The fellow you quoted made lots of "strange" comments and was eventually banned only to come back here under a variety of screen names and was banned again under each one so I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Description Big Brother occupies a significant place in the history of San Francisco psychedelic rock, as one of the bands that best captured the era`s loosest, reckless, and indulgent qualities in its high-energy mutations of blues and folk-rock. Big Brother are primarily remembered as the group that gave Janis Joplin her start, but that is not the whole story. There are not many Big Brother gigs featuring Janis on tape. The music on Disc 2 has been released in various forms by less than reputable record labels, although it is presented here in its first official release. Disc 1 is the Holy Grail for Big Brother fans. 12 unreleased tracks presented here for the first time, recently discovered by the surviving members of Big Brother. Not only is the sound pristine, the performances show remarkable maturity for a group developing their trademark sound at hyperspeed. Back in '66 right after Janis joined the band, Big Brother & The Holding Company were habitually blowing people`s minds; each and every time they performed in front of an audience.

The Billboard Q&A: Neil Young Wes Orshoski In the spring of 2006, Neil Young was just a year removed from a near-fatal aneurysm when he became so enraged with the war in Iraq that he quickly wrote, recorded and released the protest album "Living With War." Not two months after its release, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young launched their Freedom of Speech tour, during which unwitting fans expecting the band's sweeter side were greeted instead with its serrated edge. During a three-hour-plus concert, the band played nearly all of "Living With War" and many of the political anthems on which its legend was built, like "Ohio," "Military Madness" and "Find the Cost of Freedom." Despite CSN&Y's anti-establishment roots, the move angered some fans, while inspiring others. To read the interview click here.

From a link at expectingrain.com: 12 Jun 2008: Thanks to Juan B. Heinink for information that the new volume of the Bootleg Series mentioned in the entry for 19 May 2008 is reported to contain previously officially-unreleased material from between 1989 and 2006. Thanks to Nol Grint for news from the Dutch newspaper De Standaard that it will contain five out-takes from Oh Mercy including solo piano versions of Dignity (maybe R-0680, see 2004) and God Knows; Polly Vaughan and Rise Again from the 1992 Chicago sessions with David Bromberg; 32:20 Blues, out-take from World Gone Wrong; Girl From The Red River Shore, Shake Sugaree and Mississippi, out-takes from Time Out of Mind; 'Cross The Green Mountain from Gods And Generals (R-0586, see 2003); plus two demo versions of songs from Modern Times.

During AthFest in Athens, GA over the weekend: ...and this book which is now back in print: Party Out Of Bounds: The B-52's, R.E.M., And The Kids Who Rocked Athens, Georgia

I had "pit" seating for this show, meaning the first several rows in front of the stage were removed for standing room only. This works fine provided the area isn't oversold, which in this case it was. It was also learned after the fact that some Modest Mouse fans Photoshopped lawn seats to read as "Pit" seats so they could gain entrance to that area. It was so packed people couldn't move. Some people such as myself were even denied re-entry once we left the pit area and tried to return. So I paid in excess of 80 fucking dollars for fanclub seating only to be denied the privilege of being able to stand in the area I paid so much for. Great show but definitely an unpleasant experience on the seating front, one I hope I never have to repeat. R.E.M. w/ The National & Modest Mouse Saturday, June 21st Lakewood Amphitheatre Atlanta, GA 1. These Days 2. Living Well Is the Best Revenge 3. So Fast, So Numb 4. What's the Frequency, Kenneth? 5. Time After Time 6. Driver 8 7. Man-Sized Wreath 8. Walk Unafraid 9. Hollow Man 10. Ignoreland 11. Houston 12. Electrolite 13. (Don’t Go Back To) Rockville 14. Auctioneer 15. Harborcoat 16. The One I Love 17. I've Been High 18. Let Me In 19. Bad Day 20. Horse To Water 21. Orange Crush 22. I'm Gonna DJ Encore 23. Supernatural Superserious 24. Losing My Religion 25. Pretty Persuasion 26. Nightswimming 27. Fall On Me (w/ Johnny Marr) 28. Man On The Moon (w/ Johnny Marr)

Weesefest Patty Hurst Shifter w/ The T's, Set To Sound, Left Outlet & American Aquarium Thursday, July 3rd Pour House Music Hall Raleigh, NC

Are you referring to the folks in the photo above? If so, I thought they were Big Brother and the Holding Company and that Cheap Thrills was the name of one of their records.

When I was growing up they pulled the same shit with Brooke Shields. It's nothing new.

Who even uses the term "squares" anymore? Well, besides Huey Lewis and Dragster. As for the Miley Virus thing it was nothing more than a publicity stunt to drum up interest in her post Hannah Montana image. It was just as orchestrated as Janet Jackson's so-called "wardrobe malfunction" at the Super Bore several years ago.

Various Artists AthFest 2008 Friday, June 20th - Sunday, June 22nd Athens, GA R.E.M. w/ The National & Modest Mouse Saturday, June 21st Lakewood Amphitheatre Atlanta, GA

I think when anyone pays to see someone like Henley, Springsteen. U2, R.E.M., Nugent, Steve Earle, etc. they know full well what they're getting into going in as far as the politics of the performer are concerned so it shouldn't be a surprise. Plus, my paying to see them doesn't mean I get to dictate the content of the show. It's their concert, not mine. That said, I realize it can get pretty annoying but for the most part the majority of performers tend to keep that kind of rhetoric to a minimum. Then there's some like Earle and Nugent where you think you're at a political rally.

Don Dixon & the Jump Rabbits Friday, June 13th Berkeley Cafe Raleigh, NC

Concert of the year so far and one that will be extremely hard to top. Tonight it's Don Dixon in Raleigh, next week AthFest and R.E.M. in Atlanta for the last stop on their current U.S. tour. R.E.M. w/ The National & Modest Mouse Tuesday, June 10th Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre Raleigh, NC Harbor Coat Living Well's The Best Revenge Bad Day Whats the Frequency, Kenneth? 1,000,000 Man-Sized Wreath Welcome To The Occupation Accelerate 7 Chinese Brothers Hollow Man Imitation of Life Houston Electrolite Walk Unafraid The One I Love Final Straw Find The River Let Me In Horse To Water Auctioneer (Another Engine) Orange Crush I'm Gonna DJ Encore Supernatural Superserious Losing My Religion Pretty Persuasion Fall On Me (w/ Johnny Marr) Sitting Still (w/ Mitch Easter and Don Dixon) Man On The Moon REMhq.com Tour blog for Raleigh (photos, video, commentary) Review from Durham, NC's Independent Weekly Review Raleigh, News & Observer Review

No need to apologize as we all have a wide variety of tastes. I don't hate America but for the most part I was never really into that whole soft rock thing in the 70s, though I do have a certain amount of tolerance for some of it. The "country rock" (for lack of a better term) type bands of that period were much more to my liking such as Pure Prairie League, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, Poco, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Flying Burrito Brothers, etc. On the America tip, they were joined by Ryan Adams, Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne, also known for composing the music for the movie That Thing You Do!), James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins) and others for their latest album which was released sometime last year. Unfortunately, most of what I heard from it simply didn't do much for me. If you're so inclined, here's a clip of them (along with Ryan and Ben Kweller) from the Late Show with David Letterman that aired in January of '07:

Why are you surprised you liked the Drive-By Truckers? By the way, if you liked My Sweet Annette, I'm sure there's lots of other stuff by them you would also enjoy. They can be very country (like on that song) or in your face rock n' roll (despite what you may have read from their detractors in these parts, they obviously haven't heard one fuckin' note of the DBT). Like I said, I like some of the vintage Chicago (aka the original band) but I have never been able to tolerate the latter day (especially the Peter Cetera era) Chicago. You know, the version of the band that couldn't seem to release a song without the word "love" in the title. Not that there's anything the matter with love songs but I always found their brand of love songs to be particularly atrocious. That's not a reflection of your own personal tastes, it's just rather obvious I don't care for latter day Chicago, AT ALL.

Vintage Chicago I can deal with but current Chicago? I'd sooner be taken out back and shot in the head ninety fuckin' times than have to endure that shit. Glad to hear you enjoyed it though...

...and here I was thinking this was a thread about this fella:

The album definitely looks interesting but I don't know how in the fuck Brooks & Dunn ended up on there. Still, it may be worth checking out. As for Feat live, I haven't seen them since they opened for the Allman Brothers years ago at Walnut Creek in Raleigh but I don't rule out seeing them again sometime in the future. Occasionally they hit some of the larger clubs in this area so I imagine they'll be back around sometime in the not too distant future.

Speaking of the Feat, they have a new album coming out soon called Join the Band that features a vast array of special guest stars including Jimmy Buffett, slydeco guitar whiz Sonny Landreth, Chris Robinson and many others. You can read more about it at their site here.

I like some post Lowell Little Feat but a lot of is closer to Michael McDonald era Doobie Brothers than it is the Little Feat I know and love. Melissa Etheridge (with Del Amtri) is one of the best live shows I've ever seen. Melissa was on tour for her second album at the time, Brave and Crazy. Cool to see the Robbin Thompson Band mentioned here. Back when radio actually played local and regional artists they used to get a lot of airplay on WQDR and WRDU out of Raleigh.

I know Clapton did some dates not so long ago with Bramhall, Derek Trucks, Robert Cray and Robert Randolph. If it takes one of them taking some leads to light a fire back under his ass, I'm all for it. The cost of concert related merch is as out of hand these days as is the price of tix. I don't really go to that many big shows any more (this summer being the exception with more artists touring that I'd like to see than normal) so I usually just pass on it.

As far as I know, anyone can create a thread for any artist on here. Having seen the Police on the last leg of their most recent tour I most definitely agree about the ticket prices but the performance I saw was anything but "lifeless" and that was with Sting fighting off the ravages of the flu (they canceled a show earlier that same week in Philly because of his illness). As for them being the same group they once were, who is? I damn sure wasn't expecting the Police of the mid-80s. When people traveled far and wide and paid through the nose to see Led Zeppelin late last year were they expecting to see them prancing around the stage like they were still in their early 20s? I very seriously doubt it. I hated to fork over $90 to see the Police from the nosebleed section but since I never got to see them back in the day I can't say I have any regrets.

Was the second guitarist by any chance Doyle Bramhall II? If so, you may remember him from the Arc Angels that also included Charlie Sexton and SRV's Double Trouble: Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton. There's also a nice feature on Doyle in the very excellent documentary Before the Music Dies, a must-see especially if you haven't seen it yet. T-shirts at the recent Van Halen show ranged from $35 - 55. I didn't even bother with the beer as I'm sure it was probably around $10 a cup. Fuck that, I'd rather just go without.

Bob Dylan says Barack Obama is 'changin' America Alan Jackson and David Byers His 1964 track 'The Times They are a-Changin' became the anthem for his generation, symbolising the era-defining social struggle against the establishment. Now Bob Dylan - who could justifiably claim to be the architect of Barack Obama's 'change' catchphrase - has backed the Illinois senator to do for modern America what the generation before did in the 1960s. In an exclusive interview with The Times, published today, Dylan gives a ringing endorsement to Mr Obama, the first ever black presidential candidate, claiming he is "redefining the nature of politics from the ground up". To read the remainder of the article click here