Meryl Streep Wins Best Actress For "The Iron Lady"

Every year I watch the Academy Awards to see the musical performances of the songs nominated for Best Original Song. One thing I love about musical performances at the Oscar Awards is the fact that they are all live performances. The 2012 Oscars featured only two nominees for Best Original Song which was kind of a bummer because there were bound to be fewer musical performances.

This year the songs nominated for Best Original Song were:

• Man Or A Muppet from The Muppets
• Real In Rio from RIO

The winner of Best Original Song was Man Or A Muppet written by Bret McKenzie.

On a side note the nominees for Best Music (Original Score) were:

• The Adventures Of Tintin by John Williams
• The Artist by Ludovic Bource
• Hugo by Howard Shore
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by Alberto Iglesias
• War Horse by John Williams

The winner of Best Music (Original Score) was The Artist by Ludovic Bource. This was an interesting win because Ludovic Bource has no formal musical training. He is just a simple accordion player. So all you accordion players out there, keep writing movie music because you could one day beat out John Williams.

Now for the saddest news of the evening. There were no live musical performances of either of the songs nominated for Best Original Song. I think they could have at least had someone perform Man Or A Muppet but sadly they did not. Luckily I DVR’d the Oscars and was able to skip most of it searching for the musical segments. The good news is I was able to watch the 84th Annual Academy Awards in about 35 minutes this year!

The show wasn’t completely devoid of live music. The Oscar orchestra did play music during all commercial breaks and some of the music they played was most likely from the movies. But without any introduction of the musical pieces it was up to the audience to figure out what song was being played. Esperanza Spalding did do a beautiful live rendition of “What A Wonderful World” during the Memorium segment. It was beautifully mixed and Esperanza sang the song perfectly.

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84th Annual Academy Awards Musical Performance Review

Adele Performs At The 54th Annual Grammy Awards

I said I wasn’t going to watch the 54th Annual Grammy awards this year. I really hate the industry love-fest they have. But I love to hear how live bands and singers do on awards shows. It’s always fun to try and guess who’s lip-synching and who has the chops to pull it off live. So how did the performers fare at the 54th annual Grammy awards show? Let’s break it all down here.

The show took place on February 12, 2012 and opened with Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street band. Bruce looked excellent and he’s keeping himself in great shape. His voice was strong although maybe not as cutting as in the past. The band sounded great though. It was sad to see him without the great Clarence Clemons. Bruce did a live performance and it was a great way to start the show.  

LL Cool J took the stage and gave a stirring tribute to Whitney Houston. He said a prayer live on television thanking Heavenly Father for sharing Whitney’s talent with us. It was followed by a clip of Whitney singing her song I Will Always Love You in a past Grammy performance. This brought the audience to standing ovation.

LL Cool J quickly got the crowd centered on the reason they were there and that was a celebration of music. He did a great shout out to all the great performers who would take the stage. Bruno Mars took the stage and really rocked the house. His performance was live and very energetic with James Brown style moves and music.

Bonnie Raitt and Alicia Keys followed with a killer tribute to Etta James. Their voices were rich and powerful and their playing was flawless.

Adele won her first Grammy of the night for Best Pop Solo Performance for her song Someone Like You.

Chris Brown took the stage and did a pitch corrected song and dance routine to his songs Turn Up The Music and Beautiful People. Shazam was able to recognize the song so it was a pretty canned performance. The dancing was pretty sweet though.

Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson sang Don’t You Wanna Stay. Kelly really nailed her part and totally saved the song. Their performance was live and Kelly was very strong.

The great Jack Black introduced the hard rockin’ Foo Fighters. The Foo Fighters obviously had far too much energy and rock power for the Grammy crowd inside the Staples Center. They performed their rock mega-hit “Walk” to a pumped crowd in a tent outside the Staples Center. That’s too bad for everyone that was inside because they missed one of the very best performances of the night. The song was live and perfectly played. This is one band that really brings the goods live.

The Foo Fighters was followed by the unusual pairing of Rihanna and Coldplay. Rihanna does have a lovely voice and her canned disco is great for dancing. Coldplay’s Chris Martin sang with Rihanna and his voice was noticeably weaker than Rihanna’s. Luckily the rest of the band rescued Chris and they pulled off a great rendition of their song Paradise. The performance was live and although it lacked the energy of the Foo Fighters it was well played. I did like how the glow sticks that were passed out to the audience matched the stage lighting on this song.

The Grammy for Best Rock Performance went to “Walk” by the Foo Fighters. I must say, well called by the Grammy panel. Dave Grohl gave a perfect speech about how music should be played from the heart and the head. He also said that music shouldn’t be perfect but played from the heart on real instruments. Amen Dave, amen.

This was followed by the Beach Boys giving their first ever Grammy performance. They were teamed with Maroon 5 who sang Surfer Girl. They were followed by Foster The People playing Wouldn’t It Be Nice. It was a very solid performance and totally live.

Then the Beach Boys took the stage and tore through Good Vibrations with Maroon 5 and Foster The People. They’re old but they can still play and sing very well.  It was really cool to see Brian Wilson playing and singing live.

Stevie Wonder introduced the great Paul McCartney by playing John Lennon’s harmonica solo from the Beatles hit Love Me Do. It was awesome! Paul was joined by Diana Krall and Joe Walsh (as well as a full orchestra) performing his new song Valentines Day. It was really beautiful and Paul sounded better singing the song live than he does on the new album. Joe Walsh played a really soulful guitar solo on this song.

Chirs Brown, the least R&B sounding of the bunch, won the Grammy for best R&B Album.

The Civil Wars performed took the stage and thanked “that promising young kid from Liverpool” for opening the show for them. It was pretty funny then they really rocked out a live song that was very soulful.

Taylor Swift followed up with an out-of-tune performance of a banjo song. Another year of practice has not helped her voice much. To her credit, it was live.

The Grammy for Song Of The Year went to Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth for Rolling In The Deep. It was very well deserved in my opinion.

Katy Perry In Her Skin Tight Bodysuit

Katy Perry’s bodysuit was so tight she had to be lifted onstage. She did a great transition between songs by disappearing from the stage and appearing suspended in a glass cage above the stage. She smashed the glass and gave a great live performance. Her singing wasn’t perfect but she had great energy.

Adele took the stage to perform Rolling In The Deep. Her voice sounds like it has healed perfectly from surgery. She looked great and she sounded excellent. The performance was live and she sang with feeling and soul. This was truly Adele’s night at the 54^th Grammy Awards.

The band Perry did a pretty sweet tribute to Glen Campbell. Glen himself came onstage and sang Rhinestone Cowboy and I must say he totally nailed it. It was nice to see good old, really old Glen. Luckily Glen’s dentures stayed in and he finished his performance without breaking a hip. He left the stage asking “Where do I go?” To the after party Glen, to the after-party.

Tony Bennett sang a lovely little duet with Carrie Underwood on the song It Had To Be You. Tony’s getting old too but he’s got pretty good style. I think he was hanging with Glen at the after-party.

The Grammy for Best New Artist went to Bon Iver. They beat out some pretty stiff competition from The Band Perry.

Jennifer Hudson did a lovely tribute to Whitney Houston. It’s good to know we have another great singer ready to take Whitney’s place.

David Guetta spun some great loops for Chris Brown to sing to. I do have to say that it was a very nice performance of loop based music.

This was followed by the Foo Fighters killing it with a performance of their song Rope. It was a high energy, rocking performance. They were joined by Deadmau5 who brought the techno. It was an interesting mix.

Nicki Minaj went all wack with a priest. Watch it on YouTube if you’re interested.

The Grammy for Record of the Year went to Adele for Rolling In The Deep. It was well deserved.

The Grammy for Album of the Year went to Adele for her album 21. Again it was well deserved and it gave Adele a tie for the most Grammies won in a single year at six Grammy awards. It really was Adele’s night and she was very deserving.

The final performance of the evening was by the legendary Sir Paul McCartney. Paul performed the final medley from Abby Road consisting of Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and The End. Paul’s voice is getting a bit ragged with age but he still has the ability to sing his songs. He can still scream out the high parts. Watching him trade licks with all those great guitarists at the end of the show was awesome! I was impressed that Bruce Springsteen took a couple of lead solo’s during the guitar solo’s.

The show was about 2 hours too long. I enjoyed most of the performances but I just can’t sit and watch a show for that long. I really don’t think I’m going to watch the Grammies next year just because it’s too darn long.

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54th Annual Grammy Awards Review 2012

Madonna Performs At Super Bowl XLVI

The commercials were pretty lame on the way to halftime and the first half of the  game was less than inspirational. It was up to Madonna to blow the roof off of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis with her live performance. The vital statistics for the halftime show are 8 minutes to set the show up, 12 minutes to blow the world’s minds and 7 minutes to take the show down. Madonna was quoted as saying “That’s a lot of pressure.” So how did the 53-year old Queen Of Pop do in her Super Bowl halftime performance?

In recent years the NFL has stuck with the more seasoned performers for their Super Bowl halftime shows. Ever since the infamous Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” which gave the world an eyeful of a healthy breast the NFL has played it pretty safe. Madonna was admittedly a bit riskier performer than Paul McCartney, Prince or even the Black-Eyed Peas as she has been known to stir up controversy in the past.  

Madonna took the field on a golden chair pulled by a couple dozen young gladiator types. She kicked off her show with an excellent rendition of her hit “Vogue”. The stage was an amazing display of lights and video screens.

The song segued perfectly into Madonna’s song “Music”. The dancers were amazing on this number with one of the guys doing some weird trick with his leg that was pretty eye-popping. Another acrobat bounced on a tight wire and it was really a nice effect. The dancers were really great on this number. The song also featured LMFAO integrating their huge hits “Party Rock Anthem” and “Sexy And I Know It” with Madonna’s music.

This was followed by “Give Me All Your Luvin’” which featured Nicki Minaj and M.I.A.. They did a really nice job singing together and the performance was flawless. Suspiciously flawless actually. But the dancing again was really cool. Madonna proved that even at age 53 a girl isn’t too old to pick up the pom-poms and shake them at the Super Bowl. If there was a controversial moment it happened at the end of this performance with M.I.A. flipping a middle finger at the camera. Nothing says “hot” like a bird-flipping pop starlet!

Then drum major Cee Lo Green led his marching band onto the field to perform “Express Yourself” and “Open Your Heart” with Madonna. The band was really rocking with their marching and drum corps accompaniment.

The song segued into “Like A Prayer” which once again featured Cee Lo Green. The song also featured a full choir backing Madonna up on this song. The stage show wasn’t quite as elaborate on this song but that’s okay because it was all about Madonna. Madonna finished this song by stepping onto a platform and disappearing into a cloud of fog. The show closed with the words “World Peace” displayed on the video stage.

I think the show was a huge success for Madonna. Things went flawlessly with only a small stumble by Madonna during her first song. She easily recovered and gave a perfect show. Was she singing live? It didn’t look like it to me. The performance looked lip-synched and the music was pre-recorded. Madonna looked fabulous though and she made several flawless wardrobe changes. The show was mixed very well and it was very visually entertaining.

There were no surprises, no shocking wardrobe malfunctions or even any really controversial moments during the show. It was rock solid entertainment and a good tribute to Madonna’s professionalism. I enjoyed the show although I can’t say it inspired me and it didn’t really blow the roof off of Lucas Oil Stadium. If you missed Madonna’s performance during the Super Bowl, watch it on YouTube. It will feel just as live as if you did see it during the game. Madonna was live at the Super Bowl even if her singing wasn’t.

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Madonna Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show Review

Snark SN-2 Chromatic Clip-On Tuner

I’m always looking for good pieces of music equipment that will make my life easier playing in my live band. I’ve never been a fan of having to plug a tuner into my signal chain with my guitar. I also get tired of unplugging my guitar and then plugging it into a tuner over and over through a gig. Enter the Snark SN-2 digital clip-on tuner. This convenient tuner solves both of these problems easily.

The Snark SN-2 tuner clips directly onto your electric guitar or bass and senses the vibrations from the strings to give it an accurate reading of your instruments tuning. The Snark SN-2 will also clip onto any acoustic instrument including guitars, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, oboe or anything that vibrates. The Snark SN-2 also has a built-in microphone so you can tune keyboards with it as well. It’s a chromatic tuner with extended frequency range so it will read any note on the scale and tell you whether you are in tune or not.  

When using the vibration sensing feature of the Snark SN-2 it is very resistant to external noise. You can easily tune your instrument on a noisy stage. Another really nice feature on the SN-2 is the colorful, brightly lit LED readout. The display makes it very easy to see and read the tuning meter in any lighting condition.

I also love how the display is on a 360° swivel which allows you to point the display in any direction. This makes it very easy to clip the tuner onto any instrument or headstock and point the display in the best direction possible for easy viewing.

Another great feature of the Snark SN-2 is the built-in metronome. The metronome is a tap-tempo metronome which makes it easy to set it to a beat by tapping at the speed you desire. One flaw in this is that you can’t set it to an exact tempo very easily. You’re stuck tapping until you get it close to the tempo that you want.

Overall the Snark SN-2 chromatic tuner is an excellent and accurate tuner. I’ve been impressed with how well it tunes my guitar and I just love the convenience. I leave it clipped to the headstock most of the time while I play. It stays securely in place and is always at arms length ready to help me tune my instrument. It’s a great deal too so pick one up today!

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Snark SN-2 Clip On Tuner Review

Dave Grohl Playing Lucite Dan Armstrong Ampeg Guitar

   I was seventeen years old when I bought my first two Foo Fighters albums. Their debut self titled album and their second, “The Colour and the Shape”. I listened to it locked in my bedroom so my parents wouldn’t hear as they thought I was headed the wrong direction by listening to what they considered to be loud and unorganized rock music. Yet it seems over the last thirteen years the Foo Fighters have been the most consistent for me, never letting me down with what they have to offer. That is why on October 11, 2011, I was not going to miss seeing them at the Maverick Center in West Valley City, Utah.  

   It was ten years ago when I first saw them live on the main stage during the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. My greatest memory of that night, besides the freezing cold was Dave’s clear guitar; a Lucite Dan Armstrong Ampeg. I thought at the time I couldn’t love the Foo Fighters more than I already did, but I was wrong. The most recent show at the Maverick Center flooded my brain with memories of why I have never stopped listening to one of the last great, raw, natural rock bands in history. Dave Grohl as a front man is his true calling in life. He plays guitar with pure heart. He sings with full conviction. It amazes me that he can sing the way he does for two and a half hours. So many full and good classic Dave Grohl screams. He has a raw love for what he is doing that draws you so far in you almost forget that there are hundreds of screaming people around you. Let alone what the guitars themselves do for your senses.

   Dave had around 6 guitars changes as well as all of the other members of the band. The Foo Fighters are crowd pleasers playing their old and new melodies mixed well throughout the night keeping you on your toes. You keep hoping their next song is one you can cross off your list of favorites, which is exactly what they did for me. Dave also pleases all who attend by having a really long extension of the main stage so he can walk down through the crowd. It didn’t matter where your seat was, at some point you would always have a good close up of Dave. He doesn’t interact too much with the rest of the band except for when Taylor Hawkins sings “Cold Day In The Sun”. They show everyone how their long friendship stays in tact as Dave teases Taylor by singing harmony into Taylor’s mic instead of his own. Mid-way through Dave takes on Chris Shiflett for a guitar solo war in which the crowd equally cheers for both band members.

   But Dave wants the world to know it’s not just about Dave as he takes time to fully introduce the band and give them their props. Even the keyboardist who only plays on four songs. The band as a whole is so engaging that you forget about the technical glitches; like the vocals not being loud enough on some songs and one of the TV monitors turning on and off throughout the night. Dave points out that if you want to be a true rock and roller, all you need is a guitar. He proves this by starting their encore with just his acoustic. They finish the show with Dave bringing out his memorable Lucite Dan Armstrong Ampeg, (he saves the best for last.) As the last few chords of “Everlong” are played, you feel the conclusion of an amazing night of memorable music.

   Highlights of the night were “My Hero”, “Learn To Fly”, “Walk”, “Monkey Wrench”, “All My Life”, “Everlong” and the acoustic “Times Like These”. The entire set list, (at least to the best of my knowledge), is below. Truly one of the greatest highlights of the night was before The Foo Fighters even began playing. Cage The Elephant’s drummer had emergency surgery due to his appendix bursting and who better than Dave Grohl to fill in on their last 5 songs. No one plays drums quite like Dave. Salt Lake City really did get a special showing unlike any other. The band is touring to promote their lastest album “Wasting Light”. The album offers classic Foo guitars and drums with a solid, matured and well mixed sound. Dave also promised they would record another album and come back out on tour. If you missed this time around, be sure that you don’t miss the next because it was one true rockin’ night to remember!

Bridges Burning
Rope
The Pretender
My Hero
Learn to Fly
White Limo
Arlandia
Breakout
Cold Day in the Sun
Stacked Actors
Walk
Monkey Wrench
Let It Die
These Days
Skin and Bones
This Is a Call
In the Flesh?
All My Life

Encore:
Long Road to Ruin
Best of You
Times Like These
Dear Rosemary
Breakdown
Everlong

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Foo Fighters Concert Review Salt Lake City – October 11, 2011

Alice Cooper - Welcome 2 My Nightmare

   I’ve been an Alice Cooper fan since I was five years old and my older brother played me School’s Out. I used to beg him to play that song over and over again. Alice Cooper has been a huge influence on my stage shows with my live band as well. So I’ve got all of Alice Cooper’s albums and he’s had some great ones as well as some not-so-great ones. Alice was due for a great album and I really feel like he’s delivered a great album with his new release titled Welcome 2 My Nightmare.  

   What makes a great Alice Cooper album? His best albums all have a theme such as Billion Dollar Babies, Killer or School’s Out. His best albums are full of cutting edge, excellent guitar playing along with a super tight band. His best albums are filled with a variety of musical styles instead of just pounding rock from start to finish. Welcome 2 My Nightmare has every one of these qualities in high doses.

   Alice has teamed once again with legendary producer Bob Ezrin on Welcome 2 My Nightmare. Bob produced the best of the best Alice Cooper albums including Billion Dollar Babies, Killer and the original Welcome To My Nightmare. Bob brings that classic feel to Welcome 2 My Nightmare as he is credited as co-writer on every track except “Something To Remember Me By”. Having Bob so involved gives the album that classic Alice Cooper sound and feel.  Bob’s style has also improved with age so Welcome 2 My Nightmare sounds modern, full and punchy at the same time.

   Another great bonus on this album is the return of the living members of the original Alice Cooper Band; Drummer – Neil Smith, Bassist – Dennis Dunaway and guitarist/keyboardist – Michael Bruce. It’s such a sweet sound to hear the original band that started Alice Cooper not only playing together but co-writing the songs together as well. Let’s be honest, that original band put out the best albums in terms of originality. Smith, Dunaway and Bruce play on the songs “A Runaway Train“, “I’ll Bite Your Face Off” and “When Hell Comes Home”. Also writing and playing on this album is Alice Cooper’s guitarist from his early solo years, Dick Wagner.

   Welcome 2 My Nightmare is a sequel to the 1975 Welcome To My Nightmare album which was also Alice Cooper’s first solo album. Welcome 2 My Nightmare follows a theme of a young man afraid to fall asleep where he will slip into a nightmare. As the album progresses there are hints that the lead character on the album is Steven. Each song on the album represents a facet of the man’s nightmare. Another thing I love about this album that hearkens back to Alice’s greatest albums is the diverse musical stylings. The songs run the gamut from modern heavy metal to classic hard rock to rockabilly to disco and vaudeville. Each musical style is chosen to support the lyrics of the songs building the tapestry of the nightmare. The album at first can seem disjointed but upon repeat listenings a flow becomes apparent and it really recaptures the feel of the album Billion Dollar Babies.

   There are tributes to the original Welcome To My Nightmare all over Welcome 2 My Nightmare. For instance, the beautiful ballad “Something To Remember Me By” is the parallel to “Cold Ethyl” in that it features Alice singing to a piece of a corpse. Standard fare for Alice Cooper to take something beautiful and twist it ever so much. But that’s why Alice Cooper fans love Alice Cooper! Another very obvious and fun tribute is the final song “The Underture” which features pieces of songs from the original Welcome To My Nightmare album as well as songs from Welcome 2 My Nightmare. Not only that but “The Underture” features bits of songs from other Alice Cooper songs as well.

   I am very impressed and happy with Welcome 2 My Nightmare. I really feel like it’s the best Alice Cooper album since the 1991 album “Hey Stoopid“. It has everything you love about the best Alice Cooper albums which is sure to please old fans and new fans alike. I’m sure it will translate beautifully to a live show with each song lending itself to an onstage mini-opera which is where Alice Cooper really excels. I highly recommend adding Welcome 2 My Nightmare to your music collection.

   Here is a video that Alice Cooper posted up where he speaks about each track on the album and how it fits within the album sequence. There are some nice insights about each one of the songs and you can click on each song title to hear about that track.

Alice Cooper Explains Welcome 2 My Nightmare

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Alice Cooper – Welcome 2 My Nightmare Album Review

Death Cab For Cutie at Maverick Center, August 22, 2011

   One of my favorite live bands is Death Cab For Cutie who came to play in Salt Lake City, Utah at the Maverick Center on August 22, 2011. I’m a big fan of Death Cab’s albums and Ben Gibbard’s excellent songwriting. Their albums are always a nice mix of good rock songs mixed with some mellow, dreamlike music. The albums are always very well produced so it’s very interesting to see how their songs translate live. Can Death Cab For Cutie bring it for a live show?  

   I have to say that Death Cab For Cutie is one of the best bands I’ve heard play live. What you hear on the albums is what you get at the shows but better. That’s rare for bands that sound so good on their recordings. Death Cab For Cutie recreates all the sounds you hear on the albums with the added bonus of bringing a higher energy to the music when they play it live. They pick up the tempos on some of the songs and Gibbard delivers the lyrics with more urgency in the live setting. It gives the songs a punch that isn’t as present on their albums and that’s one of the things that makes their live shows so enjoyable.

   Another thing that I love about Death Cab For Cutie live is their sound. They use excellent equipment live including Dr. Z amplifiers, Fender amplifiers and a mix of Fender, Vox and Gibson guitars. They also use a variety of vintage electric pianos and keyboards live which give a full, rich sound to their show. The mix always seems to be well balanced and clean whenever I see a Death Cab For Cutie show. The acoustics at the Maverick Center aren’t the best and Death Cab’s sound was a little more brittle than I’ve heard from them in the past but that’s because of the room. If you want to hear good sounding equipment, listen to Death Cab For Cutie live.

   The band was in good form and brought a lot of energy to the stage in Salt Lake City. The crowd was smaller than I’ve seen at other Death Cab For Cutie shows in Salt Lake City. The crowd may have seemed smaller because the Maverick Center is the biggest arena they’ve played in Salt Lake City.  Still, it was only about half full and I’m estimating the crowd to be around 5000 people. Ben Gibbard told the crowd how much he loved playing in Salt Lake City. The crowd that was there gave the band a lot of love and got moving pretty well. I felt like the crowd was more involved with the music and the message of the lyrics than they were with dancing. Still, there were times when everyone in the arena was on their feet and dancing to the music.

   Highlights of the night were fan favorites such as “I Will Posess Your Heart” which kicked off the show. Other songs that brought the crowd to their feet were “Soul Meets Body” as well as “The New Year“. The New Year is one of my personal favorites and is the song which turned me onto Death Cab For Cutie. Their live version of it is amazingly similar to the album yet somehow deeper sounding. The band finished their main set with “We Looked Like Giants”.

   The band is touring in support of their new album Codes and Keys which presents the band in a more experimental frame than on some of the past albums. Still, Codes and Keys has some great rock music that translates well in the live setting. The band played “You Are A Tourist” and “Doors Unlocked and Open” among others from the Codes and Keys album.

   When the band played “We Looked Like Giants” guitarist Chris Walla played bass while bassist Nick Hammer played guitar and keyboards. It was really cool to watch the musicians switch things up and play various instruments. Ben Gibbard even played his own drumset along with drummer Jason McGeer. It was really cool hearing two drumsets rocking out to such a heavy beat.

   The band came back onstage and played a nice set of encores which included the songs “Pictures In An Exhibition”, “Stay Young Go Dancing” and the excellent song “Transatlanticism“. It was a rock solid finish to an excellent night of music. I really enjoyed Death Cab For Cutie this night and I look forward to seeing them play live again. If you have a chance to see Death Cab For Cutie play a live show, don’t miss it!

Death Cab For Cutie – Salt Lake City Set List August 22, 2011

• I Will Possess Your Heart
• Crooked Teeth
• Why You’d Want To Live Here
• Photobooth
• Doors Unlocked and Open
• Long Division
• Grapevine Fires
• Codes and keys
• Summer Skin
• Follow You Into The Dark
• 405
• You Are A Tourist
• The New Year
• Movie Script Ending
• Underneath The Sycamores
• Soul Meets Body
• Expo 86
• Cath
• We Looked Like Giants
• Sound Of Settling

• *encore*
• Title Track
• Pictures In An Exhibition
• Stay Young Go Dancing
• Transatlanticism

Death Cab For Cutie Live In Salt Lake City Playing “I Will Posess Your Heart”

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Death Cab For Cutie Concert Review: Salt Lake City August 22, 2011

Line 6 X2 XDS95 Wireless Guitar System

   I’ve recently been playing in a live band with my Son’s called Bonne Nuit and they were quite envious of my Shure wireless guitar system. I decided to get them their own wireless guitar systems and decided on the Line 6 X2 XDS95 Wireless Guitar System. I got two XDS95′s, one for my bass player and one for my rhythm guitar player. My choice was based mainly on the low price and the fact that this is a full digital wireless guitar system. I have been extremely pleased with this wireless guitar system in terms of reliability and especially in terms of sound quality. It’s one purchase I have never regretted. The following review was written by my son Erik Rushton.  

   “I own a lot of Line 6 gear and have always been amazed by how well it works and sounds. Especially for what I paid for it. The X2 XDS95 digital wireless receiver is no exception to my past experiences with Line 6 equipment.

    On the box of the X2 XDS95, Line 6 states “Wired tone. Wireless freedom.” I practice wired and when I switch to my X2 XDS95 either on stage or in practice, I can tell no difference in sound quality. The X2 XDS95 is a digital 24 bit system which really makes your tone sound a lot better than analog systems. Plus, the digital signal gives you a great wireless freedom. When I first bought my receiver I wanted to test it’s range out. I got about 50 feet and two brick walls between my transmitter and receiver before my sound cut out. On stage I have never had a problem with my signal dropping out.

    Another great thing about having a digital signal over an analog one is there is no loss of sound quality as you get farther away from your receiver. If you happen to get out of range, your sound will just abruptly stop rather than changing to static or distorting. Also, if you run out of battery power your sound will just cut off without any noticeable noise.

   The X2 XDS95 has five different channels to choose from which makes it so five people can be using their own X2 XDS95 at the same time. So when you’re bass player sees how awesome your wireless is, you can tell him to get one too!

   One complaint with the X2 XDS95 is it’s actual battery life. Line 6 claims that the transmitter will operate for 11 hours and the receiver for 8 hours each on just a single 9V battery. In actuality I usually get around 6 hours on the transmitter and 5-6 on the receiver. Luckily, you can operate the receiver  on a standard 9V power adapter. I recommend forking out the extra cash to just get the power adapter. It makes playing that much easier and enjoyable. 

    Another problem I have with the X2 XDS95 is the cable that is provided for the guitar to transmitter connection. It plugs into the guitar with a ¼” plug but plugs into the transmitter with a 1/8” plug. Cables like that are hard to find if you need a replacement and the generally don’t come cheap. I have had no problems with mine so far but I do recommend being extra careful with it.

    What really amazed me about this wireless system, and pretty much all Line 6 gear, is how relatively cheap it was. Great digital wireless receivers from a top of the line company like Shure can cost anywhere from $400 – $600 dollars.  Guitar Center lists the X2 XDS95 at $299.  That pricing difference keeps me coming back to Line 6 over and over again 

   I recommend the Line 6 X2 XDS95 wireless receiver for all musicians wanting wireless freedom for a cheap price. Once you go wireless on stage you’ll never want to go back to wired. And for all the musicians running analog wireless systems, once you go digital you’ll never want to go back.”

   The Line 6 X2 XDS95 is getting harder to find online. The best alternative the X2 XDS95 is the Line 6 Relay G30 Digital Wireless Guitar System. I’m sure you’ll be very happy with either system.

Line 6 X2 XDS-95 24-BIT WIRELESS INSTRUMENT SYSTEM StandardWired tone, wireless freedom, stompbox size.

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Line 6 X2 XDS95 Wireless Guitar System Review

Paul McCartney Live in Las Vegas June 10, 2011

   Paul McCartney and his current touring live band made a tour stop at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas , Nevada on June 10, 2011 as part of his Up And Coming tour. The crowd consisted of every age demographic from children to great-grandparents. McCartney’s appeal is universal as his music spans 4 decades with hits all along the way.  

   This stop’s timing made for a lot of interesting possibilities on this night as The Beatles Love show in Las Vegas is celebrating its 5^th anniversary of performances. McCartney recently released re-mastered versions of his McCartney and McCartney II albums. Right before the show started there was a buzz in the crowd near the stage and everyone near the front stood and started taking pictures and cheering. Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, Olivia Harrison, George Martin and Giles Martin had arrived and taken their seats to enjoy this stop on Paul McCartney’s tour. It added a nice level of excitement to know that John Lennon’s Son and Widow were in the audience along with the other members of The Beatles family. They were all in town to attend the Anniversary of The Beatles – Love show. The only member of the living Beatles family that was missing was Ringo.

   The show was scheduled to start a 7:30 PM and Paul and his band took the stage promptly at 8:00. It was a fashionably late start to give the arena time to fill to capacity. Paul walked onstage wearing his Hofner bass guitar and a cool looking jacket. He started off the show with a rocking rendition of The Beatles song Magical Mystery Tour. The band then quickly launched into the Wings hit Junior’s Farm followed by All My Loving and Jet. It was a great high energy way to kick off the show.

   The stage was flanked by two large projection screens with a wide projection screen that stretched the width of the stage behind the stage as well. The screen behind the band flashed images, graphics and video clips that went along with the songs. The graphics to Jet were particularly nice with jet airplanes spelling out the word “Jet” in contrails as the song played.

   McCartney paused at this point to thank the audience for coming and to give a shout out to Las Vegas jokingly calling it “Lost Wages”. He said he was going to take a second to drink it all in and crossed his arms on his bass and let the cheers and adulation of the crowd flow over him. He then launched into Got To Get You Into My Life followed by Sing The Changes which is an excellent track from The Fireman project.

   The crowd’s energy was really picking up and Paul McCartney paused to take off his jacket and Hofner bass. He commented “Well, that’s the major wardrobe change for the evening barring a malfunction.” Paul, now dressed in a blue button up shirt with white collar, suspenders and black trousers strapped on a Gibson Les Paul and played the rocking Let Me Roll It. I thought that was an interesting choice as John Lennon hated that song and Yoko was in the audience but it still rocked hard and the band played it well. At the end of Let Me Roll It McCartney and the band launched into the Jimi Hendrix riff from Foxy Lady and Paul did some fiery lead guitar work. Paul’s guitar skills are excellent and he really fired off some nice leads on this song. Paul then said “That was a tribute to the great Jimi Hendrix” and he told the story of meeting Hendrix in England. Paul told how he had gone to see Jimi Hendrix play two days after the release of the Sgt. Pepper’s album and Hendrix covered the song Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band at the show. McCartney told how Jimi had done some heavy whammy-bar tricks during the song and had knocked his Stratocaster wildly out of tune. Hendrix then called out to Eric Clapton who was in the audience as well and asked Eric to come up and tune his guitar. McCartney jokingly said that Clapton was trying to hide out in the audience! It was a great story for those of us that love the guitar.

Paul McCartney Onstage Las Vegas June 10, 2011

   McCartney then moved to the grand piano and played The Long And Winding Road followed by the Wings song Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five which was really excellent. He then sang Let ‘Em In followed by the excellent Maybe I’m Amazed from the album McCartney. Paul sang Maybe I’m Amazed especially well singing beautifully in tune with some excellent vocal improvisations. The only thing revealing Paul’s age (68) was his voice being a little screechy on some of the falsetto notes but even then the man pours melody when he sings anything. I noticed that the light show pretty much stopped during this song and at the end of it McCartney announced that the song wasn’t scheduled to be played and he sprung it on the road crew. He said it was funny to see the surprise on their faces when the band launched into Maybe I’m Amazed. It was definitely a high point in the show.

   Paul then strapped on an acoustic guitar and played I’m Looking Through You followed by a beautiful version of And I Love Her. He then talked about following the civil rights movement of the ‘60’s in the news while living in England and introduced the song Blackbird as a commentary on the civil rights movement. The lyrics of Blackbird are extremely relevant to the civil rights movement. Again, Paul’s guitar playing was perfection.

  Paul then talked about telling those that you care about that you love and care about them before it becomes too late. He said “you just never know when you’ll see them again” and he introduced the song If You Were Here Today which he said he wrote about his good friend John Lennon. He shouted “Let’s hear it for John!” and the crowd stood and cheered for the great John Lennon. McCartney said the song was written from the point of view of sitting and having a conversation with John. There were some tears in the audience at this point. If you’ve ever wondered if Yoko had heard this beautiful song written for John Lennon you can rest assured she has heard it now.

   Paul then strapped on a mandolin and played his recent hit Dance Tonight whilst drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. did some sweet dance moves behind Macca including a bit of the Macarena.  McCartney then played Mrs. Vandebilt with the crowd singing the “Hey-Ho’s” at the top of their lungs. Paul then did a very excellent rendition of Eleanor Rigby with Paul Wickens playing all the string parts on the keyboard while Laboriel and guitarist Rusty Anderson sang backing vocals. The lighting was really cool during Eleanor Rigby with Anderson and Laboriel standing in shadows during the verses and stepping into the light to sing the chorus.

   Paul was handed a Ukulele’ and proceeded to talk about the late great George Harrison. The crowd stood and roared their approval and voiced their love for the great George Harrison. Paul told how George was a great Ukulele’ player and had given Paul the Gibson Ukulele’ he was currently playing. He told how he visited George one evening and told him “I learned how to play one of your songs on the Ukulele’”. Paul then proceeded to play the Harrison classic song Something on the Ukulele’ with the band joining in for a lush and spectacular finish to the song. While the band played some excellent images of George and Paul together were put on the screen behind the stage bringing back memories of George’s vibrancy and youth.

   McCartney returned to his Hofner bass and the band played Band On The Run. Then McCartney asked the crowd to sing along with Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da commenting about how the crowd the other night stopped singing when the band stopped playing. The crowd sang along at the top of their lungs and as the camera panned the crowd and images were displayed onscreen you could see the joy in the audience. The crowd really was enjoying this night! One of the cutest moments was when the camera zoomed in on a Father holding his young child who was playing with a Paul McCartney doll. When the young man saw himself onscreen his face lit up with joy. The band immediately launched into Back In The USSR and nailed it.

   Macca then strapped on a sunburst Les Paul and played I’ve Got A Feeling with a sweet improvisational jam at the end with McCartney playing a wicked guitar solo. Paul then switched to an Epiphone Casino guitar which he said was the same guitar played on the Beatles album. Paul commented “You may have noticed that we like to switch guitars a lot. That’s because we like to show off! Just kidding.” The band played Paperback Writer to great applause.

Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon and Olivia Harrison Singing "Give Peace A Chance"

   Paul donned the Hofner bass and said it was a special night with special guests in the audience. He then introduced Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, Olivia Harrison and the Martin’s in the audience and put them up on the big screen. The crowd roared their approval. Paul then played the beautiful Lennon/McCartney song A Day In The Life. Paul stopped singing it after the middle section and went into the Lennon song Give Peace A Chance with the crowd singing along at the top of their lungs. It’s a message that’s still relevant today and Yoko looked quite pleased as she stood and sang along. I’m sure she was happy that McCartney was up there spreading the message on this night.

   Paul then went back to the grand piano and played Let It Be. Then Paul pulled out all the stops and played the hard rocking Live And Let Die with some extremely awesome pyrotechnics and explosions. Live And Let Die was definitely a high point for the stage production. It was a bit awkward being placed so close to Give Peace A Chance and Let It Be. Paul ended the main set playing an upright piano painted with a psychedelic design and performed the song Hey Jude.

   The crowd cheered for an encore and McCartney and the band delivered Day Tripper and Get Back with Paul playing the Hofner bass. The band left the stage again and the crowd roared for more.

   For the 2^nd encore McCartney came onstage with an acoustic guitar and played the Beatles classic Yesterday. He then strapped the Hofner bass back on and stepped it up big time by playing the song Helter Skelter with McCartney again nailing the vocal parts.

   To close the show Paul McCartney strapped on his Gibson Les Paul and informed the crowd it was time to go. He then launched into Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) followed by The End from the album Abby Road. The End featured some flaming guitar duels between McCartney and guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray. It was a fantastic one-two punch to close the show.

   McCartney and his band were in fine form this night in Las Vegas. It was really a fantastic show although I’m surprised Paul didn’t play the song Coming Up from McCartney II with it being re-released and the tour being named after that song. Still, I feel very luck to have seen this show and the great Paul McCartney performing live. You never know when these guys are going to be gone so if you get a chance to catch Paul McCartney performing live, don’t miss it!

Paul McCartney Las Vegas June 10, 2011 Setlist

1. Magical Mystery Tour
2. Junior’s Farm
3. All My Loving
4. Jet
5. Got To Get You Into My Life
6. Sing The Changes
7. Let Me Roll It – Foxy Lady
8. The Long And Winding Road
9. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
10. Let ‘em In
11. Maybe I’m Amazed
12. I’m Looking Through You
13. And I Love Her
14. Blackbird
15. Here Today
16. Mrs. Vandebilt
17. Eleanor Rigby
18. Something
19. Band On The Run
20. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
21. Back In The U.S.S.R.
22. I’ve Got A Feeling
23. Paperback Writer
24. A Day In The Life – Give Peace A Chance
25. Let It Be
26. Live and Let Die
27. Hey Jude
28. Day Tripper
29. Get Back
30. Yesterday
31. Helter Skelter
32. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (reprise)
33. The End

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Paul McCartney Las Vegas Concert Review June 10, 2011

Bono Onstage In Salt Lake City, Utah - Photo by Lori Hansen Airmet

   It was my great pleasure to attend the U2 360° tour on May 24, 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah. U2 has the reputation of being one of the greatest live bands of all time and I was stoked to finally get my chance to see them do a live show. I had actually bought tickets for the Salt Lake City show that was scheduled for June 3, 2010 and would have been the kickoff for U2′s North American tour. As fate would have it Bono had emergency back surgery so the Salt Lake City show was put on hold for a year. I held onto my tickets and vowed to attend when U2 finally rolled into town.  

   I was actually pretty surprised at how quickly the year passed. U2 continued to tour after Bono recovered from his surgery and like every live band they improved with every show. That’s the beautiful thing about playing a lot of gigs, you get better as a musician and the members of U2 are no different. So in Salt Lake City we got to see a more refined and time tested show in 2011 than we would have seen in 2010. Even Bono said “We are so much better than last year.”

   So I showed up to Rice-Eccles stadium on May 24, 2011 with my June 3, 2010 ticket in hand and they let me in and out onto the field. I ended up about 15 yards back from the outer ring of the stage. What an incredible stage! The Claw has been written about in other places so I’ll just say that it is even more magnificent in person than it is in pictures. I was shocked by the magnitude of the stage. I’ve never seen a stadium seem so small as when I walked onto the field at Rice-Eccles stadium. The stage filled the entire widthof the field and 2/3 of the length of the field. The top of the tower was higher than the top of the seating in the stadium. If ever a band wanted to appear larger than life then this stage is a very good backdrop.

   A band called The Fray opened for U2 and they did an acceptable job. They seemed slightly underwhelmed by the whole thing and the crowd seemed underwhelmed by The Fray. After The Fray ended their set we had to wait while the crew readied the stage for U2. It was amazing to see the buzz of activity around the Claw while the crew took their places for the U2 show. Men were harnessed into seats with spotlights and lifted into the legs of the Claw. Crew were climbing ladders and crawling catwalks all around and in inside the Claw as well. According to a statistic flashed on the big circular screen during the stage transition there are 450 crew members manning this show. Needless to say, it’s big. The crowd started the “Wave” while waiting for the band to take the stage and also read some interesting factoids on the giant circular screen above the stage.

   When U2 took the stage they opened the show with “Even Better Than The Real Thing” and the crowd roared their approval. This show had been a long time coming and I saw relieved and happy faces all around me when the band finally appeared. The band’s playing was extremely tight and energetic. They followed with “I Will Follow” and “Get On Your Boots” with both songs sounding strong and bringing a really good energy into the stadium.

   It was Bob Dylan’s 70th birthday and U2 celebrated it all night long. Bono mentioned Bob’s birthday early on and at one point had the stadium sing “Happy Birthday” to Bob. Bono also sang a verse or two of “BlowinIn The Wind” and “The Times They Are A Changin’”. They also sang “Love Rescue Me” which was co-written with Dylan and featured on the Rattle And Hum album. I was very impressed with Bono’s rapport with the audience. I’ve been to so many concerts where everything the band says sounds like it was said a hundred times before in a hundred different cities. When Bono spoke his lines felt fresh and it felt like he was really speaking only to Salt Lake City. His heartfelt thanks to the audience for their patience really connected with the crowd.

   Another highlight of the show was the bands use of the enormous stage. It’s funny because the stage is extremely large and covers a lot of area but it’s amazingly uncluttered. The band was able to move around freely and they made use of the entire stage. During the song “I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” the entire band took a walk around the large circular stage with Larry Mullin finding his freedom playing a hand drum. The outer ring of the stage was bridged by two actual bridges that moved throughout the night and provided the backdrop for some very memorable moments.

   When U2 performed their song “Beautiful Day” Bono brought 3 girls onstage to read a poem about Utah. It was a very personalized to the venue moment and I found it quite special to have the band take the time to single out Utah during their show.

   One of my favorite moments was the performance of “All I Want Is You“. I just love that song and Bono’s voice on this night was in excellent form. I was surprised at how very well Bono was singing and his voice was strong and powerful the entire night.

   About the circular video screen, it’s the most amazing screen I’ve ever seen at a concert. As with everything in this show it’s big, really big. But it’s not just the size, it’s the clarity of the thing. The images looked amazing and even though I was close enough to see the performers facial expressions onstage I found myself watching them on this enormous screen. I kept telling myself “Hey dummy, look at the guys onstage not the screen!” The video screen is a very interesting and integral part of the show. During songs like “Miss Sarajevo” the screen shows video clips that are integral to the story told in the songs.

   There was also a message from recently released political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was elected the President of Burma and then held under house arrest for 15 of the 21 years from 1989 until her release in 2010. She gave a very relevant statement to all U2 fans and here is her quote: “When you raise your voices we hear them in our country and around the world, they are louder than any rock band, then any army, than rocket fire or fighter jet.”

   Another mind blowing moment with the screen came during the performance of “Zooropa“. The screen broke apart into hundreds of segments that slowly moved apart and lowered to envelope the band in a tornado-like tunnel. The flashing LED panels provided for some dizzying lighting effects and the overall effect was simply spectacular. I also loved the hanging microphone that Bonowas swinging from during “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” and “With Or Without You”. He also donned a leather jacket with lasers attached to it which I’m sure would be all the rage if they ever went on sale to the general public.

   As I said before, the band played incredibly well. The Edge played a multitude of different guitars and amplifiers providing the trademark U2 guitar backdrop found in all their music. The guitars sounded simply excellent although there was a hum coming through the P.A. system from something and it sounded like guitar hum to me. Adam Clayton was rock solid as usual and looked like the true rockstar he is. Larry Mullin looks like he hasn’t aged at all since the early days and his drumming was tight and precise providing a pillar for the band to hang their excellent music on.

   I could go on forever about the show but I don’t want to write a book about it. The show was the biggest production I have ever seen and I’m very happy to have been a part of it by being in the audience.

   One thing I noticed about the show was the sheer sound volume. It was dangerously loud and I saw a lot of people there without proper hearing protection. I know it may seem worth it to lose some hearing for the greatest show ever but it’s not. So, if you’re planning on going to see the U2 360° show, make sure you take proper hearing protection!

Setlist
Main Set: Even Better Than The Real Thing, I Will Follow, Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, Mysterious Ways, Elevation, Until the End of the World, All I Want Is You – Love Rescue Me, Happy Birthday, Stay, Beautiful Day – Here Comes The Sun, Pride, Miss Sarajevo, Zooropa, City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I’ll Go Crazy (remix) – Discotheque – Mofo, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Scarlet, Walk On – You’ll Never Walk Alone

Encore(s): One, Blowin’ In The Wind – The Times They Are A-Changin – Where the Streets Have No Name, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me, With or Without You, Moment of Surrender

Although not on the printed setlist, U2 played a bit of Love Rescue Me in honor of Bob Dylan’s 70th Birthday. Dylan co-wrote and performed that song on Rattle And Hum.

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U2 360° Tour Concert Review Salt Lake City, Utah