End Times Tour

We are back. Yes, it's been a while but we are BACK. I write this in the afterglow of last night's epic concert. Marilyn Manson and The Smashing Pumpkins brought their End Times Tour to Irvine Meadows, Irvine CA last night and it was plain AWESOME. It was the second performance of the tour and I couldn't have been more pleased. This is the 3rd round of Marilyn Manson for me, and my first time getting a chance to see The Smashing Pumpkins.

 


Marilyn Manson has a new vigor I haven't seen before. This show was by far the best of the 3 Marilyn Manson performances I've seen.
His recent success with The Pale Emperor,This album brought him back to the headlines and I think critical acclaim has been good for him, however, he deserves it; he worked hard. He seems to have a new outlook on life. If you watch his interviews over the past few years you'll find a Marilyn Manson who grew up in a sense, instead of being lost in a depressive drug induced world of split ups and heartache. Now he has seemed to reflect on the death of his mother bringing him closer to his father. You find a Marilyn Manson finally staring into the eyes of Brian Warner. I think he's come a long way emotionally over the past few years and I think it's fantastic, he's a brilliant artist and has a brilliant mind. He's always been on a mission to stir up controversy in the name of individuality and open mindedness. I feel people disregard his profound impact, people like Bill O' Riley warned us of his negative impact. But in reality Marilyn Manson has become a Christ like figure.

I'm struggling to find what to say about the show, it was just a really solid Marilyn Manson concert. Stilt walking, bible burning, costume changes and a revived Marilyn Manson. Favorite song of the night was Lunchbox, but the entire set list was top notch. This concert felt like a Marilyn Manson concert should feel. It was fabulously wicked.
I could have done without the two cover songs. I love his covers of Personal Jesus, and Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This. But it always bothers me when an artist has a massive body of work and they lace in any more than one cover. I wanted more Marilyn Manson songs, but that's okay. The audience enjoys the covers and I'm pretty sure Marilyn enjoys performing the songs. So it's all good!

The Smashing Pumpkins, what a treat. What a tight sound. Now I can't reflect too much on Pumpkins. I genuinely care about Marilyn Manson, and have followed him ever since I was a young "disposable" teen. But I've always like a number of Smashing Pumpkins as anyone who is into good 90s alt. rock should be. Songs like 1979, Disarm, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Cherub Rock, and so on and so forth.

But what a massive performance, the delivery that Billy Corgan still has is brilliant, he still feels like an artist in his prime. The light design was fantastic, as was for Manson. You can tell these two 90's powerhouse bands got together and put together a joint budget together and gave themselves a very fun tour. I felt like these two artist touring together is about as good as it can get. These two fit together so well.

Not only do the bands fit together, so do the front men of each band. Manson and Corgan being essentially best friends. Now that I reflect... we were awfully close to LA... I'm surprised Johnny Depp didn't make an appearance. Manson and Depp are also good buds.
What more do I put down on this post? I just really really enjoyed the performance okay? LOL

Photos grabbed by http://consequenceofsound.net article.

We Will Be Back After These Messages...

So for the next month my girlfriend Alex is going to be over seas in Poland. Alex is first generation American so both her parents were born and raised in Poland. She's got lots of family over there and she has visited frequently for her whole life. Seeing as she is my concert buddy, and also the editor for my blog posts. I've decided it would be necessary to postpone posting full fledged posts, I might pop in with something here or there, just don't expect anything.

July 10th will be the return from the month long hiatus. I see The Smashing Pumpkins and Marilyn Manson on the 9th, so I will come back with a fresh concert review. And that's when the wheels really start to spin.

Jason Aldean and Kenny Chesney in July
Van Halen in July
Kid Rock and Foreigner in August
Shania Twain In August 
AC/DC in September

And new to the list of upcoming concerts...

Luke Bryan In October

So stay classy ladies and gentlemen. I'll catch you on the flip side.

Oh... One last thing, I'll miss you Alex, I hope you make it there and back without being kidnapped by ISIS or Russia. See you when you get back!!!

Dan Goes To His Girlfriends Concerts

Ah, It is true that I find myself at concerts I wouldn't otherwise if

​it wasn't for my lovely girlfriend.​

Aside from all the Country acts. 

James Otto, 
Luke Bryan, 
Eric Church, 
Love and Theft, 
Kara Kramer, 
Laura Bell Bundy, 
Scotty McCreere, 
Brantly Gilbert, 
Lonestar, 
Tim McGraw(x2), 
Kenny, Chesney, 
Jason Aldean, 
Rascal Flatts (x2), 
Shania Twain, 
Keith Urban, 
Blake Shelton, 
The Band Perry, 

This song is a late 00's hit

​. ​You're

most likely to hear it in a department store these days. It came out of persistence and hard work, given that it was his 5th album but first to see chart success. You can't even call him a 00's artist considering the largest bulk of work came out in the 90's. Matt Nathanson is a singer

​/​

songwriter kind of gig. It's a guy with a great voice, great lyrics

​,​

and a guitar and a band. I feel like I appreciate Matt more than I care for his music on a passionate level

​ but ​

his taste in music doesn't even seem to totally jive with what he performs. He actually has a similar taste in music.

​ to myself​

  

Matt Nathanson gives everything he has on stage, telling stories and being a goof ball. It's hard not to enjoy his performance because if anything he's enjoying it the most. He's kind of self admittedly in love with himself  so he's going to strut the stage and make love with the audience.

​ He makes all the girls scream when he gyrates his hips.​

If that's his prerogative

​,​

all power too him. I'll probably be seeing you again Matt Nathanson.

Speaking of mid 00's bands that temporarily showed up on our radios. Actually this band did a lot more than Matt Nathanson as far as commercial success goes. I'm talking of course about Life

​h​

ouse

​;​

again another band Alex loves and has managed to see countless times.
<-----That song sound familiar? I bet it does! I bet it takes you back. A little bit of overplayed radio nostalgia

​,​

am I right? I first saw this band perform at the San Diego fair where old bands go to re live old glory days. The other time I saw them was kind of interesting. They did this thing at the Grammy Museum where they were the band was interviewed for quite some time then they performed a number of songs in a very intimate room. They sounded excellent in that room that I'm pretty sure was designed expertly for acoustics. The sound was so clean in that room. Lifehouse really brings a full sound and put what they've got into playing it live. They aren't that fun to watch but I enjoy hearing the hits I and everyone else grew to love.


  

My girlfriend is an old school fangirl when it comes to both Matt Nathanson and Lifehouse​.​

​She was hip to both bands before they hit the radio.

You​'re ​going to recognize this one too, and it's going to take you back and tickle your brain for a little bit. Ahh, the 00's, what an interesting time for music.

Dan Goes To Concerts In Vegas

Las Vegas, Sin City; remember, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Except for this entire blog post...In my large handful of times being to Las Vegas, I've been to a small handful of concerts. The first time I found myself in Vegas was actually on a concert mission. The mission was to see John Cougar Melloncamp open for the one and only Bob Dylan. Despite how amazing that show sounds, it wasn't as great as you might think. John Cougar really put on a good show, he sounded great. Aside from the fact that he didn't play 'Jack and Diane,' I really enjoyed his set. Unfortunately, Bob Dylan was the disappointment of the evening. I say that with a broken heart, because it was absolutely incredible to sit before him, and I deeply appreciate his music contributions. But the whole performance fell flat for me. Bob Dylan essentially sat down at a piano the entire time banging out song after song. He sounded out of shape and winded. I'll accept his age as a contribution to his tired sound, but I've seen plenty of older guys jam out with twice as much as Bob Dylan gave. I don't recall him even taking a moment to speak with the audience. He also left out some massive hits out of the set list. Considering that these tickets weren't cheap, I felt like I was taken for a ride. The set was minimalistic and the lighting wasn't anything special. It felt like two big names took the money and ran. Bob Dylan didn't even perform 'Like a Rolling Stone'. Not that he had to, but on top of not being conversational with the audience, it felt like a poor effort from a legendary performer. The rest of that Vegas trip was plenty fun to make up for it. Me and my friend John got into plenty of trouble while in Vegas.

My second concert in Vegas was a free gig on Freemont street. I mentioned this in my County Concerts post. Basically during the week of the American Country Music Awards there was a show put on by a surprising list of artists for a free show. This thing was packed. People everywhere in cowboy hats and Daisy Dukes. At one point someone dropped a 2 liter of Dr. Pepper on the ground essentially destroying a good proximity of standing area. He just stood there and watched it gush out of the bottle... I was not amused, first: that's a waste of perfectly good DP and secondly I don't like *squish squish* with every step I take.

As I said in my 1990s post,
   The Mandalay Bay puts on a summer concert series where various bands play poolside.
Well, this particular lineup was Sugar Ray, Gin Blossoms, Smash Mouth. A dynamic 90s nostalgia explosion in a beautiful Las Vegas setting. Nothing like sipping on a Budweiser surrounded by people having a good pool party time.
                                         (as I'm writing this post I realize how many shows I've seen in Vegas)
  
My fourth concert going venture in Vegas was to see Shania Twain. I actually surprised my girlfriend Alex with a pair of Shania Twain tickets. This was just one of many spectacular things that happened that Valentine's weekend. That performance wasn't even the performance that brought us to Vegas that weekend. Our original purpose was to see CeeLo Green, and I will get into how awesome that show was in a sec. First, the Shania Twain show, what an epic show that was, bare in mind I'm not entirely that into country music, but then again... Shania Twain isn't entirely country. Shania Twain is the best selling female country artist of all time, but she also crossover into mainstream radio during the 90s. Her performance was jam packed with nostalgic award winning mega hit songs. The band was note for note perfect, and there were dancers! It was a full tilt Vegas show, with moving set pieces to boot. It was a high energy captivating show full of audience interaction, recommencement story telling from Shania. She's also not afraid to get a little vulnerable on that stage talking about heavy things. This is why I am so excited to see her on her tour. I know it will lack the Vegas atmosphere, but she completely won me over in Vegas.

Then it was time for CeeLo Green. With special guest Boy George. WHaT?? I know, not only did CeeLo Green dazzle the audience, but Boy George came out and brought things up to 11 with a quick mash up of Karma Chameleon and Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? That was a fantastic surprise. But back to my man CeeLo, wow... His voice is so completely on point. I hope it wasn't Vegas magic, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't. That performance was so good tho, just everything about it. From his amazing multi-color moo-moos and his crazy falsetto voice. I wasn't as completely captivated by this show as Shania, but I did still really enjoy it. There was just no set, not much to look at. It was mostly just CeeLo being amazing, there wasn't enough flair for my taste.

 

So who did I see in Vegas last? Oh yeah, Jimmy Buffet. Suck on that.
There's nothing to say about Jimmy Buffet shows that hasn't already been said. But I'm officially a parrot head.

 
 

Punk Rock

This post is going to be tricky, and I know some reading this might disagree with a few of the things I might say. Punk is a genre that has many faces, and many fans. Those fans have many differing opinions.Bare in mind I am no authority on Punk but I've been to a handful of shows that I believe can be consider Punk shows.

My first Punk show was a band called Against Me!. This is more of a contemporary Punk Rock band. They have polished melodies with crunchy guitar and rough vocals. Lyrics laced with political and social commentary. When I refer to rough vocals I have in mind. - It's not whiny, and that's where I sort of draw the line on my punk threshold. In actuality my taste for Punk music is generally limited.

I like a polished punk music sound with a man singing, not a man singing like a boy. Which is what I wrote without realizing and recently found out that the lead singer Laura Jane Grace identifies as being a woman and now is publicly embracing being a woman. All power to her, if it feels right and it makes her happy then that's excellent. If anything it makes me like the music even more.

I saw Against Me! with opener.
Matt & Kim they were a fun band, it's always nice to walk away from enjoying an opening band you aren't familiar with.


It was a high energy show... Clearly!This was my first concert at the Grove Of Anaheim. I was invited to this show by my friend Haley who is a very cool person, she rounded up me and a couple other friends, Lauren and Andrea. The crowd had a lot of momentum, I felt responsible for trying to keep my female friends from dying as the ocean of people swirled around. At one point I felt it would be a good idea to jump into the mosh pit. Jumping into the mosh pit always seems like a good idea, however it often times turns out not to be. This particular time I basically had a pretty big person's body come down on by head. I felt my neck compress into my body and I felt dizzy and sick for a good 15 minutes after. They say it's fun and games until someone gets hurt, it's totally true.

I discovered Against Me! through Haley and they continue to be a band I listen too frequently. So thanks Haley! They really did put on a good show that night, they sounded fantastic. I really need to see them again, it's been years.

The second show one can consider punk would be Vans Warped Tour. I did find myself at one of those once. Ultimately Vans Warped tour doesn't cater to my taste in music. I went that year because it was free courtesy of my crazy ex-girlfriend. My friend Lauren was with us too, so that's now a total of 2 concerts in this post I've seen with Lauren out of a number of concerts. She should start her own blog. Next to Me and My girlfriend Alex, Lauren has a pretty high concert count.
I can't say I really enjoyed this concert that much. My ex really had a way of sucking the fun out of things. I think that night even ended in an argument. Thank god Lauren was there, but I think she didn't really have too much fun either >.< my ex was the worst. Warped tour was the first time I chanced upon the Adicts. It essentially was the only part of the festival that was cool for me. The first of now 4 Adicts concerts I've been too. You'll notice "I think" was used a lot in this paragraph, this is really a show that yeah... I attended, but it can stay a distant memory.

I was sold on the first time I saw the Adicts, now the Adicts have become one of my most favorite acts to see live. It is literally one of the funnest shows to go to. Streamers, glitter, and good ol' fashioned English Punk Rock. The people who've seen the Adicts know exactly what I'm talking about. If you haven't been to an Adicts concert you really should. You don't have to know their music, you don't have to be into Punk music. It helps, but it doesn't matter. Regardless of your taste, you are going to find yourself having a good time at an Adicts concert. I promise that it will be full of streamers, glitter, and good ol' fashion Punk Rock. I've managed to see the Adicts a total of 4 times. It was just last Halloween I got to see them perform at the House Of Blues on Sunset Strip with my numero uno gal-pal Alex. I've sat through a few acts as openers for the Adicts, and honestly the only interesting thing that's happened was East Bay Ray of the Dead Kennedy's performed with his band, and they performed a couple Dead Kennedy songs.

That concludes the Punk Rock shows I've attended. Not too much experience, but that experiences I have had with Punk shows have been great. It's a high energy crowd that is really into it. It's a little chaotic and it's not for the faint of heart. You'll be covered in sweat, you'll smell like beer. And you'll think to yourself how funny it is to see Punk Rockers march through downtown Disney. But I've seen that with a handful of acts at House of Blues Anaheim. I've seen a couple Metal artists there, and it's just funny to see metal heads in downtown Disney.

Is It July Yet?

Since my 'Lions Tigers And Concerts Oh My' post I'm up two more concert tickets. I've got myself a ticket to see Marilyn Manson and Smashing Pumpkins. I'm also set with a Van Halen ticket. Sadly, I did not get a Rolling Stones ticket. The purchasing process was one of the most confusing I've ever seen. So they quickly sold out and slipped through my fingers. So I did the right thing and got tickets to the shows I mentioned. I also purchased the tickets during a Live Nation promotion so I got $60 concert cash, so I need to get myself some Rush tickets but I'm juggling my finances around to make sure I see plenty of concerts but don't end up a poor beggar on the streets. Alex is going to be getting tickets to see a few country acts. So the future of this blog looks to be full of eclectic concert reviews. Jack FM recently announced their 10th show, I might go to that, but I'm not that drawn to the lineup. Lit, Everclear, Bush, Cake, Tears For Fears. I might go, but only if I can afford it. I'd like to see Cake for the first time, and Tears For Fears and Bush... meh... and you should know by now I've seen Lit and Everclear ;-)


Marilyn Manson will be fun to see for a 3rd time. He is such a dynamic performer and he's really gotten a lot of his old steam back recently. With the release of his most recent album The Pale Emperor, Marilyn Manson is really packing a punch for the first time in years. I feel like the first time I saw Manson perform was right before he got carried away with drugs and depression, then the second show he seemed to be drowning, and now I'm really looking forward to seeing the new Marilyn Manson. The first time I saw Marilyn Manson the band Slayer opened. What a hell raising concert that was, I remember mosh pits of fire on the lawn. Another interesting event of that evening was the entire band chanting "fuck Marilyn Manson". The deal with that was brought on by the fact that Slayer was an opener, which some including myself believe Slayer should have been headliner. The audience seemed to have more Slayer fans in general.

Then the second time seeing Marilyn Manson was a tour co headlined with Alice Cooper. 'The Masters Of Madness' tour. If you know anything about these two artists you'll understand how unbelievably theatrical and visual the show was. As mentioned in a past post I have managed to see Alice Cooper twice. Alice Cooper is a must see, I promise you would not be disappointed.

Smashing Pumpkins I have not seen at all, same goes for Van Halen. I always enjoy putting another name onto the list of acts I've seen perform live. The Rolling Stones I have seen, and I am really damn disappointed I'm not going to be seeing them this time around. Last time I saw them I was in the pit, I was so close I could see the sweat roll down their faces. So I can at the very least rest easily knowing that should they call it quits anytime soon I've managed to see them in the best possible setting ever. This was a raffle seat as well, so it was complete luck of the draw that I got to nestle down into the pit.

I really need to shake a leg on getting Rush tickets, it's getting nearer and nearer and it's been too long since I've had a Neil Pert drum solo rattle my insides.

That's it for this week folks... stay classy

Dan Goes To Judas Priest Concerts

If there's one sure place to find yourself surrounded by long hair metal maniacs it's at a Judas Priest concert. The Judas Priest crowd is one of the most loyal crowds. They stand proud with fists in the air before their metal gods. Judas Priest is loyal to their fans and have continued to be through the decades being one of the hardest working heavy metal artists of all time. They stand strong with 17 studio albums and some of the best live recordings of any artist. If you've never sat down to a Judas Priest album you're sure to have otherwise been graced with hits like "You've Got Another Thing Coming" "Breaking The Law" "Turbo Lover" "Living After Midnight". If you've never seen them live I would highly recommend it.

When it comes to a live performance, Judas Priest is a high dose injection of heavy metal. They deliver with their career spanning catalog full of high caliber guitar and ear shattering screams,  big budget set pieces, and strapping leather. Take it from Judas Priest: "there's many who've tried to prove that their faster but they didn't last and they died as they tried... hell bent for leather." I can feel myself stepping back in time and enjoying the concert memories all over again.

Having seen them 5 times and being the band I've seen the most, I feel extremely connected to Judas Priest. The first time I saw them was for their Retribution tour which was supporting their new album after a period of hiatus. I went alongside my friends Erica and her boyfriend at the time, Travis. Along with my dad, it was really Erica and Travis who got me into Judas Priest. This was one of 3 times I saw Judas Priest with Erica and Travis. Erica has been my friend since elementary school. We go way back and I owe it to her to having seen Priest so many times. I believe she even paid for one of my tickets in whole! She's a rad person.

The first time I saw Judas Priest was was during their Retribution tour at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Irvine.  I missed openers Queensrÿch, however,  that wasn't much of a concern, because I was there to enjoy Judas Priest. This tour was in support of their then recent album Angel Of Retribution. This was one of two times I got to see Priest back in 2005. This was my first metal concert and my 4th concert ever. Something that stands out in my memory banks is I remember thinking "there are so many Iron Maiden shirts" aha... I think I myself rocked an Ozzy Osbourne shirt. Gotta rock the Ozz man; it's a must.

The second time seeing the "Defenders Of The Faith" brought me to a show titled "Priest Feast." This show I got so close it was unreal. Down in the pit at Long Beach arena. Openers for that show were Anthrax and Rob Zombie. It was a very tasty show, Rob Zombie had all sorts of film footage playing throughout his set. It would make sense given his work in film as a director. Anthrax of course was fun to see live as well, however I remember enjoying Rob Zombies set more.

Two down the hatch, and I'm just getting started. I can't say I couldn't of dreamed up a better lineup if I tried but the Metal Masters tour August 30, 2008 I was faced with the challenge of keeping my face from melting off as Testament, Motorhead, Heave And Hell, and Judas Priest roared through the night. I am hesitant to admit that I missed Testament entirely and walked into the venue while Motorhead was wrapping up with Ace Of Spades. This was not my decision, I was with people who weren't interested in seeing the first two bands. That was that. I had seen Heaven and Hell once before which can be read about in my Dan Goes To Black Sabbath Concerts post. I've managed to see Sabbath 4 times. Twice as Heaven and Hell with Dio, Twice as Black Sabbath with Ozzy Osbourne. God it was so cool seeing Heaven And Hell open for Judas Priest. It was virtually unreal.

Then as if the Metal Masters tour could be topped in my Priest concert going experiences. It totally was topped with their 30th anniversary British Steel tour. The entire British Steel album from start to finish capped off by 7 other phenomenal Priest jams. Now if only I can see them do Sad Wings Of Destiny from start to finish. Hey!! I'm not complaining, I'm just saying. This show was actually comped by my friend Tyler Beck. He is another Judas Priest fan, I'm glad to call my friend. August 5th 2009 Costa Mesa, CA. Oh yeah! Whitesnake opened, David Coverdale is such a ham... Stroking his mic stand, he thinks he's so sexy.
Yes I have seen quite a few priest shows, and my last Priest show was slated as being the last. Found out pretty quickly that wasn't the case. However K.K. Downing retired before the Epitaph tour, and this was a big bummer for myself and all of the metal maniacs. It was still a fantastic performance, but it did feel empty without K.K. at the helm of his metal axe. This tour marched on with Thin Lizzy and Black Label Society. It was fantastic hearing 'The Boys Are Back In Town.' I actually got teary eyed because it was such a nostalgic song that reminded me of sitting in the back seat listening to the radio of my mom's car. I've never been much of a BLS fan. I love Zakk, don't get me wrong, I love what he did with the Ozz man. But Black Label Society just never sat well with me. It was still a great performance and it was still a fantastic night. I was with my girlfriend Alex who was seeing Judas Priest for the first time. I was great-full to share the Judas Priest experience with her. We were also with one of my best friends John Anderson.

I missed the most recent pass that Judas Priest made and it truly killed me to have to miss it. But I won't let that happen again, as long as Judas Priest is willing to march forward I will continue to see them. They are easily my favorite band to see live, I should know... I got to concerts after-all.