Aerosmith’s “Blue Army Tour” series of concert events begins June 13th at the Gila River Arena in Arizona, and travels the United States and British Columbia well into August. Four time Grammy winners, they are one of the most exciting rock and roll bands touring today. They come armed with a ton of hits, old and new, that get crowds worked up into a frenzy. Having seen them live before, I give it my highest recommendation if you can make it out to one of their upcoming dates. [Read more…]
“Holy shit! San! Fran! Cisco! Oh my God. Well, I may be really fucking tired… I danced my ass off! I have sit down so I don’t have a heart attack! … just in case you missed what we were trying to say… San Francisco, you are fucking amazing!” MisterWives’ Mandy Lee, after coming back on stage for their encore, taking a seat behind the drum kit. That encore opened with a “fucking amazing” cover of “Uptown Funk”. This is the moment where they really showed off how each member of the group is an exceptional musician, as they went through an extended jam session that really showcased their music talents and ability to intuitively wander about a song and squeeze every last bit of sonic confection out of it. I first saw the New York pop band performing as part of the KNPB television series, Cargo Live at Whitney Peak Hotel in Reno, and came away feeling that it was a band destined for a very bright future. That feeling was cemented Thursday night, as they have matured even more as a live act. Their debut album, Our Own House, has since been released, and fueled them through an hour and a half show. The theme of the night, for them, seemed to be an earnest love for The City by the Bay, with Mandy becoming choked up at the love being showered onto the band throughout the concert. They are definitely a young act with much larger stages waiting for them in the not too distant future, as long as they keep on doing what they are doing.
In a few weeks, U2 will be kicking off their first indoor arena tour in over a decade, in support of last year’s Songs of Innocence. The iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Tour will take U2 to 20 cities worldwide for 70 concerts over the next six months, with multiple dates in each city (from two to eight), running through November. Special shows are reportedly being planned for Dublin fat the end of the year to benefit the U2-initiated Music Generation project. [Read more…]
In support of their debut studio album released last week, Our Own House, NY pop band MisterWives kicked off their first headlining tour in Philadelphia on Friday. Their U.S. tour will keep them on the road through mid-April, though they are scheduled to appear at a few festivals thereafter. [Read more…]
Australian alternative band The Church kicked off their Further/Deeper tour in Vancouver over the weekend, with a North American tour taking them to 19 dates ending up in Austin for SXSW toward the end of March. Further/Deeper is their 21st album released in the past 35 years. [Read more…]
Indie/post punk/shoegazers Vela Eyes will be having an EP release party at Elbo Room in San Francisco on February 20th. Scissors for Lefty, Survival Guide, and The Greening will also be performing. The new single, “Lantern”, is already out an available and the full EP will be out the same day as the event, on February 20th. [Read more…]
This article features the latest in an ongoing series of “Rock Talk” podcast audio interviews for the Rock Subculture Journal. The first guest for 2015 is Dick Dale, a legend in music, regarded as both “The King of the Surf Guitar” and the “Father of Heavy Metal”. Now 77 years old, Mr. Dale is well known to younger generations for his 1962 song, “Misirlou”, which was used by Quentin Tarantino as the title track in his film, Pulp Fiction.
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I recently had an opportunity to see The English Beat at Ace of Spades in Sacramento, for my first concert of the year (on my birthday no less!). Unfortunately, with all of the cold and flu going around, after shooting the first three songs of their set, I had to bail as my fiancée was under the weather and burning up with fever. Rather than waste the opportunity to talk about one of the best live bands playing today, I thought I would put up this preview for what they have coming in 2015, with a list of upcoming concerts, a little bit of information about For Crying Out Loud – the new album due early this year – as well as share a few photos taken at the show last week. Hopefully I’ll have an opportunity to attend another one of their shows soon, and put up a proper feature about it. [Read more…]
Innovative American drummer Terry Bozzio will be finishing his solo North American tour in California later this month, before taking his massive drum kit overseas to Japan for more concerts in November. Best known for his work with Frank Zappa and Missing Persons, Bozzio has had a fascinating career and developed innumerable innovations in drumming. [Read more…]
English singer-songwriter Lily Allen is back in the spotlight with a new album and tour, following time off from starting a family. Her current tour marks her return to North America after a five year absence. The new album, Sheezus, is her first since 2009, and third album since her big debut in 2006 with her #1 UK hit “Smile”. [Read more…]