Wednesday, March 13, 2024

10 Artists to Celebrate Women's History Month (VIDEO)

Hey! It's Women's History Month. And who better to chime in with a list of "10 Artists to Celebrate Women's History Month" than a 53 year old white guy! Sarcasm aside, these are just 10 of the many artists from which I could have chosen. I've been celebrating women in music my entire life. Pretty much.

I have chosen a few from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s - solo artists and bands - and all of them have played an important role in my musical evolution.

Saturday, March 09, 2024

New Vinyl Update + 15 UPCOMING Releases for March, April, May '24 (VIDEO)


Hello, friends and welcome back. Today's video is a lot to take in. But I'm confident you can handle it. The first part of the video features a bunch of new vinyl I have gotten recently - most are new releases, btw. I also take you on an excursion to suburbia -- West Omaha - to find a copy of Jason Isbell's newest at Target. Was I successful in my quest? You'll have to watch to find out.

Next up, I am previewing 15 important new releases coming out in March, April, and May. Stylistically, they run the gamut: indie, rock, alt-country, metal, and more!

Kim Gordon, Rosali, Waxahatchee, The Dandy Warhols, Gossip, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride, Kate Clover, Old 97s, METZ, Melvins, St. Vincent, The Lemon Twigs, Kerry King, Buffalo Tom

Thursday, March 07, 2024

Jenny Lewis LIVE at The Admiral, Omaha, NE 3/6/24 (PHOTOS)

Jenny Lewis brought her Joy'All tour to Omaha on Wednesday, March 6 at The Admiral. Jenny is no stranger to The Admiral, as she played there plenty of times earlier in her career when it was known as Sokol Auditorium. She even joked about playing the basement (Sokol Underground) and the large pole through the stage. Ahh...memories.
 







Monday, March 04, 2024

My 7 Day Weekend of Live Music!! (VIDEO)


Wow! What a freakin' week! Normally, the concert season doesn't start around here (Omaha) until Winter is over and everything thaws out. Not so much in 2024. This video documents a pretty wild week where I saw five different shows in seven days!

Porno For Pyros hit the brand new venue, The Astro. Despite being a Jane's Addiction fan since the late 80s, I never actually saw PFP after Jane's broke up. For the "final" tour, PFP added Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, The Stooges) on bass, and that made the show mandatory for me! Opening the show was a UK band called TigerCub.

Veteran indie rockers, Yo La Tengo, returned to The Waiting Room for "An Evening with Yo La Tengo." The band did two separate sets - one quiet, one loud - and there was no opener. No matter how many times I see YLT in concert, they never cease to amaze.    

David Nance released his newest LP, David Nance & Mowed Sound, recently on Jack White's Third Man Records. He had a record release show at Reverb Lounge. Vinyl community members will recognize Dereck Higgins on bass. He played on the LP, and performs with the band when they play locally.

The last two shows I cover in today's video (Living Colour, Matthew Sweet) both have their own video reviews with lots more clips and photos.

Saturday, March 02, 2024

Mama Zu "Quilt Floor" Album Review / Jessi Zazu / Those Darlins (VIDEO)


Hello, friends and welcome to my latest video. This week, I am reviewing the new album from Mama Zu called "Quilt Floor." This was one of my most anticipated new releases of the year because it features the final recordings from Jessi Zazu from the band Those Darlins.

Those Darlins was a band from Nashville whose mix of country, garage punk, and rock 'n roll made them one of the best new bands of the 2000s. After the band broke up in 2015, it was revealed that Jessi Darlin (aka Jessi Zazu) had cancer. She died at age 28. In between the break up of Those Darlins and her death, she and Linwood Regenburg (also of Those Darlins) recorded some music together. After Jessi passed, Linwood finished the album in her honor.

The project is named Mama Zu and the album Jessi and Linwood made is out now. As I said in an earlier video, I planned to buy this record no matter what. As a fan of TD and of Jessi, it was a no-brainer. As you will see in my review, Quilt Floor turned out incredibly well, and reminds me of why I became a fan of Jessi in the first place.

Interspersed with my review are some photos and video I shot of Those Darlins from 2011-2012.

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Ace Frehley (KISS) 10,000 Volts REVIEW


Today, I am reviewing the brand new album from former KISS lead guitarist, Ace Frehley. Longtime viewers of the channel know that KISS is my favorite band of all time. But don't confuse being a "fan" with being a "fanboy." There's a huge difference. I consider myself to be objective when it comes to Kiss and its former members. So, to those who are easily triggered by a different opinion than their own...don't say you weren't warned.

Monday, February 26, 2024

Porno For Pyros LIVE at The Astro 2/24/24 (PHOTOS)


Porno For Pyros, the band formed by Perry Ferrell and Stephen Perkins after the initial break-up of Jane's Addiction in 1992, played at The Astro on Saturday, February 24. This show was a little bittersweet for me. It was my first time seeing PFP, as a long time Jane's fan. However, this tour is being billed as PFP's "final," so it is likely to be my last time seeing them, as well.

Returning on bass was Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, The Stooges). Watt has never been an official member of Porno For Pyros, but he did play bass on some of the band's second album, Good God's Urge, and has toured with them in the past.





13 Albums That Changed My Life (VIDEO)

I'm jumping on the thread about "Albums that Changed My Life" that's going around. To make things interesting...I did 13.

I should point out that these are 13 albums that changed my life -- but not the only 13. I kept it limited to albums that were new at the time I discovered them. All of them were released from 1980-1991, even though my favorite musical decade is the 1990s. Weird, right?

While making this video, I realized this has a lot of overlap with something I did last year called, "What's in My Musical DNA?" It's a longer, more in-depth version of this concept tbh.


Wednesday, February 21, 2024

YO LA TENGO Live at Waiting Room 2/19/24 (PHOTOS)

Yo La Tengo returned to The Waiting Room for the first time in 11 years on Monday, February 19. In fact, this was a re-scheduled date from last year when YLT postponed its tour because drummer, Georgia Hubley, needed knee surgery.


The band did two sets: a "quiet" set and a louder one. However, if you know anything about Yo La Tengo's music, you know it's not always easy to draw such a distinction.




Make sure to check out The Dark Stuff on Youtube for a future video review.

REVIEW: Matthew Sweet LIVE 2/17/24 + Debbi Peterson from The Bangles! (VIDEO)

This video review is also something of a follow-up to my last video on Matthew Sweet from a few weeks ago. In that video, I mentioned that Debbi Peterson from The Bangles was going to be playing drums for Matthew Sweet on a brief tour of the Midwest. I was already planning on going before hearing about Debbi; but after that news, I decided that I had to meet her while she was in town. I "manifested" it or whatever new-agey bullsh!t term folks use these days.

Wouldn't you know it...it actually happened! She was really nice and signed a few of my #bangles records. It was cool seeing her behind the drum kit. I've never seen The Bangles play, so it was a first for me. 

Matthew Sweet tore through a great set of his best known songs in front of a packed, hometown crowd. Hopefully, it won't be another 4-5 years before he plays here again.

Monday, February 19, 2024

MATTHEW SWEET at The Waiting Room 2/17/24 (PHOTOS)


Matthew Sweet returned to the Waiting Room's stage on Saturday, February 17th with a blistering (and sometimes shambolic) set of his unique style of guitar-based power-pop. Sweet's band featured Bangles drummer Debbi Peterson, guitarist John Moremen, bassist Paul Chastain (Velvet Crush), and guitarist Adrian Carter. Sweet pointed out that Adrian is the son of his manager - the same manager he's had since 1983! 
Debbi Peterson of The Bangles on the drums!




I got to meet Debbi after the show!

Saturday, February 17, 2024

David Nance & Mowed Sound LIVE at Reverb 2/16/24 (PHOTOS)

David Nance & Mowed Sound celebrated the release of their new album with a show at Omaha's Reverb Lounge.






LIVING COLOUR and RADKEY Live at Barnato (Omaha, NE) 2/15/24 (PHOTOS)


Here are some of my favorite photos from the Living Colour/Radkey show at Barnato on February 15, 2024. Watch the video review here.
Radkey, a trio from St. Louis, opened the show









REVIEW Living Colour + Radkey LIVE 2/15/24 at Barnato Omaha (VIDEO)


My ears are still ringing and I am still buzzing from the Living Colour show I just witnessed! I caught the band on an off night from their current tour opening for Extreme. While being an opener, the band can only do a short set; and it is generally more of a "greatest hits" type of show. For the show in Omaha, Living Colour played for two hours. This was no "hits" set either (not that there's anything wrong with that). The band performed its third album, 1993's "Stain," in its entirety.

"Stain" may not have been a commercial success when it was initially released, but over time, it has become a fan favorite. Sprinkled throughout the set were covers from MC5, Sinéad O'Connor/Prince, and Grandmaster Flash. And, of course, the band did play many of its best known songs from throughout its catalog.

This was my fourth time seeing Living Colour, and probably my favorite. These guys were on fire! And Corey Glover's voice has not aged a day. Do NOT miss these guys if they play in your town (especially if it's a headline set).

Monday, February 05, 2024

David Lee Roth Accidentally Exposes Streaming's Greatest Flaw / A Different Kind of Truth


I saw a video about the current conflict between David Lee Roth and Wolfgang Van Halen. I had been reading about it on a few music sites, but after watching this video, I started thinking about the issue more seriously. 

Essentially, the dispute is about the final Van Halen studio album, A Different Kind of Truth. The 2012 record marked the return of David Lee Roth as lead singer, and the debut of Wolfgang as bassist. For my money, the album is incredible. I love it. A Different Kind of Truth received mixed reviews from fans and critics. 

At some point in 2022, the album quietly disappeared. It was pulled from streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify, and stores could no longer order additional copies. In an interview, Wolf hinted that the reason was that someone in the band -- cough cough -- wouldn't cooperate on getting it re-issued. 

The "conflict" came to light after a series of videos that Diamond Dave posted on his YouTube Channel. Roth states that the album was both a commercial failure and a drag to create. Apparently, he felt the need to publicly state this to the world. Supposedly, Roth (and maybe Alex Van Halen) don't see the point in paying lawyers to re-negotiate a new deal for an album that sucks. Usually, Roth's videos are funny and entertaining. These were not. 

First off, the album doesn't suck. And as I was preparing to defend the album and urge Diamond Dave to reverse course, I realized that this particular dispute makes a fantastic (though maybe inadvertent) argument in favor of physical media and against streaming. 

I own the Van Halen album, A Different Kind of Truth. I can play it right now. I didn't even notice that it had been removed from the streaming services. If I didn't have a physical copy, I couldn't hear this fantastic record. For a serious music fan, this creates a huge dilemma. How can I ensure that my personal music library contains all of my favorite albums? The only way is to have a physical copy. 

The digital era has created a new definition of ownership, as well. When you "buy" that digital copy of the Barbie movie, do you get to keep it forever? Check the fine print. You don't. Music, movie, and TV fans need to re-think the idea of ownership in this age. It's a frightening thought.

10 Artists to Celebrate Women's History Month (VIDEO)

Hey! It's Women's History Month. And who better to chime in with a list of "10 Artists to Celebrate Women's History Month&q...