Wow just saw that The Black Keys have a Connecticut tour date coming up at Comcast Theatre (The Shed) in Hartford, CT on July 9th. Those boys rock! Welsh alternative rock band ,The Joy Formidable is the opening act. Significant!! Adds this event to my must see summer concert list 
How cool is this?!!!! ZZ Top will be performing live on The Howard Stern Show tomorrow morning May 14, 2013.
My brother in-law and I just saw them in concert sitting 4th row center on Wednesday May 8th at the Oakdale. See the Related Articles section below for the link to the concert review I posted last week. I love the special effects staging they had for us that night….
You’re going to love what you hear from Howard 100 tomorrow trust the music of our heart
They are one of Howard’s favorite bands. Here are some pictures from the Top’s rehearsal taken by Scott “The Engineer” Salem at SiriusXm Studio 69 in New York City.
1) Dusty Hill
2) Billy Gibbons
3) Frank Beard
ZZ Top is in the Metro New York area for two performances on their latest tour
I can confirm that this venerable power trio is way more than a “lil ole band from Texas”. They came out, hit their marks on the stage and cranked out their classic blues rock for 90 minutes non-stop. The sound they produce together will grip ya. You feed off their energy song after song. I am always amazed the hurricane gale strength three musicians amplified delivers at the combined center of their respective sound.
What I love about ZZ Top is that they are all meat and no-filler. They had a unique stage setup that takes effective use of wireless networking especially those long cylindrical mike stands. This picture I took with my iPhone captures what I visually experienced. They had some very cool and captivating graphic effects.
ZZ Top is symbolically associated with sex, cars and rock and roll. They produce great driving music. Gimme All Your Lovin always revs my engines 
The opening (warmup) act was JD and the Straight Shot. The band is led by Jim Dolan on lead vocals and guitar. They did a 30 minute set. The song I liked the most by this ensemble was the psychedelic cover of It’s A Beautiful Day’s White Bird.
ZZ Top Set List
And yes they still have those white fuzzy guitars from the Legs video
Encore
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.
Encore #1
Encore #2
Rolling Stone Magazine published this data point in The Dead by the Numbers end-note article in the Grateful Dead, The Ultimate Guide (Special Collectors Edition)
There are 38 Dylan songs in the Dead’s live catalog.
I have gravitated to one collaborative recording in particular, “Queen Jane Approximately” from Bob Dylan’s 1965 double album, Blonde on Blonde. I am torn as to which is my favorite live rendition. I first listened to the Dylan cover compilation recording on Postcards of the Hanging (Grateful Dead/Arista). It was recorded on December 29, 1988 at The Oakland Coliseum in California. Bob Weir handles the lead vocal with Dylan inflections on a couple of stanzas.
I next listened to the Dylan & The Dead live recording on Bob Dylan’s Columbia label. This live recording happened first on July 19, 1987 in Eugene, Oregon.
I located a video on YouTube that underscores the English Tudor symbolism of Queen Jane. However, in 1965 Dylan himself told journalist Nora Ephron that “Queen Jane is a man”.[4][8]
It is amazing that Bob Dylan and The Dead performed live in concert together at all. If you attended in person any of the Dylan and Dead live shows you probably never knew that it was indeed a simple twist of fate that Bob Dylan and The Dead gelled as a performance nucleus.
Read this Open Culture educational media article about the Dead and Dylan rehearsals to learn more about what finally changed Bob Dylan’s mind to agree to the tour. Bob Dylan’s wry wit about the often Dead rumored “acid-trip” is expressed about the shows at the end of his two-level quote. There is also an audio link on that page that lets you play individual tracks from the 74 song five-hour+ rehearsal!
In Chronicles, Volume 1 he writes:
After an hour or so, it became clear to me that the band wanted to rehearse more and different songs than I had been used to doing with Petty. They wanted to run over all the songs, the ones they liked, the seldom seen ones. I found myself in a peculiar position and I could hear the brakes screech. If I had known this to begin with, I might not have taken the dates…. There were so many [songs] that I couldn’t tell which was which-I might even get the words to some mixed up with others.
Dylan eventually excused himself from the studios, intending never to return. But an encounter with a local jazz band — call it a simple twist of fate — brought him back. Dylan and The Dead started playing through his big repertoire. It was tough sledding at first. “But then miraculously,” he adds, ”something internal came unhinged.” “I played these shows with The Dead and never had to think twice about it. Maybe they just dropped something in my drink, I can’t say, but anything they wanted to do was fine with me.”
The Flaming Lips will release a new album tomorrow entitled The Terror.
I love their theatrics.
They just keep rolling along.
English: Keith Emerson 日本語: キース・エマーソン (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Today’s blog post is inspired from a photograph that captures the inherent joy evident inside the music of our hearts. Standing together these musical legends are joined in common bond of the Moog synthesizer and music composition.
The Grandmasters pictured below from left to right are Maestro Sachio Fujioka, Takashi Yoshimatsu, Isao Tomita, and Keith Emerson. This conclave of wizards took place at the Orchestral “Tarkus” Concert in Tokyo.
According to the Official Keith Emerson Website:
Keith Emerson attended the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra‘s performance of “Tarkus” in Tokyo on March 20th, 2013 to celebrate the 60th birthday of a renowned composer, Mr. Takashi Yoshimatsu, who arranged “Tarkus”. His arrangement was used on the weekly epic drama on national TV station, “Tairano Kiyomori” in Japan last year. This will be the first time Keith hears this particular version of orchestral “Tarkus” performed live by a full orchestra.
The concert was held at Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall on March 20, 2013
This is a fantastic composition performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. Takashi Yoshimatsu has extended Tarkus creating a further masterpiece in the process.
Should you wish to listen to the original work Tarkus by Emerson, Lake and Palmer I strongly urge you to avail yourself of the Deluxe Edition. It has been remastered by yet another wizard of progressive rock, Steven Wilson. Listen to it in 5.1 surround sound.
This is my signed copy of the original audio CD by Carl Palmer.
This Grandmaster’s photograph has also rekindled my interest in Tomita. I listened happily today to his classic recording, Snowflakes Are Dancing. I was reminded how picturesque and poetic Tomita’s Moog synthesizer compositions are to the music of our heart. One of the great treasures of all time is Isao Tomita.
Weighing this show worlds within the music of our heart. We have yet to see the Mickey Hart Band live. Maybe this will be that time
They will be appearing at The Palace in Stafford Springs, CT on Friday May 17th. So many concerts so little time
Tickets for the second leg of the Worlds Within tour are now on sale at http://www.mickeyhart.net/shows. 100% of the ticketing fees sold through Mickeyhart.net will go to fund Music Therapy Research at UCSF. All tickets sold through the website will include a free Mysterium Tremendum poster.
The concert portfolio for 2013 begins to materialize as ticket sales for artist tours gets seriously underway. There are two hot May Rock concerts happening the same week in Connecticut. Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band on Saturday May 4th at Mohegan Sun Casino Arena and ZZ Top at Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford on Wednesday May 8th.
My close friends know how much of a concert slut I am I have attended on average the past 11 years 20+ concerts a year. I am getting close to the 400 concerts milestone with 44 years of live performances attended. I added these two concerts to that illustrious list of live shows.
1) ZZ Top – La Futura Tour
Its hard to believe that after 40 years we have never seen ZZ Top Live in concert. I knew I had to fix that. That Lil Ol Band From Texas that I first heard and played on college FM radio has a special place in the music of our heart. In 1973 even though we were a college radio station we had a playlist we had to choose and play music from every time we were on the air. I never argued about playing ZZ Top’s Tres Hombres from that list.
Be it “Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers” or “La Grange” or “Jesus Just Left Chicago” those songs just snap, crackled and popped. I love a power trio group. First there was the super group Cream, followed by the American band Grand Funk Railroad, then ZZ Top. Three musicians creating a crescendo of sound.
They have released 15 studio albums, 8 compilation albums, and 42 singles. ZZ Top has sold over 25 million albums in the US with additional sales internationally. I thought they had sold more product than that but 25 million is very respectable.
I will have to buy some earplugs because we are dead center in the eight row, psyche!
2) Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
I am a stone cold Seger fan. I have loved the Bob Seger sound ever since Ramblin Gamblin in 1968.
We have seen Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band several times in concert in 17 years. He is tops in our books. The last Connecticut concert date was our first Bob Seger concert, the Hartford Civic Center in 1996. We next saw Bob Seger in 2007 at Madison Square Garden. The last time we caught Bob Seger and company was in Atlantic City, NJ in April of 2011. The Mohegan Sun Show in May will be our 4th Seger concert, that’s how much we love him and his music.
What can you say about one of the best singer/songwriters of our generation. He is Motor City Rock and Roll and so much more.
Now about that new studio album Bob? I’m sure we’ll love it when its time for you to release it.
Every year I look forward to the annual Grammy Awards celebration on the CBS Television Network. It is an opportunity to witness unique music performances and collaborations offered nowhere else. It is a must see broadcast as a music journalist and a lifelong music consumer.
The Best New Artist Award category poses a tough choice in 2013. My head tells me that Frank Ocean is the odds on favorite to receive this award. Frank Ocean had a phenomenal year in music. His début studio recording Channel Orange was chosen as the top recording of 2012 in many Top 10 reader and critic polls. There is typically a correlation between year end music poll and Grammy Award winners.
The music of our heart says something different in me about Best New Artist. The Lumineers are my sentimental favorite to win this year. It helps that I have seen The Lumineers perform live just as their star began to burn brightly. The Lumineers continued their ascension as they carried out an extensive global tour. The Lumineers are more than a “one-hit wonder” with the song, “Ho Hey”. Their début album is repeat play and balanced. If they don’t win the Best New Artist award they are also nominated for the Best Americana album which is more likely with the rise of roots music.
The must see performances I want to witness are dedicated to two musicians who died in 2012. There will be all-star tributes to Levon Helm and Dave Brubeck from fellow musicians who want to share their love for these two musical giants. I miss them both terribly and share in the adoration that will be shown for the music legacies they leave us all.
