Matt Nathanson

The Troubadour is such a cool little intimate venue full of history that makes it more than an iconic venue. I'm usually busy seeing huge stadium bands and it's always nice when a smaller act brings me back to a venue like the Troubadour. My third time at this venue and the second time seeing Matt Nathanson. Matt Nathanson is a singer songwriter who ensnares his fans with a poetic genius. After hammering out album after album over the past couple of decades, Matt Nathanson has a recognizable following. If you're unfamiliar with him, go check it out. I had never been familiar with Matt until my girlfriend introduced me to him. He's actually what I call a department store artist, because he had a relatively chart happy hit in the early thousands that you'll be likely to hear over the speakers of a JC Penny or Target. 
I think his diehard fans like his celebrity prowess just fine and I agree. I have a similar relationship with some favorite artists of mine. I'm glad they aren't too big. Smaller bands are fun in an intimate sort of way. Scorpions will Rock Me Like a Hurricane, and David Bowie will take me on a Moonage Daydream, but I'll either have a nosebleed or I'll be broke. I'll gladly take my small shows like The Adicts, Blue October, and Matt Nathanson. 

This show was fun because It was the first thing we have been able to do in a while; she's been really busy and so have I. It's always a treat to go out and do something really fun with her. Before the show we managed to go and get our belly's full of I-Hop and got in line early enough to be very close to the stage. The one downside to the intimate venue is being sardined in general admission standing in one spot for hours on end. My senses were happy but my back was not.

This was a fun set. The show was opened up by Matt's cousin/guitarist. Then with minimum intermission Matt Nathanson was on the stage. It was just the two of them for most of the set aside from 2 songs where his whole band came on stage. It was a stripped down show with something I had never seen before. A song wheel. If you want to know what Matt Nathanson is going to play when you go see him on this tour. GOOD LUCK! The song wheel was as explained by Matt "so, if you are unhappy about anything I didn't play, you can blame it on the fucking wheel." Matt Nathanson is such a ham. His sets are 2 parts. One part stand up comedy show, one part singer songwriter jams. He played a good 18 song I believe, with some deep cuts, some cuts off his new album and a few things in between. It was a well rounded show that was just enough for the small space that is the Troubadour. You wouldn't want to see anything much more try to be fit into that venue. 

This was actually a late birthday present for my girlfriend. I'm glad I got to take her to see her favorite music dude. Trust me, she's nutty for Matt Nathanson! 

Knotfest 2015

Here we are at 101 concerts. What are we gonna do about it?
Well... I guess we are gonna write about it.

Knotfest: A festival put on annually by the band Slipknot. This festival is two days of heavy metal artists exploding through the hills of San Bernardino.

I, however, was only drawn to the first day, Saturday October 24, 2015. Because who was main headliner? Judas Priest. Who opened for them? Korn. If you've been paying attention you'll know already that I am a huge Korn fan and an even bigger Judas Priest fan.

I have another post you can read called Epicenter Festival 2015. Where I talk about seeing Korn alongside a few other cool bands. Such as Limp Bizkit, P.O.D. I suggest you give that post a read!

I feel like Korn is a band that you come to understand and appreciate. I know the sound can be "a lot" at first. But when you find out where that heavy music comes from, and it comes from a very heartfelt place. It can change your mind, and make you a Korn believer. The lyrics are largely written by Jonathan Davis  who truly had a sad childhood. Understanding his story changed my mind. Also their relationship as a band is awesome. They are all buddies, in videos they seem to have so much fun with each other being in a Rock band. Or nu-metal if you want me to be all specific and what not.

So what do you do when you have tickets to see an awesome show, but your girlfriend gets busy?

Find another willing soul to gallivant alongside me through heavy metal bliss!
My friend Raitt pulled through when I requested a ride in exchange for his entry. So he picked me up at my house, we went and grabbed a 32 of Budweiser some ice and we were off.  We ripped through on the toll road and we arrived early for some pre game shenanigans. We were supposed to have a few drinks, then we got buzzed, and then we got drunk. Sharing laughs, and our love for metal.
While at Knotfest I managed to see Kataklysm, Mastodon, Korn and Judas Priest. To be honest I needed to rest during Mastodon. A lot of walking and a lot of beer was exhausting. I actually walked 7 miles! But by the time Korn was up I was ready, ready to redeem myself after an hour long lawn nap. I was so far from the stage that I didn't really worry about watching the show. There was a cool little mosh pit of just a few people. It was wide open and we were just having a lot of fun listening to Korn together. Korn is definitely it's own niche that I'm pleased to be part of. The set was not nearly as long as I could have hoped. They are touring for the 20th anniversary of their first self titled album. However there set was far too short to give the audience a full injection of the album and then some extra hits. So they ripped through the first half of the album and gave fans some of there more chart topping hits. I'm just glad to have seen them during the Epicenter festival. They had a longer set during that show, it was fantastic. Again I can't venture too far into the performance itself, because I had seen it and I wasn't really focused on trying to watch what was so far away. But I love John, Fieldy, Head, I love the Korn crew. They've made some of my favorite songs of all time.

The moshing subsided for Priest as one would expect, Judas Priest is high octane metal don't get me wrong. But their brand of metal doesn't really call for moshing. They slay you into submission to the point where all you can do is sit and watch in awe as your face starts to melt off. Rob Halford looked to be in really good health, and I can't imagine Judas Priest going anywhere anytime soon. I hope to find myself at a true to the bone full set Judas Priest show again soon. Much like Korn the set was minimal and short. However they did manage to have Rob ride out on his motorcycle. As one has come to expect. But cheers to performing some of my favorite songs of all time for me again boys. The Priest is always welcome back to Southern California. Please check out my first Judas Priest post Dan Goes To Judas Priest Concerts where I write like the biggest fanboy goober ever. Maybe next time I'll be able to afford meet and greet tickets and really solidify my Judas Priest history!!

My 100th Concert

Well, we've reached a milestone. I've been to now 100 total concerts as of last Saturday October 3rd. Feels like I've got this new awesome credibility. Now I have to buckle down and hit 200 twice, three, maybe four times as fast but until we get there, I'm just grateful to have grown up well off enough to have seen so many concerts. I've also been very blessed to have good friends and family that know how to show me a good time. Whether it's a Christmas present, birthday present, or just because I'm awesome, I've managed to attend 100 memorable and wonderful shows

Photo Credit: Orange County Register

Now let's take a look at the band that pushed me into 100 total concerts. Rascal Flatts, certainly an odd turn of events, but I'll take it. I say it's odd because my 100th concert was turning out to be The Who and country was never much my taste in music. But when your lovely girlfriend is your main concert buddy who loves country, you find yourself at many country concerts which has been rewarding in many ways and has actually harvested a taste for country music in my heart but ladies and gentlemen she goes and sees my metal bands with me, so that's what true love looks like :-p. 

This was our third time seeing Rascal Flats, and I am always pleased. Jay Flats has an intense voice and is just so spot on live. He delivers each hit with so much energy. This has been a hard working country act for about 15 years and having released 9 studio albums. With that body of work and commitment, it's no wonder Rascal Flatts has quickly solidified themselves as legends in country music.

The only thing about this show that was a bit disappointing is the fact that it was basically a re-hash of the last tour. It was essentially a victory lap with the success of their Rewind album. They re-named this tour Riot after the single that was released from the Rewind album. But it had a lot of the same stage elements. It was at my venue friend this summer Irvine Meadows. I think I managed to see over 5 shows at Irvine Meadows this summer. Smashing Pumpkins, Marilyn Manson, Van Halen, Darius Rucker, Sublime w/Rome. I think Rascal Flatts brought me to Irvine Meadows for the last time this concert season.

Oh, they had two openers, some girl from The Voice, and Scotty McCreery who I believe won American Idol, or something like that. I have a personal aversion to these kinds of shows, so I'm no authority.

So, 100 concerts!!! that's pretty exciting, We are also 25 posts in to the blog. and WeGoToConcerts.BlogSpot.com is still growing as well.

#2 AC/DC: Countdown To 100

This Isn't My First Rock Concert: I'm A Trained Professional.

AC/DC: The band that started it's rampage in the early part of the 70s providing top notch true to the bone Rock N' Roll with each and every album. Then, when tragedy stuck and front man Bon Scott passed, Brian Johnson rose from the ashes and brought with him one of the best selling Rock albums of all time Back In Black. Whether or not you are that into AC/DC in a big way, it can easily be agreed upon that they released some hard to miss anthems. Songs like Highway To Hell, Thunderstruck, Back In Black, and You Shook Me All Night Long. However, there is one thing that can be hard to convey to someone who is not necessarily a big fan (which you're crazy not to be) is the live concerts. AC/DC has such impressive Live shows that they actually have some of the best selling Live DVD's and CD's. When heading to an AC/DC concert there are certain things you need to expect. You'll have to expect a massive set list full of deep cuts and top charting hits. Not only are you going to get a musical feast but they are a band that will give you a visual performance you come to expect.

When you hear "Whole Lotta Rosie" start playing, you better expect a several hundred foot tall big Rosie blown up to fill the stage. While she's doing that Angus Young is probably already down to wearing just shorts, having already stripped down from his school boys uniform. Then there's the cannons. Basically if you haven't already lost your hearing by the end of the night they'll fire some cannons which are so dang loud.

The first time I saw AC/DC my nose was bleeding for sure. I also had a side view, so my seats were just the pits. I saw AC/DC come around for their Black Ice world tour. Since then they've lot Rhythm guitarist Malcom Young who is unfortunately struggling with dementia. Then there's drummer Phil Rudd who's evidently too much of a criminal rock star now to even be able to leave New Zealand.

I have still yet to see the show, so far this has all been written prior to this monstrous show! I will be once again a little to the side, but I'm down in the front! I've also been following the tour, and the stage is huge. If you're in the front, there is really no bad seat. I know Angus will rock himself all around that stage, they'll make sure to have us all feeling really really good!

 

Here we are, post show! 

And what a show it was. I got buzzed from my drinks and drunk off my as from AC/DC. For the first time in a long time, me and my girlfriend had ample time to get down in the area.  We fancied ourselves some pre show munchies at Islands, then hung out at a nearby park for a couple hours just enjoying our company before the show. Turns out heading to Dodgers stadium early is the way to go to get free parking right outside the gate. A quick trip to will call, a wristband, a metal detector, and we're in. I always have a hard time getting through the metal detector because they can detect how metal I am \m/. Inside, still time to spare, we make our way to the drinks, just one, two,

ok.. three AND It's time for the opener. They were like a swing rockabilly rhythm and blues type band by the name of Vintage Trouble. They were high energy, very confident. They managed to Rock the people who even bother to show up for an opener. But these guys were fun, fronted by a very vivacious gentlemen who was bouncing and screaming and running through the audience. But you wouldn't expect AC/DC to be opened by anything less than dynamic? Right? You wouldn't do that would you? No... no you wouldn't.

  Ok... But what about that AC/DC band?
  What about them? Oh yeah, they were pretty good.
  Wait... what are you talking about Dan?
  You're right... they fucking rocked. Ok! you happy? I dropped the F bomb. But it's really the only way to assess an AC/DC concert. As I mentioned before, there is an entire culture surrounded by AC/DC. Whether you've chosen to dress up in a school boy/girl outfit to pay respects to Angus Young, or perhaps you dawned flashing devil horns. Literally the whole audience twinkled with devil horns, how magical is that?  It's hard to talk about a show as good as AC/DC. A band so confident they roar with one of their biggest hits Back In Black on the 4th song in. When you're a band so beloved and so successful, you don't have to wait to give the audience what they want, you have a whole catalogue of massive hits. Amazing set, amazing sound, just up and down amazing. Then there is of course Rosie who made her massive appearance as I told you earlier in this post she would.
You might be surprised to find out that the audience chants "Angus" throughout AC/DC concerts. This is due to the fact that Angus Young is such a dynamic presence. He manages to be more than lead guitarist, but pretty much leader of the band. But it shouldn't be that surprising, his massive rifts can be heard throughout the world and his stage performance is legendary.

 

I banged my head, I bumped my fist, and I rocked with the best of them as I had many times before. Between the two AC/DC shows, I would feel comfortable assessing that they are one of, if not THE most fun band to see live.

AC/DC was sweet!!!
Posted by DanGoestoConcerts on Tuesday, September 29, 2015

The Concert That Wasn't / Yet To Be

Well, this has been a very interesting month dudes and dudettes. I would have hit 101 total concerts this month. But the music gods are angry. I was to have seen Tim McGraw and hit #99, then witness The Who at #100, then be blown away by AC/DC at #101. Well, we live in an imperfect world where imperfect things happen. Earlier this month The Who postponed their tour due to lead singer Rodger Daltrey having meningitis. So that change brought AC/DC into the #100 spot. Which was going to be GREAT! Then just days before the McGraw show, it was cancelled. So now, I'm not hitting #101 heck. I'm not even hitting #100. This isn't that big of a deal, but the gods of music threw off my blogs rhythm! My first blog post was all about seeing AC/DC. It was supposed to come around full circle! Oh well, wasn't meant to follow my master plan! >.< At least The Who simply postponed. Tim McGraw however was near the end of his tour and is soon to be busy promoting a new album. So he just cancelled the shows completely. So concert #100 will belong to Rascal Flatts. Which is cool. I  really enjoy their performances. This will be my 3rd round of Rascal Flatts. I never thought a Country show would be my 100th. It is what it is, so giddy up!

The Month of October is going to be pretty sweet though. I've got Luke Bryan  on October 17th and the first night of Knottfest October 23rd. Knottfest will be my 2nd time seeing Korn and I believe my 6th time seeing Judas Priest.Two very exciting bands to see back to back. Sounds like Dan's October dream come true.

In a possible turn of events, I might see the Foo Fighters this coming Thursday in Chula Vista,CA courtesy of the groovacious lady, Shannon White. Who btw, will be contributing to the blog WeGoToConcerts.BlogSpot.com very soon! Providing all sorts of great concert stories. My buddy Jeremy Porras has already made his first contribution to the collective. Check all that good stuff out bros. So maybe Foo Fighters will align the stars and correct the path my blog is on. I'd like AC/DC to sit at #100 just because it feels right! Ok?

P.S. Black Sabbath Tickets Came In The Mail
 




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The List

This is a list of every artist I've sever seen live. In the order of which I saw them. I will provide more detailed information such as date and venue. But that will require lots of sorting through my concert stubs. There are also a number of shows where I completely missed the opener, so they won't be part of the list. So, here we go!!!
The List
(Every Band I've Seen Perform Live)
1. Doheny Days World Music Festival: Everclear played.

2. Avril Lavigne, Simple Plan, GOB

3. David bowie

4. Judas Priest

5. Chicago w/ Earth Wind and Fire

6. Judas Priest, Rob Zombie & Anthrax
7. Buckethead & That One Guy

8. Emperor

9. OzzFest ("free fest") Lordi, Static X, Ozzy Osbourne +more
10. Rush

11. Slayer & Marilyn Manson +

12. Against Me! w/ Matt and Kim

13. Heaven and Hell, Queensrych, and Alice Cooper

14. Cat Power
15.Adam Green & Tim Fite
16. Iron Maiden & Anthrax
17. Judas Priest, Heaven & Hell, Mötorhead, and Testament
18. Buckethead w/ That One Guy
19. AC/DC

20. Blue October w/ Ours
21. Billy Joel & Elton John

22. Judas Priest w/ White Snake and Pop Evil
23. Warped Tour 09 (Highlight was the Adicts)
24. Def Leppard, Poison, Cheap Trick
25. Staind, Creed
26. Mika

27. Adam Green

28. Ozzy Osbourne
29. Backstreet Boys
30. Hot Hot Heat and Weezer
31. Bob Dylan and John Cougar Mellencamp
32. Owl City and John Mayer
33. Jacks 5th Show: The Sweet, Modern English, Young MC, Vanilla Ice, The Fixx, Skid Row, Night Ranger, The Cult, Steve Miller Band

34.LMFAO

35. Aesop Rock and Kimya Dawson
36. Kid Cudi

37. Beach Boys and Uriah Heap
38. Buckethead
39. James Otto
40. Steve miller Band
41. Lifehouse
42. Jacks 6th Show: Sir Mix A Lot, Marcy Playground, Dramarama, Everclear, Heart, Def Leppard,
43. Blue October, I am Dynamite
44. Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, and Black Label Society
45. Matt Nathanson
46. Adicts
47. Saw Luke Brayan, Eric Church, Love and Theft, Kara Kramer, Laura  Bell Bundy, Scotty McCreere, Brantly Gilbert play on freemont street in Vegas.
48. Cocorosie

49. Xfest: Saw Garbage, and Angels and Airwaves, and some POD
50. Lonestar, Eric Burdon of the Animals.
51. The Scorpions
52. KC and the Sunshine Band
53. Lit, Gin Blossom, Sugar Ray, Everclear
54.Tim McGraw & Kenny Chesney
55. Sheryl Crow
56. Pepper, Cypress hill, Sublime w/ Rome
57. Iron Maiden & Coheed and Cambria
58.Mötley Crüe & Kiss
59, Jason Aldean
60. Blue October & Barcelona
61. Rush
62.Aerosmith and Cheap Trick
63. Lifehouse (Q&A at the Grammy museum)
64. Ceelo Green (Boy George made an appearance)
65. The Adicts
66. An Evening With Justin (lead singer of Blue October)
67. The Rolling Stones
68. Marilyn Manson & Alice Cooper +
69.Tim McGraw
70. Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth, Gin Blossoms
71. Black Sabbath
72. Rascal Flatts
73. Matt Nathanson
74. Bon Jovi
75. Blue October
76. The Eagles
77. Shania: Still The One at Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas
78. Black Sabbath
79. Billy Joel
80. Alice Cooper and Mötley Crüe
81. Steve Miller Band, Journey
82. Paul McCartney
83. Rascall Flatts & Sheryl Crow
84. Keith urban
85. Blake Shelton, The Band Perry
86. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
87. Jimmy Buffet at MGM in Vegas
88. The Adicts
89. Eric Curch
90. Suicidal Tendencies (walked in at end of performance), P.O.D., Limp Bizkit, Korn.  +
91. Jacks 10th Show: Lit, Everclear, Cake, Bush, Tears For Fears.
92. Marilyn Manson & The Smashing Pumpkins
93. Van Halen
94. Sublime w/Rome, Pepper, Mickey Avalon.
95. Darius, Rucker, Brett Eldredge
96. Shania Twain & Gavin DeGraw +
97. Shania Twain & Gavin DeGraw +
98. Kid Rock & Foreigner +
99. AC/DC Dodger Stadium 9/28/15 +
100. Rascal Flatts
101. Knot Fest
102. Matt Nathanson
103. Motley Crue & Alice Cooper
104. Black Sabbath

#3 Kid Rock & Foreigner: Countdown To 100

8/27 Thursday Night, Irvine Meadows.
Let's be real, Foreigner was pretty sweet, and I bailed early on Kid Rock. Why did I bail on Kid Rock? I don't know. I was there with my buddy who wasn't into him and I am not really into him. He's got a few hits that I do like but I was tired and knew I worked the next morning. Leaving early just sounded better.

Here I go again, talking about a band that gave birth to all their classic songs before I was even born. Since their self titled debut album Foreigner (1977), Foreigner has submitted some of rock's greatest hit's and the performance was a representation of that. "Double Vision", "Cold As Ice", "Head Games". "Dirty White Boy", "Feels Like The First Time". The weird thing about Foreigner was the fact that we got 5 songs in before the first original member of Foreigner made their way to the stage. Mick Jones played through the second half of the set. But remove Mick Jones and your basically looking at a Foreigner cover band. I can't deny that they sounded good though. Everyone really put their heart and soul into these massive Foreigner hits. "Urgent", "Juke Box Hero", "I Want To Know What Love Is", and last but not least "Hot Blooded". You almost forgot how many great songs Foreigner was responsible for but due to the fact that Foreigner is basically a lie, they opened for Kid Rock.

Foreigner should never open for Kid Rock and they never would have if they weren't an incomplete band. What an interesting divide to put in between the audience too. Foreigner and Kid Rock don't really exist on the same plane musically. You have an old band coming out of the 70s, and then Kid Rock who has been throwing hits at us since the 90s. He's definitely had chart toppers like "All Summer Long", "Picture", "Bawitdaba". Again I only got about 4 songs into Kid Rocks set, but from the start I knew it wasn't going to be nearly as good as the Foreigner set. Or at least I wasn't going to personally enjoy it as much as Foreigner. After sitting down to hit after hit, sitting through an unfamiliar body of work from Kid Rock just didn't seem exciting at all.

Oh, there's one thing that I think was supposed to come off as cool  but it was just a marketing ploy. The tour was called First Kiss: Cheap Date Tour. Kid Rock's newest album is titled First Kiss, but all the tickets were in the $20 range but ultimately ended up on resale sites for as low as $4 a ticket. So Kid rock knew he couldn't fill places like Verizon so he got Foreigner on board and charged nothing for tickets. Looks like a kind gesture from artist to fans but let's be real. That's just good marketing.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am very excited to announce that I am on the cusps of reaching a long time goal.
100 concerts.
Kid Rock and Foreigner were concert number #98.
Tim McGraw will be #99 (Show was canceled updated: 9/23/15)
and
The Who will be #100.(Show was postponed updated: 9/23/15) Then we come around full circle from the start of this blog when I first announced that I would be seeing AC/DC for a second time. As long as I keep going to concerts I'll keep writing about them. So "for those about to rock, we salute you!"

Shania Twain And That Gavin Guy

8/20/2015
I am typing this up on a nice day off after just seeing my first dose of Shania Twain last night Wednesday 19th. This is a two part concert bonanza. Saw Shania last night at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Tonight I'll be seeing her at the Staples Center. I'm quite possibly more excited to see her again tonight than I was last night. A large band, flames, and moving platforms. This show was a very larger than life experience. Whether Shania is being lifted center stage or flying on a bull around the audience, she took her moments to speak with the audience, and she brought a lot of the Vegas magic with her on her world tour. You can read about that in my Dan Goes To Concerts In Las Vegas post. I will say that you can't go see her on tour and expect it to be as good as her Vegas show. It cant' be compared, but her tour is still full of Shania Twain superstar magic. Unfortunately I missed Gavin DeGraw last night, however I will be getting to Staples Center on time to see both performances. I did see him come out to duet with Shania on Party For Two, according to her it is the first time they took this fun tune on tour.


8/21/2015
I've made it through my first back to back concert performance. It was interesting. I saw a lot of things I would not have if I hadn't seen it twice. Makes me wonder if there is always so many extra things that can differ from one performance over the other. For example: apparently a generator blew up nearby the Staples Center at another building and it led to Staples Center experiencing some sort of power surge/power outage which resulted in a very awkward 10 minutes when about 45 seconds into 'That Don't Impress Me Much' where the sound died and the house lights came up. Shania Twain made her way off stage as well as the rest of the band. Then the music kicked back up and Shania was back on stage, only to now have a microphone that's not working. Shania took the opportunity to have some face time with the audience. She pointed out an actual rocket scientist that was brought to her attention in the very front. (Which is a quote in the song.) So once again they re started the song, she came through and they finished off the show. Knowing how complex those systems are it's actually a miracle they recovered as fast as they did.

Aside from the power issues the rest of the show was spot on, there were a number of differences from last night vs. the night before. For example at Honda, as I had mentioned we got Shania flying over the audience on a mechanical bull. She also was raised on a rising platform at the beginning of the first night, that the second night never saw. Everything seemed to be tweaked differently, even the song arrangement. Due to the curfew difference between Orange County and Los Angeles, the Staples show was condensed. Back to back really let me get a feel for the differences in venues. The Staples Center is outrageously better than Honda Center. The seats were like night and day, also the sound quality of the performance was more fine tuned at Staples Center. I'm excited that I'll be seeing The Who at Staples next month as apposed to Honda. Heck based on seats alone. But then there's also the LA traffic and LA homeless that are the price to pay for the nicer venue. I also assume Staples natively has more lasers. There seemed to be a lot more lasers for the second night, and who doesn't like lots of lasers? Crazy People!!! and maybe people who have epileptic seizures.

Once again, I showed up a little later to the show, but I did see the last two Gavin DeGraw songs. He's pretty cool, I can't get much of an assessment from just two songs. But he sounded great. Seems like a good opener for Shania. It was also a good idea to use him for the Party For Two duet. I really enjoyed seeing Shania Twain back to back. This is supposed to be her last tour ever, so I'm glad to say I've seen her three times before she hangs up her boots. Who knows if she'll actually call it quits after this, that's what every artist says but if it truly is the end, I'm glad I got to witness the County superstar in action.

Photos from Orange County Register and LA times.

Dan Goes To Ozzy Osbourne Concerts

 Well how do I begin this? The second sentence in and I'm just scratching the surface on this one. People who know me really know what I'm talking about. I'm clearly a music fanatic, I mean... you're reading this… on my blog… about going to concerts… but let me just say, there is just one artist that makes the fan boy in me squeal like a little girl.

Mr. Ozzy Osbourne. The madman of metal, the prince of darkness, father of 6. He's done more drugs than his music idols The Beatles all combined and then some. He's been evaluated by science as a genetic mutant through the use of his genome in the human genome project. He fronted the band Black Sabbath only to be kicked out and continue on to have one of the most successful solo careers of all time. There's Ozzy then there's his guitarist, whether he is being fronted by the beloved and missed Randy Rhoads, the blazing fast Jake E. Lee or the tried and true Zakk Wylde, also the newcomer Gus G. In the past 11 albums the guitarist no doubt outline the albums. But Ozzy is the front man, shocking and coloring in the lines, and making headlines since 1972. You're probably all familiar with the exhausted stories of biting the head off of a dove, or more famously a bat, pissing on the Alamo wearing Sharon’s wedding dress, or shooting down all of the cats in his house. He even died and came back to life when he had his ATV accident. So he’s basically a real life zombie. Heyyy Heyyy do the Zombie Stomp! (Ozzy song, which I shouldn’t have to clarify to you non believers!!!)
Regardless of what he is to you, he sits high up top the music constant that I so appreciate. When there is so much inconsistency in the world, you can always turn on a record and let the music take you away. There is no more ideal sound that makes it way through my ears and into my brain like the screaming guitar and biting vocals of Ozzy Osborne. Sabbath years, solo. You name it, I love it. My father instilled a love for Ozzy in me at a very young age. I remember not being able to tell Ozzy solo and Ozzy in Black Sabbath, but I knew Ozzy’s voice, and I knew I loved it. Let me put into perspective my early obsession towards the Ozzy. Picture me in 6^th grade, wearing an Ozzy shirt, walking around with a binder full of, what? School work? No, of course not, pictures of Ozzy! I also remember when the Osbournes came out, it upset me in so many ways. Suddenly there were people making fun of the dude that rocked my brain the hardest. People didn’t even know that Ozzy was a singer >.< blasphemy. I even had a nickname in Jr. High. Yep… “Ozzy”.

       Well holy snap Dan, the guy who goes to concerts, certainly you must have a good story or two about this guy. Who... Ozzy? You're goddamn right I do. There's already been a big bite taken out of this legacy when I wrote my blog post Dan Goes To Black Sabbath Concerts. Indeed that outlines my Dio and Ozzy fronted Sabbath experiences. But what about the Ozz Man? The man I've worshiped since I was in elementary school. Well let's start here...

...Freefest: that was the name of Ozzfest that particular year. Nestled in the hills of Devore, CA. Sharon and Ozzy decided that it was time to give back to the metal fans. They orchestrated an entirely free Ozzfest for people to be able to attend. Unfortunately this show was the beginning of a quick and ultimate demise of Ozzfest and truly there were no bands that I cared too much about. There were a handful of recognizable names to come out before Ozzy. Bands like Lamb Of God, Lordi, Static X, Behemoth, Nile. The rest of the artist lineup was a sea of acts lesser known to me. This wasn't an issue for me, because this was going to be my first time seeing Ozzy and truly that's all I cared about. It was a good time regardless, I remember falling down in the mosh pit which scared the crap out of me. And that was my first set of concert boobies that I saw. 

Ramping up the audience and bringing me to tears of joy (legit). Bark at the moon, already I'm just dying. It's almost hard to re live that performance. It was a cacophony of emotion and sound. Again, the fact that I was brought to tears of joy for the first time ever, should really outline my general feelings. It was epic, it was the Ozzman. I had watched the show clips and DVDs and I was taken in by the Ozzman as so many have been before. You'll never know the power of a front man until you're riding in the passenger seat of Ozzy's crazy train. The only downside to the whole thing was the fact that it took 2 hours to exit the parking lot. But I was tipsy from the excitement, so I just kicked back and waited.

Well... that's it folks.

No... stop... of course that's not it. I'm just getting started.

How about the time I shook Ozzy's hand?

Fuck you Dan, no you didn't! Yeah... I DID!

I Am Ozzy was the name of Ozzy's newest book, and I came across the discovery of a book signing that was going to take place in Huntington Beach. So me and my friend James Lane got in his car and took off to get ourselves there. We got our books, and I kid you not we waited for hours and hours and hours to get that book signed. But it was cool waiting in a line full of people anxious to get their book signed by Ozzy. The only thing I wasn't a fan of, was the fact that it was so rushed. It was crowded and rushed. I couldn't have had more than 15 seconds face to face with Ozzy. And I was so damn star struck I was walking away before I regained consciousness. I just know that I shook his hand said thanks for all the music and got mumbled at by him!

Yeah, that was the FIRST time I shook his hand! Aw... hell what?

Yeah, the second occasion was much sexier. So here's the scoop; me and again my buddy James along with a couple other guys headed to Hollywood to wait outside of the Amoeba records to get the opportunity to fetch Ozzy's newest album Scream. We got there early too because it was a limited engagement, only a few hundred people were given the opportunity to receive the album two days before release and get it signed. Again it was very rushed, very crowded, and I got mumbled at again. But I got to once again absorb some drugs through Ozzy's hand. I'm sure there was some sort of contact high! Yeah, but that's only part of this cool venture. You see not only were we given a free signed CD two days before release. We were also given a ticket to see Ozzy that same evening perform at the House of Blues. Again... For free. And that venue is like radical to see someone like Ozzy. House of Blues Sunset Strip is a hole in the wall compared to some of the venues Ozzy fills. The evening started with Sharon walking out and introducing the album which we got to listen too from start to finish until finally Ozzy came out and did an entire set. A set! for free! House of Blues! Any Ozzy fan might be fed up with this awesomeness by now. But theres a day two to this situation. You see I knew Ozzy was going to be performing on Lopez Tonight the next day. So once again, back in LA me and my buddies sat in on the audience. Sharon did the interview part, and Ozzy came out and performed like 3 songs. Oh, and we got another copy of Scream. So then I was in possession of two copies of an album not yet released. BALLER!!!

That wraps up my Ozzy experiences. Solo anyways. Because he's been fronting Sabbath for a few years now. That's nothing I can complain about, I enjoyed those shows a lot. But I really hope Ozzy busts out another solo album and tours solo again soon. I love Sabbath, but I'm also a HUGE fan of Ozzy's solo efforts.

Hootie Hold The Blowfish: Darius Rucker

Darius Rucker, A Thousand Horses, Brett Eldredge, and Brothers Osbourne.That was the lineup, however we did not land in our seats until time to see Brett Eldredge. Only one album into his career, Brett Eldredge already has Country fans wrapped around his finger. Well, maybe not my gal pal, and of course my "whatever" attitude towards to country in general. But hey!!! it's better than my previous notion towards country which was "ewww get away!!!" I am always surprised by how many songs I recognize at these country shows. Brett Eldredge is not your typical cowboy, wearing a stripped sweater and black skinny jeans but he's got the hits, and the girls want to scream out his name, so he's doing something right. 

Then there's Hootie, or rather, Darius Rucker; the black guy in Country music. Totally not a race driven remark. I mean, he's pretty much the only black guy on Country radio. It's a breath of fresh air. Now Darius Rucker isn't a household name, but Hootie and The Blowfish were back in the day. Darius has found his nitch on the Country charts, and with the amount of radio play he's getting right now, he clearly jumped head first into the genre he truly belongs in. With his deep southern style voice. He's from South Carolina, so it's no surprise he'd fit in as a Country singer. Football player for the NFL, turned Rock singer, turned R&B singer, turned Country singer. 

And that brings us to Saturday night (August 1st). Irvine Meadows, Irvine CA. packed with stone washed jeans, big boots, and short shorts. And of course the red white and blue murica'. Darius Rucker sounded great and sang his heart out, and his band sounded terrific. The show was as visually nice to experience as it was to hear. With a few extra display screens panning between shots of the band and other visuals. Darius glistened with sweat as he poured what he had into the songs. You could tell he really enjoyed himself, you could feel the energy from the audience bouncing off of him. I must say that on a Saturday night, I'm not sure how many people were there to sit and enjoy the show VS. how many people were there to just drink as much beer as they could. Everyone was having a good time, and that's all that matters. There was the obligatory LOUD ASS GIRL behind me, who at one point thought that it was cool to put her foot on my chair and into my back. And oddly enough, I've never had more people shuffle by me in my row than this concert. Beer run after beer run. I'd like to see the statistics, I'm pretty sure beer sales go up a touch for these Country shows. 

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was going to be seeing Jason Aldean and Kenney Chesney. That show fell through for me because of a work conflict. However a review of that show should be coming soon from someone who did go. 

In other news, purchase tickets to see The Who last night. YEAH!

So Dan, that lovely rating system you started using for Van Halen.
Right!
I give this show
1 Hootie out of 0 Blowfish
10 out of 10 for Darius backing band, taking the wind out of the Blowfish. I wasn't going to say blow.
3 out of 10 sneakers.
10 out of 10 cowboy boots. and for the feminists cowgirl boots!
oh and a Yee out of a Haw.

-photos courtesy of OCRegister

Another Irvine Show! Sublime+

I've spent the last 3 concerts at Irvine Meadows (previously Verizon Wireless) 

July 9th was Marilyn Manson and The Smashing Pumpkins. 

July 14th was Van Halen 

July 17th Sublime w/Rome, Rebelution, Pepper, Mickey Avalon. It's a shame that they are going to take this venue out. If you're local to the Irvine area you already know the tragic loss of Wild Rivers, now they are taking our concerts away from us because houses are more profitable, and that's exactly what we need in Orange County... More people. I've seen so many acts at Irvine too, probably more than I can even remember right now. It is so convenient and nearby too. It will be missed, kinda. There are definitely better venues, but you can't beat the convenience.

Anyways,

Let's see how much of this show I can remember... hah...It was just this last Friday that I saw Sublime w/ Rome show. It was fun, but unfortunately it wasn't that good. Mickey Avalon is a lesser known artist, not really generating any smash hits and he opened the show. There are definitely people familiar with Mickey Avalon, but only about 20% of the audience was there for his set. I'm personally a fan of Mickey Avalon, but he is kind of a creepy older 30s no name making some funny songs. His dancers were probably the only thing the audience was watching, and that wasn't even high quality material. You may remember this Gem from Harold And Kumar 2 My Dick (song) :-p

I feel like I'm being cynical, but the show fell short due to many reason.
The biggest reason being the pricing. These tickets were overpriced and it was obvious. The lawn was packed and the seats were empty. Rebelution came on before Sublime. I didn't go in really knowing them and there was too much going on to really absorb/ I didn't care. To be honest I know this show doesn't make for great blog content. I wasn't there to take the show seriously. I was there to have a good time. I had fun all in all, but that was more hanging out with my girlfriend and making fuzzy memories.

The Lawn kept getting out of hand with several fires. Truth be told I was mostly there to see Sublime, and I don't know what happened but it was not easy to hear Rome. For some reason his Mic volume seemed to be way too low. I will take into account that I was at the very upper outskirts of lawn. So that could have played a role, but I feel it's not substantial. The bass to me was very distorted and muddy, which made the rest of the sound fall flat.

This wasn't the first time I had seen Sublime either. I caught Sublime when they played with Pepper and Cypress Hill. That show sounded a lot better. So I'm pegging the blame on Irvine's venue. Especially because the past two shows sounded a lot better, and I know it's because they were higher budget and able to bring in their own equipment and staff. Acts like Sublime w/Rome have to fall back more on what the venue already has to offer. April 29, 1992 was my favorite part of the night, cop lights flashing, and the audience felt like they were on the edge of a riot. Man, what I would give to see Bradley front the band. Respect to Rome, but man... R.I.P. There would have been a riot if Bradley was there.

I missed Pepper, but I've seen Pepper so it wasn't a big miss. I also never really got that into them. I spent the first two hours of the show with my friend John and the remainder of the show with my lady friend because there was no way to get through the lawn crowd to find John again. The show wasn't that great but at least I had a good time with good company.

Van Halen

Just this last Tuesday night I was at it again. Dan was going to a concert; as if I wasn't still stoked about the Marilyn Manson and The Smashing Pumpkins concert. I was ready to travel back in time to the 1980s to experience one of the most flamboyant front men along with the greatest guitarist there ever was; or at least a guitarist who has been featured on many many top list of greatest ever. A true electric guitar ninja, and the bands namesake; Eddie Van Halen.
Van Halen back at it again, a David Lee Roth fronted Van Halen with Alex Van Halen on drums and Wolfgan Van Halen on bass. Where's Michael Anthony? Well, according to Eddie Van Halen, he was taught most of his bass lines and wasn't that important to the band. However, that's Eddie Van Halen speaking, through his fake teeth. I'm not going to dive into the politics of Van Halen because it's not a very nice timeline and people still have a hard time getting along.
I'm just gonna take in the fact that it was. Myself, my girlfriend, my buddy James (squirrel), his sister Allison, Danielle, and my mom and pops. I even knew a slue of other people in the audience that night. A band so dynamic in the 80s that despite much action and success in decades, we were all brought together to witness a band that hit their stride and sat on top during the decade of 80s hair and screaming guitars.

David Lee Roth is still David Lee Roth, and anyone who knows his personality knows exactly what I'm talking about. He was cocky, big headed, and full of energy. And he put on the best performance he could but while also not hesitating to  ramble on a few stories, and dawn a couple different outfits.
Then there's the band behind David that makes the whole package come together. It's what people generally feel comfortable with. Everyone fell in love with a Van Halen fronted by the ice cream man. Hit after hit, music was tight, and David Lee Roth hammed his way into the hearts of thousands. He certainly couldn't sing his way there anyone. But that's okay!

My parents recently challenged me to perform a rating system to give to the people. There are so many criteria in which to rate a band. I have to take into account my own feelings, who is and isn't in the band, stage lighting, set design, song list.
I'm gonna give this show
2 out of 5 David Lee Roth screams
5 out of 5 Melted faces
2 out of 5 Audience power
5 out of 5 Legendary
3 out of 5 Story Telling
3 out of 4 Van Halen's (ah... see what I did there?)