concerts....who you seeing?

[Skinypupy]

I've probably mentioned it before, but there is only one band left on my concert bucket list, and that's Sigh. They're my favorite metal band, but they're based in Japan and very rarely come to the US (only once in the past decade). They were recently announced for Maryland Deathfest next spring. Since this may be the last chance I ever get to see them and because we decided against doing 70K next year, I think we're going to hit up that fest instead.

The rest of the lineup is absolutely killer as well. Obituary will be performing "Cause of Death", my favorite album of theirs. Cynic will be performing "Focus", my favorite album of theirs. Paradise Lost will be doing "Draconian Times", my favorite album of theirs. Incantation will have an "Onward to Golgotha" set, my favorite...you get the idea. Oh, and Tryptikon will be doing a Celtic Frost set, which is super cool. Plus, now I don't have to pay for a Gwar ticket (who I was meh on seeing) just to see Dark Funeral again. Win-win!

Really excited for it, and it'll be a fun festival change of pace next year. Here's the festival poster, because I know the non-metalheads in the group find these hilarious. (and no, I can't read about half of them either)

[hitbyambulance]

i'm going to guess by Razor's logo they're a retro-new-wave-of-british-heavy-metal act

edit: no they're an actually-from-back-in-the-day Canadian speed-thrash metal band...no mistaking the era of this album artwork

[Jeff V]

I found out last week that Carl Palmer is playing with the ghosts of Greg Lake and Keith Emerson fairly close at the Arcada Theater in St. Charles this Friday. Boy will be at Taekwondo Demo Team camp that evening, and girl could be outsourced to one of her friends for the evening, but so far wife hasn't agreed to go.

[disarm]

I'm taking my son to see Sammy Hagar's Best of All Worlds tour tonight...Sammy, Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani to Jason Bonham.

The way I see it, this is probably the last opportunity to see Van Halen music performed by any of the band members together, and there aren't many people other than Satriani who could pull off a whole show of EVH's music. Should be an awesome show!

[Jeff V]

So it seems the wife believes she agreed on the concert, although my daughter earlier today was unaware she was spending the night at her friend's house (she said she was told no). So I'm going to see the ghosts of Greg Lake, Keith Emerson, and a not-quite-dead-yet Carl Palmer tomorrow night.

[Jeff V]

At 74 years old, Palmer was still absolutely incredible. The only apparent concession to old age was that his kit was manageable from his seat without overextending himself...earlier versions included a large span of drums that required him to be on his feet.

Carl Palmer is in my list of top 10 drummers ever, and he still has it. The songs he did with the ghosts of Greg Lake and Keith Emerson were tastefully done. He had two other live performers -- one a guitar player, and other bass and something called a Chapman Stick. This instrument was a string instrument similar in form to what The Edge from U2 plays. The top of the neck appeared to be bass, the bottom, acoustic guitar and the middle -- well, Hammond Organ. He did a solo of Pictures at an Exhibition with this thing and it was quite incredible. The other guitar player and programmed his to sound like Emerson's electric keyboards, and actually was fingering the guitar like one would play a keyboard.

Carl Palmer posted on his FB account pictures of him around St. Charles, a historic town on the Fox River. Wife and I walked by the same locations after dinner but before the concert.

We had second row center seats and certainly did not miss a beat of his drums. I wonder if we were further back we could have heard a more balanced mix, sometimes it was difficult to figure out what song he was playing. Wife was largely deaf after the show, but I really did enjoy it. Today Palmer posted pics from the Lincoln Museum in Springfield, so he's enjoying Illinois a lot.

I saw him 5 years ago in Aurora. His ELP set included Arthur Brown -- early in his career he played in Arthur Brown's band -- think strange along the lines of Alice Cooper. This did not work well. Arthur Brown is no Greg Lake. He also participated in the Asia set with Geoff Downes and Steve Howe, and that was good. Downes is doing an Asia tour now but he's the only member involved.

We had an excellent dinner in St Charles (Gia Mia) and a nice walk around the river afterward... I'm still reaping the rewards of the most successful date night in years.

[disarm]

Waiting with my family (wife and three kids) for Imagine Dragons to take the stage. They're not really my kind of music, but our kids are really into them and I've heard they put on a great show. Party should start in about 15 minutes!

[Jeff V]

Waiting with my family (wife and three kids) for Imagine Dragons to take the stage. They're not really my kind of music, but our kids are really into them and I've heard they put on a great show. Party should start in about 15 minutes!

Incidentally, I was bored and read one of those FB slide shows on "Bands that should be a red flag if your significant other is into them." Imagine Dragons was on that list.

[disarm]

After last night's show, I really can't imagine how that could be a problem. I've been to a lot of great concerts over the years, all enjoyable for different reasons, and I have to say that last night's Imagine Dragons show was one of the most fun shows I've ever seen. The energy of the whole band on the stage was infectious, they sounded incredible as a live band (actually playing the songs on guitar/bass/drums despite a very produced album sound), and there was such a positive vibe to the whole thing that I can't imagine anyone not having a good time. I never would have expected it, but I was totally blown away by them as a live band. We had an awesome time and I would recommend seeing them live to anyone who enjoys going to concerts...and maybe even some people who don't because ID might just change their minds.

[hitbyambulance]

i am curtailing my purchase of concert t-shirts.... not only have they gotten too expensive ($25 is my upper limit, and they're regularly at $30/35 for mid-size venues now), the quality has gone to hell - _especially_ freakin' Gildan brand. i've now had two Gildan 'Softstyle' shirts unravel on the bottom hem within months of getting them, and i had to take them to the sewing machine myself to fix them. another shirt (clearly the bottom-of-the-barrel of the Gildan line) is soooo thin and rough feeling, and the neckband quickly stretched out and died.

[Skinypupy]

i am curtailing my purchase of concert t-shirts.... not only have they gotten too expensive ($25 is my upper limit, and they're regularly at $30/35 for mid-size venues now), the quality has gone to hell - _especially_ freakin' Gildan brand. i've now had two Gildan 'Softstyle' shirts unravel on the bottom hem within months of getting them, and i had to take them to the sewing machine myself to fix them. another shirt (clearly the bottom-of-the-barrel of the Gildan line) is soooo thin and rough feeling, and the neckband quickly stretched out and died.

+1. Concert t-shirts are a complete crapshoot now. For every one that actually fits, I end up simply getting rid of 3-4 because they shrunk two sizes after washing or simply fell apart. I do wonder what our local thrift store things of the t-shirt hauls I send them.

Biggest bummer was my Gary Numan shirt that had SUCH a cool design, but felt like it was made of sandpaper, the neckline stretched to hell, and the stitching on both sleeves fell apart after the first wash.

[hitbyambulance]

i will say the hem repairs are pretty easy. (neckband replacements are not something i've attempted yet, however)

i also would like to improve my skills on resizing shirts. i have a ton of early-mid 90s band tees that could stand to be taken down from 'XL' to 'L' (i purchased those when oversized/baggy was what i was wearing... to my present-day regret)

[Jeff V]

After last night's show, I really can't imagine how that could be a problem. I've been to a lot of great concerts over the years, all enjoyable for different reasons, and I have to say that last night's Imagine Dragons show was one of the most fun shows I've ever seen. The energy of the whole band on the stage was infectious, they sounded incredible as a live band (actually playing the songs on guitar/bass/drums despite a very produced album sound), and there was such a positive vibe to the whole thing that I can't imagine anyone not having a good time. I never would have expected it, but I was totally blown away by them as a live band. We had an awesome time and I would recommend seeing them live to anyone who enjoys going to concerts...and maybe even some people who don't because ID might just change their minds.

Awesome! I pay approximately no stock in such articles, and read them out of boredom.

Yesterday, Fontaines DC played on the radio and my 7 year old daughter said she knew the song (because it's played a lot on TikTok). They are coming to town in a couple of months, and the radio station is giving away tickets starting tomorrow...

[Z-Corn]

We are going to see The Linda Lindas Monday night and I am STOKED...

[disarm]

We are going to see The Linda Lindas Monday night and I am STOKED...

I'll be seeing The Linda Lindas tomorrow night in Hershey, PA. They're the first band opening for Green Day, then we also get Rancid and the Smashing Pumpkins...going to be an awesome evening!

[disarm]

Well scratch the Green Day concert. Two hours into our five hour drive, I got a message from Ticketmaster that the concert was cancelled for tonight and rescheduled to Labor Day. Apparently the singer for Green Day lost his voice after last night's show and can't sing tonight.

So the concert away from home that we could attend because it was on a Saturday has now been moved to a Monday night. I have to work the next day, and it's also my son's first day back to school, so it doesn't seem very likely that we'll be able to attend unless I can pull some crazy strings at work.

At least they're offering full refunds all the way up until the rescheduled date, so I have some time to figure it out, but damn it that's a bummer.

[Z-Corn]

Well scratch the Green Day concert. Two hours into our five hour drive, I got a message from Ticketmaster that the concert was cancelled for tonight and rescheduled to Labor Day. Apparently the singer for Green Day lost his voice after last night's show and can't sing tonight.

So the concert away from home that we could attend because it was on a Saturday has now been moved to a Monday night. I have to work the next day, and it's also my son's first day back to school, so it doesn't seem very likely that we'll be able to attend unless I can pull some crazy strings at work.

At least they're offering full refunds all the way up until the rescheduled date, so I have some time to figure it out, but damn it that's a bummer.

Oh man, that's a bummer!

[hitbyambulance]

was thinking about the King Buzzo/Trevor Dunn "Melvins acoustic" show tonight, but i have too much homework....

[Z-Corn]

was thinking about the King Buzzo/Trevor Dunn "Melvins acoustic" show tonight, but i have too much homework....

I'm thinking about going to that too because JD Pinkus is opening. I'll see what the vibe is like tonight at the Linda Lindas, even though I know they are a completely different audience.

I just haven't liked the crowds at shows for the past few years.

[Jeff V]

I was driving a young 20-something regular customer the other day and Tempted by Squeeze came on the radio. From previous conversations, I already knew she was into music from back in my day. She was thrilled to hear it, and when I mentioned they were coming to town next month she was stunned.

[disarm]

Life has a funny way of working out sometimes...

My efforts to take my son to Green Day over the weekend fell apart as I mentioned above, but I also spent some time last week arranging another big surprise for him. He has been obsessed with Metallica recently and was really disappointed when we didn't go to see them when they were nearby in Foxborough, MA two weekends ago. I decided to do something a little crazy and looked into maybe seeing them in another city...turns out there are only five stops left on their tour, so I made arrangements to fly from CT to Minneapolis this Friday just to see Metallica, then fly home on Sunday morning. I didn't have anything planned for Saturday but figured it can't be that hard to find something fun to do in the area. Then I learned something crazy...

Green Day are playing in Minneapolis on Saturday, the night after we're seeing Metallica...and we'll still be in the city, at a hotel that's walking distance from both venues. So now I've refunded my rescheduled Green Day tickets for Hershey and used the money to buy virtually identical seats to the show in Minneapolis, where we were going to be spending the day with no real plans anyway...and my 10yo son has no idea about any of this yet.

I've decided that I'm just going to surprise him on Friday morning. When he wakes up that morning, I'll tell him that we have someplace to go, then we'll drive to the airport where he'll find out that not only will he be seeing Metallica that night, but we'll also be seeing the Green Day show that we missed this past weekend. I can't imagine what his reaction will be, but I can only imagine that will be some form of totally losing his 10yo shit.

I can't wait to totally blow his mind

[Unagi]

That sounds awesome.



Have fun storming the castle!

[Skinypupy]

That’s amazing. Nice work.

[hitbyambulance]

related: when i saw Green Day in 1994 they were doing random Metallica riffs in between two songs*

* (so i was told; i was unfamiliar with Metallica back then. to this day the only related albums i own is Die Krupps _A Tribute To Metallica_ and the Lou Reed + Metallica _Lulu_ project, which is a Lou Reed album with Metallica as backing band. i actually am into thrash metal, so i should at least get the first four records.)

[Exodor]

We are going to see The Linda Lindas Monday night and I am STOKED...

I'll be seeing The Linda Lindas tomorrow night in Hershey, PA. They're the first band opening for Green Day, then we also get Rancid and the Smashing Pumpkins...going to be an awesome evening!

Scheduled to see this tour in Portland in September.

Friday night is Foo Fighters/ The Pretenders in the first-ever concert at Providence Park since it was turned into a soccer stadium. I've never seen Foo Fighters before so I'm really looking forward to this one.

The last show I saw at this venue was in the 90s when it was still a AAA baseball park and Lillith Fair played there. That's still the only show where the women took over the men's room - we couldn't really argue since they outnumbered us like 4-1.

[disarm]

Friday night is Foo Fighters/ The Pretenders in the first-ever concert at Providence Park since it was turned into a soccer stadium. I've never seen Foo Fighters before so I'm really looking forward to this one.

In my opinion, Foo Fighters are one of the best live rock acts around. Not only do they sound fantastic, but the whole atmosphere of their shows is like a giant party...three hours of high-energy, kick ass rock & roll. Prepare to be blown away.

[Jeff V]

My son for some reason is oblivious to popular music. His younger sister though continues to surprise me. She heard Fontaines DC the other day on the radio and was excited...they are coming to town next month. Still not up to taking a 7 year old to concerts where I'm the grampa in the room.

[WYBaugh]

Going to see Stone Temple Pilots on the 30th. The concert also has +Live+ and Soul Asylum both of which I don't think I've heard of. Excited to see Neil Patrick Harris fronting STP though.

[Isgrimnur]

+Live+ and Soul Asylum both of which I don't think I've heard of.

Yeah, you have.

[WYBaugh]

Hey, thank you. I need go searching on both groups. I have heard the Soul Asylum song but not the Live.

[Isgrimnur]

What rock were you hiding under to not hear Lighting Crashes‽

[LordMortis]

This was played more and to death around here.



They had a few more radio songs but not nearly as much of those two songs.

Soul Asylum had a pretty big library of songs around here. My favorite was their cover "Bird on a Wire" by Leonard Cohen. So much so, I went out and found a CD copy of it... Which was a different bootleg and not nearly as good as what they played on the radio.


After picking up a Jesus and Marychain "choice of the lost generation" tour shirt at a concert I couldn't resist picking up a Soul Asylum "can't feel the beating" tour shirt a few weeks later. Ah, the early 90s.

[WYBaugh]

What rock were you hiding under to not hear Lighting Crashes‽

I'm a NWOBHM boomer

[Isgrimnur]

What rock were you hiding under to not hear Lighting Crashes‽

I'm a NWOBHM [New wave of British heavy metal] boomer

Ah, so you already had The Olds. My condolences.

[WYBaugh]

What rock were you hiding under to not hear Lighting Crashes‽

I'm a NWOBHM [New wave of British heavy metal] boomer

Ah, so you already had The Olds. My condolences.

Yeah it boils down to having years of listening to audiobooks in the car on the commute and when not, having Sirius XM with very narrow selection of music. When at working listening to the mp3s or apple music with narrow selections. And being old as well.

[Skinypupy]

After last night's show, I really can't imagine how that could be a problem. I've been to a lot of great concerts over the years, all enjoyable for different reasons, and I have to say that last night's Imagine Dragons show was one of the most fun shows I've ever seen. The energy of the whole band on the stage was infectious, they sounded incredible as a live band (actually playing the songs on guitar/bass/drums despite a very produced album sound), and there was such a positive vibe to the whole thing that I can't imagine anyone not having a good time. I never would have expected it, but I was totally blown away by them as a live band. We had an awesome time and I would recommend seeing them live to anyone who enjoys going to concerts...and maybe even some people who don't because ID might just change their minds.

So...I just purchased 5 tickets to Imagine Dragons in October so the kids (and Mrs. Skinypupy) could attend their first concert. I personally find them to be annoying radio pop, but the Wonder Twins 11.3 absolutely LOVE them and can sing along to every word. We haven't told them yet, but they're going to freak out. I'm debating whether to let them know now, or just hop in the car the day of and show up at the venue.

As a palate cleanser, I also picked up tickets for Amorphis/Dark Tranquility (Sept), Fleshgod Apocalypse/Shadow of Intent (Oct), and Zeal & Ardor (Dec). For me...not the kids.

[YellowKing]

So...I just purchased 5 tickets to Imagine Dragons in October so the kids (and Mrs. Skinypupy) could attend their first concert.

Imagine Dragons is one of the few bands I personally just can't listen to (and those are very few and far between). However, I've heard from friends in RL who have all said they put on an amazing show. And I applaud any parent who puts their kids' musical tastes above their own. Nothing drives me crazier than seeing a parent absolutely crush the soul of a child who wants to enjoy music by constantly pissing on their favorite artists. Sounds like a great time, and it will be something they remember forever.

[Skinypupy]

Imagine Dragons is one of the few bands I personally just can't listen to (and those are very few and far between).

I don't necessarily dislike them. I just find them entirely indistinguishable from all the other bland radio pop gruel that's out there.

Nothing drives me crazier than seeing a parent absolutely crush the soul of a child who wants to enjoy music by constantly pissing on their favorite artists. Sounds like a great time, and it will be something they remember forever.

I have heard it often said that kids gravitate towards whatever music drives their parents the most nuts. I went to thrash metal when I was a kid...mine go to Taylor Swift (one of my sons is a full-blown Swiftie and the other listens mostly to K-pop and stuff like Imagine Dragons). That said, I try very hard to never say a bad thing about anything they listen to. Which causes lots of gritted teeth on my part when they turn on "Minecraft Rap" or something equally annoying.

Definitely willing to suffer through some music that's not my thing for a core memory.

[disarm]

First night down...Metallica, Pantera and Mammoth WVH!

All three bands were incredible and my son had an awesome time. He wasn't crazy about Pantera, and I can't say that I've ever been a huge fan either, but Zakk Wylde is a force of nature and it was cool to see Cowboys From Hell performed live.

Mammoth WVH sounded great despite playing to a mostly empty stadium as the first opener and suffering from a lot of echo due to lack of people. Wolfgang van Halen's level of musical talent is off the charts...catchy songwriting, killer guitar riffs/solos, and one hell of a live voice.

And Metallica...what is there to say? They're absolute masters of their craft and put on an amazing show, kicking ass for two almost-nonstop hours.

[disarm]

We are going to see The Linda Lindas Monday night and I am STOKED...

What did you think? I'm watching them as I type this and I'm totally blown away...amazing for a bunch of teenagers!