Keith Emerson and Greg Lake recently announced tour dates for the month of April. The announcement of a tour is a bit of a surprise since I thought Emerson had experienced some issues with his hands last year which led him to cancel a set of “Keith Emerson Band” dates. Well, I guess this is a sign that he’s well enough to perform live again.
I’d be interested to see how this goes. According to the press release, the format is pretty much the two rock icons on stage re-interpreting their classic tunes in an “unplugged” setting. I’m a bit bummed that they’re not coming to my town but if any of you catch the show, feel free to post your thoughts right here on this page.
Here are the Emerson/Lake Tour dates: Thu 04/01/10 Lakewood, OH Lakewood Civic Auditorium
Fri 04/02/10 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre
Sat 04/03/10 Ridgefield, CT Ridgefield Playhouse
Mon 04/05/10 Annapolis, MD Rams Head On Stage
Tue 04/06/10 Alexandria, VA Birchmere
Thu 04/08/10 New York, NY Nokia Theatre Times Square
Fri 04/09/10 Westbury, NY Theatre At Westbury
Sat 04/10/10 New Bedford, MA Zeiterion Performing Arts Center
Tue 04/13/10 Montreal, QC Place des Arts
Fri 04/16/10 Milwaukee, WI Northern Lights Theater
Sat 04/17/10 Merrillville, IN Star Plaza Theatre
Sun 04/18/10 Indianapolis, IN Murat Theatre
Sun 04/25/10 Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre
**UPDATE: 23Feb10** new dates added to the tour - Sunday 04/11/2010 Lynn, MA Memorial Auditorium
Saturday 04/24/2010 Las Vegas, NV Las Vegas Hilton
Wednesday 04/28/2010 Colorado Springs, CO Pikes Peak Center
Currently, Neal Schon is in the midst of working up songs with Jonathan Cain for an upcoming Journey album but for a couple weeks in March, Schon will be taking some time to do some gigs of his own.
here are the dates according to PollStar.com – Wed 03/17/10 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
Thu 03/18/10 Salt Lake City, UT The Depot
Fri 03/19/10 Henderson, NV Green Valley Ranch Resort & Spa
Sat 03/20/10 Modesto, CA The State Theatre Of Modesto
Mon 03/22/10 Chico, CA El Rey Theatre
Thu 03/25/10 San Juan Capistrano, CA The Coach House
Sat 03/27/10 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
Tue 03/30/10 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Tavern
Wed 03/31/10 West Hollywood, CA House Of Blues
the live band features:
Neal Schon, Miles Schon, Marco Mendoza, Prairie Prince and Keith St. John.
Apparently Schon is headed for the studio in April to begin work on the new Journey album so there won’t be any further live dates for Schon and his band until he’s through with the recording sessions. busy guy!
I recently came across an old boot of Genesis performing live at Madison Square Garden during their 1986 Invisible Touch Tour. Listening to the recording takes me back to senior year in high school when I saw them in early 1987 at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill. It was one of the first “big arena” -type shows that I had been to at the time and so I was really taken aback with the what I saw that night. It was a fabulous show and this boot of the New York City show is a nice representation of that particular tour. The recording seems to be taken from a cassette of the soundboard. At various instances there are some “wow and flutter” effects which indicates stretching of the audio tape due to use. But even with the sonic imperfections, it’s still a fantastic document of the full show. The NYC gig was fairly early in the tour so “Follow You Follow Me” was still on the setlist and “In the Cage” was played toward the end of the show which they changed once they got into larger stadiums in 1987.
I had to laugh a bit when I heard those old Simmons drum sounds during “Home By the Sea”. Those Simmons drum kits definitely sound *dated* now and I can’t believe they actually played with those old trigger pads on stage. Those Simmons pads were like hard plastic so they were pretty brutal on the hands and arms when played for long periods of time. That’s the mid-80′s for ya. And if you’ve seen the Genesis 1987 Wembley video footage of them, you get the additional chuckle of seeing Mike Rutherford and Daryl Steurmer in “Miami Vice” garb. heh.
retroGrade : B+
The recording is worth seeking out especially if you’re fond of 80′s-era Genesis material like I am.
Live NYC 09-30-1986
artist: Genesis
Date: September 30, 1986
Venue: MSG, NYC
Sound quality: soundboard recording (cassette quality)
the live band: Tony Banks: Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Mike Rutherford: Guitars, Basses, Backing Vocals
Phil Collins: Acoustic & Electronic Drums, Vocals
Chester Thompson: Acoustic & Electronic Drums
Daryl Steurmer: Guitars, Basses, Backing Vocals
Tracklist:
CD 1 Mama (8:39)
Abacab (10:52)
Land Of Confusion (5:13)
That’s All (6:31)
Domino (12:41)
In Too Deep (5:42)
The Brazilian (5:38)
Follow You Follow Me (5:14)
Chester Thompson Intro (1:04)
Tonight Tonight Tonight (9:11)
CD 2 Audience Participation Time (4:28)
Home By The Sea (12:06)
Throwing It All Away (7:34)
Daryl Steurmer Intro (1:11)
In The Cage (8:00)
…In That Quiet Earth (3:58)
Supper’s Ready (8:28)
Invisible Touch (5:08)
Drum Duet (4:59)
Los Endos (6:48)
Turn It On Again (11:02) (more…)
I recently had to purchase a pair of eyeglasses for my son who’s currently in middle school. He noticed that he couldn’t see the blackboard that well when seated at the back of some of his classes. Without much thought, I took him to the lenscrafters at the mall. But honestly, I regretted it once I got the bill. It’s not like my son needs those “high-index” glasses (to reduce the thickness of the lenses) but we still got stuck with a nearly $300 bill. yikes! I’m definitely not going back there again. Especially now that I’ve seen this recent article by the Brooklyn Liberal Examiner. The writer recommends purchasing your next pair of eyeglasses online via a site called Zenni Optical. Zenni cuts out the expense of the middleman and retail outlets and sells direct to the consumer. And by running their business this way, Zenni is able to offer high quality lenses and frames at low prices. If only I knew about them before purchasing my son’s glasses!
Two things to keep in mind when purchasing glasses online. It’ll definitely take longer to get your glasses. According to the Examiner article, the manufacturing lab is located in China so the turnaround time seems to take a couple weeks. They also require the PD (pupilary distance) number which isn’t usually written out on the average prescription. It’s something to remember to ask for the next time you see your eye doctor. But even so, I’d have to say the huge savings in cost is definitely worth the hassle.
In honor of Valentine’s day I thought I’d post another installment of the RetroBlog mix tape. This time around, it’s a collection of the bittersweet aspects of love. yeah, I guess I’m just a cynical old fart. heh. check it out, enjoy the tunes.
Anyway, I hope you’re having a fantastic weekend but with all the snow around the east coast, please drive safe!
I can see your face but I know it’s not real
too much confusion caused by how I used to feel… Eric Clapton – Old Love
We used to say “Ah Hell, we’re young”
But now we see that life is sad
And so is love … Kate Bush – And So is Love
well, you’ve gotta be crazy to want a guy like me
yeah, you’ve gotta be out of your mind, crazy
Well, there must be some kind of mistake to give your heart away
yeah, you’ve gotta be out of your mind, crazy… Icehouse – Crazy
Dr. Yang, now her voicemail box is full
And she won’t call me, I’m feeling like a fool
The last time I saw her in her car
I threw her shit out in the yard
Locked her out and headed to the bar… Ben Folds – Lovesick Diagnostician
There’s a tension I can taste that speaks for the danger
Let the warnings go to waste
Eyes that reflect a secret fire that covers the fear inside
In a flash we’re lost from sight to explore the romance that we hide
And the thrill of the chase plays a part in the chances we take
We escape to the world after dark… Survivor – Backstreet Love Affair
All my girls are no where to be found
they all split when I’m in trouble
but I’ll tell you all my secrets if you stick around
the “undercover-lovers” under the covers
I just wanna use your love… Katy Perry – Use Your Love
you are my weakness, my weakness
You’re my Achilles’ Heel
The flame that melts the steel in my heart… Todd Rundgren – Weakness
And once again she calls to me
Then she vanishes in thin air
And how she takes my breath away
Pretending that she’s not there
I would bleed to love her… Lindsey Buckingham – Bleed to Love her
It’s not too late for us
We still got hope and trust
We can still hang tough and let it slide
And when it’s all too much
We’ll leave it in the dust
Climb up on that bus and ride… Shawn Colvin – Let it Slide
I’m sure you all are waiting with baited breath to find out who is going to win these highly sought afterTony’s Pizza coupons!
Well thankfully the wait is finally over. I placed all entries in a spreadsheet and assigned a number to each of them. I also made sure to add extra entries for the kind folks that added me on twitter. I then used Random.org to generate a random number.
..and so the winner of the FIVE coupons for free Tony’s Pizzas is: Shirley! congrats! You should be receiving an email from me today.
Thanks again to all that participated in the drawing and hopefully I’ll have another fun giveaway coming up soon. stay tuned!
Carrie Underwood’s latest titled Play On is like the Wal-Mart of popular music. Underwood along with her producers and writers set out to please the broadest possible listening audience and by doing so, the bulk of the album is generic and bland as mac & cheese. It’s a bit disappointing since Underwood is so darn likeable and she’s obviously got the vocal chops. Too bad the material isn’t challenging enough to keep me interested.
For today’s song of the day, I thought I’d share the sole highlight of the album, a song called “This Time”.
Maybe it’s the way that the stars are aligned
That’s making me feel this way tonight
Maybe it’s the words you left unsaid
Maybe it’s the stardust in my head
But I wanna tell you that my heart is busting at the seams, yeah
And I can’t wait another minute
Life is short, love is sweet ain’t no time like this time baby
Maybe it’s the way that the night is still
Or the sound of the rain on my windowsill
That’s making all the pieces fit
Making it all make perfect sense
But I wanna tell you that my heart is busting at the seams, yeah
And I can’t wait another minute
Life is short, love is sweet ain’t no time like this time baby
Goes by so fast, can’t get it back
There ain’t no time like this time
Yeah I just wanna tell you that my heart is busting at the seams, yeah
And I can’t wait another minute
Life is short, love is sweet ain’t no time like this time baby
- This Time written by Lindsay, McEwan, Simpson
Here’s a preview of a funny commercial that’ll be shown during the Super Bowl this year. It’s a vacation rental commercial featuring the official Vacation Rental.org mascot/superhero, UNITARD. The video does a good job in reminding viewers that hotels aren’t the only game in town during family vacations. Why limit yourself to a cramped hotel room when you can stay at a roomy vacation home or condo? And it’s as simple as a click of a mouse by using the vacation rental website. And just think, by renting a spacious vacation home on your next family outing, you’ll not only make your whole family happy but good ol’ UNITARD as well.
To promote the release of a Journey Greatest Hits compilation in the U.K., Steve Perry gave a rare interview with Nicky Horne on Planet Rock radio this past wednesday. Perry confirmed that he has written some songs and recorded demos but apparently nothing close to a new album just yet. He also mentioned during the interview that he misses performing for fans but doesn’t miss the limelight. Another interesting tidbit from the radio segment is that Perry always wanted to be a radio DJ. Horne, the interviewer, was delighted to hear of this and even invited Perry to join the staff at Planet Rock. heh, heh.
anyway, a fellow fan MerryPeary posted the audio of the interview on youtube so be sure to check out the following links and listen for yourself:
As major corporations continue to shed jobs, many folks have found themselves unemployed and feeling powerless. For most people, their identity and self-worth were intricately linked together with their careers. And once the job is removed from the picture, they are utterly lost. Interestingly enough, many have found Allison Maslan’s brand new book Blast Off! helpful in getting one’s own personal and professional life back on track. Maslan is a renowned life/business strategist that wants to help inspire others to take charge of their lives during these troubled times. In her book Blast Off! Maslan shares her secrets of success and provides her readers the tools needed to reach their own life goals. I find this book very timely and inspirational and I look forward to applying her techniques to my own future endeavors.
The new book was released on January 19th and is currently available on Amazon as well as Barnes and Noble, Borders and other fine bookstores across the nation. It normally retails for $24 but Amazon has it on sale right now so be sure to add it to your shopping cart today! Don’t let the state of the economy get you down. Empower yourself and make your dreams a reality.
