Saw Chickenfoot last night. Great show! First time I got to see Joe Satriani play live and he was on fire! Michael Anthony and Chad Smith make a solid rhythm section. Sammy Hagar sounded great and knows how to work a crowd. They really seemed to be having fun on stage. Still not crazy about those acoustics at Mohegan Sun Arena, though.

It was a pleasant surprise to hear "Bad Motor Scooter." Kinda surprised they didn't play "Runnin' Out," which was the only song on the album they didn't play.

Setlist:
Avendina Revolution
Sexy Little Thing
Soap On A Rope
My Kinda Girl
Down the Drain
Bitten By the Wolf
Oh Yeah
Learning To Fall
Get It Up
Keep Turnin' Left
Future In the Past

Encore:
Bad Motor Scooter (Montrose song)
Highway Star (Deep Purple cover)

Yesterday, I went to see the Progressive Nation tour at the Chevrolet Theater in Wallingford, CT. Four bands and over five hours of music. I had a great time!
( Review below: )

Last night, I went to see Judas Priest and Whitesnake play at the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford. It was my first time seeing Judas Priest and my second time seeing Whitesnake.
( Whitesnake & Judas Priest concert review: )

Yesterday, the unfortunate news was announced that Pain Of Salvation was not gonna be part of the Progressive Nation 2009 tour (Which also features Dream Theater and Zappa Plays Zappa). SPV, the label that distributor for PoS's label, Inside Out, went bankrupt. This unfortunately means that PoS wouldn't be able to get label support for the tour. Beardfish had to drop off the bill for the same reasons. That really sucks because I love Pain Of Salvation and was really looking forward to seeing them live for the first time.

Their replacements are Bigelf and Scale The Summit. I listened to samples of both bands on iTunes and liked what I heard anough to buy their lates albums. Bigelf is this sort of retro-psychedelic-progressive-hard rock band (That's honestly the best way I can describe their music!) and Scale The Summit is an instrumental rock band. Sort of a harder-edged Joe Satriani. I'm actually listening to Scale The Summit as I'm writing this. Nice to see Mike Portnoy & co. didn't just pick a pair of hacks to replace them and I'm actually looking forward to seeing them live.

I ordered tickets this morning to see Journey in September at the Chevrolet Theatre. It'll be my first Journey show. Heart is gonna be opening, something I didn't know until after I got the tickets. Hopefully, their setlist feature more of their 70's songs than their 80's hits. Even a Lovemongers-type show would be cool.

I guess I'll take this opportunity to give my thoughts on Journey's new album, Revelation. It's a 3-disc set and the first to feature new singer Arnel Pineda.

The first disc consists of all-new material. It sounds pretty much like a Journey album. If you told me that this was an unreleased album recorded in 1981, I would've believed you. It's mostly a strong collections of songs. Personal favorites of mine are "Never Walk Away," "Change For the Better," "Faith In the Heartland" and "Turn Down the World Tonight." While I'm hoping to hear all the hits at the show, I'm hoping they'll give this new music a good workout live.

The second disc consists of re-recorded versions of most of their hits. I'm usually not a fan of bands re-recording old songs, which is something that seems to be happening a lot lately. They tend to be just the same songs with dryer production and none of the magic. This disc is an exception, though. They certainly won't replace the originals, but they're a nice companion.

The third disc is a live DVD recorded in Las Vegas on March 8, 2008. They can still deliver the goods live.

I had a little disposable money on me, which is kind of a miracle, considering my current circumstances. So I picked up tickets for two shows that had been on sale for a few weeks. I still managed to get pretty good seats, regardless.

The first was for Dream Theater on August 5. That would be pretty cool in and of itself, but the two other bands on the bill make it even better! the first is Pain Of Salvation, a great  progressive metal band that I've been a fan of for years. The other is Zappa Plays Zappa, which is Dweezil Zappa playing the music of his dad. I've a big Frank Zappa fan and I've heard great things about this band.

The second show is Heaven And Hell on August 27. Hopefully, we won't get another abbreviated show like we did when they plays Mohegan Sun two years ago. I guess it'll help that Alice Cooper isn't opening again. :)

Both shows are happening at the Chevrolet Theatre in Hartford. I remember back when it was still called the Meadows Music Theatre. It suck that pretty much every venue these days gets named after whatever corporations buys it. Well, I suppose it could be worse. I heard of a venue named the Amway Arena.

Just got back for my first DragonForce show! I'm still feeling a natural high from it.

The first of the two openers was Daath. Not bad, but nothing to write home about. Faring much better were prog-metal legends Cynic. They were really good! My only complaint is that they didn't play more songs from Focus.

Then we had the main event: DragonForce! Wow! What a show! When I first heard their stuff, I was wondering if they could possible pull this off live? They did. They treated the crowd to their trademark over the top fast, epic power metal with plenty of shred guitar. They were definitely the most animated band I've seen live. Their stage presence was just as energetic and over the top as their music. I was surprised that they could run and jump around as much as they did and be that tight!

Here's the setlist, constructed to the best of my ability:

Setlist:
Heroes of Our Time
Operation Ground and Pound
Reasons To Live
Fury of the Storm
The Warrior Inside
Keyboard / Guitar Duet (Vadim & Fredereic)
Revolution Deathsquad
Soldiers of the Wasteland
The Last Journey Home

Encore:
Strike of the Ninja
Valley of the Damned
Through the Fire and Flames

Just got back from seeing Nightwish in Hartford. It was my first Nightwish show and I wasn't disappointed! Glad they came back to make up for the canceled Webster show from last year. the band sounded really good, showing few signs of the jet lag that Anette claimed they had. Speaking of Anette, she really proved herself on her first tour with Nightwish, though it'll probably be awhile before she can truly step out of Tarja's shadow.

A bunch of songs from Dark Passion Play were performed. The b-side "Escapist" was a nice surprise! I was kinda disappointed that "Bye Bye Beautiful" wasn't played. I was curious to see how Anette would handle the Tarja-era songs. She actually did a pretty good job! One interesting thing I noticed was that Anette has the same range as Tarja. Her vocal style is just really different. The first song of the encore was the epic "Ghost Love Score," which sounded incredible and the crowd just ate it up.
( Setlist below the cut... )

I watched The Strangers tonight. Much better than I was expecting. A good horror movie that relies more on suspense than gorn.

Went comic shopping today, taking advantage of a sale they were having. In fact, it occurred to me I haven't posted my stash from the last two weeks. So here what I got over the past three weeks:

Runaways #3 & #4
Hack/Slash #16, #17 & #18
Buffy #19
Batman: Cacophony #1
Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #4
Doctor Who: The Forgotten #3 & #4
Grant Morrison's Doctor Who #2
The Sword #13
Manhunter #36
Daredevil: Cruel and Unusual TPB
Ms. Marvel: Monster Smash TPB

I always feel slightly embarrassed buying Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. I bought it last week with several other comics. It's kinda renting some T&A movie from the video store and covering it by renting some movies from the Classic Films section. But I love the charm on this book and its unique take on the Spider-Man mythos. So I guess I'll take the pink dress with the frilly collar.

I started playing Silent Hill: Homecoming. I encountered a very frustrating glitch near the beginning of the game. After siphoning gas from a truck, I was frozen in place and couldn't move. Turning around and changing weapons didn't help. My legs wouldn't even move. Between this and Fallout 3, I'm wondering if game studios actually bug-test their games anymore.

The Nightwish show in Hartford that got canceled has been rescheduled! And tickets from the canceled show will be honored! Glad I held onto my ticket!

I noticed several parallels between the Superman and Batman movie franchises: The first two installments (Superman: The Movie & Superman II and Batman & Batman Returns) were good. The third installment (Superman III and Batman Forever) was bad. The fourth installment (Superman IV: The Quest For Peace and Batman & Robin) was completely unwatchable. And both franchises produced a spinoff (Supergirl and Catwoman) that people would rather forget ever happened.

Remember that Captain America movie from 1990 that got released straight to video? Well, it actually got a theatrical release in Turkey. Insert your own groan-inducing joke here because I don't feel like making one.

Well, I got a call today informing me that the Nightwish show in Hartford has gone from postponed to canceled.

Guess I'll have to wait for the next tour.

I just got a phone call saying the show will be rescheduled and I should hang onto my tickets! That makes me feel better.

Back to GTA4

The Nightwish show in Hartford tonight has been canceled. Due to some screwup at the airport, four crates that contain essential band equipment haven't arrived and the first two shows of their North American tour, including Hartford, have been canceled.

And after the day from hell I've been having, I was looking to the show tonight to cheer me up. Goddammit, this fucking sucks. This day just keeps getting worse.

Well, I guess I'll fire up GTA4 and take my frustrations out on thugs, mobsters and gang members.

Here's the setlist for Friday night's Sonata Arctica show. At least as accurate a setlist as my research and recollection allowed:

Main Set:
In Black and White
Paid In Full
Victoria's Secret
Broken
8th Commandment
Shamandalie
Caleb
Black Sheep
The Worlds Forgotten, The Words Forbidden
Wolf and Raven
Full Moon

Encore:
It Won't Fade
Gravenimage
Don't Say A Word
The Cage / Vodka

Friday night, I went to see Sonata Arctica at the Webster Theater in Hartford. It was my first Sonata Arctica show and I had a great time!

Today, I played Guitar Hero III at Mike's house. He had all the songs unlocked at that point. I played most of them on Easy mode. There were only two that really gave me trouble. The first was "Raining Blood," which I blew before the first verse even started. Then I attempted "Through the Fire and Flames." I got through 73% of the songs before blowing it.

Okay, a recap on me week:

I went comic shopping after work today. Here's what I got:

Hack/Slash #6
American Virgin #21
Faker #5
Gen 13: Armageddon #1

My dad hooked me up with a 33" LCD HDTV. There was one lying around work he was able to give to me. So it's pretty much mine until he retires. I used it yesterday to watch my very first Blu-Ray DVD purchase: Paprika. I also decided to see how my games look on it. I tried out Bioshock on it and it looks great!

I got tickets to see Sonata Arctica in February and Nightwish in May. Both shows are at the Webster Theater.

I found the full 16 minute version of Michael Jackson's "Bad" video. I had forgotten he made a mini-movie out of this:



It's a pretty laughable video if you watch it today. He's trying to look "bad," yet he's dressed in a goofy 80's outfit and surrounded by a bunch of Fame rejects. On top of that, they first line of the song is, "Your but is mine..." What badass says that? It's not Boys 'N' the Hood. Hell, it's not even The Warriors. I guess since Michael Jackson had a family-friendly image at the time (Hard to believe now, isn't it?), there was only certain levels of badditude he could reach.

At least, we got a cool Weird Al video out of it:

Let's start with the setlist:

SET 1 (As Isabel):
Yo George
Sweet Dreams
Almost Rosey
Devils and Gods
Tombigbee
Scarlett's Walk

Interlude:
Professional Widow

Set 2 (As Tori):
Big Wheel
Space Dog
A Sorta Fairytale
Cornflake Girl
Donut Song
Siren
Mother
Mary
Let It Be (Beatles cover)
Lust
God
Code Red

1st Encore:
Precious Things
Taxi Ride

2nd Encore:
Bouncing Off Clouds
Hey Jupiter

Wow! Great show! Big improvement over her CT show on her last tour, which was only okay. Things started out a bit slow with the Isabel set, but once the Tori ser began, things picked up considerably. She didn't talk to the crowd much (Just a shoutout to piano teachers), but there was this real energy and life to the show. The crowd was on their feet from the first encore right through the end of the show. Kinda interesting to see a standing audience for at least part of a Tori show. Sure made things interesting!

This review is dedicated to the dancing girl in the front row.

Last night, I went to see Heaven And Hell at Mohegan Sun. Due to unknown complications, the show started late. The doors opened at 6:30 rather than 5:30 as scheduled. The first opener, Queensryche, started 30 minutes later than they were supposed to. Second opener Alice Cooper played too long (Over an hour!) and the crew took their own sweet time in taking down his gear. As a result, we only got a nine song setlist from Heaven And Hell and no encore. After they left the stage after playing "Heaven and Hell," I was psyched up for the inevitable encore of "Neon Knights." That songs totally pumps me up every time I hear it and I was eagerly anticipating it during the show. Then the house lights came on, they crowd shared a collective groan and I went home disappointed.

The Dio lineup is my favorite Black Sabbath lineup and I had heard constantly about how amazing this tour was, so I was expecting so much more. Oh, well. I guess I'll have to watch my Live At Radio City Music Hall DVD and think about what might have been.

Well, here's what they did play:

E5150
Mob Rules
Children of the Sea
I
Sign of the Southern Cross
Voodoo
Computer God
Falling of the Edge of the World
Die Young
Heaven and Hell

I just got back from seeing Dream Theater at the Chevrolet Theater in Wallingford, CT. I had a great time!

I hit the merchandise table before the show. I picked up a Dream Theater shirt, a Redemption shirt, a tour book and a live DVD filmed in Romania during the Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence tour (One of the new Ytsejam Records releases). My wallet will hate me for it, but I have no regrets!

Let's start with the opening bands. First up was Into Eternity. I was unfamiliar with them and apparently so was the rest of the audience. Their sound was a blend of progressive metal and death metal. They actually weren't bad. I felt bad for them because they were giving it their all and were barely getting a reaction from the crowd. Half of the audience gave them a standing ovation at the end of their set, so they kinda seemed to win some of them over.

Next was Redemption, fronted by the great Ray Alder from Fates Warning. Their debut album, The Fullness of Time, was my favorite album of 2005 and they have a new one out called The Origins of Ruin, which everyone should buy. They put on a really good set. Unfortunately, Ray seemed to be a bit under the weather. When he spoke to the crowd, his voice was clearly hoarse and I suspect we got a shortened set from them as a result. There were clearly a bunch of Redemption fans in the audience. Ray mentioned that his Fates Warning bandmates were in the audience and they told him they felt like he was cheating on them. But hey, when your band spends five years between albums these days, you have to find some way to occupy your time!

Then there was Dream Theater. The crowd was totally into the show. Dream Theater fans are totally hardcore. 80% of the audience were wearing Dream Theater shirts from various tours (I wore my shirt from the Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence tour). Here's the setlist, reconstructed to the best of my ability:

Main Set:
Constant Motion
Panic Attack
Blind Faith
Surrounded
The Dark Eternal Night
Endless Sacrifice
Take the Time
I Walk Beside You
In the Presence of Enemies, Pts. 1 & 2

Encore:
Medley: Trial of Tears/One Last Time/Learning To Live/In the Name of God/Octavarium

"Surrounded" featured a different intro and a quote from Marillion's "Sugar Mice" James LaBrie even sang the "You daddy took a raincheck" part. Cool!

Did I mention I had a great time? Well, I did! Can't wait for the next show!

I had a great time last night at the Rush concert! I put on my Rush shirt from the Vapor Trails tour. I got that shirt at the first of two shows I say on that tour. It was the very first show of the VT tour at the Meadows Music Theater (Now the New England Dodge Music Center) in Hartford, CT. It was also the first show Rush had played in five years, which made it even more special. Funny how a simple t-shirt can bring back fond memories.

It was my first time at Mohegan Sun. After 20 years of going to shows, I still get a kick out of arriving in a parking lot and seeing other fans of the band arriving and playing their music on their car stereos. Tailgate parties, however, just aren't the same in parking garages as they are in outdoor parking lots. I arrived 45 minutes before the doors opened and I took the opportunity to check the place out. I didn't gamble, though. I've seen Casino. I know how these places work. Besides, I wanted to save my money for the merchandise stand, where I bought a t-shirt and tour book.

I'll start with the setlist and then describe the highlights:

SET 1
Limelight
Digital Man
Entre Nous
Mission
Freewill
The Main Monkey Business
The Larger Bowl
Secret Touch
Circumstances
Between the Wheels
Dreamline

[Intermission]

SET 2
Far Cry
Workin' Them Angels
Armor and Sword
Spindrift
The Way the Wind Blows
Subdivisions
Natural Science
Witch Hunt
Malignant Narcissism
Drum Solo
Hope
Distant Early Warning
The Spirit of Radio
Tom Sawyer

Encore:
One Little Victory
A Passage To Bangkok
YYZ

It was great seeing them dip into the vault and playing obscure songs like "Digital Man," "Circumstances" and "Entre Nous." I never thought I'd get to hear those songs live! They also played another obscure song, "Between the Wheels." It's a song from the Grace Under Pressure album that they broke out of the 30th Anniversary Tour. I don't think they even played it on the GUP tour. It's a personal favorite of mine and I was thrilled to hear live. When they played it on the 30th Anniversary Tour, it got ruined by these two idiots in front of me who proceeded to have a loud conversation all throughout the song. This time, I got to hear it chatter-free!

It was the first show they did on the tour that was in an indoor venue. Apparently, they had only been playing outdoor venues so far.

The dryers from the past two tours were gone, replaced by booths with fried chicken labeled "Henhouse." During "The Main Monkey Business," a guy in a chef's had came to the booth and took out some fried chicken.

We got nine songs from the Snakes and Arrows album. I tend to judge how happy a band is with their new album by how many songs they play off it live. I guess they must be pretty happy with it.

As always, we got treated to a drum solo from Neil Peart. Usually, I find drum solos pretty dull, since they're usually just an excuse for the drummer to go "Hey, check out what I learned at Musicians Institute!" A Neil Peart solo is a major exception. He actually makes a drum solo into an actual musical composition and it was 80% new on this tour.

Geddy Lee took out his own personal camcorder and asked to crown to say, "Hi, Canada!" on the count of three. Then they went into "Natural Science," a song I'll probably never tire of hearing live.

"Tom Sawyer" was preceded by a short South Park cartoon. I guess Trey Parker and Matt Stone must be fans. They kids from the show were playing in a band called Lil' Rush. Cartman was wearing a Geddy Lee wig and was the band's singer. He substituted the words for "Tom Sawyer" with quotes from Huckleberry Finn, much to the dismay of the rest of the band. Kenny was playing drums and I expected him to meet some sort of "Spinal tap drummer"-esque demise. He lived.

Had a great time! The Mohegan Sun's a pretty good venue and I'll be back there in September to see Heaven and Hell!

This morning, I bought tickets to see Black Sabbath at Mohegan Sun on September 7. Alice Cooper and Queensryche are opening.

WHOO HOO!