Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – Snoqualmie: March 16 2014

March 16, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Toni and I went to see Joan Jett and the Blackhearts perform at the Snoqualmie Casino tonight. This was the first time that we have been to this venue, and it was actually quite nice. It is probably the most convenient location for us as it is less than 20 miles from our house.

I have to say, that this was by far one of the best Rock shows I have seen in a long time. Joan Jett put on an absolutely incredible show. It was relatively short, but the most densely packed with hit after hit hour and half worth of raspy, crunchy, rough cut rock & roll anyone should have the pleasure to experience on a Sunday night.

Of course she came out and played her hits like “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll“, “Crimson and Clover“, “I Hate Myself for Loving You“, “Do You Wanna Touch Me“, and “Bad Reputation“, but also many songs from her new album Unvarnished “TMI“, “Soulmates to Strangers“, “Hard to Grow Up” and “Fragile” . Her sound on this new albumin is so classic Joan Jett, I just love how she can still make music that sounds so 70’s/80’s and make it so current and relevant.

We see her perform again at the Golden Gods Awards this coming April 23rd in LA. The kids will have a chance to see her, and I know they will be as blown away as Toni and I were.

Filed Under: Classic Rock Tagged With:

Bury The Hatchet Tour with Falling in Reverse – Seattle: February 11 2014

February 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Nicki and I attended the Bury The Hatchet Tour with Falling in Reverse, Escape the Fate, Survive This and Chelsea Grin this past Tuesday night at the Showbox (Market) in Seattle. The venue was changed at the last minute from El Corazon, and I think it was probably for the best. The place was packed, they must have oversold the other venue.

We were able to get VIP meet and greet which allowed us to get in early to do a quick (and I mean quick) photo op with the band. It was actually kind of a lame meet and greet.. they really rushed us in and out with only allowing a single, non-flash photo in the dark venue. Not sure how worth these so called VIP tickets  really are anymore.. They used to get you in to actually interact with the band, but now it seems they just get your money and you sometimes get what you pay for and sometimes you don’t, and there isn’t anyone to complain to about it…I guess as long as they keep making the money they will have no incentive to make a better experience.. no bad intentions by the band at all, I am sure it is all the promoter and management.

Anyway, once we were able to get in, we were able to get a real sweet set of seats along the bar just in back of the main floor. We were pretty lucky as most people who got in early like us went straight to the rail, and there are only about a dozen actual seat/chairs with any kind of decent view and we got the best two in the house.

The opening act was Survive This followed by Chelsea Grin. Both these act were actually quite good and put on great sets getting the crowd pumped for the headliners.

Escape the Fate came on around 9:00 and they sounded simply awesome. They tore it up with their performance of Gorgeous Nightmare and Ten Miles Wide. They also played Ungrateful, The Flood, You’re Insane, Live Fast, Die Beautiful, Picture Perfect, Ashley, One for The Money, Fire it Up, This War is Ours.  Nicki really liked the drummer Robert Ortiz’ hair (she liked that it was cooler than Slash’s hair). Nicki also made comment on Max Green’s hair. She liked it much more now than when it shorter. We both thought that the lead guitarist Kevin Gruft is very under-rated. He absolutely ripped it up during the song One For The Money.

They seemed just slightly glam and reminiscent of early Motley Crue in their stage presence, but it seems to work for them.

Falling in Reverse came on around 10:00 and must have played until about 11:30, maybe a little later. Nicki wasn’t feeling well, and we missed the last four songs of their regular set and their encores where they actually did their “Bury the Hatchet” performance where Craig Mabbitt came out and performed with the Falling in Reverse band. I believe with the encores, they must have played around 18 songs…that is incredible for a multi-band show on a weekday night. The portion of the show we saw, was  just incredible. Ronnie Radke put on a great show. He is quite a performer, with tons of expression and personality that he just keeps giving to the audience. Jacky Vincent was just tearing it up on his many solos, but the sound was way too low and he was drowned out by the rest of the band. Really a shame, as some ear piercing, screaming guitar would have been nice. The songs we were able to see them perform before we had to leave were:

  1. Rolling Stone
  2. I’m not a Vampire
  3. Fashionably Late
  4. Champion
  5. Sink or Swim
  6. Goodbye Graceful
  7. Bad Girls Club
  8. Born to Lead
  9. Self Destruct Personality
  10. Good Girls Bad Guys
  11. Tragic Magic
Filed Under: Heavy Metal Tagged With:

Fleetwood Mac – Las Vegas: December 30 2013

December 31, 2013 by 1 Comment

And to think…this was a concert that really fell into place at the last minute. We were able to get great last minute seats through TicketMaster, an awesome room at the MGM Grand and incredible seats on Alaska Airlines down from Seattle to Las Vegas. This concert wasn’t on our schedule, but as we missed the show in Seattle back on May 20th, and I have been dying to see Fleetwood Mac for many years, we just had to come down.

This was their last show of this tour and I have to believe, it must have been one of their best. The venue at the MGM Grand holds about 16,000 people, so it is a fairly large arena, but it was laid out such that I think everyone had a great view of the stage. The sound and video in this arena was far superior than many of the other arenas we have been to over the years. Other than the tiny seats without arm rests, this was an incredible place to sit and enjoy a great concert.

They opened the show at around 8:20 with the song Second Hand News followed by The Chain and Dreams. They played a short set of songs from their Tusk album (including an incredible version of Sarah). Stevie Nicks’ absolutely mesmerizing vocals and Lindsey Buckingham’s masterful guitar playing during the song Landslide was nothing short of amazing. It was so beautiful to see and hear the love that all of these guys have for each other especially Stevie and Lindsey. It’s clear that they continue to inspire each other and perform from their hearts. Mick Fleetwood’s powerful, driving and signature drum style and John McVie’s melodic bass playing add to the sound that so many people have fallen in love with over the past 35 years. They played for nearly two and a half hours which included two encores, leaving the stage at just around 11:00.

This was a great end to an absolutely incredible year of concerts. One more of my all time favorite bands is off my list of must see concerts (although I would see Fleetwood Mac again anytime).

Filed Under: Classic Rock

Bad Blood Tour BOTDF – Seattle: December 13 2013

December 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Another great show tonight at Studio Seven in Seattle. The last time we were at this Venue it was to see Black Veil Brides and had a terrible experience with the venue staff… this time was MUCH better. We did the VIP meet and greet with Blood on the Dance Floor so were able to get in a little early and before the masses. We had a great time meeting both the guys (Dahvie Vanity  and Jayy Von Monroe). They were both very nice and polite with Toni and I, and Nicki absolutely loved hugging them and having a short chat. It’s always refreshing to meet members of bands you listen to so much. You get very nervous and anxious only to find that they are just people too, and are usually very approachable and personable. These guys were certainly no different…what a treat. (Oh and Dahvie – if your reading my Blog – Thanks).

The show started out with a band we saw open up for the Bryan Stars show a few months ago. They are called Beneath the Spin Light and are local (from Camano Island WA). It is great to see these guys playing as much and as often as they seem to do. This kind of dedication will take them far. They seemed improved from just a few months when we saw them..

Next up was Lionfight. It’s awesome how you come and see these types of shows where bands you have never heard of before and they just blow you away. These guys had just an absolute, ton of energy and pounded out massive sounds.. What a great set they did.

I think Farewell My Love were supposed to be on next, but unfortunately the lead singer ended up getting sick during the tour and had to cancel out. Too bad, as we were really looking forward to seeing them. About 6 months ago, we donated to their funds to get a new van, and felt like we kind of knew them.. oh well, they’ll be around again I’m sure.

Haley Rose came on next and did a very nice solo acoustic set. She was very inspiring to Nicki and made her want to practice guitar even more. I liked her rendition of Johnny Cash’s Hurt. What a sobering, heavy bunch of lyrics, but Haley did a great job performing it. She has a great voice.

On next was another band that just blew us away. They were Relapse Symphony. These were five guys who were dressed for ROCK!. They reminded me of the earlier Motley Crue with a dash of Guns and Roses. The lead singer (Bret Von Dehl) had moves reminiscent of Jim Morrison and Axl Rose. These guys absolutely tore it up. The stage was too small for them both figuratively and literally (were kind of tripping over each other)..they need to tour some bigger venues with their immense sound and performance. These guys are going far.. They were also very down to earth and seemed to really appreciate their fan base.. Bret was hanging out at the merch table for a long time…it seemed as though he was there until there were no more fans to meet.. We met him, had a short conversation and got a picture of him with Nicki. We also bought some of their music – I want to hear more!

The final act before BOTDF was Davey Suicide. It was clear why these guys were the last opening act. They were so polished and perfect in their sound, performance and presence that they could carry a show as a lead act without any problems. Davey has the looks that would scare anyone in any dark alley, with his music being as shock inspiring as his stage presence. It has a power that hits you inside and makes you want to bang your head and pound your fists then leaves you wanting more.. He was another one who Nicki and I went to visit after the set, but unfortunately he wasn’t doing pictures at te time, so Nicki settled for a hug and I followed up a handshake and a thanks.

Finally, what we had all been waiting for was the arrival of Blood On The Dance Floor. One of Nicki’s all-time favorite bands, but I haven’t really heard too much of their stuff before tonight. I had no idea what I was missing! What a refreshing sound these guys have. The beat, lyrics, incredibly powerful percussion all wrapped up in an electric blanket. I have never been to a Rave, but if this was anything like one..it was the spray of soapsuds mixed with lasers and techno that put it over the top. I want to go! Their music had everyone in the crowd jumping and absolutely loving every second of it. Some of the most memorable songs they performed were; I Refuse to Sink, Fake is the New Trend and Damaged. The end of their set was an acoustic encore with Dahvie sitting, playing his acoustic guitar playing the song Don’t Want to be Like You in the crowd.. what a great ending to a great night of music. Although many of their songs are racy and provocative to a point where the lyrics don’t necessarily resonate with me personally (although I venture guess that their target audience is not someone of my generation) their message of tolerance, equality, fairness and love for one another transcends all generations and their music reflects something that everyone who loves music would enjoy listening to.

All in all, this had to be one of the highlight shows of the year.. and was a fitting end to the 2013 concert season for us. Hopefully we can see many of these great bands again next year as well as discover new bands who we can add to our favorites list..

Filed Under: Mix

Heart – Seattle: December 12 2013

December 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Thursday night at Benaroya Hall in Seattle was a very special show with Heart. This was a show they called “Heart and Friends Home for the Holidays”. It is always a treat to see Heart in concert, especially in their hometown. Seattle definitely loves their Heart. Both Ann and Nancy Wilson have the most beautiful and symphonic voices that have absolutely not changed since I started listening to them in the seventies.  This was a special show not just because it was Heart in their hometown during the holidays, but that the show was being filmed for broadcast on the AXS channel on Christmas Day (tune in, you will love it).

The show started out with a long set of seasonal holiday songs with them bringing some of the friends from the music business on stage to perform with them. What a mix of artists they were with Shawn Colvin, Richard Marx, Sammy Hagar and Pat Monahan from Train.

Interesting that following their set of Holiday music was an intermission…huh? I guess the venue was the place where the Seattle Symphony performs.

They came back on stage and tore it up with many of the vintage hits like Crazy on You, Kick it Out, Even it Up and starting it off with of course Barracuda. I could tell right away when they came out that they were going to open with Barracuda as Nancy had her distinctive Gibson SG, guitar she has used to play this song with every time I have seen them perform it. It’s no secret that Heart are big Zeppelin fans and they always sneak in a few Zeppelin songs into every show and this time they didn’t disappoint playing The Rain Song from the album Houses of the Holy and an absolutely mesmerizing version of Stairway to Heaven…wowwwwww!

Not sure if Heart does this every holiday, but if they do this show will definitely make it on our must see, holiday tradition list along with TSO.

Filed Under: Classic Rock
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