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| 6/08 New York, NY | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
In a word, it was hot. Actually, hot doesn't cover it. Try blazing. In fact, this past Sunday at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza -- where MySpace had come to celebrate our 150th Secret Show worldwide -- just about everyone was covered in sweat before the first performer even took the stage. It wasn't the ideal situation if you, say, wanted to impress the date you brought with you. But hey, what's a little sweat when you get to see two bands like Gnarls Barkley and Battles share the same stage? Clearly, many fans thought the same thing, seeing that there was already a line around the corner at Irving by noon. Once all of those anxious fans got inside, they began scoping out a spot for opener Janelle Monáe, while downing ice cold beverages. (The coozies, distributed by our sponsor Samsung Mobile, certainly came in handy for that last part.) As Monáe took the stage, the slightly-framed newcomer began darting from one end of the stage to the other, while performing songs that borrowed equally from new wave and R & B. Her set was easily one of the best of the night, and it's no wonder that Diddy (who discovered Monáe while troving MySpace) recently signed her to Bad Boy. After Monáe's performance, local heroes Battles were due onstage. Now, if you have yet to see the Brooklyn math rock band perform live, you are sorely missing out: Their set was ridiculously good and it found them turning out dense instrumentals like "Atlas" and "Tonto" from their critically acclaimed first album, Mirrored. As the members of Battles left the stage drenched in sweat, even they seemed to be curious about how Gnarls Barkley were going to mesh with their complex brand of indie rock. Turns out, the genre-busting duo perfectly complimented them: Where Battles kept the crowd moving with their intricate arrangements, Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse did the same with their incredibly infectious songs. Throughout the duo's winning set, most of the fans at Irving stopped caring about the heat and started dancing their asses off. However, they never did lose their shirts, despite Cee-Lo imploring many of the women in the crowd to "let them titties be free." The night climaxed with a group of particularly somber songs from Gnarls' excellent new album, The Odd Couple, many of which Cee-Lo performed while sitting on the lip of the stage. On the way out, many stopped by the Samsung Mobile photobooth, where fans had been taking their own pictures throughout the night. (You can check out all the photos by clicking here.) Needless to say, it was an incredible night and there are a lot of people to thank for making it happen. Big ups to all the bands, the staff at Irving Plaza, everyone at Downtown, Waxploitation, Warp, Leg Up! Management and those in Janelle Monáe's camp. Also a major thanks to Samsung Mobile, for making this event free to everyone. This was definitely one of the best Secret Shows of our near three year history, so thanks for you help. Which reminds us: Our three year celebration isn't too far away. Man, we better start planning... |
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| PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Photos: Aaron Farley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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