KMFDM, the pioneering industrial band with origins going back to the early 80s in Germany, is in the midst of a U.S. tour that kicked off in Boise a few weeks ago and is terminating on the West Coast. The current incarnation of the band is supporting their latest studio album, Kunst, which was released earlier this year. [Read more…]
When Depeche Mode announced the North American dates and cities for their Delta Machine Tour, I immediately identified the one at Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort as the one to go to, since I was familiar with the (relatively) small and intimate venue from past shows, and it was one of just a few in the United States with a general admission standing floor area in front of the stage. Having seen them five times overseas earlier this year, I had become spoiled with standing right in front of the stage, so that has become a must for me in experiencing my favorite band. With the show last night, I certainly wasn’t disappointed, and I suspect most to all in the crowd felt the same, as Vegas is one of those rare cities that pull fans from not only all over the U.S., but all over the world. It was quite a celebration for not only the audience, but seemingly the band as well, who were quite jubilant throughout the performance, which clocked in at about two hours (there was no supporting act at this date). For me, being surrounded by friends who also traveled from California for this show, it was the perfect way to close out an amazing year of live music by the band who have in many ways impacted my life with their art, particularly in my formative years throughout the 80s. [Read more…]
“As it so happens, this one goes out to all the ladies!” A song intro by Alex Turner, front man for Arctic Monkeys, one of the coolest and most charismatic bands on the planet. Dispensing with too much in-between song chit chat, the band kept building upon the frenzy within the audience throughout their hour and a half set. The fans in attendance, who started lining up a 6 am in morning to ultimately bask in the stunning lights of pure and unfiltered cool glowing from the stage, made the first of two back-to-back Arctic Monkeys shows at the Fox Theater in Oakland a tough one to best. The band is in the midst of their world tour in support of their fifth studio album, AM, which was released earlier this month. Showing confidence in the future, the band closed out the show with an encored that ended with their new hit single, “R U Mine?”, which might just be their best song yet.
Icona Pop, the Swedish duo of Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo, launched their North American headlining tour tonight, hitting 32 dates in North America over two months, and will expand to a world tour following. This tour will be in support of their debut album, This is … Icona Pop, due September 24th from Big Beat / Atlantic Records. [Read more…]
“If you’re on the wall, you’re awesome…” Peter Murphy relaying what he was told pre-show, in a pretty impressive American accent, about the custom poster designed for the sold out show at The Fillmore last night, on the second American leg of his “Mr. Moonlight Tour: Celebrating 35 Years of Bauhaus”, before he critiqued the fact that it portrayed him as bald and with wings. Peter Murphy has always been a bit of an enigma to me, as you have an idea of what he might be like from listening to his music, but on stage he usually has a few funny things to say in-between songs. But for this tour in particular, fans turned out for the songs, with an all-Bauhaus setlist, with Peter Murphy and his band bringing the classics to life on stage, with great precision and style. Bauhaus were one of the most important bands during that era, with a massive influence in music at large and a catalog of music that has stood the test of time. The show in San Francisco last night definitely lived up to the billing as a celebration of that music. I would say it is the best Peter Murphy concert I’ve seen (which is saying a lot). One of the best tours of the year.
“Just warming up again… look darling, what a surprise!” A wry comment from Cy Curnin, front man for English New Wave band The Fixx, in the middle of a rare second encore during their amazing show at Assembly Music Hall last night, about half way through their current U.S. tour supporting their latest studio album, Beautiful Friction. The iconic band, best known for a string of 80s hits like “One Thing Leads To Another”, “Saved By Zero”, and “Red Skies”, played a great mix of old and new, and the band certainly showed that they can still record great music as well as play it live.
My Bloody Valentine, the alternative rock band from Dublin, Ireland, will be making a handful of rare headlining concert appearances in the United States during the worldwide tour, which will feature a number of dates at popular music festivals. These are the first U.S. dates since 2009. Their new album, mbv, was released earlier this year. [Read more…]
England New Wave band The Fixx will be playing a little over a dozen shows across the U.S. next month. Best known for 80s classics like “One Thing Leads To Another”, “Red Skies”, and “Saved By Zero”, the group is likely to play newer material as well from last years studio album, Beautiful Friction. [Read more…]
Yeah Yeah Yeahs have this week published their upcoming new album, Mosquito, in its entirety, two weeks ahead of the official April 16th release date. In addition, they are at the beginning of a somewhat haphazard tour that will have them playing Coachella and a handful of U.S. dates before heading out for England early next month and then back and forth between Europe & the UK and the U.S. through July. They have already played about 10 shows and festivals thus far in 2013. [Read more…]
Metric has thus far this year plotted out dates through June, with appearances at Coachella as well as their own headlining shows in and around the United States. Having covered two of their shows last year, they are really a must see band with amazing music and songs from their latest studio album, Synthetica, get a lot of play on this tour. [Read more…]