Jason DeBord's Rock Subculture Journal

Rewind | Lost 80’s Live ’18 at Thunder Valley Outdoor Amphitheater | Lincoln, California | 9/2/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“I guess the 80’s is the best thing around…” Mike Score of A Flock of Seagulls, putting things in simple terms before the massive crowd at the joint presentation of Rewind | Lost 80’s Live ’18 concert event at Thunder Valley Outdoor Amphitheater on Sunday night.  Known for it’s rotating series of artists who made significant marks on the music scene throughout the 80’s, each year the show presents a unique concert going experience.  The line-up this time around featured A Flock of Seagulls, Mickey Thomas from Starship, Wang Chung, Dale Bozzio from Missing Persons, Animotion, Farrington and Mann from When In Rome, and Annabella Lwin from Bow Wow Wow. [Read more…]

“Revolution 3 Tour” (Stone Temple Pilots, The Cult, Bush) at Ironstone Amphitheatre | Murphys, California | 8/31/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“Unbelievable.  Nine songs of texting. (laughs from crowd)  Yes, I’m here to shame you for that because… (laughs)  No seriously, I’m here to validate.  We are here to validate you…  Thank you for coming out tonight, supporting our little soirée.  With our brothers from Stone Temple Pilots and Bush.  You want some more?  This one’s fun.  I’m pretty amped up actually.  Pretty rare for me.  It’s the altitude.  Must be the altitude.  There you go, standing up, getting out of your seats…  What’s happening?  Spontaneous… It’s a spontaneous audience participation.  We’re connecting as one.  As one group.  As one harmonic ecosystem, together.  It’s fucking unbelievable.  It’s fucking unbelievable!”  Ian Astbury of The Cult, with a bit of a stream of consciousness revelation between songs during their set, fixed in the center of the triple headlining tour featuring STP, The Cult, and Bush called “Revolution 3 Tour”.  Sometimes multiple headlining shows aren’t quite that, but in this case, after each artist, I wondered how the next could measure up.  And I don’t personally follow any of the three bands.  Yet somehow, I came away feeling this was the best concert yet as the Ironstone Amphitheatre Summer Concert Series nears it’s end, with just one show left to go.  It was three top performances with this concert on Friday night. [Read more…]

Ziggy Marley at Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium | Grass Valley, California | 8/12/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“We have to love one another.  We can always find a way.  We can always find a way”.  Ziggy Marley at Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium in Grass Valley on Sunday night, before a crowd of people that seemed to be very receptive to his messages and ideas shared throughout his set.  Playing in support of his latest album, Rebellion Rises, Ziggy Marley brought a message that seems to run counter to the general vibe that we encounter day to day in the U.S., which I found both refreshing and timeless.  He is all about positivity and the power behind everything that is about, rather than the current climate permeating social media and the news that is more about dividing and judging one another and being intolerant.  Personally, I would choose to stand beside Ziggy Marley and celebrate his music and his message of coming together with one another, and I think that would hold true for the fans in attendance at this concert.  The show was excellent and I am really enjoying the new music, which mixes together well with his massive catalog of work as well as the handful of covers done in tribute to his father’s work as well.  Really a fantastic experience and nice escape from the day to day negativity found out in the “real” (and not so real) world.  This is definitely a tour to come out to see if it is headed to a city near you in the next couple of months.

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Florence + the Machine at Harvey’s Outdoor Arena | Stateline, Nevada | 8/9/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“Thank you so much for having us back; this is the first night of the “High As Hope Tour”.  This next song is from… oh you guys flustered me!  This next song is from High As Hope and I wrote it about the place that I was born which is south London, which has a lot less trees than this…”  Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine at Harvey’s Outdoor Arena in South Lake Tahoe on Thursday night, kicking off her latest tour in support of her amazing new album.  “I’m with you…  I’m with you like… at the moment my heart, it hurts a lot of the time and I just want to say I want you all to hold hands because I really believe in you and I believe in the power of change.  And I believe in love and I want you to hold hands for this song because if we connect, I really think amazing things can happen”.  A lot of performing artists say things about connecting with their audience, and say those things from the stage, and the audience watch from below as they perform.  With Florence, it is not just words.  Toward the end of her set, into the song “Delilah”, Florence came off of the stage and ran deep into the audience while she sang, literally connecting with fans in the crowd.  Then she actually came running across (barefoot of course) the seat in the row I was in, and I got to witness first hand something unlike anything I’d ever seen at a concert.  Florence was engaging with fans one at a time, one on one.  In many instances she was grabbing their faces and pressing her forehead against theirs, as if she was forming a mystical bond with them.  She was right in front of me for a good length of time, and it was kind of surreal to hear her voice singing directly from her, not just through the sound system.  It’s actually been years since I uploaded concert footage to my YouTube channel, but it was such an incredible experience, I thought this would be the best reason ever to share a snippet of this amazing concert moment (iPhone quality, unedited): LINK  Really, it takes a lot to put me at a loss for words, but this concert really transcended what anyone might expect from a live show.  For some fans, I think it was a near religious experience.  Currently tied for my favorite concert of the year.  Definitely the best tour of 2018 I am guessing.  And since this was the first show on this tour, everyone has time to try to get out to make one of the upcoming dates.

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Adam Ant at Silver Legacy Resort Casino | Reno, Nevada | 8/4/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“This next song I’ve been singing since I first came to the USA many years ago… it still means a great deal to me. It’s called Kings of the Wild Frontier.” Adam Ant with his amazing band, in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Silver Legacy Resort Casino’s Grande Exposition Hall in Reno, Nevada.  Performing artists say things like that all the time, and a jaded concert-goer might consider it mere banter in-between songs.  Not so, with Adam Ant.  After performing that song on Saturday night – originally released early in the New Wave era way back in 1980 – Adam Ant paused for a moment as the heartfelt accolades of the fans in the room showered over him.  For some reason, I happened to capture the moment in video on my iPhone from the video screen off to the side (iPhone video snippet here), and at the time and in review again going through my notes and videos I took another look and Adam Ant has so much emotion and gratitude on his face at that moment that it’s genuinely moving to, well, feel him “feel”.  He brings so much to the stage with his concert and presumably touring in general these days that I felt so fortunate to just be part of this incredible show that brings his latest North American tour to an end.  It’s definitely may favorite show of 2018 thus far, and I can’t imagine anything besting the experience.  Truly an icon of music and pop culture for my generation, and I firmly believe his live shows today are the best he’s ever given his fans.

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Foreigner at Ironstone Amphitheatre | Murphys, California | 7/28/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“Foreigner has just passed our 40th anniversary… Four zero… that’s a big deal!”  Kelly Hansen at Ironstone Amphitheatre in Murphys on Sunday night, the third lead singer of Foreigner over the course of the past four decades.  The evening served as a celebration of a wide variety of music and genres, with performances by Foreigner, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, and Queensrÿche. [Read more…]

Michael McDonald at Crest Theatre | Sacramento, California | 7/10/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“I know you know the words to this song; we love the words to this song because it’s more timely and relevant right now than it’s ever been…  It was relevant in the 60’s when it was written but it seems to have grown only more relevant with the years.  This song, if people sing along with us and sing it loud, maybe the rest of that world out there will hear what we’re saying tonight…”  Michael McDonald at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento on Tuesday night, in preface to his encore beginning with a soulful cover of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”.  It was quite a night for fans of one of the great voices of his generation, as he played hits from his solo career as well as works he created with the Doobie Brothers.  Special with his most recent tours is the showcase of several songs from his latest album, Wide Open, which was released in late 2017.  His first studio album of all-new material in 17 years, it’s really a brilliant work and the songs are even more remarkable live in concert.  If you have seen Michael McDonald in concert in the past, it is well worth turning out for this current tour just to hear some of the new songs.  Fantastic show. [Read more…]

Counting Crows at Ironstone Amphitheatre | Murphys, California | 7/3/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“I wanted to write a song about that… I wanted to reflect the idea of the country, and the sense of the country…” Adam Duritz of Counting Crows brought a mix of concert and storytelling to Ironstone Amphitheatre at Ironstone Vineyards on Tuesday night, as part of the band’s “25 Years And Counting Tour”.  He shared some stories about the origins and inspirations behind the songs that are so familiar to their fans, in a sprawling set approaching two hours.  In addition, the crowd also enjoyed a lengthy set from the band Live as well as younger act Boom Forest.  It was a beautiful night in Murphys and the mix of musical styles and genres entertained the massive crowd in attendance. [Read more…]

Little Big Town at Ironstone Amphitheatre | Murphys, California | 7/1/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“I mean, I don’t think there’s anything that we love more than California, drinking wine, and singing some songs…” Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town, performing before a massive crowd at Ironstone Amphitheatre Sunday night.  It seemed to be a sentiment shared by all in attendance as the band played through their own hits as well as some interesting cover songs, putting on a show that really impressed. [Read more…]

Notes & Words 2018: Benefit For UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland at Fox Theater (feat. Dave Grohl) | Oakland, California | 5/12/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

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Early in his rare solo acoustic headlining performance at Notes & Words 2018, Dave Grohl at once revealed his laid back humor and his insightful personal pondering on life and how it intersected with the feelings of the evening in his stream of consciousness commentary leading into one of his famous Foo Fighters songs: “As I was thinking about the setlist earlier… 15 minutes ago… [laughs] I thought that maybe that I would begin the set with this song, but then decided not to… But I think that this song is one of the ones that makes most sense tonight. I wrote this song in a period of my life where I was down… and I finally stopped and took at look at everything I had and all the things that I’d taken for granted. A wonderful home and appreciation of life, and love, and my friends. And the good things, and the good people, and the big picture and how we’re all connected in some way. I wrote this song and it’s called “Times Like These”.  Every year, there is magic all around at the Notes & Words: Benefit For UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital event, and it was off the charts again Saturday night, as per tradition.  The format remained the same – entertainment including both writers and musicians on stage – and this year featured musicians Dave Grohl with Emmett Reeed and Oakland School for the Arts, as well as writer George Saunders and, as always, writer and event host Kelly Corrigan.  The highlight of the evening for sure was watching Dave perform on stage with his two very talented daughters, Violet and Harper Grohl.  Not just the music, but the opportunity to see a loving family share with the crowd in such an amazing, candid and joyful way.  And all this good will went toward making new happy beginnings as seen with some of the real life stories shared by families who have been helped by UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.

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