The Last Shadow Puppets In NYC – The Grand Ballroom and Conan O'Brien

It’s always sad to have to acknowledge that nagging empty feeling the day after a show you had been looking forward to for so long, especially when that show was as good as The Last Shadow Puppets at The Grand Ballroom in NYC last night. As many of our regular readers know by now, I am quite zealous about The Last Shadow Puppets. Alex and Miles’ live show gladly did not disappoint as they were backed by a 17 piece orchestra who helped them bring their flourishing tunes to life on the stage.

TLC went to the taping of Conan O’Brien the night before and saw the lads perform Standing Next To Me. Conan seemed genuinely impressed and interested in them as he chatted animatedly with the boys during breaks and invited them to the couch at the end, something most musical guests don’t usually get to do.

The crowd last night was a pleasantly surprising mix of the very young, the middle-aged and older and everyone in-between. Groups of young teenagers were abounding with their parents in tow as well as older fans, some who traveled from as far as Boston and Montreal to attend. The crowd’s diversity was truly a testament to the quality and wide appeal of Alex and Miles’ music and the fact that they’re doing something completely from anyone else in modern music. How many other 22 year old musicians cite Scott Walker, Jacques Brel, mid-60s Bowie and Burt Bacharach among their influences?

With the orchestra ready to go, the charming duo burst onto the stage a little after 9:30pm and went straight into In My Room. The set that followed included all songs from their debut LP, The Age of the Understatement, as well as an array of b-sides and covers including their own Hang The Cyst and Gas Dance as well as the Bowie cover In The Heat of the Morning, the Bacharach-penned Love tune My Little Red Book. Highlights included a passionate cover of The Beatles’ I Want You (She’s So Heavy) and Leonard Cohen’s doo-wop throwback Memories.

They closed with Standing Next To Me and were extremely gracious to the crowd and arm in arm walked off stage to uproarious cheers. The night was just getting started though as TLC then proceeded on to multiple after parties. A number of stars made appearances like BONO, Mark Ronson, all of Franz Ferdinand, Ryan Gentles, Nikolai Fraiture, and Eleanor Friedberger but Turner & Kane were nowhere in site. Miles did mention he was a little under the weather but needless to say we were disappointed not to see them out and about. All in all it was a wonderful couple of days with The Last Shadow Puppets who never cease to amaze me and who I hope to see again before too long.

Check out their performance on Conan and Memories from The BBC Electric Proms:

«More Photos of The Last Shadow Puppets at The Grand Ballroom NYC 10/31»

MP3: The Last Shadow Puppts – My Little Red Book (Live from New Theatre, Oxford, UK) or zShare