Taking into account Mark Ronson's new album "Record Collection" and the Brooklyn show last night, I would hazard a guess his vinyl / cd / mp3 collection is chock full of electro-80's goodness. And for that, we thank you!Ronson is a hipster of many hats. DJ. Producer. Writer, yada, yada. And apparently many hairstyles based on that bleached crown he rocked ever so delicately last night. Yet one thing you can not fault the man for is the stable of artists who play on both his records and in concert. For this album and abbreviated promotional tour throughout Europe and the US, Alex Greenwald from Phantom Planet, Spank Rock, MNDR, and a host of diverse, talented musicians joined him onstage at the Music Hall of Williamsburg last night to bring a ray of euro-disco 80's effluvia to the wet, huddled Brooklynites clustered around the small stage.
This was my second time seeing Mr. Ronson and group perform live; the first being a promo. show in NY for his first all covers album "Versions". At the time I told myself, "Wow, Mr. DJ really lucked out with that one. Great album, great show, good luck, wink, wink". Consider me a fan for life after last night's event. My companion for the evening turned to me and said "this is just a damn fun show". And indeed it was. From the moment the group took the stage you could not help but be bound up in the energy and music as the group ran through the highlights from both the new release as well as some of the stand-out tracks from "Versions". This is not for those who like their music filled with ennui and shows deliberately shoe-gazed. Which I normally am a firm proponent of. Great grooves, fun performances, light-hearted new wave dances, etc. This is not for the furrowed brow set but for the dancing pop set and a hearty thumbs up for that. In the abysmal stateside charts where Ke$ha and a variety of other dastardly shit rule the pop radio waves, it's a bit disheartening this album in particular is not getting fair shakes over here outside of the NY / LA media elite. Because Mark Ronson and friends have made a damn fine album that isn't saying anything new but hell, during these times we need a bit of comfort to make the medicine go down. And this band live does that!
Set:
1) Selector
2) Circuit Breaker
3) Just
4) Lose It
5) Oh My God
6) California (Phantom Planet Cover)
7) You Gave Me Nothing
8) Ronson DJ Set
9) Bang Bang Bang
10) God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
11) The Night Last Night
12) Stop Me
13) Record Collection
Encore:
14) The Bike Song
15) Valerie
