::: PCKTRCMS:K > CONCERT REVIEW



MARK RONSON / LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY

:: July 11 :: Highline Ballroom, Meatpacking District

Setlist :: Inversion ][ God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (with special guests The Daptone Horns) ][ Toxic (with special guest Tiggers)][ Apache ][ Good Girls ][ Ooh Wee ][ Didunt Didunt ][ Pretty Green (with special guests Santogold) ][ Amy (with special guest Kenna) ][ Just / California (with special guest Alex Greenwald of Phantom Planet) ][ Clap/Stomp ][ Valerie ][ Stop Me (with special guest Daniel Merriweather)

A full house was on hand to greet hometown hero Mark Ronson as he made his solo concert debut at the Highline Ballroom on Wednesday night. Throngs of beautiful people, music junkies and scenesters -- many with identifiable British accents -- were in attendance. The big question of the night was two-fold: 1) Could Mark deliver a great show off of an album filled with covers and 2) Who, pray tell, would be the 'special guests' that were advertised on the bill? Murmurs of everyone from Lily Allen to Robbie Williams were on people's lips.

Thankfully, for one, I can say that Mark did great job of transferring the enthusiasm of his multistarred debut on a live stage. Conceivably there were jitters, but also, it's friggin' Mark Ronson . . .doing his first-ever live gig in New York City, so, to underwhelm is to err. His set kicked off with "Inversion" and flowered into the brassy sounds of "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face" backed by The Daptone Horns. Mark was in the spirit of the song, eyelids closed, swaying back and forth with a glossy red guitar. His style and look was reminiscent of a sixties modster.

There was a heavy, retro-meets-new-school energy surging throughout the tight, 14-song set. For "Toxic," an up-and-coming guest rapper accompanied Mark in place of Ol' Dirty Bastard and Tiggers managed to appear, doing his own vocals and guitar for the Cathy Dennis-penned Britney tune. It was a decent performance, but the we-gots-ta-keep-it-real hip hop element bogged down the flow of the first-half a lot for me. I know Mark loves hip hop and it would've been more optimal if the rappers were better, but unfortunately they were not. And their lyrics towards the end were mildly homophobic which elicited some boos from the crowd. When they left, I cheered.



Thankfully, the show kept rolling with a nice performances by Kenna (who did "Amy") and Santogold (on "Pretty Green"). They brought a much needed air of lightness to the testosterone-skewed early half.

Alex Greenwald of Phantom Planet was the next special friend and he surprisingly brought a worthy jolt of energy with his performance of "Just." The crowd knew the words and were singing along when he put his mic into the crowd, but the place really came alive once he came off. Not one to pass up an opportunity to 'party like a rock star,' Alex stage dived not once, but twice. On the latter, even got to crowd surf a bit. Photographers were going crazy, the fans were finally clicked on and the place was finally into it by this point.

Santogold was another of the great pluses of the night. One of the best moments of the show came with their fill-in for Amy Winehouse on the crowd favorite "Valerie." While the audience, who, understandably, would've liked Miss Rehab herself doing the reigns for the tune, quickly let bygones by bygones when they heard just how good the girl from Santogold was. She fully won over the crowd with her vocal skills. The Daptones' horns were blaring, Mark was rocking and everything was on point musically. The place was going ape-wild over this song. Folks broke out into song, shimming in the puddles of alcohol and screaming along to every word and gesticulation of the tune. She killed the song and the crowd loved her for it.



The night concluded with the big tune "Stop Me" performed by Daniel Merriweather with Alex and Santogold on back-up. It was another high moment in the show which elicited even more screams and line-by-line crooning from the now-wildly receptive attendees. Although Mark didn't do an encore -- much to everyone's surprise -- the place chanted his name by the end and the guy who's part producer, disc jock and nightclub DJ can now add another feather to his cap: knock 'em out live act.

All photos © 2007 Mara/Pocketrockmus:k

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[Edited 7/14/07 17:42pm]

i would have freakin LOVED to be there. i am ga-ga over this album.

I bought the CD for $7.99 at HMV in Canada on Thursday. I like it so far.

Cool show to see!

would've liked to see The Only One I Know in that list

PricelessHo said:

but they did PRETTY GREEN!

Anxiety said:

enough to sweep me off my feet but considering i'm damn greedy i wouldn't settle for less than the orgasm of droppin the Williams bomb on us

Anxiety said:

I think you would've enjoyed it highly

I'm surprised there was no performance of "Oh My God," since it's the new single. Maybe he or his people thought the glaring absence of Lily Allen would've funked with the flow of the set?

Cinnie said:

That's a good price for a CD. Even if it's in Canadian moola!

Before the show they warmed up the venue with funnelled music by Kate Bush ("Running Up That Hill"), Outkast and Common.

I swear I heard some SNP or JJ Fad before I got in the building, tho.

PricelessHo said:

I was hoping Robbie was going to show up, too, since I was one of the few heads who got Rudebox and was feeling that album. It would've geeked me out just to see him in the States on stage since he never performs here.

I really thought he was going to perform. I caught whiff of some guy standing outside having a conversation with his friend and he said so casually, "yeah, Robbie's gonna be here." He liedddd. :-/

"Valerie" is on my Facebook page. I like Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson the best when they are together. It's like jelly and peanut buttah.

Cinnie said:

They do have a certain chemistry, that's for sure.

Ok. I"ve heard a lot about the Ronson DJs etc..... living in nY.

But what exactly does Mark R do?

I know he has an album out..... but i never understood how DJs get albums?

I mean he didn't write these songs..... does he play the insturments? Sing? Produce?

From the pics it seems like he played guitar at the show, but what is his role?

GaryMF said:

I get that he produces, arranges, and plays some of the instruments. My understanding is that it's like when George Martin or Phil Spector have released albums under their own name. You may never "hear" them, but the sound of the music is undenyably theirs.

I *think* that's an accurate appraisal, anyway...

Anxiety said:

So doesn't sing or rap?

Is he British or American?

Gay or straight?

Hot or not?

And what about when these hip hop DJs release albums? DJ Quik etc.... what is their contribution?

ALso, when he and his lesiban sister were spinning at celebrity parties, do they actually "mix" (i.e. beat mix) or just play a song, then play another? Cuz anyone can do that !

GaryMF said:

ok first off, are you gonna pay me to answer all this stuff?

Anxiety said:

I'm sure we could work something out