Concert Review Site

A little more than a year ago, the B52s were out on a new tour. They hadn’t been on tour in nearly 20 years and their style has changed a bit. Remember they had the beehive hairdos, making it seem a little bit like the 50s or 60s. Now the women have hair that is flat and sleek. It’s like they got buffed like a car for the new millennium. Fred Schneider has his hilarious and fun style that he has always presented. It’s clearly a kitschy schtick, or a schticky kitsch, that gives the band their special character. If you had seen them, you would have heard many of their best hits, like Mesopotamia, Love Shack and maybe even Rock Lobster. I don’t think that they are planning to tour again anytime soon, but there have been rumors that another series of concerts might be in the works in the upcoming year or two.

With Thom Yorke working on his solo career, it seems as though the musician is leaving RadioHead. Although those are the rumors, it’s not actually the case. He has been working on his solo career, this is true, but a couple members of his backup band are RadioHead members and so it’s more like a small shift. Sometimes, they will be producing music as his backup and sometimes it will be RadioHead as you have always known them. Interestingly, earlier this year, he released a 12 inch album that was practically a secret. It had two tracks that hadn’t been previously released and “great artwork”. I haven’t it. If any of you have, I would love to hear what you thought about it and whether you liked it as much as regular RadioHead. Let me know!

When Weird Al comes to town, you can definitely enjoy his music. He doesn’t tour all that much, at least not in a headlines ways, but we have seen him all over the place. His music is unique, in that it’s all written by someone else. Except the lyrics of course. He is perhaps America’s leading song paradist and the music is always really funny. But it also has a deeper message, criticism, or observation. He’s not too judgmental about the world, but he does want to show some of the silliness that is around us all the time. He also gets people singing and dancing a little bit too. No matter whether you enjoy his music for the funniness, the musical styles he can do, or if you just don’t like the original music, you will certainly have a good time checking out Weird Al the next time he comes to town.

Kylie Minogue is still performing all over the country right now, starting in the Hollywood Bowl and going to all kinds of other places. She has become one of the best performers that we can imagine in the world, but it’s never clear whether she’s going to catch on in the US anytime soon. Her music is fun and gets some people hopping. But a lot of people just don’t get it. Perhaps it’s because she sings songs that aren’t quite so familiar here or because she’s not been able to sell as much, but for some reason people still think she’s weird and foreign, even after all of the things that we’ve heard over the years. Anyway, her tour is doing fine and the music is well-performed. She’s doing what she can, but I don’t think it’s going to catch the same way some people do.

The Jonas Brothers are going to tour again this year with a lot of fun in store. They are going to be doing their usual 12 Days of Christmas tour in a bunch of different locations, 11 in total. Fans heard about this at the end of last week and it was exciting for everyone involved. If you haven’t seen them in concert, you are missing something. While lots of people think that their music isn’t as exciting, the music is amazing in person! You should head over to get your Jonas Brothers tickets right away because it’s going to be great fun when you get to hear them do their great Christmas music in person. Everyone can enjoy this music, because it’s not just for the regular fans. Anyone can go and have a great time.

Lucy Vodden who inspired the song Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds passed away just the other day. She was Lucy O’Donnell back in the 60s when she was a classmate of John Lennon’s son. There was a picture that looked odd, but Lennon told his son that it was his classmate Lucy and she was in the sky with diamonds. The song grew up from there. Many people believe that the song was a reference to drugs but everyone involved has always contended that it was a image from Lennon’s son. Vodden had been ill for quite awhile with lupus and succumbed this week at the age of 46. She wasn’t particularly fond of the song herself and quickly stopped telling people that she was the Lucy of the song when she was a kid.

When Miley Cyrus started her current tour, it was clear that it wasn’t about Hannah Montana. It’s the world of being a younger adult concert musician now. She has been slowly transitioning from her previous incarnation to the more mature style. She’s doing a good job of it too. Her songs are all about that theme of transforming life and becoming something different. It’s very interesting indeed. The reviewers have enjoyed her new performances a lot, since she is so talented. There is something a little odd about it, like watching your younger siblings growing up. But she’s one of the top performers in the world right now and it’s not just for young teens anymore.

Leonard Cohen was sick this week when he was performing in Spain. He apparently fainted onstage while performing and for the promoters it is a little bit of a crisis. Don’t worry, he’s ok. He was just ill and maybe the stress of performing was too much that evening. Cohen is a great performer and this kind of thing doesn’t happen often.  He is 75. He was taken to the hospital and just had a stomach complaint, according to promoters. He is expected to perform just fine on Friday and then he has a little break before his next performance in Florida later on. The show must go on, as they say, so hopefully it will continue onto the next few months.

It’s been a few days already, but I wanted to give you an update on the U2 tour throughout North America. The group has been one of the most popular around the rock world for many years now. Their current tour has wowed a lot of people. It’s not just their ability to play or their style of music, but they have been able to make a huge show of their stadium concerts this year. Of course, you expect stadium concerts to be big and flashy, this one has caught a lot of people by surprise. In Chicago they had to remove the grass on the field and replace it after U2 left, because their “Claw” and its deconstruction had so damaged it that they couldn’t keep it. The Claw itself is a major piece of equipment, and it gives the band a lot of options for how they’re going to play the music, with different levels available.

We don’t talk much about Dave Matthews here on this site, but there’s no particular reason for that. I just haven’t seen all that many reviews for his tour lately. But Variety came out with their official review of the show and it is absolutely glowing. It’s as though they just discovered his music and really love it. It was definitely a fun couple of concerts at the Greek Theater, and the band showed all their best artistry and talent over the course of the evening. Those who thought this band couldn’t bring it anymore are wrong, it would seem, because they have had staying power like few jam bands have been able to. It’s going to be interesting to hear their next album, because either they will be headed back to their previous style or they will be continuing their new style (which is more like the way they started out the band). Keep an eye and ear open!