“It enabled me to finish writing a bunch of these songs and create more of a positive spin. A hopeful, hopeful spin. This one is for my sweetie; it’s called “Brink of Destruction”… which is not a very positive title, now that I think about it. [laughter] …but, I don’t know, I like it; I like the dark side… and, you know, you walk to the edge and you look over and you go, “holy shit, do I want to jump?” and, yeah… I always do.” Sarah McLachlan talked about loss, and love, and new love, and like her music, it all reflects a very complex and deep feeling soul behind that soulful voice and heartfelt words. She is probably the most gifted vocalist to emerge in the past few decades, and having an opportunity to hear her in a live venue is definitely a memorable experience. Over the course of two hours, Sarah and her extremely talented band put on a showcase concert that hit on all cylinders – sound, lighting, audience interaction and some storytelling about some of the songs, as well as several Q&A opportunities (fans wrote down questions which she drew at random). Truly an “evening with” performance if there ever was one. Sarah has been writing and recording amazing songs for many years now, and her latest – Shine On – has quality that is right there with the best of it. End to end, the event presented a kaleidoscope of feeling and emotion, and Sarah can connect with people with her music unlike anyone else – she is truly peerless on many levels, and this is definitely one of the best tours going this year.
Queen + Adam Lambert Hits 24 Cities with North American Summer Tour, Kicks Off Tonight in Chicago
Legendary rockers Queen will be touring all over North America with their Summer Arena Tour, with everything kicking off with their first show in Chicago tonight. With American Idol star Adam Lambert on vocals, he will join Brian May and Roger Taylor as they bring the classic music to arenas all over the U.S. and beyond. Last week, they offered a sneak peak of what was coming via a special 40-minute performance at iHeartRadio in Burbank, playing for 650 fans with the event streamed via video on Yahoo Screen, with an audio stream on Clear Channel stations and iHeartRadio.com. [Read more…]
V101’s Summer Jam Concert with Keith Sweat, Tony! Toni! Tone! and Salt-N-Pepa This Saturday Night at Thunder Valley Casino Resort
This Saturday, WorldOne Presents will be bringing V101’s Summer Jam to Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California. The line-up features Keith Sweat, Tony! Toni! Tone! and Salt-N-Pepa, along with DJ Gino, as part of a rare concert appearance. [Read more…]
Mountain Winery in Saratoga Announces 2014 Summer Concert Season Line-Up
The Mountain Winery has announced this year’s Summer Concert Series, in conjunction with AXS, all kicking off May 28th with Gary Allan and running through October 3rd with Larry The Cable Guy closing out the season. With a few pre-sales having happened this week, the general sale of tickets starts April 28th on AXS.com.
Rick Springfield “Stripped Down” at Yoshi’s San Francisco | San Francisco, California | 3/13/2014 (Concert Review + Photos)
“…I thought, ‘you know, there’s no better translator of Black American Blues than a middle-class, 16 year old Australian white child’.” Part of Rick Springfield’s storytelling in-between songs, it was apparent early on that not only has he led an interesting life, but he has real depth as well as a self-deprecating sense of humor. Though he is best known for that one big 80s hit (“Jessie’s Girl”) and acting on General Hospital as Dr. Noah Drake, he is a great storyteller and certainly a real artist with some great music and a knack for bringing it alive in a special way in an intimate venue. The highlight of the night for me was his very personal rendition of “My Father’s Chair”, a song about the loss of his dad many years ago. It’s rare to see an artist connect with such a powerful song on stage, and present such vulnerability to an audience. This set of solo shows is definitely well worth checking out, and in many ways more compelling than the traditional, full band rock show, as Rick Springfield has a lot of storytelling in him, in both personal accounts from his life as well as his music.
Rick Springfield Takes on 2014 with Solo “Stripped Down” Shows and Co-Headlining Gigs with Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo
2014 is shaping up to be a great year for fans of Rick Springfield, as he is kicking things off with his solo “Stripped Down” shows currently, and plans to take on Summer with a co-headling tour with Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo. The former should be an opportunity to hear his classic songs in a different style and at more intimate venues, while the latter will team him up with one of the true female rock and roll icons of the 80s, Pat Benatar, as well as her husband, phenomenal guitarist Neil Giraldo, who famously recorded “Jessie’s Girl” with Rick Springfield at Sound City Studios, as recounted in the documentary put out by Dave Grohl last year (and in concert as Sound City Players). [Read more…]
The Top 50 Best Songs of 2013 (So Far…) – A Rock Subculture Journal Editorial
This feature is really born out of my own music playlists… I thought I would take my latest current playlist and break it down to music that was published in 2013 and limit it to 50 songs. Also, the songs have to be off of albums that came out in 2013 (not singles released in 2013 for albums that debuted in 2012). My only other restriction was limiting it to no more than one song per artist. Oh, and no covers… Included is a lot of music that I enjoy that likely include artists that some readers have never heard of, so hopefully this will result in some people finding new music and new artists. The songs are not ranked in an order of preference, but more in a flowing, playlist style. In any event, 2013 is a great year for new music… [Read more…]
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Summer 2013 Concert Tour in United States
Rock icon Joan Jett with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will be playing around a dozen concert dates across the United States this Summer. The Platinum and Gold-selling “Queen of Rock n’ Roll” is best known for her string of 80s hits including “Bad Reputation”, “I Hate Myself for Loving You”, and others. [Read more…]
OneRepublic Tour ‘Native’ Across United States for Summer 2013, Including Some Co-Headlining Concert Dates with Sara Bareilles
Colorado alternative rock/pop group OneRepublic have outlined their Summer 2013 tour of the United States supporting this year’s latest studio album, Native. Some of these dates will be co-headlining concerts with Sara Bareilles supporting her latest, The Blessed Unrest, due next month. [Read more…]
KC and the Sunshine Band and Village People Tour United States for Summer 2013
Disco and funk band KC and the Sunshine Band and fellow disco group Village People will be touring the United States this Summer, along with some shared concert dates. Both bands born of the 70s are sure to bring the party to each venue along their respective and shared treks across the U.S. [Read more…]