The Alarm - Ludlow Garage - Cincinnati, OH - 11/8/2018
Awesome show. If you like the Alarm, go see this tour. Yes, it's really only Mike Peters and 3 newer members. But, it is in support of their new album and they play ALL of the great old songs from The Alarm.
The Ludlow Garage is a tiny venue, seating 300. Mike and company had the place rockin'. It was Awesome! I've been a huge fan of The Alarm for 30+ years, but had never seen them live. It was WAY better than I was expecting....
Last night had the pleasure of seeing the Doobie Brothers at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg PA. The boys still got the musical goods...and then some!!!
Richard Shindel, folk artist last Thursday at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, CA.I just purchased a ticket to see Mark Knopfler next Sept. at Berkeley's Greek theater.
Courtney Barnett - 10/17/2018 - Pabst Theater - Milwaukee, WI
Wow! What a show. Courtney Barnett ROCKS! Really good stuff. One of the best shows I've seen in a while. She's now on my "must see" list every time she's anywhere near me.
Emmylou Harris - 10/16/2018 - Pabst Theater - Milwaukee, WI
Good show, but Emmylou's voice is not what it once was. She is 71 years old, so I gotta cut her a little slack. She had a full electric band for this tour. I enjoyed more the previous show I saw where she played as part of an acoustic trio.
Bettye Lavette - 10/13/2018 - @ Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peach Ranch Station -Meigs County, Ohio
What a voice! Loved her style and delivery. Was up close (really close) and personal. Was really cool because it felt like she was singing directly to us.
I saw Dylan in the early 1990’s at The Hollywood Bowl, the worst show I’ve ever witnessed by anybody (though The Stones at The Staples Center a decade later was close. Time to hang it up, fellas). Both he and his band (G.E. Smith / guitar and mugging, Kenny Aaronson / bass, and Christopher Parker / drums) were atrociously bad.
I then saw him in the early 2000’s at The Hollywood Palladium (a beautiful Deco-style theater on Sunset Blvd.), and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever witnessed. Bob was on fire, absolutely spitting out the lyrics, fully engaged with both his excellent band (Larry Campbell / guitar, mandolin, and harmony vocals, Tony Garnier / standup and electric bass, the great David Kemper on drums, and Bucky Baxter / steel) and the audience. Bob even played some Chuck Berry-style guitar solos as Larry looked on, bemused. A great, great night of music.
Saw The Struts last night at a small 1000 person venue last night. They are a newish glam/pop band in the Queen mode. Incredible concert. Very tight playing, superb vocals. Totally engaged with the audience. Crowd in a frenzy all night. I was exhausted by the end....in a good way.
If you have not heard of this band before and if you are sad that rock is dying a long slow death, check this band out. They will give you hope. YouTube them. You'll be glad you did.
Tickets were $20 which, in a day when you buy $200 tickets to see has-beens phone it in, is very refreshing.
Hard to tell where they're career will go. The opened for the Foo Fighters all last year and Dave Grohl said they were the best opening band they've ever had. Opened for the Stones in stadiums and a good many other big name bands.
@reubent, Concert was really good, saw Steve a few times but never DY or LW and could not believe my luck when all three were on the same bill as I have been a big fan of all three for a long time.
Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams and Steve Earl at White Oak Music Hall, Houston Texas in August. Getting ready for Bob Dylan this Saturday night in Sugarland Texas.
Seether and Tremonti in Montclair, NJ on Sep. 20. Before that, Jeff Beck, Ann Wilson and Paul Rodgers in Holmdel, NJ in August. Different types of rock and different eras but all good.
If I want to see some iconic bands of my youth...the first thing I do is google the most recent concert utube videos for a look see. This way I can get an idea of what my money is actually buying. If the singer is bad I generally pass on a ticket purchase...
I saw a televised Van Morrison concert where he did Astral Weeks at the Hollywood Bowl. It was kind of sad. As mcslipp mentioned, you could tell it was Van Morrison singing but otherwise his singing was just a big muddy run-together jumble of words. I'm a huge Morrison fan but from what I've read he's not a particularly nice person, has a reputation for being unnecessarily petulant and a bit arrogant (he is Van the Man after all). He also has a history of stage fright. Hard to say but from what I've seen on TV and heard from live footage in recent years, I would not pay to go see him.
I would contrast Van with Robert Plant, another one of my favorite singers. It has been a while since I saw Plant in concert but every time I have seen him you get the distinct impression that he is having the time of his life even in some podunk arena in South Carolina. Either he is having a great time and loves what he's doing OR he is a great actor. Either way, I respect that he makes the effort.
Has Van lost his voice? That is possible and it does happen. Linda Ronstadt does not perform any more for that reason. Robert Plant admitted in a recent interview that he no longer has the range he used to have and so does not perform some of the more iconic Zep songs.
Whatever his reasons for disliking Art Garfunkel, it's gotten very old over the years, and it is part one of the reasons that I don't hold much respect for him. I'm sure that with their close proximity for a number of years, there were plenty of reasons to be annoyed or worse, but in the end, the way a person can put those things away and move forward with a loving spirit is the way he's measured. It jus makes a lot of his songs ring false.
I went to Paul Simon's last concert on Saturday. It was a disappointment. I had great hopes. It was a good concert but nothing special. He seemed happy to be finished, rather than celebrating. I thought there might be special guests but there weren't. He did Bridge Over Troubled Water and introduced it saying that he got his baby back (dissing Art Garfunkel). The crowd was stoned, pushy and unpleasant. It was filmed and probably will show up on PBS. At least you will be able to sit in a comfortable chair without people stepping on you. The review in the NY Times was similar to my opinion.
Van Morrison - Last week. It was fun but strange as hell. Van came out spoke no words between songs, grinded out 15 songs back-to-back-to-back. Walked off stage halfway through the last song (G-L-O-R-I-A), lights went up and that was that. He still sounds like Van only he may well have just been mumbling "Chicken" all night...
I recently saw the Rock Hill Symphony Orchestra play at the Rawlinson Road Middle School Auditorium.
As pedestrian as that sounds it was remarkable in a number of ways:
1) It was the inaugural concert of our new local symphony which was created when many smaller orchestras are going under. And this in a small but rapidly growing, former mill city in South Carolina. It was sold out as is the rest of the 3 concert season. Expenses have been met by ticket sales and local benefactors.
2) The newly built Rawlinson Road Middle School auditorium has amazing acoustics!
3) The performance was really quite good. Which is not surprising since regional musicians are looking for work. We drew from the Charlotte and Atlanta region. There were no try-outs. The conductor (from New York) was able to hand pick.
4) My sister-in-law is on the board and my wife is on the advisory committee. This was truly a grass roots effort.
5) It now has the mayor and other large benefactors realizing that their tenuous plans to build a performing arts center is now not only do-able, but critical.
Anyway, live, high quality classical performances by excellent musician in Rock Hill, SC. Who would have ever believed it?
Just saw Yuko Mabuchi (again!), this time at the Vibrato Grill in Bel Air, California. With Yuko were her trio mates, Del Atkins (bass) and Bobby Breton (drums), as well as guest Robert Kyle (saxes and flute).
They put together a polished, elegant set with controlled intensity and artful nuance. This playlist included jazz interpretations of three Antonio Carlos Jobim works and Yuko’s own Waves, all rendered beautifully.
Yuko pounded the ivories with energy, skill, and creativity. A prodigy indeed. As before, Robert Kyle was a great complement to the trio. And the Vibrato was a lovely venue for the evening.
n80, I stay away from the big bands at big venues, because they are the most expensive. I seek out interesting bands at medium to small venues. Sound and sight is much better anyway. And yes, ear plugs are a wise idea as we get older.
I hate the crowds, always had a touch of claustropohbia. I forgot about an outdoor concert I attended with some friends about 10 years ago probably because I don't remember what small groups were playing, my wife just told me one was called Small Potatoes?
I can’t answer for djones51 but I agree with tonykay above, I just have not been motivated to see many live rock shows. I find the prices almost insultingly high, more so than opera tickets in many cases. The parking, unruly crowds, deafening sound levels (I have hearing loss, in part, due to rock shows) have just made it not worth it to me.
Dylan is coming to town, thought I might bite on that one, but decent seats are $150 and up. No thanks.
Having said all that there is a young British band called The Struts that are a throwback to British glam rock. Maybe a little heavy at times but really mostly pop. They open frequently for the Foo Fighters. Even in stadiums. They have developed a reputation for putting on a good show, their freshman CD is very good and very catchy. So when I heard they were coming to Asheville to small local venue (1000 seat max) I bought tickets. $20 general admission. This will be the first rock show I’ve been to since Black Crows/Robert Plant in 1990.
It is on a Wednesday night. There may not be anyone there. I did not buy the $90 VIP pass to meet the band. I’ll hate myself if they get huge. As if. I’m worried my wife and I will be the oldest people there (55). I have no idea what to expect. I will be the one wearing ear plugs.
Agreed, Keith Carlock has been touring with The Dan for a long time now. Clearly, he knows their catalog inside and out. I have often wondered how Becker and Fagen found this gem from Mississippi?
Mountain, Dec 1973, Opening act Blue Oyster Cult, Louisville, Ky was the last concert I attended but the one I remember a little better was J Geils with the openers The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Framptons Camel in Aug at the sportsdrome in Jeffersonville.
Just enjoyed the Yuko Mabuchi Trio at the Brand Library in Glendale, California. Guest performers included Robert Kyle on sax and flute and Billy Mitchell on organ.
Yuko is an animated pianist, quite mobile bouncing on the bench, and she likes to sing wordlessly with her playing. I found her jazz expressions of classics like Girl Talk and Blue Moon to be captivating, as well as her own composition Waves.
Robert Kyle did an extraordinary job with brilliant sax solos as well as a lovely flute performance with Sukiyaki. His interpretations fit in perfectly with the essential character of each presentation, as if he had been with the group for years.
Billy Mitchell’s accompaniment added an extra dimension to this evening’s session, very adroitly completing the soundscape and moving each song’s composition to a higher level.
I’m looking forward to Yuko’s next Yarlung Records release, a live recording of her performing Miles Davis. If it is as good as her first Yarlung album, I’ll be happy to add it to my top shelf collection.
Hi boxer12 - I really liked Mayer’s guitar playing and singing. My friend who is a longtime Deadhead said Mayer plays "faster" than Jerry, like he is fitting in more notes. I’m more of a novice Dead fan than you or my friend, but in my opinion John can really jam and improvise.
Here’s a high quality Nugs clip of Hell in a Bucket from the concert I attended (you have to fast forward for 8:37 minutes to get to the beginning of the song; and then John begins to jam around 15:30): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZJY71fWHM4
What a great lineup of bands you've recently seen. I saw Neil in the 80's and enjoyed that a lot. Been a dead head since 82. Was privileged to see them live many many times. At some point I'll probably see dead & company. How does John do with the band?
+1 on moe. I saw them a couple of weeks ago, what a great live band! I learned later that the bass player recently had cancer treatment, which makes the 3.5 hour show that they played even more impressive.
I went to Dead and Company the next day. I really enjoyed that show too.
I also saw Robert Plant and Neil Young at the Arroyo Seco festival last month, in the pit up close to the stage. I especially enjoyed Neil Young's nearly 20 minute versions of Like an Inca and Cortez the Killer.
Next up is Drive by Truckers and Tedeschi Trucks at Red Rocks.
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