Concert Reviews

[sdhonda]

Oh, almost forgot.

 

They were filming. 3 cams, at least.

[custom55]

OUCH !!! Scott is on something. OUCH !!!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x1wUBZBVsZk

[JohnRogers]

My wife and I went to see Neil Diamond, it was a bucket list item for us.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000026E0J.02._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

 

After the lights go down unexpectedly Sean Connery came out on stage.

http://www.neildiamond.com/wp-content/themes/neildiamond_neildiamond2014/img/home-figure.png

 

We were surprised but Sean did all of Neil's song really well. His voice was strong, he performed with energy and class. His full band and two back up singers were very good. My only complaint is Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show didn't make the set list, I could have done without Heartlight instead.

[bathory]

SLEEP ruled

[Justin Case]

So...FNM night one of two. Mind blowingly good. Those guys are so tight!! And their music hits me in ways that no one else's does. I'd say it's nostalgia, but some of the stuff that gets me emotional is from a time period that I was off doing other things and not paying attention to them,

 

Anyhow...the band and stage (amps, cabinets, etc...not the instruments, except Roddy's keyboard) were all in white and covered in fresh flowers (the stage...not the band). Very elegant look for a very elegant band.

 

No Gimp tonight....maybe he'll be there tonight. In NYC it shouldn't be too difficult to find a guy to wear leather and bondage gear while stalking the stage. Maybe not as easy as San Francisco, but I digress...

 

Anyhow...here's the facts:

• 
  
  • 
    Motherfu(ker
     
    
  • 
    Land of Sunshine
     
    
  • 
    Caffeine
     
    
  • 
    Evidence
     
    
  • 
    Epic
     
    
  • 
    Sunny Side Up
     
    
  • 
    Surprise! You're Dead!
     
    
  • 
    Midlife Crisis
     
    
  • 
    Last Cup of Sorrow
     
    
  • 
    The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
     
    
  • 
    Easy
    (Commodores cover)
    
  • 
    Separation Anxiety
     
    
  • 
    King for a Day
     
    
  • 
    Ashes to Ashes
     
    
  • 
    Superhero
     
    
  • Encore:
    
  • 
    Sol Invictus
     
    
  • 
    As the Worm Turns
     
    
  • 
    This Guy's in Love With You
    (Burt Bacharach cover)
    
  • Encore 2:
    
  • 
    From the Dead
     
    

• 
   
  

 

Btw...anyone catch them on Fallon? Gotta try and find that over the weekend.

Edited May 14, 2015 by Justin Case

[Justin Case]

Night #2 of FNM at Webster Hall. Once again, packed and overflowing. A lot more drunk dudes last night...and not in the good "we're just all having fun" way. It was kinda like amateur hour. Whatchagonnado? The band sounded great, as expected. Patton's voice was shot by the end of the night and we got shorted one encore song. 6 songs not played at the first night, which had 8 not played at the second (11 songs in common for those keeping count).

 

Here's the setlist:

• 
  
  1. 
     Motherfu(ker
      
      
     
  2. 
     Be Aggressive
      
      
     
  3. 
     Caffeine
      
      
     
  4. 
     Evidence
      
      
     
  5. 
     Epic
      
      
     
  6. 
     Sunny Side Up
      
      
     
  7. 
     Get Out
      
      
     
  8. 
     Midlife Crisis
      
      
     
  9. 
     Everything's Ruined
      
      
     
  10. 
      The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
       
       
      
  11. 
      Easy
      (Commodores cover)
       
      
  12. 
      We Care a Lot
      (with Rahzel)
       
      
  13. 
      King for a Day
       
       
      
  14. 
      Ashes to Ashes
       
       
      
  15. 
      Superhero
       
       
      
  16. Encore:
       
      
  17. 
      Matador
       
       
      
  18. 
      From Out of Nowhere
      

Note: Final song on the printed setlist was I Started A Joke, but it was not played.

 

 

Here are a bunch of photos from the first night: http://www.brooklynv...o_more_p_7.html

Edited May 15, 2015 by Justin Case

[PolarizeMe]

Btw...anyone catch them on Fallon? Gotta try and find that over the weekend.

 

No, I didn't catch it. I will try to find the video of it online later, though. Actually, I had no clue they were on Fallon until I found out the day later. Sounds like it was a killer two nights minus the drunk douches. Glad, that I'll see them at MSG later this summer, and with a reformed Refused as well! :haz:

[Justin Case]

Btw...anyone catch them on Fallon? Gotta try and find that over the weekend.

 

No, I didn't catch it. I will try to find the video of it online later, though. Actually, I had no clue they were on Fallon until I found out the day later. Sounds like it was a killer two nights minus the drunk douches. Glad, that I'll see them at MSG later this summer, and with a reformed Refused as well! :haz:

 

 

Check that BV link...they've got the Fallon vids there.

 

Last Friday their Detroit show was webcast. I located it last night (without too much difficulty). Let me know if you;d like to see it and I'll Dropbox it to you.

 

Also forgot to mention one important part about last night...'We Care A Lot' was with special guest Rahzel, I guess that's noted on the setlist, but it's worth pointing out anyhow. No idea how that guy does what he does! I've actually seen just him and Patton perform. No band. No DJ. Just the 2 of them and their mouths!!

[Justin Case]

More pics from Wednesday... http://www.glidemaga...ll-new-york-ny/

 

New York Times review: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/15/arts/music/review-faith-no-more-reunited-and-reclaiming-its-spot.html?_r=0

Edited May 15, 2015 by Justin Case

[Ancient Ways]

Ed kowalczyk, formerly of Live, tonight in Clearwater. 20th anniversary tour for throwing cooper. Ed and his guitarist played throwing copper straight through then lakini's juice, turn my head, heaven, and overcome along with a couple solo songs. Excellent show with vocals near perfect. Quite a bit of nostalgia in the room. It always impresses me when a band/artist has a very passionate female fan base and there were plenty of them there and they were very vocal. Ed looks exactly the same as he did then which is better than I can say for myself. It sucks that bands have disagreements and split up but it wouldn't have been possible to see these songs in such a small theater otherwise. If you like the songs go check it out.

[Jaminbenb]

Steven Wilson tonight at the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg (PA) WHAT a SHOW!!!! Played the entire Hand Cannot Erase album and a lot of other old stuff..My personal highlight was Lazarus! LOVE that song! (and I always keep that in the back of my mind if I ever make a scuba diving video... "Follow me down...to the valley below...."

 

Other cool stuff Harmony Korine, The Watchmaker (not Rush's) and The Raven that Refused to sing.... Band was just crazy off the charts! If you get a shot to see this show, don't miss it!!!

[TheAccountant]

Got to see The Who on Tuesday, May 26th in Brooklyn NY.

 

Wow!!!!! What a show!!! Yes, Pete & Roger are in their 70's but I was luck enough to catch them on a night where Roger's voice was in decent shape. I wont get into set lists other than to say they played some big hits (no shocks there) and some stuff that they had most likely not played live since the 1960's.

 

I had never seen The Who b4 so I am so glad I got to catch them once and on a night when they were on. Crowd was really into the show as well. In fact, it was such a good show that the next day I ran out and bought a ticket to their show at Madison Square Garden in October.

 

I strongly advise that if you get the chance you should see them. I have 3 Who DVD's from the Keith Moon years and a number of boots from those years (and the Kenny Jones years as well) and they may be a shell of what their once were - but on this night it was a magnificent shell. Better than many bands that are much younger. What they must have been like in person in the 1960's & 1970's - wow. I am sooo envious of those who got to see The Who in person back in the day.

 

One other guy from my office happened to go to the show as well (he had seen them once with Moon and once with Jones) and he told me the next day he thought it was an outstanding show.

 

Joan Jet opened and she rocked as well.

 

Like I said - if you get the chance, check out The Who. They are still fabulous live.

Edited May 30, 2015 by TheAccountant

[PolarizeMe]

Just came back from the 2nd NYC Steven Wilson show. Purely f***ing amazing! Different sets each night (which I'll go in detail more later), both of which rocked. This review'll be on the longer side so bear with my if you're interested.

 

This time around, the NYC shows were seated shows, whereas past shows were all GA shows (standing room if you're on the floor at least). Now, this caused a drastic change in atmosphere at least from where I'm used to being at the Best Buy Theater. Everyone including the floor were seating throughout the whole show apart from a good number of the audience giving standing ovations at the end of every song. The crowd were lively as most NYC shows are, but at the same time they were a lot more polite and courteous than past SW shows in the venue. Perhaps it's the seats that's the cause, but it did prevent another Raider II incident from happening (in case you didn't know, some c*** screamed out "HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT!!" during the 2013 show causing Adam/SW to f**k up the piano intro and start over again which they were pissed off about). First night's crowd was great, but the second night was the more livelier of the two which in a way made the 2nd night more enjoyable of the two for me.

 

The multimedia show was by far the best SW's ever staged together. I've seen each tour and I can definitely see the growth and improvement of the stage show. The videos were incredible, the light show was awesome, and the curtain from previous tours has returned in spectacular fashion. The video for Routine in particular hit me pretty deep. In my humble opinion, it's the most depressing visual in SW's body of work period. So much, that it takes melancholia up eleven and as SW himself said before the song, it's too depressing even for him. If you thought the song was a tearjerker on its own, wait till you see the video for it. I should note that at least for me, Routine made more sense to me now in terms of how it fits into the concept after seeing the video for it. I won't explain how or why exactly, but if you're seeing or planning to see SW on this tour, watch it and see for yourself and maybe you'll look at the song in a different light.

 

Understandably, many fans were bummed at the news of Guthrie Govan and Marco Minnemann leaving the tour at the end of the European leg to fulfill their commitment with The Aristocrats and with good reason to question if Craig Blundell and Dave Kilminster will do a great job of filling in for what seems like impossible musicians to replace. Say what you want about them being "unknown" or whatever, but at the two nights, they were fanfuckingtastic. They really impressed me with not only being faithful to the original parts as much as possible, but their stage presence. Dave in particular being quite into the whole thing without coming across as show-offish. He reminds me a bit of Porcupine Tree's bassist Colin Edwin's stage presence with the eyes closed and letting the music take him wherever. I know that they only had 10 days or so to rehearse before the start of the Americas Tour, but by the time I saw them, they were gelling really well with the band, with Steven interacting with Dave and Craig quite a lot throughout the show. Might be blasphemy for some, I would totally be cool with them being the studio drummer and guitarist for the next album.

 

Steven interacted with the audience quite a lot, especially more so than the last few times he's toured. I think he's become more comfortable and open ever since he's gone solo which is a really great thing because it produced some funny moments with the audience. He's almost becoming like Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth in that regard. Most notably when a fan who screamed out "NOTHING ON DEADWING SUCKS." at the end of Lazarus he goes on to say that he hates it when bands he loves trash albums he loves before continuing on that there's several tracks on Deadwing he's not proud of but won't name them. In another string of moments where I made a fool of myself in front of SW, I screamed out "SHALLOW!!!" in an attempt to get his attention. To my delight, he heard me and answered back, "Shallow is shit. Other opinions most welcome."

 

It's hard for me to pick favorite songs from both nights. Apart from my top 3 favorites off of Hand.Cannot.Erase., hearing the Porcupine Tree songs (especially How Is Your Life Today and Trains which were songs I didn't hear live the only time I saw PT) was such a treat as was his cover of Alanis Morisette's Thank U, the performance of which in my opinion miles better than the one on Cover Versions and Blackfield Live in NYC. Initially, I thought the title track off the new album. was just okay in the studio, but live it was great (the video for that one was quite brilliant). Even Perfect Life, which is the only song that didn't do much for me in the studio version, while I still think it's the weakest song on the album, for me, it was better live and it's finally growing on me a bit.

 

On the first night, I saw Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater chatting with a few fans at the end of the show. I did a real fanboy thing, where I went up to him to say hello and tell him (in the one minute I had to talk to him as I didn't want to bother him or take up his time) that I saw DT on their last tour and how much I enjoyed that show. I even got a picture with him too.

 

A few weeks ago with all the hoopla around Rush's R40 Tour setlist, to be perfectly honest I was starting to get bit less enthusiastic about seeing Steven Wilson live heading into the first night. However with these two shows for the first time ever with Steven Wilson I'm still struggling with letting it all sink in but in a good way. From the multimedia show, to how the band were tight performance wise, to the heartbreaking video for Routine, etc. as I'm typing this, I'm thinking to myself, "Did I really see that? Did that just happen?" What I witnessed at both shows is scrambling through my head, my neurons are still wiring all that info into my brain so. Even if I went to only one show I think I'd be feeling the same way. I'll definitely be thinking of these two shows for a long time. For those of you Steven Wilson fans who are seeing him later on this tour, in a SW fashion it's a really f***ing awesome show, you're in for a very immersive show.

[Jaminbenb]

Here's my Rush @ Bristow VA review....beware of many spoilers!!!

 

A little over 30 years ago, I saw my first live Rush concert in Philadelphia on the Grace Under Pressure tour. I was supposed to see them in 1979 in Hershey, but was unable…long story… Saturday night I saw what was probably (Unless we’re being set up) the last time I’ll see my favorite band live! It was probably one of the most amazing shows (set list –wise) that I’ve ever seen! About the only thing they didn’t do that really would have made it more complete for me would have been La Villa Strangiato, and the entire Cygnus/Hemispheres suite…other than that it was a perfect show! (but I don’t want to get into the countless setlist complaints that have been rolling around for a while now…you can’t please everyone!) I finally was able to hear Jacob’s Ladder live and in person, and I finally got to see them do the ENTIRE Xanadu (complete with double necked guitars, and Neil playing real orchestra chimes!)

 

One of the other highlights was when they did Losing It from Signals during soundcheck. A lot of people tend to think they will play that during their last show as a sort of farewell…let’s hope it’s just something they want to do for themselves to keep psyched about moving forward, and they decide to add a second leg of tour dates (and that they come to Hershey!) I know that they’ve usually tossed a second leg onto their tours in recent times, and still considered it “The _____ Tour” so there’s hope! The popular opinion in the ‘lots’ and the Holiday Inn Express breakfast table is that they will add more date, and do that “FINAL SHOW” in Cleveland, where it all began! (With Donna Halper introducing them)

I attended the show with a friend that works with my wife, who’s a bit older than me, but an extremely avid concert goer (he see’s everyone that he can, you’d be amazed at who he’s seen) but fairly new to Rush (Snakes and Arrows tour...he’s only seen five shows…but you have to give him credit, he saw Led Zeppelin in 1973!) He admitted that he didn’t know most of the second set, so I made him a compilation disc with some of the “missing pieces” so he can get up to snuff.

 

After hearing sound check, I wandered over to the merch table to get my tour book, and t-shirt. I considered the $600. Leather jacket, but I value my marriage, so I abstained (my friend said I should get a matching jacket for my wife to ease the pain...yeah, ok!) I had decent seats and was in heavy anticipation for set list ‘C’ as we’ve been calling it. The pre-show music sounds like it could have come out of my music collection… all sorts of great stuff, Yes, ELP, Jethro Tull, etc. This is a band that knows its audience! The lights dimmed, and the intro movie started, and we were treated to The Anarchist! The rest of the first half of the concert followed suit, and the band played admirably as usual. Being a fan of the older music, I was enjoying myself, but I knew what was coming, and really didn’t feel overly enthused about the first half…. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike the newer music, but after the past few tours, I was ready for some older stuff. When Roll the Bones was playing, I was enjoying the video of the rappers, kind of funny…then Distant Early Warning started and I was ready to start getting into it (although I knew there were only two tunes left in this half) Towards the end, Neil had a bad miscue, and went into the last verse of the song rather than the next section, and looked totally lost, I’m sure it happens, but it was odd to see him miss this bad. (but in his defense, they may have discussed a difference in the song, and he was right and the other two were wrong…hard to say) They got out of it, and went into Subdivisions, and ended the first set. The lights went up and the mad rush to get to the bathroom to unload the beer from the first set was on…Thankfully I’ve learned over the years that there’s no need to get trashed at a concert, you miss all the good stuff, and spend most of the night trying to figure out when to hit the bathroom…

The beginning of the second set’s video started, and we were soon getting Cartman’s count in to Tom Sawyer! YYZ was next, The Spirit of Radio, then probably one of my favorite songs Natural Science! Always loved this song off of Permanent Waves, and I admitted to my friend on the ride home that when that album came out, the two that always stuck with me were Freewill, and Natural Science! I was thrilled then they brought that one back out of retirement for a few tours over the past 20 years. Next up was one that I listened to MANY MANY times in the 80’s on Exit….Stage Left in my friends foggy bedroom, Jacob’s Ladder! This was one that I know people have been hoping for a return, and we GOT it! Snippets of Hemispheres were next, into some Cygnus and another drum solo, then back into some more Cygnus…this was a satisfying bit of these tunes, but I still would have loved to see these the whole way through. Closer to the Heart gave everyone a little break mentally, and BAM!! XANADU! Double necked guitars, chimes, fog, lights…this was one of those dream come true dream sequences! What a great performance! After the fog rolled out, 2112 started, and we were treated to a little more than the last few tours worth…I was happy to have been able to see this in its entirety on the Test for Echo tour, but any bit of this is a welcome part of the set list! Alex had some guitar issues during parts of the song, and according to someone I was speaking with at breakfast, he ripped his tech a new one each time he swapped guitars (he also thought it was probably tuning, since it didn’t appear to be a broken string) After the Grand Finale rolled off, we were treated to another intro video, and another song I never got to hear live, but remember listening to on All the World’s a Stage MANY times; LAKESIDE PARK! Anthem came up next, and after the tease of it on the R30 tour, we got a lot more and lyrics! What You’re Doing was next, which was another from that album that was heard more than 100 times, and into Working Man with a Garden Road tag on the end!

 

The only thing I could say was WOW! WHAT A SETLIST! That was a wild trip through some OLD Rush music, and it really made this old fan a happy person! A few things that I’ve never gotten to experience live, were all there in one night for my enjoyment! The few issues that the band had were a little concerning, Alex looked like he was struggling with the double neck on his back, and he wasn’t his usual jovial self with the audience…maybe his arthritic issues are a little more of a problem that we think, but I hope he can resolve them, he’s an amazing and underrated guitar player, and you know that he has to be happy with what he’s playing this tour compared to the last tour with that mid-80’s synth stuff. Neil’s issues are also of concern, but one thing that I’m wondering is that with the use of two separate drum kits, could THAT be something that’s confusing him. Neil’s usual methodical approach, could be something that suffers with the two extremely different set ups. Geddy seems to be having the time of his life, and is playing really well. The basses he’s been pulling out are amazing, it seems he’s playing a different guitar each and every song! (But you can see how he cheats with the keys when they do a close up on the big screen… I noticed that for Subdivisions, he has green dots with an “S” on them!) Vocally, he’s struggling a bit with the older songs, those were some VERY high notes.

 

I’m still holding out on my hope for another leg, that comes close to my neck of the woods (even better if it would be TWO close shows) But I think if this IS it, I can die a happy man finally getting to see some of what I saw. I’ve attended 14 shows, which isn’t many compared to some people, but I’ve had a pretty fulfilling experience with this band! Thanks for the memories guys!

Edited June 1, 2015 by Jaminbenb

[custom55]

Back from Buffalo NY, after a road trip from NJ, to see The Rolling Stones for a second time this tour. Had a blast in Buffalo's downtown waterfront area and visiting Niagara Falls ( Made of the Mist and Cave of the Winds ). Brilliant show by The Stones and Keith's guitars were cranked up high and sounded fantastic. As usual Mick had the crowd in the palm of his hand and he did not stop moving the entire show.

 

Who knows what's ahead for The Stones but they are sounding great and didn't miss a beat. Given the ages of the members I know that this could have been my last Stones show. I haven't missed a US tour since 1972 so leaving the show that night was bittersweet. Keith has a new album coming out in Sept so I have that to look forward to.

 

 

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w276/custom55/P1000694_zpsbpy2ka6y.jpg

[J2112YYZ]

Back from Buffalo NY, after a road trip from NJ, to see The Rolling Stones for a second time this tour. Had a blast in Buffalo's downtown waterfront area and visiting Niagara Falls ( Made of the Mist and Cave of the Winds ). Brilliant show by The Stones and Keith's guitars were cranked up high and sounded fantastic. As usual Mick had the crowd in the palm of his hand and he did not stop moving the entire show.

 

Who knows what's ahead for The Stones but they are sounding great and didn't miss a beat. Given the ages of the members I know that this could have been my last Stones show. I haven't missed a US tour since 1972 so leaving the show that night was bittersweet. Keith has a new album coming out in Sept so I have that to look forward to.

 

 

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w276/custom55/P1000694_zpsbpy2ka6y.jpg

 

It was a great show!!!

 

Here's my review that I wrote in the Stones 2015 tour thread:

 

I saw them here at Ralph Wilson Stadium (home of the Buffalo Bills) last night and they tore the house down. I haven't seen them since 2002 and was worried now that with the main four guys in the band all being at least 70 that they may have lost a step or two but they certainly haven't. Keith, Ronnie and Charlie jammed away like they were 40 years younger and played their hearts out and Mick just doesn't age at all. At 71, the man still works that huge stage and the crowd like nobody else can. He's still got all those on stage moves he's so famous for. He's the most iconic and greatest frontman in rock and roll history and no one will ever convince me otherwise.

 

The crowd was great, at least where I was on the floor and were very receptive to every song. The setlist was mainly made up of hits but there were a couple of other really nice selections I liked.

 

Here's the set for those wondering:

 

http://www.setlist.f...ny-3f681cf.html

 

I know since they were playing places they haven't been to in a long time meant that a lot of people traveled to see them, but it was nice to see a supposed B market city like Buffalo be able to get 50,000 people to a stadium for a rock concert. They got one more show in Quebec and then the tour is over. So, it looks like this show will be their last one played in North America for a little while. We certainly represented well and the band gave it all back to us and then some, especially Mick. Hopefully, it won't be 18 years before The Stones come back here again.

Edited July 14, 2015 by J2112YYZ

[custom55]

Van Halen PNC Arts Center, NJ - Aug 9, 2015

 

We walked into PNC after a hour of tailgating with sandwiches and beers, and caught the last few song from Kenny Wayne Shepard Band and WOW... This guy can play guitar. Sorry but I'm not familiar with KWS so I was very impressed. Also the sound was GOOD(keep that in mind). I was tapping my feet for sure.

 

 

I started to check out the crowd on the lawn seats at PNC... and what a cast of burnouts, rock chicks and Jersey shore tanned couples (No further comment here). I saw a few R40 shirts, Led Zep shirts ( I was wearing my Zep PG shirt and got a lot of questions on.. where did you get that shirt ? ), Rolling Stones shirts and of course the Van Halen 2015 tour and older VH tour shirts.

 

It was a picture perfect night for an outdoor event as the temps were in the low 70's, no humidity and not a cloud in the sky.

 

At 8:45 Van Halen took the stage and ..... blah... I thought the sound SUCKED. DLR's vocals and Eddie's guitars were better than I expected but the person on the mixing board was either sleeping or tone deaf. I thought there was a lot of potential for a great =VH= show but the sound guy blew it. I have to admit that the sound did get better as the show progressed but WTF, this is 1/2 way through the tour and you'd think the sound mix would not be a problem... I thought it was.

 

Next, an over tanned muscle head A-hole sitting next to me with his girl friend fist pumping and taking selfie's the entire show.. What a A-hole or I'm getting old ? At first it bothered me but then I got into the concert vibe and ignored him.

 

POT: A lot of people smoking pot... a lot. :smoke: Nice to see and smell.

 

Anyway I thought the concert could have been 100% better if the sound person had a clue. As I said before, the sound mix SUCKED and too bad for =VH=.

 

Thanks for playing NJ =VH= but get a better sound person.

 

RUSH puts on a better show, for sure.

 

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w276/custom55/Hearing-aid-prototype_zps1932a459.jpg

Edited August 10, 2015 by custom55

[Jaminbenb]

I've been a "devoted" Frank Zappa fan since about 1979-80 about the time Joe's Garage came out, but I've known about his stuff a lot earlier..had a cousin play "Dinah Moe Humm" for me way back, saw them do "I'm the Slime" on The Midnight Special, (with the goop coming out of the TV monitor above the stage) and saw them on Saturday Night Live a few times back in the mid 70's...sadly I never got to see Frank live...But I was able to see Dweezil a few years back...and it was a pretty good show.

 

When I saw that they were coming back to my area again (and I was in town for this one) I decided to get a ticket, and check it out. He's doing the 40th anniversary of the One Size Fits All album which is a freaking CLASSIC, so they're playing the whole thing. They're also playing a lot of other stuff that's pretty obscure and tough for their little six piece band to churn out, but they play the living crap out of it! Stuff like the Grand Wazoo, Sinister Footwear, and Big Swifty just KILLED me, not to mention stuff from all the way back to We're Only In It for the Money!

 

If you get a chance to see these guys, go do it...it's not Frank or any of the wonderful musicians that he's developed over the years, but the people Dweezil has on stage are working it just like Frank's crew did, and playing the living crap out of those notes!

[Ancient Ways]

Last minute whim tonight, went to see Elvis Costello open for steely dan. They had Elvis start at 7 which was a bit too early both for the conditions (blazing bright sun) and the crowd (late arriving due to work/traffic). Some of the highlights for me from Elvis were watching the detectives, radio, radio, Allison, pump it up, what's so funny..., and everyday I write the book. Sounded good, no encore.

 

Steely dan-wow. These guys just play hit after hit. It's a bit like rush in that there are no bathroom songs with them. They played reelin in the years, my old school, bodhisattva, show biz kids, Rikki..., kid Charlemagne, peg, Josie, Aja, Babylon sisters, hey nineteen, dirty work. Great sound as expected. 9 musicians on stage and 3 vocalists so everything was close to recording. Fagan sounded good. Definitely glad I went.

[Jaminbenb]

A few months back I had a friend ask me if I was interested in going to Baltimore to see Yes and Toto with him..he wanted to go see Yes again...but his wife wasn't interested. He knew that I haven't been overly thrilled with Yes since Jon Anderson left (well had a medical issue and wasn't able to tour, and Chris Squire just booked the tour without him) and I saw them back in 2008 with a cover band vocalist and Wakeman's son. I was "marginally" interested because Geoff Downes was playing (and I was hoping for some Drama music) and they got from what I've heard from some Yes-head friends a better lead vocalist (although I still wish Jon Anderson was doing it) But the kicker for me was Toto opening! So I said "Hell yeah!"

 

Toto was one of those bands that I fell in love with back in the 70's when they first came out, and I was a major Jeff Porcaro freak! Being the Neil Peart (you guys heard of HIM, right?) nut I am...I wasn't able to play THAT style of drums in my high school stage band, and in the subsequent "bar" bands, so guys like Vinnie Coliauta and Jeff Porcaro were PERFECT for me to get THOSE kinds of normal chops to be just a good all around drummer. (Neil's licks taught me how to show off for my friends!) So I followed Toto all through those years, and was thoroughly devastated when Jeff passed away, and I never got to see him play live! But I digress...Toto was one of those "Bucket list" bands, so this was a great opportunity. When I found out that Chris Squire was sick, and then passed away, I was sort of worried that the tour wouldn't go off...but thankfully they replaced Chris with Billy Sherwood, and honored their contract!

 

I was never to Pier 6 in Baltimore, but a nice outdoor venue in between the piers on Inner Harbor, overpriced crabcake and a few beers at Phillip's, and over to the show. Toto played their ASSES off! Pretty much all of the known staples, a few tunes from their new album, and some of the things that the old Toto fans all wanted to hear. (When I got home and told my wife that their lead singer was the guy that sang the parts for Simba when he got older in the Lion King SHE was impressed) But Joesph Williams was the singer for Fahrenheit and The Seventh One and did a nice job with some of the older stuff as well! They did a 90 minute set that included two of their new songs, and a nice cover of Little Wing where Steve Lukather shredded as expected! David Paich played a quick little intro into one of their new songs that sounded like a Rick Wakeman tribute more than anything else. They pretty much played at LEAST one song or part of one song from each of the first seven albums, which was fine with me! They ended with Rosanna, and Africa complete with Lenny Castro playing percussion (Lenny was the guy that sat in the studio and worked out the original groove to the tune with Jeff Porcaro when they were writing the song) Needless to say I was impressed!

 

Intermission came, and the sets were switched out...the first thing was a quick tribute to the late Chris Squire...they flashed some images of him through the years on the screen behind the stage, while shining a light on his bass guitar, and played a recording of Onward...when that faded out the familiar strains of Stravinsky's Firebird Suite started, and they walked out and Started with Don't Kill the Whale, and went right into Tempus Fugit (Got my "Drama" wish..but that was it) America was next...after that the next impressive thing was Steve Howe playing his old solo piece Clap! Then All Good People into Siberian Khatru which blew me away!!! After that they went into Owner of a Lonely Heart, which was a big question mark to me because the only person on stage that was on that album was Alan White...so I took that as an opportunity to hit the men's room....Roundabout and Starship Trooper ended the set....

 

Ok...Yes should probably fulfill their concert contract, then call it a day...Alan White look's like he's about ready to fall over... Billy Sherwood is doing an ADMIRABLE job, but he's no Chris Squire, who was the driving force behind that band, Steve Howe is STILL a force to be reckoned with, but would be better on a solo tour or with Asia...same with Geoff Downes.... (and the lead singer should just go back to a Yes tribute act or smoking doobies with his friends listening to Yes albums) I was saying the same thing a few years back when I saw them the last time, and I'll say it again...call it a day! We have the memories! (I'll let you know how Anderson Ponty is when I go see them in a few months)

Edited August 13, 2015 by Jaminbenb

[fraroc]

Van Halen kicked absolute ass last night at Jones Beach. Dave's voice was so much better than it was last tour and overall, the band sounded really tight.

[NaturalHemisphereGarden]

A few nights ago, I saw Yes in Huber Heights. I liked the Chris Squire tribute they did at the beginning. The concert, on the other hand, was full of problems, like the entire band messing up one part of Tempus Fugit, Steve Howe being a very noticeable split second behind during most of Siberian Khatru, an overall sloppiness of performance, and the keyboard solo on Roundabout barely being audible. I'm still glad I went to this show and definitely enjoyed it, but in the future when I only have live albums and videos, I am going to stick to the older ones.

[Leanne]

I saw Whitesnake last Thursday night at The Joint at Hard Rock Casino. I had originally bought cheap tickets, however, my friend Stephanie received free complimentary tickets through the players club and her tickets were in the THIRD ROW!! Needless to say, we used her tickets. It was a fantastic concert and I took pics and video. We saw their facial expressions and made eye contact. Another thing is my friend was able to get a free complimentary hotel room! All in all it was a great night!

 

I don't know what happened with the font...

Edited August 20, 2015 by Leanne

[Rick N. Backer]

I saw AC/DC last night at Gillette Stadium. They opened with Rock or Bust. The last tune was For Those About to Rock. In between, we got treated to Angus playing the guitar with his tie, a surprise track

Shot Down in Flames

and lots of tunes you expect to hear at an AC/DC show.

 

I honestly don't know how they actually "sounded" because they were so loud I couldn't hear a thing. But they were energetic and fun. Stevie Young does a marvelous Malcolm Young impression (looks the same, same Gretsch guitar). Chris Slade seemed a bit off a couple of times, although I wonder if that's an echo/loudness issue. They played Rock or Bust, Play Ball and Baptism by Fire from the new album.

 

AC/DC was my first concert back in 1981. I hadn't seen them in 34 years. I've changed a lot since then. They really haven't. :cheers: AC/DC.

[Lost In Xanadu]

I saw AC/DC last night at Gillette Stadium. They opened with Rock or Bust. The last tune was For Those About to Rock. In between, we got treated to Angus playing the guitar with his tie, a surprise track

Shot Down in Flames

and lots of tunes you expect to hear at an AC/DC show.

 

I honestly don't know how they actually "sounded" because they were so loud I couldn't hear a thing. But they were energetic and fun. Stevie Young does a marvelous Malcolm Young impression (looks the same, same Gretsch guitar). Chris Slade seemed a bit off a couple of times, although I wonder if that's an echo/loudness issue. They played Rock or Bust, Play Ball and Baptism by Fire from the new album.

 

AC/DC was my first concert back in 1981. I hadn't seen them in 34 years. I've changed a lot since then. They really haven't. :cheers: AC/DC.

I've seen them once, didn't have earplugs and remember the ringing in my ears for days. One of my friends was so affected by the volume that he got dizzy and almost blacked out.