Somewhere Everybody Should Be

Hello my great and loyal reader(s)! I hope this entry finds you well. I am writing with the world blocked out by some lovely AC/DC vinyl plugging my ears from the outside world and a decent sized grin on my face. This past weekend and week has been pretty spectacular so far. There was a broad spectrum of performers and yet another wonderful shopping experience.

Friday night, I attended the stand-up comedy show of Louis CK. I know that this blog is about music but I feel stand-up comedy, whether clean or dirty, is all about the proper delivery and timing, much like music. Louis is a master of this. He starts the show with material you wouldn't think would be good to open. He avoids the tacky "How are you guys tonight?" start. He opens with an awkward joke that forces you into his world right away. Much like an established rock band will start with a song the fans know, but not the big hit that you would close with. Louis works the audience into a frenzy of laughter driven tears by the end by just piling on the pressure with more and more outrageous stream of thoughts. Unlike older comedians, you have to pay attention to Louis to tell really when one joke ends and another begins. Before I move on though, I must thank him for stopping the show and checking on my safety when the folding chair I was in gave way and I hit the floor. I was still laughing, for the win.

Sunday, I made my way to Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore to see the Wilson sisters: Heart. After having fun in the Hard Rock Cafe looking on John Lee Hooker's guitar, and complaining about how more mainstream, modern metal groups turn their bass up too high to appeal to those who like Hip-Hop, we got our prime spot on the lawn in the front, dead center to hear the opening act, Danielia Cotton. I really wish I had not heard her. Her band was mediocre at best, and her singing a bit too over the top. A bit too screaming for me. I call it "fake" pipes. Screaming is different than the high note you're going for and frankly, it was the first time at any rock concert I had wished for ear plugs. My ear drums were ringing quite bad. I was quite glad when she was done.

I should mention this is my dad's first rock concert without it being a cover band. He was in awe watching the roadies switch the stage in minutes for Heart. But his real look of awe came when Heart actually came out and brought the house down. They didn't sound quite as good as they did last summer, but I chalk it up to three factors:
1. Saturday night they did a show in Niagara Fall, NY, so they were on the road for 8 hours the night before to get to Baltimore.
2. Pier Six does not have the sound system that Nissan Pavilion has.
3. Cheap Trick is a much better opening act and removes some of the pressure.
So with that said, Heart still tore it up. They did a bit of a set I didn't expect, with them doing a few Led Zeppelin covers, including "Angels of Avalon", "Going to California" and "Immigrant Song". Fear not though, Heart still hammered home "Magic Man", "Barracuda", and "Crazy on You". This was pretty much the craziest I had seen Pier Six. I feel though that a lot of people who wanted to go were scared by the cheapest seat being $30. They didn't consider that Pier Six isn't a stadium, its not big. Its an intimate venue and can provide some gems by allowing you to see your favorite groups up close and personal.

Tuesday began with a lovely lunch and then a second trip to Trax on Wax. The owner, Gary, was again friendly and very welcoming and thanked me in person for my blog entry. No need to thank me though, its my obligation to write and share my experiences in the music world. Since it was before pay day and there was a concert that night, I had to be a little tight on the wallet, but still walked out with the previously mentioned AC/DC record. a very nice, practically mint condition original pressing of "High Voltage", which is my second favorite AC/DC album and my favorite with Bon Scott. This album though definitely was remixed when moved to CD. The album is rough, and sounds like it was recorded in a bar, which just adds to the flair of AC/DC being your bad-ass bar band. I also grabbed "Sabotage" by Black Sabbath. This is the sixth album by Black Sabbath. This album is a bit softer than the usual Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne fare. I feel lucky though that I got a version of it from the early pressings that included a 23 second secret track at the end of Ozzy goofing around in the studio. Quite entertaining!

The second half of Tuesday included taking the subway into DC with my pal Beth to see Keane. Keane is one of the very few modern pop groups that I like. I am not fond of them no longer being a trio, but I cannot complain. They bring a prime show to you. Keane's lead singer, Tom Chaplin, has a killer voice, and is the only singer I've seen that could possibly fill Freddie Mercury's shoes, vocally. This band brought a wave of positive energy over the crowd I've never seen. Keane was accompanied by two opening acts, Helio Sequence and Mat Kearney. Helio Sequence is a duo of drums and guitar. They didn't really introduce themselves, and kind of assumed everyone already knew who they were. They also seemed hung up in having lots of synth backing tracks which took away from what skills they were presenting to us. It also caused their songs to sound identical to me, at least in a live setting. Mat Kearney followed them and he really wowed me. Hes not my type of music but he brought a stage presence which was quite nice. My only gripe is that he has a 4-piece band backing him. Come up with a band name and give them credit, considering you're playing rhythm guitar 3 and singing. There were two other guitarists there, both with nice voices, bass and drums. Let them in and come up with a name. Other than that, dude you are golden and going to make lots of money.

Keane though really rocked Constitution Hall, which is not suited for this kind of show at all. Kean brought a simple stage set up with no screens or anything like that. They didn't need it, the whole band is charismatic. They were just straight up fun to watch. I was transfixed much like my father was during Heart. In 72 hours I went from seeing a band a bit past its prime, just doing shows for fun, to seeing bands that are still fresh, young, and having to fight for fans. Might I add that initially at the Keane show, I felt old and out of place. Then I noticed a 40-something man singing his heart out the next section over, and below me a 40-something woman basically doing her impression of Joan of Arc from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" throughout the whole show. This made me feel better.

Nothing against my friend Beth at all, but the tickets were initially to be for my girlfriend and I to attend, with Keane being one of her favorite bands. I did find myself enjoying this concert a little differently due to company. Beth is a great concert partner and always will be. This was to be my girlfriends second concert; her first was the George Clinton mega-show. I think I would have seen this show through fresher eyes, had I been with a concert noobie and a really big Keane fan. Beth found herself enjoying the groups and discovering them the same way I did. The concert really isn't just about who is playing, but with whom you are sharing. The music is an experience and Keane was one of the first things my darling girlfriend and I shared. It would be a slight if I didn't mention this point in this blog entry. I'm truly grateful Beth came along, as it would have killed me to waste a ticket and Beth is always a lot of fun, and open minded and flexible to whatever we're going to see. But I cannot deny that I was thinking how the show might have been different to me if Melanie had attended.

With that, I sign off for the night. "High Voltage" has played out and the arm on the old Pioneer phonograph has retracted. I leave you tonight with a video of Keane from DAR Constitution Hall, doing my favorite song by them, "Somewhere Only We Know". Have a good night. This one's for you ;-) Enjoy the girl singing terribly out of tune at the start, but who cares, everyone in the building was on cloud nine by this point.

Be Good To Yourself

Good day friends, I come to slightly overhung and under the weather, but happy. I hope you're feeling good too. Last I attended a concert for the ages. This was the highly anticipated Cheap Trick, Heart, and Journey "trifecta from heaven" show as I was calling it to myself.

This concert showed up early on the radar, and boy was I glad we bought tickets early. Nissan Pavilion on this dreary, drizzly night was packed to the limit. After making excellent time there, we of course did some light tailgating with some rum and cokes, and some beer. We then shuffle into the show.

We find a solid good spot in the center of the lawn. Cheap Trick hits the stage. They do their normal carrying-on, introducing themselves repeatedly to the point that its comical. Lets not forget their entrance, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the best band in the world, CHEAP TRICK!!!" Cheap Trick hit us with their line up of "Dream Police", "If You Want My Love", "Surrender", and "I Want You to Want Me". Along with the great songs, they pulled out their marvelous gimmicks including Tom Petersson's 12-string bass and Robin Zander's 5-neck guitar. Though gratuitous, its amazing. And to top off Cheap Trick's set, Deen Castronovo* and Jonathan Cain of Journey came out and did a song with them.

After about 15 minutes and time to get a drink and t-shirt, the lights dropped and out came Heart. Don't be fooled by the soft name, or the beautiful two front women, Ann and Nancy Wilson. These chicks will rock your fillings loose. This is the first performance at a rock concert that gave me goosebumps. I got chills when they covered "Love Reign O'er Me" by The Who. Ann has "the pipes". Her voice can bring you to your knees. Recordings and videos do no justice to the power they bring to you in person. After a powerful and moving set, the crowd was electric and rowdy demanding an encore. After making us wait close to five minutes, they came and delivered an encore version of "Crazy on You". One more thing that helps is that these women, even at their age are good looking, then with the talent they bring, I'm not going to lie, are drop dead sexy to me.

At this point, I'm already starting to suffer fatigue. Heart brings such a well rounded, almost perfect music production to the stage, its hard to fathom that they were not the featured act. They were coming up. There was a rarely experienced sense of energy and anticipation in the air as Journey was being set up on the stage. So much energy that before Journey hit the stage, "Back in Black" by AC/DC is played on the PA and everyone stood up and danced, as if AC/DC just took the stage.

Finally, Journey hits the stage hard with "Never Walk Away" from the new album, "Revelation". The first three notes sang by the new lead singer, Arnel Pineda, demonstrated that he was for real, and that Journey truly is back strong and not going anywhere. Journey's set was a mix of new songs, including "After All These Years" and "Where Did I Lose Your Love" and old hits like "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Open Arms". A big highlight was hearing "Separate Ways" performed live. I won't lie, with the assistance of the alcohol and the adrenaline boost from Heart, I went nuts, absolutely nuts, for this song. Journey also did a song that no one seemed to recognize, something about being a secret agent. It was pretty cool, but the crowd kind of took a breather for it. Journey closed the set with "Be Good to Yourself". They did come back out for an encore for which the hoarse crowd was chanting. "Anyway You Want It" slammed into our ear drums and drove everyone into a frenzy never before seen. I will admit this is my least favorite song by Journey, but live, and a little tipsy, the song contains a ton of energy that is hard to believe coming from a band that just did a seventy minute set of vocally grueling songs.

One of Journey's secret talents in the band, is their drummer, Deen Castronovo. Not only is he a great drummer, that has helped bring Journey's sound into modern times with his heavier style, his backing vocals really help support Arnel's lead vocal efforts. Many times you could hear Deen's voice belting through and its definitely nice.

Neal Schon, former guitarist with Santana, was of course amazing, and definitely on his A-game in his soloing this night. His performing has to be seen live. He is in the top tier of guitarists I've seen live now. The order of preference of guitarists I've now seen live would be:
1. Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osborne)
2. Neal Schon (Journey)
3. Dave Murray (Iron Maiden)
4. Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath)
5. John Petrucci (Dream Theater)
6. Chris Scholtes (Several Species)
7. Nancy Wilson (Heart)
8. Joe Perry (Aerosmith)
9. Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest)
10.Phil Campbell (Motorhead)

Well my friends, I think this blog entry has become long enough. In a few days I do plan to have a ratings entry for all the acts seen since January. True, I do have at least two more concerts planned for the calendar year, one is a three-peat and the other is "The Who". That one gets to stand on its own. Have a good weekend, friends.

*Thanks Anonymous for catching that error. Too much partying I guess ;-)
**Yes, I edited my guitar player list. I kinda forgot about John Petrucci, who is amazing

A Lesson in Metal

Hello friends and thanks again for reading. Its hard to believe I'm already at 31 entries. Tonight's entry is touch again on the topic of Heavy Metal. This is because of two reasons. The first was this past Thursday, some friends and I attended the second stop of the Metal Masters Tour. The second reason is because several people lately have made some insulting comments about metal, and my taste in it. These people though are, well for a lack of better wording, ignorant, in what metal is and its roots.

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that came out of the rock and blues movement in the US and UK. Its defined by virtuosic guitar solos and driving beats. It developed out of the progressive psychedelic rock area. Some of the earliest metal bands are Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Iron Butterfly. That's right, so if you like Kashmir, Paranoid, Smoke on the Water, or In-na-godda-da- vita, you like some metal. These bands spurred off bands such as AC/DC which drives the blues aspect of metal, Judas Priest who dropped the blues feel and pushed the power chord and epic sound, and Motorhead, who added the element of punk rebellion to metal. Iron Maiden and Judas Priest developed the epic metal and the concept of British Steel. In the 1980's glam-rock was a cover really for metal bands such as Guns n Roses, Motley Crue, Dokken, and countless others. Metal gets a bad rap because of the sometimes dark or rebellious tones of the songs. The problem is that a lot of the imagery used in the darker metal comes straight from the book of revelations in the bible, from famous works of literature( Rime of the Ancient Mariner used by Iron Maiden), or right from society and the history books. At no point have the mainstream metal bands every sung for you to kill yourself, your mother, your dog, your neighbor, or your goldfish. If anyone really wanted to pay attention they would realize that most of the lead singers of the big metal bands are quite educated and are extremely fan oriented. Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden is a trained airline pilot and a historian. Rob Halford of Judas Priest has a three and a half octave vocal range. Ther'es serious skills there and amazing song writing occurring in metal. The only demonic, hate-filled music in metal is being made by the white supremacists or the dark, too serious for their own good thrash metal bands.

With that out of the way, I go into the Metal Masters Tour show last Thursday at the Nissan Pavilion. The line up was Testament (an American Thrash metal band from the 1990's), Motorhead (British metal band, some times referred to as biker metal or punk metal, formed 1975), Heaven and Hell (a reunion of Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio), and Judas Priest (British metal group, formed in 1970).

I must say Testament sounded a bit rusty but they started to get themselves going by the time their half hour set was up. I wanted to hear more of them. Not much else I can say about them.

Next up was Motorhead. I've not heard much of Motorhead, but I respect Lemmy (Lead vocals and bass) to no end. Motorhead came out and rocked the house and thats when the first bit of crowd behavior started becoming an issue. Motorhead put a solid hour long set together, featuring their big song, Ace of Spades. This is when things got loud.

The next band was Heaven and Hell. Their staging was quite elaborate with demons in the trees breathing fog and red eyes. Also lots of lighting effect, including turning Dio completely red. Tony Iommi, lead guitar, totally still tears it up after all these years. They chose to call themselves Heaven and Hell for this tour instead of Black Sabbath to not cause any confusion with the fact that Ozzy is doing a solo tour currently (which I attended back in January).

Judas Priest was the headliner and the act I was most interested to see. They have been in existance since 1970. Rob Halford is one of the biggest and most famous lead singers in rock, not just metal. They were smart and did the a song from the new album first, and then went digging into their back catalog. They even had Halford ride out his big motorcycle and sing Hell Bent for Leather from the back of the bike. Way cool. My only gripe was that they did Breakin' The Law early in the set and Halford did not sing the chorus even once. He had the crowd sing it. Sure thats fun, but damn it, I am there primarily for you to sing, not the drunks in earshot. Over all a great show.

On a side note, I must ask what is the appeal of going to these concerts with the purpose to get drunk? You pay good money only to drink and get in a fight, or ruin someone else's experience. I only say this because we had a group next to us that didn't recognize the area we had staked. We were staked at the front edge of the lawn, right before the 70 degree slope down to the sidewalk. The group next to us kept moving over and stood right in front of us, forcing themselves to keep balance on the hill. It almost seemed intentional, and appeared it was when one member of the group got his wish and found himself in a fist fight with one of his own friends, a guy he was hugging 5 minutes prior to the fight. Now I'm not saying there shouldn't be alcohol. Sure, have a drink or two, dance to the music in your own area, but why the violence? The music doesn't call for it, not even inspiring for violence. I guarantee Lemmy would say "Bloody hell, whats this fuckin bullshit mosh pit?" These bands come out and bow after their sets, they hug kids near the front and give out their drumsticks? You think they want you beating the crap out of each other? The true fans go and listen, have fun and appreciate. You look like an asshole, and a good bet is you are an asshole. Notice I don't even care if you smoke your weed or whatever there, none of my business, and I haven't seen a pothead try to punch his best friend for what seems to be for standing within ten feet of his woman. I have seen a drunk do that. Immature and useless.

Well my friends, I wish you good night. To quote Lemmy "We are Motorhead and we playing fucking rock n roll music, good night!"

All aboard the Crazy Train

Alright, hello again music fans. I am here and still alive after the 12 days of Christmas. I almost didn't survive.

The topic of this entry will be the Rob Zombie/Ozzy Osbourne concert I attended on January 5th in Washington, DC.

Before I go into the musicality, I must say I am disappointed in parents and the "straights" who showed up to the concert, behaving kind of like its a piano recital at Carnegie Hall. there were children there. Parents brought their kids, to hear Ozzy Osbourne, the "Prince of Fucking Darkness". Rob Zombie showing his gore fest, naked lady B movie clips while playing, and never mind the chicks in the crowd flashing the cameras for the giant screens in around the arena. Bad idea folks. I saw many parents taking their kids out. Good job wasting that money. Take them to Hannah Montana.

Anyways, the music. The first band to go on was the opening act of "In This Moment". good metal group. Four goth looking guys then one pretty blond lead singer who dresses like little bo peep. She skips around the stage then starts screaming. But don't let the scream fool you, shes got some pipes on her for some real singing. I was impressed.



Thats a clip of them from Ozzfest.

Rob Zombie was everything as expected. His stage presence, presentation, and performance were all tight, and well synchronized. Puppets, costumes and all were amazing. Not to mention the Rob zombie feel of always pushing the tempo, in your face, primal pulse really surges through you and rattles everything in your body. Plus, the dancing girls he always has, which is a trademark, were really good, and good looking. "Dragula" was amazing live. He really puts on a multimedia experience.

During the break I enjoyed watching the roadies go up the rigging and such, and thought it was interesting they played AC/DC over the PA system. That was cool. It reminded me of the DreamTheatre concert where they actually played string quartets.

So Ozzy hits the stage and immediately begins cursing and then the first song tears it up. It was from his new album, so a good way to warm people up before he hits them with Crazy Train and Mr Crowley back to back. This is where Zakk Wylde was owning everything. His solos were tight, original, and technically sound. Ozzy was having hearing issues, so the monitors were turned up causing some feedback. Ozzy was recovering from the flu so he was probably on cough syrup, and had clogged ears. Ozzy sadly only did one Black Sabbath song, Paranoid, and it was his encore. The cool thing was though it was an extended version with tons of Zakk Wylde solos. During "Mamma I'm Comin' Home", Zakk broke a string during a solo. He walks over to Ozzy who bends over and breaks off the string completely for him and Zakk doesn't miss a beat or note. It was quite impressive.

Overall this concert was amazing. I can't imagine a better musical experience in this genre. The opening act was actualyl able to put me into the trance, which is a big thing, and then the rest of the concert locked in. It was three and a half hours of pure metal joy, and it felt like 15 minutes to me. Just intense and fun.

So here I am at the end of this fun entry. Let your metal be hard, and your double bass pedal quick and even stroke.