Album Review – Red Headed Stranger (1975) – Willie Nelson
A fun and entertaining overview of one fantastic Willie Nelson album. Get ready for a badass Red Headed Stranger!
Category: Rock and Roll!
Roger Waters Us + Them
Roger Waters. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 24 October 2017. For $167, my friend Christian and I found tickets 16 rows back of the stage for the Roger Waters Us + Them show at Rogers Place in Edmonton. It is about as close as a person can get to seeing a Pink Floyd show that includes Roger Waters post-1981. There were nosebleed tickets available for about half of the price so we went all in. The top four concerts...
Tragically Hip, Gord Downie, Amsterdam and Canada.
Tragically Hip, Gord Downie, Amsterdam and Canada. 18 October 2017. Time is really taking my rockstar heroes. It took Gord Downie today. Downie was from a Canadian band called The Tragically Hip. There is a small possibility that you have you have heard their name if you are from anywhere else, but if you are from Canada, and under 50, you grew up with them or you grew up listening to them. Gord Downie was a iconic legendary poetic rockstar. Brain cancer,...
The Synchronicity of Tom Petty and the Name, ‘Jen’
The Synchronicity of Tom Petty and the Name, ‘Jen’. 5 October 2017. Life is weird and has patterns. One could never understand how synchronicity seems to happen in the bizarre ways it does… Tom Petty’s death has hurt me. I loved his music and the way he carried himself as the coolest and most casual person one could ever wish to meet. He is one of my heroes. I have been listening to so much of his music again over the...
Guns ‘N Roses Concert – Edmonton, Alberta.
Guns ‘N Roses Concert – Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 30 August 2017. I was up at 09:00 and my 17-year-old cousin Trevor was up and at it by 10:00 so that we could get on the road. He and I got into his car and headed 5.5 hours north to Edmonton, Alberta… …Guns ‘N Roses. On the drive on the way there, I bought tickets on Stubhub for $145 ($183 CDN) for seats on the bottom of the Commonwealth Stadium, 36...
Mexican Monarch Metal Brothers in Mexico City
The Mexican Monarch Metal Brothers in Mexico City. Jan 13. At 21:00 I went to meet Sara at a metal bar in Mexico City called Metal Brothers. The website said there was no cover charge and stated that live bands play every night. I was worried that it was going to be some lame ‘Cruise Ship’ band covering a version of ‘Hotel California’ for the eight-kajillianth time and fill me with regret. Nope! None of that at all… Metal Brothers was...
“The Bloodhound Gang are Wankers!”
Anyone ever heard of a band called Electric Eel Shock? There is a reason why you haven’t. The reason why you haven’t heard of Electric Eel Shock is because I managed them. And I may have held them back. But they are a fantastic band, from Japan. I toured with them from 2003, and I’m still a little bit involved. I fired myself. They are too nice to fire me. And I fired myself ’cause I thought I was holding them back.
Rock and Roll to the Rescue
Rock and Roll to the Rescue -The Rocco Valentino Live Transcript: [su_dropcap]A[/su_dropcap] friend and I were driving out in the bush one day and we decided we wanted to leave South Africa to go and see the world. Both 21, listening to The Doors and doing a few other things. Driving out there and we were deciding, “Well, where should we go? Should we go to the States? Should we go got Australia?” and we thought, “Australia is like South...
Iron Maiden, Download Festival – Day 3
Iron Maiden, Download – Day 3. June 12 It was pouring rain when we left Dan and Emma’s house in Nottingham. Sunshine would be unreasonable at Downland Festival anyhow… Whatever… We were ready to get into it again! We had garbage bags in our pockets for extra-dryness covering. Dan and I jumped on the bus to take us to the festival. To say traffic was backed up would be an understatement. A thirty minute bus ride from Nottingham became two...
Black Sabbath, Download Festival – Day 2
Black Sabbath, Download – Day 2. June 11 Dan made breakfast for Emma and I and then Dan’s contact came through with two weekend passes for Download Festival that we could have for a £60 donation. I sure wish that had happened yesterday before I blew £190 on my pass. Then once Dan and I made it to the festival a girl was standing beside the box office to give away an extra weekend pass she had for free…. [su_note...
Rammstein, Download Festival – Day 1
Day One – Rammstein, Download Festival. June 10 I was up at 06:35 to get ready for the day. It has been over a month since I was near a time like that. I caught my 08:30 bus to Nottingham to meet my friend Dan. Download Festival. I have wanted this festival for five years now… [su_quote]‘How Cool Nottingham is’, seemed to have slipped my mind in the past 14 months. It is a great little town.[/su_quote] Nottingham is...
ACDC aka Axl/DC in London
ACDC nee Axl/DC in London At 15:00 I rushed out the door to meet Karel at the Ritzy in Brixton and from there we headed for the London event of the night…AC/DC nee Axl/DC nee Axl/AC/DC! I have twice before watched ACDC during the ‘Rock and Roll Train’ tour in 2009. Their show was totally amazing both nights, but I felt like I have been there and done that when the upcoming European tour was announced. Then news hit that...
Musical Candy – The Camden Monarch
May 1 I had flown across two continents for it, just to be a part of this night… England. London. Camden. The Monarch. Metalworks. It would be old bag of tricks in a new shirt. *In retrospect, I can say for sure from the evening that my lifestyle does not permit me to own a white shirt. I met Mike just after 18:00 and we went to a small establishment called Spiritual Bar to drink beer and catch up. Justin...
Country Music Superstar Hillbilly to London Rock and Roller
Country Music Hillbilly to London Rock and Roller I wish I had learned two languages growing up…. I am not talking spoken word. I am talking music.… It would be difficult for me to have come from a cooler life and cooler place in the world. I am super proud to be from Big Beaver, Saskatchewan, Canada, population 55. It made me. It is so unconventional in comparison to anyone else I have met in my travels that it makes...
The Camden Monarch
The Camden Monarch The Camden Monarch is musical art. Unfortunately, not enough of this art is created anymore. The potential loss of this culture and rock and roll is a sad future. Sunday in Camden, London, England, is the most consistent best night of the week…in the world. Now, that is a very strong and opinionated statement, but it certainly holds a lot of accuracy. If you are looking for a good time, any and every Sunday of the year,...
Magic Mushrooms, a Potential Quadriplegic Orgy, and a Pink Floyd Tribute Band
Magic Mushrooms, a Potential Quadriplegic Orgy, and a Pink Floyd Tribute Band It was the night before the concert. He was at work in a factory but I was in his hot-rod garage hanging out when he sent me this message; ‘Should we eat magic mushrooms for the Pink Floyd tribute band?’ Holy…. I was not ready for that. I wrote back; ‘Whoa. I have not done something like that in about five years. I am not sure if I...
Fleetwood Mac Review
Fleetwood Mac – Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – 15 November 2014 Ironically, as I was trying to think of a way to scheme a way out of work for the night my boss sent me a text that said we would be taking this nightshift off. Unreal luck! I have had this date on my radar for a couple of months. Fleetwood Mac was in town… So, I scrounged up a floor ticket on stubhub, twenty rows from the...
Quito to Otavalo: San Antonio Rock Festival
Quito to Otavalo: San Antonio Rock Festival. June 28. A man spends his whole life hoping that the most beautiful woman at the scene will stare a hole through him with her eyes. Then on those rare occasions when it actually happens, it scares the hell out of him. My confidence was not prepared. And I like to think that I am a pretty brave and self-assured person. Some days, a man just does not have it… My Mexican friend Maya,...
Guitars Trump Cars
Guitars Trump Cars The Dave Deighton Transcript: [su_dropcap]W[/su_dropcap]hen we were a lot younger, my grandmother gave us some money. She had these bonds, so she’d put some kind of money away. She did not have a lot of money, so when we used to go over there the only thing that we would usually get was, “Here’s 50 pence for an ice-lolly.” And at that point, we didn’t have a lot of money lying around when we were kids so that...
Steel Panther/Mötley Crüe/Def Leppard
Steel Panther/Mötley Crüe/Def Leppard – December 11 and 14, 2011 [su_dropcap]W[/su_dropcap]ell, there are very few things I like to do more than attend rock concerts. My favourite thing to do in the world involves a girl, but my second favourite thing to do is to rock out at a concert. So, when a show comes up, I am usually in attendance. In September, tickets for Steel Panther, Mötley Crüe, and Def Leppard were released for sale here in London. It...
Paul McCartney is Amazing
Paul McCartney, London, England [su_dropcap]W[/su_dropcap]ell, finally it happened, and the day came for me to see Paul McCartney at the o2 Arena in London. For years, a Paul McCartney concert has been very high on my list of shows that I needed to see. A former Beatle…, I spent 111 pounds ($172) for my ticket. The money would not matter in a month, but being at that concert would… There was no opening act. To keep us at bay while...
European Rock Tour
European Rock Tour Rock and Roll Your Soul [su_dropcap]S[/su_dropcap]ept 27 – London, England. I started the day early so that Carlos and I could make another $200 in stocks, but then we lost $200 in the afternoon. That is a tough game we are playing…. I headed to Hard Rock Cafe London to work my shift. Dan-Man has been hassling me to come with him and his band across the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg for a rock tour that...
‘Kill ‘Em All’(1983) – Metallica
Kill ‘Em All (1983) – Metallica. James Hetfield – Rhythm Guitar and vocals Kirk Hammett – Lead Guitar Cliff Burton – Bass Lars Ulrich – Drums So, this album will certainly not be for everyone. I was not even for me up until a few months ago when I was really high in Guatemala and hanging out at a rock bar. I was with a Guatemalan, an American and the American’s Guatemalan wife, who co-owned the bar with him, and...
Foo Fighters in a Bar
Foo Fighters in a Bar. Dingwalls – Camden – London – England – 26/Feb/2011 [su_dropcap]M[/su_dropcap]usic is more than just sounds for me. It is a noise that consumes my life and my thought patterns. I have been living in London, and working for the Hard Rock Café for a year and a half now, and my life is all about rock shows and concerts. In 2011 alone, I attended three of the four best shows I have seen in my life. In February, I was...
Axl’s Roses
Axl’s Roses [su_dropcap]I[/su_dropcap] got up early to go to work for that all staff meeting. I worked in the afternoon as a host at Hard Rock Cafe and after my shift I went with two girl coworkers to their house and got changed to get ready for the Guns ‘N Roses/Axl’s Roses concert. I wore my plaid party pants, 1970’s shirt, and one of the girls back-combed my hair to give me an afro. My hair was huge and it looked...
Blue Rodeo – Black Eye
Blue Rodeo – Black Eye [su_dropcap]I[/su_dropcap] went to a Canadian band called ‘Blue Rodeo’ in a bar in London a couple of weeks ago when all of this madness started. It was sold out when I showed up and I had to wait until someone arrived with an extra ticket. Amanda from North Carolina came with a spare after her Canadian friend stood her up. Amanda was young, lesbian, and very sexy. She is the girl in every lesbian relationship. The...
