“Let’s see some hands!” Tommy DeCarlo, vocalist from Boston, getting the massive crowd at Ironstone Amphitheatre in Murphys reaching up to the sky during “Cool The Engines”. Essentially a double-header with Joan Jett & The Blackhearts performing earlier, it was a stellar night of classic rock spanning the last four or five decades. The two artists were a great choice to pair up, in that they had great crossover in fans but were also a showcase in contrasting styles and approaches to bringing their music to life on stage. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts were stripped down to just the instruments they needed to recreate their raw punk rock style as the sun set into the horizon behind the crowd while Boston had a fantastic spaceship themed backdrop across massive monitors that seemed to fuel their hard and progressive rock sounds. Early on in Richter Entertainment’s Summer Concert Series, this show set a bar for high energy and pure rock and roll for all the artists to follow.
Concert Travel Journal Summary | Las Vegas, NV | April 2012
This is a summary essay and concluding thoughts on my trip to Las Vegas this past week for a variety of shows – Garbage at the The Pearl at The Palms Casino Resort on Saturday, Elton John at The Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace on Sunday, and Mike Tyson’s “Live On Stage” event at The Hollywood Theatre at The MGM Grand on Monday. I also had a chance to check out the Hard Rock Cafe, Gold & Silver Pawn (the “Pawn Stars” shop), and had a chance run in with Penn Jillette of Pen and Teller. All in all, a busy three days or so. [Read more…]