This coming Weekend

This coming weekend I get to see The Fab Faux and The Absolute Zeros. Getting to see Will Lee again is always a pleasure as he is such a great person and not unreachable to the fan. The band is by far the best Beatles tribute going. I have seen others and they can not compare to Will and the gang in the Fab Faux. They recreate the Beatles to a T. If you closed your eyes, you would think that John Paul George and Ringo were really in front of you performing. As for the Absolute Zeros, It has been a while in the making, but Dawn and I will be seeing them at the Tin Angle Sat night after seeing Will and the Gang at the Keswick. I am looking forward to the show as I have heard their music on their MySpace page and enjoy what I have heard. More to come in the next few weeks up to the great one and only Brian Wilson show, that I have been looking forward to for 2 months.

Lindsey Buckingham

Well, Sat night at the Keswick was a night I was looking forward to since I slept thru the Crosby/Nash show eariler in the week. I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I was in the quality of the show. I had to leave after the 3rd song as the music was just so loud that it was uncomfortable to stay and enjoy the music. I was told that there had been no sound check, and it bothered me that the people working with the band was more concerened about covering the glass partions in the lobby to prevent anyone from looking to the stage (what was that all about) then making the audience happy and acutally lowering the volumn of the music to an acceptable level to prevent a mass exodus. I wish I could have stayed, but I just could not take the assualt on my ears. Very dissapointing night.

The Quarrymen

Well It's been a while but I have a great one for you today. Last week I got to see 3 original members of the Quarrymen. I have a picture of them with a very young John and Paul that I had signed along with the Beatles themed guitar. I have some pics of them and here is one. They sounded great, considering their ages. They played some skiffle and some old rock songs like That will be the Day, Come go with me and Elvis songs along with some of their old original songs done with John and Paul. Enjoy the photo, and remember to support your local venue for classic rock shows.

Peter Tork and the Shoe Suede Blues

This past Fri I had the sad duty to visit with Peter and bassist Arnold Jacks(far right next to the new guys) at a local venue in Philly and relay my condolences for the loss of their band mate and great friend Richard Mikuls. His loss was a great shock to me having just talked with him not long ago on Myspace. I had taken photos and videos of the band in Reading last year and never got around to giving the disk to them. I had emailed Peter and told him I would be visiting them when they came back to town and express my regrets for their loss and also to provide them with the disk of great photos and some video clips for them to watch. I hope they enjoy the effort I put into making the visuals intimate. I was surprised to find that the band had changed up a bit and there is now of course a replacement for Richard on guitar, but also a new drummer. I have taken a photo of them (minus Peter) and will post it later. I hope they continue to make some great music and continue to keep Richards spirit alive with them where ever they go.

Breakfast with the Beatles

Sunday morning Dawn and I went to one of our favorite events, Andre Gardner's remote broadcast of his show Breakfast with the Beatles on the Spirit of Philadelphia. We both look forward to seeing our friend Andre and the remotes are always such a good time. I will say now however, I am a bit disappointed that there was no special guest, as I look forward to getting another Beatles related autograph on the Beatles themed guitar. In the past Andre has always had someone that is somehow related to the Best Band that ever Lived, like May Pang, Pauline Sutcliffe, Denny Laine, and others. But be that as it may the consolation was a limited edition CD filled with interviews Andre has had in the past with guests like Patty Boyd and Olivia Harrison among others. And this time even the food was fantastic. In past cruises, the food left something to desire, but this time it was really good. We brought with us a limited Ringo poster(see Picture) Andre had given us that we had framed and he said he would like to see it. He was giving out more of them on this cruise and wanted to show what it looked like framed. It is always a good time to be with the friends we have made by attending these remotes with Andre and we cant wait till the next one. The only down side of this day was that I received an email from Andre's myspace page the following day that some idiot with no respect for Andre's generosity, actually had placed their free CD up for auction on Ebay. Really no class was used in this cheap action. To think that they had been given a gift and then turned around to try to profit off of it is shameful. We always thought there was a better "class" of people in the crowd the remotes always draws but I guess there is always at least one in every crowd. Hope this is not a sign of the things to come, and that it does not prevent Andre from gracing all the true fans of his work from rewarding us all with more great things in the future. Also see a picture of my long lost brother? that actually sat next to us for the whole cruise.

Robert Cray and Keb-Mo show

Tonight was the Blues show that we had been waiting to see. We have seen both Robert and Keb in the past as opening acts for Buddy Guy and Bonnie Raitt, but never saw them as headliners. We were not disappointed. Both had an hour and a half set that just cooked. Both artists are Grammy winners and neither one let the audience down. There was a duet early in the Robert Cray set that just blew me away. Wish I knew the name of the song. Then later in his set Bob did a song called Twenty which is an anti-war song reminiscent of the protest songs of the 60's. Brought back all the Vietnam memories, but in a good way( as far as protests go ). It struck me half way thru his set, and I told Dawn, Bob at times sounds to me exactly like Marvin Gaye. What a talent. Then Keb came on and sorry to say I missed the first half as I had to take Dawn home, she was not feeling good. I came back and heard great band members join together and make fabulous music for the next hour. All in all, a great night, just wish I could have gotten Bob's autograph, but I did get Keb on the Buddy Guy guitar. This was a great show and I hope they work together again in the near future so we can see them again.

CLARKE - MILLER - WOOTEN

Tonight was the S-M-V Thunder tour of Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, and Victor Wooten. What a fantastic trio!!! Their musical lineage alone is worth the price of admission. Combined they have worked with the best in the Music Arena like, Sinatra, Chick Corea, Miles Davis, George Duke, Dave Mathews, Prince, Luther Vandross, Grover Washington, and so many more. They all played together in 2006 at the Bass Player Live concert. and saw that there was enough room for them to work together and not as rivals. Their first album together features them along with George Duke and Chick Corea and all three bassists contribute new work to the album. The album is getting rave reviews and some say it is the Jazz record of the year. We can only hope that come Grammy time, these 3 outstanding musicians get what is rightfully theirs.

This past Friday RipChords and Wink Keziah

Dawn and I went to one of our new favorite places, PUCK in Doylestown and saw our friends the Rip Chords. We were unaware of there being an opening act and were completely surprised to see Wink Keziah and Delux Motel open. They are so dichoticly different from the Rip Chords in musical style that the combination of Honkey Tonk/Southern Rock and Surf Music actually worked really well. We were seated up front in Puck which holds about 100 people, and had clear view of both bands. Wink and his crew, were gracious and friendly to the crowd with a lot of interaction. The band is very talented made up of Ken Keicher on bass, Arda Bagcioglu on lead, and Jason Donaldson on drums, this 4 piece band can tear up a bar with good feelings and great music. Then after their set, they cleared out for The Rip Chords. This is the ++ time we have seen them and they just get better with each appearance. Mitch and Richie were constantly hawkin their new CD and it was comical. They welcomed back Freddy Brog on Guitar and it was good to see him back. They sounded fantastic and their harmonies were right on. Bob and Tony round out the band on bass and drums. The big surprise of the night was when our friend Amy (keyboards and vocals) took the lead on White Rabbit. She just nailed it and blew us away. And after the show we hung with the band for a bit, more on that later - an interview with Richie, we both told Amy that she has nothing to be shy about with her voice. It was great to see our friends again and we look forward to seeing them again soon.


There will be more shows this week not previously announced, but keep coming back to check for new posts.

Coming up

Well I have been a little lax lately (too much work) and so I am just letting everyone know that comin up will be reviews of Peter Tork and his band, Stanley Clark/Marcus MIller/Victor Wooten, Keb Mo and Robert Cray. I am still hoping to get in to see the Absolute Zeros as I have promised them to see them and write a review. It is just that my full time job schedule is so bizarre and its on 3rd shift so I cant get out that much during the week. I will however, be posting some new reviews in the upcoming weeks so keep coming back to see. Also check out BiCoastal Affair on MySpace. Sorry its a cheap plug, I know, but its my sons new band and they are pretty good. Go have a listen and let me know what you think.

Ill Be Back

Been a While

Well, it has been 2 weeks since I blogged, and I am sorry for that, just busy. This week, Friday Dawn and I will be going back to PUCK in Doylestown to see our friends, THE Rip Chords. I will be interviewing them after the show and posting some more info about them along with a review of the show next week. Then Next week we see Keb Mo and Robert Cray. A great blues night. That will be followed with a Breakfast with the Beatles cruise for 2 hours of great Beatles music and trivia. I will also be tring to get over to see Stanley Clarke/Victor Wooten/Marcus Miller for more autographs. So, have no fear,there will be more blogs to come in the next week, its just been slow and I have been busy.

Comedy Show

Well, this week, Dawn took me to Atlantic City for my birthday. We stayed at the Brogata for two days. She even got tickets to the comedy shown the night of our arrival. That is what this post is about. It was one of the best comedy shows I have ever seen. The talent in the 3 performers was amazing. The first act was Chipps Cooney. His "msgic" act was the best spoof I have ever seen. He did not do one single magic trick, but that did not matter. He had the audience in the palm of his "slight of hand." The second act was Rob Magnotti. This young performer was by in large the best impersonator I have seen since the days of Rich Little and Frank Gorshin. Robs impersonatiions were dead one down to the mannerisms of the likes of John Travolta, Dustin Hoffman, Kramer, and Jerry Sienfeld. Then the headliner came on and that was Richie Minervini. Richie was on "The King of Queens", and his act was outrageous. His comments on the movies in the elevator, Jersey Tolls, the women leaving for the rest room, and the couple pawing each other in the front row were great. This was the best show I have seen and would gladly see it again if given the chance. I will be looking for the three of them to be coming by the Phila area, and if they do I will be first in line for the tickets, although I would hope that this blog would help me to get free tickets. I strongly recommend all who read this to be on the look out for these three to come to your area..

Daryl Hall

Tonight, Dawn and I went to see one of her idol's, Daryl Hall. To see him in a small venue like the Keswick Theater is just about as good as it gets. There were fans waiting for his arrival in the parking lot, when we pulled in. As we got into the theater, the crowd was mostly female, go figure, and many couples. Daryl's music is so soulful it makes me wonder where he got so much soul from. It must be from the fact that Phila. is such a gigantic part of the music business, with so many great acts along with Gamble and Huff, that as a native of the area, it just grew into him.

The band led by T-bone on guitar was note for note perfect. Harmonies were so good I was looking for the females to be hiding in the wings, only to realize there were no female singers on stage. The interaction between Daryl and his audience was to be expected for a native of the area. Personal accounts of growing up in the area, attending Temple and even joking about not doing any "John songs".

I will have to admit though, that I was disappointed in the precision of the "escape plan" for the entire bands departure. It ran like clockwork, and there was absolutely no chance for any contact with any member of the band. I would think that as a home grown boy, There would have been some interaction with the fans for pictures, autographs, but that was not happening at all. It was executed like a presidential arrival, with the band van running interference for the SUV that would carry Daryl.

I was hoping for an autograph on the guitar, but more I was hoping that Dawn would be able to meet and get a picture with Daryl. Too bad it didnt happen.

Widespread Panic

Last night I had the pleasure of doing my first job for Electric Factory Concerts by attending the Widespread Panic show. Having never heard of them in the past, I was unsure of what awaited me. Upon my arrival, I noticed many in the audience looking similar to a Greatful Dead crowd. I was able to see the guitarist Jimmy Herring, in the backstage area before the show. Long hair reminecent of Haight-Asbury days gone by. I was expecting an opening act, but at 805pm 5 min after scheduled opening time, they walked out on stage. I am not aware of the names of any of their music, so I will just list them as song number 1, 2 ,etc. Song number one made me wonder what I had gotten into. It was so very similar to the Dead, Phil Lesh, and other jam bands in that it went on and on for almost a half hour. I thought I was back in the 60's. The crowd was very receptive of the music, and I must admit, I was tapping my foot.

Musically, the band is extra tight. The guitar solos of Jimmy, the running bass lines from the 6 string bass in Dave's hands, the almost Santana sounding percussion coming from Domingo, all blended in to make even a critic like me of jam bands bop his head or tap his foot. After the first song, they broke into what I can only describe as a regular set with a series of songs that were no more than 7 minutes long. That to me is normal.

I was impressed with their harmonies, and by all accounts all of their musical talents. Combined it all led me to hear an almost unforgettable version of Warren Zevon's Lawyers, Guns and Money.

Having never heard of them I now understand why they are in the Pollster top 50 live acts. The crowd was so into the music, they became an extension of the band, reverberating the sound received from the band, back to them in the form of action and movement.

This Weekend

This weekend I will be very busy. Starting Friday night with a review of Widespread Panic for the Electric Factory Concerts people. They were looking for writers and I signed up. 2 tickets to the show and I need to have a review in within 2 days. Pretty Cool. Maybe my luck will be good and this can turn into a paying job with them Then possibly seeing also the Absolute Zero's friday night. Saturday night it is Daryl Hall. Dawn will be with me for that one as he is one of her most favorite artists. Hopefully we will get to meet him after the show and get the guitar signed, and Dawn can finally say she met him. This weekend is also the Great American Guitar show with Rick Derringer appearing. Not too sure if I can make that though as we have a movie date with the granddaughters on Sun and they live in another state. So stay posted by Monday there will be some new posts and pics up on the site to reflect the running around coming up this weekend.

Atlantic City and RINGO

Well, Yesterday was the big day. We started at 9am and left for the granddaughters birthday party where we help babysit so Mommy could get the rest of the preparations completed. Then Half way to the shore I realized I had forgotten the tickets. So I called the Casino box office and they told me to call Ticketmaster. Long end short it was not a problem. The Neal was not able to get me any info on getting an autograph, so That was a disappointment, but then we went forward. Had dinner at the Hard Rock, and then it was show time. Both Dawn and I agree that it is in the top 5 shows that we have ever seen. The talent alone was impeccable, the sound was perfect, and the ambiance was nostalgic to say the least. Every performer had their own solo and then collective with Ringo. Dawn was unaware of the talent that is Edgar Winter. He is a force to be reckoned, with no doubt. Gary Wright was amazing. Billy Squire rocked the house. Colin Hay was note on. And Hamish Stuart has too much soul for a white Scotsman. Alone any one of these performers would have been worth the ticket price, but to have them all and to include Ringo in the mix, well my audience, I could have died and gone to heaven just then. The amount of talent on the stage at one time was unimaginable, and overwhelming, but collectively, they pulled it off with professionalism and so much fun and humor. We are now hooked and God willing there will be another 10 of these tours that we will be in attendance at.

Cant Wait

Well first let me say that tomorrow is Sat and I want to say Happy Birthday to my Mom. I miss you so much. OK that being said, it is also my granddaughters birthday, and I love you so much. With the mush out of the way, I cant wait and the excitement is building. Dawn and I leave in the morning to head to Atlantic City for a show Sat nite that will be one like we have never seen before. We are taking in the Ringo and his All Star band show. And of course I am taking the guitar, and with the help of a friend Neal, and prayers from Mom, Dawn and I will be lucky enough to get Ringo to autograph the "Beatles" related guitar. I am so looking forward to seeing the show also for the claiber of talent collected on one stage at one time. It will certainly be up there talent wise with the likes of the Jimi Hendrix Tribute we saw last year in mmmmmmmm Atlantic City also. Must be the location. Any way before that show, on Friday night we get to visist with the Absolute Zeros who asked us to come and review them. Looking forward to that show also. And on a side note, I have been asked by Electric Fractory Concerts, to do a review of one of their upcoming shows to which I am totally excited to do. I hope that this can turn into a full time gig (with pay would be nice) between the two of us, but only time will tell. So to recap, Firday Absolute Zeros, Sat Ringo, and soon an Electric Factory show, Daryll Hall and some others coming up. Stay Tuned and dont touch that dial.

B O Z

When I took Dawn to see Boz Scaggs, I was going just to spend time out of the house with my wife, as I was not really that big a fan of his. Well, after the show I have to admit, that I did know way more songs performed then I thought I would, and grew, with each passing song performed, a better appreciation of the talent that is Boz. The performance was almost perfect. The music was tight, the harmonies were never faltering, and the band was so together, it could have been a recording. The background singers were par excellent, and the version of Randy Crawford's "Street Life" was in my opinion, better then the original. Boz has a unique voice and although it was hard for me to determine if natural or falsetto, it was none the less, a calm and soothing melodic instrument that blended right in with the band. Having never seen him in the past I would certainly go see him again given the chance and I highly recommend anyone to take in his show if available in your area.

David Jacobs-Strain

Tonight Dawn and I went to see Boz Scaggs and the opening act was David Jacobs-Strain. Not knowing what to expect, I awaited with open mind. Then David came out to warm up the crowd for Boz. I WAS SO IMPRESSED. David's guitar playing was just short of not possible. He appeared on stage solo and alone, and yet, filled the Keswick with just his miraculous finger picking. Between his 16Th note runs and the amazing slide runs either on the acoustic or the National Dobro, his melodic sounds filled the room. At intermission, Dawn and I went to get his CD and autograph, and we told him that he sounded on a 6 string guitar like Robert Randolph does on a 12 string steel pedal. We were pleasantly shocked by the infectious sounds David put out. On the way in to work after the show, I listened to the CD, and although it is also good, it somehow pales to the actual sheer attack displayed as a solo artist in a hall, with no one else to depend on for making the music sound so good. Keep it coming David and we hope to see you in Nov when you come back to the area.

The trouble with getting things autographed

The trouble with getting the guitar signed tonight was that there are an increasing amount of people coming to get things signed that bring an arm full of albums or 100 pictures and take up a good amount of time with the artist, making it hard for the true collector to get one item signed. In particular, there is a set of brothers that have been increasing prevalent at signings, coming with over 20 records between them. There is no way that they are not doing this as a business and selling the items they get. This is the type of thing that both the artist does not want, and it is what makes it harder for the true fan to simply get the autograph of someone they enjoy. I am a collector for an investment it is true, but it is for way down the road, say 15 years from now, not tomorrow on ebay. I decided to start getting my guitars signed by artists I have enjoyed all my life as an investment for the college fund of my grandchildren. They youngest is going to be 4 this year so I have 13-17 years before I even start to think about selling my guitars. And since I play guitar, I wont even do that till after I sell my 20 long boxes of comics ranging from 1960's to 1990's. I think that seeing people with arm fulls of items to sign is a dead giveaway that they are ebay sellers ( or something similar ) for a profit. Also, another alarming trend I see is that the people getting autographs, are not even attending the show the artist is performing at. They merely show up with a mirage of items and stand out behind the venue and at times demand, most certainly push their way into getting some if not all of their items signed. This is a trend I hope to see get smaller as time goes on and not become more of the norm

John Densmore's Tribaljazz

Saw John Densmore and his Tribaljazz band tonight. Enjoyable eclectic sounds to say the least. "Tribaljazz, the brainchild of legendary Doors drummer John Densmore, blends and fuses improvisational jazz, beats and world music. In the end, what you hear is, truly, Tribaljazz. The band features John Densmore on drums, co-founder Art Ellis on Soprano / Alto Sax and Flute, two master African drummers, an upright bass player, a world- class pianist and a multi-instrumental percussionist. Tribaljazz is an acoustic jazz quartet engine, fuel-injected with the percussion power of several African Master drummers. Tribaljazz brings a provocative and energetic new voice to the Jazz and Jamband world. Tribaljazz is an experience - it's a seductive groove, with driving rhythms, that draws a wide eclectic audience - from Jazz aficionados and Classic rockers, to cutting edge Jamband followers without age or demographic limits."

John was gracious enough to come out before the show and sign things for his fans, which brings me to the next post about autograph seekers.