Zilla's Concert Experiences: RBO Edition

[Zilla2112]

MGMT
with Kuroma

Artpark
June 19, 2013

Flash Delirium
Introspection
Of Moons, Birds & Monsters
Your Life Is a Lie
The Youth
Time to Pretend
Siberian Breaks
Electric Feel
Mystery Disease
Weekend Wars
Congratulations
Alien Days
I Found a Whistle































I must thank my friend Zac so much for inviting me to this concert! He got exclusive front of stage tickets for my friend Jake, himself, and me. This was his birthday gift for me, and it was an awesome one indeed. After a nice spaghetti dinner at my dad's, my mom and step-dad drove us three to the event, which was at Artpark. They didn't attend the concert, though, which worked good since we didn't have to find parking and were dropped off at the entrance to the venue.

Us three went down to our exclusive area, right when Kuroma was starting to play. They were pretty good: nothing too special personally, though Jake liked them a lot, so much that he got a CD from them and not MGMT like I did. They played all original tunes, and I was surprised to see members of Kuroma onstage for the MGMT show! MGMT's one guitarist and keyboard player played in Kuroma, while Kuroma's lead vocalist/guitarist played for MGMT too.

Then, Kuroma was done and we waited a bit. I got to see Elysia, Alex, and Chris there (Rachel was at the show too, though I didn't get to see her), though they were so far away and it was so packed that I couldn't get to talk with them. After about 30 minutes, MGMT finally took the stage, and they were awesome! The first thing I noticed was vocalist Andrew VanWyngarden's sling: he had injured his arm and was unable to play guitar. This was why Kuroma's guitarist filled in for him. He still sang everything, though, so it sounded exactly how MGMT is supposed to sound.

MGMT's set consisted of a variety of stuff from Oracular Spectacular, Congratulations, and their upcoming self-titled album. The greatest omission from the set was their mega hit, "Kids", which I would have liked to hear but didn't expect them to play anyways. They must have gotten tired of the song like Radiohead did with "Creep". Highlights for me included the epic "Siberian Breaks", performed in all of its glory, as well as "The Youth", "Time to Pretend", "Electric Feel", and "Congratulations", though I must admit that their entire set was solid.

Other great parts of the show, other than the band's great sound and instrumental performances, included the cool visual display behind MGMT as they performed. It was very psychedelic and colorful, very fitting for MGMT's psychedelic sound. The performers didn't move around too much, but the music was so great that I didn't mind. The only part of the show that sucked were some of the people in the crowd. Instead of chilling out and enjoying the show, many assholes were crowdsurfing and illegally going into the VIP area. It didn't help that the place was absolutely packed too.

Other than that, we definitely enjoyed the show! I was very glad to have gone to this show, and I'm glad I picked up Oracular Spectacular on CD too. Hopefully, MGMT's new CD will be great, and it'd be cool to be able to see them again someday.

[Elysia Drake]

BEST CONCERT

[Zilla2112]

Jul 15, 2013 9:51:18 GMT -5 Elysia Drake said:

BEST CONCERT

8.9 Best New Concert

I'll be writing about The Doobie Brothers next!

[Zilla2112]

The Doobie Brothers
with The Informers

Artpark
July 9, 2013

Jesus Is Just Alright
Rockin' Down the Highway
Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)
Depending on You
Clear as the Driven Snow
A Brighter Day
World Gone Crazy
Neal's Fandango
Slack Key Soquel Rag
South City Midnight Lady
Eyes of Silver
Takin' It to the Streets
Don't Start Me Talkin'
Black Water
Long Train Runnin'
China Grove
Road Angel
Listen to the Music



















This concert was the second time I went to Artpark this summer, and it was totally worth it! I rode down with my dad and Zac after eating dinner at home. The concert was sold out, and when we got there, the front parking lot was full, leaving us to park a bit away from the venue. We found a parking spot and hiked a fair distance up some hills to get to the outdoor stage.

Starting off the concert was a performance by a local bar band, The Informers. To be honest, they were incredibly mediocre. They all sat down and had very little stage presence. Their repertoire consisted of mediocre covers, including a song from The Boss (of shit), Bruce Springsteen. The band's vocalists weren't too good either. In a bar, these guys would be much better, because I'd be doing other stuff and not focusing on them. Having them open for The Doobie Brothers on such a large stage was a bad decision by the organizers indeed.

In fact, this band was so boring that Zac and I tried comparing what these guys looked like to celebrities. One guy looked like an aged Quentin Tarantino, another like our local meteorologist Don Paul, the drummer like The Amazing Atheist (without bananas), the bassist like Lou Reed, and the lead guitarist like a white-haired Ronnie Wood. The best thing to come out of this was that this band made The Doobie Brothers look incredibly good.

Also during this whole ordeal, some drunk guy vomited just a few feet away from us. Luckily, it didn't get on us, but it was gross to look at and smell. It took about 20 minutes for someone to clean it up, and everyone clapped for the woman who cleaned the vomit.

Finally, after some waiting, The Doobie Brothers kicked off their show with "Jesus Is Just Alright". The first thing one would notice is the fact that the Doobies have two drummers on stage playing at the same time! This is a staple of a Doobie Brothers live show, and both drummers were awesome. Tom Johnson and Patrick Simmons were the only original Doobie Brothers members on stage, yet those two were the center of the classic period. The other band members were fantastic too, especially guitarist John McFee who played not only guitar, but also harmonica, slide guitar, and violin as well. John Cowan, their bassist, had an awesome singing voice, and the rest of the members contributed to the incredible vocal harmonies that are distinctive of The Doobie Brothers' sound. Marc Russo's sax playing was top notch as well.

The Doobie Brothers' setlist consisted of a ton of classic material from their early-mid 70's period. With the exception of "Takin' It to the Streets" and "Depending on You", the Michael McDonald period was ignored for good reason. The Doobies also played some newer stuff off of their latest album, World Gone Crazy, and it was solid as well. Their strongest stuff was certainly their classic hits, though. Hearing radio staples like "Black Water" "Long Train Runnin'", "China Grove", and "Listen to the Music" recreated live was simply awesome. Another standout moment was the beautiful southern-styled "South City Midnight Lady", a deeper cut that I enjoy a lot.

After their awesome encore of "China Grove", "Road Angel", and "Listen to the Music", my dad, Zac and I went back on the trail to the car, and eventually back home. Merch was too pricey and wasn't really worth it, so none of us picked anything up. All in all, this was an incredible show with fantastic vocal and instrumental performances. Seeing Tom Johnson and Pat Simmons nail those solos was just epic, and it'd be great to see the Doobies come back to Western New York for another concert. Just a week later, the three of us would return to Artpark to see another legendary 70's hard rock band: Bad Company!

[Soup567]

Oh hell yeah, the Doobs! Sounds like an awesome show.

[Zilla2112]

Aww yeah! Such a great show indeed. In the meantime, I've seen Bad Company and Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience, and Blue Oyster Cult/.38 Special is next week. I'll try to get this updated relatively soon.

[Soup567]

Awesome!

I saw BOC a couple of weeks ago. Great show. Buch Dharma can shred, he had like a 4 minute solo on Then Came the Last Days of May. Frickin' amazing.

[Zilla2112]

Sweet! I'm definitely hyped for BOC. .38 Special will probably be good too, though BOC is why I made this a priority concert this summer.

[Zilla2112]

Bad Company
with The Billy Spanton Band

Artpark
July 16, 2013

Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy
Burnin' Sky
Run With the Pack
Feel Like Makin' Love
Gone, Gone, Gone
Electricland
Ready for Love
Honey Child
Movin' On
Shooting Star
Can't Get Enough
Bad Company
Rock Steady
Seagull

















One week after seeing The Doobie Brothers, my dad, Zac and I were back at Artpark for another rockin' concert! This time, we got to see the legendary Bad Company with original members Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke, and Mick Ralphs. Knowing what to do parking-wise this time, we went to the same spot as last time and hiked up the trail again, talking about all sorts of stuff. After getting beverages, we went down to the main, non-VIP standing area where we got a good view of the stage.

The opening band for this show was Billy Spanton and his band, and compared to the mediocre Informers from last week, they were great. Billy's style of hard rock 'n' roll fit perfectly with Bad Company's sound, and they were far more energetic (they stood up). It also helps that Billy Spanton worked with Simon Kirke before, ensuring that their music fit the mood Bad Company was going to set. My favorite part of their performance was their cover of "Gimme Shelter", which was very spot on. He even had a female vocalist and everything!

Before and during the concert, there was some crazy stuff going on. No vomit this time, but instead we almost saw two fights break out right next to us. Thankfully, everything got resolved, and two of the guys that were going to fight realized that they were both drunk and were hugging by the end of the concert. The one guy next to me during the show was pretty cool too: he was smoking weed (which I politely refused when offered), drinking beer, and enjoying every second of the show. He was also very impressed by Bad Company's ability to stay in time.

Bad Company finally took the stage, and their entrance went with a bang! The stage erupted with smoke as Bad Company opened with their hit, "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy". All three of the group's original members sounded awesome! Paul Rodgers in particular was at the top of his game. He had the swagger, the attitude, and the pipes to sing the classic Bad Company material. He was entertaining every second of the show, whether he was moving around the stage, playing his massive grand piano, or playing acoustic guitar. Rodgers' vocal style was pretty different from the original albums too: he'd often change the way vocal lines were sung, or get the crowd to sing along. Of course, unlike some other singers, Rodgers sounded awesome no matter what he was singing.

Simon Kirke and Mick Ralphs were great too. Kirke was as steady as a rock, and Ralphs played some pretty awesome guitar solos. Joining the three were Howard Leese, who was another excellent guitarist who previously played in Heart, and Todd Ronning, who was playing bass in the place of the late Boz Burrell. The band made a dedication to Boz during the show, and Ronning even dressed similar to Boz for the show.

The setlist Bad Company played was pretty much what I expected of them, covering at least one song off of every album with Paul Rodgers. In particular, a lot of stuff came off of the first two albums, which was perfect since those two are their best. Some of the best moments included "Shooting Star", which Rodgers got everybody in the crowd singing the chorus, as well as stuff like "Ready for Love", "Feel Like Makin' Love", "Can't Get Enough", and "Bad Company". Of course, every song Bad Company did was great.

After their initial set, Bad Company closed the show with an encore of "Bad Company" and "Rock Steady". There was a special surprise afterward: Ralphs and Rodgers got back on stage to perform "Seagull", the acoustic number that closes the self-titled Bad Company album. Even though this was a mellow number, this was the perfect way to close the show. Us three then hiked back to the car, and went home. Seeing Bad Company with my dad and Zac was such an awesome experience! Plus, I've got two more Artpark shows to attend: Blue Oyster Cult with .38 Special, and ZZ Top. Before these shows, I have Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience coming up next!

[Zilla2112]

Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience
with TimeGiant and DoDriver

Labatt Canal Concert Series
July 26, 2013

Rock and Roll
Black Dog
Over the Hills and Far Away
Thank You
What Is and What Should Never Be
The Lemon Song
No Quarter
The Ocean
Since I've Been Loving You
Houses of the Holy
Nobody's Fault but Mine
When the Levee Breaks
Kashmir
Stairway to Heaven
Whole Lotta Love











Here in Lockport, the free Labatt Canal Concert Series had run into several misfortunes. First, the Puddle of Mudd concert was cancelled because their lead vocalist was accused of vandalism (plus it got rained out anyways). Then, a few weeks later, the Pink Floyd Experience had to cancel their performance after another crazy rain storm came in, even though many people showed up and the openers played. Luckily for me and the rest of Western New York, the Jason Bonham show had absolutely perfect weather that day.

This year, the concerts were moved from behind the Ulrich City Center to the parking lot behind the Library instead, and despite our familiarity with the old location, this spot worked perfectly. Oddly enough, for parking, all we had to do was switch to the lot where the concerts were held in years past! My dad and I got there early enough to see both warm-up bands. Before doing so, I got to meet up with a ton of friends. I spent most of the concert chilling with my friend Brandon, who is a gigantic Zeppelin fan with the John Bonham inspired kit and everything. Zac showed up a bit later too, and I chilled with him most of the show too. A lot of my other friends who just graduated from high school were there as well, and I got to talk with them for a bit.

The first band up was DoDriver (not to be confused with DevilDriver, who would have been more exciting), who were very familiar considering I saw them open for Queensryche at the same concert series. They were alright: nothing too special or anything, though they weren't awful either. I got kinda bored during their performance, and my dad and I wished their vocals were better. After they were done, Canadian band TimeGiant showed up, and they rocked the place a lot harder. They had stronger vocals, better tunes, and more energy as the lead vocalist/guitarist engaged the crowd and even went off stage into the audience to have people sing along during a song. Funnily enough, all the members kinda resembled famous musicians: the lead vocalist/guitarist looked like Frank Zappa with the facial hair, the drummer had the curly hair and a face like "Dimebag" Darrell (though the beard wasn't the same), the bassist looked a bit like Kurt Cobain, and the guitarist had a Cliff Burton look to him. It'd be funny if there was a show called "Time Giant", where all these famous deceased musicians come back to life and form an awesome rock band! Anyways, TimeGiant also played a cover of Queen's "Hammer to Fall", a tune which I dig a ton and I enjoyed thoroughly.

After TimeGiant finished, we waited for Jason Bonham to take the stage. Did I mention that it was our mayor's birthday that day? Well, the people on stage were sure to mention it every so often. If you took a drink every time his birthday was mentioned, you'd be as drunk as some of the people there.

Finally, Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience started with a video introduction by Jason, as he talked about his dad and the awesome music he made. The band, which consisted of Jason, a singer, guitarist, bassist, and keyboardist, started with the energetic "Rock and Roll" which kicked ass! It went right into "Black Dog", another classic off of Zeppelin IV. The two things I noticed that made some of these performances different from the original tunes was that they were tuned a half step and that Jason was using a double pedal, something that his father didn't really use. Regardless, the performances were so awesome that it didn't really matter.

The vocalist sounded pretty close to how Robert Plant sounded, and he hit most of the high notes too! He's definitely better than Plant today, that's for sure. The guitarist sounded just like Jimmy Page, and the other two members playing John Paul Jones' role were tight too. Of course, the star of the show was Jason Bonham, and he did a fantastic job. He nailed his dad's parts, his kit sounded like ol' Bonzo's and Jason added his own flair to his playing as well. Sadly, Jason didn't get to play "Moby Dick", but he did have several great drum solos.

Jason's band played a variety of Zeppelin tunes, combining their most popular songs with some of their most obscure. Special moments for me included "The Lemon Song", a song that Brandon, Donny and I jammed on with our band, The Flight of Five. They did it better than us, of course. "Since I've Been Loving You" is another Zeppelin favorite of mine that I was very glad to hear, with its tasteful and emotional guitar solos. The last four songs were some of Zeppelin's biggest: "When the Levee Breaks" started with a recording of Bonzo's classic drum intro, "Kashmir" was as dramatic and epic as the original recording, everybody sang along to "Stairway to Heaven", and the final encore of "Whole Lotta Love" ended the show with a bang as Jason played an epic drum solo during the interlude.

Once the band finished, I said goodbye to my friends and went home with my dad. This was one of the best free concerts I've ever been to, and I'm thankful for the picture perfect weather we had that night too. Hopefully Jason and his band will come back for another show! They've been here in the past, so maybe they'll be here in the future. Next up: Blue Oyster Cult and 38 Special, a doubleheader of relatively epic classic rock proportions!

[Zilla2112]

Blue Oyster Cult and 38 Special

Artpark
August 6, 2013

Blue Oyster Cult:
The Red & The Black
Golden Age of Leather
Burnin' for You
ME 262
Then Came the Last Days of May
Godzilla
(Don't Fear) The Reaper

38 Special:
Rockin' into the Night
Rough-Housin'
Back Where You Belong
Wild-Eyed Southern Boys
Stone Cold Believer / Back to Paradise / Somebody Like You / Honky Tonk Dancer / Teacher Teacher / First Time Around / Second Chance / Like No Other Night
Last Thing I Ever Do
Fantasy Girl
If I'd Been the One
Good Times
Just Got Paid
Don Barnes Guitar Solo
Trooper With an Attitude
Gary Moffatt Drum Solo
Caught Up in You
Chain Lightning
Hold On Loosely
Travelin' Band





This was another awesome Tuesday evening at Artpark, with two legendary bands playing together in one show! Of course, I most certainly prefer BOC and their 70's work, so I listened to them before the show and not much 38 Special. I went with my dad and Zac again, parking in a similar spot and doing our usual hike. We got to the venue a little earlier to ensure that we could see all of BOC if they played early, and they indeed started right at 6:30.

Opening with the energetic "The Red & the Black", Blue Oyster Cult played a short and sweet set consisting of most of their classics and a couple deeper cuts. Blue Oyster Cult was the best act of the night, by far! Original members Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma rocked it with a bunch of great newer members who were all incredibly talented. Each member got some sort of solo in the show, even if their set only lasted about an hour.

The most memorable moments included two epic guitar solos from guitarists Richie Castellano and Buck Dharma in "Then Came the Last Days of May". Richie's solo was mind-blowing! He sure could shred, but he also had enough soul and flow as well. In fact, his solo was so technically impressive that it made Buck Dharma's solo look a bit weak in comparison. Of course, he still did an amazing job, but maybe Buck should have gone first and then Richie ended with a shred solo.

"Godzilla" was fantastic too, starting with the monster's infamous roar and going into the song, which was perfectly played. In the middle of the song where it goes into a bass solo, the solo was extended immensely! Not only did Eric Bloom talk about bassist Kasim Sulton's experience with Meat Loaf and how he was asked to be a member of Queen, but they played short segments of their songs as well. Sulton and drummer Jules Radino then jammed for a bit before Radino went into a drum solo before the whole band concluded the song.

For their final song, Blue Oyster Cult had to play "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". Sadly, they didn't have a cowbell player on stage for the song. I decided that I should take the role instead from where I was standing. I brought a small cowbell to the venue, hoping to play it during "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", and indeed I did play it! Well, with a pencil, of course, and my hands were hurting a bit after. Still, it was totally worth it! People around me were happy to see that someone in the audience was playing cowbell, even saying that I should have joined the band on stage!

That was the end of BOC's set, and after a half an hour break of advertisements, a brief speech from the owner of Artpark, and hearing the first half of AC/DC's Dirty Deeds album, 38 Special took the stage. They sounded great, and they literally rocked into the night with "Rockin' into the Night". However, their performance went downhill after they played one of their best songs. Their songs got cheesier and cheesier, and oddly enough, they played this weird medley of their songs. Did they forget who was opening for this show? Anyways, the songs started to blur together, and eventually the keyboardist started singing this horribly cheesy song when we decided to leave.

It wasn't that 38 Special was bad either! They just weren't very exciting when they played the exact same parts as on their studio recordings. If I liked 38 Special more, I would have loved this part of the show. But because they're pretty run-of-the-mill, I felt leaving the show early was justified, even if I missed hearing "Hold On Loosely" (which wasn't played for another hour). Plus, America's Got Talent was on TV that night, and I got home just in time for it. I missed their cover of ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid" as well, but thankfully I'll get to see ZZ Top perform it themselves!

Regardless of the early departure, this was still a really good show, especially for the small admission fee. While I won't be in a rush to see 38 Special again, I'd love to watch Blue Oyster Cult play a larger set someday. It's a shame they didn't get the larger part of the bill, because they were a lot better than 38 Special was, but I'm glad I got to see them for at least an hour. This wasn't my last show at Artpark, with ZZ Top coming in late August!

[SMAP]

Blue Oyster Cult is absolutely stunning live.

[Zilla2112]

Wow, it's been a while since I've updated this, and I've been to 4 shows in the meantime! Little Mountain Band was another Mark Studios party, while Whiskey Reverb was really short since they were an opener. ZZ Top and Five Finger Death Punch were both big shows that will take some time to write about. I'll get to them... eventually.

[Zilla2112]

Little Mountain Band
with D a v e DiGiacomo Group

Mark Studios
August 6, 2013

If you've read about the other Mark Studios parties I have been to, then this was a very similar experience. Getting there early, setting up chairs and tables, getting the soda cooler filled up, setting up the dinosaurs, and watching the pig cook. The food was pretty much the same, yet very delicious. Can't go wrong with the roasted pig! I also saw a lot of familiar faces there too, including my grandparents who came down from Elmira.

What I didn't expect was that the lead guitarist of Little Mountain Band was my guitar teacher, Drew! I hadn't seen him since I moved to drum lessons and he went to Fredonia, but it was really awesome seeing him again. What a small world! My dad had been working in the studio with my guitar teacher for weeks and didn't even know that he taught me.

The Little Mountain Band was really great! Drew is a fantastic guitarist, and he showed off his soloing skills several times throughout the performance. Rhythm guitarist/vocalist Aaron, bassist/vocalist Donavan, keyboardist/vocalist Adam, and drummer Bene were all very talented on their instruments as well.

Their setlist covered a variety of tunes and jams, originals and covers, with the most memorable moments including a cover of "Dear Prudence". I'm sure they threw in some Grateful Dead as well, though I'm not well-versed on their music. However, the most exciting part for me was being able to play onstage with the band! Since Drew knew I could play guitar, he let me play his awesome hollow-body guitar and jam with the rest of the band! We played a bluesy tune that I can't recall the name of, but playing along was easy since it was good ol' twelve-bar blues in A pentatonic. It was really fun trading off solos with Aaron! A lot of people told me afterwards that they enjoyed my playing as well.

When Little Mountain Band took a break between their 45 minute or so sets, Mark Studios got an act to play in between sets for the first time in the history of these parties. The D a v e DiGiacomo Group was a jazz duo with D a v e on sax and a fellow musician on keyboard. Their jazz was smooth, relaxing, and perfect for a party atmosphere.

I got to stay for a while after the party ended, talking with people and enjoying the last amounts of the food. It was a really enjoyable experience, and I'll be sure to go to next year's party! Special thanks to my dad, Mark Studios, Little Mountain Band, D a v e DiGiacomo Group, and everyone else for making this party possible!

[Zilla2112]

Whiskey Reverb

Labatt Canal Concert Series
August 23, 2013

For this show, I only went to see one band, Whiskey Reverb, who was an opening act for Everlast. I did not stick around for the rest of the show. My dad recorded Whiskey Reverb at Mark Studios, and since they were coming to Lockport for free, I wanted to go with him to see them. Originally, I was to see Whiskey Reverb open for Puddle of Mudd, but that show was canceled due to the puddle of mud that was Lockport after a rainstorm. Actually, it was because the Puddle of Mudd vocalist was arrested for vandalism, but it just so happened to be a terrible weather day as well. Luckily, a final concert was added at the end of the series to make up for this, and it had the same openers as the first show did.

Stylistically, Whiskey Reverb is a very original fusion of soul, funk, hip-hop, psychedelic, and alternative rock. Though they played a few of their older songs, their performance here wandered into more psychedelic/jam band territory, incorporating synthesizers and extended guitar solos. However, Whiskey Reverb kept the funk and hip-hop going, as vocalist A2J rapped over some funky beats. Jim Candytree handled the clean vocals, though my dad noted how the great lead vocalist he worked with was not a part of the band anymore. Regardless, I found their set to be very entertaining, especially how A2J addressed the audience, many of them loyal Whiskey Reverb fans. Since my dad knows them well, I got to meet and talk with the band before the show, which was also a very fun experience.

After Whiskey Reverb finished their set, my dad and I left, considering it was a free show and that we didn't care for Everlast. I would have been cool to see Melia, a local guitarist/vocalist, and I would get to see her perform briefly in the future, but oh well. I would really like to see Whiskey Reverb again in the future, and hopefully I will get the chance to do so!