It's been a long time since I've gotten back to this series, so here's my list in alphabetical order of the best rock frontment I've seen live in concert:
Brynn Arens, Flipp/The Oddfathers
Having seen Flipp play live three times and the debut show of the Oddfathers in St. Cloud, I have to give Arens some respect. Although his trademark spiked hair is whiter than before, he still knows how to play a great guitar, simultaneously sing and sneer and keep crowds entertained.
Tom Kiefer, Cinderella
I was impressed by Kiefer during Cinderella's set at Halfway Jam a couple of years ago because he really went all out. Not only did he sing all the songs of their set, but he also played guitar on about a half-dozen guitars, keyboards on "Don't Know What You've Got ('Till It's Gone)," and even saxophone on the closing song "Shelter Me." He looked thoroughly exhausted by the end of the show, acknowledging that Central Minnesota had "kicked his ass again."
Aaron Lewis, Staind
My first Staind concert a few years ago was memorable, mainly for one reason. That reason was the powerful voice of lead singer Aaron Lewis. At the end of the show, he decided to do a solo acoustic song "Intro." Lewis took his guitar and decided he didn't need a microphone as he moved to the right corner of the stage. His powerful singing voice reverberated across the arena loud enough for everyone to hear, something I've never seen another singer do before at a rock show.
Brent Smith, Shinedown
I saw Shinedown perform at Northern Lights Casino in Walker, MN four years ago during their tour for their breakthrough album Sound of Madness. The band put on a great show, and Smith did everything he could to keep the audience's energy level up. He even walked all the way around the outside of the concert area singing and making contact with fans who were duly impressed.
Lajon Witherspoon, Sevendust
As I've probably said before, Sevendust never disappoints. Lajon keeps the fans thoroughly entertained with his soulful and energetic voice, and shares his insights with the crowds during every show. As he's said before at Sevendust concerts, the people in the crowd aren't really fans, but are considered friends and family. He and the rest of his bandmates are also some of the coolest, most humble people you'd ever meet.
Well that's all for now. Until next time, stay cool and have a great weekend everyone!
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
A Floydian Slip by the Fabulous Armadillos
Well gang, I had another great weekend, and it started with the Fabulous Armadillos' Pink Floyd tribute show at the Paramount Theatre in downtown St. Cloud last Saturday night.
I'd heard nothing but good things about the show from friends online, and I had seen the group do a variety of classic rock covers at a work event last fall, so I knew it was going to be a good night. The show started with the Floyd classics "Welcome To The Machine" and guitarist Paul "Stretch" Diethelm shredding the signature riff during "Have A Cigar."
The group then announced they were playing the 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety. With a psychedelic light show around them, the dozen musicians performed a very faithful rendition of the album in its 40th anniversary year. Singer Pamela McNeill's soulful solo during the middle of the set triggered the first of a half-dozen standing ovations during the show.
After that masterpiece, the band took a brief intermission before resuming the show, starting with an appropriate set for several songs from the classic double album The Wall. Singer Jeff Engholm really got into the theatrics of the songs, especially when he chased a dozen local kids across the stage during "Another Brick in the Wall."
The band closed the night with the Floyd favorites "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Wish You Were Here" before bidding the audience a fond farewell. The crowd on the main floor and balcony were on their feet, gleefully applauding a magnificent performance.
This was my first concert at the Paramount this year, and I have nothing but tons of praise and respect for this show. I was glad to see some friends there enjoying the show and even earned a little envy from other friends during the weekend. If this show comes back to town again, it's one you simply can't miss!
I'd heard nothing but good things about the show from friends online, and I had seen the group do a variety of classic rock covers at a work event last fall, so I knew it was going to be a good night. The show started with the Floyd classics "Welcome To The Machine" and guitarist Paul "Stretch" Diethelm shredding the signature riff during "Have A Cigar."
The group then announced they were playing the 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety. With a psychedelic light show around them, the dozen musicians performed a very faithful rendition of the album in its 40th anniversary year. Singer Pamela McNeill's soulful solo during the middle of the set triggered the first of a half-dozen standing ovations during the show.
After that masterpiece, the band took a brief intermission before resuming the show, starting with an appropriate set for several songs from the classic double album The Wall. Singer Jeff Engholm really got into the theatrics of the songs, especially when he chased a dozen local kids across the stage during "Another Brick in the Wall."
The band closed the night with the Floyd favorites "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" and "Wish You Were Here" before bidding the audience a fond farewell. The crowd on the main floor and balcony were on their feet, gleefully applauding a magnificent performance.
This was my first concert at the Paramount this year, and I have nothing but tons of praise and respect for this show. I was glad to see some friends there enjoying the show and even earned a little envy from other friends during the weekend. If this show comes back to town again, it's one you simply can't miss!
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Got A Feeling
OK gang, this blog post is going to deviate from the norm, so be warned! Normally, I write about music, sports, current events or my opinion on a topic making news headlines. This is going to be a more personal entry, more personal than any entry I've had in this blog to date.
Summer is usually a good time for me to reflect on what I've done in the last few months and where I'm headed looking ahead to the rest of the year. I've gotten a lot accomplished professionally this year, so now it's time for me to focus on my personal goals and growth.
I set two major goals for myself that I plan to achieve this year: one is to find a nice place closer to work. That one I'm working diligently on, and I'm confident things will fall into place sooner rather than later. The other goal is going to be a bit more difficult to attain, and that is to have a relationship with a great woman.
I've passed up some opportunities in the past for relationships because I either wasn't ready for a relationship or I felt like I wasn't in that person's league. Fortunately I've been able to remain friends with most of these women, and I'm glad they've found lasting relationships in their lives. I couldn't be happier for them.
I've had a few short-term relationships in my life, but nothing that's really been lasting beyond a friendship level. Because of that, I've had only a few breakups, nothing too major. I think the worst one was from a woman who broke up with me via email. I knew that the relationship wasn't really going further than where it was (she was a vegetarian, and one of my grandfathers was a butcher in St. Paul for many years, so that was a sticking point from the get-go), but I was bothered by the fact that she didn't respect me enough to tell me how she really felt in person or over the phone.
I've also resisted online dating, because I've heard enough horror stories and seen enough of MTV's show "Catfish" to know that people aren't always who they seem to be online. If I ever do start online dating, you'd better believe that I will use Google's image search to check out profile photos, though!
A few weeks ago, I had a deep conversation with a woman I'd never met before. She is a very talented, independent and beautiful woman my age. We share some of the same interests in music, sports, spending free time and the importance of living in the moment. She also has one of the most amazing smiles I've ever seen! I learned more about her in the space of a couple of hours than I've learned about some of my friends that I've known for years. We just clicked right off the bat. I'm not exactly sure what this connection is just yet, but I know that it's one that I definitely don't want to give up. I haven't talked to her since, but I intend to connect with her again sometime soon, as soon as our schedules don't conflict. If we become more than good friends, that's just fine with me, but if not, I can feel good just knowing I've made an intimate connection with someone I can see being lifelong friends with.
Well, that's all I can share for now, so I appreciate your taking the time to read this and I welcome any comments or suggestions you may have.
That's all for now - the next blogs I plan to write are a review of tonight's Fabulous Armadillos Pink Floyd show, and I may squeeze in a best of artists in concert blog or two before the next Sevendust show in September. Until then, thanks and have a great weekend!
Summer is usually a good time for me to reflect on what I've done in the last few months and where I'm headed looking ahead to the rest of the year. I've gotten a lot accomplished professionally this year, so now it's time for me to focus on my personal goals and growth.
I set two major goals for myself that I plan to achieve this year: one is to find a nice place closer to work. That one I'm working diligently on, and I'm confident things will fall into place sooner rather than later. The other goal is going to be a bit more difficult to attain, and that is to have a relationship with a great woman.
I've passed up some opportunities in the past for relationships because I either wasn't ready for a relationship or I felt like I wasn't in that person's league. Fortunately I've been able to remain friends with most of these women, and I'm glad they've found lasting relationships in their lives. I couldn't be happier for them.
I've had a few short-term relationships in my life, but nothing that's really been lasting beyond a friendship level. Because of that, I've had only a few breakups, nothing too major. I think the worst one was from a woman who broke up with me via email. I knew that the relationship wasn't really going further than where it was (she was a vegetarian, and one of my grandfathers was a butcher in St. Paul for many years, so that was a sticking point from the get-go), but I was bothered by the fact that she didn't respect me enough to tell me how she really felt in person or over the phone.
I've also resisted online dating, because I've heard enough horror stories and seen enough of MTV's show "Catfish" to know that people aren't always who they seem to be online. If I ever do start online dating, you'd better believe that I will use Google's image search to check out profile photos, though!
A few weeks ago, I had a deep conversation with a woman I'd never met before. She is a very talented, independent and beautiful woman my age. We share some of the same interests in music, sports, spending free time and the importance of living in the moment. She also has one of the most amazing smiles I've ever seen! I learned more about her in the space of a couple of hours than I've learned about some of my friends that I've known for years. We just clicked right off the bat. I'm not exactly sure what this connection is just yet, but I know that it's one that I definitely don't want to give up. I haven't talked to her since, but I intend to connect with her again sometime soon, as soon as our schedules don't conflict. If we become more than good friends, that's just fine with me, but if not, I can feel good just knowing I've made an intimate connection with someone I can see being lifelong friends with.
Well, that's all I can share for now, so I appreciate your taking the time to read this and I welcome any comments or suggestions you may have.
That's all for now - the next blogs I plan to write are a review of tonight's Fabulous Armadillos Pink Floyd show, and I may squeeze in a best of artists in concert blog or two before the next Sevendust show in September. Until then, thanks and have a great weekend!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Halfway Jam X Observations
Since I only went to part of day 2 of this year's Halfway Jam in Royalton, MN, I'm not going to post a full review here. Instead, here's a few observations:
1. This year the venue charged $10 for parking, each of the last 2 years parking's been free.
2. The general admission and VIP areas are still segregated.
3. I kind of felt like a bag of groceries being jostled around by concertgoers who'd obviously had a few alcoholic beverages and/or tobacco products during Tesla's set. My clothes reeked of cigarettes (I don't and have never smoked) after the concert.
4. 80's pop/rock band Survivor still has fans young and old singing their hits "Eye of the Tiger," "Burning Heart," "High on You," "The Search is Over" and others along with them live in concert.
5. Tesla has a new disc in the works!
6. Tesla still draws a good crowd some 20-plus years after their biggest hits were new to rock radio.
7. Halfway Jam is still a fun way to spend a night!
That's all for now - have a great week, everyone!
1. This year the venue charged $10 for parking, each of the last 2 years parking's been free.
2. The general admission and VIP areas are still segregated.
3. I kind of felt like a bag of groceries being jostled around by concertgoers who'd obviously had a few alcoholic beverages and/or tobacco products during Tesla's set. My clothes reeked of cigarettes (I don't and have never smoked) after the concert.
4. 80's pop/rock band Survivor still has fans young and old singing their hits "Eye of the Tiger," "Burning Heart," "High on You," "The Search is Over" and others along with them live in concert.
5. Tesla has a new disc in the works!
6. Tesla still draws a good crowd some 20-plus years after their biggest hits were new to rock radio.
7. Halfway Jam is still a fun way to spend a night!
That's all for now - have a great week, everyone!
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