Bad Euro Rock Bands volume five
Aug 1, 2010 Rock Bands
Several bingo winged ladies get down to the Rolling Stones
my five favorite christian hard rock bands
Jul 20, 2010 Rock Bands
these are my fave i did not say they were the best
Five Classic Concert Tickets
Mar 14, 2010 Classic Rock
Donât you just love that movie âHigh Fidelityâ where the hero is constantly making lists of his top 5 all time favorite records, girl friends, meals and whatever. I save all the concert tickets from the concerts that I have been to and I canât help but make up my top five classic concerts and wish I had the concert tickets to go with the memories.
Classic concert ticket number 5: U2 plays on an L.A. liquor store rooftop, March 27, 1987. They were atop a liquor store rooftop, Los Angeles. It may not have had The Beatles’ originality, but Bono and the guys surely enjoyed their 20 minutes on top of the LA world nevertheless. The Irish super group was about four songs into the gig on an L.A. liquor store rooftop when the city police decided to end their impromptu performance and spoil the fun for the fans that had gathered below. Strictly speaking this wasnât a concert with proper concert tickets but I love the video “Where The Streets Have No Name”, which was the point of the whole exercise.
Classic concert ticket number 4: George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh, August 1, 1971 at Madison Square Garden, New York City. What had initially been conceived as a small political fundraiser aimed at bringing humanitarian relief to the refugees in breakaway Bangladesh quickly turned into one of the biggest rock fundraisers of the 1970s. Although Lennon and McCartney never ended up signing on to Ravi Shankar’s cause, many other stars did, including George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Billy Preston, and Eric Clapton, who actually collapsed onstage as a result of his protracted bout of heroin addiction but still managed to proceed with the concert. The 40,000 or so fans who crowded New York’s Madison Square Garden witnessed some rare performances, including a 25-minute Indian recital by Ravi Shankar, Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” and Ringo Starr’s “It Don’t Come Easy.”
Classic concert ticket number 3: Pink Floyd break visual barriers with The Wall shows between February 1980 and June 1981. It was a World tour. Pink Floyd’s visual theatrics took a turn for the legendary with their infamous The Wall concerts, which were the last shows Roger Waters, Richard Wright, Dave Gilmour, and Nick Mason performed together before the Live 8 show in July 2005. Each show required timed performances and unprecedented cooperation between the musicians, concert crew, lighting engineers, and computer programmers. In fact, extended instrumentals and Roger Waters’ impromptu introductions often served to cover up stage fires and other technical difficulties, which seemed inevitable when putting together a show that included a 30-foot-high teacher puppet, a scorpion wife and other such animated characters.
Classic concert ticket number 2: Jimi Hendrix wows Woodstock, August 18, 1969 at Woodstock, New York. After plowing through three days worth of rain, mud, minbending drugs, and music, the 30,000 or so diehard fans who chose to brave one more night for Jimi Hendrix’s Woodstock closer were not disappointed. In fact, those who stuck around to witness Hendrix’s mind-blowing rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” cannot deny its importance on the festival’s soundtrack; it became the eternal anthem of a generation of civil rights crusaders, anti-war protestors and music lovers everywhere. Now I know this was a âfreeâ concert but it didnât start out that way and there were actual concert tickets issued for Woddstock.
Classic concert ticket number 1: The Beatles sell out Shea Stadium August 15, 1965 in New York City. After a thundering welcome at JFK airport, the American release of Help! And an electrifying appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Beatles’ success at Shea Stadium, the first-ever stadium concert of its kind, was all but guaranteed. In fact, the sell-out crowd of 55,600 was so deafening that the The âFab Fourâ could barely hear themselves play throughout their 30-minute set. Instead, The Beatles’ grand armored van entrance, John Lennon’s ‘Jerry Lee Lewis’ onstage freak-out and the event’s record-setting gross revenues stole the show.
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Top Five Indie Albums You Must Own Classic & New
Mar 12, 2010 Classic Rock
Do you want to be an indie music fan, but don’t know where to start? Below are some of your core indie albums that every fan should have in his or her collection. Some are classic, others are a little more recent on the music front. Leave a comment if you don’t agree.
The Soft Bulletin’ by The Flaming Lips
Why:
It was the first album to fully harness the band’s commercial spirit
It set the groundwork for their amazing live shows
Songs like ‘Waiting For Superman’, ‘Race For the Prize’ and ‘The Spark that Bled’
They may be better known for their spectacular live shows featuring Wayne Coyne running across the crowd in a giant bubble, fancy dress costumes, glove puppets and much more but this album contains everything that is great about The Flaming Lips.
The introduction to opening track ‘Race for the Prize’ immediately informs you that something special is about to happen, the small count in and then crashing gong immediately gives way to a track that is almost too positive to imagine. Wayne Coyne may sound like Kermit the Frog on acid but as a lyricist and front man he is second to none.
Daydream Nation’ by Sonic Youth
Why:
Possibly the bands most accessible album
The vocal interplay of Kim and Thurston
It retains all the guitar fuzz that Sonic Youth are known and loved for
Tracks like ‘Teenage Riot, ‘Candle’ and ‘Silver Rocket.’
There has been an increase in the ‘Don’t Look Back’ series of gigs where a band plays a classic album from their history. In some cases you have been left wondering why an album was held in such regard that it required to be dragged out again years later but this can’t be said about ‘Daydream Nation.’
Opening track ‘Teenage Riot’ sets the tone with its high tempo and squalor and the noise and confusion doesn’t really give up over the rest of the album. It is not often that all the magazines will have the same opinion on indie rock but there appears to be universal acclaim for ‘Daydream Nation’ and it has captured the true genius of Sonic Youth. At times their albums have been patchy and perhaps too experimental for some ears but on this 1988 release they got it exactly right.
The Queen is Dead’ by The Smiths
Why:
The album features Morrissey at his most humorous
Johnny Marr starting to show his true talent on guitar
Brings together many different styles in one cohesive record
Tracks like ‘I Know its Over, ‘Cemetery Gates’ and ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes out’
For some, The Smiths will be the perfect template of an indie band such was the mix of intelligent lyrics and working class backgrounds. It is fair to say that the majority of the focus falls upon Morrissey but Johnny Marr showcased a sense of jangle guitar that went a long way to influencing the entire Britpop era.
‘The Queen is Dead’ album has a largely humorous streak running through it and it stands as a strong argument to people who say that indie music is all po-faced and afraid to have fun. Morrissey may set himself up as being pretentious at times but tracks like ‘Frankly Mr Shankly’ and ‘Vicar in a tutu’ indicated he could enjoy a laugh with the best of them.
‘Rings Around The World’ by Super Furry Animals
Why:
It was their largest and most ambitious album to date
It brought to light so many of their influences
It has Paul McCartney and John Cale appearing on it
Tracks like ‘Receptacle for the Respectable’ and ‘Juxtapozed Wit U’
Welsh indie wizards the Super Furry Animals have always been regarded as an innovative and adventurous band but this 2001 release showcased the band at their most “out there”. With not much emphasis on their techno past, this album crosses the gap between indie rock and classic 60s Beach Boys effortlessly. They have never quite managed to equal this masterpiece but they have created a great number of albums since.
Funeral’ by Arcade Fire
Why:
The vast array of instruments on show
Really powerful song, emotionally and musically
Fantastic percussion and rhythm sections
Tracks like ‘Wake Up’, ‘Power Out’ and ‘Rebellion (Lies)’
They pulled off one of the hardest tricks in music, namely writing an album about death and change yet making it sound like the most uplifting album of the year. There were a few stand out singles released from this record but collectively it worked tremendously and still stands up to repeated plays today.
Follow up album ‘Neon Bible’ took the band to a higher level and you can see them rivaling U2 and REM in a few years if they continue this upwards trajectory but ‘Funeral’ remains a must hear album for anyone drawn to grandiose statements and classic songs.
Ian Dougherty is a freelance music writer from the UK. Dougherty has written for well known music magazines, Ezines, and websites for over fifteen years. For the latest in indie bands and indi music, visit MadeLoud.com, where bands keep more from each digital music download.