Posts by Leslie Michele Derrough

Following Finger Eleven and before the big boys of Korn and Papa Roach, Sevendust did what a lot of bands just cannot do under these circumstances. They shot out of the cannon, kept going at breakneck speed and left the crowd begging for more. Six songs were just not enough to feed the quench they had so satisfyingly created.

Every once in awhile, you come across someone who knows exactly what Jim Marshall was talking about and becomes inspired by his images to pick up a camera and seek out the soul. You wouldn’t think that person would be a tattooed former smack-addicted rock star, who still commands the stage with loud music and tales of past belly-of-the-beast adventures. But for awhile now, Motley Crue bassist and primary songwriter Nikki Sixx has taken his photography very seriously

Deciding to add a second leg to their Time Machine Tour was a brilliant idea. Rush are selling out venues left and right and they appear to be having fun, which is a plus for a band that has been together over thirty years. Playing for approximately two hours with a brief half-hour intermission, you can witness the talent firsthand as Peart, Lifeson and Lee give their instruments a work-out; including Lee’s high-pitched vocal chords.

Playing for only the allotted half hour, Alter Bridge give a hungry rocking set that barely takes a moment to catch its breath between songs. Mark Tremonti is proving once again why he is considered one of the most respected guitar players in music as he swings notes high and low and down to his admirers below

For those of us who were footloose and fancy free in the late 70's and early 80's when The Cars were the kings of the music world, the release of Move Like This has been a blessing too long in coming. And recently, Glide had the good fortune to spend a few moments with Cars electrifying guitar player Elliot Easton.

Tonight we’re going to break all the rules”. And with that simple statement the Mothership known as Bootsy Collins & The Funk University landed in Uptown to spread the gospel according to funk on a very ready New Orleans packed-house crowd inside Tipitina’s, a legend among legendary music haunts in the Crescent City.

Alex Skolnick is living a double life. On one end of the spectrum, he is an electrifying guitar player speeding up and down the heavy metal highway. At the other end, he is composing notes of sophistication and magnetism, sometimes calculating the next melody in a long drawn out verve of jazz patience. Which end of the musical hourglass he tips the most likely depends on which coast he is on. And this duality is just fine with him.

It is now 2011 and lo and behold Cheap Trick are still around, still selling out venues, while playing on massive tours with the likes of Def Leppard and Poison. In fact, the gentleman sitting next to me could barely contain himself when they ripped into “Surrender”. The Blotz wasn’t kidding when he said the music would take you back to a time and a place when youth was taken for granted.

Musicians possessing a cocky attitude are an age-old accessory to rock & roll. It is how they have used that sass that makes the musician loved or hated. John Mellencamp is one of those artists who have at times told you bluntly to kiss his ass.

Luther Dickinson is a man who needs no introduction. He is a well-respected musician, known to many as being so naturally talented on guitar that he can blow anyone off the stage with the subtlest of notes.

How does one upstage the legendary Gregg Allman? Have his son’s band open for him and totally kick ass. With enough energy and bravado to spark a full-on fire, Devon Allman and his trio Honeytribe was the band to beat on a special night at the New Orleans House Of Blues.

If you thought you loved the original version of Jonny Lang’s first big hit “Lie To Me” then you will not know what hit you when he falls into a slow pining acoustic version that will build and build until finally exploding into a meteor storm of electric guitar artistry about mid-way through his blisteringly hot set at the New Orleans House Of Blues. It was amazing to the naked ear.

A beautiful sunny day that turned hot with the sounds of electric guitars, spiritual voices, and dancing with strangers, the first day of the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was a major success. Crowds were large and the artists playing on the various stages came with their rock & roll boots on.

Todd Kerns is having fun. The 6 foot, 4 inch bass player is running from one end of the stage to the other like there was nothing else in the world but rock & roll. And how could you blame him. He’s on a stage in Jacksonville, Florida, playing in Slash’s band, just tearing it up on the last night of their stint opening for Ozzy Osbourne. Tomorrow, they will leave for Australia, Asia and South America. But tonight, they are rocking out, feeling the high of a show that is kicking ass. And Todd Kerns is loving every minute of it.

Despite being “sicker than a dog”, Pete Yorn pulled himself up by his bootstraps and gave 120 percent without ever blinking an eye nor giving in to whatever illness was ailing him on this steamy hot night in a packed-house old venue that is beloved by many in the Crescent City. But when all was said and done, Pete, along with his bandmates, walked off that stage dripping wet with satisfied sweat.

She is probably rock’s most talented undiscovered gem. This woman with the confident voice, pin-point lyrics and effortless guitar playing has actually been around for years. Yet, if you ask the average music fan, they look at you with a sort of blank expression. And this is a shame because Shannon McNally can rock your socks off at the same time she is hitting you over the head with words that actually make sense.

How do you start off talking about a concert that was so amazingly out of this world, that there are no words to actually describe it? Maybe it was the big ole Super Moon that hung precariously close to the Big Easy that stirred up the soul-bending sounds that emanated through the walls of this favorite local music hang out. Maybe it pulled out something dangerously close to blues heaven that the people inside were simply overcome. Or maybe these three men are just that damn good.

Blackberry Smoke is a fun, full-of-enthusiasm southern rock band out of Atlanta, Georgia. They’ve been humping the venues big and small for the past ten years and have built up quite a faithful following. They rock out and electrify audiences with a style that is infectious and boogie-woogie satisfying. But on this night, the tempo changed. Deciding to go on with the show they walked out on stage with the bare minimum of instruments and announced to the crowd that “it’s good from time to time to play the songs like they were written”; and then proceeded into acoustic versions of some of their most popular tunes.

What a wonderful sound, when two beautiful voices converge in harmony to form a melody that is so pleasant you feel as if you could reach out and touch it.

When notorious front man Scott Weiland sang, “Pleased to meet you, nice to know me. What’s the message? Will ya show me?” near the end of their set in Biloxi, Mississippi, you knew you had just been eaten alive by a band that had been dead only a few years back