Semi-Official Concert Review Thread

[CTM]

On 4/7/2019 at 11:59 PM, HighPitch said:

Just got back from the first annual Rising festival. 

A lot of the usual suspects that play wanee fest regularly but i have to say if your into jazzy funky technical musicianship you should check out Ghost Note. I feel i can grab a guitar and sit in with every band there and do a respectable job, but not here. 

I dont have the skills. Hard stuff.....plus so many changes id have a hard time even remembering these tunes. They were good

the other special set was Otiel and Friends. They had the guitarist from rat dog, the kb player from dark star orchestra ( actually a l i guy....used to see him with the zen tricksters long ago), and the singer lamar from les breers. Such a great set. Opened with blue sky, into franklins tower, dear prudence, mercury blues, ophelia

Ghost note is legit, I first saw them at Beardfest last summer. Thier bass player Mono Neon also did a set with Medeski and Martin that was pretty wild. I believe they had collaborated before under the moniker Neon Medeski

Glad to see they are becomming more ingrained in the hippy fest circuit which for awhile was a bunch of dead or phish derivitave bands that all sounded the same 

[GATA]

On 9/15/2018 at 1:12 PM, jetstream23 said:

Nine Inch Nails last night.  Excellent show here in Phoenix.  It's been a while since I've seen Trent Reznor play and I was glad to see he still has it.  The guy is an industrial rock genius, plain and simple.  The Jesus and Mary Chain opened and was pretty good, hadn't listened to any of their stuff in years.

 

I saw them like 2 yrs ago in Montclair NJ they opened up for Korn great show.

[HighPitch]

4 hours ago, CTM said:

Ghost note is legit, I first saw them at Beardfest last summer. Thier bass player Mono Neon also did a set with Medeski and Martin that was pretty wild. I believe they had collaborated before under the moniker Neon Medeski

Glad to see they are becomming more ingrained in the hippy fest circuit which for awhile was a bunch of dead or phish derivitave bands that all sounded the same 

Yea mono neon is a crazy good bassist.

The founding members, the 2 drummers, were also in a jazzy jam band called snarky puppy. Ghost Note is like snarky puppy on steroids

[JustInFudge]

A Bowie Celebration.  THe David Bowie Alumni Tour is absolutely a must see if you dig Bowie. 

It's all dudes that used play with him in studio and on tour.  Here is the line up.  http://www.abowiecelebration.com/

Cory Glover from In Living Colour does a lot of the singing and he might have the great voice I've ever heard in my life.

 

 

[CotcheryifyouCan]

darkstar orchestra on point last night per usual.  if anyone is a dead head and has not ever seen them, its a must. my first time seeing them was 2001-2002 (cant quite remember the year) and they still sound the same

[CTM]

On 4/12/2019 at 3:33 PM, CotcheryifyouCan said:

darkstar orchestra on point last night per usual.  if anyone is a dead head and has not ever seen them, its a must. my first time seeing them was 2001-2002 (cant quite remember the year) and they still sound the same

Ever see JRAD?

[CotcheryifyouCan]

31 minutes ago, CTM said:

Ever see JRAD?

Yea. fun time. I perfer DSO, but I go to pretty much any dead related show if its nearby.  

[Scott Dierking]

Just saw this thread for the first time. Great idea.

Wife and I saw Gary Clark Jr a couple of weeks ago. One of the top 10 concerts that I have ever seen.

[HighPitch]

On 4/21/2019 at 8:30 AM, Scott Dierking said:

Just saw this thread for the first time. Great idea.

Wife and I saw Gary Clark Jr a couple of weeks ago. One of the top 10 concerts that I have ever seen.

Lol im walking around the house singing “run ngggger run, go back where you come from” and the stepkids are picking it up and repeating and their mom is mad at me

[HighPitch]

And “fk you, im americas son” so yea i need to curb my enthusiasm with gary clark jr people will get the opposite idea of what the song means

[Bugg]

Saw the Who at MSG Monday. A fine show- segments with an orchestra doing mostly "Tommy" and then "Quadraphenia" tracks and a segment in between with a band. A fun show. It wasn't 1979 or 1982, but then I'm not a pimply faced kid in a denim jacket either so. One thing they have hit upon they should have been doing for years is a virtuoso violinist doing the solo at the end of "Baba O'Riley". 

[The Crimson King]

41 minutes ago, Bugg said:

Saw the Who at MSG Monday. A fine show- segments with an orchestra doing mostly "Tommy" and then "Quadraphenia" tracks and a segment in between with a band. A fun show. It wasn't 1979 or 1982, but then I'm not a pimply faced kid in a denim jacket either so. One thing they have hit upon they should have been doing for years is a virtuoso violinist doing the solo at the end of "Baba O'Riley". 

Do they still have Ringo's kid in the drummer's chair? Way better drummer than Dad. 

The violinist should have been a woman right? Katie Jacoby. Not a bad player. Electric violin is a great instrument especially when paired with effects (see Jerry Goodman, John Blair, Mark Wood, Eddie Jobson, J.L Ponty, etc.)

Nice to see at least part of an old band surviving in lieu of a copy/tribute band 

[The Crimson King]

Yngwie Malmsteen at the Ridgefield Playhouse last night

Two opening acts: Paralandra and Sunlord

Not a great show. Malmsteen is amazing but after one or two pieces, he leaves you wishing the show would end. Same riffs over and over, way too much phony showmanship, lousy backup band. Lots of speed and flash with little substance or depth. Played his scalloped Strats of course and threw about 100 picks into the audience which got old fast.

Opening acts were somehow transported from the 80's right to the stage. Someone should have raised the shields to block the transport.

Paralandra was a metal band of mediocre musicality led by a tall girl who has an impressive screaming range. Every song was structured the same and were indistinguishable. The most entertaining part was the waist long hair on the bassist and guitarist complete with the in-rhythm swirling and front to back movements. Guitarist had a nice LP but really couldn't do much more than you used to see kids do at Sam Ash. Amazon sized singer girl played rhythm on a PRS. What a waste of a sweet instrument. It didn't take long for that little voice in your head to start saying "get off, get off". They did get points for enthusiasm however. 

Sunlord was even harder to take. A power trio led by a guy who played a Flying V and sang the deep devil style metal yelling vocals. No real shredding and a mediocre backline. The guitarist was also Malmsteen's guitar tech and had to work his ass off in that job. That was impressive and exhausting to watch. Just to be fair, since there guys are New Yorkers and might just be JN members, they did have a large following there that were  absolutely nuts about them, so I'll chalk this up to just not being my style.

We did have a nice dinner and some drinks at a bar beforehand in town so it wasn't a bad evening overall. 

Next up is a Tywla Tharp program at the American Ballet Theater. Not a concert per se but the wife is making me go and I guess after so many Jets games, she deserves it. Suffering payback. 

 

EDIT: forgot to mention the highlight of the whole show: the wall of Marshalls at the back of the stage. 52 heads and about 18 4x12 cabs. Covered end to end and mostly to the top. Looked like only one head and one cab was used. I imagine that the rest, expect for one or two backups, were gutted for easier set up and take down but what a sight !

 

[JustInFudge]

On 4/21/2019 at 8:30 AM, Scott Dierking said:

Just saw this thread for the first time. Great idea.

Wife and I saw Gary Clark Jr a couple of weeks ago. One of the top 10 concerts that I have ever seen.

Love Gary Clark Jr.  He puts on incredible show. 

One of my best buds from college is his drummer, Johnny Radelat.  His band was my favorite local band in Gainesville when I was in college.  9 Miles.  Awesome guy.  You knew he was going to catch on with someone back then...such a good performer, tons of energy.  He could do basically all of Stewart Copeland's Police sh*t.  Ironically, he wasnt a blues fan in college.  lol.  Not that Gary is all blues but still he liked punk/ska/reggae.  Funny how things work out. 

 

[Bugg]

On 5/31/2019 at 10:39 AM, The Crimson King said:

Yngwie Malmsteen at the Ridgefield Playhouse last night

Two opening acts: Paralandra and Sunlord

Not a great show. Malmsteen is amazing but after one or two pieces, he leaves you wishing the show would end. Same riffs over and over, way too much phony showmanship, lousy backup band. Lots of speed and flash with little substance or depth. Played his scalloped Strats of course and threw about 100 picks into the audience which got old fast.

Opening acts were somehow transported from the 80's right to the stage. Someone should have raised the shields to block the transport.

Paralandra was a metal band of mediocre musicality led by a tall girl who has an impressive screaming range. Every song was structured the same and were indistinguishable. The most entertaining part was the waist long hair on the bassist and guitarist complete with the in-rhythm swirling and front to back movements. Guitarist had a nice LP but really couldn't do much more than you used to see kids do at Sam Ash. Amazon sized singer girl played rhythm on a PRS. What a waste of a sweet instrument. It didn't take long for that little voice in your head to start saying "get off, get off". They did get points for enthusiasm however. 

Sunlord was even harder to take. A power trio led by a guy who played a Flying V and sang the deep devil style metal yelling vocals. No real shredding and a mediocre backline. The guitarist was also Malmsteen's guitar tech and had to work his ass off in that job. That was impressive and exhausting to watch. Just to be fair, since there guys are New Yorkers and might just be JN members, they did have a large following there that were  absolutely nuts about them, so I'll chalk this up to just not being my style.

We did have a nice dinner and some drinks at a bar beforehand in town so it wasn't a bad evening overall. 

Next up is a Tywla Tharp program at the American Ballet Theater. Not a concert per se but the wife is making me go and I guess after so many Jets games, she deserves it. Suffering payback. 

 

EDIT: forgot to mention the highlight of the whole show: the wall of Marshalls at the back of the stage. 52 heads and about 18 4x12 cabs. Covered end to end and mostly to the top. Looked like only one head and one cab was used. I imagine that the rest, expect for one or two backups, were gutted for easier set up and take down but what a sight !

 

Been offered the chance to see Joe Bonamassa several times, and suspect it's kinda of the same thing. So he can play "Layla" or damn near anything quite perfectly to the note, but there's no soul to it. 

 

2nd part is why Judas Priest was so much fun back then. 

[Warmbrother]

On 6/1/2019 at 11:30 AM, Bugg said:

Been offered the chance to see Joe Bonamassa several times, and suspect it's kinda of the same thing. So he can play "Layla" or damn near anything quite perfectly to the note, but there's no soul to it. 

 

2nd part is why Judas Priest was so much fun back then. 

Hmmmm have to disagree. Joe is solid and talented. But ok

[Warmbrother]

On 5/31/2019 at 10:39 AM, The Crimson King said:

Yngwie Malmsteen at the Ridgefield Playhouse last night

Two opening acts: Paralandra and Sunlord

Not a great show. Malmsteen is amazing but after one or two pieces, he leaves you wishing the show would end. Same riffs over and over, way too much phony showmanship, lousy backup band. Lots of speed and flash with little substance or depth. Played his scalloped Strats of course and threw about 100 picks into the audience which got old fast.

Opening acts were somehow transported from the 80's right to the stage. Someone should have raised the shields to block the transport.

Paralandra was a metal band of mediocre musicality led by a tall girl who has an impressive screaming range. Every song was structured the same and were indistinguishable. The most entertaining part was the waist long hair on the bassist and guitarist complete with the in-rhythm swirling and front to back movements. Guitarist had a nice LP but really couldn't do much more than you used to see kids do at Sam Ash. Amazon sized singer girl played rhythm on a PRS. What a waste of a sweet instrument. It didn't take long for that little voice in your head to start saying "get off, get off". They did get points for enthusiasm however. 

Sunlord was even harder to take. A power trio led by a guy who played a Flying V and sang the deep devil style metal yelling vocals. No real shredding and a mediocre backline. The guitarist was also Malmsteen's guitar tech and had to work his ass off in that job. That was impressive and exhausting to watch. Just to be fair, since there guys are New Yorkers and might just be JN members, they did have a large following there that were  absolutely nuts about them, so I'll chalk this up to just not being my style.

We did have a nice dinner and some drinks at a bar beforehand in town so it wasn't a bad evening overall. 

Next up is a Tywla Tharp program at the American Ballet Theater. Not a concert per se but the wife is making me go and I guess after so many Jets games, she deserves it. Suffering payback. 

 

EDIT: forgot to mention the highlight of the whole show: the wall of Marshalls at the back of the stage. 52 heads and about 18 4x12 cabs. Covered end to end and mostly to the top. Looked like only one head and one cab was used. I imagine that the rest, expect for one or two backups, were gutted for easier set up and take down but what a sight !

 

This is an amusing review. 

Got to hand it to the 80s metal gods that are still doing it. They have no other skills to fall back on and therefore no source of income so they milk it for all its worth. 

Everything you said is exactly what id expect to see right down to the picks and empty cabs. 

Sadly, i frequent this metal and rock site called blabbermouth.net and it is nothing but sad old washed up rock and metal guys giving their boring opinions on just about anything and commenting and promoting their new projects.

 

Kind of like if rudy sarzo, david coverdale, yngwie, carmine apice and the kb player from europe put out a record.

Then the bassist from humble pie will talk about trump. Then the singer from Anvil will offer his opinions on touring in 2018 and the music scene in general. Like an icepick in your eyes..... Why do i go there

[Apache 51]

On 4/12/2019 at 3:33 PM, CotcheryifyouCan said:

darkstar orchestra on point last night per usual.  if anyone is a dead head and has not ever seen them, its a must. my first time seeing them was 2001-2002 (cant quite remember the year) and they still sound the same

They are at The Stone Pony Aug 10th if you didn't know, Their pretty good. Seen them past five years. My first show, Robert Hunter showed up.

[The Crimson King]

Tony MacAlpine at the Iridium last night

Guitarist from CAB, guitar/keys in Vai's band. A mix between fusion and metal (metal fusion?) playing a well worn Ibanez 7 string through a very well worn H&K head and generic cabs, Sat right in front of him (literally) and enjoyed some good playing. Played a variety of licks, not just the same one over and over. Uses a 3.0mm Dunlop jazz pick (fell on my table so I handed it back to him). Played mostly his Death of Roses album in front of a sparse but supportive crowd. Lack of interest made them cancel the second show, made me sad.  Also made me go home and practice a bit late that night (with of course a 3.0mm Dunlop)

Best part of the night, other than talking to some great folks while waiting for an hour on line beforehand, was the opening band, Arch Echo. This was a band of very young guys playing fusion. Good stuff that could have been better mixed so I will be looking for some CD's from these guys. Now that is something you don't see every day. Good work on guitar and keys and a GREAT drummer. Bass and drums doubled as MacA's backup band.

There was one sad part of the evening that will take me some time to get over.  The club is on  51st and Broadway and since it was a nice night, we took a walk after. As we passed 48th and 7th, I looked down the block and saw that they knocked down the building that housed Manny's and Ash and in the old days, Gracin's. This was just as painful as seeing the demolished Shea if not more. The bastards ! 

Not much more of this genre coming around for awhile, oh well

[CTM]

On 6/10/2019 at 2:34 PM, Apache 51 said:

They are at The Stone Pony Aug 10th if you didn't know, Their pretty good. Seen them past five years. My first show, Robert Hunter showed up.

I've got that show marked down, I've some how never caught them 

[Apache 51]

20 hours ago, CTM said:

I've got that show marked down, I've some how never caught them 

They are worth the money...

[CTM]

17 minutes ago, Apache 51 said:

They are worth the money...

That's what I hear. JRAD is my favorite dead cover band and splintered sunlight is the one I see the most, they seem to tour relentless the past few years.

DSO is recreating a giants stadium show that night, 89 I think 

[Apache 51]

2 minutes ago, CTM said:

That's what I hear. JRAD is my favorite dead cover band and splintered sunlight is the one I see the most, they seem to tour relentless the past few years.

DSO is recreating a giants stadium show that night, 89 I think 

Where'd you hear that I thought they don't reveal it to the end of the show.....??? Is there a leak???...lol

[CTM]

9 minutes ago, Apache 51 said:

Where'd you hear that I thought they don't reveal it to the end of the show.....??? Is there a leak???...lol

On thier web site. My buddy's ex gf is related to someone in the bands inner circle so they'd be back stage all the time. Stupid me never went and they broke up last year 

[Apache 51]

31 minutes ago, CTM said:

On thier web site. My buddy's ex gf is related to someone in the bands inner circle so they'd be back stage all the time. Stupid me never went and they broke up last year 

I see....

[Apache 51]

On 6/21/2019 at 2:46 PM, CTM said:

On thier web site. My buddy's ex gf is related to someone in the bands inner circle so they'd be back stage all the time. Stupid me never went and they broke up last year 

Psyched For DSO show, should be awesome if they cover it well. Shakedown opener. Day after Jerry died.

[Apache 51]

On 6/21/2019 at 2:46 PM, CTM said:

On thier web site. My buddy's ex gf is related to someone in the bands inner circle so they'd be back stage all the time. Stupid me never went and they broke up last year 

Is there a secret password to get backstage,or side stage if my Pony buddy doesn't hook us up? Like blue horseshoe likes annacot steel?

[CTM]

5 hours ago, Apache 51 said:

Is there a secret password to get backstage,or side stage if my Pony buddy doesn't hook us up? Like blue horseshoe likes annacot steel?

My buddy and his chick broke up, doubt I'll get back stage at all. 

There are worse ways to open a show than Shakedown.

[JustInFudge]

I saw Lil Wayne and Blink 182 last night.  

Lil Wayne was amazing.  Probably the best rap performance I've even seen.

Blink 182 is the worst band in the history of music.

[Bugg]

1 hour ago, JiF said:

I saw Lil Wayne and Blink 182 last night.  

Lil Wayne was amazing.  Probably the best rap performance I've even seen.

Blink 182 is the worst band in the history of music.

You have not been subject to the Cars, my friend. Simply the worst live act ever. 

[JustInFudge]

45 minutes ago, Bugg said:

You have not been subject to the Cars, my friend. Simply the worst live act ever. 

What?  I love the Cars.  Dont tell me that.  lol

But the Cars music is good, Blink's is not...I was just hoping maybe live would be better but nope.  Confirmed.  Worst band ever.  Rival Nickelback. 

[peebag]

Saw Beck, Cage the Elephant, Spoon and Starcrawler in Denver last week.

Really, really good show.

[CTM]

2 hours ago, peebag said:

Saw Beck, Cage the Elephant, Spoon and Starcrawler in Denver last week.

Really, really good show.

Beck is good live, saw him last summer

[peebag]

15 hours ago, CTM said:

Beck is good live, saw him last summer

seen him 4 times in the past 3 years and yes, he always puts on a good show.

[Scott Dierking]

On 7/30/2019 at 3:29 PM, peebag said:

Saw Beck, Cage the Elephant, Spoon and Starcrawler in Denver last week.

Really, really good show.

Good to know. We see that line-up in 2 weeks.

Was at the Peach Fest last weekend, one fun band that was so, so much fun was Thumpasaurus. Most fun set I have seen in some time.