Thievery Corporation at SummerStage In Central Park
Posted by djocean on June 19, 2008
Thievery Corporation will be performing live with Seu Jorge and special guests Bebel Gilberto and Federico Aubele at SummerStage in Central Park on Thursday June 26, 2008 from 6:00-10:00pm.Tickets are $59.50 if purchased in advance or $65.00 on the day of the show.
This show is a benefit concert for Central Park SummerStage presented by LiveNation.
Central Park SummerStage is located at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. Enter the park at 69th Street and 5th Avenue on the east side or at 72nd Street and Central Park West on the west side.
If you are unfamiliar with Thievery Corporation, here is a review of their latest CD called The Cosmic Game.
Thievery Corporation: The Cosmic Game
From the first note of Thievery Corporation’s fourth album, The Cosmic Game, it takes the listener a matter of moments to realize that they are listening to the leaders of the down-tempo beats and chill-out sounds genre. Transported back to a time when stars didn’t beat you over the head with choruses and catchy hooks, The Cosmic Game soothes the soul with a melodious utopia of musical harmonies and is a gem that once again vaults this soulful duo to the elite status as one of the top U.S electronica acts.
Rob Garza and Eric Hilton have once again managed to surpass their previous efforts with their latest release. Departing from the emotionally-charged “The Richest Man in Babylon,” the beautiful intellectualism of “The Mirror Conspiracy,” and the hypnotic minimalist “Sounds From the Thievery Hi-fi”, Thievery Corporation treads new ground with their new sonic masterpiece.
After achieving international success with their hit “Lebanese Blond,” (Mirror Conspiracy), Thievery Corporation definitely felt pressure to find a new way to expand their distinct sound and were forced to expand their musical boundaries. If this album’s successful debut at number two on the BBC’s UK Dance Chart is any indication, they have managed to once again strike gold and what makes this an especially amazing feat, is that they are on an independent label, ESL, and have no major corporate sponsors backing them.
Unlike previous albums, The Cosmic Game, boasts an impressive line-up of collaborating artists. The Flaming Lips helped to create the CD’s first track, the hauntingly beautiful, Pink Floyd-esque Marching The Hate Machines (Into the Sun), while Indy-Alternative rocker Perry Farrell, takes a slightly different turn with his rastified-vocals on Revolution Solution. In addition to Farrell, Thievery Corporation got another famous lead singer in Talking Heads’ front-man David Byrne, to lends his vocals and quasi-paranoia to the funky horns of The Heart’s A Lonely Hunter.
Although this impressive line-up of guests might overshadow other artists, Thievery Corporation holds its own by weaving a psychedelic tapestry of sounds that incorporates these stars and other not-so-well-known collaborating artists. This fusion of different sounds is what vaults Thievery Corporation light-years ahead of their imitators. Each song is crafted to highlight the instrumental magic that Garza and Hilton infuse throughout the album, while still giving their collaborators the freedom to have their own sounds.
Formed in Washington D.C., Thievery Corporation’s stateside style has transcended international boundaries and garnered the group fans from around the globe. Although their beats manage to cross international culture barriers with ease, the group continues to remain rooted to certain influences like the rhythmic drums of Brazil. The album’s musical ride sets listeners on a soulful journey and makes stops at majestic locations where the listener can almost feel the Jamaican influence of Notch (Amerimacka) as he blows a soothing West Indies breeze or they can enjoy the mind-melting vocals of eastern superstar Gunjan as he brings new meaning to the words hypnotic.
If you let them, Thievery Corporation will give you a dose of their hypnotic medicine and leave you wanting more. Be prepared for feel the hallucinogenic effects of traveling through what might be the musical equivalent of the solar system. The Cosmic Game is more than just listening pleasure. It is a journey that that invites listeners to open the doors of perception and the more willing you are to let go and allow yourself to become enveloped by the sounds, the more likely you are to get caught up in Thievery Corporation’s solid sounds.
Alex said
I was very disappointed by their performance. To begin with, they only played for about 40 minutes, although doors were opened at 5pm and closed at 10pm. Whoever was opening them, was really very uneventful and outright boring. When Thievery started to play – the first 20 minutes were pretty good and, as far as band playing is concerned, they were superb throughout the performance. However, the last 20 minutes were full of the band members yelling “New York”, “Central Park”, “Put your hand up”, etc….. They were yelling it non-stop and it really distracted from the music. All in all, I’m very disappointed – 40 minutes of so-so performance for $60.