#concertreview – The Boring Old Man

Concert Review: Aneesa Strings at Yoshi’s, Oakland CA

Tonight was something special. And unexpected…

The Mrs. introduced me to Aneesa Strings some time ago, and I thought she was cool – I mean, who doesn’t dig a woman with an upright bass and a great voice? But honestly, it didn’t exactly knock me out. Not in the way that I’d actively seek out her music, it was just a little too much on the tame side for my tastes.

So when she told me Aneesa was coming to town and she wanted to go see her, I figured, m’eh, why not? It was a Friday night show at Yoshi’s, a club we’ve been to many times and despite being located in Oakland, it’s a spot we really, really like.

We decided to make a night of it and made reservations at the restaurant that’s attached to the club – or is it the club that is attached to the restaurant? Anyhow, we’d always wanted to try the food there – a Japanese -Fusion menu – but every time we’d been there in the past we were running up there after work and never had time to make it to dinner before the show. But this time around it was a late show, we’d made reservations at 7:45, and figured we’d have just enough time to eat before her set.

Let me tell you, we were FOOLS for not eating there in the past! Goodness me, the food was absolutely spectacular! I won’t go into all the details as I’m not a “foodie” and this is a concert review, but I will say I had a pork chop that was hands down the best pork chop I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. And I’m no stranger to pork chops… But seriously, everything we had was delicious and the pork chop was out of this world. I’d eat another one right now if I could!!

Aneesa was accompanied by a drummer, keyboard player and a guitar player, a relatively standard jazz band setup. The show started off a little slow frankly, and after the first song I was thinking to myself “I might be a little too tired to sit through an hour of this“, but very quickly things started to heat up.

I’m not gonna pretend to know what songs she played, old or new, I’m not at all familiar with her catalog of work. What I will say though, is that she was a phenomenal artist. Her voice was smooth as glass – at times – and sometimes gritty, when it was called for. Her bass playing was absolutely on point, it was plainly obvious that she and the upright bass were dear old friends. And midway through the set, she switched it up and picked up an electric fretless Fender Jazz bass, and that’s when things really started cookin’!

One particular highlight was her rendition of Sade’s Ordinary Love, which is a song I (and millions of others) love. I have never heard anyone cover Sade and sound good. Never, that is, until Aneesa. She not only did the song justice, she put just enough of a twist on it to make it her own and I was completely taken in by her version. To be able to hold down that impeccable bass groove – if you know you know – AND sing that song, with that depth of soul, beauty and conviction is beyond impressive.

And speaking of impressive, her band was on fire! We were seated about 8 feet from the drummer, who was right up at the front of the stage, and I was able to see every stroke, every kick drum beat, and as a somewhat snobby drummer myself, I just gotta say WOW. He was so fluid and yet solid as a rock. He played so many parts that straight up surprised me, and yet fit the songs perfectly. That’s how I judge a drummer; if I can predict what they’re gonna play before they play it? M’eh. But this guy took all kinds of turns I never expected, while staying completely in the pocket and just grooving. It was very inspiring. Her guitarist was very much in the background, both literally and musically, but he too was great. I don’t know a lot of jazz players, but his playing reminded me of Larry Carlton. Not at all overbearing, just the right amount of spice to compliment the flavor of the songs. Same with the keys, he took a few solos letting us know he had some chops, but for the most part he played in a supporting role, filling in the overall sound. But as an ensemble, she couldn’t have asked for a better band. They played flawlessly – to my ears anyway – never overshadowed the primary artist, and just helped weave a beautiful, sonic tapestry.

Then for the cherry on top, she finished the show with what was perhaps the most unbelievable “mash-up” I’ve ever witnessed as her encore. She launched into a slightly down tempo, gritty, funky version of Come Together by the Beatles, which wove its way into Blackstreet’s No Diggity, incorporated a few bars from a Biggie Smalls track (I don’t recall the particular song title, but it was immediately recognizable) and back to the Beatles. Now, I’m not really a fan of the Beatles, and I’m absolutely not a fan of Blackstreet nor partial to Biggie, but I gotta admit, the musical acrobatics, the sleekness of which they melded the three songs into one, was certainly one of the most memorable moments I’ve seen on stage in a long time. It was a stellar end to an incredible show.

All things considered, I couldn’t have enjoyed the night more. Excellent food, a great vibe and amazing artistry.

Thank you Aneesa for a night full of “WOW!”, and props to your band for playing their hearts out. I’ve seen literally hundreds of shows over the last 40+ years, and last night’s show at Yoshi’s is gonna live in my personal Hall of Fame! It just goes to show, sometimes when you step outside your comfort zone and open your mind and your ears, you get to witness magic. And last night was absolutely magical for myself and the Mrs!

Thanks for stopping by!

Concert Review: Public Image Limited at The Rio Theater, Santa Cruz, CA

This one was a long time coming folks. As a youth, a tender Freshman in High School, I was introduced to the Sex Pistols and it was one of those musical events that absolutely changed my life. I had already been turned onto College Radio by that time, but the Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks album was unlike anything I’d ever heard in my life and I was forever changed.

Unfortunately for me, the year was 1982 and the Pistols had already imploded and were no more…

A year later I came into possession of a book titled The British Invasion: From the First Wave to the New Wave by Nicholas Schaffer (thanks Dad!) and it was there that I discovered Johnny Rotten of Sex Pistols fame had shed his Rotten moniker, gone back to his given name of John Lydon and started a new band by the name of Public Image Limited. Naturally, I was thrilled, and I set out to find their records. Ha!

Now keep in mind, this was way before the interwebs. The days of record stores like Music Land and Rainbow records and of course Tower Records. And we also had a great used record store in town in an old converted house called Streetlight Records that specialized in punk and New Wave records, European imports and the like, and it STILL took me TWO YEARS to get my hands on the Public Image Limited debut record!

And let me tell you, it was NOT what I expected! Nonetheless, I took my time absorbing it and came to appreciate it in a totally different way than the Pistols’ album.

Over the years I was there for every subsequent album release, and I grew to love the “band” – really a constantly revolving cast of characters – including Steve Vai at one point – with Mr. Lydon at the helm. And the records just kept getting better and better over the years.

But, for whatever reason, I was never able to see them on stage. So they became one of those bucket list bands for me and honestly I never thought I’d get the opportunity as Mr. Lydon hit 70 years old this year and subsequently just went through the passing of his long time wife Nora. The odds seemed insurmountable.

But much to my surprise I caught wind of a new tour coming this year and the minute I confirmed it was true I snatched up tickets. And here I am!

The Rio Theater was a new venue for me, not only my first visit, but the first I’d even heard of it! Which is weird considering I live only about 20 miles from Santa Cruz and come over the hill all the time… But it’s a cool venue, an old converted movie theater, which still has a bunch of seats, for which my old, worn out knees were grateful! The staff was super friendly – generally a given in Santa Cruz, but nice nonetheless. The crowd was a good mix – LOTS of old heads like myself, but a smattering of many generations altogether. Lots of Doc Martens, lots of old punk band T- shirts…my kinda people! Then again, most of the crowd was surprisingly “normal” looking. I suppose growing up in the 70s and 80s in the punk scene, if we’ve made it this far, we’ve got nothing else to prove and can leave the leather jackets at home.

The opening band was Plague Vendor from LA. They are kind of throwback punk band, with a bit of a modernized sound. Not really my thing, but I would have loved them when I was 16… What I will say though is their guitarist was great. He was ripping it up on a hollow body guitar through a tube amp, so for me he automatically gets bonus points! And their frontman was really giving it his all. He was a bit of Iggy Pop mixed with Lux Interior from the Cramps, with the occasional James Brown dance moves thrown in for good measure. He was definitely there to put on a good show for the audience. So, overall, I’d say they were pretty good for what they were, it just wasn’t my kinda jam.

The stars of their band. Not to diminish the rhythm section, but these two were blazing!

When it came to the main event I wasn’t sure what to expect. I figured it would be awesome or a train wreck quite honestly.

Well, the jury is in, and let me tell you they were AWESOME! The band was really sparse – guitar, bass and drums (though both the guitarist and bassist played some keyboards here and there), and they just killed it! They played songs from every era, even pulling out World Destruction, the dance club staple that John did with Afrika Bambaattaa back in the late 80s, and it was absolutely fantastic. Honestly, I had kinda forgotten just how deep their discography goes. They covered a lot of ground and didn’t miss a beat the entire time. That band was on fire! They played a number of their “hits” (LOL) and some deep cuts and just really wowed me quite honestly.

I wish I knew who this guy is, he was AMAZING!

Then John did something I’ve NEVER seen in a live show – he told us he was going to take a smoke break! “Gimme three minutes, and I’ll be right back” he said! He even flashed a pack of Marlboro Reds, just so we’d know he was serious. Only in California!

After the smoke break the band came back on, he thanked the audience for their patience, then promptly tore into the song Public Image. What a re-entry! Truly it was their encore, but it was different, I’ll tell ya that!

If I’m being completely honest, there were a number of songs I was hoping they’d play that they didn’t. But overall I really couldn’t have asked for more. They absolutely surpassed any expectations I might have had going in and I left on the kind of musical “high” that frankly is a bit rare these days.

And I not only got to discover a new venue but I got to cross a band off my bucket list that frankly I never thought I’d have the chance to see. An absolute win for the Boring Old Man!

Thank you Mr. Lydon and much thanks to your stellar band, I took me well over 40 years to see you, but it was undoubtedly worth the wait! I wish you continued success on the rest of your tour.

And to my readers, thank you for stopping by!

Concert Review: Cold War Kids and Young the Giant, Greek Theater, Berkeley CA

It just wouldn’t be Summer without a show at the Greek Theater. I went to my first show there (The Truth, The Hooters and Squeeze) around 1985, and it’s been a favorite venue of mine ever since.

Berkeley on the other hand, I’m not a big fan of, but I digress…

This show was courtesy of the Mrs and our daughter, who got the tickets as my birthday present back in early June, so the anticipation had grown for some time. We’d seen Young the Giant before, but despite being fans since their first record, had never had the chance to see Cold War Kids.

And as it turned out, this show was a triple bill, so we were in for a surprise. Listed on the bill was Kenny Hoopla as the opening act, but Kenny was MIA – in his (their?) place, we had a band by the name of Beach Weather open the show.

An ironic side note, earlier in the day we had gone to the beach in Half Moon Bay, and it was decidedly*NOT* beach weather – cloudy as far as the eye could see and a little chilly…

I knew of a couple songs by Beach Weather, just in passing. I didn’t even actually know the name of the band before the show, I just recognized a few tunes when they played them. And I will say, they were a pretty good band. Nothing earth shattering, but a solid, tight “alternative” band with some catchy tunes. The highlight of their show, for me, was the lead guitarist. He played some really unexpected parts, that fit just right, and he was frankly just fun to watch. All in all, it was a good set that left me wanting to dig into their discography.

Cold War Kids were next up, and boy did they deliver!! I can remember hearing their first single on the radio, nearly 20 years ago, and being totally knocked out by it. So much so I took the leap of faith and bought the CD (Robbers & Cowards) for the one song. And I was so glad I did! That record is really a masterpiece. If you’re not familiar with this band, look them up. They are special. I don’t know how to describe their sound, as nobody really sounds anything like them. The best I can come up with, is if Talking Heads decided to play Americana music, you’d wind up with Cold War Kids… Or something along those lines. Great songwriting, excellent musicians and a very distinctive voice. Really an exceptional band. And like I said, in the live setting they really delivered! They played a little bit of everything from across their catalog, and the entire band was on point. Quite honestly, it was much better than I had dared hope for. Absolutely a highlight of my 2026 concert run thus far!

The headliner of the night was Young the Giant. As I mentioned, we’d seen them before and I had really enjoyed them, much more than I thought I would, actually. They were another one of those bands that I knew a lot more of their songs than I realized. I guess they were somewhat low-key alt-rock superstars. We’d gone to that show for the opening band, but we were pleasantly surprised by Young the Giant, and they wound up on my heavy rotation playlist for quite some time afterwards.

Unfortunately, their show this time around was a little underwhelming. Not to say it was bad, it just wasn’t as good as the last time. The sound wasn’t quite as crisp for starters. Their vocalist spent an inordinate amount of time yapping between songs, which in my not-so-humble opinion brings down the energy of the show. Their drummer seemed neutered -for lack of a better phrase – this time around. And to be honest, their newer material just doesn’t hit me the same way the music from their first few records does.

All that being said, it wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t great. Musically, all the guys were playing well. Visually, the lights and the stage setup were great. All the elements were there. But for all the sparks, the fire just smoldered and never really built into a burner. That being the case, we decided to call it early and left before the encore… I’d certainly go see them again, but I’m not exactly going to seek them out.

All things considered, it was a fantastic night. The Greek Theater is a spectacular venue, we heard a LOT of great songs played by a lot of great musicians and even if YtG had an off night, they still put on a show, it wasn’t a matter of them phoning it in. And yes, Cold War Kids rocked the joint and delivered an outstanding set that left a huge smile plastered across my face. That set alone made our trip to the East Bay well worth the effort. I sincerely hope I get a chance to see them again!

Thanks for stopping by!

Concert Review: RJD2 at the Felton Music Hall, Felton,CA

Well folks, last night was an eye opening experience. My entire perception of an entire genre has been turned upside down.

As my repeat readers may have picked up on, I like my music played by musicians on actual instruments. Lately I’ve had a growing disdain for the trend of using backing tracks and other electro-wizardry to fill the sound on stage. Nothing brings joy to my ears more than an electric guitar channeling through a piping hot tube amp (if you know, you know) and digital music kinda leaves me flat.

And don’t even get me started on the whole DJ as Performer thing. I’ve seen few on stage, and every single one of them has been as exciting as watching paint dry. Seriously, watching somebody play records and twiddle knobs? That’s got to be one of the dumbest trends in music ever.

Quite frankly, that’s what I thought I was walking into last night. This show was picked by the Mrs., and I knew a few songs by the artist, but I didn’t have any expectations that I would enjoy the show.

And after the opening act, my preconceived notions were reinforced. I never caught his name. I’ll stand by the ol’ if you’ve got nothing nice to say, don’t say anything and leave it at that.

But then the main act – RJD2- came out. Right off the bat, I knew something was different just by the gear set up he was using. I’m not going to pretend to know what all he was using up there, but it was definitely not your standard two turntables and a microphone setup. He had two sampler pads in addition to the turntable setup and who knows what else, and he played all those things with all the passion and precision of a master musician. It was extraordinary. Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it.

His compositions were extremely complex and deeply layered. His choice of instrumentation was unique compared to his contemporaries in the genre. He somehow took bits and bytes, loops from all directions, and threw it into his digital blender to make it come alive. It was almost as if every finger was its own musician, with his brain as Conductor. It was astonishing. To put it mildly, I was shook.

I really don’t even know what else to say. I don’t know enough about the genre to make comparisons. I don’t know the HOW of it all, what sort of musical sorcery he conjured to make it happen. All I know, is I really, REALLY enjoyed it. And I’m open minded enough to admit, I’ve been wrong to cast such a wide net of derision over an entire genre.

So, big thanks to RJD2 for an amazing night and the eye and ear opening experience. I was unexpectedly surprised and quite delighted with his entire set.

Thanks for stopping by!

Concert Review: DOGSTAR at Graton Resort & Casino, Rohnert Park, CA

It’s that time again folks, DOGSTAR has a new album out, just released today in fact, and they have set out on another tour. Some of y’all that have been around a while know my history with this band, but for any newcomers, I will tell you right up front, full disclosure, that I am highly biased towards this band.

If you know the name DOGSTAR at all, it’s most likely because of their household name bassist, Mr. Keanu Reeves. And as much as I like Keanu – I mean, who doesn’t? – he’s not the reason I’m a super fan of the band. No, my adoration for them is strictly due to their guitarist/vocalist Bret Domrose. I was the drummer in Bret’s very first band back in the prehistoric days, also known as the 1980’s. He and I struck up a friendship, that turned into a brotherhood, and we wrote songs and played in bands together for a good decade before he went to seek his fortune in LA and became the front man for DOGSTAR. And I’m still his biggest fan. So view everything you read from here on out through that lens.

First off, the venue. I’ve never been to this place before. In fact, I have driven through Rohnert Park many times – roughly 45 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge – but I’ve never actually stopped here. It’s very odd to see a casino outside of Reno or Las Vegas, but sure enough it’s an honest to goodness casino! The event space was nice, the staff very friendly and they had a very nice sound system, even if it was a little subdued for my taste. I may be a Boring Old Man, but I still like my rock and roll cranked up a few notches! Nonetheless, I give the venue a thumbs up and would certainly come back for another band, should someone pass through that grabs my attention.

The band started off the set with a song from the new album and were brimming with energy right outta the gate.

I had a chance to run through the new record a couple times on the drive up here, and it’s quite a departure from their last outing. It’s certainly heavier, but not akin to their earlier albums back in the 90’s, it’s more reminiscent of early music by the Cult and the Cure, with a dash of Muse, mixed in with the core DOGSTAR sound, based on a solid power trio.

Their set was a good mix of the new record and their last one, and while slightly rough around the edges they turned out a solid hour-plus set that showcased some really fantastic songwriting and some great performances.

In this day and age, when so many musicians are relying on the latest technology to put on a show, it is really refreshing to see a band just come out and play. No backing tracks, no loops, just 3 guys with stings and skins and good ol’ tube amplifiers making good, memorable music on stage. It was a rock and roll show in its purest form, the way it was intended to be. And I’m here for it. As Mick and the boys so eloquently stated back in the day; I know it’s only rock & roll, but I like it!

They’re heading out to the U.K.and Europe in just a few days, so if any of my rare readers from that part of the world happen to see this – get yourself some tickets! It seems like they’re going to be everywhere, from Ireland to England to Holland and Germany, even Romania if I recall. And I’m probably forgetting a bunch of places you’ll find them. Later this summer they’ll be back in the states for a pretty substantial run as well. Basically, there is no shortage of opportunities to see this band over the next few months.

I’m continually more and more proud of Bret as he’s grown as a musician. He’s not some flashy shredder, and he’s not your typical blues-based guitarist, but over the years he’s developed a style all his own, with a tone to match, and it’s just a joy for me to hear him play. Yeah, I know I’m biased. That’s irrelevant. He is obviously and demonstratively an exceptional guitarist.

In the end I guess this was more of a recap than a review, but I’ve seen them so many times it gets difficult to find new ways to write about them. Bottom line, they’re a solid band, they write good songs, and they have a hell of a guitarist with a great voice. Real guys, with real instruments playing real rock and roll without all the unnecessary frills. Sure, one of them is ultra famous because of his day job, but don’t hold that against them. He’s also a damn fine bass player. And I’ve played with enough lousy ones to know the difference!!

Did I enjoy the show? Yes. Do I think you should go see them if you have the opportunity? Also yes.

At the very least, go listen to their new record, they just put out a gem.

Thank you DOGSTAR for a great evening, and thank you for stopping by

Concert Review: Magic City Hippies at Felton Music Hall, Felton, CA.

It’s been a minute since our last live music excursion and I’d been sitting on these tickets since October, but finally Monday was the day. And what better way to break the slump than with my favorite live band, Magic City Hippies?

This was our first time at Felton Music Hall, though we’ve driven past it for years, and we’d be happy to go back. Felton is a great little town in the Santa Cruz mountains and I’ll take any excuse to go there! Felton Music Hall is a very cool venue – easy access, nice staff, eclectic patrons and surprisingly great sound. It’s small for a “Hall”, maybe 250 max capacity, but places like that are my absolute favorites for live shows.

The opening band was Supertaste from Brooklyn, NY. I’d only heard one track of theirs previous to the gig and honestly had low expectations, but they were a pretty solid unit. Clearly some guys with some talent and technical skills on their instruments. Overall their sound doesn’t really hit the sweet spot for me, but two of their songs – Power and Supernova – really grabbed me. If you are into dance music made with actual musicians rather than computers and DJs, you can do far worse than giving Supertaste a listen.

For the main event, Magic City Hippies were in OUTSTANDING form. This show was, I believe, the 11th Hippies show I’ve been to and honestly they just keep getting better. I know I haven’t seen everyone, but I’ve been to more than my fair share of live music events and for my money, Magic City Hippies are simply the best live band out there right now. They’ve been touring consistently for a long time now, and it shows. They’re like a well oiled machine, but not in the sense that it is predictable or something. They have a deep catalog by this point to pull from and of course some crowd favorites, but they always seem to change up the arrangements just enough that it always feels fresh. It really is a testament to a solid combination of talent and hard work.

Magic City Hippies lighting up the stage

I really can’t say enough about how good these guys are and at the same time I feel like a broken record because I’ve reviewed them (and gushed over them) many times before on this blog.

So I’ll just leave it at that. Catalog the show for my own records and simply say if you love live music, you owe it to yourself to go see Magic City Hippies. Your ears and your soul will thank you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Concert Review: BALTHVS at The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA

I first discovered Balthvs in July of 2024 and was immediately hooked. So much so, that when Spotify sent me my “Year in Review” for 2024, Balthvs was my number one most-listened-to artist of the year and my Top 10 songs included 5 of theirs! And I’d only known of them for 5 months at the time.

Now, I love a lot of newer bands. I’m not none of those crotchety old coots that proclaims all new music is garbage and gets stuck on an ever-repeating playlist from my high school days. But it has been years, decades maybe since a band just completely turned my head inside out with their music. I’ve been telling anyone that would listen that they are the best band out there right now, insofar as their creativity, their musicianship and their unique sound and compositions.

At it turned out, the band – which hails from Bogota, Colombia – happened to be playing in my area about a week after I discovered them, but I had other commitments and couldn’t attend. Then a short while ago they were back in Menlo Park, CA but at the time I didn’t have two nickles to rub together and could not afford the tickets, so I missed them again. Then much to my surprise and delight I learned this past Tuesday that they were playing in Santa Cruz Thursday night! At the Catalyst no less, one of my favorite clubs EVER!

Being a “school night”, I couldn’t get the Mrs. to attend, but she encouraged me to go solo and boy am I glad I did!!

My fascination with Balthvs is primarily due to their guitarist, Balthazar Aguirre. I’m telling you right now, this young man is a legend in the making. The band is often labeled as a “psychedelic funk trio”, but that only (barely) scratches the surface. Balthazar plays everything, every genre you can imagine, magically intertwined to create something altogether unique. His playing is like water. It flows, it bubbles, it swirls, it rushes, occasionally it erupts! I’ve never seen or heard anyone like him. His playing is absolutely enthralling. And his tone, the actual sound of his guitar, is positively gorgeous. Just amazing. Seeing him play live, I felt like it was one of those moments you hear old geezers talking about – “I saw Jimi Hendrix back in 68” or seeing Stevie Ray Vaughn in some smokey bar before he hit it big. This wasn’t just a concert, a run of the mill club show, this was an EXPERIENCE. There are a handful of guitarists out there that you know who it is immediately when you hear them play, whether you recognize the song or not…Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Adrian Belew, Stevie Ray, David Glimour… Balthazar is in that class. Seriously. All its gonna take is one song to crack the shell, and the whole world will know this man. He is an exceptional talent. A vessel. One of those guys where it’s hard to tell where the man ends and the instrument begins, as they seem to be one in the same…

Yep, my camera still sucks. Balthazar Aguirre, a legend in the making!!

And for all the fan-boying I’m doing about the guitarist, let me tell you the rhythm section was pure fire! To be perfectly honest, I never paid much attention to the drums and bass while listening to their records. Sure, it was groovy and tasteful, but also pretty subdued on record, where the guitar certainly takes center stage. But live? WOW!!

Drummer Santiago Lizcano was a machine! He is not some off-the-shelf drum basher, just keeping a beat. There is absolute mastery of his instrument as well. Tight, solid grooves, killer rudiment-laden fills and percussive elements, and his flow from one style to the next was seamless and frankly, very impressive. I was honestly blown away but how good he was and astonished that I hadn’t picked up on his immense talent from the records. I have an entirely new perspective on his playing and a newly found deep respect for his talent!

Founding member and bassist Johanna is currently off the road on maternity leave, and her spot was filled by Vanessa Cejuo who was spectacular. She was so solid, so groovy and she kept throwing in just dashes of spice – not playing everything by the book – but adding just enough ‘extra’ without being flashy or trying to stand out. It was really impressive bass playing, just locked in and holding it all together. Exceptionally tasteful. Bathvs found a PERFECT fill in for Johanna. As someone that has struggled finding competent bassists for the past 40+ years, this too was an amazing feat!!

Their set was amazing, from start to finish. They played about an hour and ten minutes, playing all my favorite songs of theirs, a couple I hadn’t yet heard and even a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Breathe”, which was both a bold choice and wonderfully executed.

Then they came back for a 20+ minute encore, which included a rendition of Pipeline, the classic surf rock tune by the Chantays. Very apropos for Santa Cruz!

What can I say? I went in a fan of Balthvs and walked out a super fan! I’m so glad I went, it was the best show I’ve seen in years. I’m not kidding when I say Balthazar Aguirre is a legendary guitarist, he’s just not being recognized for it. Yet. It was a magical night and even though I’m facing a 10 hour work day on 5 hours of sleep, I have ZERO regrets about making the trip over the hill to see them. I hope it’s the first of MANY Balthvs shows for the Boring Old Man!

Do yourself a favor and go listen to Balthvs. If you have ears that work, you’ll find something to love about them!

Thanks for stopping by!

Concert Review: Better Than Ezra at the Guild Theater, Menlo Park, CA

Sorry, I’m a few days late with this one, but better late than never I suppose…

Last Thursday, December 5th, the Mrs. and I attended a LONG awaited show with Better Than Ezra. If you don’t know this band, you should.

We last saw Better Than Ezra sometime in the mid-00’s, I apologize my memory is a little fuzzy, let’s just say 2005. They absolutely KNOCKED OUR SOCKS OFF! So needless to say, as soon as I heard they were coming to town, I snatched up some tickets.

This is maybe the 5th or so visit to the Guild Theater, and as I’ve mentioned in other Concert Review posts, it’s a great place for music and I was happy to be going back again.

The opening band was Cool Water Canyon, whom we’d never heard of. 5 piece band – drums, bass, keys and 2 guitars, and several of the guys sang. The sound was a bit of Americana meets Jam-band, with a little dash of funkiness tossed in for some seasoning. It was a mixed bag if I’m being honest. They were clearly talented musicians, but it just didn’t do it for me. There were some great parts, but then they’d throw in a gruelingly long solo and just kill the flow… They had really nice, top of the line gear but nobody had a particularly great tone. Honestly sometimes that’s enough for me – “the songs were OK, but man that guitar sounded awesome!” is the kind of thing that can win me over. Not so with these guys unfortunately. Overall, I’d give them an A on musical skill, but a C- on the show as a whole. I’ll give props to the bassist though, he was absolutely the bright spot of the set for me. Not flashy or over the top, but solid as a rock from start to finish.

Better Than Ezra then took the stage and…it went down hill from there.

For some reason, who knows why, they ALL played acoustic instruments. Yes, electrified acoustics, but the sound, the tone, was of acoustic guitars and bass. There was NONE of the power that made this band so great.

I tried, I really tried to just get over it and enjoy it for what it was but I just felt it was missing something. Then they started playing “I Wanna Be Sedated”, the Ramones scorcher, on FREAKIN’ acoustics and I started thinking “this is bad…”. Thank goodness they didn’t play the whole song, just a verse and a chorus and then they transitioned into one of their songs. But it left a bad aftertaste in my ears, I’ll tell.you that.

A few songs later they did ANOTHER cover this time of Harvey Danger’s “Flagpole Sitta”, again on acoustics and that’s when the Mrs. and I looked at each other and said “let’s go”.

Better Than Ezra, we still love your records and look back fondly and the last last time we saw you, but the show at the Guild was not the business. Very, sadly, disappointing.

Better luck next time.

And to think, I grabbed these tickets instead of John 5, who was playing the very next night. D’oh!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Concert Review: Joss Stone at the Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA

After a long pause with live music, this weekend was a “Two-fer”! Saturday night we saw the Sammy Hagar show (see previous post for the review) and Sunday night found us back at the iconic Fillmore Auditorium for another great show!

Unfortunately the Mrs. was feeling a little under the weather and opted out of this one, so it turned into a Dad & Daughter outing, which was nice in it’s own way.

As often happens at SF shows, we got in the doors a little late so we missed about half of the opening set by Nik West and her band, but what we did see was really impressive! They were funky as could be and the band was TIGHT! I had never heard of her before seeing her on stage, but I’ll definitely be searching out more from her. It’s not every day you see a female bassist, and even more rare to see a female bassist just tearing it up with all kinds of slappin’ and funky grooves, but to play bass like that AND sing lead?!?! And then her stage presence on top of all that?! Are you kidding me?!?! This lady is the real deal! I was really impressed and lamented our tardiness greatly. I would have loved to see the full set.

Nik West & band getting down to business!

This was our first time seeing Joss Stone, despite being fans of her since her very first record, and it was worth the wait!

She hit the stage with a 10 piece band (!!!) and the band was just sizzling from the jump! Seriously, I don’t know what to say – every musician on the stage was top-notch and exciting to watch. The rhythm section was exceptional, the guitarist was versatile and outstanding, the horn section filled out the sound beautifully without being overbearing. Even the 3 backup singers sounded amazing!

Personally, I love a ‘power trio’ above just about all other bands, but there is something about seeing a big ensemble like this that is totally in sync and just killing it musically that really rocks my world. And honestly it seemed like the entire band was having the time of their lives on that stage. It was infectious and exciting, to say the least!

And Joss Stone, herself? Freakin’ FANTASTIC!! How so much soul can be packed into such a tiny package boggles the mind! Her voice is just magic. And she seemed like she was having every bit as much fun as the band!

All in all it was a great night of music. Great songs, outstanding musicianship and the great vibe of the bands and Fillmore itself.

If Joss comes to your neck of the woods, do yourself a favor and GO! If you love music, you won’t regret it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Concert Review: Sammy Hagar at the Concord Pavillion, Concord, CA

Off the bat, I’ll say I was never really a big fan of Sammy Hagar during his heyday. And frankly when it was announced that he was replacing Diamond Dave in Van Halen, I was outraged and assumed that would be the end of Van Halen. However, despite my strong bias against Sammy fronting one of my favorite bands of all time, I freely admit that the “Van Hagar” era put out some great music.

In reality, my musical relationship with Sammy was complicated… the very first song I ever learned to play on the drumset was ‘Rock Candy’ by Montrose – a band fronted by Sammy Hagar (I was still in elementary school when I got turned on to Montrose, I wouldn’t make the connection with Sammy until years later!). In middle school, I was a big fan of the Heavy Metal soundtrack album, to which Sammy contributed the title track. My favorite Rick Springfield song – ‘I’ve Done Everything for You’ – during that same era, I found out decades later was written by Sammy… I was generally luke warm toward his solo music, although I LOVED ‘I’ll Fall in Love Again’. Then a bit later came his huge hit song ‘I Can’t Drive 55’ which I HATED… Then when he joined VH, it took me a while to get over the “betrayal” and actually listen… And while it will never match the David Lee Roth era to my ears, I cannot deny there were some great songs put out with Sammy and the VH crew.

Much to my surprise over the last few years I found myself becoming a fan of Sammy Hagar, the MAN, through interviews and his TV show, and the more I learned about him I realized a deep respect for him and his history, his work ethic and his overall outlook on life. So when I found out he was going on a summer tour, I decided I needed to take it in. I was NOT disappointed in this decision!

For starters, he assembled a world class, stellar band: Van Halen alumnus Michael Anthony on bass and vocals. Jason Bonham, son of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, on drums. And guitar hero, The Alien himself, Joe Satriani on guitar! Keyboardist Rai Thistlethwayte rounded out the lineup. And let me say, these fellas were on top of their game!

Their set was heavily skewed toward Van Halen songs – both the Sammy era songs AND the Diamond Dave songs, but there was also a smattering of solo Sammy songs as well as some Montrose and Chickenfoot (another Sammy off-shoot band) songs and it was a fantastic show!

They played for over two hours straight (no encore, I think they hit the time limit for the venue!) and it was high energy and spectacular musicianship the ENTIRE TIME! They never let up, it was remarkable!

Sammy himself was in great form – he outperforms musicians half his age! Jason was great on the kit – a huge Alex Van Halen-type of setup, which is not his usual thing. He beat that thing like it owed him money and was rock solid for the entire set. And while honestly the drums were a bit ‘muddy’ in the mix, the snare sounded almost exactly like Alex’s very distinct snare tone! Alex was one of my biggest influences as a drummer growing up and sadly I never got a chance to see him live, but this was dang near as exciting!

The cherry on top of the experience was witnessing Joe Satriani do his thing. His playing was beyond exceptional! It’s no wonder he’s a living legend on the guitar! He played Eddie’s parts nearly note-for-note, and the only times he strayed, he just added his own little flavor, nothing diminished whatsoever from the original. His performance alone was worth the price of admission and I’m really glad I finally got the opportunity to see him in a live setting. It was not something I’ll soon forget.

All in all, it was a fantastic night. I don’t know that I had any true expectations for this show, but whatever they may have been, Sammy and his boys far surpassed them. Some of the best musicianship I’ve seen in quite some time. I wouldn’t hesitate to see him again, and if you have the chance I highly recommend this show!

Thanks for stopping by!