Alex Lifeson's Time Machine Guitar Amplifiers

   Rush, one of the greatest live bands of all time, is on tour this summer. The tour is called the “Time Machine” tour and I got the chance to catch their show at USANA Amphitheatre in Salt Lake City on August 5, 2010. I really hate the traffic and parking situation at USANA Amphitheatre and I avoid going to any concerts there because of that. It takes a special band like Rush to get me to brave the traffic nightmare of USANA Amphitheatre. 

   As usual the night began with the aweful traffic jam to USANA. Having a single road servicing all those parking lots is just horrible for traffic flow. We finally got parked in a dirt lot and hiked down to the Amphitheatre. In all fairness, once inside USANA Amphitheatre it’s not so bad. The grass is in great shape and we found a perfect spot to watch the show. 

   The concert began with a hilarious video of Alex, Geddy and Neal dressed up and playing characters in a restaurant. The video featured a band called Rash who had three members playing accordion, tuba and drums. Nobody liked the sound Rash had so Alex, who was dressed in a fat suit, whipped out a machine that warped the bands sound. He kept dialing it in until the band sounded like Rush. He then said “Never press this button” which he then pressed and the machine warped the actual band Rush to the stage and the show was on! 

   The video segued perfectly into Rush playing Spirit Of Radio for their first song. The stage which was all decked out like a complex time machine was very visually stunning. There were no amplifiers visible as they were integrated into the elaborate time machine stage set. The stage was fascinating to look at while the band rocked on Rush classic after Rush classic. 

   The high tech lighting rig was also spectacular and featured high intensity LED arrays. The lights moved every direction giving the audience an excellent visual show as well. The stage show also featured pyrotechnics and fog. At the back of the stage was an absolutely beautiful HD LED screen that broadcast video of the band as well as animated videos that were synchronized to the music. I was very well pleased with how amazing the stage was. 

   The band played as good or better than I’ve ever heard them. They were tight and perfectly in sync with each other. You can tell that they’ve been playing together for many years. The only signs of aging are some wrinkles and a bit more thickness around the middle for Alex and Neal. Geddy looks trim, fit and very athletic. The only other sign that this wonderful band is getting older is with Geddy’s vocals. He struggled with some high notes in the course of the night. They were still able to play their classics but it does make me wonder how many more years Geddy will be able to pull of the entire Rush catalog live. At least he hasn’t slipped like poor Robert Plant. 

   Rush played two sets of music rather than having an opening band. That’s fine with me because the more Rush I can hear at a Rush concert the better. The band took a 25 minute break in the middle of the show and came back onstage to perform the entire Moving Pictures album from start to finish. It was excellent to hear them play the entire album in sequence and for me it was the highlight of the show. I’ve always loved the Moving Pictures album. 

   As for the inevitable drum solo, yes Neal Peart played his drum solo. I have to tell you that I rarely pay attention to drum solo’s anymore. They bore the life out of me. But Neal Peart isn’t just any drummer as I’m sure you all know. He plays his drums much more from a musical standpoint than a standard drummer does. I was honestly riveted to Neal’s drum solo and enjoyed every second of it. It was long but it was so filled with musicality that it was like listening to a well composed song. Good on ya Neal! 

   Rush also played two new, unreleased songs titled “BU2B (“Brought Up to Believe”) and “Caravan.” They are hard rocking Rush songs and feature loads of excellent guitar. The songs fit very well with all the classics that Rush were playing on this night. 

   It was a great show and I’m very glad I went to see Rush playing live once again. The show was so good it made the nightmare of getting out of USANA’s parking madness a little more bearable. 

Rush – August 5, 2010 Salt Lake City Set List 

First set 

The Spirit of Radio 

Time Stand Still 

Presto 

Stick it Out 

Workin’ Them Angels 

Leave That Thing Alone 

Faithless 

BU2B 

Freewill 

Marathon 

Subdivisions 

Second set 

Tom Sawyer 

Red Barchetta 

YYZ 

Limelight 

The Camera Eye 

Witch Hunt 

Vital Signs 

Caravan 

Neal Peart drum solo 

Alex Lifeson acoustic guitar solo 

Closer to the Heart 

2112 Overture 

Temples of Syrinx 

Far Cry 

Encore 

La Villa Strangiato 

Working Man 

Performance time: 3 hours, 10 minutes (with a 25-minute intermission)

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Rush Time Machine Tour At USANA Amphitheatre Concert Review

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Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend of The Who

   I would certainly be remiss in my duties if I didn’t give a post to review the Superbowl halftime performance of one of the most legendary live bands of all time, The Who. First of all let me tell you that I am a huge Who fan and I have been since the very first time I heard them. The Who are actually one of the biggest influences on my playing and songwriting. Still, I’ll try to be objective about their Superbowl halftime performance.   

   I saw The Who on their last tour so I expected them to be showing their age and I knew that both Pete and Roger had lost quite a bit of the upper range of their voices. Still, I love these guys and it’s understandable that at age 64 and 65 years old their voices don’t have the power they did in their prime. So I expected that, what I really wanted to see was how much of this show was really going to be live.   

   It looked to me like the entire band was mic’ed and plugged in and the show honestly sounded like it did when I saw them live on the last tour. I believe that most of this show was live as we saw it on television. There were the standard backing tracks that are always used for the synthesizer tracks on Baba O’Riley, Who Are You and Won’t Get Fooled again. It did look like the drums, bass and rhythm guitar were possibly pre-recorded but I couldn’t tell for sure. I could definitely tell that the singing was live and that Pete’s guitar playing was live. Pete let out some monster riffs and decent solo’s during the performance. His shoulder must still be in great shape because his signature windmill was in fine form and he employed it profusely.

   So lets talk about the singing for a minute. I’ve been seeing negative comments about the singing all over the web. Well guess what folks, these guys are old! I think it’s to their credit that they still have the drive and courage to get up there and sing full on rock-and-roll on one of the biggest stages in the world at this stage in their career. I mean look at Bon Jovi last week at the Grammy’s. He was singing low and easy because his voice just can’t get up there anymore. At least Townsend and Daltrey are able to get close to how the sounded in their power days. Also, the Who have always been F-you rockers who don’t care about being perfect. They just care about rocking their hardest and that’s exactly what they did.

   The song selection was predictable of course but the songs are timeless, still hard hitting and fun to listen to. Pinball Wizard was a good opener and Baba O’Riley was a welcome surprise. I do wonder why they decided to squeeze See Me Feel Me in there in such an abbreviated form. I guess to prove that they could still play a balad. See Me Feel Me gave way to their biggest rock anthem Won’t Get Fooled Again on which they appropriately rocked. I was expecting a rendition of My Generation but it does seem odd to hear them singing “Hope I die before I get old” when they are old. But then again, old is really just relative isn’t it?

   The stage was just beautiful with an excellent light show and it’s always a treat to see Ringo’s son Zak Starkey one-up his old man on the drumset. I know they’re getting old, but half the band is already dead and it’s just nice to see some old rockers get up and do the best with what they have left in the tank. I for one, really did enjoy The Who playing the Superbowl halftime show.

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The Who Superbowl Halftime Show Review

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B.B. King Tour 2009

 I had the opportunity to see one of the most engaging live performers of all time this last weekend, Mr. B.B. King. I saw him at the Peppermill Concert Hall in Wendover, Nevada on November 13, 2009. I have seen video performances of B.B. King but had never gotten a chance to see him perform live. All I can say is thank heaven I got the chance to see him because it was one of the best concert experiences I’ve ever had.

   B.B. King is now 84 years old and his playing has slowed down a bit but he still has an excellent feel for blues guitar. His voice is older but it is still rich and full. The thing that really stood out for me is the man’s stage presence. He is an absolutely commanding presence when he walks onstage. His name King is truly fitting because it’s like the King arrived as soon as he walked out onstage.   

   Let me back up to the beginning of the show. The show began with B.B.’s backing band playing a couple of Jazz/Blues numbers. King’s backing band as you would expect is highly talented and very enjoyable to listen to. The band is comprised of 2 saxophones players, 2 trumpet players, drums, guitar, bass and keyboards. That many musicians gives a very full sound and they create an excellent backdrop for B.B. King.

   After the initial instrumental numbers Mr. B.B. King himself walked out onstage to a standing ovation and took his seat at center stage. B.B. welcomed everyone to the show and explained that he is now 84 years old, diabetic and can’t get around like he used to. To me he looked good for his age and health.

   The way that B.B. talks to the audience is one of the things that makes him such a fantastic performer. It’s like having a wise old father sit down and have a talk with you about history and life in general. The way that he weaves his stories into the music is completely engaging and time just seems to fly by. B.B. is very good at making you feel like he’s telling these stories for the first time, just for you. He’s great at making you feel like a very special audience and that makes for a very entertaining show.

   As I said before B.B.’s playing has slowed a bit in his senior years but he can really make every note that he plays count. His control over the instrument is phenomenal as he can make Lucille go from a whisper to a scream using only his hands, the guitar’s volume controls and his amplifier. It was wonderful to see the smile fill his face when he hit a high note that would give him the perfect amplifier feedback and Lucille would sustain as long as he wanted to hold that note. I would have liked to have heard him play more guitar but that’s only part of the show with Mr. King.

   Obviously a huge part of the show is B.B. King’s singing of the classic blues songs that have defined his career. One of my favorites that he played was “Key To The Highway” which he sang in his full, robust voice. He has a lot of fun with some of these songs and he really put the story across on “Key To The Highway”. Another song that he did very well and which was quite poignant at this point in his career was “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean”. B.B. does such a wonderful job of pulling the audience into these stories that you just hang on every lyric. Another of my favorite lyrics that he sang on this night is from the song “Bluesman” where he sang, “I’m a poor man, I’m a bluesman but I’m a good man.”.

   Some of my favorite moments on this night had to do with his interaction with his band. The drummer was doing some things to upset Mr. King and B.B. had no reservations about giving him an earful in front of the audience. I was cracking up when B.B. said “They think they can outrun me and they can, but I have a knife and I’ll cut ya!” of course he said it in jest with a smile and it got a good laugh out of the crowd. The image of B.B. King in a knife fight is downright hilarious to me! B.B. King is very in command of the band as well and directs them to quiet down so he can talk, directs them in finding the proper groove for his songs and has no qualms about making the band restart a song that he doesn’t feel began well.

   B.B. also gave a great talk about how he loves all kinds of music and he loves to play things other than the blues. At which point he launched into “You Are My Sunshine” which turned into an audience sing-along.  B.B. mentioned the ladies all night long and it’s no secret that B.B. King loves the ladies. He does a great job of making the women in the audience feel special. I’m sure that goes a long way in keeping concert attendance up and is a good marketing lesson to all of us that play in a live band.

   At the end of the show B.B. launched into a verse of “The Thrill Is Gone” which I’m sure he’s tired of playing. He then proceeded to give out guitar picks, chains, necklaces and all sorts of stuff to the people in the first few rows of the concert hall. It was so cool to see him shower the crowd with gifts from the King. He then had his assistance fetch him his coat and hat, dressed for the cold and gave the standing audience a parting wave.

   If you have never seen B.B. King do a live performance before then you owe it to yourself to get out there and see one of his shows. It’s truly an experience and this American icon could leave this mortal plane at any time. DVD’s and recorded performances just do not do this man justice and it’s one experience I’ll never forget.

Gibson Custom B.B. King Lucille Electric Guitar Ebony Own the Gibson B.B. King Lucille Electric Guitar and you’ll own one of the smoothest, sweetest blues axes out there. The guitar features a laminated maple top for total sustain, a solid maple center block, special laminated maple neck and ebony fingerboard. Stereo/mono jacks require no special cords; TP-6 tailpiece allows precise tuning. Also includes the name “Lucille” scripted in mother-of-pearl on the headstock and gold-plated hardware. Includes Gibson hardshell case.

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B.B. King at Peppermill Concert Hall – Concert Review

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Alice Cooper Theater Of Death Tour 2009

   I had the opportunity to see one of my all time favorite artists, Alice Cooper, in concert on October 17, 2009 in Wendover, Nevada. I’ve been a fan of Alice Cooper since I was 6 years old. I would go cruising around with my older brother Craig in his car listening to the “School’s Out” 8-track. In fact the song “School’s Out” is the first song I can remember wanting to hear over and over and over. I would beg my brother to play it while we were driving and he’d always put it on for me.

    I’ve only seen him Alice Cooper live once before and that was during the “Constrictor”  tour in the 80’s. I remember how amazed I was with the incredible stage show he put on. I was also struck with how fantastic his voice sounded live. That 80’s Alice Cooper concert is one of the concerts that I’ve been to that really sticks out from the crowd. I’ve been to a lot of shows over the years but I still remember almost all of that concert.   

   So I was pretty stoked to see Alice Cooper again after 20 years or so. Let me tell you, he is still simply incredible to watch onstage! The name of this current tour is the Alice Cooper “Theatre Of Death” tour. Let me tell you, there is a lot of death in this show. Alice is 61 years old and I bet death crosses his mind sometimes and this show is really centered around “horror” type deaths. Impaling, beheading, hanging and such. I’m telling you, I counted at least 7 deaths that happened onstage with Alice himself being killed 3 times alone. It was quite fascinating how these deaths were incorporated into the show with the music.

   Now before you think this is just a macabre show about simulated deaths, it’s not. It’s really about the music and it always has been. The show supports the great music that Alice Cooper has recorded over the years. As expected, Alice’s live band was simply divine. The band consisted of Keri Kelli – Guitar, Damon Johnson – Guitar, Chuck Garric – Bass and Jimmy Degrasso – Drums. These guys were totally airtight and played perfectly in sync with each other all night long. The guitar harmonies were just perfect and the instrumental sections of the show were truly a pleasure to listen to. Alice has really put a great band together with these guys.

   So the music was there, it was perfect and would have been enough on it’s own. But Alice Cooper is famous for his amazing stage shows. He didn’t disappoint. Each song had it’s own mini rock-opera with a drama played out onstage, usually ending with someone onstage dying. Several of Alice’s minions bought the farm and some poor stagehand got impaled with a microphone stand. Not to say that Alice didn’t suffer a similar fate several times over. When Alice is injected with a giant hypodermic needle he gets some pretty poisonous medicine of his own too.

   All through the show there’s a girl dressed as a nurse who tortures Alice. Of course, Alice tortures her right back and there’s a well done murder scene where Alice does the poor lass in by strangulation before singing his ballad “Only Women Bleed”. It was a pretty creepy sequence but in a wild rock-n-roll sort of way.

   Alice’s voice is older but he can still belt it out and command the stage. I personally love Alice’s voice because it is so unique in the world of rock. He can really sing and he can narrate as well. He does a great job interacting with the crowd. During the song “Dirty Diamonds” Alice threw diamond necklaces into the audience. He also threw Billion dollar bills into the audience. He tossed great big balloons filled with glitter into the audience and popped them with his sword as the audience flung them back at the stage. I’m telling you, the whole show was very interactive!

   To sum it all up, if you haven’t seen Alice Cooper live then you haven’t seen one of the best shows in all of Rock-N-Roll. The man is a classic and his style is just awesome. He looks so cool onstage and he’s truly in full Alice Cooper character while he’s onstage. Highlights for me were “Ballad Of Dwight Fry”, ”Under My Wheels”, “Billion Dollar Babies”, “Wicked Young Man”, “Vengeance Is Mine” and of course all the instrumentals. So get to a show on Alice Coopers “Theatre Of Death” tour. You won’t be sorry you did!

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Alice Cooper Theatre Of Death Concert Review

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Blink-182

   One of my favorite pop-punk bands is Blink-182. So when I heard they were coming to town I decided to take my two oldest sons and go check them out. They played at the McKay Events Center in Orem, Utah on September 7, 2009.

   Blink-182 is a 3-piece punk band consisting of Tom DeLonge on guitar and vocals, Mark Hoppus on bass and vocals, and Travis Barker on drums. In case you hadn’t heard, Travis Barker survived a plane crash on September 28, 2008 and suffered second and third degree burns on his lower body and torso. He was very lucky to survive and is still able to play drums as well as ever.

   Blink-182 took the stage and immediately launched into “Dumpweed”. You could immediately tell they had the energy to put on a rockin’ show on this night. They followed that up with “Feeling This” from their landmark 2003 album ‘Blink 182′. The guitars were mixed too low in the mix at the beginning of the show and there were some technical problems with one of the guitar changes. Tom DeLonge let his guitar tech have an earful about the guitar not working properly and made him apologize to the audience. It was all in good form though and they had the guitar mix fixed by about the 4th song.

   Tom and Mark both sing in Blink-182 and they do a lot of vocal harmony. I really like the interplay between the two singers and love the arrangements they have for their music. Neither Tom nor Mark are top notch singers but they do well enough that the music is enjoyable. In fact, they have a very good sound together and I hope they never stop singing together.

   Travis simply wailed on the drumset. He plays with a fiery fury that’s really a pleasure to listen to. He had a cool trick up his sleeve for the band’s encore. When the band came back onstage, the drum riser lifted off of the stage and floated forward on cables that suspended it above the stage. The drumset and riser then lifted about 30 feet into the air while Travis played a drum solo. The riser tilted to the left and right as well as forward overlooking the audience. The coolest thing that happened was when the drum riser tipped at a 90 degree angle to the stage (Travis was harnessed in) and the entire kit began to rotate on the drum riser. It was really cool to see the spinning drummer! The crowd of course, went nuts.

   Another really cool effect was the use of several large confetti cannons at the end of the show. The entire stage was turned into a giant snow-globe. The confetti was so thick you couldn’t see the band. Tom was heard to say “It’s soooo beautiful!!”. As the band left the stage, Mark laid down in the confetti/snow and made a snow angel for good measure. It was truly good use of a 3-dimensional effect.

   The band was in good humor and Tom let the F-words fly freely all night long keeping a lighthearted feel to the entire show. All in all it was a fantastic show. The musical highlights for me were the songs “Obvious”, “Down” and “Stockholm Syndrome”. The band really rocked the entire night. Thanks for a great show Blink-182!!

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Blink-182 at McKay Center, Orem, Utah September 7, 2009

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Blondie "Call Me Invicible" Tour 2009

   I got to see Blondie perform at the Peppermill Concert Hall in Wendover, Nevada on August 29, 2009. It’s the first time I’ve been to a concert at the Peppermill Concert Hall which has been booking major acts for some time now. I had heard a lot of good things about the Peppermill Concert Hall so I was looking forward to checking out the venue.

   The Peppermill Concert Hall really did live up to the hype. It is a small theater and every seat in the house has an excellent view of the very large stage. I was really surprised at how well laid out the stage and seating were. Like I said, the stage is very large and Blondie had a lot of extra space on each side of the stage. A performer with a larger stage show could easily set up on that stage. Alice Cooper is coming there in October so I may just pop out there and see him. It would be interesting to see how much of a stage show he sets up in a venue like the Peppermill. He has had some legendary stage shows.      

   Another thing I liked about the Peppermill Concert Hall was the in-house video feeds. There are two large-screen video monitors on each side of the stage and the venue had several cameras set up to show close-ups of the performers while  they were playing. The sound was excellent as well with a full rock sound of crystal clear drums and guitars with solid, thumping bass. I must say I was very impressed with the Peppermill Concert Hall.

   Blondie has been touring all summer and Deborah Harry informed us that this was their 3rd to the last show of the tour. Being as this is so late in the tour Blondie is as tight a live band as you’ll hear. That being said, their opening number was the Blondie classic “Call Me” and it sounded quite uninspired. I was a little worried that we were going to see a low-effort show but I think they were just getting warmed up because when they kicked into the next song, ”Hanging On The Telephone”, the band really picked up the energy.

   The band overall sounded very good with the playing tight and concise. There were three original Blondie members at this show. Deborah Harry, Guitarist (and leader) Chris Stein and Drummer Clem Burke. They also had Leigh Foxx on bass, Matt Katz-Bohen on Keyboards and Paul Carbonara on guitar. The strength of this band is the drumming of Clem Burke. He is an extremely energetic and accurate drummer. His playing on this night was simply excellent! His drums sounded fantastic and he really pushed the band through all the songs. Clem looked really well too.

   Chris Stein is a primary songwriter and leader of Blondie. His playing on this night was good and he’s a decent guitarist. His real strength is in his leadership and songwriting role but he played his guitar parts well. He’s not shy about issuing orders to the band while they’re playing and I’ve heard he can really bring the fight to an argument. Chris is starting to show his age with how he holds himself onstage.

   The face and voice of Blondie is, of course, Deborah Harry. Debbie sounded very good on this night. Her voice still sounds young and strong even at age 64. It’s honestly surprising when you see her to realize that she is 64 years old. She carries herself young and let’s face it, she rocks! She really threw herself into the songs and stretched out quite a bit vocally on some of the improvisations. It was really nice to hear that she can still sing very, very well. In the close-up shots you can see that she is getting older but if you listen and watch her on stage, she is still strong and vibrant. It was actually very inspiring to see an aging rocker still belting it out!

   Paul Carbonara is a fine guitarist as well and really carried the guitar parts for all the songs. Chris and Paul make a great double guitar attack with Paul bringing the youth and fiery playing to the show. Matt Katz-Bohen and Leigh Foxx carried the keyboard and bass parts well throughout the night. Matt doesn’t have a lot of soul in his keyboard playing but he played what needed to be there. His solo’s were a bit weak though. Leigh played rock solid bass and even took a good bass solo.

   The musical highlights of the show, for me, happened whenever the band decided to stretch out and try new things. They did a version of “Rapture” which turned into a very extended jam and combined it with the song “No Exit”. I loved the fact that the band is still trying new things with Debbie doing a new rap section. You have to remember that “Rapture” brought Rap music to mainstream middle America when Blondie released the song in 1980 and it opened the door for the rap explosion of the 80’s. This night it sounded fresher than ever with Blondie stretching it out and experimenting with the song. They also combined “The Tide Is High” with “I’ll Take You There” to great effect.

   Some other highlights of the show happened during the encore. When Blondie came back out onstage, Debbie Harry announced that August 29th was the anniversary of The Beatles last concert performance as well as Michael Jackson’s Birthday. They proceeded to play The Beatles “Please, Please Me” and Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough”. They did an excellent job on both songs and the crowd really ate it up. They also threw in a New Wave, Blondie style version of the Celine Dion hit “My Heart Will Go On” which was lighthearted and a lot of fun.

   There was one nailbiting moment when an audience member made it past security and ran onstage making it all the way to Deborah Harry. Debbie was right in the middle of  a song when the deranged fan ran onstage causing Debbie to curl to protect herself while the fan gave Debbie a bearhug and professed undying love for her. Deborah was visibly flustered when security got the fan away from her and I wouldn’t have blamed her if she would have stopped the show right there. But, like a true professional, she collected herself and continued on and finished the show. That was very sloppy security on The Peppermill’s part and I’m sure somebody got in serious trouble for that slip-up.

   When the night ended, Debbie said “Thank you, it was fun!” the band took a bow and left the stage. It was a very good show and the arena was comfortable with great sound. The Peppermill had better do a better job protecting their performers or the good shows will stop coming there. If you get the chance to see Blondie on tour, do it!

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Concert Review – Blondie at Peppermill Concert Hall August 29, 2009

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Joe Elliot of Def Leppard

 I had the opportunity to see the Def Leppard, Cheap Trick, Poison tour when it came through Salt Lake City, Utah on August 24, 2009. Cheap Trick is one of my favorite bands of all time and I’ve never had a chance to see them perform live. So I was extremely excited to see Cheap Trick perform. Def Leppard is also one of my favorite live bands so I was really excited to see them even though I’ve seen them twice before. As for Poison, well, I like C.C. DeVille but I don’t particularly like Bret Michaels singing.     

   The show was held at Usana Amphitheater in Salt Lake City and the traffic and parking is atrocious there. Every time I see a show at Usana I swear I will never go see another one there. The grass seating is only passable and the sound tends to be very mid-range heavy. This show was no exception although the sound was better than usual. Def Leppard’s sound was very good. Will I go back to see another show at Usana? Maybe…but it sure does suck in terms of traffic and parking.

   For some stupid reason, Cheap Trick opened the show instead of Poison. Now by my count, Cheap Trick has been touring for four decades straight and had a couple of multi-platinum albums in the process. They’ve also had a #1 single and many high charting singles as well. So why are they opening for a s0-s0 80’s glam metal band like Poison? Makes no sense to me. But that’s what happened and Cheap Trick took the stage first. Their guitar sound was a bit biting but the drums, bass and singing were glorious!

   Rick Neilson’s guitar playing was excellent and the whole band was really nailing it. I love bands that have been playing for a long time and aren’t afraid to lay down some new style to old songs. The standout was singer Robin Zander who sang like he was still a young man. My award for best singer of the evening goes to Robin Zander. Tom Peterson’s 12-string bass sounds amazing in a live show setting. It was really cool to hear him playing the 12-string bass.

   The bummer about the Cheap Trick section of the show was that they only played for 1 hour. Their stage show was also slim because they were given a very small place to perform right at the front of the stage. So, if I ever get another chance to see Cheap Trick live, count me in! I want to see them get the kind of treatment they deserve.

   Poison followed Cheap Trick and their stage show was considerably larger. They were given more room and had some pyro-technics which were a nice effect. They were joined by the Bass Player from Bon Jovi because their regular bass player fell ill. He did a passable job but I can’t remember his name… C.C. DeVille played brilliantly and his guitar playing has gotten much better over the years. Rikki Rocket has also improved over the years and he really did rock the drums, which brings us to Brett Michaels…

   If there is a weak link in Poison, it’s Brett Michaels. I really hate his singing. It’s weak and unremarkable. He can’t sing with real power, he can’t sing really high, he honestly sounds like you might sound singing while driving your car. So why is he fronting a band playing Amphitheaters and touring with Cheap Trick and Def Leppard? Well, he does have a lot of stage presence. He commands the stage and really drives the show. He is a very good front-man. So where he lacks in singing, he makes up for with performance.

   Finally Poison finished (after making us suffer through Every Rose Has It’s Thorn) and Def Leppard took the stage. Def Leppard’s stage was huge and beautiful. It was triple-tiered and the two lower steps were fronted with video boards that worked in tandem with a giant video screen behind the band. Def Leppard’s guitarists, Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell, bass player Rick Savage and drummer Rick Allen played beautifully. They even played Switch 625 which is one of my favorite hard rock instrumentals of all time. The band really sounded great and they looked great too. They were all in good shape and very active onstage.

   Which brings me to singer, Joe Elliot. I love Joe’s voice and it’s one of the most unique and best hard rock voices all time. That being said, he really struggled with the singing on this night. His voice was hoarse and he really had a hard time hitting the high notes. His voice cracked many times and he did a lot of falsetto singing. He also used the crowd to sing the high choruses on songs like Photograph. I have to give him credit because it was obvious that he was struggling but he made no excuses and did the best he sounded capable of. I’m sure that the constant touring and singing songs that he powered out in his 20’s is hard on his vocal chords. He still put on a very good show.

   Overall, Def Leppard sounded and played the best of the night in terms of the music and the mix. How they got their bass frequencies to sound so good at Usana Amphitheater I do not know but it really sounded great and I felt it rattle my chest. My awards for the night are: Best singer – Robin Zander of Cheap Trick, Best Guitarist – C.C. DeVille of Poison, Best Overall Show and Production – Def Leppard!

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Def Leppard, Cheap Trick, Poison Concert Review – Salt Lake City, Utah August 25, 2009

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   The Blu-Ray has an exlusive bonus performance of Jeff Beck with the Big Town Playboys playing a raging rockabilly set. There’s also an interview with Jeff about the rockabilly set and Big Town Playboys interview. The sound on the Blu-Ray is in several formats including the stellar DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 as well as standard Dolby Digital 5.1. The Blu-Ray format on this disc is 1080i with an aspect ration of 1.78:1 which is like having him in your living room. If you don’t have a blu-ray player, now’s your chance to pick up a Sony Playstation and this fabulous Jeff Beck concert.

Jeff Beck at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club 2007 – A Day In The Life

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Jeff Beck Performing This Week: Live At Ronnie Scott’s – Released on Blu-Ray

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Hansen Dome Theater Laser Show

    As a live musician I’m always intrigued by the many ways that music is presented to an audience. One medium that has always impressed me is live laser shows at the local planetarium. I think it’s interesting to see how a live audience responds to recorded music presented this way. This weekend I went to see the Pink Floyd “The Wall” laser show in the Hansen Dome Theater at the Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake City, Utah. It has been quite a few years since I’ve been to a laser show at the planetarium so I was pretty excited to see how the technology was advancing. The last time I went to a laser show they had fog effects, starfield effects and some lighting effects. I can tell you that the planetarium has upgraded their technology quite a bit!     

   The first thing that struck me was the sound system. They are running a specially tuned 13,000 watt sound system with 5.1 surround sound and 21 speakers. It is a very well tuned sound system and the music was just amazing. “The Wall” is one of my all time favorite albums and I’ve heard it hundreds of times but I was still hearing things that I’ve never heard before during this presentation. The sound clarity was simply awesome! The seats in the Hansen Dome Theater were quite comfortable but I wish I would have been able to tip the seats back so I wouldn’t have had to crane my neck up at the dome so hard. That’s one request I’d like to make, adjustable seats. Other than that the seating was very good in the theater.

   The lasers were simply spectacular but the show includes so much more than just lasers. They have six high resolution projectors that form a seamless image over the entire dome and they project incredible animations and video images on the dome that enhance the laser experience. The images that were projected during the Pink Floyd: The Wall show really helped immerse the audience into the album. They took a lot of the imagery from the album artwork as well as injecting some original ideas into the production. These projected images helped bring the album to life without interfering with your imagining of  “The Wall” album. The fog effects were perfect and the dome has excellent ventilation so I never felt like I was choking on fog. There were the starfield projections as well and we really got the illusion of spinning and flying through the stars at several points during the show. The laser effects also included some fantastic 3-D work which really took the whole show to a different level. We were literally swimming in lasers at different times. There were bright flashes at various points in the show that were real eye shockers but they served the story very well.

   My only complaint other than not being able to lean the seats back is the fact that they didn’t play the complete “The Wall” album. They played enough that the story was well told and evolved sufficiently but I would have liked to hear every track on the album. Of course, it would have been tough to keep my neck tilted for that long and the entire show clocked in at just about an hour. At the end of the show, when they tear down the wall, a hail of bricks comes down on the audience which is a really cool effect too.

   Overall the audience seemed to really enjoy it and there was quite a bit of clapping, whistling and cheering throughout the show. It’s definitely something that all music lovers should see and if you’re a Pink Floyd fan it’s a must see.

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Pink Floyd “The Wall” Laser Show At Clark Planetarium, Salt Lake City

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Bruce Springsteen - Working On A Dream

   I was pretty excited to see one of the top live performers of all time, Bruce Springsteen a.k.a. The Boss play the Halftime show at Superbowl 34. I was prepared for the game with loads of delicious junk food and all the anticipation that comes with an expected win by the Pittsburgh Steelers. I sure didn’t think the Cardinals were going to prove to be much of a challenge for the Steelers but it turned out to be a pretty exciting game. You gotta love it when the win comes in the last two minutes of the game. But we’re here to talk about the music and The Boss’s live Halftime performance.

   If you were watching the pre-game show you may have seen the Bob Costas interview with Bruce Springsteen. He asked Bruce all the right questions and didn’t really throw him any hard ball questions. He did make a big deal about the fact the Bruce is almost 60 years old which I don’t think Bruce really enjoyed. It was pretty funny when Bob said something to the effect of “You can’t really climb on pianos anymore.” to which Bruce replied “You wanna bet!”. It kind of felt like a setup because during the performance Bruce did indeed climb on the piano and jump down. You know, for a near 60 year old Bruce really did get around on stage well. He must do Yoga or something to stay so limber. I could totally relate when Bruce told Bob Costas that while he’s onstage he’s completely lost in the moment. That’s what makes playing live so great and so much better than playing in the studio.

   I think what impressed me the most about Springsteen’s performance is that it really was live. Ever since the Janet Jackson breast debacle ended the MTV canned music halftime shows, the shows have been so much better. If there’s one thing I hate it’s seeing lip syncing going on at live events and the MTV produces shows were so canned and plastic wrapped it was just sickening. But last year when Prince just rocked it with his killer guitar solos it was fantastic and this year the E-Street Band just nailed it as well. Seeing Max Weinberg and La Bamba of Conan O’Brian’s house band was pretty cool too. Max does a great job with the drums on Bruce Springsteens songs. Watching the interplay between Bruce and the E-Street band is really great to watch as well. It all just goes to show you how important everyone is in making a good live show happen.

   The only thing I wish is that Bruce would have played Born In The USA. I thought that was a surprising omission. The music industry marketing machine was running on all cylinders for Bruce. He has created the perfect marketing storm with his Golden Globe award for Best Original Song on his song ‘The Wrestler’, along with his new #1 album ‘Working On A Dream’ and now his huge performance at Superbowl XLIII. That’s how the pros do it and it’s pretty amazing to behold. For all of us mere mortals it was still really fun to watch The Boss up there rocking out for the whole world to see.

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Bruce Springsteen Superbowl XLIII Performance Review

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