Tuesday, September 30, 2008

AC/DC Hear Old Skool Pleas, Agree To Come To STL

Good news! Good news! AC/DC have extended their tour after many hours of meetings at Camp David with yours truly, and have agreed to come to STL! On January 13, Scottrade Center! Black Ice indeed!No need to thank me, it's all in my line of work. Now I still need all of you to focus on Amanda Palmer's eyebrows so she picks up our telepathic signals and schedules a date here. New dates below:

Dec. 20: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. (Bank Atlantic Center)
Dec. 21: Tampa, Fla. (St. Pete Times Forum)
Jan. 5: Cleveland (Quicken Loans Arena)
Jan. 7: Pittsburgh (Mellon Arena)
Jan. 9: Toronto (Rogers Centre)
Jan. 11: Cincinnati (U.S. Bank Arena)
Jan. 13: St. Louis (Scottrade Center)
Jan. 15: Omaha, Neb. (Qwest Center)
Jan. 17: Fargo, N.D. (Fargodome)
Jan. 19: Minneapolis (Xcel Energy Center)
Jan. 21: Kansas City, Mo. (Sprint Center)
Jan. 23: Dallas (American Airlines Center)
Jan. 26: Tulsa, Okla. (BOK Center)
Jan. 28: Little Rock, Ark. (Alltel Arena)
Jan. 30: Memphis (FedEx Forum)
Jan. 31: Nashville (Sommet Center)

The Good Lord Giveth, Robert Plant Taketh Away


Doesn't anybody talk to the singers of bands? Here's Robert on his web site, squashing rumors of a Led Zep reunion tour:

Robert has no intention whatsoever of touring with anyone for at least the next two years. Contrary to a spate of recent reports, Robert Plant will not be touring or recording with Led Zeppelin. Anyone buying tickets online to any such event will be buying bogus tickets.

“It‘s both frustrating and ridiculous for this story to continue to
rear its head when all the musicians that surround the story are keen to get on with their individual projects and move forward,” Robert Plant said.

“I wish Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham nothing but success with any future projects,” he added.


Guess you better get those Celebration Day tickets for November 14 & 15.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Old Skool Saturday Round-up

Welcome, welcome! How are you? You are looking great, very relaxed, so good to see it. Is it because you have heard the news that:

1. Guns-n-Roses have signed an exclusive deal with Best Buy to release Chinese Democracy by the end of the year? Well, don't hold your breath on that one. One of the sticking points is when the release date will be (snicker).

2. I am sure that you will be excited to hear that Led Zeppelin are rumored by the British tabloid the Sun to be ready to start rehearsals for a tour that would begin next summer.

Maybe you should go see Celebration Day, the very nice Led Zep cover/tribute band that will be at the Pageant November 14 + 15. From what I saw last time, these guys really do it right. You'll be all salivating and stuff, thinking about the real thing.

3. Remember how I told you about Yes replacing Jon Anderson, because of illness? I would have assumed they would have checked in with him, told him what they were doing. You know, make sure he was cool with it. Eh, not really. And he's pissed.

4. One thing I know: you look great, happy, all that jazz. You must not have known that Paul Newman died at 83, losing his battle with cancer. Hate to bring you down, but he was a great. And seemed like a great man. Damn. Here he is singing Plastic Jesus in Cool Hand Luke. God rest.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Robert Plant + Alison Krauss= Transcendent

Thank you, oh Musical Muses.

Sometimes you overwhelm me with your gifts.

Thank you.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

One More For Tonight- Robert Plant And Alison Krauss At The Fox

Here's Robert Plant and Alison Krauss doing "Please Read The Letter".



The song I am looking forward to the most is "Fortune Teller". Here's a fan-made video that uses some images of Alison, Robert, and a slew of fortune tellers:

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss- Tomorrow At The Fox!


Well, this one was a long time coming. This was supposed to happen in June, and got postponed. I bought the tickets on MARCH 3! Six long months later, I'll finally get to check out what should be a sweet concert.

I went looking for Sharon Little, to see what she is going to be like, since she is the opening act. Here's Sharon performing live:



And a little about her from her official bio:

At the start of 2008, Sharon Little was working as a waitress. Less than five months later, she is appearing in concert halls throughout the country as the opening act on the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss and T Bone Burnett “Raising Sand” tour. She’s winning ovations as Perfect Time For A Breakdown, her brilliant album of heartfelt personal songs, is released nationally. While this might seem that she’s an “overnight sensation,” Sharon is anything but a flash in the pan. She’s a singer of intense emotional honesty and the songs she’s written reveal an old soul that just happens to be within a person possessed of undeniable physical and spiritual beauty. The journey that has taken her so far in seemingly so short a time has actually been a life-long quest to find her voice, both in the literal and figurative sense.

We will see how she does. I can't wait for tomorrow night, cause I KNOW the main event is going to be good.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Saturday News Round-up


Here's a bunch of stuff that's interesting, but don't (In my opinion) deserve a whole post. And if you don't deserve a whole post on some old guy's blog that nobody reads, you ain't doin' so hot.

** Notice the photo above? Jack White now officially looks like the fat girl in 3rd grade that I was afraid of. Good job, Jack. And I hear your James Bond theme song is worst than that haircut.

** Cheech and Chong are re-forming for a tour. Convenience stores and fast food restaurants rejoice.

** Yes are touring with a singer that they found on Youtube. How original, says Journey and Boston.
On a serious note, they did it because Jon Anderson is sick. Hope he gets better. But when your band replaces you for some tribute band dude, that can't be good.

** Foo Fighters are going to take a long hiatus before they do any more touring or recording. Boo.

** Alice In Chains are recording their first album in 13 years. The album will feature William DuVall, who sang with the band during reunion tour this year. He took over for Layne Staley, who died in 2002 from a drug overdose. Should have added them to my previous list.

** This one probably deserved its own post: Stephen Colbert will have his very own hour-long Christmas special, called A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All, on November 23. And yes, Colbert will be singing, along with the following:
"Please Be Patient" by Feist
"Little Dealer Boy" by Colbert/Willie Nelson
"There Are Much Worse Things To Believe In" by Colbert/Elvis Costello
"Hanukkah" by Colbert and Jon Stewart
"Nutmeg" by Colbert/John Legend
"(What’s So Funny ’bout) Peace, Love And Understanding" by everybody
"Have I Got a Present for You" by Toby Keith

Detroit Cobras Tonight At Off Broadway

If you go see them, I bet they will look and sound just like this, and I bet you will like it:



Here's their myspace and web site to learn more.

Who Watches The Peanuts?


I don't know if any of you are geeking out like I am over the new Watchmen movie, or if you even know what the Watchmen is about. But this illustration is funny, and I think they got all the characters right on, especially Snoopy as Rorchach. From Entrecomics.com

Dresden Dolls' Amanda Palmer Tours, Forgets STL Exists, Will Hopefully Remember For A Second Leg Of Tour (If There Is One)


Amanda's eyebrows are causing her brain to short-circuit and forget that STL loves her. If we all send good thoughts her way tonight at 10:52 PM CST, perhaps she will pick up on our telepathic signals and grace us with her presence. Perhaps. It's all up to you, don't let us down by falling asleep early this evening! Send your thought signals out, across the void! Do IT!

Nov 12 2008 / Mercy Lounge / Nashville, TN

Nov 14 2008 / The Orange Peel / Asheville, NC

Nov 15 2008 / Lincoln Theatre / Raleigh, NC

Nov 16 2008 / Variety Playhouse / Atlanta, GA

Nov 18 2008 / 9:30 Club / Washington, DC (EARLY SHOW)

Nov 19 2008 / New Haven, CT / Toad's Place

Nov 21 2008 / Webster Hall / New York, NY

Nov 22 2008 / Theatre Of Living Arts / Philadelphia, PA

Nov 24 2008 / Paradise Rock Club / Boston, MA (NIGHT 1 of 2)

Nov 25 2008 / Paradise Rock Club / Boston, MA (NIGHT 2 of 2)

Nov 29 2008 / Mr. Small's Theatre / Pittsburgh, PA

Nov 30 2008 / Mod Club Theatre / Toronto, ONT

Dec 2 2008 / Magic Bag / Detroit, MI

Dec 3 2008 / Cabaret Metro / Chicago, IL

Dec 5 2008 / First Ave Nightclub / Minneapolis, MN

Dec 6 2008 / Bluebird Theatre / Denver, CO

Dec 8 2008 / Murray Theatre / Salt Lake City, UT

Dec 10 2008 / VENUE TBA / Vancouver, BC

Dec 11 2008 / Showbox Theatre / Seattle, WA

Dec 12 2008 / Wonder Ballroom / Portland, OR

Dec 13 2008 / Harlow's / Sacramento, CA

Dec 15 2008 / Bimbo's 365 Club / San Francisco, CA

Dec 16 2008 / Henry Fonda Theatre / Los Angeles, CA

Thursday, September 18, 2008

PLAY:STL Fest Starts Tonight


I've said it before: STL is a great music town. The PLAY:STL Fest is yet another example. 99 bands performing over 3 nights in the Delmar loop is a good thing. Go to the web site to check out who is playing, and support this event!

I personally am going to check out The Incurables tonight, with Jimmy Griffin on guitar (ex- Broken Toyz, Kingofthehill, and many more. He also is the guitar player for Celebration Day, the Led Zep tribute that is coming to the Pageant in November), Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship on Friday, and Vicky on Saturday (Hey, they're from Iceland! Gotta try to check that out).

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

More Thoughts On The Death Of Richard Wright, And Of A Generation's Musicians

You can go to David Gilmour's site to read his thoughts on Richard's passing. I started to think about all the bands that no one can really see anymore, since they are either broken up because of a death, or tour without a key member. This is what I came up with, and it is blowing my mind. Who am I missing?

Pink Floyd
The Beatles
The Who
Led Zeppelin
AC/DC (Bon Scott, the original, and still the best)
Queen
The Cars
Nirvana
B-52's
Pretenders
Joy Division
Doors
Grateful Dead
Sex Pistols
INXS
The Knack
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Allmann Brothers
Metallica
Alice In Chains
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Ramones
Sublime

There are benefits to being Old Skool. One of the drawbacks is being reminded that you are getting older all the time.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Rick Wright, Pink Floyd Keyboardist, RIP


Wow, this one caught me off guard. Rick Wright, one of the founding members of Pink Floyd, passed away after a short battle with cancer. From Reuters:

"The family of Richard Wright, founder member of Pink Floyd, announce with great sadness, that Richard died today after a short struggle with cancer," his spokesman said in a statement. "The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this difficult time."

Pink Floyd were one of the true greats. My condolences to his family.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

AC/DC, First Tour of States Since 2001- No STL


Bummer. Here are the dates and cities. Looks like Chicago or Indy are the two closest options.

Oct. 28: Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Wachovia Arena)
Oct. 30: Chicago (Allstate Arena)
Nov. 3: Indianapolis (Conseco Fieldhouse)
Nov. 5: Auburn Hills, Mich. (Palace of Auburn Hills)
Nov. 7: Toronto (Rogers Centre)
Nov. 9: Boston (TD Banknorth Garden)
Nov. 12-13: New York (Madison Square Garden)
Nov. 15: Washington, D.C. (Verizon Center)
Nov. 17: Philadelphia (Wachovia Center)
Nov. 19: East Rutherford, N.J. (IZOD Center)
Nov. 21: Columbus, Ohio (Schottenstein Center)
Nov. 23: Minneapolis (Xcel Energy Center)
Nov. 25: Denver (Pepsi Center)
Nov. 28: Vancouver (General Motors Place)
Nov. 29: Seattle (KeyArena)
Nov. 30: Tacoma, Wash. (Tacoma Dome)
Dec. 2: Oakland, Calif. (Oracle Arena)
Dec. 6: Los Angeles (The Forum)
Dec. 10: Phoenix (US Airways Center)
Dec. 12: San Antonio (AT&T Center)
Dec. 14: Houston (Toyota Center)
Dec. 16: Atlanta (Philips Arena)
Dec. 18: Charlotte, N.C. (Time Warner Cable Arena)

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

STL Music Venues- 2 Steps Forward, 1 Step Back

As I've mentioned before, STL has a nice music scene going, and the amount of clubs that have live music on a regular basis is a reflection of that. Unfortunately, the word on the street is that 2 Cents Plain will be closing effective immediately due to a legal fight with the owners of the building. Co-owner Brandon Cullum hopes to find a new space for the venue. I don't want to be Debbie Downer here, but unfortunately when we hear these words, the next thing is usually... nothing. I wish 2 Cents luck, and hope I'm wrong.

But, like Hydra, if you slay one two shall rise in it's place! Not one but two new venues are opening and will regularly feature live music in this mini-gotham. First up is new restaurant/venue Deluxe, which will be opening in Maplewood across from the Maya Cafe at 2733 Sutton Blvd. Grand opening is this weekend, with Diesel Island playing Friday, and the Dock Ellis Band playing Saturday.

The other restaurant/venue set to open in early October is the Wedge. Here's what they have to say about themselves on their Myspace page:

The Wedge is a new rock n' roll bar/pizza joint opening up in October 2008 at the intersection of Virginia and Bates. The Wedge dishes up great food and music daily. Open for lunch and dinner every day.
The upstairs performance space- The Iggy Ziggy Room- will host live bands, DJs, comedy, burlesque and other special events.

The Wedge
442 Bates St.
St. Louis, MO 63111

Hours:
Monday - Saturday- 11am - 1:30am
Sunday- 12 noon - 12 midnight

Your new home for rock, punk, honky-tonk, rock-a-billy, indie, metal and the best local bands.


Here's wishing them all the best. Go support the clubs that make live music possible. Tell 'em Old Skool sent you.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Monday Morning News Round-up

Here are some snippets from around the dial:

1. Amy Winehouse ordered 48 bottles of Jack Daniels for her performance over the weekend at the Bestival Festival. Organizers were worried that she wouldn't be able to play if she downs some bottles. They should have been more worried if she ordered a pound of crack. She played, and was wacked out of her mind.

2. Heart's Nancy Wilson feels "totally fucked over" by the Republicans use of the song "Barracuda":

"Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The 'barracuda' represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there."

3. AC/DC are selling their new physical disc exclusively at Wal-Mart. Seems that over 60% of their catalog sales are from the super-stores.

4. Disc-makers, the country's largest disc manufacturer/replicator, has bought CD Baby, an on-line retailer for independent music.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Amen To That

I was adding some music to my iTunes and was adding Refused "The Shape Of Punk To Come" (thanks David and Jeff for turning me on to that!) which is a mind-blowing work of punk rock art, and came across this quote in the lyrics:

To sing you must first open your mouth. You must have a pair of lungs and a little knowledge of music. It is not necessary to have an accordion, or a guitar. The essential thing is that I want to sing. Then this is a song, I am singing.- H. Miller

I'm feeling it. Have a great weekend folks!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Rage Against The Machine Music- Too Dangerous To Even Perform In The Same State As The Republicans

WTF.

So we have RATM set to play in Minneapolis on Wednesday night, and they hear about a free show on the state capital's lawn. They decide to make a special appearance. Other performers are Dead Prez, Anti-flag, and Michael Franti. The show is scheduled to last until 7 PM. Here's what Minneapolis blogger Above The Fold reports:

But when it came time for the band to perform, the Minnesota State Police formed a barricade around the band and would not let them on stage. After 20 minutes of crowd chanting that included "Let Them Play," "Music is not a Crime," "We’ll be good, we promise," and a riveting rendition of the national anthem the band came into the crowd and performed an acapella performance of two songs.

Check out the video, and check out Rage done acapella.


Why couldn't RATM play? They weren't named on the permit, so the plug was pulled.

I wish I could have heard the crowd spontaneously perform the national anthem. Bet that would have got the goosebumps going. And chanting "We'll be good, we promise" is just funny.

The Avett Brothers- Talk On Indolence

Reminder: the Avett Brothers are going to be in Carbondale Saturday night. If you ever wondered what Nirvana's energy would be like crossed with bluegrass and lots of foot stomping, well this is the show for you. Here they are, tearing it up:


Each time I see them, my love grows a little more. The show at the Sheldon earlier this year (Here's the opening number, as posted before) was as good as it gets. I even had goosebumps when they left the stage after the main set. People kept clapping in beat, singing. And then clapping and hooting and hollering. And then they started clapping in beat to the last song again. And singing. Even though minutes had passed since the band had left the stage. And everyone kept singing and clapping in unison, until the band came back out and reprised the song, in beat with us, with our backing vocals. Amazing.

Aimee Mann Concert Thoughts

The one thing that struck me Tuesday night, as I stood against the edge of the barricade that separated us from the stage, was how Aimee's music was all about the little things. Nuance reigned supreme as keyboards effortlessly changed tones, and the drummer alternated between shaking a handful of bells, playing drums covered with towels (to deaden the sound, I figured. A bit unorthodox.) or ripping nice little fills when the music needed that extra kick. All held down by Aimee's voice and acoustic guitar. Seeing her and her band live really had me appreciate how much craft goes into her compositions. Seeing her live was a surprising treat. I kick myself for missing her up to now.

Squeeze was good, the crowd was into it for the most part, but I made the quick realization that I am not nearly as big a fan of them as I may have thought. Too many songs up front that were foreign to my ears for me to stick it out.

Side note: I was talking to one of the staff, asking if I could bring a drink down on the floor. He replied that it would be fine. The floor is usually saved for minors, but tonight there were only seven of them, so they had opened it up. Seven. Yes, I really am old skool.

No Heroics, AKA Another Reason Why British TV Is Great



Here's a great idea, well-produced. What if super-heroes were real, and pretty darn mundane and useless? The trailer below is great, and I can't wait to download me some episodes.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

New Queen Out This Fall- What To Think?

I'm torn. On October 28, Queen will release a new disc with Paul Rogers filling in for the late Freddie Mercury. By all accounts, the tour with Paul singing was a success, but I just can't shake the feeling that Paul Rogers is such a different voice (and personality) than Freddie's that I can't see it working out. I hope I'm wrong, because that Brian May is a hell of a guitar player.

The name of the album/CD/digital download is "The Cosmos Rocks". Here's a listing of some of the tracks, via Billboard:

The group has already debuted several of the new songs at shows and on TV, including first single "C-lebrity," which features vocals from Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, and "Say It's Not True," written in honor of Nelson Mandela's 46664 AIDS initiative.

The 14-track "The Cosmos Rocks" will also feature "Cosmos Rockin'," "Time To Shine," "Still Burnin'," "Small," "Warboys," "We Believe," "Call Me," "Voodoo," "Some Things That Glitter," "Through the Night" and "Surf's Up ... School's Out!"

"I think it touches a lot of emotions," Rodgers told Billboard.com recently of the album. "Every song is different from every other song, but I do think there is a very powerful emotional content in every song. I'm a great believer in variety in music, and so are the other guys."


It's the first set of new material since 1995. At least nowhere in the article did it mention the dreaded "return to form". I mean, how could it be?

Monday, September 1, 2008

Squeeze- Tempted

So I was looking around for some video to put up of Squeeze, in honor of their upcoming show tomorrow night at the Pageant. What should it be? "Pulling Mussels From The Shell"? "Cool for Cats"? OOOOH, there's "Black Coffee In Bed"! Excellent! I'll post... wait a minute... embedding disabled? who would do that? Ahhhh, the user who posted this video, along with others that have the embedding disabled, is none other than our friend, Universal Music Group! Well, that explains it!

Look, I understand that a label may not want me to post an MP3 of some popular Squeeze songs, thus taking away from the all-important revenue stream that pretty much goes directly to them with a pittance going to the actual artists themselves, but denying people the right to EMBED A VIDEO FROM !(*@ 1982??!!

Jeebers, these people have gone bonkers. Here's a video for "Tempted", not uploaded by Universal:


BTW, the lineup for this series of shows is Glenn Tillbrook, Chris Difford, and John Bentley (bass), all originals. They are joined by members of Tillbrook's touring band, the Fluffers: Stephen Large (keyboards) and Simon Hanson (drums).