CONCERT REVIEW: Yes – Live at College Street Music Hall


 

One down and one to go, another town and one more show. If you are a child of the seventies you probably remember Yes from the album Fragile (Atlantic Records). If you are a child of the eighties you probably remember them from their hit record 90125 (Atco Records). Released in 1983 it contained the classics ‘Leave It’, ‘Owner Of A Lonely Heart’, ‘Changes’ and ‘It Can Happen’. It stands as a testament to the band’s prolific catalogue that they didn’t feel a need to include any of these in their set at College Street Music Hall in New Haven, CT when the Classic Tales Of Yes tour came to town.

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CONCERT REVIEW: Chat Pile – Nerver – Empire State Bastard Live at Le Poisson Rouge


 

Le Poisson Rouge (LPR) is one of the great music venues in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. Located on Bleeker Street, just a block and a half south of Washington Square Park, it plays host to a wide variety of musical acts ranging in style from Disco to Punk to Hip Hop and some Heavy Metal. Wikipedia notes that the room capacity is 700 but that likely includes a hallway bar and other spaces. In anticipation of a crowd heating the place, the air conditioning is always set on arctic and the room stays fairly comfortable. No food is served there but Bleeker is almost entirely made up of restaurants, so there will be something available for any taste. Something very interesting happened at LPR recently, and three bands rattled the windows of the entire neighborhood for a night.

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CONCERT REVIEW: Mr. Bungle – Battles Live at The Fillmore


 

Something I always do is avoid using “I” in a review. I always avoid talking in the first person and just give a description of the show and let the reader form an opinion. I recently got the opportunity to see Mr. Bungle in Philadelphia and they are no ordinary band so this will not be an ordinary review.

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CONCERT REVIEW: Disturbed – Breaking Benjamin – Jinjer Live at St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheatre


 

St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheatre at Lakeview played host to an epic evening of music featuring three bands: Disturbed, Breaking Benjamin, and Jinjer. Opened as the Lakeview Amphitheater in 2015, the venue is perched on the shores of Lake Onondaga and boasts 5000 seats under cover in the pavilion and a capacity of another 12,500 on the lawn. Being conveniently located at the intersection of two major area highways, driving there is relatively easy and the $20 for parking seemed reasonable compared to most other similar venues. It should be noted that the geography of being between the lake and the highway dictates that the parking lot be long and narrow. It can be a long walk to and from the stage and coming and going can take some time so plan accordingly. The staff did an excellent job moving everyone quickly and efficiently through the process.

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CONCERT REVIEW: Mudvayne – Coal Chamber – GWAR – Nonpoint – Butcher Babies Live at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion


 

For a little over a week now, a mini festival of sorts has been touring the east coast and on Saturday night it descended on the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey. Five bands touring together are assaulting amphitheaters with a roughly five-hour show, much to the delight of the Metal community. Butcher Babies, Nonpoint, GWAR, Coal Chamber, and Mudvayne have combined forces and take everyone away from the mundane for a night. The result is five hours of music that starts at a high level of intensity and just builds from there.Continue reading


CONCERT REVIEW: Kansas – 50 Years Of Kansas Live at The Keswick Theater


Kansas has been touring in support of their 50th year as a band and the release of a retrospective compilation Another Fork In The Road – 50 Years Of Kansas (InsideOut Music). The album contains songs from every album the band has released and after 50 years it takes three full CDs to accomplish that. It should be noted that CDs did not exist when the band started playing music. They also predate the Sony Walkman, the internet, Apple Corporation, MTV, and the MP3. Kansas’ music has a sound that includes hints of Bad Company, The Tubes, Foreigner, and even Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. The question is who influenced who?

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CONCERT REVIEW: Ministry – Gary Numan – Front Line Assembly Live at Franklin Music Hall


Currently touring the US are Front Line Assembly, Gary Neuman, and Ministry. This past Thursday saw them descend on Franklin Music Hall in Philadelphia and what an experience it was.

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CONCERT REVIEW: Stabbing Westward – The Hunger – Unitcode:Machine Live at Scout Bar


 

This weekend saw fans of Industrial music flocking to a pair of shows in Texas. A three-band bill consisting of Unitcode:Machine, The Hunger, and headliner Stabbing Westward promised an evening not soon forgotten. Friday night was in San Antonio at Paper Tiger and Saturday was the Scout Bar in Houston. Both are one thousand plus capacity (at least according to fire code) and feature powerful sound systems that render earplugs inadequate. Tying all everything together is the fact that lead singer for Stabbing Westward, Christopher Hall, has been working with the other two bands on their music and even producing the latest albums from both of them. The setlists and performances stayed the same at both locations and were well worth seeing twice.

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CONCERT REVIEW: Static-X – Fear Factory – Mushroomhead – Dope Live at Irving Plaza


 

Long-awaited and long-delayed; Static-X – Fear Factory – Mushroomhead, and Dope finally got to play their show at Irving Plaza on Sunday night as part of The Rise Of The Machines tour. Planned a couple of years ago, the packed bill encountered the now all too familiar COVID delays, and coordinating that big of a bill takes monumental effort. Eventually, everyone was in place and the tour was a go. Any one of these bands would be worth the price of admission. Put them all together, and you have an epic evening in store.Continue reading