Lineup for Grand RockTember 2 Festival at Grand Casino Hinckley Unveiled

Grand Casino Hinckley in Hinckley is reprising last year’s 80s-focused Grand RockTember Festival with (what else?) the Grand RockTember 2 Festival to be held this year over two days, Friday, September 12 and Saturday, September 13.

Blue Öyster Cult performing August 25, 2013 at the Minnesota State Fair. Check out the review of this show here, and click the pictures to see more photos (20).

The Friday show is a 70s classic rock bill with Sweet, April Wine, Foghat, and Blue Öyster Cult. Saturday’s show features Dee Snider, Jack Russell’s Great White, Lita Ford, Winger, Firehouse, Warrant, and Scrap Metal, which boasts an all-star lineup of singers Eric Martin (Mr. Big), Derek St. Holmes (Ted Nugent), Stephen Pearcy (Ratt), Mark Slaughter (Slaughter, Vinnie Vincent Invasion), and Gunnar Nelson and Matthew Nelson (Nelson). Single-day and two-day tickets will be available when tickets go on sale through Ticketmaster on Wednesday, June 4 at 10:00 am. You can get the latest information at the Grand Casino Hinckley site.

Concert Review - BLUE ÖYSTER CULT

Blue Öyster Cult

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Minnesota State Fair Bandshell Tonight!, St. Paul, MN

Here's the first of a batch of overdue concert reviews...

This was the second of two nights for the legendary BOC at the Minnesota State Fair, and it was primarily an older crowd that turned out on this hot summer night. The band immediately dug back into their early black-and-white era (the first three albums, for those uninitiated in BOC lore) with a fired-up, fast version of boogie rocker “The Red And The Black” from 1973’s Tyranny And Mutation. A slightly different set from the previous night was promised as “Golden Age Of Leather” was introduced before launching into the 1981 mega-hit “Burnin’ For You”. The catalog was mined further with “O.D.’d On Life Itself” and “Harvest Moon” (from the more recent Heaven Forbid album). Further surprises were revealed when Eric Bloom took over for an extended version of “Black Blade”, and the band stretched the set even more with 12-minute versions of “Then Came The Last Days Of May” and heavy classic “Godzilla”. Bassist Kasim Sultan had his extensive non-BOC work noted during “Godzilla” when the band delved into snippets of “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” “Bang The Drum All Day” and “Paradise By The Dashboard Lights” before letting Jules Radino launch into his drum solo. By this time the crowd had been worked into a frenzy, so when the guitar strains of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” started the audience left the benches and rushed toward the stage, overwhelming the security that had been keeping everyone at bay all night. This brought huge smiles on the faces of everyone in the band, and it made for a grand closing to the set. An encore was expected at this point, and BOC were in no rush to leave, so a long version of “Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll” put an exclamation point on to what seemed a relatively short (85 minute), but powerful show.

Despite brief filtrations with mainstream success, BOC built their fortunes on the strength of their live shows back over 40 years ago. That fan loyalty remains to this day, and the full turnout at the State Fair was a testament to the band’s working class ethics. Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma still remain as the core of Blue Öyster Cult, and the entire band was a natural fit for the group. I got the feeling that the band was limited to 90 minutes for their show and that they would have played longer if they could have, but it’s hard to complain when the show was free with the fair admission. The only downer of the night was having to listen to the strains of Sheryl Crow coming from the Grandstand on the way out. I also need to give thanks for the kind people in the front row who graciously offered to make room on their bench to make room for me so that I could take pictures - I'm grateful for this type of kindness!

BLUE ÖYSTER CULT Pictures

In my effort to get caught up on some concert-related posts, here's some pictures from Blue Öyster Cult's show on Sunday, August 25 at the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul. It was a fantastic set that included plenty of material from their earlier (black and white) albums. A full review of the show is forthcoming, as well as a killer audio recording of the concert.

Moondance Jam Kicks Off Tonight

Now in its 22nd year, Moondance Jam in Walker, Minnesota kicks off this year's festivities tonight, Wednesday, July 17 with the "Pre Jam Party" featuring cover band Hairball, The Fabulous Armadillos, and Transit Authority. Moondance Jam has always focused on classic rock bands, and I've always appreciated how they always seem to book some fantastic, lesser-known bands from the 70s, and all bands get long sets (there's two hours scheduled between every band). This year is no exception with the inclusion of Minneapolis' cult legends Cain, Shooting Star, and Sweet. I'd love see to most of the bands playing, but this style of festival show has several things that I hate: (1) it's an outdoor show, (2) the location is far from civilization, and (3) I don't want to camp or stay in a crappy motel. In addition to the main stage bands listed below, there are four side stages that feature additional acts. If you're a classic rock fan and you have three or four days to commit, Moondance Jam is well worth your time.

Click on the photo to see more pictures of Cain performing at their first reunion show on September 17, 2010 at their induction into the Mid-America Music Hall of Fame (27).

Moondance Jam Main Stage Schedule:

Thursday, July 18
3:00 Cain
5:00 Shooting Star
7:00 Buckcherry
9:00 Cheap Trick
11:00 Mötley Crue

Friday, July 19
3:00 Sweet
5:00 Johnny Rivers
7:00 Blue Öyster Cult
9:00 Bachman & Turner
11:00 Slash

Saturday, July 20
3:00 The Atomic Punks
5:00 Head East
7:00 Halestorm
9:00 Theory Of A Deadman
11:00 The Offspring

BUCKCHERRY To Support SAMMY HAGAR At State Fair, Tickets On Sale Today

Hard rock band Buckcherry adds another area appearance as support to Sammy Hagar (performing together with Michael Anthony) at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand on Saturday, August 24. Tickets go on sale today, Saturday, June 15 at 12:00 noon for $35. There is no festival seating on the floor area—the floor (actually, the ground) now has all reserved seats in addition to the grandstand area, so buy your tickets here through etix early for the best seats. Unfortunately, the 7:30 start time will make it impossible to catch Blue Öyster Cult that same night since they play on the Bandshell Tonight! stage at 8:30.

Concert Annoucements - June 7, 2013

Thanks again for your patience! Here's the overdue post with all of the latest concert news and updates. This is a lengthy post, and I'll probably need to follow this up with a shorter list of updates in a couple days.

Christian alternative rock band Abandon Kansas plays at Station 4 in St. Paul on Wednesday, June 13 with support from Marah In The Mainsail, American Youth, and Bora Tork.

Death metal comes to the What’s Up Lounge in Mankato on Friday, June 14 with Shawn Whitaker, Face Of Oblivion, Mastiff, and Fetus Heist.

The Hëssler show scheduled to take place Saturday, June 15 at the Hi 5 Bar in Burnsville will now happen at Pov’s 65 in Spring Lake Park on the same day. Also on the bill are Metal Witch, Electric Eye, Black Rainbow, and Def Replica.

Saliva returns to the area for a show Saturday, June 15 at Buster’s in Mankato.

Rock band Hurt plays Pov’s 65 in Spring Lake Park on Tuesday, June 18 with support from Tool Injection.

Extreme hardcore band and Southern Lord recording artist Enabler from Milwaukee brings their crushing sound to the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on Friday, June 28 with support from Morality Crisis, Svoboda, Nerves, and Hardcore Crayons.

Alternative rock/punk innovator Sioux City Pete brings his unique brand of noise rock to the What’s Up Lounge in Mankato on Friday, June 28 with First Against The Wall, Bangarang, and Beast Noire.

Industrial metal band Thira plays the Wicked Moose in Rochester on Friday, June 28.

The next night Thira tops a huge bill of local bands at Station 4 in St. Paul on Saturday, June 29. This one starts early – there’s 11 other bands: Solar Slaughter, Lithic Guild, Strange Forest, Mommy Sez No, I Am Vengeance, Harariri, Trigger Armada, Frostbourne, Ithomlid, Orion, and In The Line Of Duty.

Alternative rock duo Middle Class Rut brings with them American Fangs to the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis for a show on Saturday, June 29.

Also on Saturday, June 29, locals Black Flood Diesel will perform at Club Underground in Minneapolis with Screaming Mechanical Brain, Harsh Reality, and Jealous Jester.

Finally for Saturday, June 29, locals Blue Felix are having a video release party show at Neisen’s in Savage.

Local punk heroes Dillinger Four aren’t just doing their annual Fourth of July show at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis. They are now headlining one of three nights of a diverse set of hardcore and punk bands over three nights. Thursday, July 4 has Banner Pilot, A Wilhelm Scream, The Flatliners, Arms Aloft, Such Gold, and Our Own End playing. Dillinger Four plays Friday, July 5 with The Riverboat Gamblers, Toys That Kill, Tenement, The Treasure Fleet, and Bitch City. The final night, Saturday, July 6 features Off With Their Heads, Pegboy, The Arrivals, In Defence, and Neutral Boy. Advance tickets are only available as a three-day pass for $45 through Ticketfly. Dillinger Four’s show here is always a sellout, so if the three-day passes don’t sell out in advance you can get in for $15 at the door for each show.

Electro-industrial band Leaether Strip brings their 25th Anniversary Tour to Ground Zero in Minneapolis on Thursday, July 11 with support from Cynergy⁶⁷ and Promidal.

Punk side-project Scorpios plays the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis on Friday, July 12.

On Friday, July 19 death metal band Misery Signals plays The Garage in Burnsville with support from The Color Morale, Elitist, Intervals, and The Kindred.

Rock band Shinedown performs Saturday, July 20 at the Events & Convention Center at the Grand Casino in Hinckley. No support bands have been announced yet, and note that this show is not part of their recently announced Carnival of Madness tour with Papa Roach, Skillet, In This Moment and We As Human.

Singer Phil Anselmo (Down, Pantera, Superjoint Ritual, Viking Crown) embarks on his first solo tour as Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals this summer, which includes a stop at First Avenue in Minneapolis on Saturday, August 3. No support bands have been announced at this time.

Rock band Vampire Weekend arrives at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis on Monday, August 5.

The Cult show at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis originally announced for Monday, August 5 has been moved to Tuesday, August 6. On this tour, dubbed the Electric 13 Tour, The Cult will perform the Electric album in its entirety.

The Edgar Winter Band tops the bill for the Rock ‘N’ Blues Fest with Canned Heat, Rick Derringer, and Pat Travers at the Weesner Family Amphitheater at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley on Wednesday, August 7.

The Monster Energy Rock Allegiance Tour with an international lineup of Volbeat, HIM, and Airbourne hits Myth in St. Paul on Friday, August 23. This is an early all ages show, and it will sell out.

As revealed here back about a month ago, confirmed details about 70s rock legends Blue Öyster Cult playing at the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul are now available. On Saturday, August 24 and Sunday, August 25 they will perform for FREE (with fair admission) on the Bandshell Tonight! stage at 8:30 pm both nights.

Sammy Hagar brings his Four Decades of Rock tour to the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand in St. Paul on Saturday, August 24. This show will feature his Chickenfoot and ex-Van Halen bandmate Michael Anthony on bass, but no ticket information is available at this time. The obvious question is: Why not move BOC to the Grandstand stage to open the show?

In what is likely to wind up being a bizarre and unfortunate situation similar to the drama within the Dead Kennedys, essentially two versions of legendary punk band Black Flag have reformed and announced touring and recording plans this year. One version, simply called Flag, will play First Avenue in Minneapolis on Friday, September 13. Flag features former (and some original) members of Black Flag: Keith Morris, Chuck Dukowski, Dez Cadena and Bill Stevenson with Descendents and All guitarist Stephen Egerton. Notably missing is the sole constant member of Black Flag, guitarist Greg Ginn, who recently reformed his own version of the band. Although Henry Rollins is the most famous Black Flag vocalist, he was one of four singers in the band’s history and not the original frontman; Henry is not taking part in either Black Flag or Flag. If your expectations are in check and you want to hear a night of faithfully executed Black Flag classics then you will not want to miss Flag.

Christian rock band Switchfoot plays the Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis on Thursday, September 22.