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Berlin Featuring Terri Nunn at The Canyon Club | Agoura Hills, California | 12/5/2014 (Concert Review + Photos)

December 9, 2014 by Jason DeBord Leave a Comment

“You’ve excited me so much I’ve lost my voice all of a sudden…” Terri Nunn in her intro to “Take My Breath Away”, Berlin’s Academy Award and Golden Globe winning 1986 song. Playing to somewhat of a hometown crowd at The Canyon Club in Agoura Hills, the place was packed and the band changed things up a bit for Christmas, with a few festive classics fit in midway through their set. They’ve had a heavier tour schedule in 2014, in part to support their latest album, Animal. This marked the third time seeing Berlin in 2014, having seen their shows at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach in January and at City Winery Napa in August. As per usual, they put on an incredible show with a mix of songs from old and new, including my two favorites, “Metro” and “Will I Ever Understand You”. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to see them just as much in 2015, and they are one of my highest recommended live acts to check out.

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Berlin Featuring Terri Nunn at City Winery Napa | Napa, California | 8/13/2014 (Concert Review + Photos)

August 15, 2014 by Jason DeBord Leave a Comment

“…I am extremely upset at losing Robin Williams – much more than I ever thought I would be when I first heard the news. It’s really hard to see someone with that kind of talent and love from all over the world destroy himself. And I’m not saying he’s wrong… I’m just saying it’s hard… So we pulled this song that you’ve probably heard before, because I think it is what I want to say to honor him tonight. This is for Robin.” A heartfelt and emotional intro by Terri Nunn of Berlin at City Winery Napa on Wednesday night, talking in a personal way about what has been on the minds of the masses around the world, as a preface to their special tribute cover of Duran Duran’s “Ordinary World”. All in all, it was a very intimate set, and probably the best I’ve seen them over the years. They have toured a bit more in 2014, in part to support their latest album, Animal. With their current sets comprised of a mix of old and new, it’s become more and more seamless as the rest of the band have made each of the classic songs their own over the years. And they are still full of surprises, last night playing “Like Flames” for the first time since 1987. They are one of my personal favorite live acts today, and each time I see them it inspires me to turn out for future shows.

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Imagine Dragons “Into The Night Tour” at SAP Center| San Jose, California | 2/13/2014 (Concert Review + Photos)

February 14, 2014 by Jason DeBord Leave a Comment

When I last saw Imagine Dragons in concert, I was packed into a small club with about 500 other fans, pressed against the small stage, with frontman Dan Reynolds dripping sweat onto those of us in the first few rows. Fast forward just one year later, and now the band is easily selling out the 17,000 capacity SAP Center in San Jose (which even the Rolling Stones had trouble filling last year), and striking less successful music bands with envy (more on that later). With their performance Thursday night, it was fascinating seeing how they’ve built up a fan base, yet retained their modesty. At one point, during an ad lib, Dan became a bit self conscious about what he was saying, stopped himself, and confessed, “it’s because of you – you make me nervous…” Honesty and earnestness is rare in rock stars these days, but I have a feeling that it is something innate in this one, and will always stay with him. While photographing the first few songs at the start of their set, watching from a couple feet away, I saw Dan pause at one point and briefly stare out across the massive audience before him, and get choked up a little in the same way he did a year ago talking about the charity they were supporting for that small gig in San Francisco. These are definitely genuine guys, and it certainly comes through in their music and performance. Definitely one of the must see tours of the year, as I suspect they will get even bigger once they release their sophomore album.

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Berlin Featuring Terri Nunn at Saint Rocke | Hermosa Beach, California | 1/24/2014 (Concert Review + Photos)

January 26, 2014 by Jason DeBord Leave a Comment

Berlin Featuring Terri Nunn kicked off 2014 with their first live date of the year at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach, California, just as they did last year (which is a show I caught and reviewed as well). The biggest difference between last year and this year is that their amazing new album, Animal, came out this past September. While they have been playing some of this new material in their shows in the past few years, somehow it felt much more seamlessly intertwined into the set, maybe because now I’m so familiar with the songs. Like last year, it was another stellar show with excellent supporting artists, and Saint Rocke is a great little venue. I think more than most bands, Berlin gets what their music is about, how it affects people, and the power a live show can have on celebrating life and living it with some passion. They definitely bring it all out on stage and they are one of those bands that can carry you along with them vicariously. [Read more…]

The Rock Subculture Journal 2013 Year In Review (Jason DeBord’s Top 100 Concert Photos)

January 3, 2014 by Jason DeBord 1 Comment

This is the second and last of my 2013 “Year In Review” articles. As with my article last year for 2012 in photos, I reviewed my concert photos from 2013 and compiled some of my favorites and stopped when I hit 100 photos in total. Please also check out my companion 2013 Year in Review article: The Rock Subculture Journal 2013 Year In Review (Top 10 Live Music Concerts, Top 10 Albums, Top 100 Songs, and more…) [Read more…]

Muse at Royal Horse Guard’s Parade (World War Z Premiere) | London, England | 6/2/2013 (Concert Review)

June 3, 2013 by Jason DeBord 6 Comments

15,000 hardcore Muse fans showed up at the Royal Horse Guard’s Parade in London, England last night for a special one-off concert promoting the premiere of Paramount’s new film, World War Z. As fans waited for the expected partial show (rumor was about half an hour of actual performance), we were shown the same movie trailer over and over and told that Brad Pitt would be appearing on stage before us. Well, he never did appear (apart from some silent footage on the jumbo monitors from the red carpet), but I don’t think the Muse fans could care less, as the usual opener to their shows was modified with some footage from the film, and after those few moments, it was pure Muse (not “Muze”, as the marketing department for the film would like us to believe). Being from the U.S., the awesome setting amidst historic London buildings and the awesome crowd certainly was not lost on me. The energy was as palpable as the heat wave surging into the audience from the pyrotechnics above the stage. But the real power came from the band, who have grown into being one of the best acts touring today, with real anthemic music that stirs the crowd into a fist-pumping frenzy. They ended up playing maybe just under an hour, but I’m certain that they satisfied all who turned out for the special free show, most of whom turned out for the two shows at Emirates Stadium and seemingly universally declared them the best Muse concerts ever.

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Crystal Gayle at Thunder Valley Resort & Casino | Lincoln, California | 2/22/2013 (Concert Review)

February 23, 2013 by Jason DeBord Leave a Comment

Last night Thunder Valley Resort & Casino played host to one of a short run of shows by music legend Crystal Gayle. The award-winning singer, best known for her 1977 hit, “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue”., put on an amazing show of her own songs as well as tributes to the works of others, with her own signature style. It was incredible to have an opportunity to enjoy the show put on by her along with her sister Peggy Sue and the five-piece band led by Jay Patten.

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Marilyn Manson at Modesto Centre Plaza | Modesto, California | 2/15/2013 (Concert Review)

February 16, 2013 by Jason DeBord 11 Comments

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.

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Berlin Featuring Terri Nunn at Saint Rocke | Hermosa Beach, California | 2/1/2013 (Concert Review)

February 3, 2013 by Jason DeBord 6 Comments

There are a lot of variables that go into what makes a great live music experience – the band, your own personal connection with their music, how their music has touched your life, the venue, the energy of the crowd, supporting acts, and obviously a lot of other factors as well – and this was one of those shows that delivered on all of that and more. Berlin featuring Terri Nunn headlined a show at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach Friday night, and it was an incredible show in an intimate setting that felt more like a friends and family atmosphere than the typical concert. In addition, Berlin played a new material from their forthcoming studio album that was nothing less than fantastic – new songs that are distinctly Berlin yet fresh and exciting. [Read more…]

Muse at Sleep Train Arena | Sacramento, California | 1/29/2013 (Concert Review)

January 30, 2013 by Jason DeBord 4 Comments

The Muse concert in Sacramento last night at the Sleep Train Arena was, on a personal note, Night #2 of 2 for me, having seen them the night before at Oracle Arena in Oakland. Two totally different experiences (more on that later), but another Epic show by a band that delivers rock entertainment like no one else on tour today. Over the course of seeing them, one thing I’ve learned is that location matters at these shows, and I wouldn’t necessarily say one place is better than another (close or far), as they have such an elaborate and brilliant production and presentation, wherever you are in the venue you will experience something very special indeed. As I said in yesterday’s review, they are most definitely a band that needs to be experienced live in concert and their music is designed to be performed live in front of thousands. [Read more…]