hello all. This is just going to be a quick plug for the new vinyl record store that has opened in Catonsville. I Just visited this place and give it a full endorsement. With an incredible selection of used vinyl available for extremely reasonable prices, this place was a breath of fresh air to me. I now have a new place to continue my vinyl collecting. For $20, I was able to get "Odds and Sods" and "Who's Next" by The Who, "Magical Mystery Tour", and "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by The Beatles, Steve Perry's solo album, "Escape" by Journey, and "Spirit" by Spirit. Clearly a great mix of stuff for great prices. There was no hassle from staff, and plenty of space to browse. The entire collection is alphabetical order, to where you feel like you must put an album right back in its place. The best part is a turntable available for public use, so you can test the albums before you buy, but unlike Record and Tape Traders, everything looked to be at least in playable condition. They will also convert vinyl to CD for you, I'm sure for a charge though. This is also to announce that I am going to give the Beatles another chance, thus why I bought those two albums. I will keep you posted on the result!
I beg you in the area to give this place a check. Buy something too, the owner is nice as anything!
On another note, this week, I will be taking Mom to go see Heart. Lets hope they're as spectacular as they were last summer!
Good night friends!
Showing posts with label Journey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Journey. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Don't play those bars, I'm going to do an impromptu solo
Hello friends. I do apologize again for the long break, but the holidays and a last minute production sucked away all my writing time, and also my creative juices. I am back though to write some of my recent thoughts on prior musical events. I will start with the most negative.
I just finished playing in a pit for "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Forum". Well, not really finished, it wrapped up two weeks before Christmas, but you know what I mean. This was probably one of the worst run musicals in which I've ever participated. From a cast that didn't have one single singing voice, to a musical director with very little experience, and stage director who could only say "Make it more Broadway" as her only criticism, its a miracle that every night sold out the 80 seat theater space. I must make this statement because its terribly true, but please do not take it as a homophobic remark, but the show would have made much more sense if the courtesans for the house of Marcus Lycus had been portrayed by drag queens. Really, the worst decision of the whole production was to put the "orchestra" (I put quotes because it was a violin, cello, drum kit, piano, trumpet, trombone, clarinet/sax, and flute, that's it. This is a Sondheim show, he writes big) in a catwalk in the back of the hall, in a corner that was acoustically dead. This means they could not hear us, and we could not hear them. So pitch, tempo, concept of the whole show was just about lost, except for violent, and loud pounding on the synthesizer piano. The lack of a conductor for proper cuing was also a poor choice. It was hard to hear vocal cues which is essential for every orchestra member to hear if there's no conductor. I cannot complain too much because the show was successful overall and people were working hard and doing their best to pull it off, and I did make the most money I've ever made playing trumpet from this production.
So onward to other topics. I watched the poor lip sync'ing inaugural concert on January 19th on HBO. The only performer who did not lip sync and should have was Bono with U2. Some highlights of the show though was when Stevie Wonder made Usher and Shakira, and just about everyone else involved look like amateurs, Pete Seeger trying to lead people in a sing-a-long but people failing to grasp how that works, and Bono doing a one-liner about peaceful Palestinians that made everyone seem a little uncomfortable. The low lights were many, such as James Taylor singing with four other people who were indistinguishable, John Mellancamp walking 20 feet away from the microphone and not playing his guitar, yet playback sounded like he was still doing both, and Garth Brooks. All of Garth Brooks. First was Garth Brooks being set up as "The Sound of American Radio". Then was Garth Brooks singing American Pie, but avoiding the really fun and artistic verses. Then the topper. Garth Brooks performing "Shout" by The Isley Brothers. Again, a disclaimer as I'm not racist or anything, but Garth Brooks, you're not black. You should not have gone within a fallout radius of that song, or any other song published by an R&B or Doo-Wop group ever. Snoop Dogg would never sing "Ring of Fire", you don't sing "Shout". I happen to know Ronald Isley is very much alive and performing. Why could he not do his own song? I'm sure you call him and ask him, he'd do it for a fair wage. I had to stop watching the concert once Beyonce came out to sing "America, the Beautiful". Because her and Josh Groban both suffer from the "I can't sing a note on down beat of one" syndrome. They always, ALWAYS go silent on beat one and ciondense the first syllable to fit on the and of one. Whats wrong with letting the melody stand and letting your voice carry the tune? Nothing, and I think it can be taken as a weakness in your performance.
On a personal front, I'm looking at a light orchestra set up for the next orchestra concert. This I'm kind of happy about. I need a bit of a break from the duties. Its sometimes nice to not need to be so necessary in a group, and be able to just show up, contribute, and then leave.
My current missions in purchasing music consists of completing my Who discography, and the harder challenge of doing the same for Journey. Journey's older albums seem to be going out of print on CD as most people just want the Greatest Hits album and the Escape album. I've been having better luck with finding them used on vinyl. And of course, you know I have no issue with that, considering Steve Perry's voice is magical on vinyl. That reminds me that I'm trying to get as much of the Who on both mediums, of CD and vinyl. I am still always looking for Pink Floyd on vinyl as well.
Well my friends, I sign off on this entry and promise to keep you all updated on my musical musings in this world. I hope the new year has been gentle to you so far!
I leave you tonight with this video of The Isley Brothers doing their famed song "Shout" just so you can try and see why Garth brooks made me so angry!
I just finished playing in a pit for "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Forum". Well, not really finished, it wrapped up two weeks before Christmas, but you know what I mean. This was probably one of the worst run musicals in which I've ever participated. From a cast that didn't have one single singing voice, to a musical director with very little experience, and stage director who could only say "Make it more Broadway" as her only criticism, its a miracle that every night sold out the 80 seat theater space. I must make this statement because its terribly true, but please do not take it as a homophobic remark, but the show would have made much more sense if the courtesans for the house of Marcus Lycus had been portrayed by drag queens. Really, the worst decision of the whole production was to put the "orchestra" (I put quotes because it was a violin, cello, drum kit, piano, trumpet, trombone, clarinet/sax, and flute, that's it. This is a Sondheim show, he writes big) in a catwalk in the back of the hall, in a corner that was acoustically dead. This means they could not hear us, and we could not hear them. So pitch, tempo, concept of the whole show was just about lost, except for violent, and loud pounding on the synthesizer piano. The lack of a conductor for proper cuing was also a poor choice. It was hard to hear vocal cues which is essential for every orchestra member to hear if there's no conductor. I cannot complain too much because the show was successful overall and people were working hard and doing their best to pull it off, and I did make the most money I've ever made playing trumpet from this production.
So onward to other topics. I watched the poor lip sync'ing inaugural concert on January 19th on HBO. The only performer who did not lip sync and should have was Bono with U2. Some highlights of the show though was when Stevie Wonder made Usher and Shakira, and just about everyone else involved look like amateurs, Pete Seeger trying to lead people in a sing-a-long but people failing to grasp how that works, and Bono doing a one-liner about peaceful Palestinians that made everyone seem a little uncomfortable. The low lights were many, such as James Taylor singing with four other people who were indistinguishable, John Mellancamp walking 20 feet away from the microphone and not playing his guitar, yet playback sounded like he was still doing both, and Garth Brooks. All of Garth Brooks. First was Garth Brooks being set up as "The Sound of American Radio". Then was Garth Brooks singing American Pie, but avoiding the really fun and artistic verses. Then the topper. Garth Brooks performing "Shout" by The Isley Brothers. Again, a disclaimer as I'm not racist or anything, but Garth Brooks, you're not black. You should not have gone within a fallout radius of that song, or any other song published by an R&B or Doo-Wop group ever. Snoop Dogg would never sing "Ring of Fire", you don't sing "Shout". I happen to know Ronald Isley is very much alive and performing. Why could he not do his own song? I'm sure you call him and ask him, he'd do it for a fair wage. I had to stop watching the concert once Beyonce came out to sing "America, the Beautiful". Because her and Josh Groban both suffer from the "I can't sing a note on down beat of one" syndrome. They always, ALWAYS go silent on beat one and ciondense the first syllable to fit on the and of one. Whats wrong with letting the melody stand and letting your voice carry the tune? Nothing, and I think it can be taken as a weakness in your performance.
On a personal front, I'm looking at a light orchestra set up for the next orchestra concert. This I'm kind of happy about. I need a bit of a break from the duties. Its sometimes nice to not need to be so necessary in a group, and be able to just show up, contribute, and then leave.
My current missions in purchasing music consists of completing my Who discography, and the harder challenge of doing the same for Journey. Journey's older albums seem to be going out of print on CD as most people just want the Greatest Hits album and the Escape album. I've been having better luck with finding them used on vinyl. And of course, you know I have no issue with that, considering Steve Perry's voice is magical on vinyl. That reminds me that I'm trying to get as much of the Who on both mediums, of CD and vinyl. I am still always looking for Pink Floyd on vinyl as well.
Well my friends, I sign off on this entry and promise to keep you all updated on my musical musings in this world. I hope the new year has been gentle to you so far!
I leave you tonight with this video of The Isley Brothers doing their famed song "Shout" just so you can try and see why Garth brooks made me so angry!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Album of Arbitrary Time Period
Hello my good friends. I hope this entry finds you in a good time in your life, health and spirituality. This entry is going to be pretty short as I covered so much in the last entry. I am writing because I did pick up the new album by Dragonforce. "Ultra Beatdown". Dragonforce is one of those guilty pleasures, thanks to their uplifting yet power metal sound. The easiest way to describe them is if Journey and Slayer formed to make some sort of super group.
This album showed a most definite progression in the band. Sure they still play fast but there's a lyricism in it now as the group matures. The keyboards are bit more prominent and another excellent metal ballad (a forgotten art these days, the power ballad) graces this album. Overall, I think they still have a lot of room to grow, composition wise, as their songs still sometimes sound the same. If you're looking for a happy album, but still want to get your metal on, Dragonforce's "Ultra Beatdown" is the way to go.
Summary
Uniqueness: 8
Composition: 7
Vocals: 8
Instrumental: 9
Value: 8
OVERALL: 8.5
Just as a side note, also on that shopping trip, I picked up Rock Band 2 and some vinyl. Rock Band 2 is of course, cool. Great song selection. And if you own Rock Band 1, you can download just about all the tracks for $5 from the original disc. Also all your downloaded tracks still work in Rock Band 2.
As for the vinyl I bought, I found some great stuff, as I bulk up my AC/DC and Journey vinyl collection. I even found my favorite Journey album, "Frontiers" which features "Separate Ways" and "Open Arms". I also found Queen's "Jazz" album. Very cool. I love Bicycle Race. Its interesting that the cuts on that album are slightly different than the ones on the Queen's Greatest Hits album.
Alright my friends, I wish you a good night. Please, October 5th at the Catonsville Library, 2pm. The brass quintet will be rockin' the house! No cover. We'll have treats! Let me know if you need directions!!!
This album showed a most definite progression in the band. Sure they still play fast but there's a lyricism in it now as the group matures. The keyboards are bit more prominent and another excellent metal ballad (a forgotten art these days, the power ballad) graces this album. Overall, I think they still have a lot of room to grow, composition wise, as their songs still sometimes sound the same. If you're looking for a happy album, but still want to get your metal on, Dragonforce's "Ultra Beatdown" is the way to go.
Summary
Uniqueness: 8
Composition: 7
Vocals: 8
Instrumental: 9
Value: 8
OVERALL: 8.5
Just as a side note, also on that shopping trip, I picked up Rock Band 2 and some vinyl. Rock Band 2 is of course, cool. Great song selection. And if you own Rock Band 1, you can download just about all the tracks for $5 from the original disc. Also all your downloaded tracks still work in Rock Band 2.
As for the vinyl I bought, I found some great stuff, as I bulk up my AC/DC and Journey vinyl collection. I even found my favorite Journey album, "Frontiers" which features "Separate Ways" and "Open Arms". I also found Queen's "Jazz" album. Very cool. I love Bicycle Race. Its interesting that the cuts on that album are slightly different than the ones on the Queen's Greatest Hits album.
Alright my friends, I wish you a good night. Please, October 5th at the Catonsville Library, 2pm. The brass quintet will be rockin' the house! No cover. We'll have treats! Let me know if you need directions!!!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
The Year in Review
Hello my friends, I wish you a hardy "How ya doin'?". Tonight's blog entry is basically a recap and a listing of the best and worst shows and artists seen this year. I immediately preface that this blog is again strictly of my own opinions, and void of emotional feelings. These concert reviews are not influenced by the company kept by me at these events. Alright, now with the political disclaimer out of the way, lets get to the nitty-gritty.
First catagory is going to be best bass players. I saw quite a bit of talent this year on the bass, and heres my top five.
5. Ross Valory (Journey)
4. Justin Street (Airbourne)
3. Lemmy (Motorhead)
2. Geddy Lee (Rush)
And the winner should be no shock, as I went to see this band mainly to hear him.
1. Steve Harris of Iron Maiden. Steve was phenominal, and is one of the tightest and melodic bass players you'll hear in rock.
Next catagory is worst opening act. There were some good ones and some real bad ones seen this summer.
3. Testament (Metal Masters Tour) They weren't that bad but had a major miscue on stage.
2. Lauren Harris (Iron Maiden opener) She is the daughter of Steve Harris. She wasn't that bad but seemed confused and scared. Her backing band sucked
1. Endeverafter (Airbourne) These guys were just plain bad, from ripped off guitar licks, and acting like guitar hero wanna-be's, I had little patience for these guys.
To Follow up, here are the three best opening acts seen.
3. Testament (Metal Masters Tour) I know I listed them as third worse, but they weren't bad except for the onstage missed entrance and actually showing frustration over it.
2. Stone Riders (Airbourne) These guys pretty cool and seemed kind of original
1. In This Moment (Ozzy Osborne, Rob Zombie) This band has the most hardcore chick you'll ever see on stage. I know they have been touring with Ozzfest and stuff, but really, these guys tore it up. Probably the most professionally sounding opening band I've heard.
Next up is best drummer.
5. Mike Bordin (Ozzy Osborne) He really showed he was listening when he was adjusting tempi to keep with Ozzy who was having monitor issues
4. Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden)
3. Mikkey Dee (Motorhead)
2. Deen Castronovo (Journey)
1. Neil Peart (Rush) Neal is a drumming God. I can't describe what it was like to watch him and hear him play. Hes a percussive symphony orchestra.
So the next category is what I call "The Most Bang for your Buck". This is what concerts I considered the best bargains.
5. Rob Zombie/Ozzy Osborne, $39 (before fees). The seats we had were just off the floor, towards the back, and rocked hard, considering they had the best opener, and amazing multimedia presence of Rob Zombie, then Ozzy with Zakk Wylde. The caliber of talent in the building was amazing for that amount of dough.
4. Rush, $29 lawn seat. Rush was probably the most sound and solid band I heard this summer, with amazing virtuosity. $29 for a lawn seat and two full sets of Rush. Couldn't ask for much more.
3. Metal Masters Tour, $17.50 lawn seat. Testament, Motorhead, Heaven and Hell (Which just about completed my Black Sabbath fun pack), and Judas Priest. Amazing, long, tight show from four veterans of the metal universe.
2. Airbourne, $10 general admission. $10 to see and rock out to the next AC/DC. These guys rocked hard. Their antics and stage presence looked like these guys had been doing it for twenty years.
1. Cheap Trick, Heart, and Journey, $25 lawn. Every one of these bands made you theirs. All of them tight, fresh, and inspiring. What a good time this show was.
Next catagory is the best lead guitarists heard this summer
5. Nancy Wilson (Heart)
4. Tony Iommi (Heaven and Hell)
3. Dave Murray (Iron Maiden)
2. Neal Schon (Journey)
1. Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osborne) This guy is just bad ass, and his bluegrass banjo upbringing brings a level of technical skill never seen on electric guitar.
Up next is what I call the achievers category. These are the bands or members that I gained the most respect for after seeing them live.
3. Motorhead - I had heard Ace of Spades before of course, but after seeing their act live, I really found I enjoyed their other works too
2. Neal Schon - Journey never really had a prominent guitar voice in their mixing, but after their new album and seeing them live, Neal Schon can definitely shred. I understand now why his parent slet him drop out of high school to play with Carlos Santana
1. Rush - I was mainly going to this concert as a gift for my friend Steve. I mean I had recently come to respect their style, and interesting voicing. But seeing them live and hearing the intricacies of songs like Tom Sawyer, Limelight, and YYZ, I consider myself a major fan of Rush.
The next category up is best set construction.
5. Judas Priest - Nice retro, Flash Gordon looking two tiered stage
4. Heaven and Hell - Smoke, Trees with Gargoyles, and insane lighting
3. Rush - Simple flat stage, but amazing video clips tying into the music to complete the sensation
2. Rob Zombie - B movie clips, dancing girls, drumming robots and a giant alien attack Zombie himself.
1. Iron Maiden - There was pyro, there was changing backgrounds for album covers of songs, two-tiered stage with plenty of room for Bruce to run around. Bruce donning costumes, and top it all off, a 30 ft tall Eddie with glowing eyes.
Next is best set list
5. Airbourne - Did everything from their one album, plus an encore track thats only on the import version of the album, not to mention its a cover of AC/DC. Melt your face.
4. Ozzy Osborne - Can't go wrong closing with "Momma I'm Coming Home" and "Paranoid"
3. Journey - great mix of old and new, but why close with "Anyway You Want It"?
2. Heart - The cover of Love Reign O'er Me still rings in my ears, along with the encore of "Crazy On You"
1. Rush - They did all their big songs in a tasteful order, programmed two sets perfectly building to Neil Peart's massive drum solo. Not to mention, no other band I saw has the courage or talent to do so many instrumentals in a set, including ending the encore set with one (YYZ).
Best lead singer witnessed.
5. Arnel Pineda (Journey) - Arnel is the new sound of Journey, that allows them though to keep to their great hits of the 80's. Arnel's voice needs to do a little more maturing and gain a bit more experience, and he will rival Steve Perry one day.
4. Ozzy Osborne - The Prince of Darkness is always going to be on this list.
3. Geddy Lee (Rush) - His unique stylings were initially my criticism of Rush, but after further analysis, I can't hear any other styling of his voice to carry "Tom Sawyer".
2. Ann Wilson (Heart) - A beautiful and powerful voice, that is incredibly versatile. She can charm you into a hypnotized state, or make your toes curl with passion and energy, just with her pipes.
1. Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) - Bruce. Wow. I said it before and I'll say it again. He's the Freddie Mercury of Metal. There's nothing this man can't do, and nothing he can't sing. (As a side note, the Cheap Trick Greatest Hits Album I bought yesterday was produced by none other than Bruce)
I am going to refrain from picking a favorite concert, as I enjoyed all of them so much and I saw so much talent, I can't compare and contrast, and rank the entire shows. My final list for the night though will be the top ten songs that need to be witnessed live.
10. Fear of the Dark (Iron Maiden)
9. Crazy On You (Heart)
8. YYZ (Rush)
7. Don't Stop Believin' (Journey)
6. Breakin' the Law (Judas Priest)
5. Number of the Beast (Iron Maiden)
4. Stand Up for Rock 'n' Roll (Airbourne)
3. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (Journey)
2. Love Reign O'er Me (Heart)
1. Momma I'm Comin' Home (Ozzy Osborne)
Well my friends, that pretty much covers my personal opinions of the shows I saw this summer. I hope you guys had as much fun as I have had this summer. Thank you readers for being loyal, and thanks to those of you who went to a concert with me this summer. Music is a very intimate part of my life. With me, there are actions, emotions, and music. Thank you for being willing to share something so personal to me as witnessing the creation of music. I hope to continue to write to you about my music life and hope you will keep reading. Good night.
First catagory is going to be best bass players. I saw quite a bit of talent this year on the bass, and heres my top five.
5. Ross Valory (Journey)
4. Justin Street (Airbourne)
3. Lemmy (Motorhead)
2. Geddy Lee (Rush)
And the winner should be no shock, as I went to see this band mainly to hear him.
1. Steve Harris of Iron Maiden. Steve was phenominal, and is one of the tightest and melodic bass players you'll hear in rock.
Next catagory is worst opening act. There were some good ones and some real bad ones seen this summer.
3. Testament (Metal Masters Tour) They weren't that bad but had a major miscue on stage.
2. Lauren Harris (Iron Maiden opener) She is the daughter of Steve Harris. She wasn't that bad but seemed confused and scared. Her backing band sucked
1. Endeverafter (Airbourne) These guys were just plain bad, from ripped off guitar licks, and acting like guitar hero wanna-be's, I had little patience for these guys.
To Follow up, here are the three best opening acts seen.
3. Testament (Metal Masters Tour) I know I listed them as third worse, but they weren't bad except for the onstage missed entrance and actually showing frustration over it.
2. Stone Riders (Airbourne) These guys pretty cool and seemed kind of original
1. In This Moment (Ozzy Osborne, Rob Zombie) This band has the most hardcore chick you'll ever see on stage. I know they have been touring with Ozzfest and stuff, but really, these guys tore it up. Probably the most professionally sounding opening band I've heard.
Next up is best drummer.
5. Mike Bordin (Ozzy Osborne) He really showed he was listening when he was adjusting tempi to keep with Ozzy who was having monitor issues
4. Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden)
3. Mikkey Dee (Motorhead)
2. Deen Castronovo (Journey)
1. Neil Peart (Rush) Neal is a drumming God. I can't describe what it was like to watch him and hear him play. Hes a percussive symphony orchestra.
So the next category is what I call "The Most Bang for your Buck". This is what concerts I considered the best bargains.
5. Rob Zombie/Ozzy Osborne, $39 (before fees). The seats we had were just off the floor, towards the back, and rocked hard, considering they had the best opener, and amazing multimedia presence of Rob Zombie, then Ozzy with Zakk Wylde. The caliber of talent in the building was amazing for that amount of dough.
4. Rush, $29 lawn seat. Rush was probably the most sound and solid band I heard this summer, with amazing virtuosity. $29 for a lawn seat and two full sets of Rush. Couldn't ask for much more.
3. Metal Masters Tour, $17.50 lawn seat. Testament, Motorhead, Heaven and Hell (Which just about completed my Black Sabbath fun pack), and Judas Priest. Amazing, long, tight show from four veterans of the metal universe.
2. Airbourne, $10 general admission. $10 to see and rock out to the next AC/DC. These guys rocked hard. Their antics and stage presence looked like these guys had been doing it for twenty years.
1. Cheap Trick, Heart, and Journey, $25 lawn. Every one of these bands made you theirs. All of them tight, fresh, and inspiring. What a good time this show was.
Next catagory is the best lead guitarists heard this summer
5. Nancy Wilson (Heart)
4. Tony Iommi (Heaven and Hell)
3. Dave Murray (Iron Maiden)
2. Neal Schon (Journey)
1. Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osborne) This guy is just bad ass, and his bluegrass banjo upbringing brings a level of technical skill never seen on electric guitar.
Up next is what I call the achievers category. These are the bands or members that I gained the most respect for after seeing them live.
3. Motorhead - I had heard Ace of Spades before of course, but after seeing their act live, I really found I enjoyed their other works too
2. Neal Schon - Journey never really had a prominent guitar voice in their mixing, but after their new album and seeing them live, Neal Schon can definitely shred. I understand now why his parent slet him drop out of high school to play with Carlos Santana
1. Rush - I was mainly going to this concert as a gift for my friend Steve. I mean I had recently come to respect their style, and interesting voicing. But seeing them live and hearing the intricacies of songs like Tom Sawyer, Limelight, and YYZ, I consider myself a major fan of Rush.
The next category up is best set construction.
5. Judas Priest - Nice retro, Flash Gordon looking two tiered stage
4. Heaven and Hell - Smoke, Trees with Gargoyles, and insane lighting
3. Rush - Simple flat stage, but amazing video clips tying into the music to complete the sensation
2. Rob Zombie - B movie clips, dancing girls, drumming robots and a giant alien attack Zombie himself.
1. Iron Maiden - There was pyro, there was changing backgrounds for album covers of songs, two-tiered stage with plenty of room for Bruce to run around. Bruce donning costumes, and top it all off, a 30 ft tall Eddie with glowing eyes.
Next is best set list
5. Airbourne - Did everything from their one album, plus an encore track thats only on the import version of the album, not to mention its a cover of AC/DC. Melt your face.
4. Ozzy Osborne - Can't go wrong closing with "Momma I'm Coming Home" and "Paranoid"
3. Journey - great mix of old and new, but why close with "Anyway You Want It"?
2. Heart - The cover of Love Reign O'er Me still rings in my ears, along with the encore of "Crazy On You"
1. Rush - They did all their big songs in a tasteful order, programmed two sets perfectly building to Neil Peart's massive drum solo. Not to mention, no other band I saw has the courage or talent to do so many instrumentals in a set, including ending the encore set with one (YYZ).
Best lead singer witnessed.
5. Arnel Pineda (Journey) - Arnel is the new sound of Journey, that allows them though to keep to their great hits of the 80's. Arnel's voice needs to do a little more maturing and gain a bit more experience, and he will rival Steve Perry one day.
4. Ozzy Osborne - The Prince of Darkness is always going to be on this list.
3. Geddy Lee (Rush) - His unique stylings were initially my criticism of Rush, but after further analysis, I can't hear any other styling of his voice to carry "Tom Sawyer".
2. Ann Wilson (Heart) - A beautiful and powerful voice, that is incredibly versatile. She can charm you into a hypnotized state, or make your toes curl with passion and energy, just with her pipes.
1. Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) - Bruce. Wow. I said it before and I'll say it again. He's the Freddie Mercury of Metal. There's nothing this man can't do, and nothing he can't sing. (As a side note, the Cheap Trick Greatest Hits Album I bought yesterday was produced by none other than Bruce)
I am going to refrain from picking a favorite concert, as I enjoyed all of them so much and I saw so much talent, I can't compare and contrast, and rank the entire shows. My final list for the night though will be the top ten songs that need to be witnessed live.
10. Fear of the Dark (Iron Maiden)
9. Crazy On You (Heart)
8. YYZ (Rush)
7. Don't Stop Believin' (Journey)
6. Breakin' the Law (Judas Priest)
5. Number of the Beast (Iron Maiden)
4. Stand Up for Rock 'n' Roll (Airbourne)
3. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (Journey)
2. Love Reign O'er Me (Heart)
1. Momma I'm Comin' Home (Ozzy Osborne)
Well my friends, that pretty much covers my personal opinions of the shows I saw this summer. I hope you guys had as much fun as I have had this summer. Thank you readers for being loyal, and thanks to those of you who went to a concert with me this summer. Music is a very intimate part of my life. With me, there are actions, emotions, and music. Thank you for being willing to share something so personal to me as witnessing the creation of music. I hope to continue to write to you about my music life and hope you will keep reading. Good night.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
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
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
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Never stopped believin'
Friends I write this blog to you in the light of the new word. This word is of Journey, the new lead singer Arnel Pineda, and their new album Revelation. I did not think this band would ever bring themselves back after Steve Perry leaving ten years ago. His voice and song writing skills were almost on a Freddie Mercury level. With Neal Schon now doing most of the songwriting, the guitar is a little heavier, and their sound has made the jump to the new millennium but they're still 100% Journey at heart. I found myself on the second listen singing along. The CD is a great investment as well. Disk 1 is new material, Disk 2 is Arnel singing classic Journey songs, and then the concert DVD. The DVD is an hour long and contains the new line up performing new and old Journey hits.
On a totally unrelated note, I did attend my first opera about 1 month ago. I saw the Baltimore Opera Company put on Madame Butterfly. I have to tell you I really enjoyed the multimedia experience. I have listened to many operas on the radio and CD but never seen one performed. Its quite an experience. But with that I must present my review.
I enjoyed the overall presentation. They used projections instead of a mostly real set. The projections went from being abstract, pseudo-Japanese art prints (tacky flowered wallpaper), to being overly blunt ( a ship sailing straight at the audience and Butterfly belts her heart out). I will not bash the end of the first act fading to a starry night as Pinkerton completes his seduction of Butterfly. The use of projection was not wise, though. The projections were projected from the house, meaning anyone who stood on the stage were covered by the images, wiping out the quite nice costuming. There were also numerous technical difficulties with the projector, which is not good considering its the last dress rehearsal before they charged ($125 I believe was the cheapest seat) people to see them.
The orchestra, overall, was quite good. There were times where the phrasing could have been slowed for dramatic pause and more chances to allow applause would have been nice. Some tempi seemed rushed. I also had huge issue of only one intermission. They took the intermission after act 1, but not after act 2, and they proceed to still play the prelude to act 3, which felt like an out of place intermezzo for 15 minutes of serious music. It took me about 6 minutes into it to recognize that this is what they did. I did not like that at all.
The blocking of the production was quite awkward as well, sometimes there were extras on stage you couldn't quite understand what they were still doing there and looked bored on stage. Then you had off stage singing when the character should have been on stage. Worst of all, Butterfly tells her son to go play in the garden so she can kill herself. He goes to the opposite side of the stage from Pinkerton's American bride who is waiting in the garden. He then proceeds to walk in a circle waving an American flag while his mom kills herself with the same sword her father used to kill himself. It was very uncomfortable to watch.
Though my review sounds negative, it was a positive musical experience for me to witness how an opera is put on live and the singing, overall was quite nice. Just a lot of the issues I had were things that a group with such high standards should have taken care of, since they charge so much. This isn't a community group putting on Gilbert and Sullivan, this is a city's representation and contribution to the arts. I may have too high of standards since i do like to watch the Metropolitan Opera on public television.
I must discuss one more thing. The other night I was giving my close friend Steve a ride home from a party and he asked me a very difficult question, which in the 10 minute ride home I could not fully answer. Since Steve recently embarrassingly admitted to reading my blog, I feel I should use this space to answer him.
Steve asked me, basically, why do I listen to what I listen to? With my odd taste in bands, what draws me to them and not others. Why metal? why progressive symphonic metal? Why AC/DC? Why Journey? There is no simple answer to this complex question and I know he understands this. I will try my best to explain. My love of metal is connected to my love of Romanticism and virtuosity. There is a certain virtuosic thing in symphonic metal combined with a composition level not found in much of pop music. Prog and symphonic metal satisfies the classical music lover in me in a rock 'n' roll way. I hear Wagner, Strauss, and Mahler in the long compositions of Dream Theater and Rush. My enjoyment of AC/DC, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden, and those types of acts, such as Ozzy Osbourne, comes from the ability to listen and enjoy myself without the analysis stage of listening occurring. They're fun acts that have some exact musical influence that hits me deep. For example, AC/DC's guitar riffs are straight out of standard blues riffs but are put in a straight, in your face chest thumping way, along with a very distinct vocal style. Judas Priest touches on the rebellious spirit that I find myself also relating to in the music of The Clash and The Ramones. There are also bands that I listen to because I feel a certain member's talents combined with excellent songwriting skills makes them a must listen. Journey, with Steve Perry's "pipes", as my friend Andy has dubbed them, combined with their song writing and expansive chordal vocabulary makes them a group that you must at least own their greatest hits album. Iron Maiden's bass player, Steve Harris, is a fantastic bass player and does some really cool things you won't hear in other rock bands, such as small bass fills and even sections where the bass is busier than the lead guitar. That combined with some really kick ass lyrics with an in your face approach and beat, and some epic composition skills, makes them worthy of listening and mild fanaticism. These reasons I listed cover pretty much why I like every band that I do like. So to finish that off I will list for you my top 10 favorite bands, in order, for now at least.
10. Judas Priest
9. Black Sabbath (with Ozzy and Dio, but preferred Ozzy)
8. Ozzy Osbourne (solo, with Randy Rhodes, and with Zakk Wylde)
7. Iron Maiden
6. Dream Theater
5. Journey
4. Queen
3. AC/DC
2. The Killers
1. Pink Floyd
Honorable Mention: The Beatles, UFO, The Ramones, The Clash, Deep Purple, Rush, Airbourne, Avenged Sevenfold, The BeeGees, Boston
Another thing I do take into consideration is the use of concept albums, and in my opinion, Pink Floyd combines that with all the items I mentioned above; great composition skills, overflowing virtuosity, driving beats, with a rebellious and independent spirit. And as a side note, on that list, after this summer, I will have seen 6 of those top 10 bands live. I just had to rub that in.
With that my friends I bid you a good night. Remember your blanket for those lawn seats and enjoy the second hand pot.
On a totally unrelated note, I did attend my first opera about 1 month ago. I saw the Baltimore Opera Company put on Madame Butterfly. I have to tell you I really enjoyed the multimedia experience. I have listened to many operas on the radio and CD but never seen one performed. Its quite an experience. But with that I must present my review.
I enjoyed the overall presentation. They used projections instead of a mostly real set. The projections went from being abstract, pseudo-Japanese art prints (tacky flowered wallpaper), to being overly blunt ( a ship sailing straight at the audience and Butterfly belts her heart out). I will not bash the end of the first act fading to a starry night as Pinkerton completes his seduction of Butterfly. The use of projection was not wise, though. The projections were projected from the house, meaning anyone who stood on the stage were covered by the images, wiping out the quite nice costuming. There were also numerous technical difficulties with the projector, which is not good considering its the last dress rehearsal before they charged ($125 I believe was the cheapest seat) people to see them.
The orchestra, overall, was quite good. There were times where the phrasing could have been slowed for dramatic pause and more chances to allow applause would have been nice. Some tempi seemed rushed. I also had huge issue of only one intermission. They took the intermission after act 1, but not after act 2, and they proceed to still play the prelude to act 3, which felt like an out of place intermezzo for 15 minutes of serious music. It took me about 6 minutes into it to recognize that this is what they did. I did not like that at all.
The blocking of the production was quite awkward as well, sometimes there were extras on stage you couldn't quite understand what they were still doing there and looked bored on stage. Then you had off stage singing when the character should have been on stage. Worst of all, Butterfly tells her son to go play in the garden so she can kill herself. He goes to the opposite side of the stage from Pinkerton's American bride who is waiting in the garden. He then proceeds to walk in a circle waving an American flag while his mom kills herself with the same sword her father used to kill himself. It was very uncomfortable to watch.
Though my review sounds negative, it was a positive musical experience for me to witness how an opera is put on live and the singing, overall was quite nice. Just a lot of the issues I had were things that a group with such high standards should have taken care of, since they charge so much. This isn't a community group putting on Gilbert and Sullivan, this is a city's representation and contribution to the arts. I may have too high of standards since i do like to watch the Metropolitan Opera on public television.
I must discuss one more thing. The other night I was giving my close friend Steve a ride home from a party and he asked me a very difficult question, which in the 10 minute ride home I could not fully answer. Since Steve recently embarrassingly admitted to reading my blog, I feel I should use this space to answer him.
Steve asked me, basically, why do I listen to what I listen to? With my odd taste in bands, what draws me to them and not others. Why metal? why progressive symphonic metal? Why AC/DC? Why Journey? There is no simple answer to this complex question and I know he understands this. I will try my best to explain. My love of metal is connected to my love of Romanticism and virtuosity. There is a certain virtuosic thing in symphonic metal combined with a composition level not found in much of pop music. Prog and symphonic metal satisfies the classical music lover in me in a rock 'n' roll way. I hear Wagner, Strauss, and Mahler in the long compositions of Dream Theater and Rush. My enjoyment of AC/DC, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden, and those types of acts, such as Ozzy Osbourne, comes from the ability to listen and enjoy myself without the analysis stage of listening occurring. They're fun acts that have some exact musical influence that hits me deep. For example, AC/DC's guitar riffs are straight out of standard blues riffs but are put in a straight, in your face chest thumping way, along with a very distinct vocal style. Judas Priest touches on the rebellious spirit that I find myself also relating to in the music of The Clash and The Ramones. There are also bands that I listen to because I feel a certain member's talents combined with excellent songwriting skills makes them a must listen. Journey, with Steve Perry's "pipes", as my friend Andy has dubbed them, combined with their song writing and expansive chordal vocabulary makes them a group that you must at least own their greatest hits album. Iron Maiden's bass player, Steve Harris, is a fantastic bass player and does some really cool things you won't hear in other rock bands, such as small bass fills and even sections where the bass is busier than the lead guitar. That combined with some really kick ass lyrics with an in your face approach and beat, and some epic composition skills, makes them worthy of listening and mild fanaticism. These reasons I listed cover pretty much why I like every band that I do like. So to finish that off I will list for you my top 10 favorite bands, in order, for now at least.
10. Judas Priest
9. Black Sabbath (with Ozzy and Dio, but preferred Ozzy)
8. Ozzy Osbourne (solo, with Randy Rhodes, and with Zakk Wylde)
7. Iron Maiden
6. Dream Theater
5. Journey
4. Queen
3. AC/DC
2. The Killers
1. Pink Floyd
Honorable Mention: The Beatles, UFO, The Ramones, The Clash, Deep Purple, Rush, Airbourne, Avenged Sevenfold, The BeeGees, Boston
Another thing I do take into consideration is the use of concept albums, and in my opinion, Pink Floyd combines that with all the items I mentioned above; great composition skills, overflowing virtuosity, driving beats, with a rebellious and independent spirit. And as a side note, on that list, after this summer, I will have seen 6 of those top 10 bands live. I just had to rub that in.
With that my friends I bid you a good night. Remember your blanket for those lawn seats and enjoy the second hand pot.
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