Strider Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 (edited) My ears are ringing again…and that's a good thing! Because it means after 559 days of no concerts, the longest gap in my life since I started going to shows in 1972, I was finally back in the hum and buzz of amplifiers and the kick of the big bass drum and the haze of marijuana smoke. It also means I can revive this long dormant thread. Sparks kicked things off Wednesday night at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. They played a set before showing the new Leos Carax movie they did the score for, "Annette". Ron Mael doing his signature dance during "Number One Song in Heaven" was a sight for sore eyes. Last night was the Black Crowes at the Forum, and I have to admit that even though I was pissed that Rich and Chris let Steve Gorman, Marc Ford and others go and would not have gone to this show if a free ticket did not come my way, I still had a good time. While the drummer was no Steve Gorman, they still sounded pretty good. They weren't up to the peak of their 2005 jam-band phase, but it was loud and rocking and hearing "No Speak No Slave" and "Wiser Time" is always a treat. No Led Zeppelin cover, as they have been doing at earlier shows from what I hear, but they encored with a cover of The Rolling Stones "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll". The played slightly less than two hours. The opening band was some band called Dirty Honey. We caught only the last song and I can't really say much about them. Apparently, KLOS 95.5 FM plays them a lot. But I don't listen to radio anymore. Weird coincidence…the Black Crowes show was rescheduled from 2020 and last night happened to be on the same night as the Guns & Roses concert next door at Sofi Stadium (the new NFL stadium where the L.A. Rams play). Incredibly, traffic wasn't that bad coming and going to the Forum. We made it from Hollywood to the Forum in 30 minutes. Edited August 20, 2021 by Strider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedZep123 Posted August 20, 2021 Share Posted August 20, 2021 The Pink Floyd Experience @ Bruce Manson Centre in Auckland Not a lot of famous international rock bands come to New Zealand, so it means there aren't very many oppurtunities for me to go to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
likecats Posted August 21, 2021 Share Posted August 21, 2021 7 hours ago, Strider said: Last night was the Black Crowes at the Forum, and I have to admit that even though I was pissed that Rich and Chris let Steve Gorman, Marc Ford and others go and would not have gone to this show if a free ticket did not come my way, I still had a good time. While the drummer was no Steve Gorman, they still sounded pretty good. They weren't up to the peak of their 2005 jam-band phase, but it was loud and rocking and hearing "No Speak No Slave" and "Wiser Time" is always a treat. No Led Zeppelin cover, as they have been doing at earlier shows from what I hear, but they encored with a cover of The Rolling Stones "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll". The played slightly less than two hours. The opening band was some band called Dirty Honey. We caught only the last song and I can't really say much about them. Apparently, KLOS 95.5 FM plays them a lot. But I don't listen to radio anymore. Weird coincidence…the Black Crowes show was rescheduled from 2020 and last night happened to be on the same night as the Guns & Roses concert next door at Sofi Stadium (the new NFL stadium where the L.A. Rams play). Incredibly, traffic wasn't that bad coming and going to the Forum. We made it from Hollywood to the Forum in 30 minutes. I think G&R were playing at the Banc of California Stadium not SoFi so that might be why the traffic wasn't horrible. Anyway, I saw the Black Crowes in San Diego on Wednesday and really enjoyed the show too. They played Hey Hey What Can I Do for an encore. It's great to go back to concerts again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted August 21, 2021 Share Posted August 21, 2021 4 hours ago, likecats said: I think G&R were playing at the Banc of California Stadium not SoFi so that might be why the traffic wasn't horrible. Anyway, I saw the Black Crowes in San Diego on Wednesday and really enjoyed the show too. They played Hey Hey What Can I Do for an encore. It's great to go back to concerts again. To quote Humphrey Bogart in "Casablanca": "I was misinformed." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 Another freebie dropped into my lap. My friend Lisa invited me to join her for Patti Smith at the Ford Amphitheatre last night. I almost blew it…I thought the show she was talking about was the Friday September 3 night, not the Thursday September 2 night. Anyway, it was just Patti Smith and her band…her son Jackson Smith on electric guitar; Flea on bass; and Tony Shanahan on acoustic guitar, keyboards, bass, and backing vocals. No drummer. No opening act. Patti was in good voice. It had been quite a long time since I saw her. Mask policy in effect but they did not ask for proof of vaccination. The setlist for opening night, Thursday Sept. 2. I'll be curious if she switches up some songs for night #2 tonight. 1. Wing 2. Grateful 3. Redondo Beach 4. My Blakean Year 5. Ghost Dance 6. Dancing Barefoot 7. One Too Many Mornings (Dylan cover) 8. Beneath the Southern Cross 9. Because the Night 10. Peaceable 11. Pissing in a River 12. Land / Gloria Encore: 13. People Have the Power Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 August 18, 2021 Sparks @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery. No proof of vaccination or enforced masking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 August 19, 2021 Black Crowes @ L.A. Forum. No proof of vaccination or enforced masking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 Patti Smith @ John Anson Ford Amphitheatre. No proof of vaccination but masking enforced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 September 24, 2021. St. Vincent @ Hollywood Bowl. Proof of vaccination and enforced masking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Bob Mould was good and loud last night. He did about 25 songs, around 7 or 8 of which were Hüsker Dü classics and a good chunk of songs from his new album, "Blue Hearts". Fred Armisen popped up to sing and play guitar during the encore. Laugh all you want, but it's better than Johnny Depp popping up (which has happened all too frequently in my experience…the worst being when he came on during the Ian Hunter show a few years ago). At least Fred can play guitar and drums and has more punk cred than Johnny Depp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted October 5, 2021 Share Posted October 5, 2021 Saw MammothWVH last Friday night. Wolf played his entire first album plus a track only released on the Japanese version. Great show, band was high energy and the crowd was ravenous. Can’t wait to hear the next release and see many more shows in the future! 🤘🏼🤘🏼 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 (edited) Thanks to a former flame, I got to see X at the Greek Theatre this past Saturday night. This was the rescheduled concert from last year when they were planning on celebrating the 40th anniversary of their "Los Angeles" album. The Blasters (another stalwart from the first-wave L.A. punk bands) opened first with their good ol' American music. Their cover of "Marie Marie" is always a crowd-pleaser. Dave Alvin is not with the band anymore (too many fights with his older brother Phil Alvin), so Keith Wyatt does the honours on guitar these days along with the three remaining original Blasters: Phil Alvin on vocals, guitar; Bill Bateman on drums, John Bazz on bass. Their longtime pianist Gene Taylor died earlier this year. The Horrorpops were second on the bill. Goth-rockabilly. Kind of okay but they ain't no Stray Cats, let alone the Reverend Horton Heat. Finally, X came on under an almost full-moon. They played 24 songs including the entire "Los Angeles" album from start to finish. As old as they are, they sounded terrific, with John Doe's and Exene Cervenka's intertwining dissonant harmonies still intact and mesmerizing and Billy buzzing through his riffs with a smile on his face. Dave Grohl's daughter Violet joined X on "Nausea". So now the joke about Dave Grohl being everywhere extends now to his family, hehe. My date and I got hammered and the good times continued on through the night. First time I have woken up with a hangover in a long time. The percentage of hotrodders, car clubbers, bikers, and guys wearing Dickies was off-the-charts. Edited October 25, 2021 by Strider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg491 Posted October 27, 2021 Share Posted October 27, 2021 Zepparella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 (edited) The Black Angels and L.A. Witch last night at the Fonda Theatre, November 15, 2021. "Young Men Dead", "Entrance Song", and "Don't Play with Guns" were the first three songs and then they played a couple of new songs. 17 or 18 songs total. Six new ones, five or six from the "Passover" album, and a scattered one or two each from the "Phosphene Dream", "Indigo Meadow", and "Death Song" albums. No songs from "Clear Lake Forest" or "Directions to See a Ghost". The sound was good and loud and well-balanced. I have seen the Black Angels in concert around six times now, and usually Stephanie Bailey is set up with her drums in the back, like most bands. Last night she was set up in front of the stage on the left (or 'stage right' in theatre terms). The better to see her bash those drums. Of the new songs, "Without a Trace" and "Empires Falling" made the best impressions. The encore was killer...two of my favorite songs: "Manipulation" and "Bad Vibrations". "Black Grease" of course sounded amazing...Christian Bland's guitar tone (be it fuzz or reverb) was awesome all night. Edited November 16, 2021 by Strider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobDobbs Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 On 9/30/2021 at 5:51 PM, Strider said: August 18, 2021 Sparks @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery. No proof of vaccination or enforced masking. I never knew Robbie Robertson was part of Sparks. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reids Posted November 16, 2021 Share Posted November 16, 2021 Saw The Rolling Stones last Thursday in Atlanta 😎🎸👍🎶 They had a tribute to Charlie, too! R😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted May 15, 2022 Share Posted May 15, 2022 (edited) I was originally thinking of going to Wayne Kramer's MC5 concert at the Roxy last night. But at the last minute I found out about Minneapolis hardcore legends Hammerhead playing at Zebulon club, so away I went. Got a drumstick from Jeff for my nephew. Leather Slave was pretty good, too. 30 minutes of beautiful guitar squall and pounding drums. Edited May 15, 2022 by Strider Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 Tim McGraw a couple of weeks ago in Tampa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScarletMacaw Posted May 21, 2022 Share Posted May 21, 2022 Saw Paul McCartney May 6 at the Oakland arena. I was never a huge Beatles fan, although I was a Wings fan when I was 12 and 13. But it was a fun show as I knew it would be. Paul's voice is weak, but I didn't care and I'm pretty sure no one else did. I heard some tunes I'd never heard before, and he did some of the hard rock tunes e.g. Helter Skelter in the encore. I felt like his band was deliberately trying to drown him out a couple times, perhaps because his voice was a bit shaky, and this was unfortunate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timothy5151 Posted June 1, 2022 Share Posted June 1, 2022 (edited) Seen the show on the 13th. It was awesome. Rob Zander could still hit the notes. Edited June 1, 2022 by timothy5151 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Only Way To Fly Posted June 8, 2022 Share Posted June 8, 2022 Just saw a new band Geese with Spoon here in Phoenix, Arizona last weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDave Posted June 14, 2022 Share Posted June 14, 2022 Robert Plant and Alison Krauss two days ago in Philly at The Mann Center. Great show and I thought they were much better than when I saw them in 2008 on their Raising Sand tour. It definitely rocked more. Opener J.D. McPherson was also great and is also the lead guitarist for Robert and Alison's band. Not often the opener is also part of the main act as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted August 13, 2022 Share Posted August 13, 2022 Here's the setlist from last night's Superchunk show at the Teragram Ballroom. I would have taken pictures but it was a sea of old bald dudes in plaid shirts. The girls who grabbed this setlist were the youngest humans in the joint by miles. Must have been dragged there by their dads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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