Mar 18
User ReviewsClassic Rock
No Bald Eagles
The opportunity to see The Eagles fell into our laps the other day. Veronica, a huge fan who had never seen them live, was chomping at the bit. I, however, was skeptical. Having seen The Eagles in their heyday, during the 1976 Hotel California tour, I didn’t want to spoil that memory.
Sure, the stranger on the ferry boat who just saw them the previous night said they were still great, but… he was just a stranger on a ferry across the Mississippi. I also have several musically knowledgeable friends who have seen the band recently and fully agree with ferry boat guy, so I allowed myself to start a bit of bit chomping as we drove closer to the arena.
Once inside, the first thing that struck me was the crowd. This wasn’t a ’70’s rock concert crowd. Oh wait, yes it was — just 30 years older. Middle aged and middle class, I guess we all grew up and now we can afford the hundred dollar tickets. If I remember right, it was around fifteen bucks back when I saw them the first time.
The band took the stage, all in suits and ties, ala Buddy Holly. What happened to the torn up blue jeans and tee shirts? Well, at least Joe Walsh and Timothy Schmitt still have long hair, even if Walsh looks a bit like what if Nixon had long gray hair. Overall, they still look cool, just different cool and at least there aren’t any bald Eagles.
About halfway through the first song I started using my ears instead of my eyes and realized “Man, these guys still sing great!” They are fully aware of the changes the years have brought and embrace them. They humorously acknowledged the passing time right off the bat, with Glenn Frey introducing themselves as “The ancient ones, the band that wouldn’t die” on “The Assisted Living Tour.” This is not a nostalgia tour, it’s rock and roll grown-up style.
This is a very different Eagles than the ones I grew up with. With a four piece horn section and two extra keyboard players, Will Hollis and Michael Thompson, this is more like a review than a country rock group. They also have another drummer, Scott Crago, allowing Don Henley to step in front of the kit for a good part of the show, although he spends a good bit of time on both percussion and drums. Nobody plays the straight country rock beat any better than Henley, and he does it while singing. The group is rounded out with guitarist Steuart Smith playing Don Felder and Bernie Leadon’s old parts impeccably. He is pretty much a real member of the band these days, writing and co-produced on The Long Road Out of Eden album.
The mix of the old stuff with the new, plus tunes from their solo careers, is very smooth and presented with impeccable performances and sound production. The staging was cool, not overbearing, and did not distract from the music.
The guys may be older but they sure aren’t worn out. The show goes over three hours, with a short intermission. It was during this intermission that Veronica overhead perhaps the best line of the night. An appalled security guard remarked as she removed women from the men’s room that she expected that kind of behavior from last week’s Nickelback crowd but not from Eagles fans! Who knew? There were two women in the men’s room when I went too. Rock-n-Roll.
After the break it occurred to me, why should it seem strange or out of place for Rock acts to keep touring into their golden years? No one thinks it the least bit odd when Blues, Jazz or Classical acts keep performing well into their 70’s or 80’s. I think it just goes to show you that Rock & Roll has now become an enduring art form and truly will live forever.
by David, Gypsynester.com
Feb 26
User ReviewsPop
David Archuleta
February 26, 2009
Starland Ballroom Sayreville, NJ
I saw David Archuleta last Thursday in N.J….3rd night of his solo tour….he was wonderful…he’s learning to work the stage and crowd and his adorable personality really came through…the club was small which was GREAT because he was sooooo close to everyone……. FANTASTIC! His voice was as good as ever and the band he has seems good for him…He did a smart variety of songs, and a medley of other artists, which was a real treat! His purity and sweetness are oh so refreshing to see, in a world that is inundated with complications and darkness…….Thanx David…..
By Tammy F. bugnout299@aol.com
David Archuleta setlist
Touch My Hand
Barriers
Your Eyes Don’t Lie
A Little Too Not Over You
Somebody Out There
My Hands
Works For Me
Waiting for Yesterday
Medley: One/You Gotta Be/Love Song/I’m Yours
To Be With You
Don’t Let Go
Zero Gravity
You Can
Crush
A Thousand Miles
Angels
Feb 07
User ReviewsHard Rock
Of course Crue puts on the best show on Earth, but last night wasn’t like the one they did for the Carnival of Sins at the Hard Rock about 5 yrs. ago I remember. It was good..no doubt, but they didn’t do a few of the ultimate fave songs like Smokin’ In the Boys Room and Too Young To Fall In Love…Vince looked good and trimmed up, happy, sober..very healthy…so did Nikki and Tommy. Mick has that disease and you could tell he was in a lot of pain..I almost cried everytime he came up front to play to the audience…please pray for him…I don’t think he has much time left..really..we saw it in his eyes.. Otherwise…Crue was awesome..very energetic and everyone had a good time..the only thing that sucked was the Hard Rock’s rule about no cameras whatsoever…ya, we all had cell camera phones, but no real cameras…give me a break….that was total bullshit!!!
Nov 08
User ReviewsClassic Rock
An Argument for Dylan
What are the chances? Driving along and there you see a big sign flashing “Bob Dylan in concert.” He is, after all, truly a living legend. Since I have never seen him and I might not get another chance, I thought I’d be an idiot not to grab this opportunity. Veronica wasn’t overly thrilled since she had seen him several times before (her dad is the quintessential old hippy making the annual Dylan pilgrimage). I tried to think of some provocative ways to sell her on the idea of spending a hundred bucks and a couple hours of her life listening to unintelligible lyrics mumbled by a 67 year old man.
I tried the living legend idea but she had seen him before, so…as we talked about it, I stumbled on what I think is the real reason for anyone to be interested in seeing Dylan, even if they don’t particularly care for his music. Few people in the history of the arts ever make significant changes in the way their medium is executed. Bob Dylan is one of those few. He fundamentally changed the way songs are written, not musically, but lyrically. There is a noticeable difference between songs before and after his influence. Before Dylan, lyrics told stories in a clear, straightforward manner. The use of imagery was mostly confined to the music itself, with melody and chord structure. He changed that. Now it is common for the lyrics to be used as a vehicle to “paint a picture” as much as the feel and form of the music. Bob Dylan had a huge hand in making that happen. This point made an impact on Veronica and now she was actually looking forward to the show (I wisely decided not to remind her that she wouldn’t be able to decipher a word the man sings–lest I lose the whole lyrics argument).
We arrived just before showtime without tickets and by complete dumb luck got seats in the third row that were somehow overlooked in the advance sales. What can I say, we lead a charmed life. The first thing I noticed upon entering the arena was the crowd. It’s been a long, long time since I have been to a big stadium Rock concert but I still remember what it was like…and this wasn’t it. I actually felt like one of the younger ones there. This was probably a good thing. No mosh pits, groupies, biker security or clouds of pot smoke to obscure the reason we came. There was, however, a quite large contingency of younger kids from the local college willing to stand though the entire show in exchange for the cheaper ticket prices. Perhaps that’s where some secret herbal fires were burning. It did seem like a small whiff drifted by now and then.
As for the show itself, it was pretty much what I expected, except that Dylan has reinvented himself as a keyboard player on this tour. He only touched a guitar on a couple songs and used the harmonica mainly to add a little color here and there. The crowd went wild every time he touched the harp though, so it worked.
Dylan’s been known to do entire shows of songs only a hardcore fan would recognize so we were happy to be graced with some classics like “Highway 61 Revisited”, “Like A Rolling Stone”, “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue”, “Maggie’s Farm” and “All Along The Watchtower”. All nostalgic, bring-you-back-to-a-certain-place-and-time classics. For Veronica, an especially fond memory occurred during “Rainy Day Woman #12 and #35″ (huh?, oh yeah, “Everybody Must Get Stoned”) remembering her mother’s shock that her father was listening to “that song” in front of the children. Daddy easily explained it off as a song about Jesus, which is funny because it’s (kinda) true. A fine little childhood memory, that made Veronica smile.
It can be a bit off-putting how Dylan never acknowledges his audience, almost like watching a rehearsal. You can see that as good or bad, personally I find something to like in it. The lighting is sparse–you never really get a good look at him, the stage very pared-down. It’s almost as if the crowd is an afterthought. I can see how after several decades of performing these songs he might purposely phrase his lyrics so that it doesn’t turn into a sing along. It also occurred to me that the college kids (and some of the old hippies) should stop shouting out requests of favorite songs, because it might make him all the LESS likely to play them.
Dylan wasn’t vibrant, yet he didn’t seem like an “old guy”, either. As Veronica noted, he “oozed cool”. He is after all, as his introduction stated, “the poet laureate of rock ‘n roll. The voice of the promise of the 60s counterculture. The guy who forced folk into bed with rock, who donned makeup in the 70s and disappeared into a haze of substance abuse and emerged to find Jesus.”
And the band kicked ass.
by David, GypsyNester.com
Nov 06
User ReviewsAlternative Rock
Smashing Pumpkins 11-06-08 United Palace Theater NY, NY
A truly terrible performance of the Smashing Pumpkins last night in NYC. Billy insulted the crowd, played a 35 minute jam session that no one could appreciate, came out to an encore singing “Everyone is Beautiful” which got boo’s from the audience while people gave the band the middle finger. It was the worst concert I have ever been too. I might add I love the Smashing Pumpkins. Their Greatest Hits album is considered as one of the great classics of my time. However, people got ripped of last night of their hard earned money. It is always a bad sign to see people in the audience leaving a show early and giving the thumbs down sign as they are walking out. I was actually thinking the whole show was a joke and thinking that Smashing Pumpkins is now officially done as a viable band in concert.
Nov 03
User ReviewsAlternative Rock
Smashing Pumpkins.
Nov 3rd 2008
Massey Hall Toronto, Ontario
I love the Pumpkins, but their Nov 3rd show in Toronto’s Massey Hall was a major disappointment. They played a few of their hits, and for the rest of the performance, basically just jammed out… It was quite pointless, and was technically sub par at best… That was the saddest part for me, the jamming out part sucked… Even more disappointing is that when they were playing their hits, they completly nailed them…Almost perfectly… Small bits of greatness, mixed in with garbage.
By Jason
Jul 27
User ReviewsThe Vault
Wao! What a great time! The concert started 1 hour late, but it was so worth the wait! George Michael was as excellent and entertaining as he could ever be. Well Worth my money and time… Would do it again in a heart beat!
Twitter
Facebook
RSS
