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Jaminbenb

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Everything posted by Jaminbenb

  1. Lazarus....no question... (hell, even my wife likes it!)
  2. Some Neal Morse/Spock's Beard stuff from MORSEFEST of last year, and some odds and ends off of his website.
  3. This is a bummer to me. PT was better than sliced bread. I've heard some rumblings of this over the past few...saw him solo a few years back, and it was great stuff! There's a book coming out about the band soon (I think I'll be getting it in January) that has the story of the band...guessing it mentions the end. That was some great stuff...just bummed I never got to see "THAT" band live...
  4. Interestingly there's only a few songs that were left off of the Different Stages release....but it's cool to finally hear them!
  5. They didn't exactly make "hits" in those days...
  6. Thanks for putting up these videos- I have been loving them! I'm missing a little of the excitement since I'm waiting for Santa to bring me the 3 CD set- I can't wait! Hoping mine comes soon..... Btw...where in Central PA? I'm in Hershey/Hummelstown area.... Mechanicsburg-Carlisle area! Although we are in Hershey a lot for Bears' games! Ok, cool... Haven't been to a Bear's game since 1969.... (not a fan! hahahaha!) I just heard about this today- Solar Federation, a Rush tribute band, in Harrisburg at Appalachian Brewing Co. Abbey Bar 12/16 !! I probably won't be able to go, due to a neighborhood Christmas party, but anyway here is the info! http://abcbrew.com/e...tribute-band-2/ I've been seeing that. Although, I have mixed feelings about Rush tribute bands, and have pretty much boycotted them... there's a thread on here somewhere with me debating this with someone a few years back...
  7. Would have been nice to finally have a live show with some of that stuff. (and if I remember correctly, they recorded the Massey Hall shows on that tour)
  8. Thanks for putting up these videos- I have been loving them! I'm missing a little of the excitement since I'm waiting for Santa to bring me the 3 CD set- I can't wait! Hoping mine comes soon..... Btw...where in Central PA? I'm in Hershey/Hummelstown area.... Mechanicsburg-Carlisle area! Although we are in Hershey a lot for Bears' games! Ok, cool... Haven't been to a Bear's game since 1969.... (not a fan! hahahaha!)
  9. Thanks for putting up these videos- I have been loving them! I'm missing a little of the excitement since I'm waiting for Santa to bring me the 3 CD set- I can't wait! Hoping mine comes soon..... Btw...where in Central PA? I'm in Hershey/Hummelstown area....
  10. Yes.... I had a Ford Probe with a killer sound system, and CD player... so I went to my normal place for first day release stuff, and bought the disc. I got in my car, put the disc in, and heard the first electronic drum beats REALLY low...so I hit reverse...and turned the volume up, and heard them again at the "normal" level...then the first part of the tune came in and I was BLOWN out of my car!!! hahaha! I'll never forget that as long as I live!!! But otherwise... I "liked" the album, but it never became one that I grab in a pinch.....
  11. I'll take the superconducting inflatable bunny. With "Three 'LOVE' openings"!
  12. Well knowing that there ARE demos, (and cassette mixes) I think there would be possible pre-release versions of most albums.... Now I'm hoping that they continue this trend, and we possibly get the demo of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" in a Permanent Waves anniversary.... But I am bummed that we haven't received anything from Caress of Steel.... I'd be willing to bet that some live stuff exists in their vaults.....
  13. Nothing lined up...this has to be the first time in a while that I didn't have a ticket to SOMETHING sitting in my safe! 2017 was a good year! Brian Wilson Neal Morse Band Toto Roger Waters and both versions of Yes! (one of which had Carl Palmer's band, and Todd Rundgren opening)
  14. I had the opportunity to see him on his first Blizzard of Ozz tour (With Randy Rhoads 1981) and thought it was amazing... I saw his return to Black Sabbath tour in 1999, and thought he should give it up after that. He was in pretty bad shape.
  15. You can buy it from here for $2 to view. For those that upload the episode on YouTube, at some point it will be taken down due to a copyright claim by AXS TV. We can't always get 'something for nothing'. Thanks!
  16. So is there any place to watch this now?
  17. The gist of a conversation I heard on my way out was "could they have picked shorter songs?!?!?" the guy said, "I get that Close to the Edge, Relayer, Awaken, and Tales from Topographic Oceans are all 20+ minutes each, but they COULD have done at least more of them or one WHOLE one" (They did the Soon part of Relayer, and the Leaves of Green part from Tales) But Steve is looking frail, and as I said Alan White is looking pretty weak... I didn't have a huge problem with the setlist, I was just mad that Carl Palmer's band didn't get more than 30 minutes. Going to see the "Other" Yes in October. Rick Wakeman and John Anderson aren't exactly spring chickens, but they still can perform... and Trevor Rabin is still in pretty good shape...sort of like Geoff Downe in this version...but "ARW" does play Awaken (well they did the last tour, which was cool to see again)
  18. Yestival! (yeah...spoilers...but that's just me!) I found out that Yestival was coming to my local theater, and there was no way I was missing it, especially since Carl Palmer’s band was part of it. I never saw Todd Rundgren live, so that was another interesting factor. I’ve seen this version of Yes a few times, and they have their moments… First on was Carl Palmer, so I made sure I got there early enough to get to me seat (This theater has started seriously checking people on the way in, and the lines are a pain, even for their Broadway show series, which my wife and I attend) So I got in, ran into a few friends that work there, and grabbed a glass of wine. Carl came on, and started off with a cute video of ELP’s mentions on a few TV shows, Jeopardy, Cheer’s and the Simpsons, then Carl went right into Hoedown! I can’t honestly say I’ve ever seen someone attack a set of drums like him. I’ve seen him a few times, with Asia, and once with ELP years back, and the man just pounds the drums! Next up was parts of Karn Evil 9 which is one of my favorite ELP songs, then into Knife Edge. After that he introduced Lucky Man in memory of Greg Lake, and urged people to take video of it and post online. He ended his set with Fanfare for the Common Man, with a little drum solo in the middle. Carl’s been one of my favorite drummers, and is probably one of the best technical players out there. The members of his band were good, but not a great replacement for Keith Emerson, and Greg Lake, but I guess they will have to do since they are no longer with us. (In fact, someone reminded me that Cozy Powell passed away a few years back, so the offshoot group “Emerson, Lake, and Powell are ALL gone…saw that tour when it happened…another great show) When his (much too short) set was over, I was informed by the guy sitting next to me that he was going to be signing things in the lobby after his show, so I thought, at least go down and get a picture. Well, I saw the line wasn’t long yet, and grabbed one of his CD’s and decided to go get it signed. WOW… Got to meet one of my drumming idols. To me meeting him was as good as meeting Neil Peart, both are severe influences on my playing, and I will have to say that Carl’s playing is some of the best out there! So I was severely blown away getting to meet him. Anyway… Next up was Todd Rundgren. I’m not a big fan, but know some of his stuff from XM radio, and hearing some of the old Utopia stuff back in the 80’s, so I was hoping that he’d play that. Looking at the setlist (after only knowing ONE of his songs) he did two Utopia tracks, and the rest were probably his solo stuff. This set reminded me of seeing Unit dB (who opened for Neal Morse when I saw him) or Star People, who I saw open for Blue Floyd a bunch of years back… serious “prog” overtones, and some odds and ends thrown in for the fun. Enjoyed the set, but didn’t really know much of the music. Might have to research a little more and see what I can find, a few of the tunes were pretty wild! After the next set change, Yes came on. This show was set up to include one song from each album from the first until Drama, with some encore tunes. (sort of a familiar format) It started off with Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra as the intro tape, right into Survival from the first album. Highlights of their show for me were Yours is No Disgrace, South Side of the Sky, and And You and I. My favorite song of the evening was the Leaves of Green section from Tales From Topographic Oceans, ALWAYS one of my favorite pieces. As far as the band goes, Steve had his son Dylan playing drums along with Alan White who’s had some physical medical issues the past few years. Alan should consider stopping, because he just doesn’t look good out there anymore. Dylan handled most of the “Bruford” era stuff, and played more or less “percussion” the rest of the show. Alan did some playing, but as I said, he isn’t looking that good! Geoff Downes was on keyboards, and when I sat there and thought about it, Steve Howe should have had Carl Palmer come out and have a go at some Asia stuff in memory of John Wetton! Missed opportunity! Maybe next time if they do this again (and if they do, leave Rundgren at home, and let Carl Palmer’s band play a little more) Anyway… if you get a chance to see this show, don’t miss it, just for some of the odds and ends that they played. Enjoyable music that we won’t be able to hear like this in a few years because these guys won’t be doing it forever.
  19. Next show is the Steve Howe version of Yes in Hershey on Monday night.... after that I'm not seeing anything until October 1st. which is the other version of Yes (Anderson Wakeman and Rabin)
  20. (Beware of spoilers!) Great show as anticipated from Roger Waters last night (8/9/17) in Philadelphia! He played a lot of Pink Floyd favorites from a select few albums (Meddle, Wish You Were Here, Dark Side of the Moon, Animals, and The Wall), had a great stage show, and a great band! This was my third time ever seeing him, the first time was the In The Flesh Tour back in 1999, then I was able to see The Wall tour in 2010, which was one of those “dream come true” shows for me. When he announced this tour, I was thrilled, and also surprised that he was releasing a new album. But didn’t know what to expect with his new music. Got the album, and was less than thrilled that it was a mid-tempo complaint about everything going on in the world. Ok, I know which songs to hit the restroom so I don’t miss anything. Being nosy, and not into surprises, I checked out the setlist prior to the show, and was happy with what he played Floyd-wise, but sort of disappointed that he didn’t toss more of his prior solo stuff, (mostly Amused to Death) or anything from the Final Cut (which in my opinion is a solo album backed up with some of the guys in Floyd) Only four songs from the new album as a representation of his solo work. Ok… I’ll at least enjoy the Floyd! Now, when you really sit down and dissect things, this is pretty much a “Pink Floyd Tribute Band” that happens to have Roger Waters singing and playing (occasionally) I am one to NOT be a big fan of “out and out” tribute acts. Due to a lack of bands I wanted to see playing locally, I have seen some tribute bands to just satisfy a musical urge, but I’m really not impressed (you didn’t ‘create’ that music…anyone with any talent can learn it) But as I said, it satisfied an urge. (and I guess the same goes for David Gilmour’s latest band, he’s not really touring with any of the old crew either since Rick Wright passed away, and I think Nick Mason is more into his cars than his drums) But, I’m really not complaining, these guys played their butts off, and it sounded pretty gosh darned good! They had female vocalists from a band called Lucius, who weren’t bad, but they didn’t give Great Gig in the Sky the feel that the ladies he had during the In the Flesh tour, or Gilmour’s background ladies gave it…they were good, but…. The first half of the show was the beginning of Dark Side of the Moon, (With One of these Days stuck where On the Run usually goes) through Great Gig in the Sky. After Welcome to the Machine, he did three of his new songs, and then popped into Wish You Were Here, and some Wall tunes (The Happiest Days of our Lives, and Another Brick in the Wall parts two and three) before intermission. Next came one of the highlights of the evening (well to me, not the person I attended the show with…he isn’t a fan of Animals) which was when they did Dog’s and Pig’s, and pulled out all of the stops with the special effects! The screens in the center of the venue were great, and the Battersea Power Station complete with pig, was VERY cool! (Not to mention the flying pig during pigs) Now here’s where things get a little weird… Roger has made no bones about not liking Donald Trump. It was during Pig’s that he pretty much turned the song into an “I hate Trump” anthem, not to mention when he slid into Money…same deal. Ok, we get it, but back off, dude! It was a little over the top, and the fact that he’s not even a resident makes it even worse…but the guy hates republicans, so… I tried my best to ignore it, but…. Us and Them (the theme of the concert) was the next song, and WOW what a nice version! Probably one of the best I’ve heard live, so kudo’s to that. Another new album song, then back into Dark Side of the Moon… the special effects during this were amazing! A laser pyramid in the middle of the venue with the rainbow coming out of it! Pretty wild! (also a silver ball flying around the place) This took us to the end of the show. When the lights on stage came back on, he introduced his band, after the crowd totally moved him with their appreciation for the show they just witnessed. Vera, Bring the Boy’s Back Home, and Comfortably Numb closed out the evening! What a great show! If you get the chance to see it, I recommend it, although it has a few faults…I’d go again, so…
  21. I've been out of touch with reality lately...just a few things on my mind, so I haven't really been keeping up with things. So at some point during the last week of April, I decided to give Neal Morse's The Similitude of a Dream another spin. When I first picked it up, there were several things that came out, or I acquired, so I didn't give it the listen I probably should have at that point. Just coming out of some different listening practices, and getting to go see Brian Wilson on tour, had me wanting to get back into something a little more proggy, so I thought this was the right album. (and for some reason, when I put my iPod on at the gym, it was cued up to a live Transatlantic album...not sure how, the last time I had it out it was playing Kansas...ok...no complaints) So after getting into the Neal Morse album, I decided to pop into his website to see if anything has developed in the live Snow release that's coming up from his Morse-fest shows (when he and Nick D'Virgilio went back to Spock's Beard, and did that whole album, plus the "epic" that they added to their "greatest hits" release) I saw that he was touring in support of his new album, when it caught my eye that he was bringing it to ROS-Fest in Gettysburg (which is like an hour from here) so I checked when, and called my wife to see if anything was planned...the best scenario happened...that was the weekend that she would be out visiting a friend in Indiana! (she hates about 99% of the music I like so taking her to a concert isn't a good thing) So I quickly grabbed a ticket! (Last year Spock's Beard played that festival, and I was out of town that day, so I missed out, so I wasn't letting this one get by!) I was chomping at the bit to get to this show. There was also a listing for a show at 5:00 for a "special VIP" which I was wondering if it was maybe some sort of acoustic Neal Morse set that I would be kicking myself for missing...but figured if it wasn't, maybe it would be someone else special, or just expose me to some new music. Saturday came, and I was bouncing off the walls, and was finally happy when the time came to go. I got there about 4:00-4:30-ish, and waited in the lobby. The 5:00 pm band was an offshoot of an older prog band calle Unitopia from Australia. (Don't know the name of the actual band, though, but they played mostly Unitopia music, and I heard from a rock journalist there on assignment that they were opening for Steve Hackett when he goes on tour...this was sort of a warm up for them) anyway... great music, and if I get the actual name of the band, I'll let you know.... Ran to dinner across the street while they changed the stage for Neal Morse, and watched the Kentucky Derby.... The concert started at 8:30 and the place was getting packed! If everyone would have shut up, you could have heard the sound check, but it was just a blur in the background (and I was chased away from a door trying to listen) They let everyone in about 10 minutes before the show started, and WHAT A SHOW! They played the entire new album, and NAILED it! Portnoy was on drums, and was having a blast all night. This was the first time I got to see him live, and he's fun to watch. Neal Morse is an amazing musician, and writer, and this album is really great...I'm glad I got to hear it a few times before this show. The Overture and the Dream were off the charts, and The Man in the Iron Cage was wild! Lots of music to digest in this one, but it was all good. During the last tune of the album, his laptop seemed to die, and his keyboards stopped working, so while he had a tech come out, he just grabbed a guitar and kept playing.... when the song was over, he explained his problem, and his keyboard guy and a tech came out... he strummed his guitar and said "any requests" I quickly yelled "WE ALL NEED SOME LIGHT!" before anyone else got anything out, and he actually started playing it!!! he did the first verse and chorus, when he noticed his laptop re-booted, and his keyboard started to work again....bummer...I wish it stayed broken, I might have gotten the whole tune!l (but I at least got that!) He sailed through his last song from the Grand Experiment album, and that was it! I guess it was some sort of "divine intervention" that got me to go to this show. Talk about a whim! So, to whatever force got me to listen to his new album, and cued up Transatlantic on my iPod THANK YOU! If I would have missed this, I would have been pissed!! IF you get a chance to see this show, don't pass it up, some CRAZY playing going on, on stage! I overheard a conversation at the show, and the guy said "he isn't as into him since he got 'all religious', but he's still a good player, and I was coming anyway".... OK, who cares...the message changed, but the music is still off the charts! Not sure why the mention of "Jesus" makes people so nervous? When Iron Maiden started yelling 666 it wasn't so bad!
  22. My mom wants to make a quilt out of mine, too. I told her that I would rather hang them on a wall instead once I outgrow them. I wish I caught a bunch of my old shirts (not ONLY Rush) that shrank before they got damaged (Water in the basement when they were stored at my parents house...) I wanted to have something made from the logos (front logo as front of the quilt, back tour dates as the back of the quilt.
  23. I'm more of a Vinnie Coliauta fan than anyone else....guy can do stuff no one else can (while eating!) Reading a book by Arthur Barrow, who was one of Zappa's bass players, and he said when they were learning Mo & Herb's Vacation (which is just 8-billion notes on a page) Vinnie was sight reading, pushing up his glasses, and picking on sushi, and played through perfectly! Besides crazy stuff like that...the dude has more groove and feel than any drummer I've ever heard!
  24. Traveling Music....I just liked how it was.... Ghost Rider was like therapy, and the rest of his "travelogues" were just like reading a book full of his blog posts.... I forget what Masked Rider was...but I read it... (it's on my shelf)
  25. I think the 80's was an era that you could have taken or left.... I saw a LOT of crazy shows in the 80's, including Rush three times....but a bunch of other stuff. Ozzy Osbourne and Motorhead on the Blizzard of Ozz tour, Rossington Collins Band, LOT'S of metal...Rainbow, Scorpions, Riot, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Ted Nugent, Gary Moore, Krokus, Def Leppard,.... I also got to see Pink Floyd, Asia, Emerson, Lake and Powell, Yes, Anderson, Bruford Wakeman and Howe....I thought it was a great time to see live bands!
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