ALICE COOPER Concert Announcement, Presale Password

The legendary Alice Cooper returns to the area for an intimate show at the State Theatre in Minneapolis on Sunday, July 14. There's no word yet on support acts. Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 1, 10:00 am through Ticketmaster.

A 24 hour ticket presale starts this morning, Wednesday, February 27 at 10:00 am through Ticketmaster and in person at the State Theatre box office. The presale password is: TRUSTCOOP

ULI JON ROTH - February 16, 2013

Here it is! Undoubtedly this will go down as one of the best shows of the year, guitar virtuoso and former Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth performing an entire set of early Scorpions classics. As I pointed out in my review of the concert here (where you can also see pictures from the show), the vocals were low in the stage mix so they’re a little buried on this recording. In all aspects, this is the show as it happened. The only flaw is a short (a few seconds) break towards the end of “In Trance” due to a battery swap. The title refers to this date being the 100th birthday of Uli’s father, were he still alive.

The download link is here. As always, please share, but share the link to this post rather than the direct Mediafire link. Enjoy!

Uli Jon Roth – For Dad

February 16, 2013

Savage, MN, Neisen’s

mp3@192 kbps, 166.90 MB zip file (artwork included)

1. All Night Long (4:18)

2. Longing For Fire (2:54)

3. Crying Days (6:55)

4. They Need A Million (7:54)

5. The Sails Of Charon (10:02)

6. Evening Wind (9:41)

7. Sun In My Hand (5:54)

8. Drifting Sun (7:40)

9. Hell Cat (3:12)

10. We’ll Burn The Sky (10:08)

11. In Trance (6:29)

12. Fly To The Rainbow (6:39)

13. I’ve Got To Be Free (13:55)

14. Pictured Life (3:13)

15. Catch Your Train (3:39)

16. Dark Lady (11:36)

17. All Along The Watchtower (8:39)

Total time: 2:02:28

Guitar – Uli Jon Roth

Guitar – Ali Clinton

Guitar – Niklas Turmann

Vocals – Henning Basse

Drums – Jamie Little

Bass – Ule Ritgen

Keyboards – Corvin Bahn

BLUE FELIX Schedules Short Midwestern Run

Local masked rap-metallers Blue Felix will be playing a short run of dates in the Midwest during late March that will take them to three states. Following a couple headline dates, the band hooks up with Psychostick for two more.

If you live here in the Twin Cities metro area, you can catch Blue Felix for a free, 18 and over show at Neisen's in Savage on Saturday, March 9 with Tepetricy, Pinwheel, A Sound Theory, and Matrekis. Here are the newly announced tour dates for Blue Felix:

March 9 - Savage, MN, Neisen's
March 28 - South Bend, IN, Cheers
March 29 - Kokomo, IN, Centerstage Bar and Grill
March 30 - Maumee, OH, Lucas County Recreation Center (w/Psychostick)
March 31 - Muskegon, MI, Club Envy (w/Psychostick)

FLOTSAM AND JETSAM - October 28, 1997

Arizona thrash band Flotsam And Jetsam is making a long overdue return to the US touring circuit, and they're in the middle of a big tour supporting Testament right now. This tour hits First Avenue in Minneapolis this Saturday, February 23 with additional support from 4arm (Overkill dropped off the tour earlier this week for medical reasons). Hopefully Flotsam will now be playing a longer set. I'm bummed I can't make this show, so I thought I'd dig out an uncirculated Flotsam And Jetsam show from 1997.

It pains me to think how time seems to have forgotten Flotsam And Jetsam, for they put out a whole string of great albums in the late 80s and early 90s. If you're not familiar with No Place For Disgrace, Cuatro, Drift, and High, you should be. I first saw the band on their When The Storm Comes Down headlining tour with Prong and local band Butt Lynt at the Col Ballroom in Davenport, Iowa. I do have an audio recording of this show, too, but that will have to wait for another time. Another memorable show was seeing Flotsam And Jetsam open for Mercyful Fate in 1993 on the Cuatro tour with Cathedral and Anacrusis in Chicago at the Oak Theater. What a lineup and show!

This show took place in North Kansas City at Roadhouse Ruby's while supporting the High album. The show was cut short, unfortunately, by multiple power failures that occurred during the concert. A few songs got interrupted by the power outages, and you can't blame the band for just giving up after I Live You Die got stopped over an hour into the show. The band took the problems in stride and tried to make the best of it but they were clearly frustrated.

The audio recording was transferred from the VHS-C original tape. I had the video posted on YouTube before my account got deactivated, but the audio has never been released. Someone connected with the band contacted me about the video - apparently this was the only video known to exist from the High tour at the time. I've remastered the sound from the original digital transfer files, so what you have here sounds much better than the original videos. There's still some audible tape hiss if you crank up the volume, but it's very listenable.

The download link is available here, and the artwork is included in the zip file. Enjoy and share the link to this post!!

Flotsam And Jetsam - Power Denied
October 28, 1997
North Kansas City, MO, Roadhouse Ruby's
mp3@192 kbps, 79.06 MB zip file (artwork included)

1. Smoked Out (6:03)
2. Hammerhead (6:19)
3. Never To Reveal (5:56)
4. Hard On You (5:10)
5. It's On Me (3:55)
6. High (4:08)
7. Escape From Within (7:01)
8. Me (3:57)
9. Secret Square (3:03)
10. Monster (4:38)
11. Everything (6:28)
12. I Live You Die (4:32)
Total time: 1:01:10

Concert Review - ULI JON ROTH and THEM PESKY KIDS

Uli Jon Roth and Them Pesky Kids

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Neisen’s, Savage, MN

Click on pictures to see more photos of Uli Jon Roth and his band (63).

It’s been a long time since former Scorpions guitarist Uli Jon Roth has done an extensive North American tour, so this trek to celebrate his 40th anniversary of joining Scorpions was highly anticipated. To my surprise the show took place on the small stage by the front bar (not the large hall at the back of the venue), and this gave the show a warm, intimate feel. Locals Them Pesky Kids were midway through their set when I arrived. Primarily playing covers of 70s rock classics with an occasional original thrown in, Them Pesky Kids had the crowd on its feet and drinking a lot of beer. They were decent enough, but more original songs would have been welcome.

Click on picture to see more photos of Them Pesky Kids (12).

The large crowd then pushed in from the bar into the stage room in anticipation of Uli. His band includes different musicians on parts of the tour, and tonight featured Henning Basse (vocals), Niklas Turmann (guitar), Ali Clinton (guitar), Ule Ritgen (bass), Corvin Bahn (keyboards), and Jamie Little (drums) – experienced musicians all. Except for the encore, the entire set consisted of tracks from the five groundbreaking Scorpions albums on which Uli played from 1974–1978 – Fly To The Rainbow, In Trance, Virgin Killer, Taken By Force, and Tokyo Tapes.

Opener “All Night Long” immediately established the chops of the band, with Henning demonstrating his impressive vocal range (as you can hear on Metalium albums). The pace came down for “Longing For Fire” and “Crying Days”, but “They Need A Million” and the early Rainbow-esque “The Sails Of Charon” brought on a large crowd response. “Evening Wind” was also masterful, and built up into some massive solos by Uli. “Sun In My Hand” and “Drifting Sun” were a bit more straight-ahead rockers, while “Hell Cat” showed a heavy Hendrix influence. Uli introduced “We’ll Burn The Sky” and “In Trance” as ballads, but these proved to be two of the most powerful songs of the night, “In Trance” being especially impressive with Henning’s vocal delivery. Uli took over vocals for the moody, expansive epic “Fly To The Rainbow”, and again stepped to the fore with an extended solo during a nearly 14 minute version of “I’ve Got To Be Free” that also gave some solo time to Corvin on the keyboards. The heavy anthems “Pictured Life” and “Catch Your Train” were delivered concisely before the set closed with a lengthy rendition of “Dark Lady” that featured solos from all three guitarists. Uli’s been playing a few different covers for the encore on this tour, and tonight he brought the band back on stage for “All Along The Watchtower”.

Throughout the two-hour show, Uli certainly demonstrated why he’s one of world’s top guitar virtuosos. It was hard to not simply stand in awe of his abilities, unbelievably viewed up close in a small club. Most enjoyable were the extended solos and jams that seemed extensively improvised, aided by an expert band that seamlessly picked up Uli’s cues for transitions back to the formal songs. Nobody plays in this style of Mark II Deep Purple anymore, so this Made In Japan fan was thrilled at this approach. Song highlights included “The Sails Of Charon”, as well as the four-song sequence of “We’ll Burn The Sky”, “In Trance”, “Fly To The Rainbow”, and “I’ve Got To Be Free”. The only disappointment was the mix - Uli’s guitar was high in the mix, however, the vocals were disappointingly low and difficult to hear well (especially Uli’s microphone). There was also some persistent feedback that had everyone on stage visibly annoyed. Since the stage was small, the band members did a great job of standing or playing to the sides to give Uli some room to shine during his many solos. Similar respect was given to all of the other musicians, with Uli even stepping off the stage to drink a Red Bull while Niklas and Ali took turns with some extended solos during “Dark Lady”. Despite the technical issues with the sound, this was a night to remember. Rush out to see Uli if he’s yet to come to your city on this tour, and shame on you if you missed your chance.

OVERKILL Drops Off Testament Tour, Minneapolis Date

As reported by Blabbermouth yesterday, thrash band Overkill has been forced to cancel the remaining dates off the current American tour with Testament, including Saturday's date (February 23) at First Avenue in Minneapolis. Overkill vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth is ill with pneumonia, and is unable to finish the tour. Flotsam & Jetsam and 4arm are still on as support for Saturday's show.

Concert Omission - ED KOWALCZYK Tomorrow Night

Nothing hard rock or metal related usually happens at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis so this one escaped my notice, but this Sunday, February 17 they are hosting Ed Kowalczyk, singer for Live, for an acoustic performance that will include all the Live classics. Opening the show will be local rockers Red Light Saints.

I saw Live do an acoustic set while supporting Jane's Addiction several years at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and it wasn't received that well, probably because the crowd didn't care much for an acoustic snoozer of a set. As a headliner in an intimate venue, Ed's show will likely go over much better. You can get more information about the show, including dinner-and-show ticket information here.

In Concert This Week - February 15, 2013

Finally - updates to the concert calendar are complete. Check it out on the right side of the screen because there are a lot of great shows coming to the area, too many to highlight individually. Here's what is coming up this week.

Tonight, Friday, February 15, the Medina Entertainment Center in Medina is hosting a Southern rock treat in 38 Special with special guests Austin Healey.

The big show for the week, and likely one for the year, will happen at Neisen's in Savage this Saturday, February 16. Legendary guitarist Uli Jon Roth will be taking the stage there, and Them Pesky Kids open the show. Uli rarely plays in the US, so this is a rare chance to see the founding Scorpions guitarist. That same night, you can also catch some local metal at The Nether Bar at Mill City Nights in Minneapolis and see Cwn Annwn, Climactic, and Cold Colours.

The only other metal show happening during the coming week is Nashville Pussy and Birdcloud at the 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis on Wednesday, February 20.

Not too much happening this week, but prepare yourself for an onslaught of killer shows in the next couple of months.

STEEL PANTHER - Minneapolis, MN, December 20, 2012

UPDATE: Use the new Mediafire link here. I wasn't aware of the lame download restrictions now in force at RS.

If you saw my review of this show, you know that I'm not a fan. This is not the complete show - I didn't stick around for all of it, so deal with it. You get the first 40 minutes of audio here.

Artwork is included in the zip file download - the link is here.

As always, be cool and share the link to this post rather than the direct download link. Seeing spikes in traffic here makes me happy.

Steel Panther
December 20, 2012
Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mill City Nights
mp3@192 kbps, zip file 54.77 MB

1. In The Future/Supersonic Sex Machine (4:34)
2. Tomorrow Night (3:30)
3. Band Introductions (8:50)
4. Fat Girl (5:13)
5. Asian Hooker (3:59)
6. Girl Banter (4:31)
7. Just Like Tiger Woods (3:44)
8. Gold Digging Whore (3:54)
9. Guitar Solo (cut) (1:43)
Total time - 39:58

Free DORO Show Tonight at Station 4

Don't have a Valentine? Looking for a way to drown the lonely misery of your life? Get down to Station 4 in St. Paul tonight for an absolutely free show with Doro, Sister Sin, and local power metal gods Avian. The doors are at 7 pm, but you better get there early to guarantee entry into the club and you don't want to miss Avian. Doro doesn't tour the US that often - both times I've seen her she puts on a killer show, so get out there if you can!

This really is an awesome gesture by the promoter and the club, but count me out. Not only do I have more important things to do on Valentine's Day, but here's what a free show for a national or international artist means to me - standing in a long line in the cold, arriving at the club impossibly early, a packed bar, no decent room to stand - MEH.

ERIC BURDON & THE ANIMALS - Medina, MN, February 1, 2013

UPDATE 2: New Mediafire link here. RS link still works, but I wasn't aware of their new download restrictions. Thanks for everyone's patience!

UPDATE: Download link now works! RS had changed default permission settings, and I was not aware of this. Enjoy!!

Here's the first of what should be a string of new, never before released live recordings. I recently reviewed the Eric Burdon & The Animals show in Medina on February 1, and now here is an audio recording of the entire show. Eric played selections from his entire career, and he had a fantastic band along for this current run of dates to promote his new solo album.

Artwork is included in the zip file. Do me a favor and share the link to this post, not the direct download link. Enjoy!

The download link is here!

Eric Burdon & The Animals - Live Animal Instincts
February 1, 2013
Medina, Minnesota, Medina Entertainment Center
mp3 @ 192 kbps, zip file 110.61 MB

1. When I Was Young (5:34)
2. Inside Looking Out (3:21)
3. It's My Life (5:52)
4. Devil And Jesus (5:29)
5. Red Cross Store (7:07)
6. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (6:56)
7. I'm Crying (7:30)
8. Water (5:01)
9. Before You Accuse Me (4:38)
10. We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (11:46)
11. Spill The Wine (9:21)
12. The House Of The Rising Sun (6:55)
13. River Is Rising (2:45)
Total time - 82:15

Concert Review - STEEL PANTHER

Steel Panther and Young Guns

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Mill City Nights, Minneapolis, MN

Click any picture to see more photos of Steel Panther (15). These are all captures from my video footage, so their quality isn't the best.

I went to see the provocative Steel Panther mainly out of curiously, not because I’m particularly fond of their second-rate hair metal spoof of The Mentors. I hadn’t seen vocalist Michael Starr (Ralph Saenz) and guitarist Satchel (Russ Parrish) perform in Van Halen tribute band The Atomic Punks (they used to regularly play at Pov’s in Andover), and they’re entertaining to say the least.

Opening the show was England’s Young Guns, and the half of their set that I caught was a snoozer. Playing a non-descript style of hard rock, I was thoroughly bored and spent the time walking around the sold-out venue looking for a good spot to stand.

Steel Panther finally made it on stage, and they played up their over the top glam image to the hilt. Done in jest, all of the posing and pouting, however, eventually becomes tiresome. Opening with the fast rocker “Supersonic Sex Machine”, the band wasted no time in belting out “Tomorrow Night”. They did, however, waste plenty of time in introducing the band and “Fat Girl” – this took nearly nine minutes. The degradation of women continued with “Asian Hooker” and “Gold Digging Whore", with the hilariously titled “Just Like Tiger Woods” thrown in, and it got old quick. Russ then went into a guitar solo, and by this time I’d had enough and left the show since I’ve seen him ape Eddie Van Halen plenty of times before.

The reality is that this is a comedy show, and Steel Panther can’t be taken seriously on artistic merits since there are none. All of the extended banter between songs was annoying, and the canned dialogue and forced jokes just weren’t that funny. Let’s see – of the 40 minutes I saw, the intro tape and talking took up 14 and 1/2 minutes! That’s over 1/3 of show spent screwing around, not playing music. Tonight, Ralph’s hot air made Phil Anselmo sound like the proverbial “soul of wit”. It’s time for Steel Panther to stop publicly embarrassing themselves, and Ralph and Russ would be better off returning to playing Van Halen covers.

One more thing to bitch about is the venue, the idiotically named Mill City Nights (Mississippi Nights is already taken by a concert nightclub in St. Louis). There’s no worse nightclub in the area for a show other than Epic (the former Quest Club). The whole place felt cramped, and the sightlines generally suck, especially upstairs. Stage right is pushed up against one of the walls, adding to the claustrophobic feel of the place. Long, narrow halls are the worst – I’ll take a wide, spacious room with sightlines from the sides any day. Let’s hope First Avenue and Myth step up their bids for metal shows and help put an end to this miserable place.

Concert Review - ERIC BURDON & THE ANIMALS

Eric Burdon & The Animals

Friday, February 1, 2013

Medina Entertainment Center, Medina, MN

Note that all of the pictures here are screenshots from a video recording. They aren't the best, but it's better than nothing. Click on any of the pictures to see more photos of Eric Burdon & The Animals (11).

Okay, I know that this may seem like a stretch from the usual bands that I write about, but the impact that The Animals have had on hard rock is undeniable. Emerging from England in the mid-60s and often mischaracterized as a psychedelic band, The Animals were a very heavy band in a world before Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and Uriah Heep. Mixing heavy blues, pop hooks, and the deep, recognizable voice of Eric Burdon, The Animals blew off the doors and shook the music establishment. Out for a brief string of dates in the US and Canada to promote a new solo album released last week, ‘Til Your River Runs Dry, Eric Burdon was greeted by large, nearly sold-out crowd at the Medina Entertainment Center (MEC).

Over 70 years old now, Eric’s voice is still strong and full of fire. He brought with him an experienced band of outstanding musicians with the unusual configuration of a guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, and two drummers/percussionists. The sound at the MEC is always fantastic, and the band confidently hit the stage with “When I Was Young”, which led directly into the unexpected gem “Inside Looking Out” (a song that Wino’s pre-Spirit Caravan band Shine has covered in concert). “It’s My Life”, the first of many classic anthems played tonight, then brought the seated crowd to its feet for extended applause. Eric then introduced a song from the new album, “Devil And Jesus”, a relaxed, somber tune that slowed things down before the boogie-woogie of “Red Cross Store” picked up the pace of the show. Next was the hit “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, although the keyboard-dominated studio version was scrapped here for a mellow, acoustic/flamenco-styled rendering. One of the earliest hits from The Animals, “I’m Crying”, featured a manic drums solo from both drummers that evolved into a firey band jam. Eric and the band then returned to the new album with “Water”, a stomping anthem, and “Before You Accuse Me”, an old Bo Diddley tune from the late 50s. Closing out the set was the classic “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place”. Stretched out for over 11 minutes, the song started with the simple, memorable bass line, then a jam on the organ led into the song as it built up to its climactic chorus. An extended guitar solo was also featured before the crowd gave a standing ovation as the song wound down. An encore was obligatory, and Eric and band returned to first play “Spill The Wine”, a funky tune from Eric’s days collaborating with War, that again led into some lengthy drums and keyboard solos. Nearing the end, number one hit “The House Of The Rising Sun” was played in fashion similar to “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” where the organ was tamed in favor of acoustic guitar to handle the main melody. The final chords brought another standing ovation, but before leaving the band joined Eric for short a cappella-style version of “River Is Rising” before walking from the stage to enormous applause.

The Lamont Cranston Band and Bruce McCabe opened the show, but I missed both of their sets. Eric Burdon had enough heft in his aging voice to still sound fantastic throughout the 80 minute set, and his band did more than simply bash out the songs. Everyone on stage deserves a lot of credit for bringing these classic songs to life with plenty of solos, jams, and reinterpretations. Nothing in the set was weak, but personal favorites were “I’m Crying”, “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place”, and “Inside Looking Out”. It’s hard to not be impressed that nearly 50 years since the first album from The Animals was released, a crowd of 3,000–4,000 people still turned out to see Eric Burdon perform.

NOTE: Look for an upcoming post with an audio download of the entire show soon!