retroblog.net

After the successful run of A Wizard a True Star album shows last year, Todd Rundgren is ready to do a follow-up. This time around, he’s revisiting TWO classic albums – Todd (1974) and Healing (1981). That’s right, Rundgren will be performing both albums in their entirety!! And once again, working behind the scenes to bring these shows to the fans are Doug and Mel of Rundgren Radio. As most TR fans know, Rundgren Radio has been instrumental in promoting/sponsoring TR gigs these last few years including AWATS, some “Robert Johnson” gigs and now the Todd/Healing shows. Without RR, this Todd/Healing tour probably wouldn’t have happened especially since no other concert promoter has stepped up to take the tour beyond the 6 initial gigs Rundgren Radio has put together.

If you haven’t done so already, head over to ticketmaster to purchase your tickets to one of these 6 shows. It doesn’t appear likely that Todd will be bringing this show anywhere else so if you love these two albums, this’ll be your only chance to hear the songs live in their entirety.

But if you can’t make the drive, you’re still in luck!! Rundgren will also be providing a pay-per-view webcast of the September 14th show at the Keswick Theatre via todocast. head over to the todocast site for more info.

So, here are the dates/locations for the 6 Todd/Healing album shows in September produced by Rundgren Radio:

Sun 09/05/10 Akron, OH Akron Civic Theatre

Wed 09/15/10 Morristown, NJ The Community Theatre At Mayo Center For The Performing Arts

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Hey, guess what? Staples is offering a great deal on a laptop this week and since my defective HP Pavilion Dv7 is no longer any use to me, I quickly snagged one before it went out of stock. Actually it was “out of stock” online all day yesterday but surprisingly the laptop became available first thing this morning. I’m not that familiar with the way the Staples website inventory works but I’m glad I got in on the deal.

Here’s what I got:

it’s the Acer® Aspire AS5741Z-5433 for $399 (sale ending 8/28).
it features -
Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core P6000 Processor (1.86GHz)
4GB installed memory
320GB hard drive
8X DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive
15.6″ HD Widescreen CineCrystal™ LCD Display (1366 x 768)
Built-in HD Webcam (1.3 megapixel)
Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
1 – HDMI™ Port
6-cell Li-ion Battery (4400 mAh)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
1 year warranty

So what do you think? yeah, I know it’s on the low end in terms of tech but after what happened to my 17″ HP, I’m a bit gun-shy about spending more money than I should on a laptop that may or may not last two years. Hopefully this little Acer won’t let me down. At the least, it’s a bit reassuring to know that the Acer is PC Magazine’s Editors’ Choice for budget laptops.

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well, I finally got a call from the local PC repair shop about my laptop. They simply confirmed what I already knew. It’s the motherboard and there’s no cheap fix for it. The motherboard can be replaced for $400 but as all of us know, you can easily get a new laptop for that price.

So, does anyone want my HP Pavilion DV7 for parts? I might as well put it up on ebay to get something out of this piece of crap. It’s only a year and a half old and now it’s just a paper weight. lovely.

Thanks for nothing HP.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boost Mobile. All opinions are 100% mine.

Boost Mobile recently announced that they’ll be releasing their very first touch-screen phone that also features a slide-out QWERTY keypad. Yeah, I know it’s a bit late in the game in comparison to what’s been available in the U.S. market but for Boost Mobile users like myself, it’s time for a little rejoicing.

The new Samsung Seek, which will be out in stores this month, is geared toward social networking and multimedia apps. The phone will feature a 2.6 inch QVGA touch screen, stereo bluetooth, a 1.3 megapixel camera, music player and a microSD memory slot.

There was a time when prepaid/no-contract cell phone customers felt like second-class citizens being forced to use stripped down, bare-boned, feature-less phones. But in the last few years, with the millions of people opting for the less-restrictive, no-contract plans offered by Boost Mobile, the company has obviously heard the cries of those wanting better and more feature-packed phones. And now as you can see on their website, Boost has a great variety of phones available including touchscreens, sliders, the very popular Sanyo Incognito and yes, they even offer a Boost version of the Blackberry.

Besides the variety of phones being offered, I like the flexibility in which you can pay for the service. You can pay by debit or credit card via their website but you can also Re-Boost in-person at a nearby authorized store such as a Sprint/Nextel retailer or the local Radio Shack. They even offer a way to add funds to your account right from your phone. Talk about convenience!

Boost Mobile definitely has a lot going on. I’m especially impressed that they’re constantly working to improve their service and never resting on their laurels. If you’re still with a contract-based service, it just might be time for you to consider breaking free of those chains and switch over to Boost.

Yup, pre-paid cell service has come a long way.

Samsung Seek Specifications:
Operating System Samsung Proprietary sW
Weight 3.85 ounces
Dimension (HXWXD) 4.12 x 2.08 x 0.58
Display 262K TFT, QVGA, 2.6″, 240 x 320 pixels
Talk time 5.8 hours
User Interface Touch Screen w/ Full QWERTY Keyboard
Camera 1.3 Megapixel Camera
Memory 128MB RAM/256MB ROM
Phone book Holds up to 600 entries
External Memory microSD holds up to 32GB
other features: Music Player, Email, Instant Messaging, Internet HTML Browser, Speakerphone, Voice Recongnition

While my 13 year old son and I were walking around downtown Raleigh this past Tuesday evening, it was interesting to see the huge crowd of people heading for the Raleigh Amphitheater to see Maroon 5. We were headed in the opposite (less crowded) direction to see and hear classic 80′s pop/prog at its finest. That’s right, Asia in concert at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium (Progress Energy Center).

Yes, I admit that it took a bit of convincing to get the 13 year old to agree to come with me and that’s understandable. I mean, these guys aren’t spring chickens by any means and are more likely to appear on the cover of AARP than Rolling Stone magazine. But come on, John Wetton, Carl Palmer, Geoff Downes and Steve Howe are legends of 70′s prog rock! And this was the FIRST time they’ve come to Raleigh so I just had to go to show my support as well as educate the young one on how *real rock musicians* play live.

And fortunately Asia did not disappoint. Yes, the members of Asia all look like your average “grandpa” but they can still ROCK. Wetton’s voice sounds stronger than ever – even singing the majority of the old 80′s tunes in their original key. Howe still amazes on the guitar. Downes has reduced the size of his keyboard rig but can still get those signature synths sounds we all know and love. And as for Palmer – man, he’s still a monster behind that double-bass drum kit. Yes, Palmer still has issues with tempo but when you’re there in the audience being pummeled by the mammoth wall of sound that the four of them create, tempo can blissfully be ignored.

highlights for me included: Palmer’s requisite drum solo – definitely worth the price of admission alone, “Holy War”, the unplugged version of “Don’t Cry”, “Time Again” and “Sole Survivor”.

There were a few noticeable rough patches though. Wetton had a hard time remembering the words to “Days Like These” and had to use a prompter. and Howe fudged the signature riff during “Heat of the Moment”. But man, I still enjoyed the show regardless.

As for my 13 year old – he gave me a thumbs up at the end of the night and I’ll accept that since he basically went along to please his old man. Hopefully concerts like this one will instill in him a reference point for what great musicianship is all about. It’s sad to think about but this level of musicianship may not be around when my son gets to be my age.

other random thoughts about the show:
- I wonder what they’re using to flesh out the harmonies during the big choruses especially since Howe and Palmer don’t sing. I suspect some real-time vocal harmonizer device of some sort.

- it was disappointing to see that the 2200 seat auditorium was a little over half full. I guess the concert promoter overestimated what Asia would draw here in Raleigh. It’s not the band’s fault since they don’t decide on the venues. but hopefully the promoter didn’t take too much of a hit for this gig.

- that being said, I like Memorial auditorium (except for the small bathrooms). The seats are nice, the staff is laidback and the section near the stage has plenty of room to move around.

- Geoff Downes didn’t have his keytar on this tour. I miss it.

- love the deep bass sound Wetton was getting with those Moog Taurus 3 bass pedals. it shook the building whenever it was used. nice!!

- Steve Howe had a Line6 Variax on a stand for the sitar sound. I personally didn’t think it was worth the trouble. the variax didn’t sound all that great. maybe a mix issue?

- and kudos to the band for including a healthy chunk of their new songs in the set list. I’m sure it’s easier just to rely on old favorites but the new stuff held their own. The set included 4 from Omega and 2 from Phoenix.

retroGrade: A

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hey all!

I’ve got lots of updates for the blog including a review of last night’s Asia concert but my personal laptop died on me. Well, I’m still hoping and praying that it’ll come back to life so we’ll see. There’s tons of important stuff on the hard drive that I don’t want to lose so hopefully I’ll be able to get it back up on running.

Anyway, just thought I’d post this notice for those waiting for new posts here.

stay tuned…

“Only the lonely know the heartaches I’ve been through
Only the lonely know I cry and cry for you…”

His voice is unmistakable and his songs are timeless. Even years after his passing, there hasn’t been anyone that has come close to filling Roy Orbison‘s shoes. Orbison’s sweet, operatic voice combined with those haunting melodies are his and his alone. And thanks to Eagle Rock Entertainment, we can all continue to celebrate his legacy by listening to his last live performance on the newly released CD titled, The Last Concert: December 4, 1988. All the hits are here including “Crying”, “Only the Lonely”, “Blue Bayou” and “Oh, Pretty Woman”. Contrary to what you might think, Orbison sounds energetic and in good spirits during this historic performance. Even at the age of 52, he still had command over his four octave voice, hitting those spine-tingling high notes with ease.

No one knew Orbison would pass away two days after this concert so we’re very fortunate to have a high-quality soundboard recording of this show. I’m pretty certain this isn’t a multi-track recording so the sound mix that was captured onto tape that night can’t be changed in post-production. So there are some issues with levels being a bit uneven at times. For instance, the backing vocals are a bit too upfront on “Only the Lonely” and “Blue Bayou”. But that might be just me being a little nitpicky. Ultimately, the sound level issues are just minor quibbles. Orbison and the band gave a great performance that night in Ohio and this recording is a must have for any Orbison fan.

retroGrade: A

Roy Orbison – The Last Concert: December 4, 1988
Eagle Rock Entertainment
released August 2010

Tracklist:
1 Only the Lonely 4:32
2 Leah 3:16
3 Dream Baby 2:56
4 In Dreams 3:28
5 Mean Woman Blues 3:17
6 Blue Bayou 3:27
7 Candyman 3:45
8 Crying 5:43
9 Ooby Dooby 5:57
10 Go, Go, Go (Down the Line) 5:52
11 It’s Over 3:29
12 Working for the Man 1:50
13 Lana 2:48
14 Oh, Pretty Woman 5:23
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Look, I see that you’re old and wanted to hurry to show your granddaughter the beach and all but that doesn’t entitle you to forcefully swing your door into my car.

First of all, you’re the one that parked extremely close to me. You should have either corrected your shitty parking job or just parked somewhere else if you found the space too tight.

Also, you should have known that those large Venza doors swing out wide and parked your car accordingly. But NO. you just HAD to park in that space next to mine. It’s not like the parking lot was full. it wasn’t. There were plenty of spaces in the parking lot. You probably could taken up TWO spaces elsewhere and no one would have cared. BUT YOU STILL CHOSE to park in that narrow space next to mine! And then you give ME the attitude that it was somehow MY FAULT that my car got dinged??? the nerve of some people.
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I think a lot of people take Tom Petty for granted so it’s nice to be reminded of how talented this guy really is. Petty is a bonafide American Rock icon, no doubt. He has recorded fifteen studio albums, most of which went either gold or platinum. And he has toured, along with the Heartbreakers, extensively over the last three decades. Watching the newly released Damn the Torpedoes documentary just reaffirms why Petty and the Heartbreakers have had such a long career in the music business.

First of all, Damn the Torpedoes is Petty’s breakthrough album. It sat at the number two spot for seven weeks on the Billboard album chart and went on to sell over two million copies. With classic songs like “Don’t Do Me Like That”, “There Goes My Girl” and “Refugee”, the album has stood the test of time. And with producer Jimmy Iovine and engineer Shelly Yakus behind the recording console, the record still sounds great even to this day.

If you’ve never seen a “Classic Albums DVD” before, it’s essentially a detailed look back on how a particular album was put together with all the major contributors interviewed on camera. For this Damn The Torpedoes DVD- Petty, Yakus, Iovine, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench and Ron Blair were brought into a recording studio to go over the multi-tracks of this album. For a “music nut” like me, it’s a huge treat to see and hear what went on “behind the scenes” especially concerning the songwriting and recording of it all.

Petty and Campbell obviously got most of the screentime but it was nice hearing insight from producer Iovine and from keyboardist Tench. It was a bit of a surprise to hear that Iovine demanded full live performances from the band in the studio instead of building songs track by track. But the interplay among the musicians really made the songs come alive which you may not have gotten if they had decided to record the album piece by piece.

Iovine also reveals the “secret” to the song “Refugee”. The key rhythmic ingredient, according to Iovine, is the *shaker* that was added by legendary musician Jim Keltner. Keltner just happened to be hanging out in the studio at the time and they got him to add a shaker to the track and it was like magical fairy dust sprinkled onto the song. heh. funny stuff.

Oh and speaking of “Refugee”, be sure to check the bonus material on the DVD. Studio engineer Yakus explains that the bass drum was intentionally recorded “out of phase” with the rest of the drums. And by doing so, the bass drum stood out in the overall mix, making it almost “pop out” from the speakers.

Another nugget from the bonus material, is Petty’s Rickenbacker guitar that’s featured on the album cover. It turns out that the Rickenbacker is actually Campbell’s. And get this, Campbell bought it used for only $150!! And by the serial number, he found out that it was the next guitar the shop made after they made George Harrison’s famous Rickenbacker. Man, I wonder if the original seller of that guitar ever found out what the guitar was really worth??

Anyway, there’s tons of neat info like that about the band and the album. It’s definitely worth viewing especially nowadays where professional recording studios are going the way of the dinosaur. The classic album series highlights the achievements that were done in a real recording studio using analog multi-track tapes. In this day and age of ProTools and bedroom recordings, a lot of these techniques and methods will unfortunately be lost. Can you imagine 20 years from now when the Classic Albums series features an album from 2010? The documentary will probably feature just some dude in a bedroom looking at waveforms on a computer screen. yikes!

retroGrade: A

Classic Albums: Damn the Torpedoes DVD
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
DVD U.S. release date: August 3, 2010
also available on Blu-Ray
running time: 98 minutes
Studio: Eagle Rock Entertainment
Directed by: Matthew Longfellow

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