Snoobiquitous
The persona Snoop Dogg has created for himself is a fascinating one. Once a gritty, talented gangsta rapper from Long Beach, he's now some sort of lovable, cartoonish pot smoking pimp that seems to have a larger than life mainstream appeal, despite his questionable character traits. With a new album this week, which sounds more like pure retro funk than an actual rap record (at least going by the early singles,) Snoop was in New York to promote and celebrate. He hit up The View, performed on Letterman, acted on the soap One Life to Live, Threw a massive album release party at Touch nightclub, and blew it out at a last minute surprise show at the intimate Gramercy Theater. With all this going on, along with his family reality show on E!, this is likely not the last you'll hear from the Doggfather in the near future. Brace yourselves.
Justice Does WaMu
Well, while few likely thought that WaMu (aka the Theater at Madison Square Garden) was the ideal place to take in an electronic dance show, Justice swung through town this week on the massive Myspace music tour. Despite the seemingly misfit venue, the duo made up for this by stepping up their live show quite a bit since their underwhelming CMJ appearance at Terminal 5. For a new act, growing in popularity at an unprecedented pace, its understandable that expectations could get out of hand. Now that they've been out touring for months and months, it seems as if they're catching up with providing what people want. While the venue was far from full, those in attendance were energetic and loving every minute, making the overall experience a far more enjoyable one than their shows past. Considering how great their album is, the fact that the live show is finally starting to match it is very promising.
Gonna Gonna Get Down 3!
The Austinist/Gothamist joint brouhaha was, as it has been for the last few years, a killer kickoff to the festivities down here in Austin. Favorite bands, representing both cities and everything in between came to the Mohawk Wednesday afternoon for the party, taking up two stacked stages. The club went under some renovations since last year, constructing a brand new patio overlooking the main outdoor stage area which featured favs like Shearwater, the Shout Out Louds and Anathallo. Inside the bar was a darker, more intimate scene, attracting the likes of A Place to Bury Strangers, Liam Finn and Pattern is movement. Another one for the books, and another great time had by all. Thanks for everyone who came!
Photo Credit: rafe baron.
