Feb 08 2010
Ever since the Great Wardrobe Malfunction of 2004 we've had a steady run of classic-rock acts for the Super Bowl halftime: Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen.
All of them lived up to their reputations on the 50-yard line, especially Prince and Bruce.
The Who, completing the British Invasion yesterday in Miami, could be the end of the line.
We're glad that Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey didn't die before they got old -- like their rhythm section sadly did -- and no one's saying they should hang it up (would love to see them in a club). But the Super Bowl was too big of a stage for 2/4ths of The Who. Running through a medley (and when did they become acceptable again?) that included "Pinball Wizard," "Baba O'Riley" and "Who Are You," they looked and sounded too much like grandpas at the family reunion. Movements were stiff, voices were shaky and, at 65, Daltrey might want to be singing about something other than "teenage wasteland."
The most recent song the Who did was "Who Are You" from 1978 -- 32 years old. McCartney, the Stones and Springsteen all brought something new to the party, even if people would have preferred the old hits.
Facebook and Twitter are going to light up with people saying the Who are over the hill.
Townshend fueled the fire a bit saying yesterday, "You know, you could kind of tell from the stage the crowd is really here for the game," Townshend said. "It was nice for that reason. It was nice to feel a part of something and not having it all to be about us. We're too far gone to care I think."
If the band is 'too far gone to care," why even bother then. Bruce and Prince, for instance, played that gig like it was about them, and there are lots of people who watch the Super Bowl for the commercials and for halftime. Besides, it was not that memorable of a game.
My guess is that next year, you're going to see Black Eyed Peas, or Coldplay, or the Foo Fighters -- or something else from this generation.
Feb 04 2010
It's only February, but Live Nation will announce concerts for the Post-Gazette Pavilion season with a press conference on Monday afternoon.
A few dates have trickled out so far:
May 29 - Country Throwndown - A new Warped-like package tour with Montgomery Gentry, Jamey Johnson, Little Big Town, Eric Church and much more.
July 7 - Vans Warped Tour - With Andrew W.K. Riverboat Gamblers, All-American Rejects, Sum 41, Motion City Soundtrack, etc.
July 8 - Tim McGraw/Lady Antebellum
Aug. 8 - Rockstar Energy Mayhem Tour - Korn, Rob Zombie, Lamb of God....
We're also awaiting word on whether Ozzfest will be a touring festival once again. Ozzy has hinted that it will be. The question is: Who will play? Rockstar already snagged a handful of metal bands, as did the Slayer/Megadeth tour.
We do know that Dave Matthews won't be there. He's already booked for PNC Park. So is Steve Miller, George Thorogood and Collective Soul, who will all play Skyblast shows.
We also have a big run of Arena shows coming up with Clapton, Jay-Z and Black Eyed Peas.
Who's left?
Usual suspects like Jimmy Buffett, Poison and Lynyrd Skynyrd, for sure. From last year's lineup, Aerosmith is out and so is Nine Inch Nails. Coldplay and No Doubt seem unlikely.
We'll let you know Monday, but it will only be a start.
Feb 03 2010
It's been a couple days since the last blog, so I just want to throw some notes out there:
-- The last time The Hold Steady played Pittsburgh, last summer, it had to stare down a crowd of indifferent Dave Matthews fans. The time before that, the band, one of the best to emerge from the last decade, battled a tough sound mix with the Drive-By Truckers at the Carnegie Library Music Hall of Homestead. The good news for Hold Steady fans is that the Brooklyn band returns for its own night at Diesel on April 14.
-- So ... the Grammys. Once again, I was stunned by the final outcome. It looked like Beyonce's night all the way, and then they whipped out Taylor Swift for Album of the Year. I have nothing against Taylor Swift (and I have a rave about her Arena show to prove it). But Album of the Year? That's a joke. I think we're going to look back on that like Jethro Tull winning Metal or the Starland Vocal Band winning Best New Artist.
-- As for the half-baked performances at the Grammys, Bill Aloe, a reader, wrote, "I totally concur with your impressions of the music in last night's ceremony, and hope that many others in the A&E industry also speak out as to just how pathetic the arrangements and performances were. Fact is that I thought the scaled-down performances for last week's Haiti fundraiser were far superior." I have to concur with him as well.
-- E-mails and calls have poured in regarding the death of Pittsburgh guitar god Warren King (Diamond Reo, Silencers, Mystic Knights of the Sea). Hermie Granati, of the Granati Brothers, sent along this message: "In life and on stage, he was a quiet storm - subtle, but deadly. His laid-back demeanor and expression never seemed to change, but the times I ever played with him on stage, it was if there was a tempest building into a tornado inside of him. His brilliance and wry sense of humor will be sorely missed."
Jan 28 2010
Christian metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, voted Best Band of 2009 by Alternative Press, is on the way to Pittsburgh to shoot a video at Mogul Mind Studios in the Strip on Tuesday.
The video is for the song "Assistant to the Regional Manager," from its album "With Roots Above and Branches Below." It will be produced by Danny Yourd and directed by Steve Hoover for Pittsburgh-based Endeavor Media, who have made videos for Owl City and Toby Mac, among others.
The video is described as being "part performance, part conceptual, and will look more like dark, artistic photography with lots of surrealism."
The Dayton band performed at the Post-Gazette Pavilion last summer as the part of the Vans Warped Tour.
Jan 25 2010
Last Tuesday, I saw one Woodstock veteran, Jorma Kaukonen, pull off an amazing show with fellow guitar virtuoso David Bromberg.
I didn't feel any great urgency to see the week's second Woodstock legend, Richie Havens, play Saturday night at Carnegie Lecture Hall. Hearing what it was like, I almost wish I went.
In an email to the paper, a reader wrote, "I thought he was still going strong, as he maintains an active touring schedule, but he seemed incompetent to perform before an audience of about 500 this past weekend. He rambled meaninglessly for at least 30 minutes of his 'concert' and what he did manage to play sounded embarassingly unfocused and out of sync with his accompanist.
"A perhaps adulatory crowd seemed supportive if not puzzled by all this and eventually stood for an encore -- at which time the accompanist bizarrely scribbled notes on a paper, as if to give lyrics to Havens, and then proceeded to sing a song himself as Havens stood lamely by! ...it was absolutely painful to sit through this 'performance' and as the audience laughed lamely at Havens' attempts at chat one could cut the 'the emperor's got no clothes.'
Bob Hoover, a colleague at the Post-Gazette, confirms that this is exactly how it went. Havens played under an hour, doing such songs as "Freedom" and "Here Comes the Sun," and sounded pretty good on guitar. But he also did a lot of rambling banter and didn't click with his sidekick guitarist. Hoover reports that the crowd seemed disinterested and people were heading for the door partway through the set.
Jan 20 2010
Korn and Rob Zombie will headline this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival (which was topped last year by Marilyn Manson and Slayer).
Also on the main stage of the metal tour, which has taken the place of the touring Ozzfest, will be Lamb of God and Five Finger Death Punch.
On the Jagermeister stage will be Hatebreed, Chimaira, Shadows Fall, Winds Of Plague and The Jagermeister Battle Of The Bands Winner. The Second Stage will feature Atreyu, Norma Jean, In This Moment And 3 Inches Of Blood.
It will begin July 10 in San Bernadino, Calif., and hit the Burgettstown amphitheatre on Aug. 7.
Presale tickets go on sale April 2 and to the general public on April 16. Go to LiveNation.com and www.mayhemfest.com for details.
Jan 14 2010
-- This morning, with the rare January sun shining through the window, I watched "Until the Light Takes Us," a riveting documentary about the Norwegian black metal scene in the early '90s. I wasn't up on this whole murderous story around Varg Vikernes (who recorded under the name of Burzum). He's out of jail now, for the death of Øystein Aarseth aka Euronymous (of Mayhem), and even has an album coming out on March 8.
-- A more benign metalhead, Rob Zombie, is directing an episode of "CSI: Miami," which will air on March 1.
-- The Pitt Program Council, not exactly known for its progressive bookings, has landed Jack's Mannequin for the Bigelow Bash on April 11.
-- Jay Reatard was not the only underground music figure to die on Wednesday. He was joined by Dannie Flesher, co-founder of the Wax Trax Record Store and label in Chicago, the center of the industrial rock scene in the '80s. Flesher died of pneumonia at 58.
Jan 13 2010
According to his record label, garage rocker Jay Reatard was found dead in his sleep this morning at 3:30 at age 29.
The Web site of Goner Records posted this afternoon: "It is with great sadness that we report the passing of our good friend Jay Reatard. Jay died in his sleep last night. We will pass along information about funeral arrangements when they are made public."
A longtime DIY cult figure who rose to fame recently with two critically acclaimed releases on Matador Records, Reatard (Jimmy Jay Lindsey Jr.) made his first Pittsburgh appearance just this past November at the Brillobox, playing a fast and furious hour-long set.
Soon after, he opened shows for the Pixies.
In a recent interview with the PG, he talked of his evolving musical style. "I definitely listen to things that are more melodic now. I'm more impressed by people who fit things together in unusual ways than people who bash you in the head."
Along with his frenzied punk and power pop, Reatard was notorious for his occasional scraps with fans during his shows.
Matador issued a statement, saying, "Jay was as full of life as anyone we've ever met, and responsible for so many memorable moments as a person and artist. We're honored to have known and worked with him, and we will miss him terribly."
Jan 13 2010
Bob Dylan cycled through most of the stages of heartbreak on his classic "Blood on the Tracks," the second of a 4-part album string dealing with the break-up of his marriage to Sara.
While creating one of his best and most personal albums, Dylan also produced the kind of universal "break-up" album listeners can turn to for solace during those rough patches in their own lives. Emotions fly from the angry and vengeful rant on "Idiot Wind" to the kind, loving sentiments of "If You See Her, Say Hello." Of course, break-up songs don't get any more naked than "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go."
"Blood on the Tracks" came out on Jan. 17, 1975, making this the 35th anniversary. To celebrate that, WYEP (91.3 FM) will play tracks from the album throughout the day on Monday, Jan. 18 along with covers by local artists. Listen for...
Bill Deasy - Tangled Up In Blue
Bill Toms - Simple twist of Fate
Harlan Twins - You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
Lohio - If You See Her Say Hello
Good Night States - Shelter From The Storm
Boca Chica - Buckets Of Rain
Jan 11 2010
So, it looks the Warped Tour is coming early this year.
We usually get the punk-rock carnival in early August or maybe late July. This year, it's July 7 at the amphitheatre in Burgettstown.
On the road with Warped will be The Riverboat Gamblers (mentioned first cause they're my favorite), with Andrew W.K., Sum 41, All-American Rejects, Motion City Soundtrack, Attack Attack, Dillinger Escape Plan, The Casualties and a zillion others.
For details, go to www.vanswarpedtour.com
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