retroblog.net

I don’t know why I’m drawn to this crap but I couldn’t help but tune in to the season premiere of Celebrity Apprentice last night. I guess it’s the whole train wreck aspect of it. Come on, watching D-List celebrities humiliate themselves just to get some on air screen time? It’s must-see TV!!

For those that didn’t catch the show, here are the team lineups:

Team Rock Solid (the men) : Rod Blagojevich, Sinbad, Bret Michaels, Darryl Stawberry, Curtis Stone, Michael Johnson and Bill Goldberg

Team Tenacity (the women) : Cyndi Lauper, Sharon Osbourne, Carol Leifer, Summer Sanders, Holly Robinson Peete, Maria Kanellis and Selita Ebanks.

The douche-bag of the night – it’s gotta be Donald Jr. with his big-headed pompous attitude. His response to a question about how he knows who received the most contributions – “I know everything.” what an ass.

The women lost the restaurant task so Carol Leifer got booted. oh well. the Donald rarely fires the more well-known celebs early on so between Lauper and Leifer, it was a bit obvious who the Donald was going to pick.

as for the Donald’s quotables for the night:
- “she’s disgusting!” concerning Lauper’s close friend, Rosie O’Donnell.
- “I think Ivanka saved your beautiful ass.” said to Victoria’s Secret model Selita Ebanks.

celebs already on my nerves:
Bret Michaels (they need to replay his Tony Awards highlight on this show. The clip never gets old!) and Sharon Osbourne.

celebs I’m currently rooting for:
Bill Goldberg and Summer Sanders.

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The new video for “Tea Party” by Kerli is out. It’s one of the standout tracks from the new Almost Alice album. As you might already know, Almost Alice is a new compilation of songs inspired by the Tim Burton film “Alice In Wonderland”. The new 16-track album features songs by Mark Hoppus, Pete Wentz, All-American Rejects, Shinedown, 3OH!3, Franz Ferdinand, Avril Lavigne and All Time Low.

Almost Alice is out now and can be purchased at online retailers like CD Universe.

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Eric Clapton stopped by The RBC Center in Raleigh this past monday to rush through his 16-song set and to completely ignore his fans. Yes, I know, Clapton is known for his lack of stage banter but come on, throw us a bone every now and then. The arena was pretty much filled to capacity, the least he could have done was acknowledge that we were there and maybe even say the name of the town he was in. He honestly looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here. Clapton fans would argue that he lets the music speak for itself but the living legend just seemed to be going through the motions, literally on autopilot the whole night. No spark of inspiration nor glimmer of enthusiasm were evident at this particular show. Another tell tale sign was Clapton plowing through song after song without pausing to allow the audience to give him some applause. weird. He was pretty much the same way when I last saw him live back on his Journeyman tour but his disinterest and disengagement seemed more pronounced this time around.

But having said all that, I have to say that the man is a guitar legend and I’m still glad I got to see the show. Clapton has a stellar band with him including Steve Gadd on drums and Willie Weeks on bass. Ya can’t go wrong there. And he also performed one of my all time favorites, “Old Love” that featured a nice extended solo. Other moments during the set that featured some tasty guitar work included “I Shot the Sheriff”, “Little Queen of Spades” and “Before You Accuse Me”.

As for Roger Daltrey, I wasn’t expecting much from him after seeing the poor half-time performance by The Who during this year’s superbowl. But surprisingly, Daltrey did a fantastic job and really got the crowd going. He was the total opposite of Clapton: engaging with the crowd, making a few jokes here and there and he genuinely seemed happy to be on stage. He had a well paced set with highlights like “Who Are You”, “Gimme a Stone”, “Young Man Blues” and of course, “Baba O’Riley”.

retroGrade: C+ (Eric Clapton), A (Roger Daltrey)

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Southern California band Sherwood is currently out on tour to support their latest release, Qu. With songs that feature sun-drenched vocal harmonies, the band isn’t afraid to wear their Beach Boys influence out on their sleeves. In a marketplace full of pop-punk Green Day knockoffs, it’s refreshing to hear a band that tries to put the emphasis back on songcraft & melody and not just rely solely on highly-distorted power riffs.

March/April 2010 tour dates:
Wed 03/03/10 Nashville, TN Exit / In
Thu 03/04/10 Knoxville, TN The Square Room
Fri 03/05/10 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
Sat 03/06/10 Jacksonville, FL Jack Rabbits
Mon 03/08/10 Orlando, FL Back Booth
Tue 03/09/10 Tampa, FL The Crowbar
Thu 03/11/10 Greenville, SC The Handlebar
Fri 03/12/10 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre
Sat 03/13/10 Elizabethtown, PA Folklore Coffee & Company
Sun 03/14/10 Somerville, MA Center For The Arts At The Armory
Mon 03/15/10 Vienna, VA Jammin’ Java
Tue 03/16/10 South Hackensack, NJ School of Rock East
Wed 03/17/10 New York, NY HighLine Ballroom
Thu 03/18/10 Rochester, NY Water Street Music Hall
Fri 03/19/10 Pittsburgh, PA Diesel Club Lounge
Sat 03/20/10 Akron, OH Musica
Sun 03/21/10 Columbus, OH Skully’s Music Diner
Mon 03/22/10 Cincinnati, OH Mad Hatter Club
Tue 03/23/10 Grand Rapids, MI The Intersection
Wed 03/24/10 Chicago, IL Subterranean
Thu 03/25/10 Milwaukee, WI The Rave Eagles Club
Fri 03/26/10 La Crosse, WI Warehouse
Sat 03/27/10 Minneapolis, MN Triple Rock Social Club
Mon 03/29/10 Denver, CO Marquis Theater
Tue 03/30/10 Murray, UT The Murray Theater
Wed 03/31/10 Idaho Falls, ID Idaho Falls Civic Auditorium
Thu 04/01/10 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
Fri 04/02/10 Seattle, WA El Corazon
Wed 04/07/10 San Francisco, CA Rickshaw Stop
Thu 04/08/10 San Luis Obispo, CA Downtown Brewing Company

Sherwood: Nate Henry, Dan Koch, Joe Greenetz, Mike Leibovich, Dave Provenzano
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Frontiers Records recently revealed some new details concerning Asia’s upcoming release, Omega. With the success of 2008’s Pheonix and supporting tour, fans the world over are itching for more from this legendary foursome. I’m particularly interested in the new material especially since learning that producer Mike Paxman is involved with this project. Legacy artists like these obviously know their way around a recording studio but from what I’ve seen, it’s always beneficial to have an outside producer to provide a fresh perspective on their material. Geoff Downes is quoted in the new press release saying “We were looking to create something different with Omega… Of course, the sound of the 4 band members of Asia will always have a certain hallmark when we play together. That’s a given. But we approached the song writing with a mind to getting a degree of variety into these compositions. Hence, you will hear areas of textures where arguably we have never gone before.”

Look for Omega in stores and online on April 23rd in Europe and May 4th in the U.S.

Here’s the TrackList:
Finger on the Trigger
Through My Veins
Holy War
Ever Yours
Listen Children
End of the World
Light The Way
Emily (bonus track)
Still The Same
There Was a Time
I Believe
Don’t Wanna Lose You Now

Produced by Mike Paxman
record label: Frontiers Records
the band: John Wetton, Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, Carl Palmer
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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

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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!

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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)
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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