Just found out about Opeth/Mastodon. Likely in for that.

And Ghost for Valentine’s Day. When I bought the ticket, I told my wife “I got you something you’ve wanted for a long time - my absence.”

One of the last shows I saw before the lockdown was Opeth/ Graveyard at the Apollo Theater in Harlem NYC on Feb 21 2020.
So I guess that's why they are skipping NYC this time.

Saw Ghost and Volbeat last night. Great show. The venue doesn't have the greatest sound, and a few times the low end overpowered everything else. I wear ear plugs at shows, and they tend to clean up the mix a bit, but man, when that low end was overloaded last night, nothing really helped.

The first band was Twin Temple. I missed the first 10 minutes of their set because I was getting the Ghost/Volbeat 7" vinyl - it's supposed to be limited, so I wanted to make sure I got it. It looked like they had some afterwards, but the merch tables were as packed then as before, and more chaotic. Twin Temple seems to play into the Satanic schtick even more than Ghost. The music reminded me of older-60s style stuff - think "Kiss The Go-Goat", with the singer wearing a big beehive hairdo. The set ended with about five minutes of instrumental music while the two main band members did what was apparently some sort of ritual. In a 20-minute set, that seemed like overkill.

Volbeat was next with a solid 75-minute set. I'm not good with titles, and I haven't dived as deeply into these guys as I should. Really liked their set - a nice variety of material that skirted both sides of the line between hard rock and metal. And a partial Johnny Cash cover.

Ghost was solid as always. Being a dual-headlining show, this one was a little shorter than normal at about 80 minutes. That left some material out (I think it's the second time I saw them that they didn't close with "Monstrance Clock"), including a couple of my favorites like "Elizabeth" and "Absolution". But the big hitters were there, and they played both songs from "Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic", one song presumably from the new album (the opener - Papa didn't say what it was), and their cover from the Metallica project. This was the first time I've seen them with the new singer, Papa Emeritus IV (yes, I know). Even though it's technically Cardinal Copia promoted, Tobias Forge left a good bit of the schmaltzy bit of CC out. The Nameless Ghouls all have new masks, and in a first for me, one of the guitarists was playing a Strat-shaped guitar - it looked to have the Fender/Charvel headstock, but I was too far away to tell, and it wasn't a three single-coil guitar. The band was pretty tight as always.

bachman-cummings at caesars windsor in march has been pushed to november.

Ghost is a great time, but i suspect I overdosed a little bit on them; i saw them 3 times in 2 years before the pandemic, so I think i need them to build up the catalogue a bit again.

Volbeat I love, but I'm afraid they're always going to be a second tier band in North America. Every time I've seen them, they've been an opening act. Granted, they're opening for the biggest bands in metal (Festival, Metallica x2, Slipknot), but still opening. One of these days, I'm hoping I can see them do a full 2 hour headlining set.

Funny story about Volbeat; after Lola Montez came out as a single, I dove into them, and spent years trying to get to see them for the first time. But it turns out, I'd actually seen them in 2009, supporting Metallica and Lamb of God; I'd shown up a few minutes late, and never caught the name of this really cool sounding opening act. I wish i'd tried a little harder, since I would have gotten into them even earlier.

Ghost were awesome as always.

Lots of fun and we had comp tickets in the 5th row so I really got to see just how much goes into the performance.

The new costumes were great and Tobias is a deviled ham with humor.

The new songs are cool and the opener “Kaisarion” was really catchy.

Only other new song was “Hunter’s Moon” from the Halloween Kills film (it will be on the album, though).

I was very impressed with Volbeat who I didn’t think much of beforehand.

I also didn’t realize they have something like 15 radio hits including a few #1 hits.

The crowd loved them.

We skipped whoever the hell Twin Temple are.

Guitar World mentioned the new guitar briefly in an online article:


I noticed in several videos that the drummer is also playing a double bass kit this tour - makes me think it might be a new drummer.

Unfortunately, the tour won’t be coming anywhere near me (unless there is a 2nd leg to be announced later), so I won’t have an opportunity to check him out live.

Finally got see TOOL the other night after delays on the tour for 2 years due to covid. Stunning visuals and production that recreate their signature sound. They are truly one of the premier progressive hard rock bands. I know they don’t have many fans here but they are one of those don’t miss bands.
We even got to hear their first hit “Sober” played for us at the UBS Arena. It’s not played very often.
Drummer Danny Carey is a monster and there is no doubt that if Geddy Lee and Alex ever toured again, Danny should be the drummer.

Looks incredible.

I only saw Tool once way back in 1993 before most people knew who they were.

Might’ve been 200 people there, if that.

I was blown away and became a fan right away, but what they have become I could never have predicted.

Wish I could’ve seen them in Philly last week, but I couldn’t.

Glad you had a great time at Tool...i did make sure to checfk them out, and had an okay time. A little too introspective for me from a music perspective. But enjoyable none the less

Saw the Beatles tribute thing with Todd Rundgren, Christopher Cross, Jason Scheff, Joey Molland, and Denny Laine replacing Mickey Dolenz. Music primarily from Revolver and Rubber Soul this time around. Laine's two songs were "Go Now" and "Band On The Run", which was a pleasant surprise.

But WTAF is up with people showing up at these things and never shutting up during the show? Why would you pay $70 (where our seats were) and just talk all night instead of paying attention to the band? I don't get it. Bitching about security telling them to stop taking video (because clearly the signs posted everywhere weren't enough). Fifteen minutes of "Oh my god, I can't believe I saw my co-worker here." "Where's she sitting?" "Third row." "How do you get those seats?" (I don't know - buy early?)

Oh, and the actual WTF moment of the night from the aforementioned constant talkers. And to be clear, there was no indication at any time that this was a put-on - no giggles, no "I know that", no "just kidding". By all indications, the woman was totally serious when she asked this after two or three Beatles songs - "Are these the guys that wrote these songs?" Instant flashback to me mentioning Paul McCartney to a co-worker and her responding "I don't know who that is".

Sounds like someone took a non-music fan to a concert on a date. Never a good idea. Can't have a good conversation, can't focus on the performance, and you annoy people around you. Plus it's an expensive way to get to a sub-optimal date experience.

The only times I've done this in the past, I apologized in advance for ignoring the person I'm with; if I'm at a concert, the band is more important than the people I'm with.

I've said numerous times, if you didn't know my buddy and were together, you wouldn't suspect we know each other once the show starts. In the past five years, we've exchanged may 10-15 sentences during shows.

Well, headliners at least. If an opener is really bad, we can get pretty sarcastic. But not loud. And even then, it's usually after they're done.

I always try to be at least respectful of the band's efforts. While this year is shaping up to be an exception (a lot of known openers for me), I know how tough the opening slot can be, and don't want to be that guy.

I have been bored to tears by many acts like that, though.

Oh my God, the worst nightmare. We were at Billy Joel the other night and the clods behind us were lamenting that "Peter Frampton has gone completely deaf so he can't tour any more." Then one of them added, "Steve Miller is now deaf too." Even after being married and attending concerts together for 39 years, my wife occasionally asks me "Are you okay?" during performances because I just zone out and get completely caught up in the music.

Happy with my calendar so far:
March: Little Feat
April: Del Amitri
May: Haim
June: Midnight Oil, Ringo, Brian Wilson

Ringo Who?

Seeing Paul Anka tonight.

I have tickets for Ringo, Herb Alpert, and Pat Metheny. (Not all the same show!) I'm hoping they all take place, because I'm not sure I'll have many more chances to see Ringo or Herb. I also think I should find someone a little younger to see. I'm skewing ancient.

I saw Ministry over the weekend in a small venue. Good show, very tame (old, like me) audience. First concert I've been to since Covid.

Even before the pandemic my concert-going was limited the last several years, but I've got a pretty good lineup coming up (after seeing Kaki King last week):
Steve Hackett in April
Del Amitri in April
Joe Jackson in May
David Gray in August

We went to see the Todd Rundgren Beatles Tribute concert Sunday night at Westbury, pulled into a parking spot and noticed people leaving. Turns out someone in the band tested positive for covid and the tour is postponed for now. No Red Bank NJ, no Annapolis etc.

Todd says he will be back in June.

Shame it would have been my wife’s first concert back in 2 years.