Metric has thus far this year plotted out dates through June, with appearances at Coachella as well as their own headlining shows in and around the United States. Having covered two of their shows last year, they are really a must see band with amazing music and songs from their latest studio album, Synthetica, get a lot of play on this tour. [Read more…]
In my recent trip to Las Vegas to cover concerts, I visited the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino as “The Joint” – their official concert venue – is inside the resort. The Hard Rock is world famous for their collection of music and rock and roll memorabilia, and the displays within this location is the most impressive I’ve seen. [Read more…]
Last month I had an opportunity to check out the Hard Rock Cafe Maui in Old Lahaina Town. During the visit, I took some photos of the music memorabilia on display to share in this article.
As noted yesterday, Not So Silent Night (NSSN) is Live 105’s “Annual Holiday Rock Show”, with 2012 being the first year it spans two consecutive nights. This second night featured headliner The Killers, along with M83, Passion Pit, Tegan and Sara, GROUPLOVE, and Imagine Dragons. Again, I was very, very impressed at how extremely well managed this multi-artist event was on both nights. Oracle Arena again served as host to six amazing acts in about seven hours time, with very brief breaks in-between. I found the two night show to be such a great event to attend, to have an opportunity to see so many great bands back to back, with a stellar closing set by The Killers.
“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…]
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.
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.
So I just saw the B-52s three months ago (to the day) at Ovations Live! in Arizona… and from the experience, knew that I wanted to see them again, at the earliest opportunity. So last night I found myself at Harrah’s South Shore Room at Stateline, Nevada, to more or less repeat the awesome experience from earlier this year. And the band – a favorite of mine since childhood – did not disappoint. Given the differences in the venue – 100% seated at Ovations Live! and with a mix of options at the South Shore Room including a vast GA pit in front of the stage, the latter was a feature that was a huge benefit for experiencing their incredible music live. The set list was also completely rearranged since the last show I attended, so it was very much a fresh and unique experience, and as always they put on a phenomenal show. I’m left wondering, as I write this, when I might get to catch them again.
I have been a fan of the B-52s going back nearly 30 years, finding their music when I was a kid, and being really moved and inspired by their unique and always catchy sound. The thing that most struck me about their concert at the Ovations LIVE! Showroom inside the Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino last night… how their timeless music continues to have the same impact on generation after generation. Within the crowd were a number of kids, just having the time of their lives. And what was really moving for me were the efforts made by the band to not only acknowledge them within the crowd, but literally reach out to them, with members of the band giving them cool mementos to remember this great night, including drum sticks and guitar picks and the like. Because when it comes down to it, as stylishly esoteric and at times irreverent as their music can be, the B-52s are all about celebrating life and doing so in the most positive manner we know how – through great music. And the B-52s continue to deliver after all these years. [Read more…]
Santigold has been on my “must see list” for a while, and with their latest tour, they did not schedule any Northern California shows, so I made a special trip to Los Angeles to see them last night, at one of my favorite venues, Club Nokia. I have been a fan since the release of their first album, and have become an even bigger fan with the release of their second album, Master of My Make-Believe. It was an absolutely fantastic night that felt like a giant celebration, with two great opening artists, so enough with the preface and I’ll get right to it. The thing that most struck me about Santi was her natural ability to make those magic connections with individual members of her audience, one by one – her eyes seeking out and locking onto people with a special smile, expression, or gesture. Wonderful stuff, and her music is so uniquely her – rare when a newer artist can produce and deliver such genuine art. I really can’t recommend enough picking up her albums and seeing her do her thing live, with her awesome band. [Read more…]