Asides

First video from Van Halen’s club show hits YouTube + tour dates

There will be dozens more to follow, I have little doubt, but here’s the first video to show up on YouTube from Van Halen’s intimate club show at NYC’s Cafe Wha? The song is an older one called “She’s The Woman” that was among the demos VH recorded with Gene Simmons before they had a record deal.

And here are the tour dates that hit the web tonight:

Thu 01/05/12 New York, NY Cafe Wha?
Sat 02/18/12 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
Mon 02/20/12 Auburn Hills, MI The Palace Of Auburn Hills
Wed 02/22/12 Indianapolis, IN Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Fri 02/24/12 Chicago, IL United Center
Tue 02/28/12 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Arena
Thu 03/01/12 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Arena
Sat 03/03/12 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
Mon 03/05/12 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Fri 03/09/12 Buffalo, NY First Niagara Center
Sun 03/11/12 Boston, MA TD Garden
Thu 03/15/12 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
Sat 03/17/12 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
Wed 03/21/12 Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place
Sat 03/24/12 Atlantic City, NJ Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall
Wed 03/28/12 Washington, DC Verizon Center
Fri 03/30/12 Pittsburgh, PA Consol Energy Center
Sun 04/01/12 Rosemont, IL Allstate Arena
Tue 04/10/12 Sunrise, FL BankAtlantic Center
Thu 04/12/12 Tampa, FL Tampa Bay Times Forum
Sat 04/14/12 Orlando, FL Amway Center
Mon 04/16/12 Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville Veterans Mem. Arena
Thu 04/19/12 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
Sat 04/21/12 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum Complex
Wed 04/25/12 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena
Fri 04/27/12 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
Tue 05/01/12 Tulsa, OK BOK Center
Sat 05/05/12 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
Mon 05/07/12 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
Wed 05/09/12 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
Fri 05/11/12 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
Thu 05/17/12 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
Sat 05/19/12 Saint Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
Tue 05/22/12 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
Thu 05/24/12 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
Sun 05/27/12 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand Garden Arena
Fri 06/01/12 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
Sun 06/03/12 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
Tue 06/05/12 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion At San Jose
Tue 06/12/12 Anaheim, CA Honda Center
Thu 06/14/12 San Diego, CA Viejas Arena
Sat 06/16/12 Phoenix, AZ US Airways Center
Wed 06/20/12 Dallas, TX American Airlines Center
Fri 06/22/12 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
Sun 06/24/12 Houston, TX Toyota Center
Tue 06/26/12 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena

Favorite live show of 2011: Foo Fighters at Lollapalooza

I’ve been on the fence about the Foo Fighters for years. I think I started losing interest in them when my old boss started asking to borrow my CDs because she kept hearing them on the local alt-rock radio station. Clearly I was no longer in the Foos target audience.

The Foo Fighters played the final slot on the last night of Lollapalooza this year and – truthfully – going into it I was thinking, “This might be a chance to duck out early and, if I’m feeling really ambitious, maybe I can even start my drive back to Ohio”. So glad I decided to hang around – Dave & co. brought their A+ game to Chicago and rocked as if the band had just formed at the beginning of the year and had something to prove (which, of course, they don’t). They could easily have mailed this one in and the crowd would still have eaten it up.

The absolute greatest live concert moment of 2011 for me came just as the Foo Fighters started “My Hero”, a song that I thought I was sick of hearing. The black skies completely opened up and it rained hard. For half a second I thought, “Should I retreat and try to find some cover?” but then realized that a) there was no cover to be found and b) even if there was cover, I’d have to push my way out of the crowd that was probably 30,000 deep. But as the skies dumped buckets of rain not only on the crowd but on the stage, it only fueled everybody up for a huge sing-a-long and the Foos never thought for a minute about stopping.

Here’s some compilation footage I found, including a snippet of “My Hero”.

Favorites of 2011

(Originally posted on Donewaiting.com)

The biggest struggle when putting together this list is how to rank the albums. What exactly is the difference between a #1 and a #2 album? Without doubt, Viva Brother’s “Darling Buds of May” was the song I listened to the most in 2011 and the album it comes from is pretty damn good. But is it my favorite album as a whole? The Damnwells have consistently put out great material and I’m sure I listened to No One Listens to the Band Anymore more, front to back, than any album on the list but did I do that because it’s the best album of the year or because I know the guys personally and listening to them makes me happy?

So, I decided the best way to do it is to list the albums alphabetically, showing no favoritism and not being forced to rank anything. A few comebacks, a few previous favorites, a couple of new UK bands, some metal, some country, some hair metal. Pretty typical for me.


AA Bondy – Believers (Fat Possum)
Not as barebones as early solo material, not as scuzzy as his ‘90s alt-rock band Verbena, AA Bondy split the difference on this moody, late night listen.
Listen: “The Heart is Willing”


Anthrax – Worship Music (Megaforce)
The legendary NYC thrashers pick up where they left off the last time Joey Belladonna sang lead vocals (1990’s Persistence of Time) on 2011’s best (and most surprising considering some internal issues Anthrax had with short-timer vocalist Dan Nelson) metal album.
Listen: “In the End”


AWOLNATION – Megalithic Symphony (Red Bull Records)
I would never have checked out this band had my old friend Christopher Thorn (Blind Melon) not been playing guitar. A complete 180 from Blind Melon’s sound, AWOLNATION’s slickly-produced techno-soul-pop shows a wide range of diversity from one track to the next.
Listen: “Soul Wars”
Continue reading “Favorites of 2011”

Video: All the Saints – “Half Red, Half Way”

In my review of All the Saint’s 2008 release, Fire on Corridor X, I said, “All the Saints play this trippy, drug-induced music that reminds me of those movies that seemed particularly eerie on overcast, grey Sunday afternoons. If these guys made a video that showed nothing but crows flying to and from an old, abandoned house with the windows boarded up, it would be PERFECT.”

All the Saints is just a month away from releasing Intro to Fractions and they’ve released a video for “Half Red, Half Way”. You can see the actual video after the jump. In the meantime, here’s what I want you to do. Play the video (“Scary Black Crows Flying”) below but set the volume to “Mute”. Then click play on the audio track just beneath which is “Half Red, Half Way” (you can download it too by clicking the little down arrow). See what I mean?

All The Saints – Half Red, Half Way by souterraintransmissions
Continue reading “Video: All the Saints – “Half Red, Half Way””

Tour: Swervedriver (2012 dates)

One of the most influential post-shoegaze UK bands, Swervedriver, are setting course for a return to the U.S. The band officially reunited (at least for touring purposes … still holding out hope for a new CD) in 2008 and have been doing selective touring in the U.S. for the past few years.

I’m very excited about the Cleveland date (even though it’s on a Monday) as the one chance I got to see the band was a huge failure on my part (let’s just say it involved going to a pre-show bachelor party and a wristwatch with a dead battery – I thought I had plenty of time to make it but walked into the club literally as the band was striking it’s final guitar chord).

2012 Swerverdriver tour dates
Mar 28 Philadelphia, Union Transfer
Mar 29 Boston, Brighton Music Hall
Mar 30 Washington DC, Rock and Roll Hotel
Mar 31 New York City, Bowery Ballroom

Apr 2 Cleveland, Grog Shop
Apr 3 Chicago, Bottom Lounge
Apr 4 Seattle, Neumo’s
Apr 5 Portland, Doug Fir Lounge
Apr 6 San Francisco, Slim’s
Apr 7 Los Angeles, Key Club