Monthly Archives: June 2014
Elvis Costello: Ryman Auditorium / Nashville TN / June 21, 2014
Having seen Elvis Costello struggle vocally the night before in Knoxville, right from the opening lines of the night’s first song, “Jack of All Parades,” it was obvious that he had fully recovered. He continued to sing brilliantly the entire night contributing to an overall entertaining performance. Nashville fans also got to hear eight songs […]
ON THE ROAD: Elvis Costello: Tennessee Theatre / Knoxville TN / June 20, 2014
I recently had a good laugh reading Elvis Costello’s remarks after an interviewer followed a line of questioning that Costello deduced must have been derived from his Wikipedia entry. It is a fact that most muses about Costello simply regurgitate the same worn-out list of notable artists that he has worked with. How could anyone […]
CLASSIC CONCERT: Mink DeVille @ Great Gildersleeves / New York, NY / November 11, 1977
The pattern of developing a new musical artist in late Seventies’ New York City was fairly predictable. In those days when the mighty record machine of the major labels still controlled things, I could see it coming. It started with radio exposure for a few songs from an artist’s debut record getting played by the […]
Ten Tips for an Unknown Opening Act
I have been to over 1,500 rock concerts and have seen more than my share of unfamiliar opening acts. I’m not talking about the first to play on a double bill where both acts are established performers. I am referencing that fresh, young singer-songwriter alone with an acoustic guitar or that fledgling rock band. I’ve […]
Morrissey: Ryman Auditorium / Nashville TN / May 28, 2014
I totally let the music of Morrissey–both solo and with his earlier band The Smiths–slip by me. The somber sounds and depressing lyrics never interested me. Curiosity recently got the better of me, so I decided to listen (via greatest hits records of both) and later attend Morrissey’s show at the Ryman. Despite being twice […]
New Madrid @ Grimeys New & Preloved Music / Nashville TN / February 25, 2014
In describing how hard it is to keep up with new music these days, a friend of mine coined the expression, “it’s raining music.” I couldn’t agree more, and it takes quite a bit of discernment these days to select what to listen to. Two storms collided recently when both the on-line edition of Paste […]
CLASSIC CONCERT: The Clash @ Aragon Ballroom / Chicago, IL / May 17, 1984
Business travel frequently took me around these United States of America in the 80’s. Many trips were short notice, and most of my evenings were free to go hear live music. In the pre-internet days, it wasn’t easy to find out in advance what concert opportunities might be awaiting me. Sometimes, I’d call ahead to […]
Music City Mike 