As we mentioned in this space a few weeks ago, newly inducted Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is the new Bill Graham. Aunt Bobo, if you will. Pelosi’s put
Here’s why I think some of us obsess so much over both live music and sports: In themselves, there’s a natural beauty in watching something incredible and unscripted unfold in real time. But in addition to the ability to reflect upon a trove of both memorable and forgettable experiences, we also get to quantify those experiences through sheer statistics. After all, how often did you find yourself updating your Phish Stats after a nice run and smiling at the latest Notable Gap?
I’m always been a fan of keeping track of show stats, and I think ZZYZX probably created the best derivative form of entertainment in the music industry. Well, the accounting firm for Ace Cowboy & Associates has now officially crunched the numbers for this year’s annual report to the shareholders, and the results for 2006 are in: In all, I caught 86 live performances by 59 different bands at 60 ticketed shows in 37 separate venues. Not bad for my soul, not good for my wallet.
Most sites are done with all the Let’s Look Back at Last Year exercises, but I wanted to wait until every show was given a puncher’s chance to make the list. I’m not gonna break out into a rousing rendition of Mr. Kellerman’s “Let’s join in with one last chorus, visitors, staff and guests…” routine, but join me in taking one last peak at the best performances of the year, as I saw it.
I grew up in the days of Hair Metal, even staying up ever Saturday night to watch Headbanger’s Ball on MTV. At first Motley Crue, Def Leppard and Quiet Riot were my thing. Then as the ’80s turned into the ’90s I was more of a Poison, Guns N’ Roses, and Metallica guy. And while I loved the heavy shit, I also enjoyed when bands showed a completely different side and busted out the power ballad.
An ingenious formula was established in the late ’80s for a band releasing a heavy yet catchy single and following it up with a slow song to show the emerging artists’ more sensitive side. Examples of this major phenomenon include Firehouse (Don’t Treat Me Bad > Love of a Lifetime), Warrant (Down Boys > Heaven) and Europe (The Final Countdown > Carrie).
At first I was going to list the most popular and successful power ballads, but screw that. Even though Don’t Treat Me Bad and More Than Words sold the most records, songs such as Love Song and November Rain still hold up 13 years after Headbanger’s Ball went off the air. So this edition of The B List features my 10 favorite power ballads from the Hair Metal band era (1984 – 1993) — make sure to click on the song title to see the classic video for each of these songs:
10. Love Song – Tesla: Many Hair Metal bands sucked musically and were basically productions of record companies. Tesla broke that mold by combining honest songwriting with five truly talented musicians. Love Song provides an excellent example of the power-ballad formula of instrumental opening > sappy lyrics > powerful guitar solo that was a hallmark of many songs on this list.
9. Here I Go Again – Whitesnake: Tawny Kitaen introduced herself as the “girl from the Whitesnake video” to her castmates on VH1’s Surreal Life 6. That speaks volumes about the power of the music video, as well as the power of a hot chick rolling around on a Jaguar in a white negligee. Whitesnake’s singer David Coverdale was a lucky man, as he dated Tawny Kitaen during her best years, well before she started beating up baseball players and doing tons of coke. Oh, there was a song that we were talking about, right? That happens.
Read on for the rest of this week’s edition of The B List: Hair-Metal Power Ballads…
Apparently Xanax, Percocet, and Vicodin weren’t the only drugs Trey possessed upon his December arrest for driving while drugging. WNYT in Albany is reporting that police found heroin in the
Welcome to the first 2007 edition of Grousing The Aisles. We’re still waiting for someone to recognize from where the title of this department was taken. The winner may or may not receive a set of steak knives.
GTA this week checks out a few shows from this weekend’s NYE festivities and takes a look back at a classic Dead show and a must-hear Rick Danko project. Also added to the weekly mix are a few early ’70s gems from The Doors and David Bowie. Let’s jump right into the fray and see what’s what, shall we?
Rick Danko, Jonas Fjeld, Eric Anderson 12/04/94 SBD (FLAC)
Regular HT readers may have noticed at this point that both Ace Cowboy and I are totally geigh for The Band, and more specifically Rick Danko. Guilty as charged your honor, as no singer or musician can convey emotions in their voice like Ricky D. In 1991, Danko recorded an album with Jonas Fjeld and Eric Anderson — cleverly titled Danko/Fjeld/Anderson — on which all three musicians’ styles converge to form a new style all its own (the trio then followed up their debut with Ridin’ On The Blinds). This show features plenty of songs from both albums, as well as some traditional songs and a couple of incredible Band tunes. Highlights include Stagefright, Ragtop, and It Makes No Difference. Read on for more downloads…
This post has been updated since its original publication…new information has come to light, maaan. That’s what we call follow-fucking-through. The Allman Brothers Band have officially announced its annual 744-show run at New York’s
It ain’t quite Nudie Magazine Day, but I’ll do my best to fill the void tonight… Sly & The Family Stone played a dominant role in both the musical background
Prepare yourselves for an onslaught of song-related puns. Over the next few months, we’re all about to be subjected to clever doozies like “I’ve read the Message in a Bottle,
Ever since his Contrarian’s Guide To Ryan Adams, I’ve been trying to engage our friend Chilly JackWater in enough conversation that eventually some vitriol will spit out into the night.
Is anyone else feeling pretty groggy this new year? I returned home to New York yesterday after an amazing, yet brief, trip to Chicago for the Umphrey’s McGeestand at the Aragon Ballroom. But UM wasn’t the only band playing a gig on New Year’s Eve, which has become a major holiday on the calendar for many fans and bands.
So for this special Tuesday edition of Hors, here are a few links, followed by New Year’s Eve setlists from your favorite bands:
Read on for the jam-packed NYE setlists from some of the usual suspects…
