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Portugal. The Man at Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort & Casino | Reno, Nevada | 4/11/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

April 15, 2018 by Jason DeBord

“It’s always weird on the first night of tour…  I’m well-rested… I’m not hung over…  It doesn’t seem right.  One thing I know is I’ve been to Reno before several times.  We will not be well-rested tomorrow.  We will not be showered.  We will be hung over.  We’re Portugal The Man.  Thanks for hanging out with us tonight.” Zach Carothers, in preface to the encore to their show at Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort and Casino on Wednesday night.  The band put on an electric show that impressed not only with their unique sound but a spectacle of visuals and lasers.  They even had warnings in many forms before the show about the latter… and a pre-set disclaimer about their overall lack of banter.  Coupled with a drumhead featuring Weird Al Yankovic, it was clear from the start that Portugal. The Man is a band that is driven by their own unique beat, and I don’t think that fans would want them any other way. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cherry Glazerr, Concert Reviews, Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, Live Rock Music, News, & Events, Portugal. The Man, Reno Nevada Tagged With: 2018, album, Cherry Glazerr, Concert, concert photography, concert photos, Concert Review, Eric Howk, grand sierra, grand sierra resort and casino, grand theatre, Jason Sechrist, John Baldwin Gourley, Kyle O'Quin, live, photography, photos, portugal the man, reno, setlist, tour, woodstock, world tour, Zachary Scott Carothers

KISS at Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort & Casino | Reno, Nevada | 4/21/2017 (Concert Review + Photos)

April 23, 2017 by Jason DeBord

“Are you ready?” Paul Stanley of KISS getting the audience prepped to sing along with “Say Yeah”, a song off of their 2009 album Sonic Boom.  24 studio albums (including their four solo albums), live albums and countless other impressions on pop culture at large going back to 1974, KISS have been a rock and roll phenomenon going strong for over four decades.  I am not personally a KISS “fan”, so this is written from the review of someone who has been alive as long as they’ve been together, but never before attended a KISS concert.  They are one of the biggest bands of all time and real icons in rock, so I finally took an opportunity to see what they’ve always been best known for – live concerts.  And now having experienced it, I can say that their reputation for putting on an amazing show is well deserved.  High energy, high production, and filled with many of the innovative elements that other artists have since copied over and over, it was really something to see and hear and feel.  I really could not have been more impressed and I really have a lot of respect for the band and their crew that help put it all together.  If you are a member of the KISS Army, you know all of this; if you are more like me and had never seen the band before, I give my highest recommendations to go and check it out.  And I am glad I was able to take in my first KISS show at Grand Sierra Resort & Casino’s Grand Theatre as it is one of the best concert venues for this type of show.  Everything was top notch.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Concert Reviews, Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, KISS, Live Rock Music, News, & Events, Reno Nevada, The Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort Tagged With: 2017, announcement, autobiography, california, cities, Concert, concert photography, concert photos, Concert Review, dates, Eric Singer, Gene Simmons, gig, grand sierra, grand sierra resort, grand sierra resort and casino, grand sierra resort theater, grand sierra resort theatre, grand theatre, KISS, kiss army, live, meet and greet, Music, Paul Stanley, performance, photography, photos, preview, reno, set, set list, setlist, show, tickets, Tommy Thayer, tour

Of Monsters And Men at Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort & Casino | Reno, Nevada | 4/15/2016 (Concert Review + Photos)

April 16, 2016 by Jason DeBord Leave a Comment

Of-Monsters-And-Men-2016-Tour-Concert-Review-Photo-Photography-Muna-Grand-Sierra-FI

“This is our first stop in America in a while…”  Ragnar Þórhallsson, in preface to the final song of the night, “Yellow Light”.  Ragnar performed beside Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, who he shares lead vocals with in their Icelandic indie folk/pop band Of Monsters And Men, playing before what appeared to be a sold out crowd at the Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort & Casino in Reno.  This was a special show in advance of their Coachella appearance next week, and kicked off their larger world tour currently booked out through July.  The word “electric” comes to mind to describe the show, but so much of their sound is of the “unplugged” variety.  Yet they seem to create a whirlwind of energy that touched each fan in the crowd, bringing something otherworldly to the stage.  They have such a unique yet consistent sound it’s almost as though they have created their own genre of music, in sound and themes.  They definitely bring something unique and uniquely beautiful to the music world at large, and create an experience with both their studio recordings and live shows that is, for lack of a better word, magical and timeless.  Definitely one of the best tours to check out this year if you get the opportunity. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Another Planet Entertainment, Concert Reviews, Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, Live Rock Music, News, & Events, Muna, Of Monsters And Men, Reno Nevada, The Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort Tagged With: 2016, 2016 concert tour, 2016 tour, album, another planet entertainment, beneath the skin, cities, Concert, concert photos, Concert Review, dates, grand sierra, grand sierra resort and casino, grand sierra resort theater, grand sierra resort theatre, grand theatre, live, muna, of monsters and men, reno, set list, setlist, tickets, tour, whoismuna

Duran Duran (Paper Gods On Tour) at The Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort | Reno, Nevada | 9/25/2015 (Concert Review + Photos)

September 29, 2015 by Jason DeBord Leave a Comment

Duran-Duran-Paper-Gods-Tour-2015-Concert-Review-Photos-Setlist-FI3

“So we’re really at the very beginning of a tour that will probably go on for a year and a half… and we’re just starting to kind of realize the kind of appetite and love that is out in the world for Duran Duran… It hasn’t always been like this; you know we’ve been around for 35 years… We have a great job that we love doing…”  Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran at The Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada on Friday night… taking a moment to express some gratitude to the sold out crowd before performing one of their most popular songs (not from the 80s), “Ordinary World”.  Supporting their 14th studio album, Paper Gods, which Warner Bros. Music released this month, the setlist for this tour is a good representation of the phenomenal music Duran Duran have released over the past four decades.  But with less than two hours to perform, the show only scratches the surface of their brilliant catalog of music.  With founding members Nick Rhodes on keyboards and John Taylor on bass, along with Roger Taylor on drums and Simon on vocals, the group have ties working with one another that goes back to the start, and they still make up the core of the band, with each contributing greatly to their signature sound.  A lot of bands who have been around for a long time and have a strong association with a certain period or era become resentful of that, and some view their most popular songs with disdain – as if those hits are anchors holding them down rather than stepping stones that helped to propel them forward into world.  Some other bands even refuse to perform their most popular hits live for their fans (see: Radiohead).  Duran Duran are the opposite.  Not only are they mindful of their own history and cognizant of what fans love to celebrate, but they appear happy to celebrate it right along with those of us in the audience.  Duran Duran has always been about the past, the now, and the future, somehow all at the same time.  I guess it goes back to that “great job” that they “love doing”, which is quite a modest take on creating some of the songs that are included in the soundtracks to the lives of people of my generation.  As far as their concert tours go, they always bring some of that “new” with them with each tour, and this one is no different.  From a healthy sampling of the new songs as well as new takes on older ones, they remind us all that they are accomplished artists with the ability to not only recreate that sublime studio sound, but also breathe vibrancy into it for how it all comes together on stage, in both sound and visuals.  And somehow the guys appear timeless themselves, as they seem to defy the gods (paper or otherwise) and never appear to age year to year… the principals all look 10 to 20 years younger than they should, which contributes to the feeling of being part of an event that could be happening in the past, present, or future.  At certain points during their live set, you could squint a little and travel back in time to the 00s, 90s, and 80s.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Clean Bandit, Concert Reviews, Duran Duran, Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, Live Rock Music, News, & Events, Reno Nevada, The Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort Tagged With: #ddad15, #duranlive, 2015, 2015 review, 2015 tour, 80s, album review, anelle Monáe, announcement, bass, clean bandit, Concert, concert photography, concert photos, Concert Review, dates, Davidé Rossi, Duran Duran, england, gig, grand sierra resort, grand sierra resort and casino, grand theatre, high resolution, Hungry Like The Wolf, John Frusciante, John Taylor, Josh Blair, Kiesza, Lindsay Lohan, live, Mark Ronson, Mr Hudson, mtv, Music, nevada, new album, new wave, Nick Rhodes, Nile Rodgers, north america, Notorious, paper gods, performance, Photo, photograph, photographer, photography, photos, pit, Reflex, reno, review, rock, Roger Taylor, set, set list, setlist, show, Simon Le Bon, tickets, tour, Wild Boys

Billy Idol at The Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort | Reno, Nevada | 8/7/2015 (Concert Review + Photos)

August 9, 2015 by Jason DeBord Leave a Comment

Billy-Idol-2015-Tour-Concert-Review-Photos-Grand-Theatre-Grand-Sierra-Resort-Casino-Reno-FI

“Two words to introduce this next song!  Two words!  Two words to introduce this next song!  Two words to introduce this next song!”  Billy Idol getting the sold out crowd of nearly 3,000 screaming, fist pumping fans shouting “Rebel Yell” at the opening night of Grand Sierra Resort’s new Grand Theatre.  I can’t imagine a better way to launch a high end new concert venue than having none other than Billy Idol kicking off a new tour of his own on the vast stage built on the $10 million dollar renovation of the live music space.  Billy Idol has been building on his own career and accomplishments of late, with 2014’s awesome new album Kings & Queens of the Underground (the first in nine years) and bestselling Dancing With Myself autobiography.  In the midst of a resurgent mainstream interest in all things Billy Idol, he seems to be as popular as ever.  Alongside his incredible band, they’ve put together probably their best live show ever with this tour.  It also clocked in as the longest show I’ve seen, at around two hours.  I’ve always noted this band as one of my all-time favorite live shows, and I’d have to say that this was the best I’d ever seen them.  I’ve always complimented Idol on his boundless and limitless energy and he seems to have reached a new high with this show and tour.  He is at once an icon and an enigma, as he continues to evolve his style while retraining his trademark lip curl and tongue in cheek uncensored gestures, looks, and poses.  And one can’t neglect to mention Mr. Steve Stevens on lead guitar, who could put the audience in a trance even if he stood alone on the stage – one of the best guitarists performing today, if not the very best.  If you haven’t been to a Billy Idol concert lately, you haven’t seen him and his band at all, as they are better than they’ve ever been, and that is saying a lot.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Billy Idol, Concert Reviews, Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, Live Rock Music, News, & Events, Meet & Greet / Meet The Artist, Reno Nevada, The Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort Tagged With: 2015, 2015 review, 2015 tour, 80s, album review, announcement, artist, autobiography, band, Billy Idol, billy morrison, biography, book tour, can't break me down, cities, Concert, concert photography, concert photos, Concert Review, dancing with myself, dates, europe, event, fan, front row, general admission, generation x, gig, grand sierra resort, grand sierra resort and casino, grand theatre, Icon, kings & queens of the underground, live, meet and greet, nevada, photo op, pit, reno, setlist set list, show, vip

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This article features the latest in an ongoing series of “Rock Talk” podcast audio interviews for the Rock Subculture Journal. Today’s guest is Ted Ottaviano with Book Of Love. The synth pop New Wave group continue to celebrate their 30th anniversary with the release of new music as part of 2016’s “MMXVI: The 30th Anniversary […]

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The Latest Posts

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