Category: Rockitt Rant
4 Rockitt Rant – Where are the 2013 Rock Tours?!
I have complained many times that ticket prices have gotten way out of hand, and in 2013, I think I would consider paying higher prices, simply due to the lack of quality rock shows. Yes, there are many music festivals, and some very good ones in 2013, but I am talking about the multi-city rock tours that usually take place every summer.
When I look at the schedule for our local venue Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, there are a few rock shows. Rush, Bad Company with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Black Stone Cherry, and Kid Rock, ZZ Top and Uncle Cracker, Heart with Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience. That is it.
There are no metal acts on the summer schedule, and not enough hard rock for my tastes. I guess have been spoiled by the KISS/Motley tour, Iron Maiden & Alice Cooper, Def Leppard and Poison etc. from years past. 2013 is definitely missing a major multi-band rock show. Is it time for a promoter to start-up another Rock Never Stops or Monsters of Rock tour? I think so!
There is a great void on the summer tour schedule this year. No KISS, No Aerosmith, No Def Leppard, No AC/DC on the summer bills. Nickelback is nowhere to be seen, and Metallica is missing in action too. It seems like all of the major rock acts are taking the year off (at least in the U.S. anyways).
I am grateful for festivals like M3 where I can get two fantastic days of rock, but I don’t want this to be my last live rock experience of 2012 either. Bring on the rock shows!!!
6 Rockitt Rant – Grammy Nominations Announced for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance
I offer to you today a mini-rant about the Grammy awards. I have to admit that I am not a fan of the Grammy’s in any way shape or fashion. Their selections in the Hard Rock/Metal categories have been way off, and almost an after thought in the years that have passed. When I saw this year’s nominees, I wondered who the knucklehead was that came up with these choices.
The Nominees for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance are:
Dream Theater – On the Backs of Angels
Foo Fighters – Wasting Light
Mastodon – Curl of the Burl
Megadeth – Public Enemy No. 1
Sum 41 – Screaming Bloody Murder
I have no problem with any of the bands on this list, but lets face it, Sum 41 and Foo Fighters are NOT hard rock bands, and should not be considered as such. Yes, they are good bands, but they should not be in this category at all.
Dream Theater, Mastodon, and Megadeth all turned in good albums in 2011, and Mastodon may be the most deserving of the five bands on this list.
Anthrax turned in one of the best albums of their career and didn’t get a nomination? COME ON! Mr. Big is very deserving of a nomination with the incredible reunion record What If…. The young thrash band Havok turned in a blistering effort with their sophomore release Time is Up. Five Finger Death Punch and Anvil turned in solid efforts as well.
The Grammy’s should have a poll where fans can vote on the nominees, instead of having some stuffed shirt music executive that has no passion about the music, handle the choices.
The nominations should be broken into two categories for Hard Rock & Metal, but the Grammy’s do not give the music that we love any respect. Until they do, I won’t waste my time watching their farce of a music award show.
7 Rockitt Rant – Will Motley Crue Prove Me Wrong?
Will Mötley Crüe prove me wrong? The high price of concert tickets in 2011 has kept me from buying tickets to the New York Dolls, Poison and Mötley Crüe this year. The band released the press release below about the up and coming tour. The band will apparently play a bunch of songs they haven’t played in quite some time. Tommy Lee is going to unleash another of his crazy drum kits this year. I don’t think he has performed on one of his over the top drum kits since the Dr. Feelgood tour. Is this enough to merit spending 90 or more dollars on a ticket? I don’t know. After hearing today’s announcement, I am a little more interested in seeing Motley Crue perform.
I may have to suck it up and buy a ticket. Are you going to see Motley Crue this year?
Check out the press release below.
Mötley Crüe, one of the world’s most iconic rock bands, hosted a special gathering at Bamboozle last night revealing details about their summer tour. The unveiling included images and a description of their new set design, the set list decided by fans and a surprise announcement of Tommy Lee’s “360” drum rollercoaster.
We’re looking forward to being together again and to a really special production. It will also be cool to sing some of these songs we haven’t performed together in almost 20 years,” said front man Vince Neil.
The band’s veteran production manager and set designer, Robert Long, presented graphic renderings of the new set design, which he described as “a hard-hitting Crüe rendition of a rock n’ roll burlesque theatre.” According to Long, the entire stage will be enveloped in red velvet drapery and a damask printed wall of guitar amps.
Continuing to integrate the input of their fans, Mötley Crüe conducted a survey by listing every song they have ever recorded. Fans voted at Mötley.com for the final set list, which includes tracks band hasn’t performed live together in almost 20 years.
Mötley Crüe’s drummer Tommy Lee shared that he will once again be thrill-seeking on the Crüe’s new “360” drum rollercoaster. During his drum solo, Lee will be launched into multiple loops while continuing to perform.
The initial tour announcement by Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee and New York Dolls’ David Johansen was made on the syndicated radio show, Sixx Sense with Nikki Sixx Tuesday March 1st at 7:00pm local time (check www.sixxsense.com for a list of stations).
To view the tour announcement video, please visit:
For more information about Motley Crue, please visit: http://www.motley.com.
Motley Crue, Poison and New York Dolls Summer Tour Dates
JUNE
7 Dallas, TX Gexa Energy Pavilion
9 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
10 Houston, TX Toyota Center
12 Albuquerque, NM Hard Rock Pavilion
14 Los Angeles, CA Hollywood Bowl
15 San Francisco, CA Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
17 Phoenix, AZ Desert Sky Pavilion
18 Las Vegas, NV Venue TBD
19 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheater
21 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
22 Maryland Heights, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
24 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
25 Milwaukee, WI Bradley Center
26 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
28 Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheater
29 Clarkston, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre
JULY
1 Tinley Park, IL FMB Amphitheater
2 Noblesville, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center
3 Nashville, TN Bridgestone Arena
5 Hollywood, FL Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena
6 Tampa, FL St. Pete Times Forum
8 Biloxi, MS Mississippi Coast Coliseum
9 Pelham, AL Verizon Wireless Music Center (Motley Crue
& NY Dolls Only)
10 Atlanta, GA Aaron’s Amphitheater at Lakewood
12 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
13 Hershey, PA Star Pavilion at Hershey Park
15 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
16 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
19 Mansfield, MA Comcast Center
20 Uniondale, NY Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
22 Darien Center, NY Darien Lakes Performing Arts Center
23 Saratoga Springs, NY Saratoga Performing Arts Center
24 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
27 Cheyenne, WY Frontier Days (Motley Crue Only)
29 Youngstown, OH Covelli Centre
30 Frederick, MD Outlaw Jam 2011
31 Scranton, PA Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain
AUGUST
2 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center
3 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
5 Tomah, WI Fort McCoy
6 Moline, IL iWireless Center
7 Omaha, NE Qwest Center
7 Rockitt Rant – Bret Michaels, Enough is Enough!
In the late eighties and early nineties, the band Poison was a force to be reckoned with. In 2011, Poison is making a joke out of themselves, mostly in partdue to Bret Michaels spending more time doing Hollywood Reality TV shows, than writing new music.
For Poison’s 25th Anniversary, the band is releasing “Double Dose of Poison, Ultimate Hits”. Yes, you guessed it, another CD compilation with NO new Poison songs.
“Between Double Dose Of Poison and the 25th Anniversary Tour, I honestly can’t think of a better way to mark this major milestone,” says Poison’s singer Bret Michaels.
Really Brett? Really? It is the 25th Anniversary of the band that made you famous, and you can’t think of anything better than to release your 8th CD Compilation?
Let us see, there has already been “Poison’s Greatest Hits: 1986 – 1996”, “Poison – Rock Champions”, “Best of Ballads & Blues”, “The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock”, “Poison 10 Great Songs”, “Poison – Box Set”, “Nothin’ But A Goot Time: The Poison Collection” I haven’t even mentioned the five live albums of the same regurgitated Poison songs.
Mr. Michaels, here is a unique idea, for your 25th Anniverary, how about spending some time with your band mates and write some new songs instead of releasing another compilation of the tunes that the majority of Poison fans already own.
I am happy that you are healthy, and you are back out there playing music, however, I won’t waste any more of my dollars on your Greatest Hits Compilations, nor will I waste my hard earned bucks to watch you play the same songs live. Before you reinvented your self as a Hollywood Reality star, you were a musician, and you had talent. You have written some of the biggest pop metal songs of the eighties and nineties. I have no doubts that you and Poison could reconnect with today’s music fans, if only you could write some NEW music.
Please take your self out of the running for “Rock of Love 15”, “Dancing With the Stars”, or whatever your next reality project is, and do what the fans really want. Write some new tunes! If Poison puts out a CD of new material (No covers please) myself, and many other fans will be more than happy to buy your music, and support your live shows. Until then, seeing Poison live will be like watching an old reality show re-run.
4 Rockitt Rant – Mr. Vince Neil, Enough is Enough!
I have been saving up a good rant for Mr. Vince Neil since his performance at M3 in Baltimore last June. I decided to let it go unless he does something truly stupid again. I try to give Vince Neil the benefit of the doubt. I do this as Motley Crue has long been one of my favorite bands. Unlucky for me, Vince Neil is an easy target, and his random stupidity seems to be happening much more frequently as of late. I find it impossible not to talk about Vince, or his recent behavior. After my friend Kenny Ozz posted the video below on facebook, I felt inspired to post my previously averted rant.
Last June, I looked forward to seeing Vince Neil’s solo band at M3. The whole day at M3 was super hot but overall it was a great time. All of the band’s were starting on time, which allowed fans to take in bands at both stages. Then Vince Neil’s set started late and screwed up the rest of the schedule at M3. Vince Neil was so BAD at M3 that many people migrated over to the second stage to watch Nelson perform. To me, it honestly sounded like the band didn’t rehearse before their performance. Once again, Vince forgot half his lyrics, YES the same Motley Crue lyrics that he jibber jabbers through at most of the Motley Crue shows.
It wasn’t much longer after M3, that Vince Neil got busted for a DUI.
Learning this news truly pissed me off. You would think Mr. Neil would have learned something after he killed Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle in a drunken driving accident in 1984. I guess the memory of this accident is in the same place in his brain as Motley Crue’s lyrics. December 8th was the anniversary of Razzle’s death, and clearly Vince has no remorse over this accident.
After a little bit of digging, I discovered that he has also been nailed for a DUI in 2007. You can view the mug shots courtesy of The Smoking Gun below.
If you look at the picture of Vince I took at M3 (below), you will notice that he is wearing the same necklace in his 2010 mugshot.
In the video below, he is clearly inebriated and is showing getting behind the wheel of a car.
Clearly, Vince Neil has a problem with alcoholism, and has no common sense to not get in a car and drive when drinks. If you live in Las Vegas, beware, the next person Vince kills could be you! I am really disgusted with Vince Neil. He can’t sing his songs live, and clearly has no conscience when it comes to drinking and driving. In 2010, He ice skates about as good as he sings. He is making a mockery out of Motley Crue, with all of his shoddy performances. Motley Crue could be a mega band, but with Vince Neil as a singer, they never will be. I believe everyone deserves a second chance, but Vince has had countless chances to get his shit together.
The average person knows better than to not drink and drive. Vince Neil has previously been charged we vehicular manslaughter, and still continues to drink and drive. Why does the judicial system keep letting Vince Neil get off free? How many more people does he have to hurt or kill, before they will take note of his indiscretions?
Once upon a time, Vince Neil even did a Service Announcement for Drinking and Driving (See below). He must have forgotten about this too.
11 Rockitt Rant – Live Concert Videos
When I started up Hard Rock Hideout back in 2006, I started becoming interested in taking live video from the concerts I have attended. I never had the intentions of selling or trading any of the clips I have taken, nor have I tried to make any profit off of the clips. I would sometimes post the videos in concert reviews I have written, and let them stay posted over at Youtube where a whole new generation of rock fans could explore and check out the bands that I grew up with. I was hoping that some of the clips I took would help promote the bands that I continue to write about at HRH on a regular basis. Over the last year or so, I have gotten away from taking live clips, and have tried to focus more on the pictures. It just isn’t as much fun to attend a concert with your face behind a camera the whole time. As much as I love to promote the bands I enjoy, I like to enjoy their music and live performances just as much as you do.
Over the years, I have taken well over a hundred clips with videos from Airbourne, Black Stone Cherry, Jackyl, Black Tide, Poison, Disturbed, Slipknot, Motley Crue & many more. Blabbermouth has used the videos I have taken in their news articles several times (Thank you!), and some artists have even included them in their news posts (i.e. Sebastian Bach). A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from Youtube that they cancelled the Hard Rock Hideout youtube account. Why? Dokken claimed my videos were infringing upon them.
On one hand, I have to laugh at this. The only thing my videos showed was how bad Don Dokken looked, and how bad he was singing the last time I saw Dokken perform live (which was 2008 if I recall right ). On the other hand, I am more than a little pissed off about this. If Don had asked me to remove the clips, I would have gladly done so, instead he took a different path which helped my account get terminated. Did the video clips hurt Dokken in any way shape or form? Probably not. By having his clips removed, he helped kill hundreds of other videos which were promoting the bands I have seen live over the years. Some of my videos had rare performances, band lineups that are no longer intact (some members now deceased), and lots of other cool moments. Many of my videos have had thousands of views, and had so much traffic that Youtube themselves were trying to get me to sign up for advertising where they could put an overlay ad over the top of my video. I never allowed ads to be overlaid on my clips. I was not trying to profit off of them.
Sure, I didn’t have permission to capture dear old uncle Don performing live. So that is my own fault in that regard. In one fell swoop, Don Dokken killed all of my live clips which will not be seen online again. Whether I had his permission or not, in my opinion Don Dokken did more to hurt the live music scene than he did to help it.
What is your take on live amateur video clips? Like them or hate them? Tell me why!
6 Rockitt Rant – The Death of the CD
It is no real surprise that the Compact Disc is dying a slow death. The digital age of music is here, and illegal downloads have been killing CD sales everywhere.
I have been noticing as of late a shrinking amount of retail space in my local stores where CDs are sold. Around Christmas time, Best Buy started shrinking down their CD retail space for a row of iTunes gift cards., and books. Recently, Walmart took their music dept down in my local store from four aisles to one. Hot Topics never really had a huge CD section, but they have eliminated their CD retail section, with a digital ordering system (the CD is mailed to your house).
Soon the only place you will be able to buy your compact discs are with the independent records dealers, online or in expensive mall stores. A lot of folks like to download their music, either through iTunes or other e-tailers. Personally, I would prefer the option to still buy a CD. I like being able to open the digipack or compact disc, and read the booklet, and song lyrics. I also like the bonus material, and DVD’s that have been included with some of the newer releases.
I soon fear that music featured at Hard Rock Hideout.com and other hard rock and metal sites will soon become impossible to find in most music retailers. Illegal downloads have all but guaranteed that the only thing you will soon find in the big box retailers are the bland pop releases, and the latest Hannah Montana or Jonas Brothers CDs.
If you can’t find the CD’s we review at HRH in your local store, please try one of our sponsors online, or look in our online music store section below.
4 Rockitt Rant – Cancer Sucks!!
Cancer sucks!! I come from a family that has been decimated by Cancer. I have lost several uncles, and aunt, and my niece Pam to this terrible disease. I honestly believe with all of the advances in technology in medicine, that we could have
gotten a grip on Cancer, and come up with a cure by now.
It has been a few days since I learned about the death of Ronnie James Dio to stomach cancer, and I must admit I am still in somewhat of a funk. I feel like a lost a close friend, even though I didn’t know Ronnie personally. I have loved all of his music over the years, whether it has been Rainbow, Black Sabbath, DIO, or Heaven & Hell. I absolutely hate that he is gone. Knowing that I will never get to see him sing again rips at the very fiber of my being.
This week I have listened to several interviews of the friends, band mates and associates of Ronnie, and they all mentioned just how great of a person Ronnie James Dio was. While I never got to know him personally, the few times I have seen him perform, he always gave 100% of himself, and I had a lot of respect for the man.
Looking back over Ronnie’s accomplishments, the one thing that strikes me is “Hear ‘N’ Aid” project back in the mid 80’s that was created to help famine in Africa. This charity CD helped raise over a million dollars. A million dollars is a huge amount when it comes to feeding hungry people. I wonder how a donation of this size would help cure Cancer?! Would it be enough? I doubt it, but I am sure it would help.
I would love to see a new group of hard rock & metal musicians take the time out to record a CD for Cancer Research. I would gladly donate my own 20 bucks for the CD, if I knew it was going to a good cause like the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund. Dio gave us so many great songs to enjoy, can we give something back in return?
The little man with the huge voice and big heart has left us for a better place.The legacy of Ronnie James Dio should live on forever!!
4 Rockitt Rant – Cruefest 2
Let me start this rant, by stating that I love Motley Crue. I rarely miss them when they come to town. I have supported them since I first heard them back in the early to mid 80’s. When the Cruefest 2 tickets went on sale, I did not hesitate to buy a pair. Yes, the ticket prices for this festival have gotten out of control, but that is not my issue with the festival at all.
When Motley Crue started up this festival,they said they were looking for bands that embodied rock and roll. That is a fair enough statement, and a good idea at that. I like the idea of them mixing it up with some current bands. It brings a wider mix of fans to the venues for the festival. The idea is obviously working, as they aren’t having a hard time selling tickets. Cruefest 2 looks to be as successful, if not more so than the festival last year.
So why the rant? I am not so sure the bands on the bill this year is the right mix. I am actually looking most foward to seeing the Charm City Devils play. Sadly, they are only going to get 30 minutes to perform. That is too bad, but Cruefest is going help introduce these guys to a whole new bunch of fans. Good for them.
I admit that I am not a huge Drowning Pool fan. They have some songs that I like, but I must admit that I would have picked them to open up for the Crue. I have heard they are really good live, so I will give them a chance.
I have seen Theory of a Deadman previously. I can not deny that they have some good songs on their disc, Scars and Souvenirs, but their spot on this bill makes as much sense as Trapt did last year. Not to mention the fact that they just aren’t interesting to watch. The last time I saw them, they live performance wasn’t much to talk about. Of course, they played directly after Airbourne, if that tells you anything.
Godsmack. Did Motley Crue get it right with this pick? Probably so. This band is probably big enough to headline their own show. They are going to bring a massive draw to the festival. Once again, I am not a huge fan of these guys, but I must admit that I am curious to see what they can do live.
Motley Crue. Ok, this is a no-brainer. Always a good show, and a good time at a Crue show. The band announced that they are going to play the entire Dr. Feelgood album live. There were already a bunch of songs from this disc in their set already, so this won’t be much of a stretch from last year’s show. I am not crazy about a band doing a whole album in their set. If I were Motley, and I was going to perform one disc from their catalog, it would be Shout at the Devil. Imagine if they performed in their makeup and crazy outfits they wore in the 80’s. That would be awesome! Oh well….maybe next year.
In case you missed it, it was announced late in the game that a second stage sponsored by Monster Energy drink was added to Cruefest 2. There was a rumor that Duff McKagan’s Loaded was added to the bill, and things were truly looking up for Cruefest 2. Then the announcement came….and what a doozy it was. The five bands on the second stage are:
Rev Theory, Shram, Cavo, 16 Second Stare, and a local band from each city that Cruefest plays in. I have seen Rev Theory before, and they are a pretty good band live. They may surprise a few folks.
The other bands on the bill, Shram, Cavo and 16 Second Stare got a reaction from me that went something like this: Who? How? What happened? What the ****? With a second stage they could have turned this already growing festival into a true monster (pun intended). They made this announcement very late in the game, and I am sure booking the stage two acts had to be quite a challenge. Nonetheless, I am scratching my head over these choices. I don’t think any of these bands will draw fans, or help sell more tickets to Cruefest.
What happened to Loaded? Where is The Last Vegas? Is this truly the best you could do? Somehow I doubt it. Maybe some of the bands will turn out to be great, but I won’t hold my breath.
As a whole, I am less than excited, if not disappointed about this year’s Cruefest, but I will go once more to support one of my all time favorite bands. What is your take on Cruefest 2?
4 Rockitt Rant – Are Fan Clubs Really Worth the Money?
The other day I received an email from Motley Crue, or whoever runs the Crue website. The email told me that my Membership in the Motley Crue fan club was about to expire and that I needed to do nothing. It would automatically be renewed, and the credit card I used the first time around would be charged $40.00. I immediately said HELL NO, and canceled what was left of my fan club membership. It made me ask the question, are fan club memberships really worth it? What did I get for my $40.00 that I spent in 2008 for the Motley Crue S.I.N. club? I was able to get really good seats for Cruefest 2008, and that was about it. I got a pre-sale password for tickets and was able to order my tickets before most folks….was that worth the money? Probably not. When I ordered tickets for Cruefest 2009, it didn’t really help at all. My seats this year are far worse than they wore in 2008. That is pretty disappointing in my opinion. I won’t even mention the lineup for Cruefest 2009, that is a subject for another discussion.
Ok, so I could get access to their password protected forum. Big Deal! No meet & greet, or any other benefits except a discount to purchase the bands’ overpriced merchandise online. Oh, if I were to renew, I would get a the following:
This year's member gift is an EXCLUSIVE, S.I.N. Club only
Live EP from Cruefest 2008, and a S.I.N. patch!
An EP and patch? Seriously?! I am not seeing a whole lot of bang for my buck, at least not with Motley Crue anyway. If it gave me the ability to get a backstage pass, meet the band or some other cool benefits, then I could totally see the value.
Fan Club Memberships are nothing new of course. AC/DC has one, so does Def Leppard, Aerosmith, Tesla, Buckcherry, Nickelback and a slew of other rock bands. The average fan club rate is typically $40.00, some are less but that is about the normal price. I probably wont be joining any more of these clubs anytime in the near future, however it does make me wonder which band is taking care of their fans the best.
Do you have a good experience with your fan club membership? Do you have a bad experience? Tell us about it!
0 Rockitt Rant – The Next Great Rock Singer?!
I must admit that I hate reality television. I wont turn on MTV these days, simply because that network forgot what music was years ago. It is loaded with mindless reality shows that I just can’t stand. I don’t watch Survivor, No American Race, No Biggest Loser or whatever the latest reality fad is. When I turn on the television, I hope to be entertained, and these half baked shows do nothing for me. Oddly enough, as much I loathe reality TV, I can’t turn away from American Idol. Why is that, you ask? I guess I am always hoping that I will get to see the next great rock singer. Maybe that is a crazy thought, with this being a non rock music competition, but I have my hopes.
Like it or hate it, American Idol has found some pretty talented people over the years, although it has badly been lacking in the rock department. There have been some moments over the years, which have taken me by surprise (see below). This year has been no exception, with the extremely talented Adam Lambert. Lambert continues to show off his impressive vocal range, and cool arrangements on songs each week. Much like many of you, I would be shocked for Lambert not to win this years competition on Idol. Seeing a singer of his caliber on TV makes me wonder where all of the talented singers are at in this generation of rock music.
Lets face it, I grew up listening to Rob Halford, Ronnie James Dio, David Coverdale, Geoff Tate, Axl Rose and a host of other singers with impressive range that took chances with their voices. These singers are iconic in hard rock today. I don’t see singers of the same caliber in today’s bands. Are today’s singers afraid to take the same chances with their voices? When is the last time you heard a newer singer hit a high note that made you say, “Holy Shit!”?! It doesn’t happen much these days, and that is disappointing.
With millions of people watching American Idol, and more importantly, seeing Adam Lambert sing each week. Hopefully, a new crop of talented singers will step forward that will say, “Hey, I can sing like that! “. They might not turn up on American Idol, but the influence of this program has could help uncover the next great rock singer. It can’t happen soon enough, in my opinion!
The videos below have been some of the more surprising rock moments on American Idol. Check them out!
5 Rockitt Rant – The Last Hoorah
In 2009, there are so many classic hard rock acts on tour, it is hard to believe.
If you would have told me that AC/DC, Aerosmith, KISS, Judas Priest, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Alice Cooper and Whitesnake would all be on tour in the same year, last year I probably would have doubted it. 2009, has started to look like 1987 from the concert perspective.
With the astronomical ticket prices this year for some of these shows, it saddens me that I will miss some of these acts perform. I am wondering if it will be the last hoorah for some of these bands playing this year.
So many of our favorite singers are aging, and one has to wonder how many of these bands will keep performing.
Here is a quick look at the ages of the singers of some of the bands that are on tour (or soon will be):
Ronnie James Dio – 66
Steven Tyler – 61
Brian Johnson – 61
Alice Cooper – 61
David Coverdale – 57
Rob Halford – 57
Paul Stanley – 57
Joe Elliott – 49
Vince Neil – 48
Three of the biggest bands of all time, Black Sabbath (or Heaven & Hell if you prefer), Aerosmith and AC/DC have singers in their 60’s. How much longer can we expect these bands to keep touring and releasing new music?
Amazingly, Ronnie James Dio who is approaching his 67th birthday, is still in fine vocal form. Brian Johnson from AC/DC sounded great when I saw him perform a few months ago. I guess I wont find out how Steve Tyler sounds this year. The $140 per ticket for Aerosmith is too steep of an admission for this hard rock fan.
With some of the older front men in hard rock, if you want to see these bands perform, you have to do it now. While none of these bands have called their shows their farewell tours (and we would laugh if KISS did), next year may be too late to catch these bands play live.
Get out and support your favorite bands if you can afford it, you may not get another chance!
2 Rockitt Rant – American Idol Filler
Last night American Idol again wasted the time of millions of viewers (self included) as we waited to see who got the boot off of the show. The entertainment was Frankie Avalon, Kellie Pickler and Flo Rida. Now how these three musical artists have anything in common is beyond me, but this certainly seemed like an off the wall mixture of music. Rapper Flo Rida performed an absolutely torrid version of the Dead or Alive classic, “You Spin Me Right Round”. How in the hell this song is in the top 10 in the pop charts is beyond me? While this song isn’t an exact remake, in my ears, the live version was terrible.
This song has been covered by many artists, and almost all of them have been better than this. How on earth do people listen to this stuff?
I am not a fan of this reformulated rap music at all. I guess in a certain sense, musical artists have been sampling songs like this for a long time. Kid Rock is one of the biggest offenders of this as of late, but at least his music is somewhat listenable.
Gemini Five and Dope have also remade this song. I will take their covers over the Flo Rida version any day of the week. Listen for yourself below!
Vodpod videos no longer available.
7 Rockitt Rant – Songs That Sound The Same
Twice in 2008 (and maybe more) we have had examples of bands stealing songs from another group. First, Velvet Revolver was busted for swiping a guitar riff off of the band Dirty Deeds. More recently Joe Satriani has accused the band Coldplay of the same thing.
Last night I was listening to Saliva’s 2007 CD, “Blood Stained Love Story”. A song of interest to me was the song “Black Sheep” by Saliva. This wasn’t a hit by Saliva, but I thought it sounded somewhat familiar. It finally dawned on me what song this reminded me of. It was Nickelback’s song “Animal” off of their 2005 CD, All The Right Reasons.
Here is a copy of Saliva’s tune “Black Sheep”:
Here is Nickelback’s “Animals”:
Listen to the music! The similarities are uncanny. While the songs are not exactly the same, there are parts of “Black Sheep” that sounds like it was heavily borrowed from Nickelback.
This seems to be a disturbing trend that I am seeing more often as of late. I don’t know if this recent example is lawsuit worthy or not, but you can’t deny how similar the songs are.
I am sure there are a lot more examples than this one.
Do you know of any songs that sound the same from two different artists?
17 Rockitt Rant – High Ticket Prices
For the first edition of Rockitt Rant, I have to bring up the high prices for concert tickets in 2009. It is getting WAY out of hand!
When the announcement came out that Cheap Trick, Def Leppard and Poison would be touring this summer, I knew there would be another fun summer show I would likely attend.
Last Thursday afternoon, I received the reminder about the show from Ticketmaster. I immediately went to the Ticketmaster site to check the ticket prices for this show.
Three Tickets 85.50 Each, Convenience charge per ticket 13.45, Building Facility Charge 3.50 per ticket.
Grand Total $279.45 for 3 tickets for Cheap Trick, Poison and Def Leppard.
I immediately clicked off of the Ticketmaster site, contacted my wife and informed her that we would NOT be going to see Poison this year. It is a shame, as we have enjoyed going the last couple of years. Enough is enough with the high ticket prices.
I am sure everyone is well aware of how crappy our economy is right now. It is affecting nearly everyone I know. It is either hitting them in their pocket book, or in their places of employment. Everyone is cutting back, as am I.
For three bands who haven’t had a hit in years, the cost of these tickets are absurd. Poison has managed to bring forth a couple of reasonably priced shows the last couple of years, both of which pretty good shows, and were well attended.
I can’t imagine that this year’s Poison show will have as many people.
I am sure having Def Leppard on the bill drove up the cost of the tickets, but I don’t think Mr. Elliott and company are worth another $40.00 to the ticket price. Too add fuel to the fire, Ticketmaster adds a whopping $49.85 to the cost of three tickets. This is highway robbery in my opinion. I am sure it will get even more costly with the Ticketmaster – Live Nation merger.
Def Leppard may be guilty of high ticket prices, but Motley Crue are no angels either. The recent tour with The Lost Vegas, Hinder, Theory of A Deadman and Motley Crue had an average ticket price of $95.00 each in the cities the played in.
Are hard rock fans stuck paying for the retirement funds of our favorite bands in 2009? I don’t know, but I won’t support a band in a live setting when their tickets are over priced like this. Vivian Campbell was recently quoted by Rolling Stone as saying “It’s more value for the people” when referring to the 2009 Def Leppard Tour Package with Cheap Trick and Poison. Sorry Viv, I fail to see the value when a single ticket sets a fan back $93.00.
Are you tired of paying the high prices for concert tickets? What is the most you have paid for a concert?
Hard Rock Hideout 