Florida Georgia Line headline a country lineup at the Jones Beach Theater tonight on a hot and humid mid-July evening on Long Island.
I happened to see the band’s tractor trailers and tour buses traveling westbound down Merrick Road in Seaford on their way to Wantagh Parkway and the beach.
The road goes on forever.
Rock on.
GQ
I’ve heard of Cowboy Junkies but don’t know their music; another musical adventure.
Early show starts at 7 and ends at 8:30-
This must be what Florida is like.
Rock on
GQ
My seat to the extreme right of the stage would have been ideal except for a tent next to the stage. Being unable to see Mr. Dylan from this vantage point just adds to his mysterious persona as his gravelly voice wafts into the cloudy Queens sky.
There’s a slow train coming and it’s not the 7 line.
A legend’s road goes on forever.
Rock on
GQ
Paul Simon performs at Forest Hills Stadium tonight and Friday night in support of his recently released “Stranger to Stranger”. I last saw Rhymin’ Simon with Sting at Madison Square Garden. Sting is currently on a similar type tour with Peter Gabriel.
Now I first sort of saw Mr. Simon with Art Garfunkel from quite a distance at the now legendary Central Park concert. The venue at Forest Hills will most definitely provide a better vantage point at least for me.
Paul and Art Garfunkel grew up in Forest Hills so these shows are a bit of a homecoming for Simon.
My daughter is getting married in August and I discovered the perfect father-daughter dance song on Simon’s “Surprise” CD. Until recently, I mistakingly believed I was the only one who had found the beautiful song “Father and Daughter” only to find that it is a top ten most popular wedding number.
Thank you Google.
Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard
I Am a Rock
GQ
There are still a few rock and rollers alive and kicking in this year of too many musical icons passing away.
Peter Wolf is still rocking hard and I just recently saw Justin Heyward at City Winery with amazing guitarist Mike Dawes playing with Steve Howe like dexterity. Tonight the great Ian Hunter and the Rant Band play City Winery as part of their summer residency. Ian Hunter, best known for the Mott the Hoople and his many solo hits in the 1980’s, still looks and sounds phenomenal-a must see concert by a rock and roll legend in top form.
Once Bitten Twice Shy
Rock on
GQ
Debbie Harry emceed a benefit concert for Ivan Julian at City Winery last night. Lenny Kaye opened the two and a half hour concert with The Foundations’ “Build Me Up Buttercup” which rolled on with Ian Humter, Richard Hell, Vernon Reid with Burnt Sugar (performing Prince and Bowie tunes), Garland Jeffreys, Dictators, Bush Tetras, and more. Just a great ride with New York City rock and roll royalty and some moving tributes for and by the seriously ill Ivan Julian.
The benefit on Wednesday night sold out quickly and a second show was added this Saturday, May 7th.
Blank Generation
Rock on
GQ
Pearl Jam closed out the second night of a two show stint at the completely sold out Madison Square Garden joining special guests Cheap Trick with “Surrender” then later with Sting and “Driven to Tears”. The band played a heavy dose of their debut album and the rollicking Garden party had the building shaking with the suspended bridges high above the stage bouncing. Nosebleed seats for this hot ticket went for up to $400 a pair and the rabid crowd got its money’s worth. There was an urgency to the performance that proved that rock is not dead (yet).
Eddie Vedder provided some political comments during the performance and played on. Bruce Springsteen, on the other hand, recently canceled a concert in the Carolinas to make a point. Besides the fact Bruce Springsteen took money out of working people’s pockets who could have worked their minimum wage jobs that night and make a couple of bucks, Bruce cost others planning on attending time, and possibly money, on the canceled concert. He is entitled to his opinion but if Bruce does not live in that state, and he apparently has no dog in the fight, couldn’t he have just expressed his views like Vedder and played the show? Was it a calculated ploy to remain relevant perhaps as Springsteen plods toward schtick for an aging audience base? What next? Will he advocate government sanctioned gender reassignment to get a rise from his formerly working class audience? Free government castration! Glory Days?
Thank you Pearl Jam and
God Bless America !
Long Live Rock
and Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World
Rock on!
GQ
Jimi Hendrix Experience
Are You Ecpereienced?
Rock on
GQ
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band bring the last scheduled date of The River tour to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn tonight. After a 3:45 hour performance at Barclays Center on Saturday where he opened with Prince’s “Purple Rain”, Springsteen finishes up a tour tonight that has had some controversy, with the Carolina cancellation over transgender issues, and dates where good friend Bob Seger jumped on board for some old time rock and roll hijinks. Hopefully the political rhetoric takes a back seat to the music and he switches up the second half of the show a bit for what has been a pretty consistent set list focused on performing The River album in its entirety.
Little Red Corvette
Rock on
GQ
Fresh off of playing the Tribute to David Bowie show at Carnegie Hall recently and a multi night stint at City Winery Chicago, the Mountain Goats play City Winery In Nee York City tonight.
Last night I attended the final concert of this leg of the Chicago/ Earth, Wind and Fire 2.0 tour at Madison Square Garden. The arena was pretty close to a sell out partly because of the expected Rock and Roll Hall of Fame bump following Chicago’s well deserved recent induction. 37 million votes for Chicago kicked the Hall’s door in for the band and the tour with EWF ending at MSG was a great way to celebrate this over due recognition.
The two bands together and apart are a phenomenal night of entertainment; a joyous event with great hits and dancing in the aisles. Robert Lamm told the crowd that he believed that the two bands would unite again in the future and this tandem is a must see concert; a guaranteed good time and big bang for your buck.
On Saturday night, my wife and I returned to Colden Auditorium at Queens College where we met 37 years ago to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary and to see Boz Scaggs up close and personal. The seventy one year old Mr. Scaggs looked and sounded great as he and the band mixed blues, some obscure covers and a good chunk of his big radio hits for the attentive, appreciative audience. Boz and the band seemed to enjoy the venue this Saturday night and ended the show with what he said was the rarely performed “Breakdown Dead Ahead”.
Way back in my Queens college days I saw the original four member Talking Heads at Colden Auditorium, before the band expanded and evolved in to, up until then, uncharted pop waters.
On another occasion back in the day I saw Dave Mason at the Queens College venue when he was at the height of his musical powers and legend has it that Peter Frampton once played the college during the Frampton Comes Alive tour.
The Road Goes on Forever (particularly for Chicago)
Sing a Song
Rock on
GQ