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The Return Of The Carnival Of Sins Indeed: Motley Crue/Tesla/Extreme Concert Review
- Date of Concert: Tuesday, August 25th, 2026
- Location of Concert: Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, OH
I have been a Motley Crue fan since I was 16 (44 as I type this).
I love almost every song they have made and own all the albums.
After KISS and The Rolling Stones, they are probably my favorite band ever.
After seeing them for the 8th time in 2015 on their “Final Tour” (review here), I thought maybe I was never going to see them again.
Well, fast forward a few years and Motley were back recording new music for their movie biopic The Dirt (based on their book of the same name).
Then, a stadium tour was announced featuring Motley, Def Leppard, Poison, and Joan Jett & The Black Hearts., which unfortunately, got postponed for three years straight due to the pandemic.
I bought my ticket in 2019 because I was not going to miss this show.
2020 and 2021 came and it didn’t happen, and even though it finally happened in 2022, I kid you not I finally got the dreaded COVID-19 the day of the show so I had to stay home. It ultimately wasn’t the end of the word (I got all my vaccines.) but that first day was not great. Anyway, I was not able to attend. Even though I had seen all of these bands before, I still hated missing it and I’m sure I would have had a great time. But alas.
Anyway, at this point, Motley were back touring (almost all farewell tours end up not being farewell, which is fine) basically every year and released some more music a few years ago (review here) and when this tour, The Return Of The Carnival Of Sins (referencing their 2005 Carnival Of Sins tour, which I saw, review here), I did not intend to miss it. And having Tesla and Extreme on the bill was a great bonus too.
I consider the venue the show was at, Riverbend Music Center just outside downtown Cincinnati, OH, to be like a home away from home. I have seen many shows there, including 7 other Motley shows and I always love it.
And I loved this show too.
I even wore the Motley shirt I bought at the 05 show too. I’m not as skinny as I was, but it still fits and is in good condition.
Extreme started the show shortly before 6:30 PM and like when I saw them before in 2024 (review here) they rocked.
The band includes 3/4 the original lineup (singer Gary Cherone, guitarist/vocalist Nuno Bettencourt, bassist Pat Badger) and their drummer since the 2000s Kevin Figueredo.
Along with a bunch of their songs, Extreme closed their set with a medley of Ozzy Osbourne (1948-2025) songs. Nuno played at Ozzy’s farewell concert and was one of the highlights of the day with his brilliant playing. Great tribute to the late great Ozzy Osbourne.
What can I say? Extreme rock. More Than Words is one of their biggest songs (a ballad) but there is a lot more to them than that. They are a very rocking/funky sounding band. If you don’t know more of their music, seek it out.
And yes Gary sang for Van Halen. Many don’t like that period, but I think Gary sang great in the band, as he does in Extreme. And he’s a very animated frontman too.
Again, Extreme rocks.
Now to Tesla. This was the 3rd time I had seen them. They are always solid and probably one of the better bands to see live because again, they are always solid.
3/5 the original lineup (singer Jeff Keith, guitarist Frank Hannon, bassist Brian Wheat) along with longtime guitarist Dave Rude (since the 2000s) and drummer Steve Brown (brother of Dokken drummer “Wild” Mick Brown), Tesla always deliver the goods. That’s really all I can say. Go see Tesla!!
Now to the main event.
Like I said in the beginning of this post, I have been a Motley Crue fan since I was 16 and I always will be.
Many knock them these days, but I’m a fan thru and thru.
I don’t like how the handling of their guitarist Mick Mars being let go went, but at the end of the day, I love all of these guys.
Minus Mick, the band is still 3/4 the original lineup (singer Vince Neil, bassist Nikki Sixx, and drummer Tommy Lee) and now their guitarist is the PHENOMENAL John 5 (John Lowery).
I’m not kidding: John 5 can play any style on the guitar. Within Motley, John plays Mick’s parts note for note, but also brings some of his flavoring to the table also.
Vince seems to get the most trash talking on the internet. Fat jokes and his singing are constantly ripped apart.
Frankly, the fat jokes need to stop because Vince is skinnier than me now and he’s been up and down the scale since the late 90s. It happens people!!! Plus, Vince had several strokes a few years ago, so it’s a miracle he can do anything at this point. But I think he looks good.
And I must say, of all the times I have seen Motley, him skipping words in concert has never bothered me. It’s weird, but it’s never bothered me. He’s always sang enough that he got away with it.
But I also must say since Motley started back up a few years ago, his singing has been better and judging by what I saw this night, this is the best Vince has sung in concert since at least the early 90s and definitely the best he’s sung when I’ve seen him in person. He sings almost every word now and doesn’t skip much. So props to Vince!!! You rock man.
The whole band kicked butt as always. Tommy still plays drums with so much force and attitude. Nikki has always been solid and as I said, John can play anything.
It was such a fun show. It was cool when they did Home Sweet Home, they told the story of how the song was written, and Vince dedicated it to Dolly Parton, who sadly passed away this day. Vince said “This one’s for you Dolly”. Dolly actually recorded parts of the song with Motley a few years ago and Nikki and John worked with her on her last album Rockstar, which is a really good album. Rest In Peace Dolly!!
I don’t think they’ll ever stop having backing tracks, but for the most part, the show is really live and that’s great to see.
In regard to the tour title, I don’t think it’s quite as extravagant as the 2005 tour, but that’s OK. It’s still definitely designed to look like a carnival, and the visuals and stage design are cool. They even have a carnival tent as their stage curtain and before the show starts, snippets of their songs are playing, along with carnival music.
If you have not seen this tour and have not seen Motley for a while like me, this is a MUST SEE show.
Since I intend to slow down, I don’t know if I’ll ever see any of these bands again, but either way, it was another fun show for the books.
Thank you Motley, Tesla, and Extreme for rocking my world.
And keep on rocking everyone.
Motley Crue Set List:
- Red Hot
- Louder Than Hell
- Wild Side
- Shout At The Devil ’97
- Too Fast For Love
- Looks That Kill
- Too Young To Fall In Love
- Take Me To The Top
- Primal Scream
- Afraid
- Home Sweet Home
- Guitar Solo
- Smokin’ In The Boys Room
- Live Wire
- Girls, Girls, Girls
- Dr. Feelgood
- Kickstart My Heart
Tesla Set List:
- Modern Cowboy
- Hang Tough
- The Way It Is
- Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out)
- Mama’s Fool
- Call It What You Want
- Love Song
- Little Suzi (Ph.D. cover)
- Signs (Five Man Electrical Band cover)
Extreme Set List:
- Decadence Dance
- #REBEL
- BANSHEE
- We Will Rock You snippet (Queen cover)/Play With Me
- Hole Hearted
- Midnight Express
- More Than Words
- Flight Of The Wounded Bumblebee
- Get The Funk Out
- RISE
- Ozzy Osbourne Medley-I Don’t Know/Bark At The Moon/Crazy Train
Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)
Video Gallery (click on thumbnail to play video)
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I Saw Keanu Reeves’ Band Dogstar In Concert And They Are Really Good!!
- Date of Concert: Saturday, August 22nd, 2026
- Location of Concert: Saint Andrews Hall in Detroit, MI
- Opener: The Backfires
I try not to see two shows in back to back nights, but I did in this case.
The day after I saw My Chemical Romance and Iggy Pop in concert (review here), I saw the band Dogstar too.
The band formed in the early 1990s and were active until the early 2000s, then only did a few things here and there until COVID time when they got back together and starting making music again, and have toured quite extensively in the past few years.
Dogstar includes Bret Domrose on vocals and guitar, Robert Mailhouse on drums, and Keanu Reeves (yes the actor from the Bill & Ted movies, Speed, Point Break, Johnny Mnemonic, The Matrix and John Wick franchises, The Replacements, Constantine, just to name a few) on bass.
It’s awesome that Keanu plays music too, but the music has to be good, regardless of who is in a band, and this band delivers.
Dogstar is a really good band and I cannot recommend checking them out enough.
Opening act The Backfires were really good and recommend checking them out too.
What can I say? Another great show for the books.
Next up is Motley Crue/Tesla/Extreme on Tuesday, August 25th.
Rock on everyone.
Dogstar Set List:
- Siren
- Lust
- How The Story Ends
- Everything Turns Around
- Joy
- Wing
- This Sphere
- Can’t Hardly Wait (The Replacements song)
- Glimmer
- Math
- The Whisper
- Shards Of Rain
- Exalted
- Runway
- What Is
- Marmalade
- All In Now
- Encore-Punch The Sky
- Shallow Easy
- Breach
Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)
Video Gallery (click on thumbnail to play video)
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I FINALLY Saw Iggy Pop!! And My Chemical Romance Rocked Too!!
- Date of Concert: Friday, August 21st, 2026
- Location of Concert: Comerica Park in Detroit, MI
I’ll be honest: I went to this show to mainly see the legendary Iggy Pop (real name James Newell Osterberg Jr.).
I think My Chemical Romance is a good band, but if Iggy was not on this bill, I would not have been there.
Having said that, MCR were very good.
But first, let me get to the reason why I was here.
I’ve been an Iggy fan since I was a kid, but I just never saw him.
So when I found out he was opening for MCR in Detroit (He was born in Muskegon, MI. Detroit is a huge place for him.), I had to go.
It was not cheap (I can’t afford these expensive tickets much longer.) but it was worth it.
Iggy is 79-years old as of this writing and still makes great music (been doing it since the late 1960s), but does not do a lot of shows these days, so this was a must see.
Anyway, Iggy and his great band, known on the road apparently as Iggy & Los Tropicanos (Ale Campos on guitar, Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on guitar, Brad Truax of Interpol on bass, Urian Hackney of The Armed on drums, Joan Wasser of Joan As A Police Woman on keyboards, Corey King on trombone, Leron Thomas on trumpet/horns, and Charles Moothart on guitar and additional instruments) did a solid and tight 46 minute set, including songs from his time as the singer of The Stooges and his lengthy solo career.
The sound was really good at the venue (Comerica Park where the Detroit Tigers play), and even though I was wayyyyy up in the stands, I could hear quite well and the video screens were nice.
The view of the stage wasn’t the greatest where I was, but it was OK because I just wanted to be there.
And I’m glad I was. I wish I could have seen Iggy do a headline show, but I had to take what I could get.
It’s all good. Iggy and his band rocked, and according to the Detroit Free Press, this was the biggest show Iggy has ever played in Detroit. Wow!!
And to quote Iggy at this show “It’s good to be back, same as it ever was”.
He still rocks and sings great. He went out to the crowd during one of the songs and had some of them take the microphone a little bit for the chorus.
Thank you Iggy sooooo much for all your great music and keep on rocking as only you can do!!
Now to the headliner. Like I said, I went to this show mainly to see Iggy, and I honestly contemplated leaving during MCR’s set, but even though it rained some during the show (rain literally makes me sick), I’m glad I stayed because they really gave it their all.
Before the show, they had these cryptic messages on their screens. It turns out these are rules that the band made up. I don’t know all the details about this, but the band apparently have made up their own language, and these rules I’m guessing are part of a story or are they messages about a new album or something else? Maybe if a bigger fan sees this post they can help explain it to me better. Sorry I just know the music and I saw their documentary called My Chemical Romance: Life On The Murder Scene Video Diary.
Also, fans were handed a postcard before the show too. I don’t know anything about it either, except one of the actors during the show had the same postcard and burned it. I’m assuming all of this stuff is part of a story. Maybe The Black Parade story, which is their third album they played in it’s entirety.
Again, they played all of that album, then took about a 15 minute break and came out to a b-stage and played a bunch of other songs from throughout their career and some cool cover tunes.
The band still consists of singer Gerard Way, guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way (Gerard’s brother), along with some other musicians to fill out the sound, specifically for their album The Black Parade, and some actors that perform throughout the show (like I said, it’s a concept album).
Aside from stopping for a bit, they have mostly been together since the early 2000s, and really have a rabid audience. The fans were literally shaking the rafters during their show.
I’m not going to say I love MCR, but I do think they are very good and I’m glad I got to see them. Not only doing one set, but two sets. Again, they really give it their all and the fans really love them. That’s what it’s all about.
In short, another great show. I’m not wild about going to stadium shows (They’re fine, but I’d rather go to somewhat smaller places these days.), but I’ll still go for certain people. And I’m glad I went to this.
Hopefully the rain won’t make me sick. It wasn’t much, but rain and me don’t get along at all. Just saying.
Thank you MCR and Iggy for this great show and thanks for all the music and please make more!!
Iggy Pop Set List:
- T.V. Eye (The Stooges song)
- Raw Power (The Stooges song)
- I Got A Right (The Stooges song)
- Gimme Danger (The Stooges song)
- The Passenger
- Lust For Life
- I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges song)
- Search And Destroy (The Stooges song)
- I’m Alright (Bo Diddley song)
- 1969 (The Stooges song)
My Chemical Romance Set List:
- The Black Parade Album-The End.
- Dead!
- This Is How I Disappear
- The Sharpest Lives (w/The Eye intro, and preceded with a snippet of Superstar by The Carpenters)
- Welcome To The Black Parade
- I Don’t Love You
- House Of Wolves (w/white noise intro)
- Cancer
- Mama (w/Dagger outro)
- Sleep (w/The Big Sky intro)
- Teenagers
- Disenchanted
- Famous Last Words (w/extended reprise outro of Welcome To The Black Parade)
- The End. (2026 reprise)
Between sets, Clarice Jensen played Metastable and Romance
- B-Stage Set-Honey, This Mirror Isn’t Big Enough For The Two Of Us
- Bury Me In Black
- Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)
- Jack The Ripper (Morrissey cover song)
- Vampires Will Never Hurt You
- Vampire Money
- I’m Not Okay (I Promise)
- Helena
- S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W (Gerard dedicated this song to Lauren Valencia)
- Zero Percent (According to setlist.fm, this was the first time this song closed the show)
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Video Gallery (click on thumbnail to play video)
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Deep Purple Splat! Album Review
Deep Purple released their latest album Splat! July 3rd.
Like their last several albums, Deep Purple prove that artists can still make some of their best music ever late in their career.
Deep Purple started in 1968 and are still as vibrant and powerful as ever.
Still 3/5 the famous MK II lineup (singer Ian Gillan, bassist Roger Glover and drummer Ian Paice) along with keyboardist Don Airey (who has been in the band since 2002) and guitarist Simon McBride (replaced long standing guitarist Steve Morse a few years ago), their latest album Splat! ROCKS!!
Since starting to work with Producer Bob Ezrin roughly 16 years ago, Deep Purple have really been on a roll with their albums.
This album (Splat!), along with =1, Whoosh!, Infinite, and Now What?! are some of their best albums ever, in my opinion.
And they’ve made those in the last 16 years.
And in concert, they are still great.
Again, you can be well into your career and still make great music.
Deep Purple are still awesome.
If you are a fan, you must check out this album, along with their last several albums.
Rock on guys!!
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The Rolling Stones Foreign Tongues Album Review
“The Greatest Rock And Roll Band In The World” The Rolling Stones released their latest album on July 10, 2026.
Called Foreign Tongues, The Stones (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood) are still rocking and writing really good songs.
The album sounds classic but fresh. Lots of styles. Rock/Blues/Funk/Country/Everything The Rolling Stones. Catchy songs throughout.
Mick’s voice is still as great as ever.
Keith and Ronnie are still playing great (Keith also sings a good ballad.).
Guests include their drummer Charlie Watts (RIP), who plays on one song. Paul McCartney plays bass on one song. Steve Winwood plays piano/organ on almost every song. Robert Smith (The Cure) plays on a song. Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) even plays on one song.
If you are a fan of The Rolling Stones (How can you not be?!) then you should enjoy this album.
I’m soooooo glad The Stones are still around and still going strong.
I’ve been a fan since I was a kid and always will be.
Thank you guys for all your music and for continuing to make great music.
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I Had An Amazing Day At Fanboy Expo!!
I started going to fan conventions/Comic Cons in 2017. What initially started as me just wanting to meet one of my favorite celebrities turned into an almost annual, repeated treat for me, like concerts.
Like concerts, these conventions are booked months in advance, so I have some time to prepare, although it’s never enough. My biggest problem is I never have enough money to meet everyone I want to meet or money to buy some cool things from various vendors, but I do what I can.
And this time was no different.
This convention, Fanboy Expo, which is at the Knoxville Convention Center in Knoxville, Tennessee has been held every year for several years and they always book a ton of celebrities, such as actors, directors, voice actors, wrestlers, you name it.
This year had Linda Hamilton (The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator: Dark Fate, Beauty And The Beast, Children Of The Corn, Dante’s Peak, I Am Alien, Stranger Things, King Kong Lives, Black Moon Rising), Edward Furlong (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Pet Semetary 2), Shia Lebeouf (The Transformers movies, Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, Disney’s Holes, Even Stevens, Constantine, I Robot, Surf’s Up, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Disturbia, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Fury, Megalopolis, and so much more), Josh Duhamel (The Transformers movies, All My Children, Las Vegas, The Mighty Ducks, Ransom) Henry Winkler (Happy Days, The Waterboy, The Lords Of Flatbush Night Shift, Scream, Arrested Development, Cop And A Half, Little Nicky, Parks And Recreation, Better Late Than Never), Don Most (Happy Days), Anson Williams (Happy Days), Christopher Lambert (Highlander movies, Mortal Kombat), Linden Ashby (Mortal Kombat, Wyatt Earp, The Young And The Restless), Robin Shou (Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 2), Paul W.S. Anderson (Director of Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon, Alien Vs. Predator), Tom Woodruff Jr. (Special Effects for Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, The Terminator, Aliens, Pumpkinhead, Alien Nation, Tremors movies, Alien 3, Death Becomes Her, Demolition Man, Wolf, Mortal Kombat, Alien Resurrection, Starship Troopers, Alien Vs. Predator, Elektra, The Santa Clause trilogy, Alien Vs. Predator Requiem, Ender’s Game, The Predator, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and so much more), Chris Casamassa (Mortal Kombat), Keith Cooke (Mortal Kombat), Alan Tudyk (Patch Adams, 28 Days, Wonder Boys, Ice Age movies, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, I Robot, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Superman, Zootopia 2 and so much more), Famke Janssen (Goldeneye, X-Men movies, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Taken trilogy, and many more), Laura Prepon (That 70’s Show, That 90’s Show), Ahmed Best (Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, The Mandalorian), Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World movies, Spider-Man 3, Terminator: Salvation, The Mandalorian director), Shameik Moore (Spider-Verse, Samaritan, Wu-Tang: An American Saga), John Dimaggio (Futurama,, Astronaut Terry Virts, wrestlers Adam Copeland, Beth Phoenix, Honky Tonk Man, Bushwhacker Luke, Kane (Glenn Jacobs, Mayor Of Knox County), Ron Perlman (Beauty And The Beast, Hellboy 1 and 2, Sons Of Anarchy, Skin Trade, The Island Of Dr. Moreau, and sooooo much more), Jane Seymour (Live And Let Die, Somewhere In Time, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman), Joe Lando (Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman), Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer of the show Hunter, Yellowstone stars Jefferson White (Jimmy Hurdstrom), Jen Landon (Teeter), Ian Bohen (Ryan), Denim Richards (Colby), Linda Larkin and Jonathan Freeman (Aladdin), Heather Locklear (TJ Hooker, Dynasty, Melrose Place, Spin City, Firestarter, Return Of Swamp Thing, Hot In Cleveland), Daphne Zuniga (Spaceballs, Spaceballs 2, Melrose Place, Dynasty, The Fly II, Vision Quest), Grant Snow (Melrose Place, Ryan’s Hope, Dynasty reboot), musicians Stephen Pearcy (RATT), Lita Ford (solo artist and The Runaways), Eric Singer (KISS, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath), Tommy Thayer (KISS, Black And Blue), Nelson (Matthew and Gunar Nelson), Saving Abel, Debbie Gibson, Too Close For Comfort stars Lydia Cornell, Jim J. Bullock (who I loved on the 80s version of Hollywood Squares), and Deborah Van Valkenburgh (I know her from The Devil’s Rejects.), Kristy McNichol and Christopher Atkins from The Pirate Movie (Christopher was also in Dallas, Kate Jackson (Charlie’s Angels, Scarecrow And Mrs. King, Dark Shadows, The Rookies and more), Adam Baldwin (Full Metal Jacket, The Patriot, Independence Day, The X-Files), Joel David Moore (Hatchet, Avatar, Dodgeball, Bones), Mara Wilson (Matilda, Mrs. Doubtfire, Thomas And The Magic Railroad, Miracle On 34th Street 90s version), Theo Rossi (Sons Of Anarchy, Luke Cage, The Penguin, Army Of The Dead), Lorenzo Lamas (Falcon Crest, Renegade, lots of action movies), Patrick Renna (The Sandlot), Tyler Labine (Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil), Todd Bridges (Different Strokes, The Waltons, The Love Boat, CHIPs, Police Story, Barney Miller), Cooper Barnes (Henry Danger and Henry Danger Force), Mackenzie Phillips (American Graffiti, One Day At A Time original and new version, So Weird, Orange Is The New Black), Gabrielle Carteris (Beverly Hills 90210, David Vincent (Jujutsu Kaisen, Bleach, Fate/Zero Blue Exorcist, Jojo’s Bizzare Adventures, Seven Deadly Sins, Drgaon Ball Super, Hunter X Hunter), Daniel Baugh (One Piece, Attack On Titan, Fairy Tail), Chuck Huber (Dragon Ball Z, My Hero Academia, Soul Eater, Dragon Ball Super), Phil Parsons (Dragon Ball Z, My Hero Academia), Matthew David Rudd (Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia, Tower Of God), Brian Mathis (One Piece, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Fairy Tail, Fire Force, Attack On Titan).
Yeah that’s a lot of people.
I did not see all of them, but I saw most of them.
But like all of these conventions, you have to pay to meet them, although if you go to a panel they are at, you may be able to ask them a question for free.
I went to several panels, although some I only saw some of because I was at other panels or needed to go get my picture taken.
Anyway, as stellar as that list is, I mainly went there to meet Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman. Although as excited as I was to meet Ron, if Linda had canceled, I would not have gone at all. No offense to Ron of course!!
A few years ago, she was not attending these events anymore, but she started back up again, and I’m sooooo glad she did.
I’ve been a fan of hers since I was a kid, watching her in the first two Terminator movies, and really anything I saw her in.
I had her sign two Terminator pictures, one from The Terminator (1st movie) and Terminator: Dark Fate (from 2019).
I wanted to make sure I told her that my girlfriend Mariah and I truly love her performance in Dark Fate and she truly appreciated that. I told her that even though I know it did not make a lot of money, it is a very good movie and her performance is great in it.
She told me it was quite the challenge making that movie, getting back in that kind of shape, doing a lot of action/stunts, and it sounded as if it was not as much fun as she had hoped.
I told her if nothing else, it was worth it just for Mariah and I loving the movie. Again, she appreciated me saying that.
When I later had my picture taken with her, she hugged me, gave me a kiss, and when I thanked her for everything and told her I love her, she said “I love you too baby”. If nothing else had happened this day, it was all worth it just for that moment
Thank you Linda soooo much for everything. And I truly do love you and always will.
Like I said, I also met Ron Perlman too. I really enjoy his Hellboy movies and really like him in the Dolph Lundgren movie Skin Trade (look it up), John Carpenter’s Pro-Life (part of the Masters Of Horror series), The Island Of Dr. Moreau (90s version which is a better movie than it’s reputation is) and various voice work he has done too. He is very cool and I thanked him for everything also and he told me “I’m not done yet”. And I told him “Damn right”. Again, super cool.
Like I said, I also went to some panels since I could not afford to meet anyone else, and those were a lot of fun.
I saw the Mortal Kombat panel, Happy Days panel, Sons Of Anarchy, Famke Janssen (only some of it because I needed to go get my picture taken), Melrose Place (sat in on some of it due to being at another panel that overlapped it), and Transformers.
I got some video of some of these, so please check them out below.
Really cool seeing all of these people talk in person.
The beauty of these panels is to maybe be able to ask some of these people you are a fan of questions.
In this case, I just listened, but they were great fun.
Like always with these events, I wish I could have met sooooooo many more of these people and sadly I did not see them all, but I saw most of them, and like I said, I went there specifically to meet Linda and Ron, and that was good enough for me.
Thank you Fanboy for this great experience.
I hope to attend again someday.
Thanks to all the awesome vendors and staff of the event.
Thanks to the fans I got to speak to while in various lines. It’s always fun to talk to other fellow fans/geeks.
Such a great time and I cannot recommend it enough.
Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)
Video Gallery (click on thumbnail to play video)
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The Guess Who/Don Felder Concert Review
- Date of Concert: Saturday, June 27th, 2026
- Location of Concert: Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, OH
Let me start off by saying I have been a fan of The Guess Who almost my entire life.
I grew up listening to their songs on the radio, recording their songs on cassette from the radio and listening to them so much.
Some of my favorite songs ever are by The Guess Who. These Eyes, No Time, Undun, Laughing, American Woman, Share The Land and soooooo much more. Classic stuff.
So, when singer/keyboardist/flutist/guitarist/harmonica/songwriter/founding member Burton Cummings and guitarist/singer/songwriter/founding member Randy Bachman won back The Guess Who name in a lawsuit (the band for the past few years was basically a sanctioned tribute band with no original or classic members), they announced a tour that I was not going to miss.
And adding Don Felder (Eagles lead guitarist and a great singer too) to the tour was a great bonus.
This show, at my favorite venue the Riverbend Music Center just outside downtown Cincinnati, was the second show of The Guess Who’s US tour (they had already done a bunch of dates in their native Canada).
I’ll start off by saying Don Felder is awesome!!
This was the second time I had seen him.
He sings and plays a lot of Eagles songs, as well as a few of his solo songs.
His latest album, The Vault, is a great collection of songs he has written over the years but never released. It’s an awesome album and he played one of the songs at this show.
His band is awesome too. Along with Don on vocals and lead guitar, he has Dave Amato (REO Speedwagon lead guitarist for 36 years), Matt Bissonette (has played with David Lee Roth, Jeff Lynne, Ringo Starr, and Elton John just to name a few) on bass, and Seth Rausch (plays with Keith Urban and has played with many Country acts) on drums.
The band rocks and I got to say Don does a great job singing Eagles songs and of course his guitar playing is second to none.
Rock on sir!!
Now to the main event and boy was it.
Like I said, I’ve been a fan of The Guess Who most of my life and to finally see Burton and Randy together (I was supposed to see them in 2020 and 2021 but COVID happened and the tour was cancelled.) was a dream come true.
I know I say that all the time about concerts, but it’s true.
They played lots of Guess Who songs (including my favorites I listed above), along with songs by Randy’s other awesome group Bachman-Turner Overdrive, and a couple of Burton’s great solo songs.
Along with Burton on lead vocals/keyboards/guitar/flute/harmonica and Randy on vocals/guitar, their band includes Tim Bovaconti (guitar), Joe Augello (guitar), Jeff Jones (bass), Sean Fitzsimons (drums), and Nick Sinopoli (percussion).
Burton is one of my favorite singers ever and his voice is still quite strong and at 78, he has more energy than I’ll probably ever have. This show was about 2 hours and to have that stamina at any age is incredible. Randy is 82 and still sings and plays great, and their band rocks.
Burton and Randy are very appreciative of their fans and the fans gave back their appreciation in spades by singing and clapping along to their amazing catalog of music.
This was a very special show for me and I’m soooooo happy that I was able to attend.
Backstory: I had a lawn ticket (I could not afford one under the roof this time.) but when I got there and was going to the edge of the lawn to get the best view I could, one of the workers asked me if I wanted to be under the roof. I said yes if possible, and he told me where to go, and I ended up being under the roof after all. Also, since it was supposed to rain, I was very grateful I was not going to get wet.
Awesome show. I love Burton and Randy sooooo much and I love Don Felder too.
Thank you all for your amazing concert and your amazing discography all around.
Rock on always!!
The Guess Who Set List:
- Runnin’ Back To Saskatoon
- Proper Stranger
- Hand Me Down World
- These Eyes
- Albert Flasher
- Let It Ride (Bachman-Turner Overdrive song)
- Clap For The Wolfman
- Laughing
- Guns Guns Guns
- Undun
- Star Baby
- You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet (Bachman-Turner Overdrive song)
- My Own Way To Rock (Burton solo song)
- Bus Rider (tour debut)
- American Woman
- No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature
- No Time
- Encore: Share The Land
- Takin’ Care Of Business (Bachman-Turner Overdrive song)
Don Felder Set List:
- Already Gone
- One Of These Nights
- Victim Of Love
- Seven Bridges Road
- Free At Last (New Song)
- Heavy Metal (Takin’ A Ride-solo song)
- Heartache Tonight
- Life In The Fast Lane
- Hotel California
Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)
Video Gallery (click on thumbnail to play video)
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Paul Simon Concert Review
- Date of Concert: Thursday, June 18, 2026
- Location of Concert: PNC Pavilion @Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, OH
I saw another musical icon Thursday night: Singer/Songwriter Paul Simon!!
I went with my Aunt Kim and our mutual friend Barry to see Mr. Simon play a fairly quiet/intimate show in the Cincinnati area.
Mr. Simon was not touring anymore as of a few years ago, due to most of his hearing going away in his left ear.
However, last year, he decided to go back out and tour with a relatively low volume show that helps him hear enough of the musicians around him so that he can sing his amazing songs.
Mr. Simon is very much a storyteller. If you listen to his phenomenal body of work, you will see that every song tells a story.
This show is maybe not your typical Paul Simon show, however, Mr. Simon has always done things his way and this show is no different.
This show was in two parts. The first is every song (7) from his latest album released in 2023 called Seven Psalms.
Even though the album has 7 songs, each song flows together as essentially one piece of music, which lasts about 33 minutes.
After this set, he and the band take a roughly 20-30 minute intermission then come back to play some of Mr. Simon’s hits and deep cuts from his massive discography.
Like any set list, not everyone is going to be happy, most especially with that much newer material. Although I think most of the audience had a good time, I heard some grumbling, but as I said, you can’t make everyone happy.
Some reviews have said Mr. Simon is not as good as he used to be. Well, he’s 84 years old, he’s basically half deaf, and as of about a year and a half ago, he was not doing this anymore. I’ll take this Paul Simon over no Paul Simon.
And you know what? This Paul Simon is not too bad.
I think his voice is still fine, he looks great, and even with the volume not being too much, the show is still enjoyable. And his band is great.
Along with Mr. Simon, his band includes Edie Brickell helping him out on some of the vocals and whistling, Mark Stewart on guitar, Bakithi Kumalo (the last surviving member of Mr. Simon’s Graceland band) on bass , Andy Snitzer on saxophone, Jamey Haddad on percussion, Mick Rossi on piano and keys, Gyan Riley on guitar, Matt Chamberlin on drums, Nancy Stagnitta on flute, Caleb Burhans on viola, and Eugene Friesen on cello.
They deliver Mr. Simon’s songs very well and everyone gets to shine, musically.
Again, I thought this was a fun show and frankly, I love his latest album, so I think hearing all of it live like this was really cool.
And I seriously will never understand why anyone goes to get food/drink/restroom breaks every time they don’t know a song.
These concerts cost a lot of money to go to, and yet, so many miss so much of the show. If you are really hungry/thirsty/have to go, then so be it. Otherwise, enjoy the show. But I digress.
Anyway, I know Kim, Barry, and myself had fun.
I’m glad we got to see this musical giant!!Thank you Mr. Simon for returning to the stage and for all of your great albums over the decades, on your own and with Art Garfunkel.
Thank you.
P.S. Photos/videos were not permitted, but I did sneak some pictures right at the beginning and right at the end. Sorry I couldn’t help it. I’m a fan, not a paparazzi.
Set List:
Set 1-Seven Psalms Album
- The Lord
- Love Is Like A Braid
- My Professional Opinion
- Your Forgiveness
- Trail Of Volcanoes
- The Sacred Harp (w/Edie Brickell)
- Wait (w/Edie Brickell
Set 2
- Graceland
- Slip Slidin’ Away
- Train In The Distance
- Homeward Bound (Simon & Garfunkel song)
- The Late Great Johnny Ace
- St. Judy’s Comet
- Under African Skied (w/Edie Brickell)
- Renee And Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After The War
- Rewrite
- Sprit Voices
- The Cool, Cool River
- Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes
- Encore: Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard
- 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover
- The Boxer (Simon & Garfunkel song)
- The Sound Of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel song-Paul played this without the band)
Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)
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Masters Of The Universe (2026) Movie Review
I went to my local movie theater on June 6th to see the new Masters Of The Universe movie, which had just been released the day before.
I’m a huge fan of He-Man, Skeletor, and all the characters in the MOTU stories.
I love the cartoon shows and the 1987 movie that Dolph Lundgren did.
So, once this movie was announced, I was all in.
It’s exactly what it should be, which is a fun ride.
It has lots of action, some good humor, lots of Easter eggs from the original 80s cartoon and even the 87 movie (Dolph has a cameo!!), the cast is really good, and the look of the movie is great.
Awesome hearing Brian May (Queen guitarist) playing some guitar on some of the music score, and even some Queen is featured at times. The Darkness (very good band) did a song for the movie too!
It’s just a really fun movie.
I know it’s not a HUGE blockbuster, although it’s doing fine at the box office, but my theory is that movie theater business across the board is soft now. And that’s because most people want to just watch movies and shows on apps. Also, going to the movie theater is expensive, as is everything.
But if you want to see a good movie, go see Masters Of The Universe. And if you’re a fan, DEFINITELY see Masters Of The Universe.
Also, I pre-bought some MOTU movie theater merch a few weeks before the movie was released and even ate some MOTU themed donuts from Krispy Kreme, which were delicious.
I’m a geek and I’m proud of it.
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Triumph Discography Rankings
A miracle happened late last year: Triumph announced a reunion tour!! First tour in over 30 years and almost 40 years since Rik Emmett (vocals/guitar) was in the band, aside from a few one off appearances.
I saw the show in Michigan on May 30th and it was phenomenal (review here).
So, now that I have seen the band, I would like to rank their albums, like I have with so many bands/solo artists I am a fan of.
Like the others, it’s difficult because I think every album is very good, but hey, I have to rank them someway.
Depending on the time of day, I may change my mind. But here it goes:
- Thunder Seven
- Allied Forces
- Triumph (My copy is called In The Beginning.)
- Edge Of Excess
- Progressions Of Power
- Rock & Roll Machine
- Never Surrender
- The Sport Of Kings
- Just A Game
- Surveillance
- Live At Sweden Rock Festival
- Stages
- Live At The US Festival
Again, it’s tough because I like them all, but that is my ranking as of this typing.
Triumph rocks!! Please check out these albums and if they play somewhat near you, go see them.
