MUSIC REVIEWS

It took the, 30 years but They Might Be Giants, came, they saw and they conquered Chattanooga.  The duo/band celebrating 30 years as a musical project won over a full house at Track 29 as they entertained the captive audience Sunday evening.

The New York-based quirky duo of Johns (Flansburgh and Linnell) broke into our conscious with quirky videos liked “Don’t Let’s Start”, “She Was a Hotel Detective” and “Ana Ng”.  While never quite finding mainstream success like other bands they made a splash on the charts in 1990 with the song “Birdhouse in Your Soul” and the album Flood.  But most know them these days for the theme song for the once popular Fox sitcom. Malcolm in the Middle (“Boss of Me), music for The Daily Show and their children’s or family friendly albums they started doing ten years ago.

They Might Be Giants is more than a music concert, it’s a visual affair as they showed the packed house Sunday singing and moving about the stage singing quirky, humorous short songs, funny banter amongst the Johns and the crowd including a segment of audience participation that divided the crowd into two camps – humans vs. apes, and the use of sock puppets (yes, you read that correctly).

For two solid hours the Johns thoroughly entertained the audience and appeared to have found a new stop for their tours in the future.

During the show TBG played a wide variety of songs from their extensive catalog playing songs off the newest release Join Us and delving back to Lincoln.  They even pulled off the improbable. “Fingertips”.  “Fingertips” is the song on Apollo 18 which sounds as if you’re spinning the dial on your radio (back in the days when radios had dials) and they would play a 10-30 second clip of a different genre of music at every turn of the dial.  They did that effortlessly.

About the halfway point of the show they broke into “Birdhouse in Your Soul” and the crowd erupted in total pandemonium.  At one point I thought the roof was going to explode due to the roar of the crowd as they jumped up and down in unison (that’s how they dance at a TMBG show) and sang along at the top of their lungs.

The band finished the night not with one but two encores where they played a majority of their cult classics like “Particle Man” and finished the night with “Istanbul Not Constantinople”. Anybody that was there had a great time and if you missed it you missed out on not only some fun music but an actual show.

- Wm. Alexander

All my fraternity brothers had the hots for Carlisle, the lead singer. My crush was on Jane Wiedlin. She was the brunette with a pixie haircut and was oh, so cute and oh, so talented. It was the old Ginger vs. Maryann thing. I’ve always been partial to Maryanns my whole life. I even followed and listened/bought the cassette (yes, that long ago) of Wieldin’s solo album “Fur”, which was a slice of pop heaven. But I digress.
The Go Gos’s have embarked on their 30th anniversary tour, actually celebrating the 30th anniversary of their record-setting album, “Beauty and the Beat”. The girls made history as the first all-girl rock group to write and perform all their own songs, and are the first all-female band to go to number one. Sure, the Runaways came first, but their success was limited. The Go Go’s opened the floodgates and knocked down barriers for all-female bands, proving they weren’t a gimmick or novelty, but a musical force to be reckoned with. Bands benefiting from the Go Go’s success include and are not limited to acts such as L7, The Breeders, and The Donnas, just to name a few.

Despite 30 years, the girls all looked great, no worse for the wear. Carlisle’s voice was intact and drummer Gina Schock kept the rhythm going. Carlisle danced and swirled about the stage, dressed head to toe in all black. The girls began their set with “Vacation” and proceeded to run through a dozen and a half hits and near hits, and cult favorites with all the most popular tunes included including “Our Lips Are Sealed”, “We Got the Beat” and “Head Over Heels” and more. They even threw in solo works of both Carlile and Wiedlin in the mix as well.

While labeled as a “new wave” act, the Go Go’s roots go back to the late ‘70s California punk scene, and they played aggressively almost as if they had a point to prove. I remember seeing them in concert in 1984 and nothing has changed much, other than their hairstyles. Good ole run rock and roll party.

Opening the show was the Tom Tom Club. Originally an off-shoot or side project of Tina Weymouth and Chris Franz of the Talking Heads, TTC remains an active entity, as they are celebrating their 30th anniversary as well. Their music is unique, refreshing and very reminiscent of New York and CBGB back in it’s glory days. They played a ton of cult classics such as “Genius of Love” and finished their set with “Take Me To the River”, Al Green’s song that was immortalized by the Talking Heads and followed by a Heads’ cover of “Psycho Killer”.

- Dave Weinthal

Brian Wilson put on a show Wednesday night at Chastain Park Ampitheatre that appeased both sets of Brian Wilson fans.  As many of you know, Wilson is one of the founding brothers of the iconic beach music rock band, The Beach Boys.  Wilson is a tortured genius whose battles with mental health, depression, and addiction has been well-documented through the news, magazine articles and even a made-for-TV move about the Beach Boys.  As the band’s primary songwriter, Wilson pretty much wrote all Beach Boy songs until the early ‘80s when he officially retired from the band.

The years following his departure from the Beach Boys saw him come out of the dark hole he had been in for years. (He quit touring with the band way back in 1965).  He literally got his life in order and began to write and create new works.  In 2004 he released the lost “Smile” album, which he quit producing in 1967 for the Beach Boys after hearing the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, feeling, overwhelmed to try and keep up with what his English counterparts were doing.  Many claim this is what pushed Wilson into his deep depression that he did not officially come out of until 1983. While “Smile” was a Beach Boys project initially, it is regarded now as a Brian Wilson album – a masterpiece by many.

With so many fans casual and not so casual of Wilson and his songs there are usually two camps when it comes to his music.  There’s the general populous.  They all know the big hits like “Fun, Fun, Fun” and “California Girls” by heart.  And then there’s the music snobs.  They all listen to be Brian Wilson solo material, most of which has been released within the last 20 years.  They know and like the Beach Boys songs as well, but they are too popular for the music snob.  And everyone of these snobs has “Smile” on their iPod to prove it.

I was seated conveniently between the two camps on this hot and muggy Wednesday night.  I’ve heard the Beach Boys for as long as I can remember.  I remember singing “Help Me Rhonda” at a birthday party of a friend of mine and wondering if the song was about his mom, since she was the only woman I knew named Rhonda. (It wasn’t.) I’ve heard the music so long, so many times, and now there seems to be an overabundance of “oldies” and “classic rock” stations in my market that I find myself phasing out the songs since they play the same three or four constantly.  Plus every cover band that does any classic rock has a couple of Beach Boys songs in their repertoire, especially during the summer season.

However, like I said it before, it sounds a whole lot different and you get a new appreciation for the music when you hear the group and or man who originally wrote and composed these old songs play them live.  It was a fun night. Wilson played two sets and two encores as the decidedly older crowd (much older than the crowd that was at Chastain Park the night before for Selena Gomez) danced, swilled wine and didn’t want the night to end.  And to be honest, after a while Wilson looked to start enjoying himself. 

“He started the evening with “California Girls” and moved quickly through a series of hits that included “Catch A Wave”, “Wendy” and “In My Room”.  He even threw in a little audience participation as he got the crowd to join him in singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”.  He finished the first set with “I Get Around”.

After a 20-minute break Wilson and his band came out and started by playing a number of George Gershwin songs, off of his Gershwin album he released last fall.  The first six songs he performed were Gershwin tunes, starting off with an A Capella version of “Rhapsody In Blue”.  Other notable Gershwin tunes included “Summertime” and “I Got Rhythm”.

The rest of his set he played a cut off “Smile” and songs off various Beach Boys albums including songs off 1973’s “Holland”.  He finished his 15-song second set with Good Vibrations”.

After exiting the stage the crowd was abuzz.  One by one the band was introduced to the crowd with Wilson the last to join.  Wilson then led the band through a five-song encore that began with a rousing version of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode”. He then led the band through  a series of iconic Beach Boys songs everyone knew by heart and at this point sang along.  First was “Help Me Rhonda”, followed by “Barbara Ann”, “Surfin’ U.S.A., and finally “Fun, Fun, Fun”.  The crowd was ecstatic as the band once again left the stage.  Show over, right?  Nope.  The band’s drummer came out, stood behind the drum set and started beating one of his drums.  Wilson and company followed and performed a hot rendition of “All Summer Long” from the album of the same name in 1964. The crowd lost it.  Wilson, who was seated behind the keyboard the whole night seemed to really enjoy his time out there.  In one interview he stated he was retiring from touring after this year because he will turn 70 on his next birthday and it’s time to retire.  After his second encore he smiled broadly, waved to the crowd and said, “Maybe we’ll see you here next year.  Who knows?”

We can only hope.

 - Dave Weinthal

The walk to the venue has interesting. Cars, mini-cans all around were decorated with signs of love and adoration for Gomez, also known as the Bieb’s main squeeze. (No sighting of him, though).

Gomez has made a name for herself along with a cavalcade of teenagers like MIley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, the Jonas Brothers and others via Disney. On one hand it’s difficult to take a Disney star seriously (look at the foibles of Britney and Xtrina). Hell, MIley Cyrus has made an ass of herself since turning 18.

But Gomez seems to be different. And she has proven that with her new album and with the live show in Atlanta. Gomez has grown a great deal and matured greatly since her Disney inception. Her new CD, “When the Sun Goes Down” with her band, The Scene is pure synth pop and dance. It’s not kiddie stuff. When I say it’s not kiddie, I mean it’s less candy sweet bubble gum pop and more relevant that even someone over the age of 15 can listen to and enjoy.

Her live show adds to this. She looked all grown up in her sequined gold gown, backup dancers (ala Rihanna), but it still had the feel of a backyard production like something you’d see the Little Rascals put on. This is meant to be a compliment actually. The live show is still simple enough and an eyeful for the thousands of tweeners and parents that were there, and despite her sophisticated look and mature manner on stage I was kindly reminded by the stage show that she’s still a teenager, and seemingly content to be so, which is nice. The music flowed well, the new stuff really rocks and I look forward to seeing where she goes from here. Hopefully not on TMZ like so many of her Disney alumni.

- Dave Weinthal

The crowd rose to its feet as soon as an extended version of “Heart of Rock N’ Roll” began. The baby boomer crowd rose to their feet, arms flailing in the air, the horn section kicked in and that was all she wrote.

Anyone who listened to the radio between ’82 and ’85 knows all the songs by heart. You can’t help it. Granted, he admits he gets a little tired of playing the hits, but he delivered.

A majority of the first half of his set were songs of “Soulville”, his reworking of some great songs from the Stax Records era of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s released last fall.

Lewis’ husky voice was in fine form as was the brass section and he sauntered back and forth across the stage. Dressed in causal attire, jeans and a short sleeve shirt, he looked like he had stepped off the golf course before coming to sing.

Old school Lewis fans were pleased as they danced most of the night to songs like “Hip to Be Square”, but he proved that despite being out of the spotlight for a little while, he’s as relevant as ever and “Soulville” a worthy addition to his fan’s catalog.

Opening the show was Little Feat. The veteran rock/R&B/boogie woogie band played a short set preceding Huey Lewis and the News. After watching their set, it is obvious where today’s jam bands draw inspiration and the veteran group played one long jam after another including their signature song, “Dixie Chicken”.

- Dave Weinthal

When we got there it was total mayhem in the street in front of the venue. Uniquely dressed folks wandering around, plenty of black t-shirts and unique fashions galore. I picked up our tickets. Tim looked like a hungry pup. “You mind?” he asked. “No”, I answered as I handed him his ticket. I didn’t see Tim until it was time to go home almost two hours later.

The stage had a gothic, almost military feeling to it. There were ammo boxes on stage as well as shell casings, and right up front a small piano, kind of like Schoeder’s in “Peanuts”. The crowd was abuzz as this was the band’s first tour in seven years.

The big talk amongst the faithful was where would Maynard James Keenen be and what would he be wearing. Keenen is the front man of Tool, a hard rock band known for selling out shows in a matter of minutes. To add to Tool’s mystique, they grant no interviews. “Our shows are sold out, we don’t need to promote them”, and they don’t allow photography or video to be shot during their performances. When they performed at Bonnaroo in ’07 they did not allow video to be broadcast from the stage. All adding to the mystery of the band and the man everybody calls Maynard, as if they know him personally. Talk amongst the crowd was where would Maynard be and what would he wear, and if he was going to try and disguise himself.

Besides Maynard and band founder Billy Howerdel, the band now boasts having James Iha on guitar and keyboards. Iha, of course was a longtime staple as a member of the iconic Smashing Pumpkins.

The band came on stage, each strategically placed across the stage. Howerdel sat down at the tiny piano as the band began the night with Crucifix’s “Annihilation”. The short song was followed by a very deep, almost gothic version of John Lennon’s “Imagine”.

The band followed with songs familiar to the crowd and introduced some new material that matched their more popular songs. Tim was impressed. Maynard was set in the back of the stage on a tall riser with no light upon him wearing a wig.

The crowd really got into Iha’s guitar work and hand at keyboards, as the band hi the halfway part of their tour this night. Everyone looked comfortable on stage. Howerdel is a beast on guitar and took part in some of the vocals.

The 19-song set included an inordinate amount of covers, but they were covered well (everyone from Marvin Gaye to Joni Mitchell). They definitely has their act together as fans now await a new record.

Oh yeah, Tim wouldn’t shut up the whole way home about the show. He owes me big now.

- Dave Weinthal

Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs Play to the Crowd

Anyone who listened to radio in the mid to late ‘70s and early ‘80s know Michael McDonald’s voice. If he wasn’t singing lead, singing a duet, singing background vocals or even on a soundtrack then there was something wrong. McDonald’s voice is so prominent with that era that Family Guy had a segment where McDonald was s[eaking backup vocals to Peter’s conversation. Heck, he was in everything.

McDonald started singing with Steely Dan moved to the Doobie Brothers, and took over lead vocals for an ailing Tom Johnston. During that era of 1976-81 the Doobies had one top ten hit after another. McDonald was also heard in a duet with Patti Labelle, singing background vocals for Kenny Loggins, James Ingram, and Nicolette Larson to name a few.

McDonald’s set played like a best of early FM radio as the king of blue-eyed soul played classic Doobie Brothers like “Shine Sweet Freedo” to Minute By Minute” to solo clasics like, “I Keep Forgettin’”. His set included a number of classic Motown hits like “Heard It Through the Grapevine”, Stevie Wonder’s “Just Enough for the City” and “Yah Mo B There”, the soul driven classic he recorded with Ingram. He finished his set with probably his most popular Doobies single, “What A Fool Believes”.

Boz Scaggs took the stage next. The 45-year rock veteran mixed a little old and new in his set. Scaggs, who got his start with the Steve Miller Band, and featured on their first two albums as well filled the AM and FM dials of the mid and late ‘70s.

Scaggs played newer material from after his heyday like “Some Change” from the early ‘90s, mixing a more blues rock set with tinges of jazz. Scaggs was not short of playing the hits. “Jo Jo” was the second song of his set. He played classics like “Breakdown Dead Ahead”, “Lido Shuffle”, “Miss Sun” and “Lowdown”.

There was no shortage of recognizable songs this evening as both artists played to the crowd, with Scaggs taking a few more chances and playing some lesser commercially known compositions. Those in attendance definitely got their money’s worth.

- Dave Weinthal

The city of Atlanta was once again on fire as Rihanna came to town Tuesday night. The fire this night unlike from a show in Texas over the weekend was all about Rihanna.  The sweltering heat of mid-July rose the heat index up into triple figures as well.

Rihanna is one of those performers I always had a hard time figuring out.  I really like her early stuff.  I was dance-oriented leaning a little towards alternative rock or even mild techno.  Her latest stuff is very R&B and hip-hop influenced with the use of a lot of Auto-Tune.  I saw her perform one Saturday morning on the Early Show where she sang badly.  I mean very badly.  Off-key.  My mother was watching and she started laughing at Rihanna.  “That’s horrible,” mom said.  Mom comes from a different generation when singers had to sing for themselves and not depend on a computer program.

But still curiosity got the best of me when I saw she was coming close by.  I’m ashamed to admit I have learned more about Rihanna from tabloid websites and shows like TMZ and Entertainment Tonight that from Billboard and Rolling Stone.

She’s got a buzz going that doesn’t let up, so I decided to give her a chance to win me over.

I was expecting and over-the–top lavish show ala Britney Spears and a lot of the boy bands that ruled the charts for the past decade or so.

My opinion has changed… for the better.  Rihanna’s show is visual decadence complete with color, lights, background dancers, a band and costumes galore.  First off, Rihanna is far more beautiful in person that in pictures and video.

Second, the show started off more like a rock show as she started with “Only Girl (In the World)”.  She was lowered onto the stage in a neon sphere similar to what Cher did during her farewell tour years ago.  Dressed in a sequin ensemble, she rocked out.  She moved back and forth the front of the stage.  Her background dancers danced behind her, in front of her, but not with her.  This gave me the impression she was singing and not lip-syncing to tracks like a lot of the pop tarts do this day.  The fact she was dancing separately from the dancers and backup singers made her look more like a rock god like Pink does on tour.

She followed with “Disturbia” and then went into one of her earliest dance hits, “Shut Up and Drive”.  By this time she stripped down to a sequin two-piece for lack of better words, bikini.  She shook, she shimmied, she moved about.  She got on her knees and greeted her lusting fans at the front of the stage.

Her voice sounded strong, on-key and most importantly (to me) not mechanically altered. Rihanna played her newer hits like “Rude Boy” and “S&M” as well as throwing in some well placed covers (“Darling Nikki” for one).

I was truly impressed.  I’m back on board now.  The show was definitely worth the trip.

Opening for Rihanna was J. Cole.  My how he’s grown in a year-and-a-half since I saw him open for Jay-Z.  Having met him, I was really impressed with him.  Very eloquent and graduated from St. Johns with honors, I was in disgust the first time I saw him perform.  He came out opening for Jay-Z emulating thug-life, talking like a thug complete with the stereotypical language. Tuesday was a different story.

His background music has vastly improved and his raps are more clear and easy to follow. His stage presence has matured greatly.  It looks like he’s made that jump from a stereotypical rapper to a full-fledged hip-hop artist with a bright future.

 - Dave Weinthal

Ah, yes, the Psychedelic Furs.  I spent an “evening with” the Psychedelic Furs the other night with close to a thousand of my “friends” or fellow fans.  The Furs are one of those bands that have been hard to define by many – critics and fans alike.  The band that has been around since the late ‘70s has been labeled everything from an art rock band, to post-punk, and new wave.  I guess that would encompass it all.  All I know it’s great stuff.

The band is currently touring celebrating the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough album, 1981’s Talk Talk Talk, which spun them into the mainstream and pop culture with songs like “Pretty In Pink” and “Dumb Waiters”.  The band performed two sets, playing Talk Talk Talk in its entirety and followed with a set of “greatest hits”.

The crowd at the Masquerade was definitely more mature than most shows I go to minus the Monkee’s reunion where the median age for that about 55.  While waiting in anticipation for the show to start everyone in the crowd talked, some reminiscing of other Furs’ shows they’d seen or other alt-rock acts we’d seen or wish we had seen.

As I have harped on many times over the years, there is such a generational gap in what is live music any more, and what constitutes a good show.  Music, rock and even traditional pop music is sound that is made with an instrument via voice, string instrument, keyboard, percussion or via air blown into a tube (sax/horn, etc.). This concept is totally lost by today’s top 40 acts.  The reason Britney Spears sound “just like her record” in concert is because she is literally lip-syncing to it.  You know, the stuff that cost Milli Vanilli their Grammy.  Music is not someone dancing around on stage choreographed with 16 backup dancers mimicking their moves.  It’s about singing and playing.  The music should move you, not a choreographer.

And that is exactly what the Psychedelic Furs did Wednesday night.  Lead singer Richard Butler who always fit the prototype look and style of an alt-rock singer, lean, with black hair kind of shaggily cut.  Still thin as a rail and the hair a little more salt and pepper in color, but nonetheless recognizable from all those album covers of the 1980s was in top form.  Butler has one of the most unique voices in modern rock. He always sounds on the verge of just getting over or catching a cold with his distinctive style of singing, a raspy gravelly, midrange baritone that is unmistakably his.  I remember the first time I heard his other band for the first time on the radio almost 20 years ago, Love Spit Love. 

Even though I was unfamiliar with the song and the band, I knew it was the guy from the Psychedelic Furs singing.

Butler was joined on stage by brother Tim on bass (band co-founder), Mars Williams on saxophone (who has been with the band since 1984), Richard Good on lead guitar, Amanda Kramer on keyboards, and for this tour the Fur’s drummer during a majority of the ‘80s, Paul Garisto.

The Furs put on a real rock show.  Butler moved all over the stage in theatrical manner, arms flailing, rushing the edge of the stage, retreating, brother, Tim did the same often finding himself next to Good. 

One by one Butler and the Furs knocked out track after track from Talk Talk Talk.  There was minimal talk between songs, with Butler smiling in appreciation of the crowd’s fanatical reaction.  It was getting hot in the venue and Butler stripped himself of his black sport jacket and down and dirty as the band moved effortlessly through seminal tracks like “Pretty In Pink”, “Into You Like A Train”, and finishing the set with album’s last track, “She Is Mine”.

On a number of songs on both the Talk Talk Talk set and “greatest hits” set, sax player Mars Williams took center stage and gave Butler a run for his money.  Saxophone is one of those instruments that can be great, and then at times date itself or the song, almost falling into the cheesy category.  Williams’ sax fit in perfect during the course of the night, and for that matter the Furs’ music in general.

After a well-deserved break, the band returned for a second set playing a number of the band’s best-loved songs.  I was kind of surprised they played “Love My Way” as the second song of the set, seeing that other than “Pretty In Pink” it is almost universally fans of the band’s favorite song.  You could tell the band really got into the song, especially when they could hear 1,000 people singing along word for word.

A lot of the songs on the second set came from Forever Now, the follow up to Talk Talk Talk.  Standing center stage, Butler held his arm out in front of him like a member of the Third Reich as “President Gas” began.  He goose-stepped across the stage in military fashion.  The song’s lyrics are so prophetic now and maybe more relevant than in 1982 when released.  Of course back then I listened without putting any thought into what the lyrics said.  Now, almost 30 years later they ring even more true than before.

Butler and the band criss-crossed and moved to the music they were playing.  It wasn’t choreographed, and it didn’t need to be.  When you write and perform your own music, you just go with the flow, which is what the Psychedelic Furs did.

The only thing missing from the greatest hits set was “All That Money Wants”. After finishing their set the band came back after a minute for a two-song encore finishing the night off with “Forever Now”. I can’t emphasize enough how high-energy and musically entertaining the show was.  But that’s usually the case when it’s your material – something the top selling artists of today should learn.

 - Dave Weinthal

Before there was “Glee” and before the original MTV, there was “The Monkees”.  That was 45 years ago.  Some critics called them the Pre-Fab Four, others like myself called them Mickey, Mike, Davy and Pete.  We didn’t care who played their instruments or who wrote the songs. We dug the music they were playing, arguably some of the best pop rock in music history.  The Monkees were a cultural phenomenon, a made for TV band who fought critics and became a good band, playing their own instruments and writing their own songs over time.  The TV show was like the Three Stooges meets Don Kiirshner Presents (who actually was the music director for the first season of the show).  Four young guys living together and trying to make it as a rock band.  The show was ahead of its time mixing slapstick humor, pop culture and finishing each episode introducing a new song to the public.  And oh, what songs.  It was a can’t miss lineup of Hollywood’s best songwriters – everyone from Carole King, Neil Diamond, Boyce and Hart, Carol Bayer Sager, Harry Nilsson and eventually Dolenz, Nesmith, Jones and Tork.  Love them, dismiss them, The Monkees defined part of the pop culture of the mid and late 1960s.

While I am a music snob by nature, The Monkees are my guilty pleasure.  I grew up with them literally.  I was barely out of diapers (well… a little older) when the show first premiered in 1966.  I had the benefit of a 12-year-old sister who was a big fan of them as well as the Beatles and other significant bands of that generation.  I can still see in my mind the Colgems label on the vinyl Monkees records we had in the house.  I carried them around like a found treasure.  I still remember trying to recite "Peter Percival Patterson's Pet Pig Porky" on Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones LTD to this day.  I also knew it also meant it was time for probably my all-time favorite song by anyone still to this day to come on.  The next cut was “Pleasant Valley Sunday”.  I remember growing up in New York playing side two of the album over and over again to hear the song on my sister’s phonograph (yep, before stereos, boom boxes and MP3 players teens used to listen to music on a simple phonograph).  I still have fond memories of those lazy days and that bygone era. 

A couple of years later the band went away.  Actually after that album, the TV show went away.  I went in other directions musically, my sister grew up and moved away.  I moved on but every time I heard the Monkees on an oldies station I would conservatively crank it up.  While in high school I had a girlfriend who was a big Beatles fan and it turned out we both liked the Monkees.  One Christmas she gave me a Monkees Greatest Hits record.  I should have married her.  Then when I was senior in college they went on a 20th anniversary tour.  They actually ended up coming to town!  I was overjoyed.  I had eighth row center seats.  The Monkees were going through a revival at the time.  MTV started airing a Monkees marathon, rebroadcasting all the old shows, which started a new wave of Monkeemania, bringing the guys back together for not only a tour, they had a new single, “That Was Then” and were releasing a new album Pool It.  They even tried to tempt fate again and a new comedy series was created called “The New Monkees” casting four new unknown musicians, but updating everything to current day.  It was a miserable flop.

The Monkees put out one last album in 1996 called Justus that didn’t do anything.  A reunion show came up from time to time and this past Friday The Monkees kicked off the North American leg of their 45th anniversary at Chastain Park in Atlanta.  It was quite a feat, and a surprise it actually happened.  Less than two years ago Davy Jones went on record saying there would be no more reunion shows.  He was tired of the way Peter and Mickey treated everyone while on tour.  I could actually relate.  I got to meet and interview Peter Tork six years ago when he was touring with his blues band, Shoe Suede Blues.  I actually just called to get press clearance to shoot and review the show when his management asked me if I would like to interview him as well at the venue.  Of course I did.  I sweated the small stuff coming up with question after question, trying not to ask too much about the Monkees.  After all, he has tried to move on.  I even brought a few of my Monkee memorabilia to get autographed.

I sat through the show.  I was mildly impressed. Not bad.  But the crowd really got excited when he threw in two Monkees songs into the repertoire.  I was nervous.  I was getting to talk face-to-face with one of the guys I literally grew up listening to.  It was one in the morning, humid and he was a big jerk.  At one point he saw all my notes and asked, “Your not planning on asking me all those questions are you?”  I was frustrated, disappointed and letdown.  “Trust me, I don’t have much more to ask you,” I retorted.  I sulked back to my car and threw my tour poster in the trunk.  I was afraid to even ask for a signature.  I figured he would bite my head off.  I drove home disappointed but with a decent interview, though not one of my best.

Despite it all I still loved the music and when I heard they were going to go on tour I prayed they would come close by.  By good fortune or grace of God, their first show was in Atlanta.  I couldn’t wait.  The show started with a visual montage on the screen behind the stage show clips from the TV show and snippets of the music videos.  It was like having my life flash before my eyes.  The backing band started playing a medley of their greatest hits and then the three came out together. (Mike Nesmith is not touring with them again)  They immediately broke into the hits starting with the Neil Diamond penned “I’m a Believer”, then “Mary Mary” followed by “Girl I Knew Somewhere”.  All-in-all they played for three hours, performing 43(!) songs.  The band was joined midway through the first set by Dolenz’s sister Coco who sang lead on “Different Drum”.

At the midway point the band took a 15 minute break and while they were gone old TV commercials they starred in were aired including ads for Kool-Ade and Kelloggs.

The second set started with “Circle Sky” the first cut on Justus, their most recent album (1996).  While all the major and minor hits were played over the course of the night, they played a lot of material from their album, Head upon which they made a movie that at the time received mixed reviews but is considered a classic by today’s critics.

They finished the second set with “Daydream Believer” before shuffling off stage.  After a minute of cheers they came back on and played “Pleasant Valley Sunday”, a short version of “I’m A Believer” and left the stage to their theme song, which the three clowned around on stage, chasing each other around in circles around Peter’s keyboards, running into each other before running off the stage to a standing ovation.  Wow.

During the course of the night the three looked like they were actually having fun on stage going through their catalog.  I’m sure it is a rush to look up from the stage and see a sea of people singing word-for-word with every song you performed.  On previous tours there were ego clashes with Jones leaving the stage during songs performed from “Pool It” because he didn’t have writing credits on some of the songs, but Friday he stayed on stage the whole night and even came out in tails for a number in the second set.  Mickey was Mickey going between the front of the stage and then climbing behind the drums.  Peter Tork was smiling the whole time and was clowning around with Mickey and Davy.  Who knows, maybe they all finally realize they are the Monkees, people love the music, love the individual personalities and there a lot worse fate – trust me.  Hey, hey, you’re the Monkees.

 - Dave Weinthal

Those at the Memorial Auditorium got a double barrel treat Thursday night. Mixing both humor and excellent musicianship, Steve Martin performed along with the Steep Canyon Rangers. Yes, that Steve Martin.

To be honest with you I think Martin is a better actor than comedian. He has had some iconic movies, but to be honest they were kinda silly, like “The Jerk” and “The Man With Two Brains”. When he and Robin Williams finally started flexing their acting muscles, that’s when they really started to earn my respect. One of my favorite movies he has done is 2005’s “Shop Girl”, kind of a romantic comedy that he played very subdued and was completely charismatic.

And now, after hearing him on the banjo, I’m even more impressed. I didn’t know what to expect sitting there in the theatre, but Martin showed some serious musicianship on stage with the Steep Canyon Rangers. Now I don’t know which I like better, the funny Steve Martin or the musician Steve Martin.

Of course he was in the company of one of today’s top bluegrass bands, the Steep Canyon Rangers. Bluegrass is kind of an enigma for me. It’s one of those genres of music that I can be a captivated audience member for about 15 minutes. After that my mind starts to wonder. Especially with instrumental bluegrass after a while every song begins to sound the same to me. It doesn’t matter who’s playing it – Nickel Creek or a couple of local yokels on their front porch. I’m sorry if I offend true blue grass affectionados, I do appreciate it, but more so as background music, something that doesn’t require my undivided attention.

With Martin’s help, he was able to break up the monotony (not that it was at all). Martin is a true humorist. He started the night telling a few jokes and explained how the collaboration between him and the Steep Canyon Rangers took place. He was able to get the attention of a very docile crowd and get emotion out of a group patrons that usually sit on their hands.

Every now and then he would inject a humorous story to segue in the next. But unlike his personality, he was serious as a musician, and of course he had the Steep Canyon Rangers to keep him on track and on his toes.

It was a very worthwhile venture almost reminiscent of vaudeville, but with greater emphasis on music and not laughter, although there was plenty of both. I initially went there to see Steve Martin, but stayed because of the Steep Canyon Rangers.

- Dave Weinthal

Train sure has come a long way since the first time I saw them.  It was a hot evening and they were the opening band on a three-band bill at a dive of a rock club called They Bay in 1998.  The Bay used to be a great place.  A lot of great acts played there many times to no one like the time Kid Rock was there a month before he broke out.  There were 12 people there, but if you ask now at least 10,000 people claim to have been there.  On this particularly hot evening Train opened for Athenaeum and headliner Better Than Ezra. 

Athenaeum of course is long gone, maybe a year of so after this gig.  Better Than Ezra is still around. They are still riding along semi-successfully on the strength of their first album in 1995 with singles like “Good” and “Battle of New Orleans”.  We all know about Train, the multi-Grammy winning band that has toured the world and has multi-platinum albums.  But 1998 was a different story.  Train was hungry.  They were between gigs when they were in Chattanooga and asked the bar owner if they could do a short residency until their next gig at the end of the week.  They were told “yes” and they played for three nights working on their craft, to a crowd much like the Kid Rock crowd mentioned earlier.  We felt sorry for them, had a laugh at their expense, and between our good-natured ribbing we were actually surprised how tight the band was.  My how times have changed.

Train played an intimate set at the Tivoli Theatre to a sold-out crowd.  Time has been kind to singer Pat Monahan.  Sporting a darker hair color than the last time I saw him a few years ago, he looked pretty much that day I saw him at the Bay, except with the look of success in his eyes.

For 90 minutes he sang, danced with audience members and was in motion the whole time as he ran through a number of songs which have become standard-bearers for the adult contemporary crowd.  Hard to believe that less than ten years ago they were considered an “alternative” band.

Monahan is a great frontman and probably underrated as one.  The key to his success fronting the band is his banter between songs.  Even the most casual fan would appreciate his small talk.  He uses the small talk to segue to the next song, letting everyone know what the band is performing next.  Some songs I know when I hear them but could not tell you the name of them to save my life.  Monahan let me know (not me personally) what he was playing, making it easier for me to find online. (I do that sort of thing.)

The band played a mix of material from their five albums to date and did not waste time getting to the classics.  His second song was “Meet Virginia”, which brought down the house.  A few songs later Train did an original interpretation of the Doobie Brothers’ classic “Black Water”.

From there Monahan segued into an acapella version of “When I Look to the Sky”.  Later in the set his hit some high notes with “They Call Me Free”.  Monahan then slowed things down with the ballad, “Marry Me” off of the newest album, Save Me San Francisco.  Realizing things slowed down considerably, he told the crowd it was time to get things more up-tempo.  The band broke into “Hey Soul Sister”, which got everyone out of their seats again.  All in all, a really special evening.

Opening the night was Knoxville’s Dirty Guvnahs.  The Guvnahs are a roots-based blues rock band.  The style and stage presence of lead singer James Trimble are reminiscent of the Rolling Stones minus the soul.  The music is pretty good, but a little thin in places.  Trimble is a great frontman.  He is very Mick Jagger-like in the way he prances around on the stage up and down, over and back.  He’s very expressive with his exaggerated body movement and it is quite addicting to watch.  They definitely have a future,l if they fatten up their sound some.

 - Dave Weinthal

Last Saturday, the crowd at Rhythm and Brews hit the “Indie Rock” trifecta. I don’t know how it happened, but if you missed it - well, you missed it.

Sleeper Agent, out of Bowling Green, KY opened the show. They’ve been described by Spin magazine as one of the “best new discoveries” at SXSW, last month. And they certainly lived up to the claim. Being a bit older than many of the attendees, I can only describe their sound as a kinder, gentler The Misfits with Chrissie Hynde on vocals. I guess the term continues to be Alt Rock, subcategory Pop. I call it super fun, and give it 7.

They were followed up by an even lesser known band by the name of Biffy Clyro. Chattanooga may not have known them when they came out, but it’s guaranteed that many will be mispronouncing that name for a while, as they spread the word. These guys are a 3 piece hailing from Scotland, consisting of a pair of twin brothers on bass and drums and a guitar/vocalist. They’re hard-driving rock anthems were blended into hip-swaying ballads at the blink of an eye. And the energy they exuded didn’t go unnoticed. By the time these two bands wrapped up their sets, the crowd at Rhythm and Brews wasn’t about to give up one spot at the front of the stage.

Cage the Elephant was not to be out-done and their enthusiasm was infectious. This band, also out of Bowling Green, shot out of the gate with their 2nd album debuting at number 2 on the Billboard 200. Watching frontman, Matt Schultz was intense. This guy rarely slows down. He’s like a mixture of Curt Cobain, Shannon Hoon and Mick Jagger. The band was tight and true to form, as you would expect “The Next Big Thing” to be. They played like their lives depended on it, with a ferocity not often seen in this town. And the crowd loved it! All in all, the night proved to be a damned good show, and Chattanooga stepped up to the plate to prove that we’re ready for some good rock shows. Well, except for the whole crowd surfing/walking thing... Chattanooga’s not perfected that art yet.

- Gail Lindsey
Photo by Gail Lindsey

I often wondered what Ozzy Osborne would be like in concert. This is one of the few things until Wednesday I had never witnessed.

My heavy metal buds used to tell me outrageous stories and were loyal to Black Sabbath and Ozzy. To them he was a god. To me as a kid he was scary as was most heavy metal.

Fast forward to the 21st century and Ozzy is a media darling. Sure we all know about the evils of heavy metal music, hell Ozzy was the poster child of abuse and excess. With reality TV, the worldwide web and the rebirth of pop culture mainstream Ozzy was declawed, lovable and almost a parody. He was a harried father of teenagers who was clueless a lot of the times of what was going on around him, dropping F-bombs left and right. Most recently he’s been seen shuffling around with Justin Bieber mumbing something about a 4G and 6G network. All for good laughs.

Here we are in 2011. What kind of show would Ozzy put on? Will he be live or a parody of himself like we’ve seen on TV for the better part of the decade?

The real deal took the stage in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena. It was unbelievable to watch. Maybe he’s done it for so long (four decades), as soon as the music comes alive a switch inside his head clicks and off he goes like the wild man we’ve all read about.

The Prince of Darkness sailed through a set of classic Sabbath, solo and new song soff his recently release album to a highly enthusiastic crowd. The band was tight, he was all over the stage, fireworks went off and the night was magic. If you missed you change to see it you are an idiot.

Opening the show was Slash, fresh off his Super Bowl appearance with the Black Eyed Peas. Fortunately for Slash, Myles Kennedy was singing lead instead of Fergie as he was ble to sing on key without the aid of AutoTune.

Slash’s backing band was incredibly tight and would have given Ozzy a run for his money if it wasn’t for Ozzy.

The band’s 50-minute set included some new solo material as well as tried and true Guns N’ Roses classics as well as some Velvet Revolver tunes.

Despite doing his best as a front man, Kennedy was overshadowed by Slash and his stature as one of the great guitar gods. It was obvious that people were there to see the guitar lord himself. Ironically the GNR covers sounded a lot better with Kennedy’s vocals and sans Rose’s antics. It made you remember that there were some good songs in the repertoire and not just a parody of what a good band really sounds like.

- Wm. Alexander

It was quite and eventual week for Cake. Wednesday finished a three-day residency at the Center Stage in Atlanta – all three sell-outs, and they received word that their recently released album, Showroom of Compassion debuted to number one of Billboard’s 200 topping artists such as Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, and Rihanna for the top spot on the chart. Pretty good for the kings of DIY music.

Sitting in the crowd in anticipation for the show Wednesday was art imitating real life. In their first single, 1994’s “Rock and Roll Lifestyle”, band leader John McRea sings, “And how much did you pay for your rock’n’roll t-shirt / That proves you were there, / That you heard of them first?” Sitting all around me were folks comparing and contrasting Cake t-shirts and discussing with their peers which tour they had acquired it. Hmm… Life imitating art indeed.

The band is on the cusp of being around 20 years and through the past two decades they have managed to remain relevant and current. While some of their brethren from the early ‘90s are playing nostalgia gigs and in small bars, they, well, have the number one album on the charts.

John McRea is a great front man for the band. Unassuming, usually sporting a porkpie hat or other headgear he delivers the lyrics to songs such as “Opera Singer”, “Frank Sinatra” and other household songs for Cake fanatics in a droll narrative tone. Slightly monotone, his singing style is half spoken word and half singing. The tone of their music falls into a wide category that embraces folk, country, and even jazz with the trumpet. The lyrics are sharp, with pseudo social commentary thrown in with a dash of humor ala Cracker or even the Kinks. In fact, the band does sound a lot like Cracker with brass.

McRea interacted with the audience for the entire two and a half hours – yes, that long. The band performed two sets and McRea reminded the crowd it was “an evening with Cake”. He then recognized some faces from the crowd who had show up al three nights and comments, “What are you guys? Crazy?” The crowd cheered.

Cake performed a retrospect from their almost 20 years playing multiple cuts off of Motorcade of Generosity, their debut album and playing a number of cuts off the newest, Showroom of Compassion. Songs from all other albums were played as well with McRea asking the audience what they wanted to hear. And the band obliged.

On stage with the band was a small tree. Midway through the second set McRea mentioned the tree and then went through the process of giving the tree to an audience member. The stipulation of taking the tree home he told the crowd was they had to plant the tree, take their picture next to the tree and then send that picture to the band’s website to be posted. Every couple of years he said he wanted the person to send an updated picture so they could track the growth of the tree.

After finishing the second set the band left to loud applause. After a minute or so they came out and played a couple of encores. The first being, “Short Skirt Long Jacket” which can be heard Monday nights as the theme of the NBC series “Chuck”. They followed that with “The Distance”.

Anyone familiar with the show “Chuck” knows it is set around a big box electronics store where the main character is a tech in the “Nerd Herd” or computer repair (i.e. Geek Squad). A couple walking past me during the “Short Skirt Long Jacket”, looking very much the part of a nerd herder turned to one another and said, “That’s so awesome”, as the band played. Indeed it was, as was the whole night.

- Dave Weinthal

30 years, huh?  Hard to believe that 2011 marks the 30th year of alt-country pioneers Jason and the Scorchers.  After witnessing them blaze through a two-set show Wednesday night at Rhythm and Brews they are none the worse for the wear.  They still rock.

It was an interesting crowd that came to see Jason, Warner and the boys.  The Scorchers are the original alt-country act, cow punk, or whatever you want to call it band before country became cool again in the late 80s and early 90s.  Their crowd in the day were the originals scenesters and posers that tend to follow talented, eclectic music acts that always claimed to be the first ones to of heard of the band and always attempting to out-music snob their other poser friends.  The original scenesters were in attendance except their preppy hairstyles, Duckheads and Ray-Bans have now been replaced by male pattern baldness, support bras, Dockers and bifocals.

Despite all that, Jason Ringenberg still thin as a rail and Nashville guitar legend Warner Hodges still with the wildman look in his eyes and hair to match put on a show that today’s scenesters would be and should be envious of.

The band played a wide range of material from their early EPs through their most recent release, 2010’s Halcyon Days.  And ironically the old and new melded together seamlessly as there was no drop off in quality or a concerted effort to relive glory days gone by.

The night was filled with a lot of ballads and Civil War trivia for folks.  Ringenberg, a Civil War buff when not doing band stuff, performed songs out of his catalog that were influenced by his studies of the great war between the states.

Of course he threw in old favorites such as “Golden Ball and Chain” to keep the crowd from growing too restless.  He then finished up his second set on more of a rocking note even giving way to Hodges on one song to sing lead.  Ringenberg danced around the stage like a puppet on a string having a seizure and Hodges spun in circles like a whirling dervish, throwing his guitar around his shoulder time and again, reminding the crowd that they indeed know how to rock.

The band came out for a three-song encore beginning with “Self-Sabotage” off 1996’s Clear Impetuous Morning and brought the house down with their signature song, 1985’s “White Lies” and the crowd danced as haphazardly as Ringenberg.  Once Hodges hit the last chord, the lights went out and the band left the stage.  What a rush.

Jason and the Scorchers, still some 30 years later have yet to disappoint.  High energy, stage antics (though not over the top), and a charisma that is missing from today’s independent artists who could learn something about performing live and carrying a crowd and keeping their attention for the entire show.

Opening was Stacie Collins, a harmonica playing hair-swirling, energetic honky-tonk singer and performer if there ever was one.  If Jason and the Scorchers were ever fronted by a woman, she would be the person for the gig.  High-energy, foot stomping and reeling with enthusiasm and talent Collins made a perfect foil for Ringenberg’s own stage antics.  During the Scorchers’ two set gig she came up and gave Jason a break for a song or two as well and was well received by the Scorcher faithful.

 - Dave Weinthal

Friday night McKenzie Arena was like the old saying something old, something new something borrowed and something blue as Elton John and Leon Russell performed to a full house, the first sellout at the arena in over six years.

As Ray Davies of the Kinks once sang, “Give the people what they want”, which is exactly what these two rock veterans did to a thrilled crowd Friday night.

Anyone who was downtown knew something big was going on as traffic was snarled for hours as over 10,000 people came to the arena to hear over 80 years worth of hits collectively between the two as well as new material as the two have joined forces to put out a blues-themed album entitled “The Union”.  John recently in interviews said he is no longer writing pop songs because he feels it’s not age appropriate for him to do these days and all his future works will be blues-oriented.  The album with Russell is the first effort for the man who has dozens of hits to his name including “Philadelphia Freedom”, “Candle In the Wind”, “Tiny Dancer” and way too many to list.

In these tight economic times it’s nice to see that musicians are being positively influenced by it all.  Traditionally most popular music acts would force the crowd to listen to what they want the to hear, playing the songs that the fans came to hear at the end of the set or as the encore.  Both Russell and John thrilled the crowd playing songs everyone in the crowd new followed by the two performing songs off “The Union”.  That in turn was followed by John playing ten of his mega-hits in a row capping an extraordinary night of classic rock and new blues on the baby-boomer heavy crowd, who all each probably have some moment in time to relate the songs to another time in their own personal life.

I could list the songs John performed but you already know them and he was gracious enough to play them in his first concert in Chattanooga since his solo tour of 1999.  This time he brought a full band beginning his first solo set with “Saturday (Night’s All Right For Fighting)” and finishing his last song of the evening with “Your Song”.

Hopefully with the strong attendance, this will be the first of some major concerts to come to town.

 - Dave Weinthal

Better Than Ezra performed Sunday night at the Buckhead Theatre and it was good.  An ironically or iconically, depending on how you look at it, after all that was the song the New Orleans trio started their  rocking set with.  “Good” of course was their breakthrough single in 1995 and despite being 15 years old there were teenage girls in the front row of the show singing along at the top of their lungs.

The song was one of many highlights of the set as the band began their march to Mardi Gras, as they were calling the tour which culminates with a two-day gig during Mardi Gras.

Better Than Ezra is one of those bands that are sneaky.  While most casual listeners may be able to name one, maybe two of their songs if they were pressed, when you get down to brass tacks you realize the band has almost a dozen recognizable songs, even if you didn’t know the actual title or you screwed up the lyrics trying to sing along.

While the band was recently signed to a new record deal and are working on new material, Sunday night was a “best of” night.  The crowd joined in on most of the songs and made an easy night of it for lead singer and guitarist Kevin Griffin. One by one over the 90 minute set the band played one song after another that many in the crowd, even the extremely young (teenaged) knew by heart and sang along as the show became more of a house party than a concert complete with confetti cannons (I guess the new things in concerts this year as it’s the second show in as many weeks I’ve been to with confetti cannons). 

Griffin along with band co-founder Tom Drummond on bass kept the energy level high the entire night and bantered back and forth with the crowd between songs even talking smack about his hometown football team (The New Orleans Saints) and the hometown Atlanta Falcons, even throwing in a quick jab about Michael Vick to the folks of Atlanta.

Also thrown in the set was a great cover of the song “Laid” originally done by the British band, James and most recently covered by Matt Nathanson for the “American Pie” movie franchise.  Griffin even had fun playing around trying to hit the extremely high notes of the chorus that only Tim Booth, lead singer of James can do justice.  Better Than Ezra’s was just plain fun and a good time was had by all as it was another one of those sing-alongs as well as “Battle of New Orleans”, “Desperately Wanting”, amongst others.

Opening for Better Than Ezra was Sam’s Big Funky Nation, a bonafide New Orleans funk and jazz band fronted by the man they call Big Sam.  Big Sam is a trombonist who has played for everyone from Dave Matthews, Widespread Panic and others.  The big brass band got the young folks in the crowd moving and heating up the room to the right temperature before Better Than Ezra took them over the top on a night featuring truly great New Orleans’ rock and traditional funk.

 - Dave Weinthal

Shinedown rolled into the scenic city Saturday to play a special show at the Tivoli Theatre.  The hard rocking band, who usually sells out arenas performed in the intimate setting of the 1,700-seat Tivoli performing acoustically many songs their fan base has literally banged their heads to numerous times.

It was an interesting crowd at the historic Tivoli, home of symphony and opera performances.  The crowd was a rock crowd and dressed like it and were an odd contrast to the inlaid woodwork and 1920s architecture and style that fills the beautiful and historic building.  The folks looked ready as if they were going to the old Bay nightclub or McKenzie Arena.  They sharply contrasted with the post-retirement ushers who looked a little intimidated by the crowd initially. 

I had only seen Shinedown once before and that was when they opened for Rob Zombie and Godsmack a few years ago.  To be honest I twiddled my thumbs back then as I was there to see Zombie and just tolerated Shinedown.

It was a different story Saturday.  While the show was an acoustic show, there was nothing acoustic about the show.  It was a rock show and it played out perfectly.

The band came on stage dressing the part in suits, looking quite formal as they tore through their numerous radio and album hits to the full house. Lead singer Brent Smith is one of the most charismatic front men to come around in a long time.  The acoustic nature of the performance helped elevate his stature even further.

Smith took time out after every song to explain the background of it, and how it originated. He weaved numerous great stories, sharing some insight and little secrets about himself, his family and his band.

The show even included a time for audience feedback as Smith allowed a handful of audience members the ability to directly ask him a question in an impromptu Q&A session that proved to not only be entertaining but insightful as well. 

My hats off to the band, as they pulled off the acoustic thing better than anyone has in a long time.  After witnessing the show I now find myself more interested in their music.

Opening the show was Nashville’s Will Hoge, who also performed with his band acoustically.  Anyone who knows who Will Hoge is knows the enigma that he is.

Hoge puts on a truly electric live show that has probably sold most of the CDs that he has peddled over the years.  It’s the shock once you listen to the recordings that make you recoil in fear.

Will Hoge has yet to make a good recording.  No producer or engineer to date has been able to capture the energy of his live performance and put it on tape.  Many wonder if it is an imposter on the CD they just purchased, that’s how vastly different and inferior his CDs are compared to his live show.

Saturday Will took the acoustic thing to heart too much as he played a very mild set of songs that lacked the energy of most of his live performances.  Many there thought it was an odd pairing putting Shinedown on with what one person in the lobby described to a friend over her cell phone, “a country guy”.  Will did himself no favors with that show except to his hardcore fans, so I do encourage you to see him again in a less acoustical setting.

 - Dave Weinthal

Friday’s travels took me to Nashville to visit the Mercy Lounge located on Cannery Row.  I was on a mission to check out buzz band Ok Go, “The Treadmill Guys” from all those Bing commercials.

I must admit, I have been infatuated with the band since their VMA performance a couple of years ago when they performed “Here It Goes Again” live complete with the treadmills.  If you have no idea what I’m talking about I want you to stop reading this for a minute and YouTube Ok Go and “Here It Goes Again”.  It will be worth the search, trust me.

I was kind of surprised they were playing the Mercy Lounge whose capacity is 500.  I figured more people than that wanted to see them.  Well, I was right.  The show was a sellout and there were people outside while I waited in line to enter the venue looking for extra tickets.

Ok Go is probably a generation behind as they are worthy of the original MTV generation.  They are one of the few modern bands that have embraced the art and creativity of what a video should be instead of the glorified concert performance pieces most bands make these days. 

I knew I was in for a big time when the drunk coed next to me said, “There’s cannons on stage.  This is gotta be good.”  And it was.  Ok Go took the stage each wearing a primary color suit – red, blue, yellow and green.  As soon as the first note was hit the cannon was fired and the room took on the ambiance of a tickertape parade.  It was a high-energy display of great power pop that lasted 90 minutes, never relenting or giving the charged crowd a chance to catch their breath. 

I was wondering at one point the strength of the club as all 500-plus in attendance started jumping up and down, dancing and partying.  I felt the floor buckle a little bit where I was standing and was a little alarmed, but I was having such a good time, I didn’t give it much thought.

As I said earlier, Ok Go is a great video band; in fact the show is like a live music video with the musicianship, showmanship, unbridled energy and overall charisma of the band.  If I remember correctly, they were actually filming the show.  They also recorded it and offered it to the audience on a flashdrive after the show.

I wish I hadn’t waited this long to see Ok Go.  I’m addicted and have called a number of my friends already to check out these guys, and so far they all have agreed.  I know I can’t wait for them to come back into the area because I for one will be there.

There were to support acts on the bill with Ok Go.  Those Darlin’s were on stage before the headliner.  Those Darlin’s are a female rock band (minus the drummer who is a guy).  They are your prototypical raucous party band.   Don’t know about you but I’ve grown tired of the gimmickry of a girl band.  They are not treading anywhere bands like The Runaways, The Go Gos, The Slits, etc. haven’t treaded. 

While the band plays their instruments pretty well, none of the three girls that sang could carry a tune.  I’m not sure if it was the mix, the club or whatever, each girl that sang more or less screamed into the microphone.  Lyrically the songs were juvenile at best with limited appeal to only those interested in raising hell, drinking beer and screwing.  Somewhat entertaining, it’s a novelty whose time has passed, unless that’s as far as you plan to take it.

Opening the night was Samuel.  Samuel was a four-piece act out of New York.  Basically the band acts as the backing band for the singer, simply known as Samuel.  His or their 30 minute set included a number of electro-pop ditties that combined interesting music, so piped in audio backing tracks and vocals that at times were reminiscent of Freddie Mercury in that soulful, theatrical way.  The band was kind of stripped down a raw and I would like to examine them further to see what’s going on.

 - Dave Weinthal

I remember as a kid riding over to Paradise Records and buying Styx’s new album, Paradise Theater (no relation).  The cool thing about the record – and this was a record, many years before CDs, and when there were still eight-track tapes to be bought – was the hologram on side two with the name and album logo.  It was a sight to see. That hologram for some reason kept my attention for some reason.  It didn’t take much to entertain me back then.

I had been a fan of the band for a few years at this time.  Their sound was kind of unique if you look back at it.  It was a weird mix of progressive or theatrical rock and good old-fashioned balls to the wall rock and roll.  The older the band got the more theatrical they became and more conceptual.  It was kind of cool, but as the older I got it was clashing with my changing musical tastes that were being influenced by the likes of Blondie, Adam Ant and just about every New Wave artist on the market at the time.

I did go see the Kilroy Was Here Tour or as I call it, “The Mr. Roboto” tour.  It was over the top theatrical and conceptual, and maybe a little over my head at the time.  I did enjoy it and was glad I got to see the band in its prime.  After that album I lost touch with the band and its music.  I would occasionally hear guitarist Tommy Shaw’s other projects and liked most of them, but I moved on musically.

The clash between Shaw, fellow guitarist James “JY” Young and DeYoung was what led to their eventual parting of the ways.  But that clash or checks and balances mentality brought to the radio and the public some unforgettable albums and singles.

Styx came to town Tuesday night and promptly reminded me why I liked them and quite frankly what a real rock concert was all about.  For the past 20 years or so my bread and butter has been covering concerts (rough life, I know).  I’ve seen just about every show you could think of and been in weird situations because of this as well.  Tuesday night I quite frankly felt like a kid again.

Styx is touring now performing in their entirety their two landmark albums, The Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight.  I didn’t know what to expect to be quite honest since original keyboard player and singer Dennis DeYoung is no longer part of the band.  He wasn’t missed, actually.  Lawrence Gowan has taken over DeYoung’s part and if you closed your eyes you wouldn’t know the difference.  Shaw was Shaw, a monster on guitar and vocals and Young was brilliant and masterful on guitar as well.

The band played the two albums in their entirety and they admitted to the crowd this was the first time they had played most of these songs in public.  Watching them perform reminded me of what has been missing out of all the other concerts I now cover and really haven’t seen since I was a kid – an actual show.

Rock and roll is not all about your haircut, if you’ve got a cool tattoo or a snarky personality and demeanor – it’s about playing rock and roll.  And that’s what Styx did.  From the first note of “Grand Illusion” to the final note of “Aku-Aku” it was a show – a show that was complimented by a fantastic light show and rear image projections that did not overtake what was going on stage like when at a Widespread Panic or Phish show.  It still was about the music.  The rear imagery that was broadcast during the show took on an almost Dali-esque feel at times as it was conceptual imagery at it’s best.

The crowd in attendance gravitated to an older baby boomer crowd with a sprinkling of young folks there.  I saw a couple of father and son tandems with dad telling son, this was what music was all about when they were young.  I actually talked with one guy who brought his dad to the show because when he was a kid his dad was always playing Styx records.  He, it turned out is in a band himself and was humbled by the show.  “Now that was a real concert, dude,” he told me.

Indeed it was.  I may have to blow the smoke off my old Paradise Theater album and give it another listen – after staring at the hologram for a minute or two.

 - Dave Weinthal

A band called Goo came to town and ensued to enthrall the audience at the Tivoli Theatre Saturday night.  The Goo Goo Dolls put on an impressive. Well-balanced show to an enthusiastic crowd playing a mix of songs that covered their 25-year career.

The Dolls have come a long way from their days of playing punk influenced metal in the early days to now.  Of course most people only know the more relevant material or the more adult contemporary songs such as “Iris”, “Slide” and “Name”.

The Goo Goo Dolls are one of those bands that are great “date” bands or concerts.  Led by pretty boy lyricist and singer John Rzeznik a lot of the band’s songs and lyrics speaks to the female audience, the rocking guitars and bass work of Robby Takac appeal to the inner animal of most men.  It’s kind of a win-win for those involved.

Rzeznik and Takac were all over the stage bringing the mixed crowd to their feet almost immediately from the first note of their opening song, “Sweetest Lie” to their final encore song, “Broadway”.   The energy level was high for the entire 17-song set which included four Gold and one Platinum single and a total of 15 top ten singles including their most recent, “Home” off of their just released Something For The Rest of Us, which is currently number nine on the Adult Contemporary chart.

Props go to the band in playing to the audience’s taste, playing a majority of songs their fans love without trying to force too many unknown songs to the crowd.  Rzeznik kept the energy going during the set interacting with the crowd and making them part of the show.  The show was also aided by a really clean crisp sound and good mix.

Opening for the Goo Goo Dolls was The Spill Canvas.  The Spill Canvas is an alternative rock band from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a fact they kept telling the audience between songs.  That was about the level of excitement for their set.  The band seemed to have a difficult time in getting the audience into their music.  Often between songs there was awkward silence, reminding me of being at club show minus the crowd noise and beer bottles clinking.  The sound at times seemed muddled and thought it may have been the mix until I heard the Goo Goo Dolls later.  The band suffers from that generic alternative rock label without proper direction. A couple of their songs sound like their almost there but fall just short, missing an important hook that would make the song(s) more memorable.

 - Dave Weinthal

Seeing Billy Idol in concert Sunday night reminded me of a lot of good times as a youth, most notably my time running around with my friend and brother James Russell.  Billy Idol and Joan Jett performed at Chastain Park and both acts brought back a flood of memories.

When Billy Idol hit it really big I pledged a fraternity.  That was back when MTV actually stood for “Music Television” and not the crap they air now.  MTV back in the day used to be great to watch.  At that time (early 80s) it allowed artists to expand their horizon and appeal to the mass audience.  Prior to that, other than an appearance on the Midnight Special or liner notes, no one knew who or what these artists looked like.  MTV changed that forever.  Idol along with Joan Jett and hundreds of others were able to use music videos to help promote, entice and entertain a generation.

James Russell was one of my pledge brothers at this time. James had platinum blonde hair much like Idol, except his was natural with a shorter haircut much like Idol.  Back then anyone who had hair that color and with a similar style was mistaken for Billy Idol or considered a fan (whether they were or not).

I remember countless parties after a number of beers someone would yell out “Billy Idol!” and point towards him.  He seemed to enjoy the attention.  He enjoyed it so much to the point where he would try to imitate Idol’s trademark sneer and would do the fist pump, that Idol was famous for in the day, and even today, judging by Sunday’s show.

This “Idol” phenomenon made James the toast of numerous fraternity and wrestling parties (he was a varsity wrestler as well), and all the girls would fawn over him until he met Michelle the next year, whom he married and spent the rest of his life.  He passed away a couple of years ago due to unforeseen circumstances, but those good times are forever imbedded into my memory.

Idol was there in full form.  Performing with him was collaborator and lead guitarist Steve Stevens.  Between the two they put a number of edgy post-punk MTV-era classics together, in fact all of Idol’s hits were collaborations with Stevens.

At times Stevens seemed to almost steal the show from Idol with is phenomenal play.  Idol took a backseat a couple of times to give Stevens the spotlight.  This was most notable during a rocking guitar solo that paid tribute to a number of influences from the Doors to Led Zeppelin.

Idol, known to be a big Doors fan did a rousing rendition of “L.A. Woman”.  Jim Morrison would have been proud. 

As with a artist with a 30-plus year catalog to choose from, it was a non-stop greatest hits show.  You can insert the Billy Idol song title you want here, because he played it.  Props to the Brit punker for his performance of “Blue Highway” off of Rebel Yell.  That was always one of my favorite songs of his, if not my favorite.  Even though it didn’t chart well, it’s my favorite song on the album.

Idol finished the night up with of course “Rebel Yell” and topped that with the anthem of every bar band ever to play covers to a drunk, rowdy crowd, “Mony Mony”.  Good times.

Opening the show was Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.  I, too have fond memories of Joan Jett.  Back in the day when Chattanooga got it’s first true rock station, Rock 105 (not to be confused with the current incarnation), the station, when it decided to flip formats from soft rock to bona fide rock and roll played Jett’s “I Love Rock and Roll” over and over again.  They played it over and over again for 24 straight hours.  We knew something different was coming to Chattanooga.  Jett helped usher in the modern rock and roll era into this little southern town.

Opening the show Jett looked gaunt and more pale than usual.  Jett suffered a personal tragedy a few days earlier and there was some speculation she might cancel, but the trouper that she is, she came out with the Blackhearts and rocked it out.

Jett mixed her set with classic Jett material, new material off of Sinner and a few Runaways classics to boot.  She came out of the gate pretty quick with the Runaways with her second song being “Cherry Bomb” the song everyone will remember the Runaways for.

There were a lot of fans for Jett in the audience.  You could tell a lot had seen the Runaways movie that opened earlier this year as a bunch of 20-somethings and even teens dressed in all black and with black dyed hair to emulate Jett.

Jett finished the night off with “I Love Rock and Roll” and “Crimson and Clover” during which she sat on a stool. 

Despite looking frail, Jett’s voice was rock solid as was her guitar play.  She is a true professional who lives by the creed, “The show must go on”.

Idol followed her 70-minute set with almost two hours of fist pumping sneering, smoldering rock and punk anthems.  And true Idol fashion, he lost his shirt during the set to show off his tone physique.  What a great night, and a great time.  The only thing that could have made that night better was if if James Russell was there with me.  I miss you brother.

 - Dave Weinthal

Chattanooga played host to a concert featuring three acts all at different levels and all pulling their weight.

The first act was VV Brown.  Brown is a British pop/rock artist who has achieved a large following in her homeland and Capital Records is hoping for the same here in the states.

The statuesque 5’11” Brown was striking on stage.  Her vocal range is also phenomenal. Brown, unlike many of her contemporaries on the charts these days actually composes her own music and sings without the aid or need for auto-tune.  Her smoky vocal style contrasts brilliantly with her music which is pop or indie pop flavored.  Her voice is strong and is suitable and strong enough to sing the classics, jazz and the blues.

Brown’s stage performance was strong as well.  Dressed in all black and adorned with red war paint on her face she moved across the stage with grace of a dancer.  Her striking poses and movements are reminiscent of Grace Jones minus the crew cut. 

A lot of people in the crowd had no idea who VV Brown was when she hit the stage.  Midway through her set she had won them over as they had arms raised and waved the back and froth in unison.

Next on the bill was Kris Allen.  I have to admit, I don’t like American Idol.  A majority of the people involved come across as a merely glorified karaoke artist – using the word “artist” quite liberally here.

Over the course of the past decade I have gotten to witness a number of the American Idol winners and finalists in concert – everyone from Carrie Underwood to Clay Aiken.  Most of it has been to my dismay as most artists from this and their fans are caught up in being famous and not talented.  I have to give props to Allen.  He and his band performed a strong set. 

Allen played a number of songs off his most recent album and a few covers (what else would you expect from an American Idol contestant?).  The eight season winner has played it smart as his material suits himself and the band well unlike David Cook, who when I saw him tried to raise the spirit of David Lee Roth while at the same time asking for directions to the nearest Abercrombie and Fitch.

Much respect to Allen for a well planned set and the ability to exude an individual personality.

Maroon 5 headlined the show that night.  They had a lot to prove being the “old guys” on the bill.  They have been long established on the radio for the better part of a decade unlike the two openers.

I didn’t know what to expect out of them.  I remember seeing them in 2002 and thought they were pretty good.  Their first single, “Harder to Breathe” was  a gritty, soul influenced alt rock song that sounded great.  Their next big hit, “This Love” made them the darlings of the adult contemporary set, thus in turn turning me off.

Since that time I have had a deaf ear to their music.  The only time I would listen to them voluntarily was on a date or if I was out with someone that was a fan and thought I could use it to my advantage.

Adam Levine was up to the challenge.  The soulful and energetic front man for Maroon 5 made his way back and forth across the stage engaging the crowd.  He was obviously up to the challenged placed before him by Allen and Brown as he and the band put on a blistering set.

The set borrowed heavily from their debut, 2002’s Songs About Jane and he introduced the crowd to new material off of Hands All Over which is set for release on September 21.

After seeing the set, I have more respect for Maroon 5 and can’t wait to hear more from Brown and Allen.

 - Dave Weinthal

As Fred Schneider clicked the heels of his gold shoes thoughts came to mind, “There’s no place like home”.  While not technically home, Atlanta is a stone’s throw from Athens, home of the eccentric front man of the B-52s and his fellow singing cohorts Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson.

On a sweltering August evening the B-52s worked up quite a sweat as they sang and danced their way through 75 minutes of top-notch party tunes.  The attending audience took part in the open-air house party and danced along to tunes the band made famous and in part made Athens, Georgia famous as well.

Pierson and Wilson harmonized flawlessly throughout the night and shared lead vocals on a number of the songs that weren’t fronted by the iconic Schneider.   The two femme fatales looked to be dressed as if going to a formal or cocktail party as the red-haired Pierson wore a black and silver sequined gown and Wilson, smartly tailored in a black satin dress.

The trio, along with Keith Strickland on guitar kept the party going from the first note on through the night to the final applause.  I could list the song titles, but you already know them.  They finished off their set with their biggest hit, “Love Shack”, now a staple at karaoke bars everywhere.  The band came back for a two-song encore starting with “Planet Clair” and the song that brought them their first attention in 1979, “Rock Lobster.”

Opening the night was Blondie.  Debbie Harry came on stage in a white chiffon dress with matching platinum hair.

The post-punk, disco new wave diva along with original members Chris Stein and Clem Burke mesmerized the crowd for 75 minutes.

There is no other woman that has taken the stage who has ever had a better presence or aura than Harry.  She is a real woman.  Despite being eligible for Social Security, she still is a rock and roll sex goddess.  Her vocals were strong and she ran the gamut of the band’s 35-year career. 

A unique keytair (guitar/keyboard) riff that sounded very Muse-like led the band into “Call Me” on of their many number one hits.  Harry and the band’s attention to the music around them and the ability to accept and embrace them makes Blondie forever a current band and never an oldies act.

Harry and her band mates have embraced all the different pop culture trends at the time.  In the late ‘70s they had a disco hit with “Heart of Glass” and number one alternative/new wave hit with “Call Me”, had a number one reggae-based song, “The Tide Is High” and had the first number one rap song with “Rapture” in 1981 long before the likes of Snoop Dogg or Jay-Z.  When the band reformed after a long hiatus in the late ‘90s they embraced the swing revival on the album No Exit with “Boom Boom in the Zoom Zoom Room”.  So it was not surprise for Harry and the band to pay tribute to current musical influences.

While Blondie’s set covered the basics I would have liked to of heard more.  Well, I guess this will guarantee that I’ll be back the next time around.

 - Dave Weinthal

It’s a rare occurrence when a super group reforms with its original members over 20 years since they splintered off in different directions.  It’s even more rare when they tour internationally.  Well, that happened this year as Asia (remember them?) finished the North American leg of their tour Wednesday in Atlanta. 

On hand were the four original members, John Wetton, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and Geoff Downes, something not seen these days after so many years apart taking into consideration age, egos, and other commitments.

The collective was deemed a supergroup by critics because of their former alliances as members of suck rock outfits like Yes, King Crimson, The Buggles, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and so on.

With a background in progressive rock the quartet was able to bridge the deep divide between popular radio rock and the long drawn out theatrics that most prog rock is is.  Prog rock never met an eight-minute song they didn’t like.

On their debut album Asia was able to cross over to mainstream success with rocking songs like “Heat of the Moment” and “Only Time Will Tell”.  “Heat of the Moment was rated the number one single of 1982.

Following the self-titled album they released another commercial and critical successful album, Alpha.  It was after that album that the band started to splinter off as Wetton left the band due to battles with alcohol and the lineup shuffled around bit by bit before going stagnant in the early 1990s.

Fast forward to about five years ago when the four original members decided to try it again and put out an album of new material, Phoenix, which received critical acclaim.  The band started a limited tour before heart surgery for Wetton caused the band to cancel remaining dates on the tour in 2007.

Here it is 2010 and Asia is at it again.  They released a month and a half ago Omega, yet another critically praised release.  Thus came the North American tour that ended in Atlanta.

Progressive rock or prog rock is something that is an acquired taste.  A fan of prog rock is usually a musical nerd, much the way a computer nerd is or a fantasy football guy or poker player.  A lot of prog rock these days is not good music, it’s great musicianship, however.  The songs tend to be drawn out and theatrical in nature and tend to go out on a limb taking the listener out of a branch in Never Neverland and leave the listener hanging.  Those who do play the music are probably the best technical artisans of the instrument they are playing, but at time forget they are performing a musical composition with a beginning, middle and end.

Over the course of popular music history only a handful of prog rock bands have seen any sustained mainstream success.  There’s Kansas, Blue Oyster Cult, Jethro Tull, Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and King Crimson to name a few.  The last three are all represented by the lineup of Asia.

Asia had the crowd at the Variety Playhouse eating out of its hand from the first note.  They introduced new material off the bat from Omega and followed it up with one of their radio hits, “Only Time Will Tell”.

The band played two solid hours mixing new material off of Phoenix and Omega and mixing it with their debut album, the second album, Alpha and beyond. 

The audience at the show was not your typical concert-goers.  Granted, it was an older baby boomer crowd, but a majority were prog rock fans.  Prog rock fans are a different breed of rock fan.  Most that attend a rock show are usually there to hear the hits or songs they’ve heard on the radio.  Not a prog rock fan.  They are the ones calling out obscure song titles and deeper album cuts. And Asia did their best to meet many of these requests as they perfectly executed songs from their 30 year catalog.

The show was a musical nerd’s nirvana as Howe, Palmer and Downes each were featured in extended solos.  The key that made the show special and how you could tell these guys knew what they were doing is the fact like a prog rock song they were able to take the listener out on an extended limb, but then were able to reel then back in and tie loose ends up with a pretty bow.

 - Wm. Alexander

The room was abuzz Saturday night at the Masquerade as a full house weathered near flood conditions to watch four bands entertain the masses.  The buzz this night seemed to be mostly focused on the second band of the night, Runner Runner from Huntington Beach, California.

Their record label is touting them as a pop punk band somewhat in the mould of Green Day or Good Charlotte.  They are nothing like this.  The only thing punk about this band is the aggressive tone of the music, especially the drums.  The rest is pure power pop.  And what a relief to the ears as it seems that every pop/punk band tend to be a bunch of whiney boys.  These guys rocked.

The crowd, which was roughly 90 percent female dug the band that looked like a group of Abercrombie and Fitch models instead of a group of tattooed emo wanna-bes.  Their six-song set had the crowd in motion for the entire length of the set.  For old schoolers, they remind me of Material Issue in both sound and look more than the myriad of pop/punk bands that have cluttered the airwaves the past decade.

Lyrically the songs are more upbeat and non-political in nature which contrasts with a lot of bands of this genre.  Singer Ryan Ogren led the band and interacted with the crowd well as hands were in the air the entire set.  The band finished the night with their just released single “So Obvious” which brought down the house, a great song with a frenetic pace and great way to turbo charge the mood of the crowd.

Another band on the bill that really impressed me was White Tie Affair.  I usually judge a lot of bands by the venues they play, knowing the music style most clubs book.  Boy, was I surprised here.

White Tie Affair are a great young synth rock/dance band.  Their music sounds like a hybrid of New Order and 3OH!3.  The crowd really got moving during their set.  The mixing of old and new genres really works to their advantage as those that are into the older synth bands can relate to it and not feel embarrassed for liking it.  In honesty, at least live it’s as if White Tie Affair is picking up the mantle put down by New Order when they called it quits almost two years ago.

Go Radio opened the show.  They are you typical run of the mill rock band looking for their identity and niche.  The songs are good but nothing really there for me to sink my teeth into.

The headliner was Secondhand Serenade.  An odd bill since the band is more emo driven and could not keep up the frantic pace the other three bands provided.  It was as if they were the cool down band.  Not my cup of tea.

 - Wm. Alexander

If you’re looking to hear some genuine southern rock there’s no better source than one of the actual founding fathers of that genre, Gregg Allman.  A age 62 Allman stands tall and proud a true the survivor in not only the genre, but life.  He’s witnessed death, escaped it a few times, been married a time or two and faced his own demons engaging in a staring contest with them.  To everyone’s delight he didn’t blink and one of the most revered voices in rock and top-notch organist, the rock icon and survivor put on one hell of a show for Chattanooga Friday night.

Not looking to rest on his laurels or perform a “best of” set, Allman mixed a little new and classic material that spanned his four-plus decades in music, a career that began in his teens opening for the Beach Boys and after some down time saw him rise to new heights as the ambassador of the jam band generation as he and his contemporaries are still held in high regard.

Contrary to stereotype, southern rock like that played by Allman and his band Friday was a melting pot of styles.  There was no real dirty guitar work on stage, instead a melding of piano, guitar, saxophone and percussion is was seemed at times like a souped up jazz ensemble with more than a hint of traditional blues.

Despite reputation and such the listener got to listen to a lot of music and not a really long jam session.  With his golden mane flying around he led his band through a great series of songs all long enough, but not too long to drag on providing a better variety of life experience than one might expect these days from artists so closely tied to the genre.

Opening the show for Gregg Allman was the Jamie McLean Band.  The band was a serviceable opener that played straightforward rock and roll for a crowd that was there to see Allman.  The band entertained the crowd with a short set highlighting new material for the welcoming crowd.

 - Wm. Alexander

The Verve Pipe came to town Thursday to play before an empty room minus a handful of folks.  The band, whose heyday was in the late ‘90s with the number one song “The Freshman” and top ten single “Photograph” did something that most bands from that era usually don’t do these days if they’re still out playing.  They put on one helluva show.

Most bands that hit it big in the mid and late ‘90s were usually one-hit wonders and if you ever saw their live show, you sat through a lot of crap waiting for the one radio-worthy single.  The Verve Pipe was a little more than a one-hit wonder compared to their contemporaries.  They were and to this day continue to be a professional band.  There were no stupid drunk antics, silly wordplay or inflated egos – just a real rock band.

The band during their 75-minute set played a number of their more popular songs as well as sprinkling in new songs off a children or “family” album they released in the fall.  While the songs are kid friendly the music and lyrics for that matter were far from juvenile.  The new material had a lighter fresh pop sound reminiscent of pop and rock radio of the ‘60s before the drug culture sunk in.  The band is also working on new material, some they showcased to the literal handful of people that showed up.  Everyone else’s loss was my gain as I enjoyed my personal concert.

Opening the night was Brad Passons and his band.  Despite what some and even himself think Brad is no longer a kid.  For the first time in a long time he played a set of rock songs that weren’t full of gimmicky cheesy girl stuff and actually sounded like a rock band, not a guy playing music to pick up chicks. I still continue say to this day “You Are A Liar” is one of the best pop songs around worthy of commercial radio air play more so than the other crap being played on the dueling Top 40 radio stations in town.  Passons’ music has grown up from the early singer/songwriter cutesy pop stuff and seems to have a little substance now.  It’s as if his other testicle has actually dropped.  The only downside to this is there is no radio station in the local markets that play rock any  more and his definitely has a late ‘90s feel when rock and alt-rock were critic’s darlings.  Hopefully we’re coming out of the auto-tune phase music has been in for way too long and rock will once again rise from the ashes.

 - Wm. Alexander

Unlike other genres of music, rap is the one style is truly is an aural experience.  The music is very reliant of the words and phrases spoken and the imagry of the words instead of the music, lights or choreography involved in a live show or even video.

After the rhymes and rap there’s not much there to see.  It’s pretty easy to choreograph a rap concert going by what I saw Friday night at Vanderbilt.

The star comes out and literally walks back and forth along the front of the stage occasionally swinging their arms over their head, pointing to the crowd, back at themselves, an occasional chest bump and a microphone firmly planted in front of their face.

Executing this, there are three degrees or levels of rap artists, all whom hit the stage at Memorial Gym.

First was the young rapper, or one near the beginning of their career, such as J. Cole, who opened the show. No big production here.  It was mainly Cole by himself and for the first two songs he rapped, he did without any accompaniment.  The last two involved prerecorded music.  Cole’s brief set included the song “Lights Please” which caught the ear of Jay-Z as he was signed to his Roc Nation label.

The next act on the bill was the mid-level rapper who has a little more experience and exposure than the opener.  Wale took the stage next.  Wale (pronounced Waa-ley) unlike J. Cole had a band to back him.  Choreography the same, but the rhymes were more rhythmic and featured audience participation.  At one point in the show Wale filled the stage with young ladies from the audience and got them dancing on stage to his rap.

And finally there is the rap royalty, the hip-hop artist who has reached the pinnacle or near pinnacle of his art.  In this case it was Jay-Z, the former drug dealer turned record mogul, multi millionaire and husband of Beyonce. 

Now, the physical difference between Jay-Z, those like him and the other two kind of rappers described on the bill Friday night are many visually.  The clothes fit better, they are better tailored and the jewelry or “bling” is less obnoxious.  While Jay-Z had a couple of chains on they were quite tasteful not like the ones seen in most rap videos that look like they are out of a pawnshop.  Jay-Z is obviously a cultured man now, but not if you listen to his lyrics.

That is the one thing I find hard to understand about a lot of rap artists.  It’s hard for me to take someone like Jay-Z serious being angry when I know for a fact that the rider on his contract probably cost Friday’s promoter more than most of the audience in Memorial Gym make in a year.  When you’re singing about being a badass and swinging your fists and thumping your chest it’s a little much when the hand that you’re beating your chest with has a $20,000 watch on it.

That being said, that’s why rap is more of an aural experience as it is more about the words than the misguided messages sent through the imagery on stage.  And with that being said, Jay-Z led a fired up crowd through a battery of rhymes and music bringing the energy level in the gym to explosive heights.

With new material out he played it wise playing some of his older material such as “H.O.V.A.” and mixing it with newer material like “D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)”.

The stage set was impressive as well as his backing band including a horn section, two drummers and a percussionist.  The backdrop of the stage were video boards arranged resembling a New York skyline mixing great lighting effects with live video footage of Jay-Z performing. 

The show started with a timer on each side of the stage counting down from ten minutes.  As the clocks started, so did Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn”.  That was followed by the James Bond theme and just before the clock hit 0:00 Wing’s “Live and Let Die” began to play. 

Once the clock hit zero the fever pitch in the gym rose.  The band started and Jay-Z rose from underneath the stage.  The crowd went crazy. 

It was an interesting show to witness.  There are too many contradictions involved in a live rap show that will probably never be solved such as the tough street stance when there is so much lavish production involved.  Plus what is one guy supposed to do with a microphone?  It takes a great man to be able to hold attention visually in a situation like this, and Jay-Z succeeded.

 - Wm. Alexander

Old punks never die, they just get more distinguished with age.  Thus is the case of Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs.  Butler recently brought the Furs to Atlanta along with the Happy Mondays and Islands bringing back old memories – good ones at that.

The Furs sound is hard to pin down depending on who you discuss it with.  Edgy to the point of punk, but poppy enough to capture the new wave audience when they came out in 1980. The band rode that fine line during the 1980s and despite being around 30 years the music sounds as edgy and cutting as it did during the Reagan administration.

Butler was one of the first vocalists of that era whose voice distinguished itself from others not because of vocal talent, but personality.  When you heard his gravely voice you knew you were listening to either a Psychedelic Furs song or later a Love Spit Love song.  The Furs use of saxophone as an integral part of the band in the grittier rock that they played is reminiscent of early punk rockers like X-Ray Spex.  The Furs were the first to bring it into the mainstream without using it as a fill or “pretty” addition to the song.

Butler once hitting the stage looked great and appeared in great shape.  Thin as a rail, he has aged gracefully.  High energy, he was constantly in motion on stage.  The Furs’ front man spun around the stage, dressed in all black, arms flailing and even had the “jazz hands” going as he mesmerized the crowed for a full 90 minutes.

To a lot of people’s surprise he started with the big hits instead of saving them for later.  The first song to kick off the set was “Love My Way” a radio staple since its release in 1983.  The dark stage was his playground as Butler played classics like “President Gas”, “Mr. Jones” and “Sister Europe”. 

About midway through the set the band broke into their signature tune, the basis for John Carpenter’s 1986 movie, “Pretty In Pink”.  At that point the capacity crowed started to dance and move along to the music.  The venue on an upper level of a multi level complex, began to move due to the size of the crowd all moving in unison to the music.  At one point one felt the floor was going to give in.

Butler did not miss a beat as his vocals sounded strong.  Sax player Mars Williams was phenomenal as he made the sax sound like a genuine part of the band not just there for effects.  Tim Butler looked and played well on bass.  The lead singer’s brother is also the band’s only other original member in the current lineup, a lineup which included Amanda Kramer on keyboard.  Some may not realize the musical royalty she represents.  Kramer was originally the keyboard player for Information Society and vocalist for Golden Palominos.

Before the Furs took the stage Shaun Ryder and Happy Mondays took to the stage.  The Happy Mondays, of the famous Factory Records Label (Joy Division, New Order), played a very short set, as Ryder took the band through a half dozen songs in around 45 minutes.  Ryder did not take center stage, instead allowing a female backing vocalist to front the band. He stood back in front of the drums and brought the crowd through a retrospect of the band’s disjointed 30 year career.  The Monday’s sound unfortunately sounded dated.  The band was extremely tight, but the songs said “1991” to me as almost all the songs featured a stereotypical back up singer doing all the “Ooohs” and “Ahhhs” and “Whooooaaas!”  Ryder started off the set with a killer rendition of  “Hallelujah” and finished the set with “Step On”.

Opening the show was Canadian band Islands.  They were a pretty good little band with a retro sound.  The young band was about half the median age of the crowd who were there to obviously see the Psychedelic Furs and Happy Mondays.

 - Dave Weinthal

Saturday total pandemonium broke out at Chastain Park as the Pet Shop Boys came to town.  The Pet Shop Boys stopped in the dirty south bringing their Pandemonium Tour to the masses in Atlanta in fine style.

Touring on the strength of their tenth album, Yes the eclectic duo played some old, something new, yet leaving no one blue as they played songs that have entertain folks for almost 30 years now.

To be honest, the show at Chastain Park was not a concert, it was more of a performance.  The duo, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe mixed and meshed video, lights, staging, costumes and performance art into a truly aural and visual demonstration rarely seen.

Tennant, the duo’s singer went through four costume changes during the course of the night.  Lowe, always the low-key member of the duo, stood quietly at his keyboard and effects rack.

The show started with “Did You See Me Coming” with Tennant coming on stage in hat sort of looked like a space costume with a bright yellow cube helmet that encased his head.

Tennant removed the helmet to cheers and began “Pandemonium” off of the band’s recently released Yes album.

Tennant and Lowe did a good job of introducing (although most fans were already familiar with the new material) new songs and mixing them with radio staples such as “Always On My Mind”,  “All Over the World”, “It’s A Sin” and finishing the night with their 1986 breakthrough hit “West End Girls”.

The most outstanding part of the night was how they were able to integrate video with live action to give it a 3-D effect.  Tennant sang behind a white wall a majority of the night.  The wall was composed of stacked white boxes.  At one point the screen behind him showed an animated wall.  In the video the wall began to crumble and wall down.  As the video of the collapsing wall reached the top of the actual backdrop the boxes came tumbling down a well.  A great visual effect that is hard to put into words.  It really needs to be witnessed.

Interpretive dancers took center stage during the majority of the night.  Brightly colored with blockheads (literally).  One interpretive dance involved a couple that climbed a staircase on center stage.  At the apex the two start to overdramatically push each other back and forth a number of times angrily before the male is literally thrown off the top falling to the ground.  He promptly climbed the stairs again and went tumbling once again.

The other dance movements were quite graceful and well orchestrated taking emphasis off of Tennant as they seemed to dance to narrate his vocals.  It was an impressive blend of music and dance.

 - Dave Weinthal

REEL BIG FISH/ENGLISH BEAT The Masquerade - Atlanta, GA 7/24/09

Reel Big Fish are a live ban in every sense of the word.  The ska-punk veterans and their caravan pulled into the Masquerade Friday night for a no-holds barred night of activity.  Touring in support of a new live DVD released earlier in the week, it’s hard not to be a fan of the band.

From the get-go it was obvious that this wasn’t really a concert but more of a fraternity party.  From the first horn note the crowd was into it and the body surfing began.  Like casualties of war, fans were carted off to the side of the stage after surfing to the front by security.

Aaron Barrett led the charge on guitar and vocals.  The founding member of the band looked at home leading his three-ring circus through an action-packed 90-minute set

Reel Big Fish were co-headliners on this tour with one of the originators of 2 Tone ska, English Beat.  Fronted by Dave Wakeling the band is on tour celebrating their 30th anniversary.  Wakeling, who was the band’s lead singer/songwriter as well as for General Public voice sounded pristine.  Unlike some of bands doing a reunion type of tour he used the opportunity to not only perform a few classics, but introduced the younger ska/punk generation to new material.  Time has been kind to the band as they have stayed in the public consciousness thanks to their music being peppered into various soundtracks.  They began the set with their cover of the Miracles “Tears of a Clown” their first charting single, and later in the night played “Mirror In The Bathroom” which the more novice fans of the band really dug.  My only regret of the set was that they did not perform “Save It For Later”.

Before the Beat performing was Supervillans another up and coming ska/punk band.  Their set got off to a slow start as they seemed to goof around on stage a little at first.  A little bit towards the halfway point of their short set they got into full swing and killed it the last 15 minutes.

Opening the show was local artist Groove Stain..  Veteran ska/punksters the veteran group played an energetic set that drew a big early crowd to the venue.  At one point one of the horn players broke into a hip-hop set that really energized the crowd.  From all indications they deserved to go on later in the bill than first.  Look for their star to rise.

 - Dave Weinthal

I remember about ten years ago finally getting to see Deborah Harry and Blondie in concert.  Harry was my first rock and roll crush.  Sure there were other rock and roll female singers out there, but Debbie, to me was a women while the rest were girls.  The show that night confirmed that to me.  I attended the show with a gay couple who were eager to see who they called a true rock and roll diva.  Harry had just done that VH1 Divas show and was fresh in everyone’s mind once again.  Once the show was over my two cohorts were straight.  Their voices even dropped an octave.  No joke.  Deborah Harry is a real woman.

Terri Nunn Wednesday gave Harry a run for her money as she and her band Berlin entertained an enthusiastic crowd at Chastain Park.  Nunn is back in full force sporting a new CD/DVD and oozing as much if not more sexuality into her part of the Regeneration Tour.  Every bit as striking and beautiful as when Berlin first came to our consciousness in the 1980s with songs like “The Metro” and the love ballad from “Top Gun”, “Take My Breath Away”.

A few empty seats were available front row center that night that stayed that way during the first two bands of the four band bill, but once Nunn hit the stage with her long flowing black gown and emoting sexuality to the nth degree, the seats filled as young boys and older men for that matter pushed towards the stage.  Boys easily half her age were screaming “You’re so hot!” and “I love you!”  I think their voices dropped an octave as well.

Nunn basically ran the band through a greatest hits set that included the aforementioned songs as well as “No More Words”.  During the song “Dancing in Berlin” she brought folks on stage to dance with her.  Before you knew it there were at least 30 folks dancing on stage as Nunn belted out the song.  The show came to a complete stop with the finale “Sex I’m A…”  Nunn had done her thing.  She brought the crowd to a fever pitch.

Headliner Martin Fry and ABC boldly took Nunn’s challenge and delivered a decisive victory for the show.  Everything that Terri Nunn was to the guys, Fry was to the women.  Women bum rushed the stage reaching for the Brit dandy king of ‘80s Brit Pop, screaming his name at the top of their lungs as well as singing along word for word to each song.  The guys, ironically were doing the same thing, except off-key.  Martin Fry is kind of like the musical James Bond.  All women love him and all guys want to be like him. 

Nattily dressed in a black suit and tie Fry began the evening with “Show Me” the first cut off ABC’s debut and legendary “Lexicon of Love” album.  Many others off the album as well as songs like “How to Be A Millionaire” and “When Smokey Sings” and “Be Near Me” rang triumphantly through the amphitheatre.  While Fry performed the newest single “Ride” off his most recent album, “Traffic” Nunn came out and joined him on stage singing backing vocals.  Together they looked like they were on a prom date with their formal attire, and rightly so.  The Regeneration Tour is a reunion of a lot of great music from an era that is very near and dear to a lot of people still.

Towards the end of the set the entire Regeneration Tour staff joined ABC on stage to dance to the synth pop hits.  This show was the last night of the tour for everyone.  ABC finished the night with a rousing rendition of their first hit “Look of Love”.  About two-thirds of the way through the song Fry’s vocal mic went out.  The trouper that he was the show continued as it was obvious that this, unlike a lot of the big dollar tours out right now, wasn’t lip synced, as you could still hear Fry’s voice singing from the stage.

The night began eagerly enough with the Cutting Crew.  The Brit/Canadian rock band at one point had the number one song in the world in 1986 with “I Just Died In Your Arms”.  23 years later and Nick Van Eede’s voice has not missed a lick.  Still pristine and golden he put his new “Crew” through the paces.  He started the show with a brand new song, promoting a new release by the band.  He then concurred to pressure and played a greatest hits set that included “One For The Mocking Birds” and “Been In Love Before”.  Cutting Crew’s set of hits set the tone for the evening for everyone.

Following Cutting Crew was Wang Chung.  From 1984-87 Wang Chung lived on the charts beginning with “Dance Hall Days” thorough “Everybody Have Fun Tonight”.  And everyone did have fun as the band played a blistering five-song set of radio hits from the aforementioned as well as “To Live And Die In LA” from the 1985 movie to “Let’s Go”.  Pretty much a duo, Jack Hues (vocals) and Nick Feldman (bass) played the hits with veracity.

The night however belongs to the king and queen of this reunion, Martin Fry and Terri Nunn and to those that got to witness it.  I want my MTV!  If only Martha Quinn and J.J. Jackson could have been there to complete the reunion.

 - Dave Weinthal

American Idol mayhem hit Chattanooga Wednesday night as David Cook, winner of the reality show’s seventh season performed at the Convention and Trade Center.

A small but very vocal crowd showed up for the show which boasted fans from pre-teen to octogenarians in attendance for the 90-minute set. The crowd that showed up were not disappointed.

Having never watched American Idol, this is the fourth concert I have seen by Idol idols with mixed results. Carrie Underwood was nice but a little over-produced and hyped by a genre trying to re-label themselves.  I liked Bucky Covington the time I saw him, a surprisingly good country show.  Clay Aiken, on the other hand was an embarrassment.  His schtick at the time was singing theme songs to everyone’s favorite TV show.  It was painful to watch especially with his “Oooh girl!” antics and talking about how Krystal burgers gave him gas.  Ruben Studdard appeared at the Bessie Smith Hall and I don’t think anyone showed up.  I was leery of David Cook.

To my surprise he put on a real rock show playing original material, some that predated his American Idol fame.  The big surprise of the night was his cover of Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher”.  Lead guitarist Neil Tiemann came extremely close to putting Eddie Van Halen to shame with his ace work.  He matched the original, not missing a beat.  Cook’s voice growled and emoted just like Diamond Dave’s.  The only knock on it was Cook’s look.  It was kind of funny seeing an extremely metrosexual man try to out dazzle David Lee Roth with his designer haircut.  Once I closed my eyes, I really enjoyed the song and was extremely in awe for Tiemann.  Because of that cover I now have respect for Cook I never did before.

Cook’s set was a mixture of new and old songs from before Idol came calling, pimping a new release and vowing to come back to Chattanooga.  The band as a whole was pretty killer if you can get over the American Idol stigma.  Do I see much of a future for Cook?  Limited at best.  Real rockers don’t look like that and your fame is limited winning American Idol unless you’re a female.

Opening the show was needtobreathe who put on a short, but blistering set of original rock.  One of the forerunners of positive rock and roll that became in vogue about five years ago, the band from the Carolinas, who sport two brothers, one of whom played in the 1-AA National Championship game for Furman in 2001.  The quintet is tight, have their act together and if the crowd is any indication, are headed for big things.

 - Wm. Alexander

It was 122 miles to Atlanta.  I had a tank of gas, a half bag of chips, it was bright and I wasn’t wearing sunglasses.  Saturday I ventured down to meet the bona fide Blues Brothers, Zee and Elwood Blues as they were in Atlanta all day Sunday to help raise money and awareness for Hillels of Georgia.

A full day of events took place Sunday with Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi arriving at Earl Smalls Harley-Davidson around 2:30 for a bike ride.  Anyone interested was invited to sign up to join the two Blues Brothers on the ride from just off exit 261 to the Tabernacle on Luckie Street downtown, one block from Philips Arena.

Every motorcycle enthusiast in the area was there for the party that started at 1 Pm with Blues Brothers impersonators on site and a live blues band – and of course every style of motorcycle and rider in every shape and size including one dog that had his own biker leathers and do-rag.

When a long white stretch limousine pulled into the parking lot of the dealership the crowd of a couple hundred bikers swarmed it as Aykroyd and Belushi stepped out.  Aykroyd was a good sport signing autographs for a while.  No one at first went over to Belushi.  Many at first did not recognize him as the movie and TV star was sporting a freshly shaved head.  Once recognized he was swamped and he took time to sing a number of autographs as well before being led into the dealership to sign out a pair of Harleys for the ride.

After the bike ride a crowd gather for the sold-out show of the Blues Brothers who haven’t played out together in over 20 years.  While there is an official touring Blues Brothers band, neither Belushi nor Aykroyd play with the touring band.

“Excuse me! Did you see two guys come through here, black suits, black hats, one carrying a briefcase?”

As a matter of fact we did as Zee (Belushi) and Elwood (Aykroyd) hit the Tabernacle stage around 8:15.  Backed by Belushi’s own Sacred Hearts Band the two had the crowd mesmerized for almost two hours.

The duo with Elwood on harp and Zee handling a majority of vocals played many blues classics that the original lineup (Jake – the late John Belushi) brought out of hiding 30 years ago.  They did everything from “Rubber Biscuit” by the Chips to “Hard to Handle” originally recorded by Otis Redding but popularized in 1990 by the Black Crowes.

Even more impressive than their blues revivalist style was the energy Belushi brought to the crowd.  He was a whirling dervish on stage and off.  He began the set lying on his back, raising his legs and then flipping to an upright position.

During the third number Belushi left the stage and cavorted into the crowd.  He proceeded to grab three of four different women and danced with them around in the crowd before returning to stage.  Once back on stage he dirty danced with his backup singers.  At this point Aykroyd joined the hi-jinks.  Watching the show progress it was obvious that Aykroyd was really getting into the set as he had a great look of satisfaction and joy watching Belushi run all around.  The two traded off vocal leads from time to time during the set as they performed and really seemed to be brothers.  Too bad the night had to end, seeing it was a mission from God.

 - Dave Weinthal