While the Foo Fighters and Neil Young continue to fight the good fight rockin’ in the free world, when I see Kim Kardashian on the cover of my Rolling Stone magazine and I get an email from Groupon offering discounted Neil Young concert tickets for Jones Beach, the future of rock and roll would seem to be on life support.

Those of us who subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine count on the continued integrity of the publication and its commitment to the past, present, and future of rock and roll. Let Vanity Fair and ESPN pander to the Kardashian nation; Rolling Stone magazine should be better than this or go away graciously.

It is Better to Burn Out

Than to Fade Away.

Rolling Stone Magazine should 

Not Fade Away.

And while I occasionally purchase the inexpensive Groupon concert ticket for a cheap night out, when I see Gregg Allman with the Doobie Brothers on Groupon for Jones Beach and their Laid Back Festival, or Neil Young at the Beach for $18.00 because the show is not selling, it makes me a bit sad for the future of the industry. Although I am confident somehow it will survive, with the ever increasing difficulty for less established acts to sell their music and make a living, never mind get rich, I wonder how the rock and roll music will evolve and in what form. 

Go to a concert, put your smartphone away and live in the moment.

Support your favorite bands with your disposable income and discover new music.

and Rock on

GQ

Rhiannon Giddens is a must see and the concert is FREE as part of the Celebrate Brooklyn program. Prospect Park is a great outdoor venue in a cool neighborhood with great food trucks inside the venue which will be general admission for this performance.

On Thursday 7/16/2015  I traveled to Camden, New Jersey. just outside of Philadelphia. to attend Neil Young and the Promise of the Real with opener Band of Horses.

On Friday, 07/17/2015 I traveled to Bethel Woods near Woodstock to see Neil Young and the band with opener Puss N Boots featuring Norah Jones.

The tour continues Tuesday at Jones Beach Theater after which I will provide tales from the road, Darryl Hannah in a hoodie videotaping the concerts on the down low, and passing Neil Young’s custom tour bus on the New Jersey Turnpike.

The road goes on forever

The Monsanto Years

Walk on

GQ

I have to admit that when Dave Grohl broke his leg falling off a stage recently requiring six pins to put him back together, I was hoping that the band would postpone, or even cancel, their North American tour. I believed that the ticket prices were a little high for a stadium show to begin with and I had visions of Meat Loaf performing his “Bat Out of Hell” tour from a wheel chair at St. John’s University after he had broken a leg. At the end of that show, after being confined to a standard wheel chair during the performance, the heavy set Meat Loaf dramatically pulled himself out of the chair as if he had broken out of restraints and staggered/limped forward  victoriously toward the end of the performance. I did not know it then, but Mr. Loaf was known for his athletiicism and for doing tumblesaults but not on this night and I have always felt that I did not see Mr. Loaf at the height of his powers.

While Mr. Grohl is not known for doing backflips on stage, he is a high energy rock and roller; an old school rocker who I saw roaming the Sirius studios before his Chelsea Handler Town Hall interview enjoying an afternoon Coors Light while looking for the men’s room. Dave Grohl is my kind of rock and roll star.

The last time I saw the Foo Fighters was at the Global Festival with Neil Young and Crazy Horse in Central Park when he announced it would be their last performance as the Foo Fighters. As we now know, that did not last very long. Before that I saw the Foo fighters open for the Rolling Stones at Giants Stadium many moons ago.

My hopes of a postponed Citifield performance were dashed when I read that this tour was going to generate upwards of 68 million dollars for the band. Like when The Who went on tour after John Entwhistle died unexpectedly, if the money is in the bank, they are not making refunds. YES will apparently tour this summer without the late great Chris Squier who passed away recently.. YES is a band already currently touring without Jon Anderson or Rick Wakeman and with an old Alan White on drums. The show must go on I suppose but maybe Robert Plant has got the right idea about Led Zeppelin reunions. 

My wife and I took up spots in the general admission in front of the stage extension into the middle of the orchestra. I was really expecting the worst; a money grab from one of the last of the true rock and rollers. After the two man aural assault by a very interesting Royal Blood and video clips from the Sonic Highways documentary series, the Foo Fighters curtain dropped at 8:30 PM and our rock and roll savior Dave Grohl was seen on stage sitting in a magnificent throne-like chair with a red oval backing, an FF emblazoned on it,  with rotating stage lights around it’s back and various guitar necks protruding from the sides as if it could take flight at any given moment. Grohl’s right leg was elevated and in a cast and mid song the chair traveled up the catwalk where he was right above us. It should have sucked but it did not. Dave said that he was going to rock harder in that chair than he ever did on his feet and I’ll be damned if he did exactly that. 

We should have never doubted Grohl’s will to rock. It was a great show that included video clips of Dave’s on stage accident, x-rays, and a travelogue through his recovery and special chair configuration. 

The show was not sold out as they put the Wednesday show on sale after the Thursday sold quickly. The band rocked, appeared to be having fun and, while the Foo Fighters generally do not perform encores (and there was an 11:00 PM curfew), Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers joined the band on drums for the Faces’ “Stay With Me” with Taylor Hawkins on lead vocal which lef the crowd pretty satisfied as we headed to the Citifield parking lots.

Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins wore a Yes t-shirt throughout the show that said RIP Chris Squire which was a nice tribute to the legendary bassist.

The Foo Fighters are in Boston tonight and tomorrow for two shows at Fenway Park.

Let There Be Rock

GQ

I have been a neglectful blogger so to my one follower out there, my apologies but here is how my summer vacation is going (so far).

I attended Stephen Stills at City Winery a couple of weeks ago. It was advertised as a solo show but Stephen did have a band with him. which was a good thing. While I would have gone irregardless, Stephen Stills’  voice is pretty rough and ragged these days and on a bad night he struggles. On this night at City Winery Stephen was in good spirits (except for a few rants about cell phone video) and he was able to hit the high notes as well as he can presently. 

One great thing about a Stephen Stills performance  is that despite the current vocal shortcomings. Stephen Stills’ long history with the audience has everyone in the venue rooting for him; when he hits the difficult note, or comes close, the audience erupts in applause. 

The last time I saw Stills without Crosby and Nash he was with the apparent one-off The Rides with Kenny Wayne Shepherd in Westbury. The Rides was a blues fueled project where Stephen shared the stage somewhat equally with the other players.

Both shows had Stills playing nice renditions of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World”.

My “Peaches Records and Tapes” 1978 CSN Walk of Fame T-shirt was a big hit with random people in the City Winery crowd and my daughter said it was the best show we’ve seen at City Winery, which  is high praise indeed.

In June I spent a week at Bolton Landing , New York on Lake George where I finally got to read the Gregg Allman autobiography and Neil Young’s  Waging Heavy Peace. I found both books interesting and worth reading but if I had to choose one, the Neil Young book, which he wrote in his own, was a far more interesting read as Neil jumped back and forth between time periods and topics while keeping the narrative moving forward to provide great incite to his history, creative process, and motivations.

Treetop Flyer

Rock on

GQ

i have to admit that when I picked up tickets to see Mudhoney at the Bowery Ballroom it was partly to see the band connected to the 1980’s Seattle music scene that gave us Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, among other acts, but the primary pull was to see them at one of my favorite venues, the Bowery Ballroom.

I had heard of the band but was unfamiliar with the music and did not know even one Mudhoney tune before the show. I was truly a blank slate for this show but I enjoy a new musical experience so I was raring to go. 

Mudhoney rocks. 

The lead singer/ guitarist Mark Arm exudes the best grunge while channeling John Lydon and Iggy Pop’s love child. The songs are intelligent, the band is tight, and the music is loud but clear.

I left the concert wondering how this band did not break out big but I am sure there is an interesting back story that explains that particular question.

Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

Rock on

GQ

Billy Joel was in good voice tonight for his record tying appearance at Madison Square Garden where he broke into a Monkees medley about halfway through the show. 

I’m a Believer

Rock on

GQ

The legendary Van Morrison plays Forest Hills Stadium tonight for what is reportedly his only scheduled North American appearance. 

I’ve seen Van Morrison in concert a few times, and I am a huge fan, but a few years ago at Jones Beach Theater the man showed me something I had never seen before. During the concert on the right side of the stage there was a large digital clock with bright red numbers that counted up from zero to an hour and a half exactly when the night’s last song had ended and at which time the eccentric Van walked off stage withnot as much as a goodnight. This still ranks as one of the oddest things I’ve ever seen at a concert. 

Mr. Morrison could not have left the venue faster if the building was on fire. 

Whether the hour and a half performance was what the contract called for or just his own quirky twist on the evening, it left a strange vibe hanging over an audience who were clearly enjoying one of the great artists of our time.

If you do attend tonight’s performance, you can likely set your watch, or I-phone, from the time Van Morrison and his band hit the stage.

In any event, from the looks of it, it will be a marvelous night for a moon dance in Forest Hills tonight.

Real Real Gone

Rock on

GQ

I do not consider myself to be a movie reviewer but the film Love and Mercy about Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys is brilliant. The story of Brian Wilson as the tortured musical genius would be hard to believe if it were not true and it makes for a riveting cinematic rock and roll journey worthy of numerous Academy Award considerations. 

Good Vibrations

Rock on

GQ

Peter Cetera is one of the founding members of the band Chicago. At some point the bad blood between him and the band got so bad that when Peter Cetera came out with a solo greatest hits collection, Cetera had to re-record his great Chicago hits because the band would not authorize his using the originals for the compilation. Perhaps if the band Chicago gets inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where they rightfully belong, Petra Cetera and Chicago can reunite for one last go round.

In the meantime, Chicago tours at an extraordinary pace year after year, this summer with Earth, Wind and Fire, and Mr. Cetera plays tonight in the half round at Westbury Music Fair.

Saturday in the Park

Rock on!

GQ

The Dave Matthews Band plays two sets at the sold out Nikon at Jones Beach Theater and the unofficial start of the rock and roll summer concert season on Long Island begins tonight.

The Best of What’s Around

Rock on 

GQ