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.
Beach Weather
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!
Cold War Kids bringin’ the goods!
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.
Young the Giant
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!
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.
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.
BRET!!
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
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.
Supertaste
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!
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!
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!!
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!
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!
What a band!
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!
I’ve been in a deeply introspective zone lately, searching for “something” lost within me over the last decade or so, and amongst other things that has had me reminiscing about better days gone by, and that lead me to old music, since when I was what I consider the “real” me, my life essentially revolved around music. If I wasn’t at band practice or playing a gig, I was out at shows watching other bands. If I wasn’t playing music or watching others play, I was out dancing. If not there, I was listening to the radio or my vast record collection. The first thing I did in the morning was turn on the radio (they used to play music in the mornings, can you imagine?!?). When I went to bed I always put a record on to fall asleep to. I was OBSESSED.
Any of you that have read my blog for any time will note that music still has a big place in my life even if severely reduced from what it used to be.
Anyhow, during this introspection I found myself looking back at my early days and the things I took for granted or simply didn’t appreciate at the time. Which kinda sprang forth in a comments section over at Dave’s place https://soundday.wordpress.com/2024/05/27/may-27-goths-leading-lady
I started flowing from within all the great opportunities I had to experience music as a Bay Area native and the more I wrote the more I realized I have seen so many great bands in my lifetime and I never thought to keep track of all the shows over the years. My home town seemed so dull back in the 80’s and we yearned for the action of places like San Francisco and Los Angeles… But had I grown up in say rural Iowa or the Louisiana swamps, my exposure would have been so much more limited and I likely would be a completely different and unrecognizable person. Of course, the dull South Bay 10 years later turned into Silicon Valley, which did bring “excitement” to town, just not anything I was excited about!
Anyhow, I figured I should try to reach way, way back and put up a list of all the bands I’ve had the good luck to see. There is no possible way to put this in order, far too many years under the bridge, and I’m sure no matter how long this list gets, I’m going to forget someone. Likely multiple someones. But as I’m getting “long in the tooth” and my memory isn’t getting any better, I’ll put it down for posterity and if anything it will give me something fun to look back on as I continue down the golden path of age.
How I envision myself in my Golden Years!
A lot of these bands will be a little obscure since that’s where most of my love lies within musical realms, and a lot of them you will have NEVER heard of, since they were local bands that never made a big splash outside our local scene. Nonetheless, it’s all part of my heart and soul, ingrained in my DNA.
An old, dear friend recently said to me in a text “You just touched on what I think is one of the best things about music–at its best, it’s like a Time Machine that immediately transports you to a time and place. We had some great times driving around, shooting the shit, and listening to what I think has to be the golden age of college radio.” Amen!
So without further blathering, here is a somewhat complete, but random-ordered list of that bands I’ve been lucky enough to see with my own eyes, to hear live and in-person. A lot of the people that helped make me who I am. I’ll keep the commentary to a minimum, lest this become a novel…
The earliest concert I remember, I must have been 10-12 years old, was Paul Revere & the Raiders at Great America, an amusement park in Santa Clara. It was a July 4th celebration and as a kid, it was the greatest thing I had ever seen. Little did I know what the next 45 years would bring!
Around that era I also saw Papa Do Run Run, a local surf band, ala the Beach Boys, performing at a car show. I LOVED surf music as a kid (and all the Beach Blanket movies!) and I was officially hooked on live music!
In 6th grade I saw my first real Rock & Roll cover band play. (back then 6th graders weren’t allowed to attend dances, so the band played a concert the night before the dance for us youngsters.) To this day I can remember them playing “Hold the Line” by Toto, which was one of my favorite songs at the time, and I was absolutely blown away by the sheer power of the sound. I had already been playing the drums for a few years by this time, and after that night I didn’t want to do anything else! One of those literal life-changing events.
The next one I remember was a fairgrounds show with the Steve Miller band and Quarterflash (remember them?!?) I believe that was the summer between 8th and 9th grade.
After the initial toe-dipping of those early shows, things really took off and after that it’s all a blur…
During my high school years (’82-’86), I saw Adam Ant, the Police, Oingo Boingo, the Fixx, Thompson Twins, Madness, Red Rockers, U2, the Tubes, Pablo Cruise, Bonnie Hayes & the Wild Combo, INXS, Wire Train, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Belouis Some, and the Church. Probably a few others, it’s all a bit fuzzy…
In my Senior year, I was in a truly serious band and we played our first nightclub gig 5 days before my 18th birthday and that club – the Laundryworks in San Jose – became my home away from home. I was down there 2 or 3 nights a week seeing every local band I could, and there were some GREAT bands in San Jose back then… A usual night would have 3 bands – a 30 minute set from the opener, a 45 minute middle set and then a headliner that played until last call. It was glorious, and felt like a place just for us and all our fellow misfits.
Some of the bands I can still recall from back then, that stand out after all these years, were Grey Matter, Swing Party, Daddy in His Deep Sleep, Juliet Slip, Never Say Never, London Down, the Kingpins (the most entertaining Rockabilly band I’ve EVER witnessed!) and the absolute cream of the crop Epic Rumors. EVERYONE in the scene thought Epic Rumors were going to be “the next big thing” but alas, it never came to pass. It should have, they were fantastic! Along with all those great local bands, they had a number of “national” touring bands come through, such as Game Theory, Dinosaur Jr., Robert Seidler (of “Christian Boy” fame), Camper Van Beethoven, Firehose… I’m sure there are others, but those are the ones that stick out. The Laundryworks is also where I first met Brian “Brain” Mantilla, drummer extraordinaire. He was playing with a great band called Big City, and would later go on to help form Funk/Punk pioneers Limbomaniacs (who I saw COUNTLESS times!), he played with Ted Zeppelin, a Ted Nugent/Led Zeppelin “tribute” band (only nobody was calling them tribute bands back then) and later for both Primus and Guns & Roses with Buckethead. One of the most nerve racking shows I ever played was when we opened for Ted Zeppelin and I knew Brain was in the audience…He was sooo good, even back then, that all my self-confidence and baravdo went right out the door!
Around that general time I saw Wire Train a few more times and got to meet and hang out with the band backstage at a few gigs. Great guys, AWESOME band. A Top 10 list band for me, no question! A new club had opened up in Santa Clara called One Step Beyond and that place was like a dream come true. I played a bunch of gigs there, went dancing there a couple hundred times and saw so many great concerts there! Where to start… Wire Train, of course, CONCRETE BLONDE – 3 times(another Top 10 band for me and AMAZING live!) the Ramones, the Replacements, Screaming Trees, Flesh for Lulu, Aztec Camera, Erasure, Unforgiven, Cheap Trick, Nina Hagen, Book of Love, Fishbone, the afore-mentioned Limbomaniacs, House of Schock (drummer Gina Schock’s post- GoGo’s band), Mission U.K., Sisters of Mercy, the Bolshoi, Ministry… That club also holds the distinct honor (?) of having hosted the only two concerts I ever walked out of because the bands were So. Completely. Awful. First was Doctor and the Medics, just embarrassingly bad. The next one was Gene Loves Jezebel. I liked their records a lot, but live they were excruciating! So bad it hurt my ears AND my feelings!
In other places in generally that same era I got to see Squeeze with the Hooters and the Truth opening – awesome show at the Berkeley Greek Theater, a spectacular outdoor venue. I saw the Church again, Peter Murphy, Echo & the Bunnymen, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Cult (Guns & Roses were the opener, but we got there late and only caught the last song! We had NO idea who they were at the time, nobody outside of LA did). R.E.M. with the Three O’clock opening, I saw U2 again, I saw Adam Ant again, the Pretenders twice, the Bodeans, Let’s Active, Kid Creole and the Coconuts(AWESOME!), Lone Justice, Primus a dozen times in assorted club venues, before the Seas of Cheese album dropped… Psychefunkipus (probably spelling that wrong), Wire Train again…
Then I went through a short phase of jazz shows – Fatburger stands out as the best of them. I was 5 feet from the stage in a place that held maybe 200 people, it was astounding. I saw the Yellowjackets, Michael Franks, Dave Weckyl, Steve Smith, Vinnie Colliuta… a few others I can’t name. What can I say, I tried. I fully admit that I admire the musicianship of top notch jazz players, but I just could never get too into the music. I like it OK, I’m just not well versed in it and just kinda prefer my jazz in the background.
Oh, I completely forgot about my “jam band” phase – I saw the Grateful Dead at least 6 times, maybe 7, we saw Dave Matthew’s Band I think 3 times. And to top it off, one show with Phish. Of all of ’em, DMB was the most fun and musically impressive of all of them in my opinion. His later music puts me to sleep though, haven’t been to one of his shows in close to 20 years.
Then there are the “classic rock” shows, oh my goodness… The Rolling Stones (at the time the most expensive tickets I’d ever purchased BY FAR, and one of the worst stadium shows I’ve ever seen. Never. Again. The Who twice. OUTSTANDING!!! Rush three times and every time was unbelievably great. Steve Winwood, Steve Miller again, the Doobie Brothers (twice), Peter Gabriel, Bon Jovi (technically, I was working on their tour with the opening band, I never actually bought tickets and went to a Bon Jovi show, but I saw a lot of them and they were a LOT better than I thought they’d be – VERY professional, I’m just not a fan of their songs. Except “Runaway”, that’s a killer), and also Pat Travers. That show holds the distincion of being the LOUDEST show I’ve ever attended. My ears were ringing for 2 days afterwards, no kidding. But he was great… And for a while in the late 80’s my band was a top pick opener for “oldies” bands coming through town and we opened for the Guess Who, Elvin Bishop, Tommy Tutone, the Tubes, the Bay City Rollers, amongst others so I saw at least bits and pieces of those band’s sets.
In the more recent past, we’ve seen Sting (amazing band, amazing talent!) with Squeeze opening, Better Than Ezra, Lenny Kravitz, 311 – three times now (the first time was on their “Grassroots” tour at a club in Palo Alto, mid 90’s… KORN was the opening band and they were horrible. If I weren’t so hyped to see 311 for the first time, KORN would’ve been the 3rd band I walked out on in my life. Ironically, a few years later I heard them on the radio and really liked them. I would have NEVER guessed they would have amounted to anything, much less world wide stardom!)
Most recently, and a lot of these are already written about in this here blog, in no particular order we have Jack White (MESMERIZING!!), Foreigner, Loverboy, HooDoo Gurus, Des Rocs, Grandson, Magic City Hippies (about seven times), Dogstar (about 5 times in the last year, and over a dozen times their first time around in the 90’s), Lettuce, Steve Vai, Steely Dan, Steve Winwood (a LEGENDARY performance!),Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beck, Weezer, Cage the Elephant (OUTSTANDING!!), Night Ranger, the Offspring, Polyphia, X, Bow Wow Wow, Royal Blood, Missing Persons (twice now, but I try to forget the second time!), Ashe, K.Flay, Lyrics Born, the Dip, Qveen Herby, Young the Giant (GREAT SHOW!), Chic with Nile Rogers, Duran Duran, Parliament Funkadelic… I know I’m forgetting a few just from the last couple years. Just check my previous posts!
A co-worker recently asked if there was anyone I hadn’t seen that I still want to, and I honestly couldn’t think of anything. Though there are certainly a few that I wish I’d seen before it was too late. The CLASH is my all-time favorite band and I never got to see them. I would have loved to see a Diamond Dave- era Van Halen show. Stevie Ray Vaughn. Jeff Beck. King Crimson’s 80’s lineup with Adrian Belew, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin and one of my favorite drummers of all time, Bill Bruford. I wish I’d seen the B-52s in their early 80’s prime… I’d love to see Sade, but I don’t believe she’s done a tour in close to 20 years, so I’m not holding my breath on that one. But honestly, if I could never see another concert, I believe I’ve been truly blessed to see as many as I have. Live music has been one of my greatest joys for over 4 decades and I think I’ve done a pretty good job of absorbing as much as I could!
Reading through all this, if I had to make a Top 5 list of shows I think it would be the following:
#1 Missing Persons reunion show in Los Angeles- late 90’s (?). Unbelievable. And I got to meet the band before the show. Terry Bozzio is my biggest inspiration as a drummer BY FAR, so that one holds the number #1 slot from here to eternity.
#2 Concrete Blonde, first tour ’86(?). Powerful, heartfelt, dangerous, all wrapped up into an amazing set.
#3 311 at the Keystone Palo Alto, Grassroots tour ’93ish. Unbelievable energy AND technical prowess.
#4 Jack White at Shoreline Amphitheater, 2022, +/- I STILL cannot describe what I witnessed that night. The closest thing to a religious experience I’ve had as an adult.
#5… I dunno, now it’s getting hard! Cage the Elephant was amazing, the first times we saw Des Rocs and Grandson were both mind-blowing.. Every Magic City Hippies show has been off the hook… Nikka Costa, whom I forgot to mention above – seen her twice and both times were awesome! Too many to choose from! Suffice it to say I’ve seen a LOT of spectacular shows!
When I talk to folks about shows I’ve been to, I know to most it sounds unbelievable, or exaggerated at the very least, but I swear if anything I’m leaving a bunch out! By contrast, I’ve been to exactly ONE NFL game in my entire life (and it was a work outing, not something I chose to do) and I went to ONE MLB game when I was about 10 years old. I went to a few San Jose Sharks hockey games, cuz free tickets. The ONLY sport I like and have invested any time in watching is soccer, and I only do that in person, I haven’t watched sports on TV, including the Super Bowl, since Michael Jordan was playing for the Chicago Bulls. And honestly, I don’t even remember exactly when that was…early 90’s? Late 80’s? I haven’t stepped foot in a movie theater in 5 years, and before that MAYBE once a year. Maybe. My point being, everybody’s got their something. Some people love sports. Some people love movies. I’m ALL about music, especially LIVE music!
Thanks for stopping by and taking a trip down memory lane with me!
Last night we had a new experience. The Mrs. found out about this thing called “Candlelight Concerts” and got tickets for us and the kids to attend “A Tribute to Queen” in San Francisco.
I kept asking her questions about it and she didn’t know really anything about the event other than music in a candlelit setting. I asked, “where did you find out about this?” and her reply was “I dunno, on the interwebz somewhere?!?” So we went in totally blind, but it turned out to be a really cool experience!
The event wasn’t in a musical venue, in fact it was in some weird art gallery on Market Street, the “International Art Museum of America”.
Long story short, it was just what they said it was, a concert by candlelight. Maybe 100 or so people in the audience. A string quartet played essentially Queen’s greatest hits along with a few classical pieces thrown in for good measure. It was pretty mesmerizing. The arrangements of Queen’s songs for the quartet (2 violins, a viola and cello) were outstanding and the musicians were top notch.
I don’t think I’ve ever ventured outside “rock concerts” on this blog, but I am actually more musically diverse than you might think… I’ve seen a number of symphony performances, some opera (which honestly was for the Mrs., it’s not really my thing), a bunch of jazz shows… my tastes run wild and free! But I do absolutely LOVE a string quartet. We even had one play at our wedding nearly 35 years ago. I understand that is a popular thing now, but back then people thought we were weird for doing it! Bottom line, I love music like I love air and water. A talented musician on pretty much any instrument (aside from the accordian and bagpipes) makes my soul sing!
They didn’t allow pictures or video during the performance so I don’t have any to post, but since it was so dark they wouldn’t have come out on my crummy phone camera anyhow…
Overall, I would say it was a GREAT experience and I would certainly do it again. If this sounds interesting to you, go check out https://candlelightexperience.com/ and see if the have an event near you. They claim to have performances in over 100 cities, so you might just find something up your alley in your neck of the woods. I can think of a thousand worse ways to spend an evening!
One last thing I must add… I know I’ve talked a lot of smack about San Francisco in these pages, but I have to say IT HAS BECOME EXPONENTIALLY WORSE over the last few years. Last night was the most disgusting, vile, trip down SF streets yet. We were parked only about 4 blocks from the venue and in those four blocks were were dodging crap on the sidewalks – literally every 50 feet or so – and running a gauntlet of feral “humans”, the likes of which I’ve never seen. I’ve been disgusted many a time in San Francisco, but this was the first time I felt both disgusted AND unsafe. It is really a tragedy of “progressive policies” and those policies have turned a once great city into an urban wasteland. But that’s a story for another day…
Anyhow, disgusting human element aside, we really had a great time and I can wholeheartedly recommend #CandlelightConcerts!
The Boring Old Man 