"Back in the Day" Concert Tales: RATT + POISON Feb 10, 1987 / Concert + In-Store (VIDEO)

Welcome back, friends. In today's video, I am taking you back to hair metal's glory days -- 1987. On February 10, 1987, I caught Ratt for the third time at the Omaha Civic Auditorium (R.I.P.). This was Ratt at its peak! Touring in support of its third platinum record in a row, Ratt had its biggest stage show ever. On this leg of the tour, young upstarts Poison were opening the shows. Poison's debut LP, Look What the Cat Dragged In, had been out for about eight or nine months at that point.

Since we met back in the 8th grade, my friend, Matt, and I shared an obsession with hard rock and heavy metal. We saw pretty much every metal show in Omaha together from, maybe, 1985 to 1989. At some point in '86, we got the bright idea to start our own magazine/fanzine. My Mom's side hustle at the time was a stationary business. So, we created a logo and had letterhead made. We were both 15 years old.

Before publishing a single page, we were able to parlay our new endeavor into a free pair of tickets to see Ratt...AND a photo pass! This was nuts. All we had was letterhead. Seriously.

Earlier in the day, we went to meet Poison who were doing an in-store signing at the Homer's location in Bellevue, Nebraska. It was weird seeing them without all the girly make-up from the album cover and the videos. I got my album signed by all the guys.

For those who weren't around in that time, you need to remember that people didn't just carry a camera around with them wherever they went. Photography was prohibited at concerts back then, and to take any pictures, I had to sneak a camera into the arena inside my pants. I feel lucky I was able to get any pictures of this stuff at all.

Hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane.

Sun June and Wild Pink LIVE at Reverb 3/22/24 (PHOTOS)

Laura Colwell (pictured) and Sun June played a great set last night (3/22/24) at Reverb. This was my first time seeing the Texas indie band, though Sun June's last two albums made my Top 20 of the Year lists. So, I was pretty excited they were finally playing in Omaha.

Opening the show was NYC band, Wild Pink. I didn't know anything about the band prior to the show. They were excellent. The set got better with each song. I picked up a Wild Pink t-shirt after they played.

Sun June

The crowd was small, but enthusiastic. There were a few fans who really wanted to hear the song, "Karen O." I'm actually not sure if it was on the set list, but the band happily obliged.

There will be video shortly on Youtube.

Jenny Lewis Concert Review + Catalog Discussion / Rilo Kiley, Jenny & Johnny, Postal Service (VIDEO)

Hello, friends. Welcome back. Today's video is one I have wanted to make for a while. Jenny Lewis is, in my opinion, the best songwriter of the 2000s. Over the course of her 20+ year career in music - whether as a solo artist or as a member of Rilo Kiley, Jenny & Johnny, or Postal Service - Jenny Lewis has shown an amazing ability to craft songs that can be simultaneously catchy, beautiful, emotional, powerful, heart wrenching, danceable, and very relatable lyrically. Her albums have featured guest spots from Elvis Costello, Ringo Starr, Beck, members of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, and many more. She has many famous friends and collaborators. 

I caught Jenny Lewis in concert recently on her Joy'All Ball Tour at a stop in Omaha at The Admiral Theater. The concert was amazing, as Jenny's shows usually are. Rather than merely review the concert, I decided to devote a little time in the video to reviewing her "solo" albums. This is not a catalog ranking, merely a discussion of her music. 

In addition to video clips and photos from the concert,  I also made a short video inside the video about Jenny's early career as a child actor and her time in the band Rilo Kiley.

10 Artists to Celebrate Women's History Month (VIDEO)

Hey! It's Women's History Month. And who better to chime in with a list of "10 Artists to Celebrate Women's History Month" than a 53 year old white guy! Sarcasm aside, these are just 10 of the many artists from which I could have chosen. I've been celebrating women in music my entire life. Pretty much.

I have chosen a few from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s - solo artists and bands - and all of them have played an important role in my musical evolution.

New Vinyl Update + 15 UPCOMING Releases for March, April, May '24 (VIDEO)

Hello, friends and welcome back. Today's video is a lot to take in. But I'm confident you can handle it. The first part of the video features a bunch of new vinyl I have gotten recently - most are new releases, btw. I also take you on an excursion to suburbia -- West Omaha - to find a copy of Jason Isbell's newest at Target. Was I successful in my quest? You'll have to watch to find out.

Next up, I am previewing 15 important new releases coming out in March, April, and May. Stylistically, they run the gamut: indie, rock, alt-country, metal, and more!

Kim Gordon, Rosali, Waxahatchee, The Dandy Warhols, Gossip, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride, Kate Clover, Old 97s, METZ, Melvins, St. Vincent, The Lemon Twigs, Kerry King, Buffalo Tom

Jenny Lewis LIVE at The Admiral, Omaha, NE 3/6/24 (PHOTOS)

Jenny Lewis brought her Joy'All tour to Omaha on Wednesday, March 6 at The Admiral. Jenny is no stranger to The Admiral, as she played there plenty of times earlier in her career when it was known as Sokol Auditorium. She even joked about playing the basement (Sokol Underground) and the large pole through the stage. Ahh...memories.
 

My 7 Day Weekend of Live Music!! (VIDEO)

Wow! What a freakin' week! Normally, the concert season doesn't start around here (Omaha) until Winter is over and everything thaws out. Not so much in 2024. This video documents a pretty wild week where I saw five different shows in seven days!

Porno For Pyros hit the brand new venue, The Astro. Despite being a Jane's Addiction fan since the late 80s, I never actually saw PFP after Jane's broke up. For the "final" tour, PFP added Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, The Stooges) on bass, and that made the show mandatory for me! Opening the show was a UK band called TigerCub.

Veteran indie rockers, Yo La Tengo, returned to The Waiting Room for "An Evening with Yo La Tengo." The band did two separate sets - one quiet, one loud - and there was no opener. No matter how many times I see YLT in concert, they never cease to amaze.    

David Nance released his newest LP, David Nance & Mowed Sound, recently on Jack White's Third Man Records. He had a record release show at Reverb Lounge. Vinyl community members will recognize Dereck Higgins on bass. He played on the LP, and performs with the band when they play locally.

The last two shows I cover in today's video (Living Colour, Matthew Sweet) both have their own video reviews with lots more clips and photos.

Mama Zu "Quilt Floor" Album Review / Jessi Zazu / Those Darlins (VIDEO)

Hello, friends and welcome to my latest video. This week, I am reviewing the new album from Mama Zu called "Quilt Floor." This was one of my most anticipated new releases of the year because it features the final recordings from Jessi Zazu from the band Those Darlins.

Those Darlins was a band from Nashville whose mix of country, garage punk, and rock 'n roll made them one of the best new bands of the 2000s. After the band broke up in 2015, it was revealed that Jessi Darlin (aka Jessi Zazu) had cancer. She died at age 28. In between the break up of Those Darlins and her death, she and Linwood Regenburg (also of Those Darlins) recorded some music together. After Jessi passed, Linwood finished the album in her honor.

The project is named Mama Zu and the album Jessi and Linwood made is out now. As I said in an earlier video, I planned to buy this record no matter what. As a fan of TD and of Jessi, it was a no-brainer. As you will see in my review, Quilt Floor turned out incredibly well, and reminds me of why I became a fan of Jessi in the first place.

Interspersed with my review are some photos and video I shot of Those Darlins from 2011-2012.

Ace Frehley (KISS) 10,000 Volts REVIEW

Today, I am reviewing the brand new album from former KISS lead guitarist, Ace Frehley. Longtime viewers of the channel know that KISS is my favorite band of all time. But don't confuse being a "fan" with being a "fanboy." There's a huge difference. I consider myself to be objective when it comes to Kiss and its former members. So, to those who are easily triggered by a different opinion than their own...don't say you weren't warned.

Porno For Pyros LIVE at The Astro 2/24/24 (PHOTOS)

Porno For Pyros, the band formed by Perry Ferrell and Stephen Perkins after the initial break-up of Jane's Addiction in 1992, played at The Astro on Saturday, February 24. This show was a little bittersweet for me. It was my first time seeing PFP, as a long time Jane's fan. However, this tour is being billed as PFP's "final," so it is likely to be my last time seeing them, as well.

Returning on bass was Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, The Stooges). Watt has never been an official member of Porno For Pyros, but he did play bass on some of the band's second album, Good God's Urge, and has toured with them in the past.

13 Albums That Changed My Life (VIDEO)

I'm jumping on the thread about "Albums that Changed My Life" that's going around. To make things interesting...I did 13.

I should point out that these are 13 albums that changed my life -- but not the only 13. I kept it limited to albums that were new at the time I discovered them. All of them were released from 1980-1991, even though my favorite musical decade is the 1990s. Weird, right?

While making this video, I realized this has a lot of overlap with something I did last year called, "What's in My Musical DNA?" It's a longer, more in-depth version of this concept tbh.

YO LA TENGO Live at Waiting Room 2/19/24 (PHOTOS)

Yo La Tengo returned to The Waiting Room for the first time in 11 years on Monday, February 19. In fact, this was a re-scheduled date from last year when YLT postponed its tour because drummer, Georgia Hubley, needed knee surgery.

The band did two sets: a "quiet" set and a louder one. However, if you know anything about Yo La Tengo's music, you know it's not always easy to draw such a distinction.

Make sure to check out The Dark Stuff on Youtube for a future video review.

REVIEW: Matthew Sweet LIVE 2/17/24 + Debbi Peterson from The Bangles! (VIDEO)

This video review is also something of a follow-up to my last video on Matthew Sweet from a few weeks ago. In that video, I mentioned that Debbi Peterson from The Bangles was going to be playing drums for Matthew Sweet on a brief tour of the Midwest. I was already planning on going before hearing about Debbi; but after that news, I decided that I had to meet her while she was in town. I "manifested" it or whatever new-agey bullsh!t term folks use these days.

Wouldn't you know it...it actually happened! She was really nice and signed a few of my #bangles records. It was cool seeing her behind the drum kit. I've never seen The Bangles play, so it was a first for me. 

Matthew Sweet tore through a great set of his best known songs in front of a packed, hometown crowd. Hopefully, it won't be another 4-5 years before he plays here again.

MATTHEW SWEET at The Waiting Room 2/17/24 (PHOTOS)

Matthew Sweet returned to the Waiting Room's stage on Saturday, February 17th with a blistering (and sometimes shambolic) set of his unique style of guitar-based power-pop. Sweet's band featured Bangles drummer Debbi Peterson, guitarist John Moremen, bassist Paul Chastain (Velvet Crush), and guitarist Adrian Carter. Sweet pointed out that Adrian is the son of his manager - the same manager he's had since 1983! 

Debbi Peterson of The Bangles on the drums!

I got to meet Debbi after the show!

David Nance & Mowed Sound LIVE at Reverb 2/16/24 (PHOTOS)

David Nance & Mowed Sound celebrated the release of their new album with a show at Omaha's Reverb Lounge.