels Like a Stranger,” DSO rolled through classics such as “Ramblin’ Rose,” “Dancin’ in the Street” and a fun “Eyes of the World” that featured Keller Williams on guitar taking over on lead vocals for a verse or two, right before he had to hurry off stage to make a ferry back to Manhattan.

Though the excitement lasted throughout the show, and the impending thunderstorm held off for the majority of the night, mother nature did not oblige. When she struck, she raged with brutal rain and lighting, forcing the producers to make the appropriate call to end the show an hour early, right after a version of the infamous "Truckin".

Once again, my favorite music blogger, Brooklyn Vegan, gave the The Beach at Governors Island a nod, with some pictures and videos which show why The Beach is well worth the ferry trip. I hope everyone had as much a grand ole’ time as I did, and I look forward to sharing in the groove with y’all soon.

Miss "Deadhead" Liberty