One band I would really love to see... seen Porno for Pyros and Dave with the Chilli Peppers... but never Jane's proper... don't know if they're planning on coming to Qatar anytime soon, or anyone for that matter.... Just go this email from this tour company that did my North Korea trip a couple of years back.... anyone up for Laibach in Pyongyang? http://www.koryogroup.com/travel_Itinerary_2015_LAIBACH_tour.php
Taylor Swift HAIM Vance Joy Shawn Mendes July 13, 2015 Nationals Park Washington, DC Mendes and Joy were earnest singer-songwriter types who didn't really do much for me. HAIM I was only familiar with because they are besties with Taylor. I liked them simply because they were playing real guitars. Taylor Swift is a force of nature. I'm not sure there has been an entertainer with such a combination of good looks, charisma and talent since Elvis, and Elvis didn't write his own stuff, unlike Taylor. Pop music shows with dancers usually ain't my thing but I though her performance and the show were just tremendous.
X Dead Rock West July 19, 2015 State Theatre Falls Church, VA Just before the show I learned that Billy Zoom was out of the tour being treated for a very recently diagnosed cancer of the bladder. Here's to his speedy recovery. Over the last 30 years I've seen X with Billy and without. He's one of my all-time favorite guitarists and I far prefer his version of the band to say the Tony Gilkyson era. Having said that, his fill-in for the tour, Jesse Dayton, more than adequately covered for him. It was a really good show. I very rarely care about a warm-up I've never heard of before but Dead Rock West was really good. They're an acoustic male-female duo doing originals and covers of the likes of the Everly Brothers and the Velvet Underground.
Foo Fighters July 16 Citifield NY Had not seen them before but my son really wanted to go. They were great, some performance by Grohl, broken leg be damned. 3 hours long capped off by an appearance by Dr Know and Darryl Jennifer from Bad Brains. Brilliant.
Shania Twain Gavin DeGraw July 21, 2015 Verizon Center Washington, DC Admittedly, smashing my car into a wall in the parking garage on my way to the show did a pretty good job killing the good vibe I was feeling beforehand. Shania still looks fantastic and she actually features her band, unlike Taylor Swift who literally keeps them off in the corner in the shadows. That said, and maybe because my mood could have been better, I thought the show was good, but not great. For someone pushing 50 who hasn't put out an album of new material in almost 15 years, Shania brought out a crowd consisting almost exclusively of college aged women. I was expecting a far older crowd. Perhaps Gavin DeGraw accounted for some of the college aged crowd, but he really didn't do much for me.
Gregg Allman August 26, 2015 Birchmere Alexandria, VA Gregg had a tendency to miss music cues and forget lyrics in his last few years with the Allman Brothers Band, but last night he was certainly sharp and focused. Most of the setlist was ABB material but with tighter, more soulful arrangements. Even though the emphasis on guitar has been dialed back in favor of horns and keyboards, Gregg played a lot more guitar than he ever did with the ABB, spending about equal time between his Hammond and the guitar.
Tinariwen / JJuujjuu 12 August 2015 Bluebird Theatre Denver, CO My Morning Jacket / Silvan Esso 14 August 2015 Red Rock Amphitheatre Morrison, CO Six Organs of Admittance / Alicia Amiri / Valley Maker 22 August 2015 Fremont Abbey Seattle, WA Heck of a trio of shows on this road trip.
Well... it looks like we finally got a gig here... the Stereophonics are coming to Qatar! Oh well, at least it's something....
Sloan Massey Hall Toronto ON, 9/11/15 I was able to grab relatively inexpensive orchestra seats last minute, as this was part of the Massey Hall Live Series, and apparently empty seats up front look lousy on film. After some monitor issues led to an impromptu singalong with the audience and a less-than-stirring audience O Canada (sigh), we were treated to a great 90 minute set of their hits with a smattering of stuff from the new album 'Commonwealth'. Really glad to see my likely last show at this iconic venue before the renovations shut the venue down for a couple years.
Landmark Music Festival September 26-27 Washington, DC (note that I left early both days because I am a weenie) Day 1: Ex Hex - local DC band, the best of the day IMO The Hunts - 7 kids (teens to 20-somethings) from one family playing some great Americana with a hint of Decemberists Twin Shadow - set was too slow, so went over to ... The Mowgli's [sic] - who were not well served by the big stage Albert Hammond, Jr. - some girl in the front, within range of the mics, thought this was a Justin Bieber concert and shrieked continuously. Wale - also local DC. Very uneven The London Souls - fun! Day 2: Dr. John & the Nite Trippers - you would expect this to be good. It was way better than that. Manchester Orchestra - not really my thing The Suffers - THIS is who we all should be seeing. Like Mavis staples with a full funky band backing her up. TV on the Radio - Love love love them. This made up for the ghastly show at Echostage earlier this year. Chromeo - fun stuff! Had us all dancing. George Ezra - also a good one
Ratatat The Observatory Santa Ana, Ca 10/03/15 Ive seen them twice but only partial sets at music festivals. Im glad I was able to see them all the way through in a smaller venue. Scored a ticket the day of after work. They absolutely shred
I had a mega-busy concert going week last week.... Gene Ween 27 September 2015 Saturn Birmingham, Alabama Helmet 29 September 2015 Saturn Birmingham, Alabama Father John Misty / Mikal Cronin 01 October 2015 Iron City Birmingham, Alabama Chick Corea & Bela Fleck 02 October 2015 Alys Stephens Center Birmingham, Alabama Beach House / Jessica Pratt 03 October 2015 Saturn Birmingham, Alabama
Aaron Freeman has re-adopted his Ween stage name. I read some interview where he said something the effect of "Just because I've moved on from Ween doesn't mean all of that work or time is something to be ashamed of." His set was a mixture of Ween and solo material.
Warren Haynes Justin Townes Earle Chessboxer October 8, 2015 Warner Theatre Washington, DC The opening acts and the first few songs of Haynes' set were pretty much roots/acoustic based stuff. Haynes then switched over to doing ABB covers but with violins, mandolins, and a stand-up bass thrown in (Chessboxer also served as part of Haynes' band). It was a good show but it arguably went on a little long.
The Mavericks October 23, 2015 State Theatre Falls Church, Virginia They're out touring their newest album "Mono" which is really tremendous. I had a really fun time although I find it somewhat odd that the Mavericks tend to attract a crowd older than they are and I expect they're all in their early 50's.
I always forget about the existence of this thread. Ari Eisinger October 24, 2015 Archie Edwards Barbershop Riverdale Park, MD Possibly the greatest man alive at playing the blues of Blind Blake and Blind Lemon Jefferson. But he finished with this tune associated with Josh White.
I was at the Saturday night show at Terminal West. Dean and the gang still sound good --- great show.
Mastodon / Corrosion of Conformity 01 November 2015 Iron City Birmingham, Alabama Seeing Mastodon in Birmingham is *almost* as fun as seeing them in Atlanta. Guitarist Brent Hinds is from Birmingham so it always is a big, fun, family & friends affair and this night was no different. It's always a good time seeing Brent bring his 93 year old grandma out on stage to dance around and headbang during a song. ...and now for something completely different... Chris Thile 02 November 2015 Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center Birmingham, Alabama Have been a big fan of Thile over the year from the Punch Brothers to his various solo and side projects. Was kind of worried about him being able to pull of 90-100 minutes of music for just mandolin and voice, but he absolutely knocked it out of the park. Played a mixture of original stuff as well as a few covers and one Bach violin sonata arranged for mandolin. Superb. A fantastic night of two wildly different kinds of music.