Rock Subculture Journal - Jason DeBord's Rock & Pop Concert Review and Music Resource
Rock Subculture Journal: Jason DeBord's News, Opinion, and Reviews About Rock & Pop Music, Concerts, Travel, & Memorabilia
LL Cool J, who is everywhere of late, starring on NCIS: Los Angeles, hosting the Grammy Awards, and today releasing his 13th studio album, Authentic. His “Kings of the Mic” tour kicks off in late May on the West Coast and runs through early July, wrapping things up at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Accompanying the prolific artist will be Ice Cube, Public Enemy, De La Soul, and DJ Z-Trip. [Read more...]
80′s pop goddess Cyndi Lauper will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of her landmark album, She’s So Unusual, with a 22-date tour of the United States, along with an appearance at Summer Sonic 2013 in Japan afterwards. [Read more...]
Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, with Cheap Trick supporting on many dates, will hit major North American cities with their 43-date tour running June through August. VIP Platinum Packages are also being made available, with premium seats, meet and greet opportunities and more. [Read more...]
New Wave pioneers Pet Shop Boys today announced and put on sale dates for the U.S. leg of their upcoming world tour – their first appearance here in more than four years. Also today they have released a music video for “Axis”, off their upcoming album, Electric, due July 15th. [Read more...]
“We could dance fast in those days… will you keep up?” OMD front man Andy McCluskey reminiscing about the late 70s as he introduced the final song of their encore at The Depot in Salt Lake City last night, their debut single, “Electricity”. It was a bit of personal déjà vu for me, as he closed out a show I attended way back in 1991 in much the same manner. But this was the first time I had the opportunity to see Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark with their full original line-up (with co-founder Paul Humphreys also on vocals and keyboards, Martin Cooper on keyboards and saxophone, and Malcolm Holmes on drums), and the energy from the stage and overall atmosphere was certainly electric. OMD put on an incredible show with songs from their new album released just this week – English Electric – as well as all those classics and favorites going back more than three decades.
Heart with Ann and Nancy Wilson, recently inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, will be taking their new album, Fanatic, out on the road for an extensive Summer tour, beginning in June. In support will be Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience. Special packages have been released for some of the dates via VIP Nation, with more to come soon. These packages include up front seats as well as meet and greet opportunities with the band. [Read more...]
Going to a Marilyn Manson concert is quite an experience, and probably not understood except by those who have done the same. To draw a comparison with the art world, it is akin to going to art museums in London and stopping in at the Tate. Except not to confuse matters… not in the past two weeks during Kraftwerk’s residency. That’s something else entirely. In any event, he puts on quite the impressive show, and is maybe the modern day rock concert equivalent of circus freak sideshows, only with Manson, though his band is supporting, it is decidedly a one man attraction. Most striking is how interactive it is – not just the literal interactions with the audience (and there are many), but his ability to lock onto members of the audience with his eyes, in a kind of staring match version of “chicken”, to see if he can make it striking enough to have you look away first (benefits of being right up close). He’s a natural performer, though interestingly comes across quite different off stage (more on that later). Really an exhilarating evening and hosted courtesy of Marilyn Manson’s unique and stylish version of reality.
Award winning singer-songwriter Jewel will be touring throughout the United States for the first half of 2013 promoting her Greatest Hits album, which was released last week. Starting on the East Cost this week, the signer, guitarist, producer, poet, and actress will start playing dates on the West Coast by Summer. [Read more...]
Marilyn Manson will be touring the United States and Canada over the next two months, starting at the Eagles Ballroom in Wilwaukee. The Grammy-nominated artist has a reputation for putting on exciting live performances, so they should be great concerts. [Read more...]
I was fortunate enough to see the second gig on Journey’s 2012 concert tour, which was at Stateline, Nevada in South Lake Tahoe (see prior review). As mentioned at the time, it was an unforgettable evening, and one of the best concerts of the year for me, and if I had the opportunity, that I’d like to see them again before year end. I was able to make that dream come true Friday night, this time seeing the second to the last show of 2012, and the second of three special concerts at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. It was a much different show (more on that later), and just as enjoyable as the first, as the legendary band played pop and rock music standards that have stood the test of time for decades. Definitely a great send off to an amazing year for concerts.
“We’d like for you guys to participate in this, because otherwise it just sits on its ass”. Music legend Juice Newton’s typically blunt and modest preface to the tremendous 80s country/pop crossover hits “Queen of Hearts” mixed with “Love’s Been a Little Bit Hard on Me”, as performed flawlessly (with audience providing the “clap-clap, clap” beat) at Yoshi’s in San Francisco in probably the most intimate show I’ve been to all year. The Juice Newton Trio, which was all acoustic strings with Jay Cawley and Danny Dugan both on guitars and providing backing vocals, Juice Newton stressed that this was a different sort of challenge and endeavor for her… a live concert sans the full band, which required the selection from of incredible songs from her catalog to be rearranged for a completely different result. And that result – simply amazing songs with the most artful delivery by one of the best vocalists in the business – was very moving and definitely sets the bar for soulful live music performances in small, intimate venues.
Last night Seal put on an incredible performance at Humphreys Concerts by the Bay in San Diego. Stunning voice, amazing performance, he really filled the smaller, intimate, outdoor venue with life. Beautiful songs (both his own and a few covers of classic material) and real, true emotion on full display. Seal is an artist that sings from the heart, and I can’t imagine him being any other way, especially after having had the privilege of spending a good amount of time with him and a small group later, after the concert. He is really singular in the field of music, and if he could not sing, after spending around 40 minutes hearing him open up to us about his thoughts and feelings on a few different subjects – talking with strangers as though they were old, close friends – if he could not sing, I would still remain a huge fan of Seal the man. He is undoubtedly a person to look up to, who lives life with a great deal of introspection, honesty, and modesty. Overall, the night was an unforgettable experience, and I feel so, so fortunate to have been a part of it.
