4.25.2008

Van Halen - 2008-04-22 - US Bank Arena (Cincinnati, OH)


What better way to come out of retirement than a Van Halen show with DLR on the mic? I was at the show, section 214, but I'm not the taper. There is a little glitch during the Ice Cream Man intro, but other than that this is a superb audience recording. Check out the masters of American rock 'n' roll...

1 You Really Got Me
2 I'm The One
3 Running With The Devil
4 Romeo's Delight
5 Somebody Get Me A Doctor
6 Beautiful Girl
7 Dance The Night Away
8 Atomic Punk
9 Everybody Wants Some
10 So This Is Love
11 Mean Streets
12 Pretty Woman
13 Alex's Drum Solo
14 Unchained
15 I'll Wait
16 And The Cradle Will Rock
17 Hot For Teacher
18 Little Dreamer
19 Little Guitars
20 Jamie's Crying
21 Ice Cream Man (intro)
22 Ice Cream Man
23 Panama
24 Eddie's Guitar Solo
25 Ain't Talking 'Bout Love
26 1984
27 Jump

Part One: http://rapidshare.com/files/110458878/vh08cinpt1.rar

Part Two: http://rapidshare.com/files/110458556/vh08cinpt2.rar

Several other VH shows from the 2007-08 tour are located at VOA's 5150 Van Halen Bootlegs Forum.

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12.28.2007

Top Ten of 2007

"Hair metal" is my favorite musical genre. But it is not the only kind of music I listen to. I enjoy some classic country (Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard), 80s pop (Young MC, Tone Loc), and several other types of music (Buckcherry, Fergie, Violent Femmes). Each has its own qualities and I have to be in the mood to listen to any one of them, but they are all a part of my life.

In 2007, there was quite a revival of hard rock. I am going to limit my top ten list to rock releases (though not necessarily always "hard" rock), so you won't find Rihanna popping up here (regardless of how much I love the disc). And keep in mind that this is only my opinion, and I'm probably forgetting something somewhere.

Honorable Mention: Sebastian Bach - Angel Down. The solo album from one of rock's greatest voices misses the top ten because of my own laziness. I just haven't taken the time to listen to it as much as the other discs, but the few times I did I thought it was really good. Had the former Skid Row singer released it earlier in the year, I probably would have listened more and it may have made the top ten.


10. Scorpions - Humanity Hour 1. These German rockers have had an up-and-down career. There are classics like "Rock You Like A Hurricane" and "Still Loving You," and then there are not-so-classics like "Winds of Change." Humanity Hour 1 is a continuation of the return to their hard rock sound that they started with 2004's Unbreakable. Best track: "321."


9. Ted Nugent - Love Grenade. The Motor City Madman would have made the top ten if all he released was the single "Love Grenade." The rest of the album is not as strong as the title track, but it is still a raucous, politically incorrect hard rock fest. Best track: "Love Grenade."


8. CRASHDÏET - The Unattractive Revolution. Mick Mars from Motley Crue stepped in to help out these Swedish boys on their second release, which is notably heavier than their debut. New singer H. Oliver Twisted stepped in and did well on the vocals, but he definitely has a different style than the late Dave Lepard. Best track: "Falling Rain."


7. Ozzy Osbourne - Black Rain. I'm not a huge fan of Ozzy's solo work with Zakk Wylde on guitar, but this CD sounds more like a Black Label Society album with Ozzy on vocals. That is why I like it. It is heavier than any album Ozzy has ever done, and Zakk's fretwork is amazing. Best track: "I Don't Wanna Stop."


6. Sixx:A.M. - The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack. Nikki Sixx's side project with DJ Ashba (Beautiful Creatures) is a hit-and-miss affair, but still solid despite the misses. Don't buy this if you are expecting a Motley Crue album. There is more of a modern rock feel to it, and very little outright glam. Best track: "Van Nuys."


5. Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. I hate Nirvana. Everything that band did is total rubbish to me. On the other hand, I love Foo Fighters. I don't recall ever hearing a Foo Fighters song and thinking, "I don't like that." Dave Grohl is a genious, and is to be commended for his emergence from Kurt Cobain's shadow. Now, the 2007 CD is not as good as some of their past work, but it's still great. It is standard Foo, no real surprises. Best track: "The Pretender."


4. White Stripes - Icky Thump. I was surprised how much I liked this CD, because I'm not a big fan of the White Stripes' previous work. But Jack's guitar work here just grabbed me and wouldn't let go, and his songwriting is amazing. You've probably heard some of these songs on the radio by now, so I won't go into any more detail than to say it is a great alternative rock album with a classic rock feel on many of the tracks. Best tracks: "I'm Slowly Turning Into You" and "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)."


3. Airbourne - Runnin' Wild. The best AC/DC album since The Razor's Edge is by a band called Airbourne. These Aussies rock it just like their predecessors, and they make no apologies for that fact. Currently it is only available as an import from Australia, but will be released in the rest of the world in January of 2008. If you decide to wait for the worldwide release, you can search for their videos on YouTube and check out some of their tunes that way. Best tracks: "Diamond in the Rough" and "Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast."


2. ZO2 - Ain't It Beautiful. Brooklyn-based ZO2 got a spot on the 2004 Kiss/Poison tour based on their independent release of Tuesdays & Thursdays, but Ain't It Beautiful blows that CD out of the water. There are shades of Audioslave, classic Aerosmith, and Kiss throughout the entire album. Paulie Z's vocal style is very similar to Paul Stanley's, and the band's chemistry is undeniable. Plus they put on a killer live show. Best tracks: "If You See Kay" and "Ain't It Beautiful."


1. Endeverafter - Kiss or Kill. Hands-down, the best album of the year. Already in the top five of the decade. Endeverafter opened for the Poison/Cinderella tour in 2006, and finally released their debut album in October of this year. It was well worth the wait. The guys have a classic glam metal sound, and this disc is every bit as good as (if not better than) anything Poison put out. Shredding abounds, and you can't resist but bang your head to these songs. Best tracks: "Baby, Baby, Baby" and "All Night."


Biggest Disappointment of 2007: Poison - Poison'd. Poison is my all-time favorite band, but this disc of cover songs is a travesty. "Dead Flowers" was awful, and the overall song selection was poor. They did a decent job with the Romantics' "What I Like About You" and Alice Cooper's "I'll Never Cry," but for the most part the disc is a throw-away. Add to that the fact that only 8 of the songs were new; the other 5 were previously released remakes. Poison needs to get back into the studio and record some new material, and it better be good.

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12.18.2007

The Writer's Journey

I have started a new general interests blog entitled The Writer's Journey. I will still post bootlegs here; the new blog is for more random here's and there's. So far I have written about writing, politics, baseball, and Christmas music. If you're bored or interested, check it out. :)

12.11.2007

The Mighty Zeppelin Flies Again

Some individual songs are popping up from the performance in London yesterday. The Hammer of the Gods blog has several of these available, both audio and video. I'm still holding out for a complete show from a single source, but if you want to grab a few to see how they sound you can visit Zen Archer's site. There are also some YouTube videos here and there, but the Zeppelin camp is cracking down on those pretty quickly as well. And Rolling Stone has a pretty good photo gallery. The word is that a DVD is planned.

UPDATE: The full show is posted at Nargothebort's Deviant Subculture blog...320kpbs!

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11.27.2007

Twisted Sister - 2007-11-12 - Old Ice Hall (Helsinki, Finland)

Last year, Dee Snider and the boys gave us a Twisted Christmas CD. This year, a DVD. Personally, I prefer to old-school originals, and that is what they played (for the most part) earlier this month in Finland. There is one holiday headbanger on here, but for the most part it is the classic rockers that we grew up with on MTV. On a day like this, with the loss of one of Dee's contemporaries, old-school heavy metal with shredding solos and screeching vocals is just what we need. Have fun, thrust your devil-horned fists in the air, and turn it up!

01. Intro
02. What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You)
03. The Kids Are Back
04. Stay Hungry
05. The Beast
06. We're Gonna Make It
07. You Can't Stop Rock N Roll
08. The Fire Still Burns
09. We're Not Gonna Take It
10. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
11. I Believe In Rock N Roll
12. Under The Blade
13. The Price
14. Burn In Hell
15. I Wanna Rock
16. Come Out and Play
17. S.M.F.

Part One: http://rapidshare.com/files/72561174/tsfin07-1.rar
Part Two: http://rapidshare.com/files/72565725/tsfin07-2.rar

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Quiet Riot - Previously posted...

11.26.2007

R.I.P. Kevin Dubrow

Quiet Riot singer Kevin DuBrow died Sunday, drummer Frankie Banali confirmed in a post on his Web site. DuBrow was 52 years old and the official cause of his death has yet to be determined.

"I can't even find words to say," Banali wrote. "Please respect my privacy as I mourn the passing and honor the memory of my dearest friend Kevin DuBrow."

DuBrow's body was discovered on Sunday inside the rocker's Las Vegas home. According to those close to the singer, DuBrow celebrated his birthday last month in New Orleans and seemed to be in good health. Quiet Riot bassist Kelly Garni has asked fans to be patient for details on the singer's death.

"I ask this to all of you not only for myself but for other friends and family," Garni wrote, in a message posted to a Web site honoring the memory of Quiet Riot founding member Randy Rhoads. "I ask that no one here offer any speculation or opinions, theories or other things that could be construed as negative or, and I'm sorry for this, even sympathetic, right at this immediate time. I am already, within hours of this, having to deal with untrue rumors and speculation and that only adds fuel to that. There is a tendency for the subject of Kevin to incite flames on every board, and now is not the time for that. I will explain to everyone here the facts and the truth in the next 24 to 48 hours as I realize this will affect us all. So please, until then, be patient. All details and other pertinent info will be passed on to you here when it becomes available to me."

Bill Chavis, owner of Chavis Records, the label that issued Quiet Riot's last LP, 2006's Rehab, also confirmed the news.

"DuBrow's body was found by friends on Sunday, November 25, in his Las Vegas home," reads the label's site. "As I mourn his death with a heavy heart, I will remember hearing his voice and the music for the very first time on the radio back in 1983. I will remember all the great music Kevin and Quiet Riot gave to so many of us over the years and I will say, 'Thank you, Kevin. May you rest in peace.' "

Credited with helping to launch the 1980s glam-metal scene, Quiet Riot are perhaps best known for their cover of Slade's "Cum on Feel the Noize," which appeared on 1983's Metal Health and eventually peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was the first by a metal band to reach the chart's #1 position.

(from vh1.com)

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