• Blog,  Concerts

    Two Singer/Songwriters: John Moreland/Tyler Childers Concert Review

    July 27 2016 / No Comments
    • Date of Concert: July 26, 2016
    • Location of Concert: The V Club in Huntington, WV

    My best friend Jamie and I went to see two singer/songwriters in Huntington.

    John Moreland and Tyler Childers.

    I’ll be honest:  I was not aware of either of these (Jamie convinced me to go), but both were very good.

    Great acoustic music and both sang very well.

    Edit:  Tyler Childers later became a huge star, so it was cool seeing him before he got huge.

     

    Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)


  • Blog,  Concerts

    Three Awesome Bands: Heart/Joan Jett & The Blackhearts/Cheap Trick Concert Review

    July 23 2016 / No Comments
    • Date of Concert: July 22, 2016
    • Location of Concert: Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, OH
    I saw another fun concert in Cincinnati Friday night.
     
    I saw Heart, Joan Jett And The Blackhearts, and Cheap Trick.
     
    Cheap Trick started the night with a rocking set of songs from their cool career.
     
    This was actually the first time I had ever seen them, and until recently, I can honestly say I was not a huge fan.
     
    I liked them, but never understood why people that I really like, like Slash, Scott Ian, Sebastian Bach, Eddie Trunk, and others sang their praises as one of their favorite bands.
     
    Well I now get why a bit more.
     
    I have most of their albums now, including their new one, Bang Zoom Crazy Hello, and I definitely am digging them quite a bit more.
     
    Their new album, especially, is really good.
     
    They played one song from this album, Blood Red Lips, when I saw them, and I swear I was probably the only one singing along.
     
    That’s one peeve I have.
     
    Music fans: buy the band’s albums, including their new ones. Study them, listen to them, and support them.
     
    Yes I guess I’m a minority, but I still buy albums by my favorite bands, and bands I’m still getting into, like Cheap Trick.
     
    I hate it when bands play new songs, and no one cares.
     
    Again, I know I’m a minority here, but when I go to a show, I don’t mind hearing new stuff.
     
    And oh by the way, Cheap Trick’s new album, Bang Zoom Crazy Hello, is really good.
     
    I know I already said that, but it was worth saying again.
     
    Anyway, rant over.
     
    Cheap Trick put on a great show, though.
     
    Singer/Guitarist Robin Zander has lost nothing in his voice.
     
    Lead Guitarist Rick Nielsen is a solid player, bassist Tom Petersson is great, and their drummer, Rick’s son Dax, is a monster.
     
    They rock.
     
    Check them out.
     
    Especially check out their new album (Bang Zoom Crazy Hello) and let me know what you think.
     
    Also, check out their first album, which is self titled, In Color, their live album At Budokan, and their 2006 album Rockford.
     
    Joan Jett And The Blackhearts were next.
     
    This was the second time I had seen them.
     
    They rock, period!
     
    I love Joan. She is just incredible.
     
    She may actually be my favorite woman in rock.
     
    Although I’ll be talking about two other great women in rock shortly.
     
    But I can’t say enough about Joan.
     
    She is incredible.
     
    Great singer/songwriter/rhythm guitarist.
     
    Her band is solid.
     
    She played songs from throughout her lengthy, legendary, amazing career.
     
    She also played four great songs from her most recent album, 2013’s Unvarnished.
     
    Get this album, and all her albums.
     
    Including the albums she did with her previous band The Runaways.
     
    All great stuff.
     
    And go see her and her band.
     
    You will have fun believe me.
     
    I would gladly go see Joan anytime.
     
    And now to the headliners Heart!!
     
    Again, like Cheap Trick, this was the first time I had seen the sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson and their band in concert. And they did not disappoint.
     
    They played many of their hits, two songs from their great new album, Beautiful Broken, and actually closed their show with two Led Zeppelin classics.
     
    They have played Zeppelin songs for years, and do awesome versions of them.
     
    Lead singer Ann Wilson has the voice of an angel, but can scream with the best of them, too.
     
    I love her presence and walk on stage. She’s so confident and I love that.
     
    Her sister, guitarist/singer Nancy Wilson, is awesome, too.
     
    They truly are a great family team.
     
    And their band is solid, too, of course.
     
    All of these bands have been around a long time, have made many albums, and are all still at the top of their games.
     
    If you get a chance to see any of these bands, please do so.
     
    They are all great and fun.
     
    My next concert is August 3 in Columbus, in which I’m seeing two oldies, but goodies: John Kay And Steppenwolf, as well as Foghat.
     
    Have a great Sunday and week everyone.
     
    P.S. Here are the band’s setlists and pictures that I took.
    Most of the pics don’t do my view justice, but you’ll get the picture. Get it? Got it? Good!

    Heart Set List:

    1. Wild Child (Romeo’s Daughter cover song)
    2. Magic Man
    3. What About Love
    4. Bebe Le Strange
    5. These Dreams 
    6. Two (from their great new album Beautiful Broken)
    7. Get Offa That Thing Intro (James Brown cover song)/Straight On
    8. Kick It Out
    9. Beautiful Broken (from their great new album of the same name)
    10. Alone
    11. Crazy On You
    12. Barracuda
    13. Encore: Immigrant Song, Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin covers)

    Joan Jett & The Blackhearts Set List:

    1. Bad Reputation
    2. Cherry Bomb (The Runaways song)
    3. Do You Want To Touch Me (Oh Yeah)-Gary Glitter cover
    4. TMI (from her latest album, the great Unvarnished)
    5. You Drive Me Wild (The Runaways song)
    6. Fragile (from her latest album Unvarnished)
    7. Light Of Day (written by Bruce Springsteen for the movie of the same name, starring Joan and Michael J. Fox. Great song.)
    8. Make It Back (from her latest album Unvarnished)
    9. Love Is Pain
    10. Fake Friends
    11. Any Weather (from her latest album Unvarnished)
    12. I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll (The Arrows cover)
    13. Crimson And Clover (Tommy James And The Shondells cover)
    14. I Hate Myself For Loving You
    15. Encore: Everyday People (Sly And The Family Stone cover)

    Cheap Trick Set List:

    1. Hello There
    2. Big Eyes
    3. Elo Kiddies
    4. California Man (The Move cover)
    5. If You Want My Love
    6. Blood Red Lips (New Song-Live Debut. When guitarist Rick Nielsen introduced this song, he jokingly said to the audience that it sounded like 98% of them had never heard of this. Well, I was one of the 2% that did, sang along to it, and was only too happy to do it. Check out their new album Bang Zoom Crazy Hello.)
    7. Need Your Love
    8. I’m Waiting For The Man (The Velvet Underground cover. Bassist Tom Petersson sang this song. They also played a snippet of The Velvet Underground song Heroin.)
    9. The Flame
    10. I Want You To Want Me
    11. Dream Police
    12. Surrender
    13. Goodnight

    Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)


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  • Blog,  Concerts

    My Slipknot/Marilyn Manson Concert Review

    July 13 2016 / No Comments
    • Date of Concert: July 12, 2016
    • Location of Concert: Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, OH
    • Opener: Of Mice And Men
    I went with my friend Brandy Matney to see another great concert: Slipknot and Marilyn Manson.
     
    We missed most of the opening band Of Mice And Men, but we heard most of their set.
     
    Now to Marilyn Manson.
     
    Now, I know many people hate him, and I can honestly say I’ve never been the biggest fan in the world of him, but I do respect him and his music is pretty good, in my opinion. And his show is a lot of fun.
     
    On this tour, he only plays for about an hour, but he packs it in with a lot of theatrics, effects, throwing microphones down, and rocking out.
     
    The crowd was quite receptive to him. A native Ohioan, he was having a good time.
     
    At one point in the show, he saw a woman in the audience, pointed to her, and invited her on stage to dance. Pretty cool.
     
    Whenever I can afford it, I will be buying some of his albums. I’ve only ever heard one of his albums all the way through, and liked it very much, but just never got around to buying any.
     
    I will, though, especially after finally seeing him in concert.
     
    I liked all the songs he performed, his band is solid, and regardless of what anyone thinks, I enjoyed seeing him.
     
    He puts on a fun show.
     
    Now, to the main event: Slipknot!!
     
    I had seen them once before in 2012, and have been a fan of theirs for a long time.
     
    However, my friend Brandy had never seen them before. And Slipknot is her favorite band. And their singer, Corey Taylor, is her favorite singer ever.
     
    So, this was a huge deal for her.
     
    As much fun as I had watching Slipknot and Marilyn Manson, I had more fun watching Brandy have fun rocking out to her heroes.
     
    Slipknot played many songs from throughout their career, had a great show, and Corey paced around the stage with the audience in the palm of his hand.
     
    At one point, close to the end of the show, Corey asked the audience to get down on their knees and stay there until he told them to jump up.
     
    Most of the audience, including myself and Brandy, did so.
     
    When he told everyone to jump up, we did. Wow, what a sight!
     
    Again, another great night.
     
    But again, the most fun was seeing my friend Brandy again and seeing her have the time of her life.
     
    I’ll be seeing Heart/Joan Jett And The Blackhearts/Cheap Trick next Friday.
     
    Until then, have a great week everybody.

    Slipknot Band Members:

    • Corey Taylor (Lead Vocals)
    • Mick Thomson (Guitar)
    • Jim Root (Guitar)
    • Shawn "Clown" Crahan (Percussion/Backing Vocals)
    • Craig Jones (Sampling/Keyboards)
    • Chris Fehn (Percussion/Backing Vocals)
    • Sid Wilson (Turntables)
    • Allessandro Venturella (Bass)
    • Jay Weinberg (Drums)

    Marilyn Manson Band Members:

    • Marilyn Manson (Lead Vocals)
    • Twiggy Ramirez (Bass/Backing Vocals)
    • Tyler Bates (Guitar/Programming)
    • Paul Wiley (Guitar/Backing Vocals/Programming)
    • Gil Sharone (Drums)
    • Daniel Fox (Percussion/Keyboards)

    Slipknot Set List:

    1. Tape Intro (Be Prepared For Hell)
    2. The Negative One
    3. Disasterpiece
    4. Eyeless
    5. Skeptic
    6. Before I Forget
    7. Killpop
    8. Dead Memories
    9. The Heretic Anthem
    10. Psychosocial
    11. Pulse Of The Maggots
    12. Left Behind
    13. The Devil In I
    14. Wait And Blee
    15. (sic)
    16. Encore:  Surfacing
    17. Duality
    18. Spit It Out

    Marilyn Manson Set List:

    1. Angel With The Scabbed Wings
    2. Disposable Teens
    3. No Reflection
    4. mOBSCENE
    5. Deep Six
    6. The Dope Show
    7. This Is The New Shit
    8. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
    9. Antichrist Superstar
    10. The Beautiful People

    Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)


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  • Blog,  Concerts

    Once In A Lifetime Reunion: Guns N Roses Concert Review

    July 7 2016 / No Comments
    • Date of Concert: July 6, 2016
    • Location of Concert: Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, OH
    • Opener: Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown
    Wow what a Wednesday night I had!!
     
    July 6, 2016 will go down in music history and I was there to see it!
     
    But I’ll get to that shortly.
     
    First, I’ll just say that I finally saw one of my favorite bands ever, Guns N Roses, at Paul Brown Stadium, where the Cincinnati Bengals play.
     
    I was in the 23rd row, behind the pit.
     
    Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown opened.  Very good hard rock band.  Check them out.
     
    Guns N Roses now consists of original members W. Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan.
     
    It also includes Dizzy Reed on keyboards, who has been there since 1991.
     
    Drummer Frank Ferrer and guitarist Richard Fortus, who have been there for several years.
     
    And a new keyboard player Melissa Reese.
     
    Again, I’ll get to the history making moment shortly, but first, my thoughts on the show.
     
    For me, they played pretty much all the songs I would want to hear in concert, plus more.
     
    They played from two hours and 45 minutes to three hours.
     
    And for the doubters out there, they showed up on time. Starting just after 9:30.
     
    Lead singer W. Axl Rose has a bad reputation for being a jerk and showing up late for many shows, but on this tour and the AC/DC tour he’s been on this year, he’s been a complete professional.
     
    And yes his voice is still really strong.
     
    Many people say he can’t sing anymore. Well guess what people? You’re all wrong.
     
    It was a pleasure seeing him run all over the stage and be the great frontman he really is.
     
    Lead Guitarist Slash is of course an amazing guitar player.
     
    I had only seen him two years ago with his solo band, which was great, but this was so much more.
     
    He’s back where he belongs.
     
    Playing all these great classic songs, and playing his great classic guitar parts.
     
    Bassist Duff McKagan is solid as a bassist and sang part of a Johnny Thunders song then segued into a Misfits song. Pretty cool.
     
    I’ll post the setlist at the end.
     
    The rest of the band are solid. Especially drummer Frank Ferrer. He plays all of Steven Adler and Matt Sorum’s parts quite well.
     
    Did you see I wrote Steven Adler’s name? There’s another reason why I mentioned him.
     
    For the first time since 1990, for two songs, Steven Adler played drums for Guns N Roses again!!!
     
    Axl told the audience that they had a surprise and said that he thought the audience would know who this person was.
     
    And introduced Steven.
     
    The whole crowd, myself included, freaked out in the best way.
     
    Steven was all smiles and played great on the GNR songs Out Ta Get Me and My Michelle.
     
    The story has blown up all over social media.
     
    And I can say that I was there!!!
     
    Truly, the whole concert was amazing!!
     
    I have been to many concerts over the past 18 years, and I can honestly say that this GNR show is in my top 3 concert experiences, along with my favorite band KISS and The Rolling Stones.
     
    They had not even sang or played a note yet at the start of the show, but when I saw Axl walk out, I was just in heaven.
     
    GNR have a been a favorite of mine since I was 10, so this show was a big deal.
     
    I almost cried when they played their classic November Rain.
     
    For those who were there, you saw history and most importantly, a great night of music.
     
    For those of you who were not there, you missed a phenomenal concert.
     
    This is definitely one for the books.
     
    I’ll see Axl sing for AC/DC in Columbus September 4.
     
    I can’t wait!
     
    As today’s birthday boy Ringo Starr would say, peace and love to everybody.
     
    Lucas Hannon
     
    P.S. Here is the setlist and pics. The extreme close up shots I took from the big screen, but again, I had a pretty good view.  I also shot some videos too.  These are here too.  Enjoy.

    Set List:

    1. It’s So Easy
    2. Mr. Brownstone
    3. Chinese Democracy
    4. Welcome To The Jungle
    5. Double Talkin’ Jive
    6. Estranged
    7. Live And Let Die
    8. Rocket Queen
    9. You Could Be Mine
    10. You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory/Attitude (sung by Duff)
    11. This I Love
    12. Civil War
    13. Coma
    14. Love Theme From The Godfather
    15. Sweet Child O’ Mine
    16. Better
    17. Out Ta Get Me (w/Steven Adler on Drums)
    18. My Michelle (w/Steven Adler on Drums)
    19. Slash/Richard Fortus Guitar Duet (Wish You Were Here)
    20. Layla Outro/November Rain
    21. Knocking On Heaven’s Door
    22. Nightrain
    23. Encore:  Jam (Waiting On A Friend by The Rolling Stones)
    24. Patience
    25. The Seeker (The Who Cover song)
    26. Paradise City

    Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)


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    Video Gallery (click on thumbnail to play video)