Semi-Official Concert Review Thread

[Bugg]

1 hour ago, T0mShane said:

I suppose? All the critics love him. The venue I saw him in sucks: it's always full of disinterested Yale students snapchatting the whole show.

Only time I've seen a concert where the headliner, ZBB, covered a great song by the opener, "Dress Blues". 

[Bugg]

7/20/2017, Jones Beach-Jason Bonham LZ Experience, Cheap Trick, Foreigner;

Jason Bonham does a pretty good job covering his dad's band. As it happens at one time he was the road drummer for Foreigner.But it is a cover band.

Cheap Trick, despite bing in the RNR HOF, was kinda passive aggressive. You are old, and you aren't top bill; play your hits. Alas, basically rushed the radio stuff into about 5 songs at the end.

Foreigner consisted of Mick Jones and his grandchildren who sound like Foreigner from FM radio. But surprise was Lou Graham and 2 other members of the original band joined in for an excellent encore set. Graham looked TERRIBLE but was in good voice. 

7/21/2017 Jones Beach: Christ Stapleton;

Simply a great show. Nashville doesn't quite know how to deal with  a guy who is not some Taylor Swift/Luke Bryan crossover wannabe who draws as much from Southern rock like the Allmans and Skynrd than he does from country. 

7/26/2017 Forest Hills Tennis Stadium Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers:

A great show. Forest Hills has a strict 10PM curfew so felt like he could've gone another encore or 2. But seen him a bunch of times and always a good show. 

 

 

[Dcat]

Ugh... my future son 'n law State Trooper has to work on the night of a planned concert so now I have an extra pair of fantastic 5th row Front Center Orchestra seats to Kenny Wayne Shepherd on Wednesday night 8Pm, August 16th in Morristown, NJ.  

If anyone has interest in that show, these seats are two of the best in the house.  Face value + ticketmaster charges make it $100/ticket.  Ive seen this act before and it is a fantastic show.  PM me if interested. If you are unfamiliar, here is a link to a 2015 show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q1-SikUQc8

 

 

[Panzer Division Marduk]

Sacred Reich in Dublin, Sunday night, 30th anniversary of Ignorance tour. Basically the same setlist they've been playing for the past god knows how many years, long past time for a new album. And War Pigs needs to be dropped for one of their own songs.

Apart from that, bloody brilliant. And the support act, Animator were razor sharp.

[Bugg]

Toby Keith, 8/18/2017 Ford Ampitheater, Coney Island, Brooklyn-

A party of a show.Runs through all his hits. Did a solid version of "Wichita Lineman" in tribute of Glen Campbell, as well as a great cover of Ted Nugent's "Stranglehold". Does a nice thing of bringing up veterans for his encore. A nicer venue than I expected. Had ridden past this decrepit place on my bike hundreds of times, would never expect they could fix it up this well.  And it's remarkably comfortable and a great place to see a show.  And having a headline country show in Brooklyn is not something that happens...ever. 

 

[CTM]

Saw Roger Waters in philly on Friday. Fantastic show. He's coming to north jersey and nyc in a few weeks highly recommend ya'll go 

[The Crusher]

19 hours ago, CTM said:

Saw Roger Waters in philly on Friday. Fantastic show. He's coming to north jersey and nyc in a few weeks highly recommend ya'll go 

Saw them on the 5th in DC. Just a tremendous show. One of the rare acts that seems to stand the test of time Time. Haha

[peebag]

On 6/26/2017 at 8:11 AM, whodeawhodat said:

saw U2 Joshua tree tour last week at raymond james stadium and i had high expectations.  They surpassed them!  It was more of an event than a concert.  200 ft wide screen behind them and it was amazing.  I encourage all who can make this show as they tour to attend, you wont regret it.

 

also should add that i went to gasparilla music festival a couple months ago.  Cage the Elephant headlined and they kicked mucho ass!!! was happy for a bit listening to Ghost Faced Killa but then my buddy asked why he was playing all RZA and wu tang stuff.  kinda ruined it for me... saving grace would have been him pulling one of the wu on stage and for a moment it looked like he would.  asked they crowd who they wanted to see on stage and was a large portion of method man fans.  he brought up a little white girl to sing his parts... the end, moved onto the next stage...

Got tickets for U2 in KC - can't wait 

 

Saw Cage the Elephant last summer - they do put on a good show!

[whodeawhodat]

2 hours ago, peebag said:

Got tickets for U2 in KC - can't wait 

 

Saw Cage the Elephant last summer - they do put on a good show!

nice!  Def reply after the U2 show and let me know how you liked it.

I have been listening to a lot more cage since i saw them in concert, cigarette daydreams has a cool video.

[Dcat]

KWS Band tonight in Morristown @ the Mayo Arts Performing Arts Center!

 

 

[southparkcpa]

So.. im studying Spanish and making great progress.  One of the methods involves cultures etc...  I came across this guy.  Pretty good stuff.   In fact been banging it out on my Taylor 810.  

 

[peebag]

Saw Govt Mule last night in Omaha - Warren Haynes can play the guitar very well.

[peebag]

On 8/14/2017 at 2:57 PM, whodeawhodat said:

nice!  Def reply after the U2 show and let me know how you liked it.

I have been listening to a lot more cage since i saw them in concert, cigarette daydreams has a cool video.

So U2 was awesome as expected - capped off a 4 day music spree which included Beck (solo and w/ U2) and X on their 40th anniversary tour

 

edit: hoping to see the Gorillaz at the end of the month - anyone seen them on the current tour?

[whodeawhodat]

57 minutes ago, peebag said:

So U2 was awesome as expected - capped off a 4 day music spree which included Beck (solo and w/ U2) and X on their 40th anniversary tour

 

edit: hoping to see the Gorillaz at the end of the month - anyone seen them on the current tour?

nice, was def one of my favorite shows of all time.  Glad to hear they are keeping it going throughout their tour!

[JustInFudge]

At The Meadows in the parking that was Shea.  Run the Jewels just brought Zach De La Rocha.  Yep.  It happened 

[CTM]

Just saw Corea / Gadd band at the blue note. To old timers that have for the most kept thier chops flanked by some great younger players.  One of the better shows Ive seen in awhile, not sure where the tour is taking them but if you are a jazz fan it's worth checking out 

[The Crimson King]

Saw Brand X at the Iridium last night. Sat right in front of them,

John Goodsall and Percy Jones of the original band were there with new members, Chris Clark on the keys, a great drummer I couldn't catch the name of and Scott Weinberger (ex-Adrian Belew drummer) replacing the late Morris Pert on percussion.

Goodsall played, of all things, a solid body Gretch through a M-B head and cab. He is still in fine form but  I would have liked to hear the brand new looking PRS he had on the stage as a backup. His board had only had 4 pedals bit I could see them from where I sat. One was a tuner and one a boost. He never hit the other two but one had to be  chorus based on his sound. His signature lick is still in force with not much new from him over the decades. They did "And So to F ..." so he had plenty of time to stretch out but stuck to the old riff from the record, not that it wasn't excellent to begin with.

Jones played a 5 string fretless Ibanez that I assumed was custom. He was amazing. I love how he plays the electric like a sideways upright. He even did a solo alone on stage with a looper or premade background track. 

The new keyboard player (with a Motif, Nord lead and Studio Logic) was superb and nailed all Lumley and Robinson's old parts. The drummer was very talented and worthy of sitting in that chair. Scott Weinberger almost stole the show. He had less odd sounds than Pert and served as a second drummer, but was very entertaining. 

Set list was many of their classics, playing was enthusiastic and EVERYONE looked old. The band, crew and especially the audience.

The Iridium is a bar with table seating so you are always looking sideways, in a crowded spot and actually too close to the stage. I would have preferred a more traditional concert venue than a bar gig.

Bottom line is that fusion is alive, barely. It will die with the 70's music fans as they fade away. Shame that. In the meantime, there are two more shows tonight (8p and 10p) at the Iridium ($40 online and $45 at the door) 

[HighPitch]

Lol sucks getting old.... 

Youre right though a lot of good things will die out with their generation. 

[Dcat]

saw Tedeschi-Trucks at the Beacon on Saturday. What a great show!  Highly recommend next time they come around.  

[CTM]

11 hours ago, Dcat said:

saw Tedeschi-Trucks at the Beacon on Saturday. What a great show!  Highly recommend next time they come around.  

What did you think of Trey and the 30 min mountain jam? 

[HighPitch]

My friend was there and hated it. Some people hate jams they want singing. 

How bad could it be? Trey and derrick jamming? Lol id watch for hours with a bag of shrooms.

glad to see yoko silenced for a while

[HighPitch]

Im going to my third one. Cant wait. The pre party is off the chain. Reviews to follow

[Dcat]

On 10/17/2017 at 7:17 AM, CTM said:

What did you think of Trey and the 30 min mountain jam? 

I loved it.  The wife not so much.  But I was an Allman Bros. fanatic.  She didn't like them much.  

[The Crimson King]

Saw Umphrey's McGee at The Capitol Theater in Port Chester in one of the worst concerts I've seen in several decades

Great band and I know they can play live as noted on the Jam On Sirius channel but not here and not this night. I don't know if the issue was the venue or the band's FOH but the sound was the worst I have heard since the age of the battle of the bands in the gym in Junior High.

UM consists of two excellent guitarists, a great keyboard player, a decent bassist, an average drummer and a so-so percussionist. The sound was one complete din the entire night. They had the bass drum mic'd with two mikes and had so much reverb on it all you heard was booming. The bass player, playing a boutique bass (might have been a Fodera) was way too loud and not well defined. plus played at the top of the neck way too much. He had a huge pedal board. I love pedals, but c'mon man, for a bass? The guitar solos and fill ins never stood out of the mix and so were hard to hear. One was a G&L Legacy with a maple neck which does not do well in loud environments unless your sound guy is really really good and the other a PRS McCarty, for which there is no excuse for the mix I heard. As far as the keyboardist goes, who ran a six board setup plus misc. devices, he might as well have gone back to Notre Dame as far as the concert goes. He had a honest to goodness B3 (it's good to have roadies) and a Rhodes to go with his synths which should have added at lot to the music. 

The band itself for what I was able to hear was not at all tight and someone in the muddled vocals was several cents off ALL the time.  Again, very Jr. High. After Brand X last week, this was like seeing AA ball after an MLB game.  

As far as Westchester venues go, the Cap is in a seedy neighborhood and parking is difficult and expensive. The venue consists of a floor, a loge and a balcony. the floor is often SRO as it was this night and the balcony in another zip code so this is not the premier facility locally. The 3 row Loge, where we sat, had another problem that we'll get to in a second.

Whoever works the lights should be captured, tied up and tortured by being forced to listen to hours of Karen Carpenter. Lights are a big part of a show but should always be on the musicians not the audience so we can see them (unless it is Robert Fripp, of course). Most of the time, the brightest lights were shined right in our face, often flashing and pulsing. For all the money spent on this show, I would have been better off putting on one of their live albums and having someone shine a perp light in my eyes for 2 hours.

All of this was made worse by the audience. The aforementioned Loge is only three rows but as soon as the band came out, several people in the front row stood up and never sat down so we had to stand the entire time in a three row section (!). They did seem to love the show, despite not being able to hear the music or see the band. Many people danced, mostly out of rhythm with the music and at inappropriate times. I have to admit I never saw someone dance to a drum solo before. BTW: You can move to the music that you listen to, but you cannot listen to it all if you are consciously dancing, which is one of the reasons Be-bop and Fusion were so advanced for their respective times. The dancing and singing stopped in deference to actual music. 

You wouldn't notice this from the football side of this board but I think the younger generations are quite happy with bad product and mediocre performance. They just seem to always have that drink of cool aid in their hands. So, if you love music, sit down shut up, open your ears and try to learn something. Otherwise, it all becomes very Orwellian.

Oh well, not every show can be great.

 

[HighPitch]

Jake dillinger of UM is one of the most bad ass players out there. He does so many little touches so well. Sorry the sound was bad but UM kick ass. Ive seen em a bunch 

i cant believe kings x can even be mentioned in their company but to each their own

ever hear of TAUK? One of my favs modern jam fusion no vocals they are from cold springs harbor. Maybe not the best video but ...

 

[HighPitch]

On 10/21/2017 at 1:09 PM, The Crimson King said:

 

UM consists of two excellent guitarists, a great keyboard player, a decent bassist, an average drummer and a so-so percussionist.

 

The bass player, playing a boutique bass (might have been a Fodera) was way too loud and not well defined. plus played at the top of the neck way too much. He had a huge pedal board. I love pedals, but c'mon man, for a bass?

(unless it is Robert Fripp, of course). 

You wouldn't notice this from the football side of this board but I think the younger generations are quite happy with bad product and mediocre performance. 

 

UM has 1 PHENOM guitarist, 1 sloppy rythem guitarist that has poor vocals, great kb player, very solid drummer and a very solid and tadty percussionist.

 

robert frip is all effects. I love him but hes over rated and gimmicky.

 

i applaude the youngsters for following UM and Tauk versus hip hop.

 

dude it was a bad show ( they happen) with bad sound. Next time....

 

 

[HighPitch]

More TAUK.  .....because they are sexy and from long island. And i was at this show

 

 

[HighPitch]

And now i review my own band. Daytona beach bandshell. 5000 people. For floyd fans only

 

[The Crimson King]

22 hours ago, HighPitch said:

UM has 1 PHENOM guitarist, 1 sloppy rythem guitarist that has poor vocals, great kb player, very solid drummer and a very solid and tadty percussionist.

 

robert frip is all effects. I love him but hes over rated and gimmicky.

 

i applaude the youngsters for following UM and Tauk versus hip hop.

 

dude it was a bad show ( they happen) with bad sound. Next time....

 

 

You, sir, obviously have better taste in music than you do in football teams

Never seen Tauk, been waiting for them to come here, somewhere

How about Big Something? Another good jamband

 

BTW: THE Fripp comment referred to how he does not like the spot on him and even used to play behind stuff. Weird dude but very creative 

[The Crimson King]

22 hours ago, HighPitch said:

And now i review my own band. Daytona beach bandshell. 5000 people. For floyd fans only

 

Wall of Echoes ... great name for a Floyd tribute band !

Do you guys just do PF? 

Good work on GGITS, you gotta have the singer to do it right and you certainly do 

Been listening to your stuff for a while this evening, I absolutely love the fact you do Dogs and do it well

Ever gig in NY?

 

[HighPitch]

Thanks. 

No mostly fl and ga. We get nice offers to fly out once in a while but theres always one or two crybabies that dont want to. 

We also do a complete 22 minute echoes and sheep

[The Crimson King]

Saw Renaissance in Ridgefield, CT last night. The venue, basically a school auditorium with a balcony is one of my very favorites

If you are unfamiliar with the band, they started as a Yardbirds spin off (no, no Beck, Page or Clapton) but after a couple of years completely changed all personnel including adding the diva, Annie Haslem, she of the 5 octave range. This is the version most folks know

The current version features Ms. Anselm and a whole new band. The concept is classical-rock fusion. Think english art-rock lite (early Genesis for example) ... very lite

The 5 piece band, fronted by Annie, consists of piano, synth, bass, drums and electric-acoustic guitar (I could have sworn these things were killed off in a field in Bethel NY in 1969, I have no idea why they revived them) This night they were backed by a 10 piece chamber orchestra, but they didn't do much and could have easily been replaced by another synth 

Haslem is now 70 years old, the voice is still clear and the range (mostly there) but she is just not the Annie of old. I guess none of us are.

There were nice moments, such as the classics Mother Russia and Carpet of the Sun but not much inspirational and nothing really stood out as a reason to think you were glad you came. It was kinda like going to one of those old timer games they used to have at Shea. Comfortable, nostalgic and not all that memorable. 

What is missing in their music is the electric guitar to add some energy. I just might be a tad prejudiced with that thought however.

The Mrs. wasn't too impressed with the proceedings and when I asked her what she thought, her response was, "When do we see McLaughlin?" 

 

[The Crimson King]

On ‎10‎/‎25‎/‎2017 at 11:05 PM, HighPitch said:

Thanks. 

No mostly fl and ga. We get nice offers to fly out once in a while but theres always one or two crybabies that dont want to. 

We also do a complete 22 minute echoes and sheep

I thought that was very cool being that most people only seem to know Dark Side and the Wall. You could be my hero of the month

Anything from Ummagumma?

 

[CTM]

On 10/24/2017 at 8:39 PM, HighPitch said:

Jake dillinger of UM is one of the most bad ass players out there. He does so many little touches so well. Sorry the sound was bad but UM kick ass. Ive seen em a bunch 

i

jake cinninger* (assuming that was auto correct?) and he's too choppy/ showy for me 

[HighPitch]

20 hours ago, The Crimson King said:

I thought that was very cool being that most people only seem to know Dark Side and the Wall. You could be my hero of the month

Anything from Ummagumma?

 

 Set the contols and astronomy