Must See: Pharrell Williams At the Apollo, June 3rd

Hatless Pharrell

Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn -I would miss most things to see Pharrell Williams at the Apollo, which is where he is playing on Tuesday June 3rd. And I would even if I was a lesser fan of GIRL, a great pop album, because you know that after Pharrell tours (he is setting up Europe for the summer) and plays the much larger Barclay Center (as he will later this year or next year), it will be a production number but the Apollo Theatre which be a much straighter production. He will have to perform without that huge stage managed safety net. And it is the start of the first  post-superstar Pharrell; tour: ground zero. There is an AMEX presale at 10am and while who wants a Tuesday gig, true, still I’ll take it.

So why all the damning? Because I won’t miss Lydia Loveless and Old 97’s at Webster Hall  to see Pharrell. Last year? Sure I would, but in 2014 both bands are on fire. Most Messed Up is a contender for album of the year (Steve Crawford:  “Imagine if the Replacements were an alt-country band led by an American Shane MacGowan. This is the great rock album I didn’t think they had in them.”) and Somewhere Else is damn close to being close to first runner up.

This could be the show of the Spring and I can’t give it up for Pharrell however much I might love Pharrell and I love him a lot. I am expecting Rhett to not be watching the clock to be well aware that a) she is on New York not Boise, Idaho and b) if she doesn’t bring her top performance to the proceedings nobody will remember her name by the end of the night. As for Old 97s, I though their were way too many valleys in the setlist and I wish they’d play the entire new album any way, but there is enough to make this a huge show.

So Sorry Pharrell, see you at Barclays in a coupla months.