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. 

Lions and Tigers and Concerts Oh My!

As it was mentioned in my post '10 to 100' I have the following concerts to look forward to:

Jason Aldean and Kenny Chesney in July
Kid Rock and Foreigner in August
Shania Twain In August 
AC/DC in September
 And I will be buying Rolling Stone's tickets Monday
This will be my second round of the Rolling Stones, very exciting!

But there are so many more concerts to attend! I feel like the next half of 2015 is looking to be a huge concert season. I'm just struggling to figure out which ones I can afford seeing. I have to consider who I've seen and who I haven't. It pains me to even think that I have to miss any of them. Maybe someday I'll actually be a sponsored concert goer, or maybe I can do crowd funding. But right now I just like going to concerts and it's up to me to pay for them. I'll keep you informed as I continue to carefully pick and purchase all of my future concert endeavors. 

Sorting through the concerts is difficult. Here's why... You have Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, Scorpions, Aerosmith, Marilyn Manson & The Smashing Pumpkins, Madonna, Jimmy Buffet, Rush, Under The Sun Tour (as mentioned in my 1990s post), The Eagles, U2, Steve Miller Band, The Who, and that's just the tip of this big ass concert iceberg.
I'm also looking forward to seeing Ozzy Osbourne playing Vegas in October, which will...

 

...mean funding an entire epic Vegas trip. For a while now, and especially after seeing Shania Twain in Vegas I've been aching for Ozzy to have a stay in Vegas. Luckily my prayers have been answered. There isn't much information on the month long stint in Vegas. However it is promised to be a state of the art performance. I'm clearly really getting my hopes up for this. This reminds me of when I got to see Billy Joel and Elton John do their Face to Face tour. I knew they had toured before, and I was just hoping they would come around again. Then not too long after my hopes for a tour, my concert prayers were answered. I really need to dream up scenarios more often. For the betterment of humanity aha...
If you're like "wait!, what?" yeah! Billy Joel and Elton John. I know, your jealous. It really was a fantastic show. The show started with both of them coming out onto the stage, and performing a medley of each others hits. Then Elton John was given the floor, to perform a series of his fantastic songs. They both got together to perform in the middle leading into Billy Joel to perform a set of his beautiful songs. Ending the night with both of them banging out the classic 'Piano Man'. I've had the privilege of seeing Billy Joel once more at the Hollywood Bowl. The Face to Face concert being at The Honda Center. Billy Joel is more of a favorite of mine. I enjoy his songs more. However I found that Elton John truly put on an amazing performance. Making each performance truly something special. It's now my favorite way to see either of them. When I saw Billy Joel by himself I was just missing Elton John a little bit. I was supposed to see Elton John perform in Vegas doing his Million Dollar Piano show. However the particular date I was supposed to see him, he was out sick. I was of course refunded my money but again, another show that I'm sure would have been absolutely stunning. The music of Elton John with a financial backing of a Vegas casino.

As mentioned in an earlier post I was hoping to see Blue October on the night this is being posted, but I have such a monstrous day of work  the day after (tomorrow), I can't fathom getting home late from a concert and struggling through a heavy work day right after. My goal is to at the very least hit 100 concerts by the end of 2015, so I need to figure this out!

1990s

Warning: I had an eye infection for over a week, and it has prevented me from spending too much time on this post, but I wanted to commit to my Friday deadline.
The 1990s were what I grew up with. I was born and raised in the last decade of the 19th century. During this time I was influenced by the culture of the time. I enjoyed my childhood and there is so much nostalgia from it, but one of the greatest gifts the 90s gave me was some of my first and most favorite songs of all time. I've gotten my 90s on a few times, but one of the best times was a concert my friend Cat and her boyfriend James invited me and my main gal pal Alex to go to, and party like it's 1999. Down in San Diego for a new tour called Summerland

 It was a 90s nostalgia festival tour-thingy with the bands Everclear, Gin Blossoms, Marcy Playground, Lit, and Sugar Ray. That was a a pretty awesome -funtacular- show.  Sounds like a fun show right? Maybe if your in your mid 20s and aren't lame.
   To be fair and at an actual 'fair'.  This was my 3rd time seeing Everclear but this time felt like the third was in fact the charm. As I mentioned in my post last week I first saw Everclear when I was too young to really get what was going on. But I get it now, I remember the days when Everclear flooded the radio, same with all those bands.

And then the next time I chanced upon Everclear was at Jack's 6th Show. This is an annual concert series put on by 93.1 Jack FM.

KCBS-FM Jack FM is really disappointing me these days. They started off as something new and fresh and even quirky on the radio. I mean at least in my radio pre-sets.
Which Is 95.5KLOS,   ALT98.7,    100.3The Sound (Which is a radio station that resorted to bashing KLOS publicly, only to basically turn into a pre Heidie and Frank KLOS.)
And then there's K-Earth101.1 (god bless them for trying with the worst morning show on my pre-sets. And sometimes just playing music that is too old and not that classic) To be honest I got down with Uncle Joe in the morning on The Sound. But these days the only time the morning radio has something for me is on the weekends.

Okay, back to the original track of thought. Jack FM once a new fresh replacement for he radio frequency 93.1 once sporting the Arrow931 face. Jack FM started to have great annual concerts. All was good in the world however since the beginning, the station has truly managed to take a steady nose dive and same goes for its shows. When your marketing angle is "You're listening to 93.1 Jack FM broadcasting live from a dumpy little building in beautiful downtown Culver city." "Jack FM, playing what we want." So no matter how bad they become they never claimed to be anything other than the worst. And if you don't like it they just as best assume you can go screw yourself.

Back to what produced my Jack FM rant. The particular Jack Show, Jacks 6th September 10th 2015 had Heart and Def Leppard headlining. Everyone else was shoved on a ridiculous side stage that had no room whatsoever to hold a large audience and the sound set up was terrible. There you had Sir Mix Alot, Marcy Playground, Dramarama, and Everclear on a side stage and then Heart and Def Leppard who were conveniently touring with each other anyways on the main stage. The execution of the show was pathetic compared to my experience at Jacks's 5th show, which for some reason had every band on the main stage and managed to not piss everyone off. Jacks' 5th show line up: The Sweet, Modern English, Young MC, Vanilla Ice, The Fixx, Skid Row, Night Ranger, The Cult, Steve Miller Band. I haven't been to any other Jack FM concerts but after the 6th, I was really over it.
But....the 5th show truly was a great time. There were many middle aged adults drinking and and on drugs. There was a woman in her 30s who was licking strangers near me. The audience was out of hand. It was a surreal experience, It was as fun to watch the audience as the band.

The third time I saw Eveclear felt right especially with the lineup. Not only did I get to see Everclear, I got to see Sugar Ray for the first time, which was a really fun show. Mark McGrath is such a ham but he really knows how to have fun with an audience. Gin Blossoms was cool too, they rocked the sound 'Hey Jealousy' which is honestly all I knew of their material. Itwas really something to hear My Own Worst Enemy be performed by Lit, a song that I've always loved, and know word for word. Honestly I wish Art Alexakis (lead singer of Everclear) sang into the microphone better he always seems to pull away from it. Which just cuts out the sound. It was more neat to see Everclear than anything, but the performance honestly lacked in areas.
   There's been a lot of changes with that Everclear lineup through the years. It's part of why they faded away, there was a butting of heads. I sometimes wonder if Art bumps heads with a lot of people. For example, Art invited Sugar Ray to tour with them for the Summerland festival but due to conflicts of interest, Sugar Ray went on to start  Under The Sun while Art and Everclear split off to do Summerland. The difference is the genres really. Summerland tours with a bunch of Alt. Rock bands. Whereas Under The Sun is a more upbeat vibe.

Mandalay Bay Las Vegas, NV

The year after Summerland me and Alex actually saw Under The Sun waist deep in a warm pool slow cooked all day in the warm delicious Las Vegas sun.
   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.


Under The Sun tour will be cruising around this year with Better Than Ezra, Eve 6. Unkle Kraker, and Sugar Ray. I'm not sure I'll get to see that one,
 
Summerland is still going but I'm not that interested. Toadies, American Hi-Fi, Fuel, and Everclear.
I mean Unkle Kraker's got some great songs.
and Sugar Ray>Everclear. But Everclear is definitely a very important band in my music library.