Category Archives: Events

Concert Review: Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Mohegan Sun, May 4, 2013

Posted on by Musicofourheart

Last night we ventured up the interstate to Mohegan Sun Casino to commune with our favorite rock and roller, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band. Bob never disappoints us. This was our fourth Bob Seger concert in 17 years. I have been a Bob Seger fan since 1968 ;) . Inside the music of our heart that translates to 45 years of wonderful music. Amazingly he showed no signs of stopping last night but it is imminent that he will retire in a few years.

My favorite moment of the night was when Bob said, “Okay, We go back to Live Bullet“, one of the best live rock albums of all time, bar none. He dug down deep transporting us back to Cobo Hall in Detroit Michigan, 1975. Bob and the Silver Bullet performed the connected songs, “Travelin Man” and “Beautiful Loser”. It was better than the original live recording. I became transfixed by the timeless passion he raised through these two songs.

He showcased two new songs from his forthcoming studio album that he projects will release August-September 2013, “All the Roads” and “California Stars”. Bob performed them seated at center stage with an acoustic guitar. When can I place my pre-order Capitol Records? C’mon. c’mon, c’mon ;)

I especially liked the song, “California Stars”,  with lyrics by Woody Guthrie. I urge the reader of this blog post to have a listen on Spotify to and then read up on the Nora Guthrie project, Mermaid Avenue.  Bob Seger has been majorly  influenced by Billy Bragg, Wilco and the memory of Woody Guthrie. I find Bob Seger’s country songs are perhaps his most heartfelt musical moments, as he shares his deep love for country music.

Bob Seger commented to the fans holding up “Happy Birthday Bob” birthday signs that his birthday was on Monday May 6th. He thanked them for recognizing the event ahead of time. He then stated, “I’m going to be 68 and I feel good.” Intuitively he followed those remarks with “Rock and Roll Never Forgets”, the last song of the night.

We left the arena feeling great about the legend, the person, Bob Seger. There were couples dancing in the hallway as we walked out with the night moves.

Set List:

  1. Long Twin Silver Line
  2. Tryin’ to Live My Life Without You
    (Written by Eugene Williams and Originally performed by soul singer, Otis Clay )
  3. The Fire Down Below
  4. Mainstreet
  5. Old Time Rock & Roll
  7. Her Strut
  8. Like a Rock
  9. Travelin’ Man/Beautiful Loser
  10. Roll Me Away
  11. Come To Poppa
  12. California Stars
    (Lyrics by Woody Guthrie, Song: Billy Bragg/Wilco)
  13. We’ve Got Tonight
  14. Turn the Page
  15. Sunspot Baby
  16. Katmandu

Encore #1

  1. Against the Wind
  2. Night Moves

Encore #2

  1. Hollywood Nights
  2. Rock and Roll Never Forgets
Related articles

 

About these ads

Bumbershoot 2013

Posted on by Musicofourheart

Seattle is our second favorite city after New York City. I have been there twelve times. I started visiting Seattle when I worked for Microsoft in 1992. My wife and I adore the city especially the topography and the Four Seasons Hotel. The arts scene there is vibrant and embracing.

Bumbershoot: Seattle’s Music and Arts Festival will be hosting a gangbuster Bumbershoot 2013. Take a look at the lineup below and then navigate to the Bumbershoot Website to increase your knowledge about this way cool event.

Bumbershoot takes place at the Seattle Center which is complete with a Monorail system, the Space Needle and the Experience Music Project. I find this spot reminiscent of the New York Worlds Fair site.

Adding Bumbershoot 2013 as a strong possible to the wish list in the music of our heart.

Related articles

Rhapsodic City: Music of New York

Posted on by Musicofourheart

The vibrant culture of New York City offers a plethora of events when it comes to arts and entertainment. I have written about the upcoming EMP Pop Conference and Red Bull Music Academy on this blog. My latest discovery is this awesome event series from the New York Public  Library.

Series Features Programs with Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, A Celebration of Women in Hip-Hop, Plus Special Screenings, Performances and Presentations

February 21, 2013 – This spring, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts presents Rhapsodic City: Music of New York, a new six-week long interdisciplinary series exploring the city’s distinct role in the formulation, emergence, and legacy of some of the most exciting music movements in the 20th century.

Tackling a different music style or subject each week — hip-hop, punk, the folk music revival, Prohibition-era jazz, Mambo and Salsa, and the Brill Building’s heyday — Rhapsodic City: Music of New York features panel discussions with icons and experts, performances by leading artists, special film screenings and presentations of the Performing Arts Library’s remarkable collections.

Highlights from the series include a discussion of punk style and sound with Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein; performances by Jazz Age Lawn Party founder Michael Arenella, Grammy-nominated bandleader Bobby Sanabria, and Joe McGinty from the Losers Lounge Band; a celebration of women in hip-hop; and an exploration of Greenwich Village in the ’50s and ’60s led by Elijah Wald, author of the book that served as source material for the Coen Brothers’ latest film.

“At The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, we are deeply aware of how vital music is to this city’s cultural fabric,” said Jacqueline Z. Davis, Barbara G. and Lawrence A. Fleishman Executive Director of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. “Using our vast archival materials — including sheet music, films, recordings and more — Rhapsodic City: Music of New York provides an opportunity for us to illustrate some of the most compelling examples of how New York inspires new genres of music, and how musical styles from around the world have become part of the city’s own cultural narrative, creating a distinctly New York story.”

All events included in the Rhapsodic City: Music of New York series take place at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (40 Lincoln Center Plaza) unless otherwise noted below, and are free and open to the public.

For more details and dates go here: http://www.nypl.org/press/press-release/2013/02/26/rhapsodic-city-music-new-york-new-series-new-york-public-library-perf

Related articles

 

Red Bull Music Academy 2013 – New York City

Posted on by Musicofourheart

I receive The Red Bulletin, “A Beyond The Ordinary Magazine” every month. The April 2013 US issue finally achieved that “objective” for me. ;)

Red Bulletin April 2013

Pictured on the cover is “The Guru” Questlove who I find factoring more and more into my music equation. He is a college professor at NYU Tisch School of Music. My family got to see him live last year at a Late Night with Jimmy Fallon TV taping as The Roots are the house band.

I recently wrote about the public discussion that took place with Questlove and David Byrne at NYU (see Related Articles below). I enjoy and respect seeing Questlove’s logical ascension in musicology circles.

Questlove is a Mentor for the Red Bull Music Academy 2013 that will be taking place all around New York City from April 28-May 31. This month-long plus annual international music event is where up and coming producers, singers, arrangers, DJs and musicians get the opportunity to learn from top industry professionals. Who better to school ya than Questlove and others I am thinking?

I hope to attend one of their events. Stay tuned to which ones I get tickets for ;)

Related articles

David Byrne, St. Vincent and Questlove

Posted on by Musicofourheart

David Byrne and St. Vincent Announce Summer Tour DatesWe bought tickets for the David Byrne and St. Vincent 2013 Tour. They will be appearing at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, CT on June 20th. We caught their collaboration last September at The Beacon Theatre in New York City. We loved the event so much that we had to see them perform together again :)

I trust you feel the excitement of their distinctive brass band sound watching this video of their recent appearance on the David Letterman Show where they perform, “I Should Watch TV” from the Love This Giant recording.

Speaking of David Byrne, he and “Professor” Questlove participated in a Public Forum discussion at the NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts on February 26th.

I was unable to attend in person. I learned about the gist of the event from subsequent Web article reports

Professor Questlove is currently teaching a class on classic albums at NYU, educating undergraduates on the merits of Public Enemy and Michael Jackson.

David Byrne is making a musical ”Here Lies the Love” at the Public Theater. Byrne wrote the lyrics and music (with help from Fatboy Slim), creating a “fully immersive, 360-degree theatrical experience” equipped with disco beats and contemporary dance.

Brought together to discuss the impact of music in popular consciousness, the Roots drummer and former Talking Heads frontman gave audience members a night to remember, swapping stories from the heydays of their respective careers. Questlove asked Byrne about his early days in New York in the 1970s while the Scottish songwriter probed Mr. Thompson on the genesis of the Philadelphia music scene.

questlove david byrne

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson announced during the event that he will release a memoir entitled Mo’ Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove this coming June.

If you consider the immediacy formed between the two artists coupled with their mutual affinity for unique collaborations, it’s realistic to anticipate a Byrne/Questlove project of some dimension in the future.

Related articles

Beyonce On Fire

Posted on by Musicofourheart

Beyonce brought it
So for all you doubters
Get over yourselves
Because you were wrong
Beyonce triumphed today

Beyonce and her troupe were on fire from the get go. The lighting and special effects were stupendous.

The crowd’s enthusiasm echoed the excitement felt all around the globe.

Beyonce connected with all her fans be they at the end of the stage or crowded in front of their hi-def television screen.

It is amazing how far Beyonce’s stage act has advanced since her first appearance with Santana at the Superbowl pregame show in 2007.

You will need a Pepsi to quench that fire Beyonce created with this years half-time show!

Related articles

 

Five Easy Pieces – EMP Pop Conference 2013

Posted on by Musicofourheart

The Experience Music Project (EMP) Pop Conference in 2013 will be a five city live streaming event. The five easy pieces for Pop Conference 2013 will take place in Seattle (Central site), New York (the site of the 2012 Pop Conference that we attended), Los Angeles, New Orleans and Cleveland.  Please refer to the EMP Pop Conference page for more specifics, as the event is just unfolding.

Five different gatherings, in the East, West, South, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest, will take place on the same weekend, with a goal of live streaming the content for those unable to travel and preserving it for posterity. At each location, there will be one panel at a given time, rather than concurrent sessions, to foster regional community.

Local organizers, all veteran conference participants, will steer the program for each Pop Conference city: Oliver Wang of Cal-State Long Beach in Los Angeles (working with the USC Dornsife Center for Feminist Research, directed by Karen Tongson); Tavia Nyong’o of NYU in New York (working with the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music); Joel Dinerstein of Tulane in New Orleans (working with the New Orleans Center for the Gulf South); Lauren Onkey of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland; and Jasen Emmons of EMP Museum in Seattle.

My aim as an EMP/SFM Member(since 2009) is to increase my Pop Conference involvement in 2013 from the attendee level in 2012. I’m glad the NYU event is open-ended. I have contacted Tavia Nyong’o of NYU to learn more about where I can hopefully take part.

I learned that the Pop Conference 2012 event was published as a collection of papers by the Duke University Press soon after the event. Eric Weisbard served as Editor for Pop When the World Falls Apart, Music In The Shadow of Doubt. Eric is the EMP Pop Conference Organizer and is also Assistant Professor of American Studies at the University. This is the third collection of Pop Conference papers

I have a better idea now why Robert Christgau calls the Pop Conference,  ”the best thing that’s ever happened to serious consideration of pop music.” I attended the session where he spoke last year (Refer to my blog post about Pop Conference 2012 here)

I look forward to the EMP Pop Conference 2013. I plan to update readers about this event moving forward. When I’m informed you will be informed, so stay tuned :)

More insight into Love This Giant

Posted on by Musicofourheart

 

Keeping the home fires burning until Love This Giant drops on September 11, 2012. We literally can’t wait to see David Byrne and St. Vincent perform live at The Beacon Theatre on September 26, 2012.

Related articles

 

Litchfield Jazz Festival, Goshen, Ct.

Posted on by Musicofourheart

 

Today we are attending the Litchfield Jazz Festival in Goshen, Ct. Hoping it doesn’t rain too much today. We will be seated under the tent. This is our first time going to this event.

2012 Festival Line-Up

There will be many new jazz artists for us to listen to and learn more from today. I love having my music consciousness expanded with new music inputs.

The artist I am most excited to seei and hear  is Ambrose Akinmusire,  #1 New Artist in the JazzTimes Reader’s Poll. I am enamored with his début CD on Blue Note Records When the Heart Emerges Glistening.

Saturday August 11 Line Up

Helen Sung Trio - 12:00 pm

Helen Sung Trio

Sojourner Truth Project with Avery Sharpe - 1:45 pm

Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet - 3:30 pm

Salute to George Coleman with Gary Smulyan and Eric Alexander - 5:15 pm

Benny Green Quartet - 7:00 pm

Dirty Dozen Brass Band - 8:45 pm

Dirty Dozen Brass Band

 

Summerland 2012 – Mohegan Sun Casino Arena

Posted on by Musicofourheart

It has been the concert week. We saw Santana and The Allman Bros. Band twice this week. Amazing concerts.

Tonight we will be at the Mohegan Sun Casino Arena watching the Summerland 2012 Tour. Thank you Mohegan Sun Players Club for extending us free tickets to this 90′s band celebration of hits.