Saw Fleetwood Mac at the LA Forum in November - first time I'd seen them in all these years. (Was waiting for McVie to return.) They were good, but I suspected a lot of auto-tune on the vocals so that kind of spoiled it for me, as did the army of backup musicians (including a second drummer literally hidden behind the amps and never introduced!). Would rather see just the five real band members, warts and all. But glad I went. Kind of a bucket list experience.
Arcade Fire, 8/2/14 at the LA Forum. The only concert I caught last year. Comically, I went to the Forum for the 1st show the day before and when I tried to get in with my ticket, realized it was for the next day's show. LOL!
Well good then. I've always enjoyed their early records...Hellbound Train, Lookin' In, Street Corner Talkin', Blue Matter etc, etc.. BTW, I used to live in Pt. Hueneme near Channel Islands Blvd. My dad was in the Seabees.
It's shocking I even have a recent concert experience because I refuse to pay the insane prices being charged by my favorite bands these days. With that said, the last show I saw was Guitar Gods....here in NJ. Yngwie, Gary Hoey and Bumblefoot. Uli Jon Roth was supposed to be on the bill but apparently he could not accomodate for some reason - very dissapointing...I was looking forward to seeing him.
Colosseum, Robin 2 , Bilston. Penultimate gig ever. Amazing night, very emotional, astounding music from a bunch of folk all around the 70 year old mark. Philip
The Gloaming at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, for the past two nights (28 February and 1 March). I will be going again tonight for show number 3.
King Crimson on 20th September, 2014. The tension and excitement could be felt outside the venue! (ok, it was Times Square, but still...) These older guys dressed very dapper making younger, sloppier looking/sounding rock bands look like wimpy chumps (or chumpy wimps) !
Rick Wakeman - Regal Cinema, Evesham. 21st Feb 2015 Rick was fine, however front row in what might commonly be called a "boutique cinema" was a real pain the neck - Stage was about 12 feet high. Still it was good to see that there are folk who are prepared to invest in out of the way venues and that there are local folk willing to support this. Rick mixed playing (piano only) with a few familiar stories from his musical career. He was still talking at length during the signing that followed. Meant to ask him about wearing a Pink Floyd t-short though.
Buddy Guy. I've been to a lot of concerts in my life, but this was a special one for me for sure. It was about 4 years ago, my mom had just passed away. Suddenly a few days later out of the blue my long time friend of 40+ years whom I've not heard from for some time called me on a moments notice and took me out to the venue to see Buddy. We had a front row table, seems he had connections and his tickets were perks. We were in THE best seat in the house less than 10 feet away from Buddy. Jonny Lang opened up, he was spot on that night and was cooking for sure. But then came Buddy, OMG!!!!!! But the best was yet to come........................... Buddy ended up sitting down at our table after I shouted out that he play Outskirts Of Town when he asked for requests. He nodded to me, walked up, and sat down and played it for like 10 minutes, right there at our table. It was a time I'll NEVER forget. He got up to get back on stage, I shook his hand and he winked and went into a jaw dropping, killer version of Hendrix Red House. Man....that guy read my mind, seriously. Once in a lifetime the planets align, and they did that night.
Steve Malkmus. I am a Pavement fan from day 1 and also appreciate the Malk's solo efforts: s/t & Pig Lib particularly. anyway I saw him on Friday night and he played all solo materiel to a very subdued crowd until..UNTIL: "..a man walks into a bar...." SUMMER BABE!!! blew the place apart. I lost it as did the entire crowd. One of the great concert experiences.
I'm an old man now... concerts are few and far between. July 6, 2013, Cinncinnati, with my 25-yr-old daughter, "Americanarama" tour, Dylan, Wilco, MMJ, Richard Thompson. Killer version of Harrison's "Isn't it a Pity" by MMJ/Wilco. Great show.
Oh yes indeed! September 28th 2013, part of the pop Montreal festival. What a show! Watching Shuggie playing guitar was a real treat.
Friday 27 February - The War on Drugs. Here's my review for a local blog NE:MM. A mini rant at the end.... http://nemmblog.com/2015/03/01/the-war-on-drugs-at-o2-academy-newcastle-on-27th-february-2015/
These boys were great as usual. Anyone in London should check them out tonight (3 March 2015) at The Barbican.
YES performing Drama...two sides of Topographic Oceans, and other selections. Wonderful performance and a respectful audience. Where: Saratoga Mountain Winery When: Sept. 4th, 2016
