Jason DeBord's Rock Subculture Journal

Juice Newton Acoustic Trio at Yoshi’s San Francisco | San Francisco, California | 11/13/2012 (Concert Review)

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“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.

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Billy Idol at Hult Center for the Performing Arts | Eugene, Oregon | 10/28/2012 (Concert Review)

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“Thank you, Eugene, Oregon, for making my life so fucking great!”  That’s Billy Idol for you.  Billy Idol connects with people, and appreciates his fans.  He connects with people via his music, of course, but in a live performance, he does more than that…  and just as his language is uncensored, so are his connections with people.  As soon as he comes out onto the stage, his eyes dart about the audience, and you see him make these connections.  He seems to have an innate ability to connect with fans, and give them something back that suits them – a grin, a smile, a point with his finger and nod, a wry look, wide open eyes, the famous lip curl…  [Read more…]

Billy Idol at Showbox SoDo | Seattle, Washington | 10/26/2012 (“Play My Birthday Billy Idol dot com” Concert) (Concert Review)

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The world needs Billy Idol.  The world needs cool, and it needs a bit of a rebel yell.  But it also needs dreamers.  And, sometimes, a crazy, impossible, outlandish dream can lead to great things.  And all of this was proven on an epic night in Seattle, as a young man with hope, ambition, persistence, and ingenuity leveraged the Internet in a way that lead to rock music legend and icon Billy Idol playing his 26th birthday party at the Showbox SoDo in Seattle last night.  I’ve seen Billy Idol many, many times over the years, but I can say without a doubt that last night’s special show featured the best audience I’ve ever been a part of at one of his concerts.  And in these challenging times we live in, it felt like everyone left their struggles and frustrations and all other negativity at the door, and embraced the awesome music and amazing live performance of Billy Idol and his band, as the put on a scorching show.  As just the second (by my count) U.S. date this year (with a third in Eugene tomorrow night), I believe it serves as evidence of the significant demand for fans to see Billy Idol play live.  He is one of my all-time favorite artist, has such a fantastic catalog of songs, and is one of the best live acts performing today accompanied by a peerless band and the incomparable Steve Stevens on lead guitar.  Cheers to Michael Henrichsen for having a dream and putting such effort into something that brings joy not just to himself, but everyone who loves Billy Idol who came to take part in it.  Michael certainly knows how to party, and he brought it to Seattle last night, in the form of the legendary Billy Idol.

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Adam Ant at The Regency Ballroom | San Francisco, California | 10/18/2012 (Concert Review)

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New Wave revolutionary?  Prince??  Pirate???  Adam Ant has adopted a multitude of roles spanning many decades…  but as an icon of post-punk and early 80s music and pop culture, he still knows how to kill it on stage, which is what he did for the sold out crowd at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco last night, tearing through a massive 28+ song set list that still left out some fan favorites.  Who would have imagined when he came on the scene in the mid to late 70s that not only would he still be selling out shows, but he’d still be relevant (and, looking backward, prescient) well into his late 50’s.  Truly an artist musician, Adam Ant has created a culture and world all his own, and it is definitely a fun place to visit.

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Smashing Pumpkins at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium | San Francisco, California | 10/12/2012 (Concert Review)

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“I’m old; I need to catch my breath…”  Words from the legendary Smashing Pumpkins founder and frontman Billy Corgan during a momentary pause, about two hours into a massive set which kicked off with their newly released Oceania (also the title of this tour), played front to back and in its entirety, followed by an awesome cover of Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, and well into live performances of their many, many classic hits.  I think it was more of a breath of fresh air for the fans packed onto the floor of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium last night, who had the privilege of witnessing a true rock god at the top of his game, and in contrast to most popular music acts today: sans Auto-Tune, pre-recorded backing vocals, an army of dancers, and other artificial sweeteners.  Billy Corgan and his Smashing Pumpkins are legendary for their layered, sweeping guitar-based sound and his unique, soul-baring vocals delivering authentic, sometimes fairly dark lyrics and sentiments.  Ever the innovator, Billy Corgan continues to turn the music industry on its head, having essentially declared the album dead about four years ago, he now rebels against not the past, but the future.  A strange era in music, but the Smashing Pumpkins keep doing their own thing in spite of changes and trends, and the Oceania-based concert last night was fantastic.

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Florence + The Machine at The Hollywood Bowl | Los Angeles, California | 10/8/2012 (Concert Review)

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Having seen Florence + The Machine at the Mondavi Center back in April – which still remains as one of the best (of many, many) concerts I’ve been to this year, I was committed as I walked out of that venue that I would see them again soon, hopefully before the close of the year.  That dream became a reality last night at the historic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.  It was one of those circumstances in which you feel that you’ve already seen the best possible concert for a particular artist, and wonder if it is a good idea to see them again when it would be impossible to measure up to the experience that you already had.  Somehow, Florence + The Machine defied all of my expectations and put on a somewhat different show, but one that at least measured up to the first experience I had seeing them months ago.  They are an unbelievable band, and the most fascinating thing is that listening to the studio albums, you couldn’t know how amazing that it all translates into live music.  I already gave them my highest recommendation in my first review.  Whatever you might think of their music, whatever preconceived notions you may have about the live experience, I can’t imagine someone seeing this band live and not being blown away.  Even one of the venue staffers I was talking with before the show was won over by them with their first of two performances at the Hollywood Bowl the night before – and let’s just say he’s not someone you would guess is a Florence + The Machine fan by any stretch of the imagination – and even he thought that they were one of the best bands he’s ever seen, and he’s in the business of working tons of shows every year.  They are that fantastic, and in my opinion, one of the very top acts touring today.

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New Order at The Greek Theatre | Los Angeles, California | 10/7/2012 (Concert Review)

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Last night was the second show of New Order’s 10-date North American tour (spanning the U.S., Canada, and Mexico).  One of the most important bands of my lifetime, they played classic New Order and Joy Division songs at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, which had a stage that dwarfed the one that they played last December at their concert at Troxy in London, which I was fortunate enough to have attended.  Having been front row center for both shows, it was a bit surreal for me to see them from the exact same vantage point at such different venues and in different countries – both in their own country (which, at the time, was their first date there in five years) and now here in the United States.  As the band is among my all-time favorite groups, I feel a bit challenged to evaluate the night, as the band and their music means more to me than I can put into words.  It was really a stellar show, and it of course leaves me wondering, in a hopeful way, about the future of this legendary band.

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Peter Gabriel at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino | Las Vegas, Nevada | 10/5/2012 (Concert Review)

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So.  A classic album with heart and soul.  Last night Peter Gabriel played the PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas to the nearly filled 7,000 seat venue as part of his ‘Back to Front’ tour, which celebrates the 25th anniversary of his classic album, So.  In fact, the full So album was played as the third part of a concert running well over two hours, with the first two parts comprising music from other works.  It was definitely a dream concert for fans of the legendary artist, and he did not disappoint; his voice, to my ears, sounded better than ever.  In this day and age when albums as a musical framework unfortunately means less and less, it was something special to be part of this show celebrating the album that gave Mr. Gabriel his real mainstream success and identity as an innovative and ground-breaking solo artist.

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GROUPLOVE at The Boulevard Pool at The Cosmopolitan | Las Vegas, Nevada | 10/4/2012 (Concert Review)

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GROUPLOVE is one of those bands that, I think, will take a bit of hindsight to figure out… maybe a decade from now, in that their talent, earnestness, and originality seems boundless.  They are definitely doing their own thing, and in these somewhat darker times with people facing a lot of struggles and challenges, their unique and incredibly upbeat music is truly a breath of fresh, sweet air.  While they appear quite Earthy and friendly in appearance, and those familiar with the hits they’ve generated that have gotten the most airplay and attention may expect them to be a bit more quiet and acoustic-driven, by the end of their hour and a half long set atop a rooftop along the Las Vegas strip, they were completely rocking The Boulevard Pool at The Cosmopolitan.  Though only formed a couple of years ago, this band is going places, and it is definitely a journey on which their growing fans are happy to accompany them.

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Garbage at The Warfield | San Francisco, California | 10/1/12 (Concert Review)

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Last night at The Warfield was my second time seeing Garbage this year, having seen them back in April in Las Vegas.  I was astounded at how much the band has evolved in this short time, having just been resurrected earlier this year, now completely transformed into one of the most kick ass bands touring in 2012.  This group – that completely defies genre – burst onto the stage and played a tight and rearranged set, including many songs off their incredible new album for upwards of two hours.  They also brought out one of the best audiences I’ve been a part of all year (and yes, audiences do matter!), who could not get enough of this band that comes across as beings from another, much more interesting planet.  All in all, I think the fact that Garbage isn’t currently selling out huge stadiums is a tribute to the fact that the 90s was, as a decade, mostly filled with crap music (compared to the decades that preceded and followed), and somehow this band never received the recognition nor massive following that it deserved.  People in the 90’s generally had no taste in music and it was a weak era in pop culture, and Garbage is, in my estimation, one of the most outstanding group of artists born of that time, and the fact that they somehow got back together to make music and perform live better than ever is nothing short of remarkable.  Hopefully at some point the masses will catch up to what they are missing, as the concerts this band puts on are among the best live shows from any band today.

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