Jason DeBord's Rock Subculture Journal

The Psychedelic Furs | James at Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort & Casino | Reno, Nevada | 8/3/2019 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“…hopefulness and lifting up and then deep, deep grief and then lifting up… because that seems to be the human experience right now, doesn’t it?”  Tim Booth of James, part of their co-headlining tour across North America with The Psychedelic Furs this summer, with one of their last stops in Reno at the Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort & Casino.  When the band first came out on the stage, he commented that they had just changed up their set list in reaction to the news coming out of Texas.  Both bands put on stellar shows and each seemed to have their own respective hardcore fans as the audiences seemed to change up in-between sets.  I really enjoyed seeing James for the first time and The Psychedelic Furs play at one of my favorite venues with a massive stage and stellar lighting.

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Dido at The Masonic | San Francisco, California | 6/26/2019 (Concert Review + Photos) (Bonus Portland + Seattle Mini Reviews/Photos)

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“…one of the reasons it passed so quickly for me was actually – I had a kid.  He’s magic.  And I’ve basically wanted to hang out with him so I’m sorry I disappeared.” Dido offering some explanation of why she’s not done a world tour for the past 15 years, and as an introduction to one of two encore songs – her very personal “Have To Stay” – in her performance at The Masonic in San Francisco on Wednesday night.  I’m actually one of those people who have waited to see her for the past 15 years, so it was an amazing experience.  Supporting her brilliant new album, Still On My Mind, Dido played many hits and lots of new music, and still left us all wanting more, even with a 20-song set.  This was actually show #1 of 3 for me and Shelley (Mrs. Rock Subculture), as we took time to also catch the subsequent shows in both Portland and Seattle (mini reviews included below) as Dido wrapped up the U.S. leg of her tour in California and the Pacific Northwest.  Hopefully it won’t be another 15 years for her to come around again, but it was well worth the wait. [Read more…]

Long Awaited Dido World Tour Begins, Supporting New Album “Still On My Mind”

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Dido’s first world tour in many, many years kicked off in Prague this week.  Supporting her amazing new album, Still On My Mind, this is her first global tour in 15 years.  The tour reaches North America in Chicago in mid-June, and their are opportunities for fans to also buy tickets for a premium experience including meet and greet and an invite to the soundcheck.  It’s been twenty years since Dido’s multi-platinum debut in 1999, No Angel (ultimately selling 21 million copies!). [Read more…]

Metric & Zoé at Hollywood Palladium | Hollywood, California | 3/6/2019 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“You happy? It’s really a trip putting this set list together, as you can imagine, seven records, right?  The past, the future…  You know?  So we kinda want your help at this point; this is the time traveling section of this set… We’re going backwards because we can’t go forward…  So here’s the dilemma and here’s the choice we want you to make…  Do we go back old world and do “Dead Disco” right? That whole thing, right?  Or do we go Fantasies… butterflies, optimism, and do “Give Me Sympathy”?  It’s tricky, it’s tricky… So let’s vote…” Emily Haines of Metric, giving the audience a chance to vote for the next song late in their set at the Hollywood Palladium on Wednesday night.  Going by the audience reaction, it was pretty close, but Emily heard a larger reaction for “Give Me Sympathy”.  However, once they finished that fan favorite song, she said “fuck it” and they played “Dead Disco” as well.  It was really a fantastic evening of music with Metric and Zoé taking their co-headlining tour across the U.S., along with special guest July Talk supporting.  Going by that set list, Metric went in deep with their latest album, Art of Doubt (one of my favorite albums of 2018), while Zoé celebrated their Grammy win for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Music Album for Aztlán.  The massive tour is running through May, with some festival appearances to follow.  It will definitely go down as one of my favorite shows of 2019.

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Metric & Zoé Co-Headline Massive U.S. Tour for 2019

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Metric and Zoé are taking a co-headlining tour across the U.S., along with special guest July Talk supporting.  Metric is taking their latest album, Art of Doubt (one of my favorite albums of 2018), out to the masses while Zoé will be celebrating their Grammy win for Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Music Album for Aztlán.  The massive tour kicked off last week and will run through May, with some festival appearances to follow. [Read more…]

“Revolution 3 Tour” (Stone Temple Pilots, The Cult, Bush) at Ironstone Amphitheatre | Murphys, California | 8/31/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“Unbelievable.  Nine songs of texting. (laughs from crowd)  Yes, I’m here to shame you for that because… (laughs)  No seriously, I’m here to validate.  We are here to validate you…  Thank you for coming out tonight, supporting our little soirée.  With our brothers from Stone Temple Pilots and Bush.  You want some more?  This one’s fun.  I’m pretty amped up actually.  Pretty rare for me.  It’s the altitude.  Must be the altitude.  There you go, standing up, getting out of your seats…  What’s happening?  Spontaneous… It’s a spontaneous audience participation.  We’re connecting as one.  As one group.  As one harmonic ecosystem, together.  It’s fucking unbelievable.  It’s fucking unbelievable!”  Ian Astbury of The Cult, with a bit of a stream of consciousness revelation between songs during their set, fixed in the center of the triple headlining tour featuring STP, The Cult, and Bush called “Revolution 3 Tour”.  Sometimes multiple headlining shows aren’t quite that, but in this case, after each artist, I wondered how the next could measure up.  And I don’t personally follow any of the three bands.  Yet somehow, I came away feeling this was the best concert yet as the Ironstone Amphitheatre Summer Concert Series nears it’s end, with just one show left to go.  It was three top performances with this concert on Friday night. [Read more…]

Ziggy Marley at Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium | Grass Valley, California | 8/12/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“We have to love one another.  We can always find a way.  We can always find a way”.  Ziggy Marley at Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium in Grass Valley on Sunday night, before a crowd of people that seemed to be very receptive to his messages and ideas shared throughout his set.  Playing in support of his latest album, Rebellion Rises, Ziggy Marley brought a message that seems to run counter to the general vibe that we encounter day to day in the U.S., which I found both refreshing and timeless.  He is all about positivity and the power behind everything that is about, rather than the current climate permeating social media and the news that is more about dividing and judging one another and being intolerant.  Personally, I would choose to stand beside Ziggy Marley and celebrate his music and his message of coming together with one another, and I think that would hold true for the fans in attendance at this concert.  The show was excellent and I am really enjoying the new music, which mixes together well with his massive catalog of work as well as the handful of covers done in tribute to his father’s work as well.  Really a fantastic experience and nice escape from the day to day negativity found out in the “real” (and not so real) world.  This is definitely a tour to come out to see if it is headed to a city near you in the next couple of months.

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Florence + the Machine at Harvey’s Outdoor Arena | Stateline, Nevada | 8/9/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“Thank you so much for having us back; this is the first night of the “High As Hope Tour”.  This next song is from… oh you guys flustered me!  This next song is from High As Hope and I wrote it about the place that I was born which is south London, which has a lot less trees than this…”  Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine at Harvey’s Outdoor Arena in South Lake Tahoe on Thursday night, kicking off her latest tour in support of her amazing new album.  “I’m with you…  I’m with you like… at the moment my heart, it hurts a lot of the time and I just want to say I want you all to hold hands because I really believe in you and I believe in the power of change.  And I believe in love and I want you to hold hands for this song because if we connect, I really think amazing things can happen”.  A lot of performing artists say things about connecting with their audience, and say those things from the stage, and the audience watch from below as they perform.  With Florence, it is not just words.  Toward the end of her set, into the song “Delilah”, Florence came off of the stage and ran deep into the audience while she sang, literally connecting with fans in the crowd.  Then she actually came running across (barefoot of course) the seat in the row I was in, and I got to witness first hand something unlike anything I’d ever seen at a concert.  Florence was engaging with fans one at a time, one on one.  In many instances she was grabbing their faces and pressing her forehead against theirs, as if she was forming a mystical bond with them.  She was right in front of me for a good length of time, and it was kind of surreal to hear her voice singing directly from her, not just through the sound system.  It’s actually been years since I uploaded concert footage to my YouTube channel, but it was such an incredible experience, I thought this would be the best reason ever to share a snippet of this amazing concert moment (iPhone quality, unedited): LINK  Really, it takes a lot to put me at a loss for words, but this concert really transcended what anyone might expect from a live show.  For some fans, I think it was a near religious experience.  Currently tied for my favorite concert of the year.  Definitely the best tour of 2018 I am guessing.  And since this was the first show on this tour, everyone has time to try to get out to make one of the upcoming dates.

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Foreigner at Ironstone Amphitheatre | Murphys, California | 7/28/2018 (Concert Review + Photos)

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“Foreigner has just passed our 40th anniversary… Four zero… that’s a big deal!”  Kelly Hansen at Ironstone Amphitheatre in Murphys on Sunday night, the third lead singer of Foreigner over the course of the past four decades.  The evening served as a celebration of a wide variety of music and genres, with performances by Foreigner, Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening, and Queensrÿche. [Read more…]

Florence + the Machine North America Tour Kicks Off in Lake Tahoe Next Month; World Tour Dates Thru 2019

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Florence + the Machine’s latest album – High As Hope – is out now on Republic Records… all in advance of the upcoming 23-city tour in North America this fall. [Read more…]