Billy  Joel  opened the “new” Nassau Coliseum last night and tonight Stevie Nicks and The Pretenders play at the revamped arena.

It’s been a great stretch of women rockers coming through tow with Ann Wilson blowing the roof off of The Space in Westbury last week. Annie mixed in Heart songs with classics by other artists like The Who (Won’t Get Fooled Again,  Love Rein O’er Me), Prter Gabriel (Don’t Give Up), Jimi Hendrix (Manic Depression) and the Buffalo Springfield.  Ann Wilson is like David Crosby in that their voices are extraordinary gifts holding up after decades of rock and roll wear and tear. The show was one of those somewhat unexpected great events reminding me why I continue to attend as many  concerts as I do. Every once in awhile you catch lightening in a bottle and leave happily surprised and grateful you made the effort seek out the rock.

The Classic East concerts at Citifield with Fleetwood Mac go on sale tomorrow which turns out to be bad timing for Stevie Nicks as many seats are unsold at the moment. The somewhat overpriced event should have taken place in the sheds but the Coliseum must be paying good money to get a buzz flowing about the venue as they have quite a few shows lined up in the next couple of months. The added bonus of Chryssie Hynde and The Pretendrs makes this a great double bill worth checking out.

Neil Younf bailed on inducting Pearl Jam in to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame due to illness. Secondary market tickets for this event are sky high so even though Yes will be there, I almost surely will not. I think the E Street Band is still giving their acceptance speeches. Brutal.

Back on the Chain Gang

Rock on!

GQ