Ian Gillan has released a new solo album and it’s pretty good. Gillan is one of the most distinctive singers of the past 40 years, spawning a graveyard full of imitators and wanna-bes, most of whom never came close to matching his energy and power as frontman for Deep Purple. Before you start with the […]
Category: The 80s
Radio Ga Ga Saved My Life Tonight
When I was a kid, up until about the age of eleven, we moved around a lot. My father’s engineering job took us to such exotic locales as Port Huron, Michigan and Norcross, Georgia. It also dumped us in Wiesbaden, Germany for about 8 months in 1976/1977. Seeing as how I didn’t really speak the […]
Super-cool concert alert: Venice with Billy Idol and Dave Mason
I am WAY jealous of the residents of Santa Monica, CA, and their opportunity at the end of this week to catch one hell of a triple bill. Locally based California studs Venice, the coolest band of brothers and cousins that I’ve ever came across in my time as a music fan, are part of […]
Setlist: Billy Joel and Elton John – Quicken Loans Arena – 5/23/09
photo above by John Soeder Put the shotgun away – that’s no intruder, it’s just your good pal Elton John captured during last night’s concert at the Q. Sigh. No, I wasn’t in attendance for this one. I took a pass on last night’s show with Billy and Elton, because I knew that things would […]
Good Listening: Justin Currie – Seattle, WA – 5/13/08
Today’s post is dedicated to my good Chicago-based pal David Lifton, host of the fantabulous Wings for Wheels podcast and blog of the same name. I became a Wings for Wheels fan long before I started this blog, and I’m thrilled that he’s back with a new episode of WFW featuring Chart Attack/Mellow Gold fiend […]
Catalog reissues, anthology due from The Jayhawks
Paste Magazine have announced details of a giant fundraising campaign to help ease the current financial hardship that the magazine is experiencing. You can read more about the fundraising efforts via this excellent post from Heather at I Am Fuel, I Am Friends. A donation to the magazine’s campaign will get you a free download […]
Metal Horns Up: Talkin’ Testament
Bay Area metal gods Testament return to Cleveland on Sunday night with the fan favorite lineup of singer Chuck Billy, guitarists Eric Peterson and Alex Skolnick, bassist Greg Christian, and drummer Paul Bostaph (Slayer, etc.) Armed with additional artillery in the form of openers Lazarus A.D. and Unearth, the ingredients combine for another must-attend Cleveland […]
The Worst Single of All Time?
Before I give it away, I have to ask you a question. Have you ever heard a song by one of your favorite bands and upon listening to it for the first time, you instantly knew that you and the band had grown apart and were headed for a divorce? Welcome to my world in […]
Cage Match: Jack Wagner vs. Patrick Swayze
I’m in a good head space for this week’s Cage Match. Mel and I were out at the House of Blues on Friday night with the guy that we’ll call “The Bastard” to celebrate her birthday, and check out the Detroit-based 80’s tribute band Mega 80s. It was a fun night, with perhaps more than […]
Setlist: Queensryche @ House of Blues 5-6-09
Wednesday’s night with Queensryche at the House of Blues was destined to be a tough sell for some in attendance. In fact, it had been a few years since I had seen Queensryche, because in my mind, I had already seen THE show. A few years ago, Chris Akin and I saw a tour opening […]