I chuckled when I got an article in my email with the following quote:
“Z104 is leading in the country when it comes to video and digital content,” said Program Director Tias Schuster, explaining why Z104 was chosen first. “We get so many hits in this market, and with so much content on our site, we had to simplify everything.”
I know what you’re thinking. Surely, since they’re leading the country, they must be located in New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago, right?
This is one of those recap kinda posts. Some music related stuff, some personal stuff, and all of the other stuff that you typically find in a recap kinda post.
When we last left my personal life, I was rocking out at the Gin Blossoms…..and a lot has happened since then, so let’s get to it.
We’re going to recap Flaming Lips stuff, Cleveland blogger meetup stuff, and Rock Hall stuff. Try and keep up.
Tuesday night, three Cleveland rock and rollers - myself, Mel from Life, Liberty, and the Cleveland Bachelor were reunited for dinner at Nighttown for dinner. Nighttown is one of those Cleveland places that I’ve been meaning to get to for quite a while now, and I was glad to finally get there. Hoping to get back there this week when Eagles songwriting compadre J.D. Souther is in town.
The night got off to a bit of a bum start when one of the waiters walked by and spilled a large quantity of garlic butter or similar on me. Kept going, no apology, nothing…although I’m not sure he was aware. I would have potentially made some sort of issue of it, but our waitress was a bit AWOL, and frankly, it wasn’t that big of a deal.
After wrapping up at Nighttown, we made our way over to the Beachland Ballroom to check out a free screening of the new Flaming Lips film Christmas on Mars. Now, I haven’t paid attention at all, so I thought that it was a concert film, but figured out otherwise prior to going out, that it was an actual movie, and knew that since we’re talking Flaming Lips, this one is going to be interesting.
Yeah, it certainly was interesting. I really dug it, and it’s actually something I would want to own, although as I said at the Beachland, if I had been watching this on my own at home for the first time, there’s no way I would have made it through in one viewing….I definitely would have nodded out. That’s not necessarily a knock on the film - I do that with a lot of flicks that aren’t Lethal Weapon or Die Hard movies (haha!)
My point: Christmas on Mars is a film that is best experienced in a theater setting, if you have the opportunity.
It’s visually spectacular (c’mon, with The Flaming Lips, you KNEW you were getting cool visuals) and also features Steve from Blue’s Clues in a way you’ve never seen him before!
The film and related film score are available now in a variety of formats, including vinyl, for the film score! Get the details here.
Christmas on Mars trailer
While at the Beachland, we met up with Jose and Kelly from Sensory Overload, who you might just see a guest blog from here in the very near future. That’s what we call a teaser, folks.
I got to meet Jose and Kelly for the first time as we all sat at the bar, while I munched on a delicious fried PBJ from the Beachland.
Actually, that didn’t happen because the fried PBJ is not on the newly revamped Beachland menu, which looks fantastic otherwise.
I’m thinking of starting a petition to get it back on there.
The Beachland and Music Saves folks really went to great lengths to make the screening as cool as possible. After the film showing, there was a free raffle with Flaming Lips film posters, copies of the deluxe edition DVD, and limited edition film-related art as prizes.
I was very excited to win the limited edition art, since I never win anything!
T’was a good night.
Cleveland Blogger Meetup:
Thursday night found me at Bar Cento for the Cleveland Blogger meetup that was brilliantly organized by Alexa from cleveland’s a plum. Thanks to Mel, I actually made it there. I cut out of work slightly early and realized that I’d forgotten to grab the address for Bar Cento, and I was blanking on the exact location. A quick text message exchange, and I was good to go, and arrived with time to spare for the meetup which was scheduled for 6:30pm. I met a huge list of Cleveland bloggers, although there were a few that were absent.
Next time, next time.
Had good conversations with quite a few folks (pretty much everyone on this list,) including some good hang time with Kelly, Jose, and Mel, and plenty of rock and roll related conversation with my new rock and roll soul brothers Narm and Jason.
We all hung out long after dinner for lots of karaoke. I wish I would have met the guy that was nailing various 80s tunes while we were wrapping up dinner. He was the requisite “serious” karaoke guy that approaches karaoke as a sport, and he had one impressive pick in particular, “I Can’t Hold Back” by Survivor, that he nailed. Pretty sure he did some Toto as well.
Survivor - I Can’t Hold Back (on Solid Gold)
One second break here - check out the Survivor clip above for the most extreme usage of smoke machines you’ll ever see. Hilarious.
Thursday night was so much fun, and I can’t wait to do it again with all involved, soon. Thanks to Alexa for bringing us all together, and getting us a special group deal at Bar Cento.
Friday night, I was planning to just go home and catch a night of rest, but my buddy Mark was in town unexpectedly, and we ended up at the Hi-Fi to watch our friends View from Everest play. It had been a while since I’d seen VFE do their thing, and they’ve really tightened up their sound a lot, adding an extra guitar player to help fill things out. A couple of cool covers charged up the set a bit with VFE putting their own unique spin on “Come Undone” by Duran Duran (duh!) and “Don’t Dream It’s Over” by Crowded House (duh, part two!)
The best part about the evening, was being walking distance to my house from the club. After watching most of View From Everest’s set, I headed out the door and was home within minutes. Love that.
Indoor smoking ban? What smoking ban?
Thanks to a friend, I had an invite for Saturday night’s Les Paul tribute presented by the Rock Hall at the State Theater. Part of their annual American Music Masters series, the lineup for Saturday’s show was one of the stronger ones in recent memory. There was barely a weak moment in the whole night, although Eric Carmen’s performance was disappointing - rescued by blazing guitar work courtesy of Steve Lukather. Lukather blew my mind earlier this year during a solo show at The Winchester, and I think that there are a few more people that are hip now to Steve Lukather after seeing him play on Saturday night. For all of the jokes that I cracked leading up to the show, Alannah Myles gave one of the surprise highlight performances of the night. Her voice was INCREDIBLE.
Midway through the 3 1/2 hour show, legendary Cleveland drummer Tommy Rich (American Noise, Donnie Iris) came out to sit behind the kit, playing with Billy Gibbons on the ZZ Top classic “Just Got Paid,” Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora on “Wanted Dead or Alive,” and GNR/Velvet Revolver guitar legend Slash, who paid no attention to that indoor smoking ban thing, lighting his first cigarette within seconds of walking onstage.
As a friend of mine made note, the dangling cigs ARE a longtime part of Slash’s everyday Halloween costume.
Speaking of Richie Sambora, he seems like he’s in a good place these days, and Sambora was one of the many high points of the evening, although his tribute song to the Hall of Fame was mega-cheesy. I guess you’ll get that after spending so many years hanging around Jon Bon Jovi.
It was a great time at the State, and what a thrill it was to catch a set from the evening’s honoree himself, Les Paul, a true legend on so many levels.
Check out a full review and lots of pictures courtesy of John Soeder, right here.
Longtime Chicago member Bill Champlin’s new solo album No Place Left To Fall was released digitally here in the States a couple of months ago. Now the album will get a physical CD release in Europe on December 10th, with a bonus 70 minute DVD documentary about the making of No Place Left To Fall.
Bill Champlin - interview and live performance of “Lookin’ For You” from the new album No Place Left To Fall on Showcase Minnesota, September 2008
I’ve been an avid collector of Champlin solo releases over the years. As a kid, after I made my way through collecting the catalog of Chicago releases, I moved on to collecting the individual solo releases from the members of Chicago. I learned quickly that anything that had Bill Champlin’s name in the liner notes, was an album that was guaranteed to be worth owning.
No Place Left To Fall is Champlin’s first all-new studio album in 13 years, and it’s a family affair with wife Tamara and son Will (who has his own new CD coming out soon) helping out on some of the tracks. The hefty guest list on No Place To Fall includes legendary guitarist Steve Lukather, Bruce Gaitsch, Michael English, and former Chicago comrade Peter Cetera.
Champlin’s voice is instantly recognizable - you’ve heard it for years on Chicago songs including his lead vocal on the chart-topping “Look Away,” which gets an update on this album. You might also have heard Bill via his work with Sons of Champlin. And if you haven’t heard Champlin’s stuff yet, No Place To Fall is a great starting point. It’s packed to the brim with funk and plenty of real honest-to-goodness B-3 organ - no samples, here!
It’s been a fixture on my Ipod since I got it, and continues to get it’s hooks into me deeper and deeper with each listen. One of my favorite tracks from No Place Left To Fall, is Champlin’s ode to the been there/done that kinda love, a track called “Lover Like That.”
The long anticipated new release from legendary singer songwriter Bill Champlin is here at last. “No Place Left To Fall” features the smooth, thoughtful song-writing you’ve come to expect from Bill. Soul infused grooves and undeniable hooks pave the way from start to finish, and songs like the title track are a reminder of why Mr. Champlin has been in the game so long. Bill and his band are joined by some very special guests including Peter Cetera, Steve Lukather, Bruce Gaitsch and Michael English. This album will not disappoint!
In the words of drummer, Billy Ward, “I became a Bill Champlin fan in the early seventies when he led, what was to me, a ground-breaking band, The Sons Of Champlin. He’s written and sang on probably over 400 hit songs, the later ones with the band Chicago. His organ playing has him ranked on most peoples “A” list and he plays the heck out of the guitar as well! He is one of the finest musicians I’ve ever gotten the privilege to play with.”
Dennis Cook, in Jambase and Relix Magazine adds, “Age has done nothing to diminish his powers, and in fact, brings nuances to the material that a young cat just can’t muster.”
This special edition does not only consist of 13 new songs with a total length of 68 minutes, you are also treated with a 70 minute DVD (region free) featuring a lengthy documentary of the recording of the album plus some extra cool stuff - all nicely packed in a slipcase.
The release date is set for December 10, but all pre-orders placed by December 1 will be shipped on December 2!
Hall and Oates - Starting All Over Again (live on Aussie TV in 1991)
Hall and Oates acoustic. I know you like the sound of that.
So here’s the deal - Daryl Hall and John Oates went back to their roots in 1991 with the release of their album Change of Season, and had the idea to do an acoustic tour, cleverly titled “Acoustic Power” to promote it. With a nine piece band, they might have been cheating a bit to call the shows “acoustic,” but they were certainly stripped down, in comparison to previous H&O tours.
The acoustic tour must have been great, but at the time, I had no idea about that, because I had skipped the Cleveland show, which I believe was at Nautica Stage. And it’s possible that I might have missed another show, because I seem to recall a second show later in the tour at The Front Row (R.I.P.)
While we’re on the subject, here are some other Nautica Stage shows that I regret missing - Eddie Money touring on a similar acoustic tour that would produce the Unplug It In EP, and the pre-Eagles reunion pairing of Joe Walsh and Glenn Frey that came with a free torrential downpour built into the ticket price.
Getting back to Hall and Oates, my buddy Kurt hipped me to Acoustic Power, a two CD bootleg sourced from Japanese television broadcast. For the first time, I had the opportunity to hear exactly what I had missed, and boy did I miss out!
For over 10 years, Acoustic Power has been one of my favorite things to share with anyone I come across who is an H&O fan, and it’s a show that never disappoints.
I’ve had it on deck to share here for a while, and I was reminded of it this week when I was catching up, getting my hands on a flurry of H&O shows that were newly online.
In the spirit of all of the H&O that’s been heard in my house this weekend, here’s that original Acoustic Power show for your enjoyment.
And yeah, you’re going to enjoy this one!!
By the way - we’re a week away from Live at The Troubadour, a new live release that finds Hall & Oates REALLY going back to their roots with a club date recorded earlier this year at the famous Troubadour. Live at The Troubadour hits stores on Tuesday, November 25th on CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray. Read up on the release right here. Purchase Live at the Troubadour via links at the end of this post.
(P.S. - “What’s Going On” is tagged incorrectly as “Mercy Mercy Me” - I didn’t catch it when I loaded it up many moons ago. So the file name is incorrect, but the track listing below is proper.)
Daryl Hall and John Oates
Acoustic Power 1991
Live in Tokyo
I wrapped up the week freshly reunited with an old friend. Gregor over at captain’s dead caught my eye with MP3s of one of my favorite KFOG-FM/ San Francisco broadcasts, a 1996 session with Paul Westerberg recorded at Fantasy Studios.
This particular broadcast is a nice little one hour Westerberg career rundown that held a special place with me when I first got a DAT copy of it in the late 90s. I had seen the Westerberg tour that year when it passed through Cleveland, and the KFOG setlist was a nicely condensed version of the show I saw.
My buddy Matt, who I’ve written about here before, took me to several shows in the 90s that when he asked me if I wanted to go, it wasn’t really a question - because “no” wasn’t actually on the list of optional answers. One was seeing KISS on their initial reunion tour in makeup - how can you argue that? As a guy that wasn’t much of a KISS fan, I found a way, but Matt wasn’t hearing it. After seeing KISS accessorized with lots of pyro and blood, I was a believer - still not a member of the KISS Army, but I get it now. The Westerberg show was another example - I found myself at The Odeon for a show that found Westerberg and his band onstage for an amazing two hour + set that instantly helped make Eventually, his new album at the time, one of my favorite releases of the year.
The Fantasy Studios show brought me back to my copy of Eventually this weekend, and in the closing moments of Saturday night, I drove home alone after parting ways with my company for the evening, with the sound of album closer “Time Flies Tomorrow” playing softly in the background.
These are the songs that you forget about sometimes, buried at the end of an album. Hearing them in the distance, you quickly reach for the volume knob to turn it up and remember, and on this particular night, “Time Flies Tomorrow” was the perfect musical cap on the evening.
Time flies tomorrow
But it ain’t made a move yet
Time flies tomorrow
And tomorrow will make a day since we’ve met
Your heart sings a feeling
It don’t ache but baby its gonna
Swing from the ceiling
Break like a pinata
Break like a whitecap
In the sand you shiver
With eyes like two hubcaps
At the bottom of the river
Time flies tomorrow
But it ain’t made a move yet
Time flies tomorrow
And tomorrow will make a day since we’ve met
Your hands are like an ovation
An uncertain work of art
I sometimes grow impatient
Gonna tear me apart
Ain’t no time for crying
As you stand and deliver
All my thoughts of dying
Are silenced by your river
Time flies tomorrow
And time flies since we met
Time flies tomorrow (and tomorrow isn’t here)
“Time Flies Tomorrow” by Paul Westerberg from Eventually (1996)
It was 1993, and I was head over heels in love with Sarah McLachlan and her album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy.
Did I mention I was in love with Sarah?
In 2008, Sarah might be finally paying attention to the important “don’t cut your hair EVER” rule for girls, having gone from looking like Lilith Fair Sarah, back to the 1993 version of Sarah that I liked so much.
Appropriately enough, it’s snowing here in Cleveland this morning…
Snow in a soulless city covers up the cracks in the road
As a wastrel buys her cigarettes and wipes her pretty nose
Like a part-time Elvis imitator these streets I knew so well
Have been pasted beyond recognition with a temporary smell
Now the midnight train eases out leaving everyone marooned
And without her it might as well be the surface of the moon
From the well-swept streets of Jackson Heights to the dockside drudgery
Everything’s now a replica of what it used to be
And since they tarted up the trenches and painted the bridges blue
It seems less like a home to me than just a place they bury you
Now we’re lit up like a cathedral in our frozen concrete ruin
And without her it might as well be the surface of the moon
So I need her and I love her that is true
But I’m stuck here like some shipwreck still holding on to you
So when they beat out the tramps and patch up the slums
Everything will be fine
There’ll be a new facade for us to hide behind
So on the ancient trails of our coupling in the places we used to meet
I am amazed by the lack of memories that I thought would flood through me
And the riverside where we first kissed has now been reduced
To a phony old world market where only shoppers get seduced
Now your arms embrace me strangely in your unfamiliar room
And for all I care it might as well be the surface of the moon
Yeah for all I care it might as well be the surface of the moon
“Surface of the Moon” by Del Amitri from the Change Everything album.
I went to Best Buy last night in search of the new Eric Johnson live DVDAnaheim. No dice on that, so I took a quick look to see if Best “sometimes we stock vinyl” Buy might by chance have the vinyl edition of the new Mudcrutch live EP.
Again, denied.
One newly released item that was in stock that I had forgot about, was the new Best Buy-exclusive live CD/DVDCertifiable, the new live package from the Police reunion tour, recorded in Buenos Aires.
While I’m thrilled to have a high quality souvenir of one of my favorite tours from last year, the packaging itself leaves a lot to be desired. The CD/DVD version is housed in a multi-panel foldout package that is one step away from being folded cardstock that happens to have discs attached to it.
On the plus side, there are hubs to hold the discs - unfortunately they don’t actually hold them very well - securely held? Not so much. The box set also wins the award for being the first set I’ve seen that has no sleeve to slip the booklet into - the booklet is instead inserted in between panels, so you’ll want to be careful not to open this set in a wind tunnel - chances are good you’ll lose the books and discs, leaving you with only the “high quality packaging.”
But it’s the music that counts, right? That’s where this package delivers - if you saw the reunion tour, you’ll dig this set, which is a great takeaway for me from a tour and band that I thought I’d never get the chance to see in my lifetime. I haven’t watched the video portion yet, and I’m looking forward to checking that out, particularly the bonus documentary on the second disc, shot by Jordan Copeland (and he’s the son of, guess who!)
Live vid camera shots - I’m guessing 70 percent Sting, 20 percent Stewart Copeland, and 10 percent Andy Summers if there was any time left over Seriously, I’m hoping that this will be one of the few live videos that won’t change camera angles at a mind-numbing/seizure inducing rate of 3 to 4 different camera angles every two seconds.
There are a couple of other items in stores this week that might be of interest for music fans, including the Cheap Trick BudokanCD/DVD box set, and another Best Buy exclusive, the Elton John The Red Pianobox set compiling material from his Vegas show. The live audio from the Red Piano set can also be obtained on vinyl. Also in stores, is the Beatles/Cirque Du Soleil All Together Nowdocumentary DVD.
Speaking of packaging woes, proceed with caution regarding the Cheap Trick set - the folks aren’t happy. It seems that the Budokan set has the dreaded notched slots for holding discs that can spell scratched doom before you even get the discs out of the package. The recent Willie Nelson box set has the same slots, and thankfully I was able to carefully remove and relocate the discs to paper sleeves, without damage. Now, I’m not THAT anal about packaging normally….but seriously, c’mon!
As long as we’re talking about unhappy people, I love the recent Smashing Pumpkins tour drama - Where else can you find a fan onstage telling his favorite musician openly how much last night’s show sucked? Don’t forget, you can grab audio downloads of the drama at LiveSmashingPumpkins.com.
The Popdose cats just posted a new interview with Kay Hanley from Letters to Cleo. The band have reunited for three shows, and the interview has a nice little tidbit in regards to a short run of additional shows the band is considering for 2009:
Popdose: Seems like a lot of work for just three dates. Any plans for a bigger tour?
We’re not ruling anything out. We definitely would love to go out next year and do some shows in Chicago, San Francisco … Cleveland, maybe. (laughs) I know, it sounds strange…
(as David St. Hubbins) Hello, Cleveland!
Yeah, right. But (Cleveland rock radio station) WMMS was the first major station outside Boston to play our band, and some of our first fans were there … I don’t know. We don’t have anything planned beyond these shows, but we’ve definitely got [playing together] on the brain. A lot will depend on how this [mini-tour] goes — if only 4 people show up, we’ll know we should just forget it.
Always cool when bands remember where the initial support came from - check out the rest of the interview here, and also a few MP3s!
Through music, we are all connected! Heard something cool recently? email me and enlighten me if there's a good band that you're digging.
Music tracks that are posted here are posted for a limited time. If you would like me to remove a particular link - email me and I will remove it immediately.
Twitter
@radiohannibal - ooh...I might keep you in mind for tunes I need. do you have Christmas in Painesville by Slackjaw handy? Missing my CD #2 hours ago
Seriously, I’m hoping that this will be one of the few live videos that won’t change camera angles at a mind-numbing/seizure inducing rate of 3 to 4 different camera angles every two seconds.