Sharon Jones played Nokia Theatre, pre-theft, in NYC - pics

photos by Natasha Ryan

"Sharon and the band played a mix of their last two albums, several awesome new songs that they are still working on, as well as amazing covers of Sam Cooke and Gladys Night numbers -- "A Change is Gonna Come"! It was the best concert of theirs that I've seen so far.

The opening act, Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens, were tremendous, laying down soulful and energetic spirituals that had us dancing and singing along. It was like the funkiest gospel church service you ever went to with 600 other NYC hipsters.

Then the Dap Kings came on in full force with three backup singers, full horn section, timpani, and five strings players. Holy crap they laid down a powerful sound in that theater!

But of course the true force to be reckoned with was Ms. Sharon Jones herself. She strutted on stage in a shimmery red dress and shiny silver heels -- that that she later discarded because they were getting in the way of her dancing. Sharon gave us an incredible performance lasting nearly two hours straight. Not bad for a woman soon to be 54."
[The Click Heard Around the World]

Daptone had a rollercoaster of a holiday weekend. It all started on Friday the 13th. Daptone's most prominent performer, Sharon Jones, headlined her first of two nights at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square in NYC. She was backed, as always, by the Dap Kings who share members with Daptone's own Menahan Street Band who were the opener that night. One night later, Saturday the 14th, Valentine's Day, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings took the same stage for the second night in a row. Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens, another Daptone band, opened that time. And on Sunday they rested, but not for long. That night, Daptone Records' Brooklyn homebase/studio/office was robbed, and just days before ROD STEWART was/is scheduled "to lay down some music". Needless to say, it was not a happy President's Day in Bushwick.

Keep an eye out for Daptone's stuff. Full list HERE.

More pictures of the headliner from Friday night's show, below...

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings Valentine's at Nokia Theater

I've been interested in the music of Sharon Jones and the Daptone family for some time, but this was my first chance to really get out and make some pictures (at the well-run but airport-like Nokia Theater). Sharon and the Dap Kings' 1st album dropped in 2002 and since then the Daptone Folks have been working their butts off in their mission to save the world with Real Soul Music. I say more power to them.

There is an extended gallery here. see below for highlights...

Naomi Shelton - High Gospel Queen


Binky Griptite sets the tone


Sharon Jones on the scene


I thought the shiny lettering was a nice touch.

Rod Stewart Records At Daptone Studios

by Tim Cashmere - February 17 2009

Rod Stewart has a session booked in the Daptone studio kicking off this Friday.

There is no word as to what is going to come of the session, but if it’s Rod and the Dap-Kings, could it be anything less than amazing? No, it can’t.

There is one small problem though. The Daptone Studios were broken into recently, and an awful lot of stuff is missing.

At the time of writing, a full inventory had not been taken because the police were yet to investigate and the scene had to be left untouched, but at first glance this list has been put together of missing items:

Fender Super Guitar Amp in case
Fender Deluxe Guitar Amp
A whole bunch of headphones and wires
Nydia's HP laptop computer
One Desktop MacIntosh Computer
One Purple Audio API style lunchbox with
four Purple Audio Biz mic pre-amps
2 Yamaha NS10 monitors
Vintage Harmony Rocket Guitar
One steel string acoustic guitar
Martin Tenor sax in a gig bag
Technics 1200 turntable
Ion USB turntable
Teac Receiver/stereo amp
Sony dual deck CD burner/player
All of our modem/phone system stuff was ripped out and taken.
A whole bunch of condensor and dynamic microphones (I still need to
figure out exactly what's missing)
The power supply for my Trident console was tossed and the board was
moved (probably not gently) so the status of that is still questionable.
A baldwin organ was tossed and is probably broken.
Lacie External hard drive

To make matters worse, the staff at Daptone were searching for different insurance companies, but hadn’t signed on the dotted line. Thus they have to bear the brunt of this themselves.

According to a blog post by Gabriel Roth, bassist, band leader and producer of the Dap Kings, they’re determined to get the studio up and running for the Stewart sessions, so if anyone can help them, let them know:

Daptone Records
115 Troutman St.
Brooklyn, NY 11206
718.366.3849
info@daptonerecords.com

The Dap-Kings, who originally backed the incomparable Sharon Jones, have also worked extensively with Mark Ronson, Amy Winehouse and soul and funk legends like Naomi Shelton, Naomi Davis and Lee Fields.

Daptone Records is based in New York City and is there to promote vinyl pressings of vintage funk and soul.

Grooving to Sharon Jones and Dap Kings in Times Square last night!

Last night, a bunch of friends and I caught Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings at the swank Nokia Theater in Times Square. Sharon and the band played a mix of their last two albums, several awesome new songs that they are still working on, as well as amazing covers of Sam Cooke and Gladys Night numbers -- "A Change is Gonna Come"! It was the best concert of theirs that I've seen so far.

The opening act, Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens, were tremendous, laying down soulful and energetic spirituals that had us dancing and singing along. It was like the funkiest gospel church service you ever went to with 600 other NYC hipsters.

Then the Dap Kings came on in full force with three backup singers, full horn section, timpani, and five strings players. Holy crap they laid down a powerful sound in that theater!

But of course the true force to be reckoned with was Ms. Sharon Jones herself. She strutted on stage in a shimmery red dress and shiny silver heels -- that that she later discarded because they were getting in the way of her dancing. Sharon gave us an incredible performance lasting nearly two hours straight. Not bad for a woman soon to be 54.

For those who follow these things, no, I did not catch lightning thrice. I was not dancing on stage this time around (unlike the Apollo and Central Park Summerstage). I was a bit too far back from the front of the stage to catch Sharon's eye, hidden behind some very tall people. Whatever. It doesn't diminish the experience at all. And we got to enjoy seeing Sharon lay down the law on a couple of crazy drunk women who wrangled their way onto stage even when she didn't call on them. Heaven protect anyone who tries to upstage Ms. Jones.

It's great to see how much of a family the Daptones Records folks are. A friend of mine tells me that a member of the Sugarman Three, guitarist Coleman Mellet, died on the Buffalo plane crash last week, which reportedly depressed everyone in the Daptones family.

While Sharon Jones was clearly the headliner, the signage behind the stage and on graphics on the tee-shirts in the lobby all said "SJDK" : Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. The power of the music comes from the ensemble effort of everyone playing their hearts out, from Anda on baritone sax (whose birthday it was) to Binky Griptite on guitar (the awesomest band name ever), to Jack on percussion.

And despite their somewhat surprising international fame, they are still remarkably humble. Gabe "Bosco," the producer of Daptone Records, and Binky wandered around the lobby chatting with people after the show. Sharon Jones hung out near the gift shop signing stuff, kissing, chatting and taking photos with every single person who wanted to see her up close. What kind of diva does that?

I guess it's because Sharon always reminds us of where she comes from and how hard it was to get where she is. From a struggling singer in her twenties who the record labels told was "too black, too fat and too short" to headlining on Times Square. Now in her fifties, to be doing what she knew God had annointed her to do, in her words, she can only be grateful.

So when Sharon sings "answer me, Sweet Jesus," we all know what the answer was.

Imaginary meet-up: Dark Was The Night listening party at Moe Bar on Saturday (2/21)

Submitted by three imaginary... on February 11, 2009.

Three Imaginary Girls has joined forces with the folks at the Red Hot Organization, Insound.com, and 4AD to put together a Dark Was The Night listening party at the Moe Bar on Saturday, February 21st from 7pm to 9pm.

The night is free and will feature a chances for you to win your own copy of the Dark Was The Night album and good times. We'll be playing the double album set in its entirety.

The album features saa-weet tracks from a slew of indie favorites (Stuart Murdoch, Spoon, Arcade Fire, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and tons more).

Not only that, it serves as a perfect pre-funk if you're headed to the A.C . Newman show at Neumo's (conveniently located right next door to the Moe Bar) (enter to win tickets to the A.C. Newman show from TIG).

If you want to sample the record ahead of time, check out the DWTN MySpace page where they are streaming some of the album's tracks until the release date (February 17th) or download this mp3 of a track supplied by Dirty Projectors + David Byrne.

See you at the Moe Bar on Saturday February 21st to hang out and listen to some stellar tunes!

And here's the full track listing for those of us that love the details:

THIS DISC

1 Knotty Pine - Dirty Projectors + David Byrne
2 Cello Song (Nick Drake) - The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez
3 Train Song (Vashti Bunyan recorded, written by Alasdair Clayre) - Feist + Ben Gibbard
4 Brackett, WI - Bon Iver
5 Deep Blue Sea - Grizzly Bear
6 So Far Around the Bend - The National (arrangement by Nico Muhly)
7 Tightrope - Yeasayer
8 Feeling Good (popularized by Nina Simone) - My Brightest Diamond
9 Dark Was the Night (Blind Willie Johnson) - Kronos Quartet
10 I Was Young When I Left Home (Bob Dylan) - Antony + Bryce Dessner
11 Big Red Machine - Justin Vernon + Aaron Dessner
12 Sleepless - The Decemberists
13 Stolen Houses (Die) - Iron and Wine
14 Service Bell - Grizzly Bear + Feist
15 You Are The Blood - Sufjan Stevens

THAT DISC

1 Well-Alright - Spoon
2 Lenin - Arcade Fire
3 Mimizan - Beirut
4 El Caporal - My Morning Jacket
5 Inspiration Information (Shuggie Otis) - Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
6 With A Girl Like You (The Troggs) - Dave Sitek
7 Blood Pt 2 (based on original song "You are the Blood" by the Castanets) - Buck 65 Remix (featuring Sufjan Stevens and Serengeti)
8 Hey, Snow White (Destroyer) - The New Pornographers
9 Gentle Hour (Snapper) - Yo La Tengo
10 Another Saturday (traditional song) - Stuart Murdoch
11 Happiness - Riceboy Sleeps
12 Amazing Grace (traditional song) - Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues
13 The Giant Of Illinois (Handsome Family) - Andrew Bird
14 Lua - Conor Oberst + Gillian Welch
15 When the Road Runs Out - Blonde Redhead + Devastations
16 Love vs. Porn - Kevin Drew

Plan the ultimate Valentine's Day

by Jodi Lee Reifer

Thursday February 12, 2009, 1:00 AM

LEVEL III (HEATING IT UP)
-- Work up a soulful sweat with Daptone recording artists Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings (aka the working-overtime Afro-beatniks of S.I.'s Budos Band). Jones, Brooklyn's underground-diva-turned-international-concert sensation, is performing a two-night-stand (7 p.m. Feb. 13 & 14) at Manhattan's Nokia Theatre, 1515 Broadway (NokiaTheatreNYC.com). Tix: $35.

http://www.silive.com/entertainment/recreation/index.ssf/2009/02/plan_the_ultimate_valentines_d.html

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings: Believe the Hype

"Funksplosion" care of The Kozy Shack, via Flickr.

Though Sharon Jones was the first concert this Seattlest attended in 2009, we will make a wager that it will far surpass anything we'll see for the remainder of the year (concert-wise) and for that matter, possibly next year too.

Frequenting the popular Emerald City Soul Club at Eastlake's Lo-Fi as of late put us in the mood for soul and the crowd that goes with it. Although the Sharon Jones audience was no ECSC crowd, the mood and vibe were similar. We were worried that people would not be dancing, as Seattle shows often suffer from this disease. Fears were allayed, people were getting their groove on.

She'll be 53 in May, but Sharon Jones has the agility of 23-year-old paired with legs that won't quit. The Dap-Kings, an eight-piece funk band known for accompanying Jones and Amy Winehouse, held their own, playing about a 15-minute warm-up set that got the crowd goin' before Jones set foot onstage. Outfitted in a '60's-style brocade dress and stiletto heels, Sharon also dressed the part.

Various ladies and gents were hoisted up from the front and center of the crowd to dance alongside Jones and her sweet moves--moves that we will work at emulating for future soul nights. When one gal couldn't cut it, she was sent back to the floor with Sharon exclaiming, "Well, what did you want to get up here for?"

Fun and games aside, a somber rendition of Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" nearly brought tears to our eyes. We could not help quietly chanting "Obama" near the end. Sharon masterfully carried off throwback and new while epitomizing a classic soul sound. Meanwhile the Dap-Kings infused horns, drums, and base into an explosion of funk. The main set ended with "100 Days, 100 Nights" from the 2007 album, then they returned after a screaming encore,

Aside from the opener, the folksy Ivan Milev band (which provided nothing more than acoustic background music), there was not a dull moment in the night. We've since changed our Facebook religious views to worshiping in the house of Sharon Jones. Hallelujah.