Benny The Butcher has graced fans with a prolific new single from his forthcoming album, Everybody Can’t Go. Featuring the legendary Lil Wayne, “Big Dog” is the first new music from Benny since 2022’s Tana Talk 4 broke inside the Top 25 on the Billboard 200 album chart last year, and notably his first release for Def Jam Recordings, who he signed with after his contractual obligations to his cousin Westside Gunn’s Griselda imprint ended.
Co-produced by famed hip hop producer, Alchemist, “Big Dog” sees Benny The Butcher try his hand at another lyrical back-and-forth with a platinum selling rapper. His last effort, “Johnny P’s Caddy” — featuring J. Cole — peaked #14 Hot Rap Songs hit. Moreover, it was Benny’s first single to break inside the Hot 100. Furthermore, the Buffalo native was able to earn his first gold record and the first for any Griselda affiliate.
No hook no trap beat and off an independent label if I’m not top three in yall beloved boom bap genre then who is Griselda is the illest https://t.co/QBgZCpLpGC
The new single is a change of pace for Benny The Butcher as the sped-up production departs from his usual laid-back, soulful, or sample heavy beats. What remains the same is his fervor, as he perfects his aggressive, braggadocios, grimy style. Backing him up is a looping classically inspired beat full of urgency. In like manner, Benny attacks the beat with the same intensity as if he was rapping about bricks on the table over a Daringer beat. Rather, Benny follows a formulaic song structure. While his subject matter remains close to home, the production and flow is a nice change of pace. Likewise, Lil Wayne continues to prove that he remains a rapper to be reckoned with, delivering a prolific verse in his own right in the duo’s first collaboration since “Timeless” from Benny’s 2020 album, Burden of Proof.
Over the last year, Benny has spent time promoting his Black Soprano Family artists including Fuego Base and Rick Hyde. However, the first quarter of 2024 will see Benny release his new album, Everybody Can’t Go.
Queer DJ and rapper Wreckno made a stop in Rochester on November 10 for their Takeout Tour. This growing producer is known for creating safe and fun LGBTQ+ spaces at their shows. That night at Photo City was evidence of that.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
Rochester doesn’t have a ton of popular gay spaces so this night served as a reminder to locals of the positive environment they can create. The LGBTQ+ vibes were overflowing from the outfits, to the flow arts, and obviously the upbeat dancing.
Even the openers were representative of the queer community and all its love. Rochester’s local DJ Brian Buttlett kicked off this night and was followed by the producer Eyezic. Then Baby Weight took the stage with their house music tunes steeped in emotional integrity.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
Later on Wreckno finally took over the stage with an undeniable presence and ability to bring energy into a crowd almost instantaneously. Dressed in their cheerleader uniform and use of heavy bass, the riveting producer had their fans raging.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
Wreckno has popped off just in this last year or so due to their effortlessly catchy songs. Their production skills is without a doubt top tier considering the amount of singles that have charted. Which of course made them obvious songs that fans had to hear live. Some of which includes, “Baseline,” “Medusa,” and “Bounce.”
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
Wreckno adds another signifier in their music that makes them stand out from the rest which is their rapping. They create fun, sexy, and confident lyrics that make them perfect songs for a love filled room of LGBTQ+ people who just want to have a good time. And that is exactly what happened inside Photo City.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
Aside from their own singles, Wreckno also creates countless remixes to popular songs. One of which they performed was a remix from Kim Petras and Alex Chapman’s song “Horsey.” However, nothing got the crowd more hyped up until Wreckno teased some unreleased material with the producer Of the Trees.
Photo Credit: Maddie McCafferty
That night in Rochesher was a must see for anyone and everyone. The inclusivity, high energy, and overall positive vibes is often hard to find in the concert space these days. Although, Wreckno is one who has always been about changing the scene and leaving it better than you found it.
In case you missed a fun night at Photo City, there’s a lot more shows coming to the Rochester area. G-Space is coming on November 25 and Jimkata performs December 2. Get your tickets here.
The line between stage and crowd was blurred at Mulcahy’s in Wantagh, New York on Friday, November 10, as New York’s thirstiest Irish band, Shilelagh Law, engaged with the crowd. For two hours, Mulcahy’s was filled with Irish music that ranged from the band’s original songs and classic Irish ballads to covers of Temple of the Dog and Indigo Girls.
Shilelagh Law’s lead vocalist Richard Popovic (right) performs with fiddler Dennis McCarthy (left) at Mulcahy’s
Hailing from Yonkers and the Bronx, the band consists of Richard Popovic on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Terence Brennan on bodhran, Stephen Gardner on bass, Dennis McCarthy on fiddle, and Kevin McCarthy on piano accordion.
With two members part of the FDNY and another a retired member of the NYPD, along with many of their fans in the service, this Veteran’s Day Weekend show was of great importance to the band. Lead vocalist Popovic stated, “It’s always humbling to play on Veteran’s Day. It’s a small thing we can do for people who do so much for us.”
At approximately 9:30 pm, Mulcahy’s green lights shone upon Shilelagh Law as they took to the stage. The band opened with a cover of The Pogues’ “A Rainy Night in Soho,” a soft introduction that might have misled any newcomers. They might have presumed this concert would be like that of a mellow session. But Shilelagh Law had no such plans. After all, they’re ‘New York’s Thirstiest Irish Band.’
Living up to their reputation, Shilelagh Law riled up the crowd with a speedy rendition of “Whiskey in the Jar” that rivaled the fast-paced nature of “Lanigan’s Ball,” where it’s a challenge to sing at such a rate, let alone pronounce the lyrics correctly. Riding off that energy, Shilelagh Law did what they do best – engage with the crowd.
Shilelagh Law took the first request of the night, “Glorious.” With lyrics, “Glorious. Glorious. One keg of beer between all of us. Glory be to God that there ain’t no more of us, cause one of us could drink it all alone,” it surely became a party.
It was a party that resembled a family reunion. While the chorus for “Glorious” focuses on the party aspect of the concert, the verses speak to Shilelagh Law’s fanbase, the Shilelagh Army, who’s united through their love for Irish music. “The Shilelagh Army is the best family.” This sentiment is what allows Shilelagh Law to work with the crowd in such an organic manner that dissolves the barrier between the artists and audience. Popovic stated, “To recognize the fans and make them feel they are a part of the show as much as possible is important to us.”
The band continued to include the audience in their show, taking more requests as the night lingered on. Following “Glorious” was a request for “Linger” by The Cranberries. Shilelagh Law performed the classic with a slight twist. Rather than play the opening with an electric guitar, band member Dennis McCarthy performed it on the tin whistle, leaning into the song’s longing plea for love.
Popovic spoke to the band’s take on classics, such as “Linger” and “Hungry Strike” by Temple of the Dog, which was sung towards the end of the show. “Usually one of us will come in with the bare basics. Everyone halfway learns their parts. We mess around with it for a few sound checks, and then just go for it. It’s not always smooth sailing, but it does leave lots of room for surprises and improvisation.”
Even more room is left for improvisation due to the fact Shilelagh Law doesn’t have a setlist. Without a the strict confinement, Shilelagh Law is able to lean into the energy of the audience (and with the energy of more than a few Rangers’ fans present, a couple “Go Rangers” chants were shouted by the band here and there).
Shilelagh Law closes out their Veteran’s Day Weekend show with an electric performance of “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Even though the setlist is always changing, there’s one song that always makes the list, “Christmas in New York.” As the opening notes of it played, the lights dimmed. In place of the bright lights were tiny stars that glistened across the venue along with an American flag displayed behind the band. The song pays respect to New York’s finest and any friends who passed during the year. The audience joined in paying their respects, pouring out their hearts while singing along.
“Christmas in New York” was followed by a couple classics, such as “Rattlin’ Bog” and “Grace,” before Shilelagh Law concluded their performance around 11:30 pm. But that didn’t stop the audience from demanding more. The band came back for not one but two encores, both of which continued to pay respect to veterans. Their first encore consisted of a cover of Flogging Molly’s “If I Ever Leave This World Alive,” which was dedicated to all veterans.
The band then concluded their Veteran’s Day show with their rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner.” Fiddle player Dennis McCarthy played with such vigor and in a style similar to that of Eileen Ivers that transformed the fiddle into an electric guitar. The result was a Jimi Hendrix-styled rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” to close out the night.
Luckily it won’t be long to catch Shilelagh Law back again in Long Island. They’ll be at the The Inn of Long Beach on Nov. 25 at 9pm. Know that if one attends their concert, they’re bound to catch Shilelagh Law fever and leave part of the Shilelagh Army family. For more information about Shilelagh Law’s upcoming shows, click here.
Setlist: Rainy Night in Soho, Whiskey in the Jar, Glorious, Olé Olé & Notre Dame Victory March Mashup, Linger, Shipping Up to Boston & Drunken Sailor Mashup, 1 and 9, Funky Ceili, Hunger Strike, The Liver Song, Ring of Fire, The Fighting 69th, Meet Me on McLean, Ham and Cheese with Mayo, When New York Was Irish, Christmas in New York, Closer I Am To Fine, Fields of Athenry, Rattlin’ Bog, and Grace. Encore 1: If I Ever Leave This World Alive Encore 2: The Star Spangled Banner
Two of Harlem‘s finest — Dave East and Vado — have graced the hip hop world with a new single. “Deniro & Pesci” is the latest record from 2/3 of hip hop collective “The Council” (which includes Dave East, Lloyd Banks and Vado). The ominously themed record is an ode to the lifestyles of mobsters James Conway and Tommy DeVito portrayed by Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci from one of hip hop’s most referenced films, Goodfellas.
In like manner, Vado and Dave East metaphorically reference the film and other famous mobsters. For instance, East begins the song with an introspective recounting of his rough upbringing that inspired his hustler mindset. Similarly to how Goodfellas begins with the telling of Henry Hill’s youth. Meanwhile, Vado juxtaposes Dave East, playing the role of the fully realized hustler. For his part, Vado’s verse is full of vivid imagery, whether it be intimate hustler tales, or stories of lavish expenditures. Together, the duo captures the evolvement from impressionable youth to “goodfella” as well the surrounding factors that play a role.
Best Lyric
With a vision like Bugsy, I’m Warren Beaty inspired, or like LL, standing at the crowd at Supreme Team party with murderers all around. Kingpins on stage, reppin’ the seven crowds. Analyzing they style, wishing that I was down.
– Vado, “Deniro & Pesci”
Album On The Way
Meanwhile, “Deniro & Pesci” serves as a prelude to the duo’s forthcoming collaborative album set for release in the first quarter of 2024. Dave East’s last EP Fortune Favors the Bold was released in July, while Vado dropped V-Day 4 in May. This will be their second joint-project together following 2017’s It’s Harlem, hosted by DJ Kay Slay.
V and I have been locked in for the longest, that’s family, it’s only right we team and up do something for the town.
-Dave East
2/3 of The Council are back with more heat, and just wait until we drop the album
When I was growing up in the early 70’s, a hazy time captured in Richard Linklater’s movie Dazed & Confused, we were very, very serious about our music. As hyper-hormonal, aspiring teenage guitar heroes in middle-class Queens, we had an especially deep allegiance to one particularly muscular strand of music – the power trio.
Many an argument and more than a few fist fights erupted as we debated which threesome was ultimo. We weighted our own preferences with those of the critics at the major music weeklies like Rolling Stone and Hit Parader. These were the opinions of purported wiser men, ones that we consumed with blind Biblical fervor. They were words of praise, and just as often snark, that had a big and, in the cases like the below, misguided in hindsight influence on our views.
Was it Cream, the Jimi Hendrix Experience or the guitar-less ELP who were the best rock trio? Maybe it was Rush, Blue Cheer, The James Gang or Beck, Bogert and Appice? Or was it those rock quartets that were essentially three-piece instrumental bands, if you didn’t count their peacock strutting, axe-less singers – Led Zeppelin, The Who or Black Sabbath?
By 1970-71, with the demise of Cream and the death of Hendrix, and from a strict fan popularity sense, it was Grand Funk Railroad.
Grand Funk were a prime exponent of high energy, no nonsense “Rust Belt Rock.” It was a hard rockin’ trio that roared out of Flint, Michigan with a powerhouse drummer with a hot air balloon-sized Afro (Don Brewer) and a bassist who made you dizzy by incessantly sliding up and down the neck of his axe into his riffs (Mel Schacher). Then there was the lead singer/guitarist/principal songwriter, Mark Farner. He was a Mexican jumping bean of a man who proudly showcased his slim Cherokee heritage by striding the stage shirtless and with ass length locks, just like Geronimo.
Grand Funk had the fortune and misfortune of being managed by Terry Knight, the quintessential shifty Svengali who did all the talking for them and, ultimately, made off with their royalties, song publishing and oil well investments.
A few short months after forming, Grand Funk broke out nationally with three show-stealing sets secured by Knight at the Atlanta Pop Festival in 1969. By the end of the year, they would hit gold record status twice –with their debut disc, On Time, and the self-title “red” album.
And just like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, the wisenheimer critics at Rolling Stone and other magazines hated them… as much as millions of fans loved them.
And while the band was of Midwestern origin, many of the most memorable moments of their early career unfolded in New York City, beginning with several shows in 1969 at the Fillmore East and their debut at Madison Square Garden in December 1970.
“We always really loved the New York audiences,” says Farner. “They were always super enthusiastic and would send us waves of emotion as we played. It made New York City the site of some of our biggest and best gigs.”
With the release of their third album in 1970, Closer to Home, manager Knight and Grand Funk would do what no other band before them had – purchase a street-long billboard in Times Square.
“Terry spent $100,000 of our money on that sign,” says Farner. “Mel Schacher and I went down there in a cab, walked around the corner and were stunned by what we saw. This was a time before cellphones, so we took a picture with our eyes. We had only purchased it for a month but got lucky when the billboard workers went on strike. It stayed up there for four months total and probably helped sell a lot of albums.”
Another New York apex took place when Grand Funk returned to the Big Apple to play Shea Stadium on July 9, 1971.
“We sold out way faster than The Beatles – 72 hours vs. five weeks,” continues Farner. “We chose Humble Pie to be our opener because we had done a tour with them in Europe. We would hear them singing Motown and R&B chestnuts in their dressing room before the show and knew they were our kind of guys. Steve Marriot was a truly great singer and showman.”
“When I see the video of Shea, it all comes back. I get goosebumps and can see myself fighting back the tears and floating three feet above the stage as I’m trying to sing ‘I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home).’ With a crowd of 50,000 like The Beatles, we really didn’t hear much of what we were playing.”
In 1972, Grand Funk would return to NYC for two shows to raise money for Phoenix House, the pioneering drug rehab center. It was here that they would also dramatically part ways with their manager.
“We were 19, 20 when started Grand Funk with Terry and he wanted to create a mystique, so he wouldn’t let us talk to the press, something I think soured them on us right from the start,” adds Farner. “He took out a centerfold ad in the holiday edition of Billboard Magazine where he was literally giving the finger to the industry, flipping off the world. When we found out how much of our money he was taking as manager and producer, we decided it was time to fire him.”
“He actually tried to confiscate our equipment at the first Phoenix House benefit because we fired him,” continues Farner. “But we had some big Michigan farm boys like Big Tree working as our roadies. We went ahead with the shows, with our equipment, and raised enough to open seven Phoenix Houses.”
“Our December ’72 show was also shot and aired on ABC’s Rock Concert. What I remember most is our lighting engineer Steve Graff putting dance wax all over the stage which made it super slippery and really restricted my dance moves!”
Grand Funk would continue to return to New York for many shows throughout their career. They also recorded one of their most successful albums here, 1974’s All the Girls in the World Beware!!!,with producer Jimmy Ienner at the famous Record Plant. It was a disc that spawned two Top 5 hits, the cover song “Some Kind of Wonderful” and the Farner-penned “Bad Time.”
Farner also has fond memories of another lost chunk of New York music history, its famous strip of music stores on West 48th Street.
“I especially loved visiting Manny’s,” adds Farner. “Bill Eberline from Sunn Amps told me about it and it really was like a candy store for guitar players. There was nothing of this magnitude until Guitar Center and Sweetwater came along.”
Though he was the front man and writer of 92% of their classic material, today Farner is no longer a part of Grand Funk. He was voted out of the corporation (and band) in 2000 by bassist Schacher and drummer Brewer, who went to law school during a band break to better manage the music business.
But Farner and his old bandmates are gaining new followers via dozens of reaction videos to performances, like their incendiary nine-minute plus live version of “Inside Looking Out” from November 1969 on WITF-TV in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Via reaction videos by YouTubers like RobSquad, Harri Best and Jamal_AKA-Jamal that are garnering millions of views, Farner is seeing a new generation of fans at his shows and purchasing his music and merch.
Today, Farner is staying very busy touring with his Mark Farner’s American Band. He has just released a new live album, Rock ‘N’ Soul: Live 1989, a 15-song set of Grand Funk classics recorded at “Woodstock 20 Years After” reunion concert in Carson, California.
The guitarist is also providing some very cool musical instruction free at his website with FarnerChords. Mark has partnered with videographer Jimmy Romeo to create instructional videos showing the correct way to play some of his best-known compositions. Check it out here.
And as for a legacy, what better one could there be than being the favorite band of the star of TV’s longest-running animated series, Homer Simpson, a fact revealed in a hilarious 1996 episode.
A brisk fall night on Lark Street was warm and inviting at The Eleven, celebrating its grand opening with a fitting artist upstairs at Lark Hall, pianist Holly Bowling.
photo by Zak Radick
Much has changed in the past decade since Bowling began playing solo shows, having transcribed and performed Phish jams (not just songs, the improv sections too) and gave fresh takes on the catalog of the Grateful Dead, even having appearances with Phil Lesh as one of his friends.
Bowling now enters her second decade of live performances with an evolving solo career in the jam scene, having branched out into Ghost Light with Tom Hamilton and company, played regularly with Greensky Bluegrass, taken part in the immersive Musical Sojourns in Portugal this past October, and brought to life the ever unique Wilderness Series – performing at beautiful vistas within and around our National Park System.
The past decade has been a whirlwind of growth and opportunities, including giving birth to her and husband Jeffery’s first child. Holly Bowling has been about as busy as one can, and shares how she has worked towards finding balance with it all:
One thing I took away from the pandemic was a new acceptance of how to be creative in touring and that there’s a lot of different ways to play music for people. You have to do what makes sense for the situation you find yourself in at that particular time, whether it’s finding ways to create and play music when all the venues are shut down or finding ways to tour that make sense as a parent of a young child. I’m not sure I’d say I’ve figured out how to balance it all. I think finding balance of any kind is a challenge for most touring musicians. It’s a constantly evolving process, and I have to keep reminding myself to find ways to make it work for what my life is today and that what works today isn’t necessarily going to be what worked before or what’s going to work five years from now. And that’s fine – maybe even good.
Holly Bowling
On this evening, Bowling took the stage and performed as she always has, with focus and attention to detail, showing no signs of slowing down a well-paced musical career. Bowling last played Lark Hall with Ghost Light in October 2022, and sought out owner Jennifer Miller to plan a show in the future, with November 11th – 11/11 – being the best date for a show, adding in a nod to the Grateful Dead in the process.
With tube lighting on either side of the stage, a mirror ball above and four colored spots shining down and moving slowly along with the tempo, the stage was set, a grand piano and bench awaiting Bowling.
The first set featured the entire “Terrapin Station” suite, broken up into two sections, opening up with the first half of the song, “Lady with a Fan” and “Terrapin Station,” deep and layered, neatly falling into Phish’s “Fast Enough For You,” with the addition of looping to give the Rift track a new twist. 30 minutes later, the audience offered rousing applause.
With the use of effects pedals processing the piano sound, Bowling illuminated the improvisation jam that led from “About to Run”, and found its way into the rest of the “Terrapin Station” suite, “At a Siding” and “Terrapin Flyer,” finally ending the set with an ever-gorgeous “Divided Sky.” The emergence of a greater scope of sounds from the piano – whether it be with mallets, e-bows, fishing line or pedals – adds depth to the music. Said Bowling, “The piano has always been the instrument that can be closest to a full orchestra and I just want to play with as many sounds as possible.”
The second set opened with a heavy “St. Stephen” where Bowling explored the most familiar parts of the song using a tribal synth sound via manipulation of the inner piano strings, creating a hypnotic trance (accentuated briefly by a police siren wailing down the street.) “William Tell Bridge” developed out of this trance, Bowling playing the inner strings again, the pair of songs harkening the call of “The Eleven,” which would show up promptly at 10:11 (that’s 11:11 without DST). A song very rarely played by Bowling, “The Eleven” gave way to Phish’s “If I Could,” an emotional composition in its own right, and with light internal plucking and looping, Bowling summoned the intro of “Theme From the Bottom,” which took deep turns and twists, eventually fading into “Morning Dew” to close the set.
“Waste” would fall into the encore slot, with Bowling greeting and talking to fans after the show, everyone filing downstairs through The Eleven where Quantum Cosmic Trio continued on with the celebration of a grand opening, a grand performance and a grand pianist.
Set 1: Terrapin Station Suite -> Fast Enough For You, About to Run -> Terrapin Station Suite -> Divided Sky Set 2: St. Stephen -> William Tell Bridge -> The Eleven -> If I Could, Theme from the Bottom -> Morning Dew Encore: Waste
This past Sunday, November 12, City Winery New York and American Friends of NATAL held a special afternoon of music featuring a rare combination of Omer Avital’s Wilson Live Experience, a group of all-Israeli Jazz musicians who put on live shows mostly from their space on Wilson Avenue in Brooklyn and Israeli Superstar singer David Broza. Concert proceeds went to go to those suffering from PTSD in Israel.
The pair have collaborated before on David Broza’s previous release called TEFILA, where Broza took the traditional Jewish Friday Night Prayers and recomposed them along with the help of Omer Avital, who wrote the orchestration parts. The pair performed the entire piece along with a full choir, string, and horn section at Temple Emanu-El earlier this year.
David Broza & Omer Avital’s Wilson Live Experience at City Winery New York
Getting people out to a show on a Monday night is a hard sell. Getting people out for a show on the first Monday after our clocks turn back and darkness falls before lunch has even been digested is even tougher. Getting people out to a show on a dark Monday night when Tool is also in town is near impossible. So the impossible was achieved on Monday, November 6, when the Bug Jar had Italian quartet Dumbo Gets Mad on the bill and drew a solid crowd to come check them out.
That crowd was treated to an extremely fun and danceable set. And dance they did! The quartet, guitar, keys, bass and drums, put their own psychedelic spin on a wide swath of genres. Synth-pop, surf, reggae, late night grooves, and heavy rock all reared their heads through the evening in a set that spanned their 10-year catalog.
“Congratulations” gave the Bug Jar’s mirror ball a bit of nostalgia with it’s disco beat, slinky bass and infectious groove. Slow and sexy “Indian Food” gave the dance floor a bit of a breather. “Self Esteem” ratcheted the energy way up through the upside-down roof, bombastic bass blasts met raucous guitar in an absolute rager. The band had an endless bag of catchy synth lines, and “Plumy Tale” ended the set with yet another one.
Dumbo Gets Mad was having as good a time as the crowd, and exhibited their own set of dance moves from the stage. Urged back for “one more song,” the band launched into a guitar and drums workout that had lead Dumbo Luca Bergomi grooving with his guitar through the crowd, the dance party on and off the stage ultimately coalescing in the end.
The last time I saw LP – Laura Pergolizzi – was in 2014, at Carnegie Hall, part of City Winery’s The Music Of Paul Simon. I happened to do a video session with her and was treated to a version of “Slip Slidin’ Away.”
Pergolizzi left quite a mark at the time and every time she came back through it seemed there was always a conflict and I never crossed paths again. That all finally changed last week at New York’s Terminal 5.
Love Lines was released earlier this year by BMG with the first single and video off it being “Golden”. A North American tour was announced starting late October running into November, followed by a few Mexico dates, playing to her sizeable Central and South American followings, then a few dates in Europe that go well into 2024.
LP’s live show is quite mesmerizing, especially for a club show, with a great deal of production, walking out to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” quite fitting as from the moment she hits the stage, she commands your attention and comes off as a powerhouse of sound. LP packs some pretty impressive whistling skills, big sing-along moments, and a crowd that seems to adore her every move. For this photographer, the highlight of LP at Terminal 5 was “Lost On You.”
Termial 5, NYC November 9th, 2023 SETLIST:
Golden, Love Song, Burn It Down, Girls Go Wild, One Like You, The One That You Love, Big Time, Dayglow, Wild, Love Lines, Too Much, Hold The Light, Lost on You, Everybody’s Falling in Love, Blow, No Witness, Special, Long Goodbye, Hola, When We’re High, One Last Time
Timothée Chalamethosted Saturday Night Live for the second time, his first in 2020. Soon he is starring as Willy Wonka in Wonka, a role he can finally promote now that the Writer’s Strike has ended. Rock band boygenius was the musical guest for the night, rocking the Studio 8H stage, celebrating their six GRAMMY nominations.
The cold open featured a spoof on the 2024 Republican Presidential Debate, with Kenan Thompson as Lester Holt. James Austin Johnson reprised his iconic role of Donald Trump, making comments on the former President’s recent arrests and breaking the fourth wall, introducing the actors playing the different politicians.
Timothée Chalamet’s monologue referenced the Writer’s Strike, set to the tone of the Willy Wonka song, his new film coming out December 15. Singing along to the tune, Chalamet pokes fun at long films and AI, bringing out SNL actor Marcello Hernandez to rap about having a “baby face,” but still being attractive. Kenan Thompson also made an appearance rapping about his baby face not changing since he was in his popular Kenan & Kel sitcom.
Hip Hop just celebrated 50 years, and what better way to celebrate it than a SNL sketch? Bringing in Rick Rubin (James Austin Jones), (Kenan Thompson), and Chalamet as $mokecheddadthaassgetta, a white Soundcloud-type rapper that should definitely not be there. Poking fun at the modern rappers of the day, the sketch Chalamet busting out his best rapping skills, to the distaste of the legends sharing the stage.
Britney Spear’s new memoir has been shaking the earth lately, calling out those around her including Justin Timberlake. SNL adds some humor to this tense situation, bringing in some influential people to read parts of her memoir, including parody versions of John Mulaney, Bill Hader, and even a parody of Chalamet himself.
In a sequel to Chalamet’s old sketch “Tiny Horse,” he brings out his singing abilities in “Giant Horse,” a sound sure to go viral again on TikTok. By the end of the sketch, the horse goes back to its tiny size, bringing everything full circle.
boygenius is comprised of established musicians Phoebe Bridgers, who achieved well-known status with her song “Motion Sickness,” Lucy Dacus, who went viral for her song “Night Shift,” and Julien Baker, an established guitarist and singer with a couple of well-known albums under her belt. Their music has achieved cult status in the indie rock world, releasing their debut album the record only this year. With melodic and infectious tones, boygenius captivates audiences with its depressing and nostalgic vibes and energetic and rowdy live shows.
For their first song, boygenius, dressed in all suits, sang one of their most popular songs “Not Strong Enough,” off of the record. With their intense and melodic harmonies, the group lit up the SNL stage with their high energy and beautiful vocals. Each member took a turn singing, a staple in their music.
https://youtu.be/5TtD9U2f1gs?si=Y-UWn05QtgoXJACj
Weekend Update with Michael Che and Colin Jost focused on the Presidential election, happening this time next year, and the usual satirical news stories they share. Heidi Gardner made an appearance as the overworked by not working at all coworker, someone all of us have definitely witnessed. The next sketch featured Timothée Chalamet as a humorous vision of Troye Sivan, the Grammy-nominated Internet personality turned popstar, with a shocking and funny twist of boygenius joining him.
boygenius returned with their second song “Satanist,” also off their debut record. Heavier than their last one, with red hues to match the satanic subject matter and Bridgers screaming like she always does, the group left a chaotic impression on the stage. I mean, only they could write a lyric like “Solomon had a point when he wrote Ecclesiastes.”
https://youtu.be/hniH8I8c-m0?si=JhOPmeMfNarfEndS
Saturday Night Live returns on Nov. 18 with host Jason Momoa and musical guest Tate McRae.
