For an evening teeming with humor, reflection and aesthetic exploration, Neko Case and her band kept the audience rapt with their superlative set. It’s further evidence that Case is unequivocally a significant voice in music today, deserving of her success, yet still looking to the future to investigate increasingly the depths of the human heart and mind.
And for a finale Folds played his role of Glee conductor and divided the audience into three part harmonies to sing “Not the Same,” his retrospective to an acquaintance’s acid trip turned born again. 28 songs in two hours is nothing to complain about, especially for a guy on less than six hours sleep, with plenty of dust storm related improv. It might be too early in the game too coin Folds as an "American Original," but there's no argument that his hows certainly fall into the unique category.
On a tour celebrating thirsty years of sexed-up rock & roll, the Crue are cruising from town to town and giving their loyal fans exactly what they want. “You voted who we were going to tour with and you voted what songs we were going to play,” bassist Nikki Sixx announced to the crowd. “This tour is actually all about you guys”. And so it was. Putting all their past differences and discrepancies aside for a couple of hours, Mars and Sixx, Tommy Lee and Vince Neil stepped onto the lighted stage and threw down almost two hours of rock solid riffs and traumatic drumming to please you, the fan.
The Village Voice has annually crafted one of New York City’s premier summer concerts with their Siren Festival. Last year marked the 10th and final installment of that gathering though as the downtown free paper turned over a new leaf and started advertising their new 4 Knots Festival this summer. The obvious change was that no longer would the show take place out in Coney Island but downtown in the South Street Seaport.
The Sin City Sinners are a bunch of fun misfit rockers from all over the continent: Todd Kerns, who is currently Slash’s bass player of choice, hails from Canada, drummer Rob “Boom Boom” Cournoyer was born and bred in Louisiana, bad ass bass player Doc Ellis is from Southern California, as is former Faster Pussycat guitarist Brent Muscat. Put them together and you’ve got a band that drips rock & roll.
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.
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art played host to a crowd of elder fans and families who gathered for a pleasant weekend artistic experiences in the Berkshires. The title of the festival itself, “Solid Sound”, hinted at a range of music and noise and that was certainly delivered upon, even going the extra mile to showcase natures wet splashing of spastic downpours. The first night was almost a complete washout with massive delays in host and headliner Wilco’s set as the gathering waited for Mother Nature to lend a hand.
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.
This past weekend, thirty-nine bands gathered for three days in Atlantic City for the first ever Dave Matthews Band Caravan. The festival, which will travel to Chicago, New York, and George, Washington in the coming months, features three days full of folk, rock, and electronica concluded with a three-hour Dave set every night. Graced by the backdrop of the beach and AC’s famous casinos, the Caravan provided thousands of fans with the unique opportunity to hear a variety of bands new and familiar with the pleasure of knowing that Dave Matthews and his incredible showmanship would culminate every evening.
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
