Guns N' Roses 7/27/16

My first rock T-shirt:  Guns N' Roses.  Wore it at least once a week starting in 1st grade.  My first cassette:  Appetite For Destruction.  (For the younger generations, a cassette was a horrible little piece of plastic that poorly played music through a ribbon and two spinning wheels and usually sounded like Hell, but I wore mine out listening over and over again)  Finally, I saw three main members on stage together again (Miss ya Izzy!).  They've been saying it wouldn't happen since the early 90s when they first broke up, and I think everyone pretty much believed it to be true.  I won't lie, Axl was looking a little puffy but his voice was on point.  I was worried after his lack-luster performance at an MTV awards show over 10 years ago that his unique vocals were a thing of former glory, only to be remembered with recordings.  They threw in a ton of covers from Iggy and the Stooges, The Who, Rolling Stones, and Pink Floyd, not to mention they're well known recorded covers like "Live and Let Die" and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door".  Another bucket-list (not Buckethead) band crossed off the list.

The Struts 10/19/15

Haven't been to a number of shows this year as years past.  Am I finally getting too old for this?  I was very tired before I began to make the hour and a half solo trek for downtown Atlanta to The Earl.  About exit 8 or so on 400 I realized I was grinning like a fool; giddy for a show.  I had a feeling, and had heard from radio DJs (that thing old people listen to that has been playing their single "Could Have Been Me"), that this band was going to deliver.  Charismatic front-man Luke Spilller absolutely flares on stage.  Its truly impressive to witness someone that has known their entire life what they were born to do and follow through with total abandon of every other possibility.  Complete freedom.  Imagine the love child of Tim Curry, Freddie Mercury and Joan Jett.  Quite a Petri dish.  He certainly wasn't on the small stage alone.  The entire band was very noticeable throughout the night.  Luke paid us a visit in the audience twice and was very interactive with the crowd all night.  That's easier to do when you're on your first album and need to burn an hour and a half.  During the last song he stood in the back on top of the bar and asked that we get down on the disgusting venue floor, but by that time we were putty in his hand and would have attempted to stand on the ceiling had he asked.

I was lucky enough to be kneeling in the center, directly in his path back to the stage, and the potential Pope of Rock blessed myself and several others on top of our heads as he whisked by.  Youth rejuvenated.

Royal Blood 6/13/15

I'm bettin most of you have never heard of this British duo...  Yet.  I was lucky enough to hear their first US single off of the debut self-titled album, "Figure It Out", on the radio and made sure I heard the DJ identify the band, then had to wait about 7 months for the live show.  Los Angeles trio Mini Mansions opened with a unique sound, which took a few tunes to embrace, that became groovy and included a very mellowed out version of Blondie's "Heart of Glass".  Royal Blood then emerged and pulsed the crowd back with their shrill licks and vocals with thundering drums.  Then I realized those piercing notes were being extracted from Mike Kerr's BASS guitar.  Never would have guessed, just   bass and drums, that's it.  All that force coming out of two people was incredible.  Drummer Ben Thatcher took a mid-show crowd surf and I even had to avoid a mosh pit during "Loose Change", something I haven't had to dodge in quite a few shows.  I guess I'm getting old but a youthful resurgence can be refreshing.

Pearl Jam Memphis, TN 10/14/14

It's taken some time, but I have finally seen Pearl Jam in all five states that border Georgia.  And in Georgia, of course.  And in Wisconsin.  Anyway, they certainly didn't disappoint.  As usual, they performed an eclectic, 30 song, set list distributed throughout their entire history.  Starting with a couple of new ones off the latest LP, Lightning Bolt, they soon dove into the older, deep tracks that give their shows the variety that keeps us coming back again and again.  Even threw in a couple of my favorites, "1/2 Full" and "Do the Evolution" and their only Grammy winning recording, "Spin the Black Circle."  During the second half of the second encore, all the house lights were illuminated and it was if the band would not leave the stage, quickly transitioning from song to song until they finally called it quits with "Yellow Ledbetter."  That tone-def guy from the Jack White show apparently followed me to this one and is heard on the video, again...

Jack White Columbia, SC 9/24/14

The last time I went to South Carolina after having seen a band earlier in the tour in Atlanta, I endured the exact same set list.  Thank you, Jack, for breaking that streak early.  Now, he did play a handful of the same songs, but mixed with others from his many bands including a funked up version of "I Cut Like a Buffalo" by the previously unheard The Dead Weather.  Opening with the latest album's, Lazeretto, instrumental "High Ball Stepper" he went on to play piano for "Three Women" and then the Beatle-esque "Apple Blossom".  Energy was high for one of my favorites "I'm Slowly Turning Into You" and ended the night with the unforgettable riffs of "Seven Nation Army".  Certainly glad I went to both shows but somehow disappointed I didn't attend even more. Never mind that out of key guy singing along in the "Steady as She Goes" video above...

Jack White 9/19/14

not that crowded, really

Jack White was the only reason I bought a ticket to Music Midtown this year.  And he made it totally worth it.  He opened with "Icky Thump" and played songs from all of his bands except The Dead Weather.  Jack and his drummer seemed very connected and looked to really enjoy jamming with each other.  As amazing as he's always been, I've always thought the better the drummer he has, the better he becomes.  It was also instruments galore with several fiddles, ukeleles, and guitars being traded around from song to song and Jack hopping on piano now and again.  Can't wait to see him on Wednesday in South Cackalaki!

Manchester Orchestra 5/30/14

 Damn, it felt good to be at a show again!  Felt good for the local boys to be home, as they proclaimed many times.  I should have boned up on the music a little because I caught myself not remembering lyrics for opening tunes "Shake it Out" and "Pensacola".  Gotta turn that Pandora station back on.  Plus, I hadn't heard anything off the latest set, Cope, except for their performance of the song by the same name on Letterman.  But, thank God, it was LOUD.  I haven't had my ears tuned like that since Halloween.  Seven months without a show...  for shame.  They came back for several encores, however, during the first break, a strange thing happened.  The Tomahawk Chop and chant started up.  When the group returned, frontman, and expectant father, Andy Hull told us, "Man, I wish we liked baseball."  That statement made the T-shirt I bought exceptionally ironic.