YNGWIE J. MALMSTEEN to Headline Guitar Gods Tour, Minneapolis Show June 23

In case you missed the news a couple weeks back, guitar legend Yngwie J. Malmsteen has announced the Guitar Gods Tour that has him teaming up with the powerhouse bill of Uli Jon Roth, Gary Hoey, and Bumblefoot across North America for what should go down as one of the best concerts of the year. Love him or hate him, it cannot be denied that Yngwie influenced metal guitar players in ways not seen since Ritchie Blackmore and Eddie Van Halen. Remember how the saying goes - there's the right way, the wrong way, and there's Yngwie!

Uli Jon Roth performing February 16, 2013 at Neisen's in Savage, Minnesota. Click on any of the pictures to see more photos from this concert (63).

I've seen Yngwie twice, first on the godly Trilogy tour (supporting Triumph) and again in support of The Seventh Sign, and it's impossible walk away from one of his shows slack-jawed. Making this an extra-special night is the inclusion of Uli Jon Roth. Uli's show last year at Neisen's in Savage, Minnesota was hands down the best concert I saw last year (reviewed here), and this tour has him once again playing an all-Scorpions set of classics from the five albums on which he performed. The bottom line is that you don't want to miss this tour.

The tour stops in Minneapolis at the Skyway Theatre on Monday, June 23. Tickets are on sale now through Ticketfly, and the seated floor section is already sold out. Here's the full list of tour dates:

June 12 - Wilkes-Barre, PA, Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
June 13 - Huntington, NY, The Paramount
June 14 - Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom
June 15 - Akron, NY, Braun's Concert Cove
June 17 - Englewood, NJ, Bergen Performing Arts Center
June 18 - Cleveland, OH, The Agora
June 20 - St. Charles, IL, Arcada Theatre
June 21 - Toronto, ON, Phoenix Concert Theatre
June 22 - Joliet, IL, Mojoes
June 23 - Minneapolis, MN, Skyway Theatre
June 26 - Seattle, WA, Showbox Presents
June 27 - Portland, OR, Roseland Theater
June 28 - Richmond, BC, River Rock Casino
July 2 - Santa Ana, CA, The Observatory
July 3 - Beverly Hills, CA, Saban Theatre
July 5 - Ramona, CA, Ramona MainStage
July 7 - Las Vegas, NV, House of Blues
July 8 - Tucson, AZ, Rialto Theatre
July 10 - Dallas, TX, House of Blues
July 12 - Houston, TX, House of Blues

NEGURA BUNGET Cancel North American Tour

Negura Bunget performing in St. Paul on April 30, 2012 at Station 4. Click on any of the pictures to see more photos from this show (47).

Before getting to some new concert announcements and news, I first wanted to bring attention to a couple of things that deserve some attention. Some unfortunate news kicks things off - Negura Bunget, the fantastic black/folk metal band from Romania, was recently forced to cancel their entire North American tour on the eve of the first date in Albany, New York on May 8. Fellow Romanians Grimegod subsequently also canceled their participation as direct support for the tour. This massive tour was to last through most of June, and included a stop here in Minneapolis on June 13 at the Triple Rock Social Club.

Negura Benget's official statement from their Facebook page posted on May 7 states:

"We are deeply sorry to say it, but we are forced to cancel our entire US and Canadian tour as of this moment. Some visa complication completely beyond the band’s control are forcing us to do this in the last moment, despite the fact that we’ve been working on this tour plan for over one year and we already secured our work permits months ago. Needless to say we invested a huge amount time, energy and money into making this tour happen, so we are taking a huge loos now. But we are still here, and we will return! Meanwhile we’ll focus all our frustration energy into completing the last details of the new album TĂU."

The little good news from this is that affected date in Minneapolis will still soldier on with local black metal bands False, Atrum Inritus, and Pestifere.

Pestifere performing May 15, 2014 at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis.

Tonight - SEETHER and BLACK STONE CHERRY in St. Paul, CAPITALIST CASUALTIES in Minneapolis

If you're looking to get out tonight, it's not too late to catch one of a couple shows happening tonight. If modern radio rock is your thing, Seether and Black Stone Cherry are playing together at Myth in St. Paul. This is an all ages show that starts at 7:00 pm, and tickets are $20 at the door.

Black Stone Cherry performing in St. Paul in 2010.

Extreme metal fans would be wise to head over the VFW Post 246 in Minneapolis (2916 Lyndale) where powerviolence/hardcore pioneers Capitalist Casualties will take over. Joining them as support are Agitate, Despise, and F**king. This is also an all ages show that starts are 7:00 pm, and tickets are only $7 at the door.

Tonight - WHITEHORSE, WAR MASTER, VULGAARI, and PESTIFERE in Minneapolis

Holy cow far too much time has gone by since I've been able to keep the site updated here! Life sometimes gets in the way; in my case, increased family responsibilities, a lot of traveling, and the usual crushing amount of work have all conspired to keep me away. Quite unfortunately, all of this has also caused me to miss a few shows I would have liked to attend, most notably Y&T, Skinny Puppy, and Hate Dept. I did manage to catch April Wine and Sweet, and heard excellent things about the recent Dream Theater and Mastodon shows. Fear not, lots of updates and new content will be forthcoming in due course.

There are massive amounts of outstanding shows coming to town during the next two months, and you can yourself warmed up with a night of sludge, doom, and death metal with a crushing bill of Whitehorse from Australia, Houston's War Master, alongside locals Vulgaari and Pestifere. It's only $8 at the door, and this 18+ show starts around 8:00. I'll be there sporting my Radioactive Metal shirt (subscribe to this podcast if you don't already!), so please introduce yourself and say hello if you're there. It's always fun to meet and talk with local readers!

Check out War Master performing "Mass Cremation" and "Sadistic Force" in Austin, Texas on January 10, 2014.