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More concert recollections than you can shake a stick at
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CODY CANADA & THE DEPARTED
w/sg Jason & The Haymakers
January 14, 2011
Joe's Bar
Chicago, IL
Ticket Price: $10.00 |
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278.
What I knew going in: Not going to be Ragweed.
What I knew coming out: Wasn't Ragweed.
I was however pleasantly surprised. Consider this: Ragweed had 15 plus years under their belt at 300 shows per year. They had a certain chemistry that The Departed has not yet achieved. Having said that, I think The Departed has a great class of talent and will develop/achieve a good chemistry over time...hopefully it won't take 10-15 years. It is difficult to describe The Departed's sound since the set was comprised of the entire first album, which is to be released sometime around April. That album itself will be a tribute to the unsung songwriters of Oklahoma. Each song had it's own origins outside the band. Cody and Company did however play one song that they have crafted together and it was solid. The show started out with some 70's funk/rock flavor and I'd say that at least the 70's rock aspect of that remained throughout most of the show. This came a sa little bit of a surprise to me, knowing that Cody has a fondness for 90's grunge as well. The 70's scene played out in it's own way however. It was not at all like rock swagger of The Black Crowes for example. It wasn't particularly "jammy" in nature either, but had it's jam moments and longer guitar solos. In various interviews with Cody between Autumn and Winter last year, I understood Seth James would be handling a lot of the lead guitar and that was only the case in a limited way. Cody still plays a lot of lead guitar and thankfully so. I think he sometimes underestimates his own guitar talents with someone like Seth James on board. Also in interviews, Cody described that the new band would not be playing Ragweed numbers and frankly I was delighted they did play a few. This is a young band, despite the experience and resume of each player. This was only their 6th show as a band, so in fairness they were good. Fans turned out in a respectable number to see a show that was based largely on music that is yet unreleased. That's a step of confidence by the fans. I will certainly follow this band and I'll be as eager as any Ragweed fan to see where this leads. I'll look forward to hearing the new CD in April, but I'm more interested in hearing the next CD to see what 10-12 originals might sound like.
The trip to the show was a laugh riot too. Somehow ended up in Chicago's China Town (Take your chopstick and go!). Found our way to Joe's and got a great spot near stage right. The opening act was Jason and The Haymakers - who were a little too country and played a lot too long for my taste. Jason, for those who don't know, is a tall man. Close your eyes and picture Walker Texas Ranger wearing a baggy white southerner's suit, much like that of Colonel Sanders. The Departed finally go on and somehow an escaped manatee from Sea World along with her little four-eyed goldfish of a friend managed to float right between us and the stage. Very irratating. Chris feared for the goldfish, thinking the manatee may eat her, but I reassured Chris that manatees are vegetarians. We posted "No Wake" signs to no avail.
SETLIST: True Love Never Dies, A Little Rain Will Do (Jacobs), Years In The Makin', Ballad of Rosalie (Pease), Long Way To Nowhere, Any Other Way, Starin' Down The Sun, Skyline Radio (Skinner), Get Right, Dimebag (Canada), Face On Mars (Crouch), 17 (Canada), Soul Agent (Evans), Water Your Own Yard, To Find My Love, Demons, Tulsa, Cigarettes, Anger and Wine (James), Hold On Christian
ENCORE: Deal (Canada), Changes, Kickin' BAck In Amsterdam
279.
George Lynch doesn't seem to perform in Indianapolis all that much any more, but he seemed to make up for lost time with his appearance at Rock House Cafe on the south side of the city. Apparently Lynch was suffering a major spinal problem and might have even grimaced a few times during the show, but put on one hell of a guitar spectacle no matter. Lynch Mob has always been something of a rotating staff of player alongside George. This time out, Lynch was joined by his old band mate from Dokken, Wild Mick Brown on drums. Also back in the fold was the original Mob singer, Oni Logan. Despite having had some reported problems in Denver a few nights before, Oni sounded great and performed well here. Robbie Crane from Ratt joined the tour to play bass. George brought along several of his ESP guitars. Overall he played a light blue ESP telecaster much of the night as well as his favorite ESP tiger striped strat. The real crowd pleaser though was the guitar called Mr. Scary, which was featured in the Dokken MTV video for Dream Warriors from the Nightmare on Elm Street 3 movie soundtrack. The set list was nicely balanced between some new material recently released, classic Dokken and classic Lynch Mob.
In addition to George Lynch, Willie Basse and his band played as the opening act on tour with George. Basse is an L.A. music scene legend, having played with just about every band that paid their dues on the Hollywood Strip in the 80's. His former band, Black Sheep cut a few records before Basse sold the name to a rap group. His solo act is amazing. Supporting Willie on drums was Troy Patrick Farrell, mentioned previously on this website several times in the past year or so. Patrick Abbate was a sensational guitar player in the band as well. He's sort of a no ego - low profile kind of guy that just gets down to work and surprises you with how good he is.
My first time at Rock House and a tip of my hat to the promoter for taking the time and interest in bringing a lot of 80's artists to Indianapolis in a small venue environment. The ticket cost is reasonable and the food isn't half bad either. I only have a couple of constructive criticisms: A.) The place is just too smokey with no ventilation. My clothes, skin and hair absolutely reaked when I left the building. B.) Either too many local bands are lined up as support or the show isn't starting early enough to accommodate all of them. The headliners are going on very late because there's not enough room on the small stage for all bands to set up ahead of time. Don't get me wrong, the quality of these local bands is really very good. I particularly liked Smoke Ring. Caden's Cry was extremely good for what they do, just not my thing.
George, Mick and Robbie came back in the bar after the show and hung out with fans. For whatever reason, Oni disappeared. Thanks to all the guys though. They were very generous in talking to fans, posing for pictures and signing autographs.
SETLIST: She's Evil But She's Mine, River Of Love, Hell Child, 21st Century Man, Into The Fire, Where Do You Sleep At Night, Mr. Scary, All I Want, Street Fighting Man, Let The Music Be Your Master
ENCORE: Tooth And Nail, Wicked Sensation
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RYAN BINGHAM & THE DEAD HORSES
w/sg Liam Gerner
March 10, 2011
Birdy's
Indianapolis, IN
Ticket Price: $16.00 |
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280.
Been a long time since attending a show at Birdy's. I remembered quickly what a hole it is. The high ceiling pole barn of a building is not kind to the sound. The crowd on hand seemed genuinely interested in being there to hear Bingham and the crowd size was decent, with nearly a packed house. The problem was that all these little groups of people conyinued talking through the opening act and their chatter was somehow amplified to an annoying level. Liam Gerner was not at all bad as an opening act. His style of playing is a little bit loose for me, but he has a good voice and the songs are well written. Any review would be remiss to neglect his trademark curly blonde hair. All was well until Gerner interjected himself into the political debates brewing in the midwest over state workers' rights to collective bargaining. For those of us paying higher and higher taxes (i.e. those of us who actually paid for our tickets to tonight's show I might add) unions and state workers aren't exactly a welcome topic. Gerner invited members of Dead Horses to join him onstage as his set progressed from a singer/songwriter format to a full band.
Ryan Bingham performed an excellent set of mostly up tempo songs. Selections seemed pretty evenly selected from his three studio albums, What I really liked was the fact that the songs from Junky Star sounded fuller and richer live with the band than on the CD. Those are some great songs, but after a few times listening, they seem to get stale and they all blend together. Not so when performed live. In concert each song is carefully crafted and stands on it's own. A very solid set.
SETLIST: Dollar A Day, Depression, The Other Side, Tell My Mother I Miss Her So, Dylan's Hard Rain, Hard Times, Strange Feeling In The Air, Hallelujah, The Wandering, The Hobo, Direction of the Wind, Change Is, Southside of HEaven, Bluebird
ENCORE: This Land Is Your Land, Sunshine, Bread And Water
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INDIANAPOLIS KISS EXPO
featuring Eric Singer, John Corabi
March 19, 2011
Marriott East
Indianapolis, IN
Ticket Price: $15.00 |
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281.
Spring is in the air, which can only mean another KISS EXPO in Indianapolis. The usual gang of suspects Bill Starkey, KISS Tribute band (Mr Speed this year), either Eric Singer or Bruce Kulick (apparently they take turns) , a 7 year old drumming sensation and all the KISS merchandise you can shake a stick at. Bonus: this year, Peter CRiss' ex-wife will make an appearance. Notice I have not attended KISS EXPOS for quite awhile because the guest list had gotten way too boring and predictable. Seriously, Eric and/or Bruce one more time? Can we get Vinnie? Does anybody even know where Vinnie is? How about members of Paul Stanley's solo band? How about former Frehley's Comet sidemen? How about, well, just about anybody besides Eric or Bruce? Nice guys and generous guests, but how many times can they make appearances at this expo? So why am I here this year? John Corabi!!! Former lead singer for Motley Crue and in my estimation, the better singer and song writer compared to Vince Neil. John Corabi former lead singer of Union with Bruce Kulick. John Corabi, co-founder of Brides of Destruction with Nikki Sixx, John Corabi former bandmate in Ratt and numerous other Hollywood bands that played around here and there, like Carboard Vampires with Jerry Cantrell or The Starfuckers who played a private party at Eddie Van Halen's house, or Lost Angels with Eric Dover. This should be the John Corabi Expo because frankly KISS is no longer KISS at all with Tommy Thayer and fake albums like Sonic Boom. As far as I'm concerned, Gene and Paul are ruining their own legacy.
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ADLER'S APPETITE
w/sg Willie Basse
May 19, 2011
The Vogue
Indianapolis, IN
Ticket Price: $10.00 |
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282.
OK...well, you get what you pay for. Although a very likeable guy,Steven Adler and his Appetite band is potentially one of the least impressive tributes to the greatness that was Guns N Roses. Sure, I'll concede that neither Axl nor Slash, Duff nor Izzy or anyone else associated with GNR is out there performing Guns classics as they ought to be performed. Maybe for good reason. I mean, that music came from a certain place in time in all of our lives, not the least of which were the lives of the band members themselves, and it was a reckless time. Those songs were laden with fuel, a concoction of high test gasoline, booze and narcotics. Years of time past, self-help, celebrity rehab, sobriety and millions of dollars can't reclaim that energy. Fair enough, it's good to see Adler, Chip Z'Nuff and Michael Thomas out there performing the clubs, but maybe the better approach might be to let GNR be what it was and create some new memories with all new material. I read the book and I applaud the guy for all he's been through, but overall, this current line up can't deliver GNR.
Willie Basse, well what can I say? Great to see him again this year, but so sad to see that once again, no one knows who the hell he is. He plays his heart out, schleps his own equipment and hocks his own merchandise to people who cannot begin to appreciate him for his music, creativity, and work ethic, much less his history on the Sunset Strip. Hang in there Willie.
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NATHAN MORGAN TRIO
June 09, 2011
Hard Rock Cafe
Gatlinburg, TN
Ticket Price: Donation |
283.
I don't ordinarily include events like this one, but a couple of reasons compelled me. We were traveling home from South Carolina, through the Great Smoky Mountains, and stopped for the night in Gatlinburg, TN. After checking in at the hotel, we walked over the Hard Rock Cafe for some dinner and by chance they happened to be featuring a live band that night. We had the optioin of eating in the regular dining room or sitting in the private party room, where the concert was being held. We chose the live music. As it turned out, a very talented Nathan Morgan Trio from Atlanta was rocking the house for a charity called The Joy Of Music School, which provides music lessons to the less fortunate kids, whoi may otherwise never pick up an instrument. Good cause. The band was exceptional! They blazed through numerous blues/rock numbers, including Steveie Ray Vaughan, The Allman Bros and more, ending the show with one of my favorite Grateful Dead jams, Turn On Your Love Light.
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RANDY ROGERS & WADE BOWEN
Hold My Beer And Watch This Tour
July 01, 2011
Joe's
Chicago, IL
Ticket Price: $10.00 |
284.
Once at Joe's, we selected a table in the back bar and I'm not sure why, but stayed there pretty much all night. We ate dinner there and if I haven't mentioned before, Joe's kitchen serves up one of the best cheeseburgers around. So there we were in a lightly popluated room of Joe's, adjacent to the area where Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen were playing. We had easy access to Shiner service and watched 99% of the show on a flat screen via closed circuit tv. We were also surrounded by other screens with various sports shows. Exciting finish at Daytona by the way! Anyway, it was kind of surreal watching the show on tv while it was live in the next room, but that's what we did. Cubs pitcher Randy Wells was in the house (and on stage and at the microphone and drunk off his ass by the end of the show).
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SADˆâ
w/sg John Legend
July 08, 2011
Conseco Fieldhouse
Indianapolis, IN
Ticket Price: $90.00 |
285.
As talented a singer as she may be, Sade was dwarfed by a maximus stage production. The stage itself, clean and devoid of anything unnecessary to the production, was approximately the size of an arena league football field. At times, a large, sheer white curtain surrounded the stage, allowing ghostly glimpses of the singer, while ambient films were projected against the sheer drape. Her song selection spanned her career with some emphasis on her most recent release and the obligatory hits package. As much as I did not enjoy John Legend's set, the vast majority of concert goers in attendance seemed to think he was grand. SETLIST: Soldier of Love, Your Love Is King, Skin, Kiss of Life, Love Is Found, In Another Time, Smooth Operator, Jezebel, Bring Me Home, Is It A Crime, Love Is Stronger Than Pride, All About Our Love, Paradise/Nothing Can Come Between Us, Morning Bird, King of Sorrow, Sweetest Taboo, The Moon And The Sky, Pearls, No Ordinary Love, By Your Side ENCORE: Cherish The Day
286.
The tickets were compliments of the Indiana Blood Drive, so an extremely hot evening on the lawn was priced right for aging and aged bands AND aging and aged fans. YES for their part has recorded an all new studio album, harkening back to essentially the line-up that brought us the album called Drama. Drama was the gateway to the 80's for YES, which didn't go so well for the band at first. Following Drama and world tour, the group all but disbanded, seeing Chris Squier and Alan White working with Jimmy Page on a much maligned set of studio tracks that never saw commercial release. Steve Howe and Geoff Downes formed a super group called ASIA and Trevor Horn forged ahead largely as a top notch producer - not bad for the guy who once sang "Video Killed The Radio Star." In 1984, YES resurfaced with Jon Anderson, Alan White, Chris Squier, former YES keyboardist Tony Kaye and new guitarist Trevor Rabin to release the ever popular 90125. So YES is more of an evolving institution than a static band, membership changes are inevitable. Gone today are greats such as Rick Wakeman, replaced by Geoff Downes and Jon Anderson, the quintessential voice of YES, replaced by newcomer Benoit David - who incidentally sounds quite a lot like Anderson. The new album is a strong effort by the band and the set list was balanced nicely between recognizable hits and a couple of new songs. Despite reviews from previous shows where the band may not have been at peak stride, they were excellent here and delivered a stunning set. YES SETLIST: Tempus Fugit, Yours Is No Disgrace, Heart Of The Sunrise, I've Seen All Good People, We Can Fly, And You And I, Owner Of A Lonely Heart, Starship Trooper ENCORE: Roundabout
The last time I saw this same line-up of STYX, I was very disappointed. Lawrence Gowan sort of took over the show and his persona was too large for STYX. This time around however, it was largely a band effort and Tommy Shaw seemed to tackle most of the vocal chores. Gowan remained in check so to speak and the show was much better. The STYX set list was also a battery of hits, some of which I have personally not listened to in many years. STYX SETLIST: Blue Collar Man, The Grand Illusion, One With Everything, Too Much Time On My Hands, Lady, Lorelei, Man In The Wilderness, Suite Madame Blue, Crystal Ball, Fooling Yourself, Miss America, Come Sail Away ENCORE: Renegade
287.
25 people saw one of the hardest rocking shows to hit Indianapolis this year. As venues go, Peppers isn't the best place to "see" a band, but the sound is good and it's a cool place to drink. That said, the seating is kind of a jacked up in relationship to the stage. I say that because the stage is really in kind of a cool spot, right in the front window of the joint by the front door! So anyway, like I said, maybe 25 people showed up for the show, which is really pathetic that Indianapolis can't produce more rock fans on a Sunday night than that. I saw at least two full color ads in the local entertainment paper before the show, so the word was out there. We found it kind of hard to find tickets in advance. The venue didn't sell them and the website they gave out over the phone was baloney. Still, anybody could have purchased tickets at the door for $15 and would have gotten a damn fine show from both bands. So anyway American Dog - what can I say? The guys rocked their balls off for what amounted to a private party. Great people, all of them. I mean you can't go wrong with a set that leads off with Shitkicker and ends with the Pussy Song. SETLIST: Shitkicker, Can't Throw Stones, Cat Has Got You By The Tongue, Beaten Broken Etc, Blame It On The Booze, D-N-F, Drank Too Much, Sometimes You Eat The Pussy. I also have to thank Mike for treating us right before and after the show. I dig this band and you will too - Check 'em out at a tavern, bar or night club near you.
Without ado, Rhino Bucket followed through with a full throttle ass kicking. Any fan of Bon Scott era AC/DC should have been there. As someone said after the show, this band gave 100 percent of themselves, despite the small turnout, because that's just who they are. Many a band would have cancelled or bagged a short set to hit the road early, but not Rhino Bucket. SETLIST: Who's Got Mine, Hardest Town, Welcome To Hell, Beat To Death, Jokes On You, Ride With Yourself, Smile, One Night Stand, Screamer (which of course was the sentimental love song of the night), Word, Beg For Your Love, Bar Time, Street To Street, I Was Told, Hammer And Nail, Ride The Rhino.
288.
A Shiner Beer sponsored event, which was fine with me. The Shiner Girls were on hand to distribute plenty of free Shiner promo stuff like bottle openers (which incidentally made little sense, since Shiner bottles are twist-tops), t-shirts and caps. Walked away witha nice collection of bottle openers, a hat and a tee. We sat on the backside of the bar where we were able to see both the concert and the Packers/Saints game on television. Also a good place to get menu service from the kitchen. Joe's has really great hamburgers, which apparently have a gastro-combustion effect on my friend Chris. The opening act was Tyler Reeve, who was probably better than so-so but no one was paying much attention. REK delivered a set mixed with old and new material. I find that I don't care so much for work from more recent CDs as I do his older stuff. Among my favorites, he did play Rose Hotel, Corpus Christi Bay, The Road Goes On Forever, Shades of Gray and a James McMurtry penned song called Levelland.
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RECKLESS KELLY
November 04, 2011
Joe's Bar
Chicago, IL
Ticket Price: $12.00 |
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289.
Part one of the Chicago road trip weekend: This particular weekend was special because first it celebrates the Week of Chris and second, I just lost my job and really needed to have some fun with friends. First up, a trip to Joe's to catch some college football, one of Joe's famous mouth watering burgers and some pitchers of draft Shiner was just what the doctor ordered. Oh yeah, and Reckless Kelly was playing that night too. I had not seen RK live before, but have a few of their CDs and liked what I heard. Live, I liked them even better. Great band and the place really filled up with fans, which is nice to see. Performing several songs form their new disc, I recognized only the few I had heard before. SETLIST: Hit the Road Running, Castanets Play Video (Alejandro Escovedo cover) , Nobody's Girl, Vancouver, Girl's Got Love In Her Eyes, Weatherbeaten Soul, You Hold the Bottle and I'll Hold the Wheel, Wicked Twisted Road, 1952 Vincent Black Lightning (Richard Thompson cover), I Still Do, I Stayed Up All Night, Morning Blood, Tommy, Good Luck and True Love, Save Me, Ragged as the Road, A Guy Like Me, Seven Nights in Eire ENCORE: She Likes Money, He Likes Love (with drum solo, drum/guitar duet intro), Crazy Eddie's Last Hurrah, Back in the U.S.A. (Chuck Berry cover)
290.
Part two of the Chicago road trip: Took the train up to Wrigleyville to the Metro. Arrived about 10 after 6 for doors at 6:30. Already, there was a line all the way down the block to the corner. We jumped in line there and watched as the line continued to grow around the corner and down the next block. By the time they opened the doors, there must have been 2,000 people or more in line for the tiny little dump known as The Metro or Cabaret Metro. Despite the standing room with no elbow room size crowd, circulating fans kept the air moving so it was somewhat comfortable. Getting a beer proved to be a real adventure, by the time you crawled over people to get back to the bar - which was the easy part - then crawled back juggling two plastic cups of brew and trying not to spill. Some fans were cool about trying to accomodate the weary beer runner, others were not so apt to move. Ponderosa took the stage as the short opening act. The band hails from Atlanta and one could probably attribute The Allman Brothers as a striong influence of the band. They were pretty good, despite a poorly tuned dobro. Intermission to clear equipment was brief. Chickenfoot took over with a powerhouse set that they have been performing for this, their 4th night. Songs were fairly distributed from both the debut album and the new III disc. Kenny Aaronoff is filling in for Chad Smith, whose commitments to RHCP prevented him from performing on this tour. Aaronoff, a more than accomplished drummer himself, was an ample replacement for Smith.
SETLIST: Lighten Up, Alright Alright, Big Foot, Sexy Little Thing, Soap On A Rope, Last Temptation, Up Next, My Kinda Girl, Down The Drain, Come Closer, Three And a Half Letters, Something Going Wrong, Turnin' Left, Future's In The Past Encore: Oh Yeah, Foxey Lady
291.
Coming Soon
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293.
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