Nils Lofgren’s earlier band Grin had some teeth, but for the most part, I find his solo records to be lacking any of that. They’re not bad so much as they are just lacking in anything ecstatic. That makes Night After Night a bit of a surprise. Steven Kurutz at allmusic.com calls the record “not an inspired effort,” but to… Read more »
My first concert of 1987 was U2’s sixth date on their Joshua Tree tour. I didn’t know U2 beyond Under a Blood Red Sky, but “Where the Streets Have No Name” immediately captivated me. I intuitively knew this band, this record, and this concert would change my life. My friend David and I convinced our parents to let us make… Read more »
Merriweather Post Pavilion Columbia, MD July 20, 2010 Despite the encroachment of corporate sponsors (which in this case is not really as bad as it sounds) and the shift away from its old “punk rock summer camp” ethos that dominated my first run of attendance (1997-2002), the last three years have still been a lot of fun and I’ve seen… Read more »
Recher Theatre, Towson, Maryland June 26, 2010 When I last saw Thrice in 2002, they were touring for The Illusion of Safety, a young band with promise that was, at that point, unfulfilled. They played with heart and daring, but not all of their ideas worked. Over the course of the next eight years, perhaps no band has grown so… Read more »
Date: July 18, 2009 Robert Randolph tore things up on Saturday night at Artscape, including two amazing Michael Jackson covers and plenty of crowd participation.
May 7, 2009, Recher Theatre, Towson, Maryland The Gaslight Anthem released one of 2008’s best records, were a highlight of last summer’s Vans Warped Tour, released an fantastic 10″ on Record Store Day and are now on the verge of opening for perhaps their biggest influence, Bruce Springsteen. There really couldn’t be much more of a positive vibe or greater… Read more »
I spent all day yesterday enjoying plenty of sunshine and rock and roll at the Baltimore/Washington stop of the Vans Warped Tour. Coverage and pictures are on the way, but here’s a quick shot of the huge circle pit that the Street Dogs had going around the sound tent. See all of my Warped Tour coverage here.
Label: Sony BMG Released: May 27, 2008 Live at the Fillmore East was recorded only a little over a month before I saw the Dolls play in Baltimore, so I had a good idea of the potential this release had. Despite my feelings about One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This, I found the show to be… Read more »
March 12, 2008, Baltimore Chop Books, Baltimore, Maryland This was a night of endangered and lost arts: folk music, storytelling, community…and geography. That’s right, geography. Over the course of an intimate night of folk music in a small (and very cool) independent book store, Sarah and Claire Bowman, through the stories attached to and included in their music, illustrated the… Read more »
February 12, 2008, Rams Head Live, Baltimore, Maryland I wasn’t sure what to expect of the audience at a New York Dolls show in 2008. Would it be mostly an older crowd who’d known the Dolls from their earliest days? A group of thirty-somethings who know the them as the influence on bands they liked say twenty years ago? How… Read more »