Benjamin Clementine Hunter Center MASS MoCA North Adams, Mass. October 15, 2016 by Seth Rogovoy (NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – About once every few years, if I’m lucky, I see a performer for the first time who leaves me breathless and reminds me why I got into this business in the first place. Over the years,…
Boston Pops Orchestra with Special Guest the B-52s Tanglewood Lenox, Mass. Saturday, September 2, 2016 Review and photos by Seth Rogovoy (LENOX, Mass.) – In one of the odder and perhaps less successful pairings in a series of such performances, new-wave rock avatars the B-52s joined the Boston Pops Orchestra as “special guests” in…
Bang on a Can All-Stars Play Brian Eno’s ‘Music for Airports’ MASS MoCA North Adams, Mass. Saturday, July 23, 2016 Review by Seth Rogovoy (NORTH ADAMS, Mass., July 23, 2016) – Bang on a Can first performed Brian Eno’s landmark work, “Music for Airports,” live at MASS MoCA as part of its annual Summer Music…
Bob Dylan Tanglewood Stockbridge, Mass. July 2, 2016 Review by Seth Rogovoy Photography by Lee Everett / finelinelenox.com (STOCKBRIDGE, Mass.) – While it undoubtedly mystified many who had come to hear the legendary Bob Dylan sing his greatest hits – not a necessarily unfair, if uninformed, expectation – Dylan’s concert at Tanglewood on Saturday night…
Brian Wilson Tanglewood Sunday, June 19, 2016 Review and photos by Seth Rogovoy (LENOX, Mass., June 19, 2016) – Brian Wilson didn’t make it easy for himself when he set out on a tour whose primary purpose was to play the entire paradigm-shifting “Pet Sounds” album on its 50th anniversary this year. Among the albums…
Earth, Wind & Fire Tanglewood June 18, 2016 Review and photos by Seth Rogovoy (LENOX, Mass., June 18, 2016) – Earth, Wind & Fire displayed why they are one of the most beloved and enduring pop-R&B bands in the world at Tanglewood on Saturday night, with its contagious rhythmic pulse, hook-laden melodies, horn-fueled, jazzy arrangements,…
Dolly Parton Tanglewood Lenox, Mass. June 17, 2016 Review and photos by Seth Rogovoy (LENOX, Mass., June 18, 2016) – Dolly Parton called her concert at Tanglewood on Friday night “Pure and Simple,” but of course it was anything but. Sure, it was a stripped-down affair instrumentally, with only three musicians accompanying her onstage. But…
The National MASS MoCA North Adams, Mass. June 11, 2016 Review and photos by Seth Rogovoy (NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – If there’s one criticism often lodged at indie-rock avatars The National, it’s that, at least on record, their music tends to be homogenous – moody, dark, soundalike mid-tempo rockers, claustrophobic to the point of depressive.…
Allison Miller & Boom Tic Boom! MASS MoCA Club B-10 Saturday, May 7, 2016 Review and photos by Seth Rogovoy (NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – Successfully straddling the fine line where the avant-garde meets the accessible is nothing short of a magic trick, unless your name is Allison Miller and your band is her all-star…
John Hiatt Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center Great Barrington, Mass. Friday, May 6, 2016 Review and photos by Seth Rogovoy (GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – From the first notes he plays and sings, John Hiatt makes you feel comfortable, because you know you are in the hands of a master and you can give it up…
