With Labor Day behind us, festival season is basically over in America. This sort of means concert season is over, too -- not that I don't attend shows in the winter -- it's just that there are less tours to enjoy.
So how did you do? Did you attend a lot of fun shows this summer or did you skip because of insanely high ticket prices? I had a very productive concert season and that's probably why I'm so bummed right now. I get depressed when the cold weather hits Ohio, anyway. That hasn't happened yet, but I know the snow is just around the corner. In the summer, I always have a show planned. In the winter, not so much.
Before the snow hits, I've got a couple concerts planned including Skid Row in Dayton and Nickelback in Kentucky (I even won free tickets!) Then of course I've got Shiprocked in November. Still, when I'm coming off something like seven festivals - I'm blue. I'm trying to shake the sads, but I'm having trouble doing that on this post-holiday back-at-work Tuesday.
I'm thinking Hall & Oates might be the epitome of all things 80s rock and yet we never talk about them here. The songs are insanely catchy and the videos are hysterical. I just happened to hear "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" in a store over the weekend and I just had to watch the video.
The video is like a Saturday Night Live skit. While Hall & Oates are definitely pop rock, the very fact that they churned out videos like champs all through the 80s earns them a spot here on this website. Oh and my mom listened to "Private Eyes" nonstop when I was a kid, so I'm pretty sure Hall & Oates are in my DNA. Too bad I can't ever remember which one is Hall and which is Oates.
Enjoy your Labor Day, fellow Americans! While I continue to work on my house this long weekend, I'll be jamming to - you guessed it - Hall & Oates. Some of my favorites are below.
"I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)"
"Private Eyes"
"She's Gone"
Fact: this is one of the most played songs on my iPod. I have no idea why.
Did you know that Hanoi Rocks covered Hall & Oates? They did. Here's "Winged Bull"
I'm a big Acey Slade fan - you should be too! If you live in Europe, you can see him and his band The Dark Party our tour. Here's a release:
This month sees the long awaited return to European shores for ACEY SLADE & THE DARK PARTY. This will be the bands first full tour in support of their debut album The Dark Party which was released earlier this year on TrashPit Records to endless rave reviews all over the world and also sees the band on first time visits to Ireland, Germany and the Czech Republic.
The Reptile House Tour 2010 will give the band's hordes of fans the chance to hear new material in it's raw, live format and promises to build on last years successful live shows which won the band an award at the prestigious Pure Rawk Awards in London.
"The Dark Party album seems to be the perfect soundtrack for late night decadence" explains Acey, whose band mates include Andee (Guitar), Per C (Bass & Keyboards) and new drummer Matt Kepler. "Matt really is bringing the band together as players and people" reveals the front man.
With the promise of a totally new set list including songs from Acey's past, never before performed album tracks and even brand new material, The Reptile House Tour is something European Fans do not want to miss.
"The UK is ALWAYS the best, and playing Ireland for the first time only makes it better. I'm looking forward to seeing if Germany and The Czech Republic can keep up!"
Prior to their overseas trip the band have revealed they will be appearing at the Triton Festival in New York City on Sunday, September 5th and Acey has also contributed to the soon to be infamous new book 'Sex Tips From Rockstars' by Paul Miles which will be on sale at the live shows!
The Reptile House European Tour 2010
September 21st - The Fleece, Bristol September 22nd - Joiners, Southampton September 23rd - Purple Turtle, London September 24th - Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes September 25th - The Central, Nottingham *TRASHSTOCK Headliners* September 26th - The Asylum, Birmingham September 27th - Corporation, Sheffield September 29th - Baker's Bar, Limerick September 30th - Filthy McNastys, Belfast October 1st - Stereo, York October 2nd - New Gasworks, Bradford October 3rd - Yardbirds, Grimsby October 5th - The Sugarmill, Stoke October 6th - Moho, Manchester October 7th - K-17, Berlin October 8th - Kaiserkeller/Grosse Freiheit 36, Hamburg October 9th - TBA, Germany October 10th - Matrix, Prague CZ
Truth: I have no knowledge of the band Red Siren. I saw them pop up on YouTube and was curious. The song "All is Forgiven" is bad pop but the video is very traditional "glam" and the band has a Heavy Harmonies page, so...
Do you remember this band? I believe they were (are?) also known as Siren. The band's debut All is Forgiven came out on Mercury/Polygram around 1990. I just thought this was an odd find and wanted to pass along...you probably know more about Red Siren than me, so if that's the case, fill me in via the comments section.
The guys in Queensryche are celebrating the 20th anniversary of Empire. A couple days ago, a radio station held a special event at a casino in Snoqualmie, Washington with the band to hype the 20th anniversary Empire package. The cool part is that Queensryche did some acoustic versions of their songs...including my favorite "Jet City Woman." I don't think I've ever heard "Jet City Woman" acoustic before...so I wanted to post here. The clip below has an interview on the front, so just weed through that part.
How cool is this? Bon Jovi and Brad Paisely will play free concerts to boost tourism on the Alabama coast after the Gulf oil spill. It's all part of "Concerts for the Coast."
Bon Jovi will play October 15 while Brad Paisley's show will take place October 17. The shows are wrapped around the Thunder on the Gulf Boat Races October 14 - 17.
"We are thrilled to announce the addition of these two concerts that will enhance an exciting weekend that already features the return of our powerboat races," said Herb Malone, president/CEO of Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism. "We are extremely pleased that fans will have a weekend filled with exciting race action and capped off with two nights of phenomenal beachside music."
Even though the concerts are free, you need a ticket to attend. You can get a ticket as part of a lodging package. Tickets are available starting September 8. Check here for more information and let me know if you're going to the show!
Vince's thesis is this: a band can stay relevant by consistently releasing new music and playing it live. That is, not pandering to fans only screaming for the hits and not falling prey to laziness of the same set night after night. Down with lowest common denominator metal!
So many of us complain about seeing the same set over and over. Think about Poison. We all love them here - they created some of the best party songs of the genre - but the set is tired. You go to a Poison show, you're going for the atmosphere and not the music. You already know what you're going to hear...and probably in what order, too! What if the guys in Poison - and I mean all four of them - set out to write a really strong album of all new material...and then made the commitment to at least play half those new songs live? Would you be interested?
Artists have the right to change up their shows any way they want for their own benefit. I know musicians that are sick to death of their so-called "hits" but fear riots if a popular song is dropped. Fans might be riled at first. Or they might appreciate a band attempting to stay relevant well into a long career.
I think it's time we have a frank discussion about bands and relevancy around here and Vince's article is a great jumping-off point. How do we get kids interested in bands like Motley Crue and Def Leppard? I firmly believe if Iron Maiden can make strong, new records and sell-out arenas, others can follow. But, work is hard and going through the motions is easy. It doesn't take much thought to repackage and repurpose a greatest hits album nor does it take much effort to dust off the same old set list. I'm in total agreeance that Iron Maiden works for their position as kings of metal. Let's all learn from them.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 12:01AM