SPARKS

[Lucky Me]

Yes, very sad to read the news of Peter Shelley's death in the paper this morning. RIP.

[MaelGirl]

Yes, I saw this. Very sad! I was a big Buzzcocks fan, although never saw them live.

[sjadey]

Only 63 too, so sad.
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Gonna hang myself from my family tree.

[Buckeye Randy]

This is an older article but facts are facts and a great album is a great album.

The Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady' (1979)
The Buzzcocks were one of the greatest singles bands of all time and this compilation proves why. With machine gun fire, the hits just keep coming. Definitely an example of all killer, no filler, 'Singles Going Steady' is not only the perfect introduction to the Buzzcocks, but one of the best introductions to what made the era so special. These guys wrote ultra catchy songs rooted in the spirit of '60s pop a la the Who and the Kinks, but within that framework, they added other distinct elements, the main one being their own unique personality. Pete Shelly was certainly one of the best tune-smiths around and this LP shows that off in spades. If you're looking into the U.K. punk era, 'Singles Going Steady' is no doubt an essential.

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Billy, Don't Be A Porter

[Buckeye Randy]

2019 RnR HOF Inductees are...(listed in my order of worthiness)

Def Lep, Janet Jackson, Roxy Music, The Cure, Radiohead, Stevie Nicks, The Zombies

The 2019 nominees were:
•Def Leppard
•Devo
•Janet Jackson
•John Prine
•Kraftwerk
•LL Cool J
•MC5
•Radiohead
•Rage Against the Machine
•Roxy Music
•Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
•Stevie Nicks
•The Cure
•The Zombies
•Todd Rundgren
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Billy, Don't Be A Porter

[Buckeye Randy]

Mott The Hoople, North American Tour

https://www.cleveland.com/expo/life-and-culture/g66l-2019/01/cdff2d756e8533/mott-the-hoople-to-reunite-for-first-american-tour-in-45-years-tour-dates.html

Here is a little bit of the article.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Mott the Hoople, the legendary British band that helped define glam-rock and proceeded to influence generations of punk, garage and metal bands, is reuniting for its first American tour in 45 years.

“We’re doing eight shows in America and another eight in Europe and that’s it,” says Mott the Hoople singer Ian Hunter, via phone from his home in Connecticut. “We’re not just a bunch of fat old blokes trying to milk this. We’re excited to be playing together because the band sounds great.”

Hunter will be joined by Morgan Fisher on keyboards and Ariel Bender on guitar – three-fifths of the lineup that toured America for the last time, in 1974. The other two members of band’s ’74 lineup, drummer Dale “Buffin” Griffin and bassist Pete Overend Watts passed away in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

The line-up for the 2019 tour will be rounded out by members of Hunter’s long-time backing band, the Rant Band.

The eight-date tour – dubbed "Mott the Hoople ’74" -- opens April 1 in Milwaukee and concludes April 10 in New York City. It features a Cleveland stop April 6 at the Masonic.

There are no dates on the west coast; the furthest west is Minneapolis on April 2. Here are the Mott The Hoople ’74

“We wanted to make sure we did Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee – cities that were loyal to us,” says Hunter. “We insisted on Cleveland because that’s where it started for us. I remember doing places with halfhearted responses and then we’d come to Cleveland and it was the first city to welcome us with open arms.”

Hunter’s special relationship with the city would inspire him to pen “Cleveland Rocks,” the 1979 song that has become city’s unofficial anthem.

“We’d play L.A. and there would be more people backstage than in front of the stage,” says Hunter. “Cleveland was hipper than anywhere else -- with Mott the Hoople, but also with David Bowie and Roxy Music. So when I’d see these late-night comedians telling jokes about Cleveland I’d think they were idiots.”

Mott the Hooples’ final album, “The Hoople,” topped the WMMS radio local charts when it was released in 1974. The station played an instrumental role in the career of Mott the Hoople and countless other bands in the 1970s.

The band’s final tour included two sold out shows at the Allen Theatre in Cleveland -- May 25, 1974.

The year also saw the release of Hunter’s acclaimed memoir “Diary of a Rock’n’Roll Star.” Filled with acerbic wit and a keen eye for detail, it is considered one of the best books written about rock 'n' roll – and is being reissued in the spring (Omnibus Press).

“We were getting quite big in 1974 and were the first band to play Broadway,” says Hunter, referring to a week of sold-out shows at Uris Theatre that were recorded for the band’s 1974 live album. “We’ll play a lot of songs we played on the ’74 tour. This band is the class of ’74 and that’s what the tour is about.”

Mott the Hoople rolled out would-be stars in the opening slot for that 1974 tour, from KISS to Queen to Aerosmith to the New York Dolls.

“Queen was destined for greatness,” says Hunter. “Freddie was so outrageous and the band was so talented and they were also so intelligent.”

He remembers something very different about KISS.

“They stunk,” says Hunter.

Not the music. He’s literally talking about a stench.

“They only had one outfit for the entire tour and I remember one night in Detroit going through their dressing room to get to ours,” says Hunter. “I never smelled anything like that… It was leather gone bad.”
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Billy, Don't Be A Porter

[MaelGirl]

Wow, that's really funny about KISS only having one stage outfit. Never thought about getting those cleaned during that tour or what?? Lol!

[miss sparks]

Listening to radio X, I heard a great song by Sam Fender, That Sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx_A6SbU8pY

[Buckeye Randy]

Tour Dates for U.S. and U.K being announced for a tour featuring metal/glam rockers...Angel and Starz.

I've seen both before and look forward to seeing both again. I saw Angel headline on their farewell tour with support by Humble Pie plus Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush. I saw Starz at the bottom of a bill with Blue Oyster Cult and Three Dog Night.

It isn't often that two bands I would pay to see individually are paired together.

Any fans out there?
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Billy, Don't Be A Porter

[Buckeye Randy]

Mott The Hoople ‘74
April 6, 2019
Masonic Auditorium
Cleveland, Ohio

Purists will lament that the line-up for the current Mott The Hoople reunion isn’t really Mott The Hoople. The point is well taken because the 2009 reunion shows in the U.K. had all five original members. That original line-up comprised the band for the first five of their eight albums. What we have here are all three living members from the band’s last two albums (“The Hoople”, “Live”) which oh-by-the-way were Mott The Hoople’s two highest charting albums in North America. I think it is very respectful that they tacked on the “’74” at the end of Mott The Hoople to separate the two eras of Mott The Hoople. I wish all bands had this sort of integrity and truth in advertising.

The bottom line is that Mott The Hoople of any shape or form has not toured America since 1974. The last time they did tour they featured opening bands such as Queen, Aerosmith, REO Speedwagon and Kansas among others. They also were the first rock band to play Broadway (Uris Theater) in 1974. Joe Elliott of Def Leppard invited Ian Hunter to sing the finale at the 2019 Hall Of Fame Induction Concert. Few bands can move the cool dial like Mott The Hoople.

Mott The Hoople coming to town was sort of personal for me. I ‘discovered’ Mott The Hoople when I was 14 years old. My introduction to the album “Mott The Hoople Live” was life changing, this album has been the gold standard by which I judge all live albums. It has a fairy tale magic; every spoken word and every note…perfection. Unfortunately…I discovered this a year after they broke up! Sure, I’ve seen Ian Hunter 16 times and he always plays five or so Mott The Hoople songs but he is also always plugging his latest solo material. Upon the Mott The Hoople concert announcement, I found it difficult to comprehend….all Mott, all night.

The 2000 seat Masonic Auditorium sold out almost immediately when pre-sale started for Mott The Hoople ‘74. Ian Hunter has always said that Cleveland rocks and I suppose this supports why he wrote a tribute to the city. It’s a mutual love affair because back in 1979 Cleveland gave Ian a key to the city.

This was my first visit to The Cleveland Masonic Auditorium. Before I get ahead of myself I need to mention a few things. First, it was great seeing all my friends that I wait in line with every year when Ian comes to Cleveland. Second, this crowd had the greatest collection of t-shirts I’ve ever seen at a concert (T-Rex, Sweet, Barnstorm and dozens if not hundreds of Ian Hunter and Mott The Hoople designs). Third, this was the oldest crowd I’ve ever been a part of (not counting funerals). It was fun crowd watching and wondering if the two 70 year old guys wearing Mott The Hoople t-shirts were reliving a memory from nearly 50 years ago.

Back to the venue, the Masonic is a total dump…in a sort of ‘almost’ charming way. The place will never be mistaken for a beautiful atmospheric theater or even the theaters at Playhouse Square. The flow of foot traffic, the restrooms, the concessions and even the acoustics all seemed very antiquated, the place really needs a face lift. The one thing the place has going for it are the site lines from the mezzanine and balcony. Your knees are more likely to be hitting the head of the person in front of you instead of their chair. This is a slight exaggeration but the place has great site lines and no worries about sitting behind a very tall person wearing a very tall hat.

The lights dimmed and “Jupiter” from Gustav Holst's Planet Suite filled the room. This is the same intro music that Mott The Hoople used to start shows way back in the day. In addition, a recording of David Bowie introducing Mott The Hoople from a ’72 show in Philly was piped through the PA.

The show started (just like ’74) with Ian singing a verse from “American Pie” before thundering into “The Golden Age Of Rock and Roll”. The three ’74 alumni (Ian Hunter, Morgan Fisher & Ariel Bender) were backed by Ian’s long time backing band, The Rant Band. Each member of The Rant band was in top form but most noticeable was James Mastro who supplied sax on many songs and mandolin on “I Wish I Was Your Mother”.

Words can’t really describe or do justice to Ariel Bender’s stage persona. The guy is a certifiable loon, I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen somebody have such a fun time on stage. Morgan Fisher wearing the retro ‘keyboard’ jacket and the bucket of champagne by the piano was a nice nod to the past. Several times during the show Morgan would leave his piano and urge the crowd on from the front of the stage. These guys enjoyed their moment in the lights.

I go to rock concerts to enjoy rock n roll, I do not go for piano ballads. However…I can’t remember any concert that I’ve gone to in the last 42 years where I was so moved by ballads. “Rest In Peace” and “Rose” were near perfect replicas from the live album. Simply perfect.

The 90 minute set had many highlights but the most powerful moments from the regular part of the show that I haven’t already mentioned were “Sucker”, “Marionette” and “Walking With A Mountain”. As the show winded down Ian announced (just like on the live album), “We’re going off after this”. This was followed by a medley that included “Jerkin’ Crocus”, “One Of The Boys”, “Rock n Roll Queen”, “Crash Street Kids”, “Violence” plus a few oldies (Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis) and this was topped off with a snippet from “Cleveland Rocks”. I especially got a kick out of the revised lyrics to “Violence”. Originally it was, “Violence is the only thing that makes you see sense”. It is now, “Violence makes no sense, it makes no sense”. Funny how growing old changes a perspective.

I do need to mention that when Ian announced “Roll Away The Stone”, he reminded everybody that this was their biggest selling single in the UK, not some song written by David Bowie.

The encore included “All The Way From Memphis”, “Saturday Gigs” and the generational anthem, “All The Young Dudes”. It was as perfect as can be expected from some old blokes reliving memories with 2000 people.

Well done!
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Billy, Don't Be A Porter

[Buckeye Randy]

Television
May 8, 2019
Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
Tickets $40, Sold Out

Sometimes you accept that you won’t get something you really want. Might be the car or the girl…or seeing an all-time favorite band come to your town. There are some things that you need to accept and move on. It doesn’t mean there isn’t still a flicker of hope but it is at best just a flicker. Dream dreams the dreamer.

I (mostly) accepted a long time ago that I would never see Television come to Cleveland. Sure, they’ve been doing sporadic touring the last 20 years and have come close with shows in Pittsburgh and Detroit but never Cleveland. I (mostly) accepted that I would never see one of my all-time favorite bands. And honestly, seeing them at this point of the game would be sort of weak, you know what I mean? It isn’t like they are current, three albums in 42 years and none in the last 27. I have totally justified my defeated attitude.

My defeated attitude all changed two months ago when it was announced Television would be stopping by Cleveland for the first time since before their debut (Marquee Moon) in 1977. Fuel the flickering flame.

In the words of Eddie Cochran,
“I keep right on a-dreamin' and a-thinkin' to myself
When it all comes true man, wow, that's something else”.

Sometimes the best part of a concert is sharing the memory with loved ones. I’m fortunate in having a son-in law that is very knowledgeable and open to music. A few years ago I leant him a live disc of Television. I remember my daughter complaining that he wouldn’t quit playing it. Uh, now that I think about it, I don’t think I ever got it back. My oldest son grew up with Television being part of the soundtrack of his youth. We have had a good time checking out some retro punk bands together. The Saints, The Dictators, New York Dolls and Buzzcocks stick out as fun memories. The three of us would all see Television for the first time together.

We pulled into The Beachland parking lot right at 5PM, two hours before the doors would open. I’ve been to a fair amount of shows at The Beachland and I feel like I know the routine with bands arriving and doing sound checks. I was totally surprised when I saw the band walk out a side door and climb into a SUV. I caught myself thinking out loud, “That’s Tom Verlaine, that’s Tom Verlaine”. I’m a little old for the fan boy thing of running across a parking lot….besides, we now know what they drive and we know they will come back.

The plan came together as their vehicle returned and we casually strolled up to Tom Verlaine as he got out of the passenger door. He met us with a shy smile that said, “Who, me”? I got all three of my Television cds signed and he commented that he doesn’t see many copies of the third release. He thanked us for coming to the show and exited saying he was late for sound check. I met Tom Verlaine…Wow, that’s something else.

Once inside the bar area of The Beachland, the pre-concert mingling was exceptionally cordial. Lots of great t-shirts (Nils Lofgren, Big Star) and lots of great concert stories of yesteryear. We all waited for 7:00 to start filing into the Ballroom.

We staked a place at the stage and anxiously waited. Pretty cool bumping into Harvey Gold from Tin Huey who certainly doesn’t remember me but he gave a warm smile and a handshake anyways. I heard Chris Butler was in attendance as well. Chris Butler was not only in Tin Huey but was founder of The Waitresses which included Television drummer Billy Ficca. Sort of connect the dots with all things leading to Akron (it always does).

Opening was Danny Kroha, he was a one man wrecking crew as he played an excellent set of dust bowl blues. He is on Jack White’s record label Third Man Records and I would have bought a disc if there were any available. He apologized that all cds had sold out but hoped to get some more soon. That helps me how? Regardless, great opener.

Television walks on stage and Tom Verlaine gets on bended knee and starts fidgeting with electronics. He is obviously flustered. I actually thought it might be part of the show. You know, some sort of artsy drama sketch about the frustration of modern electronics.

The band consisted of original members Tom Verlaine (vocals, guitar), Fred Smith (bass) and Billy Ficca (drums). The newbie is Jimmy Rip replacing Richard Lloyd. Calling Jimmy Rip a newbie is misleading because he’s been with Television the last 12 years plus he’s been appearing on Tom Verlaine solo albums since 1982.

No introduction, no light show, no back drop and no name on the kick drum. The band jumped into “Glory” to start the show. The vocals were a tad weak from where I stood but that is often the case when up against the stage. It didn’t matter, I already knew every word.

The eleven song set included six of the eight songs from “Marquee Moon”. They included the non-album single “Little Johnny Jewel” and one song each from their second release (Adventure) and their self-titled third release. There were a couple new songs thrown in and that was it. It would take most ‘punk’ bands from CBGB’s about 30 minutes to play 11 songs. Television never was a typical punk band because for them an 11 song set equaled 90 minutes of tantalizing energy and guitar virtuosity.

I once heard Television described as, “The ghost of rock n roll future”. The future is not here yet because Television still sounds unique no matter how you judge them.

Almost every song was a highlight in some way but it will probably be something that had nothing to do with music that will make me smile years from now. At one point between songs there was an awkward silence as Tom fooled around with his amp and looked at the set list. Several people were yelling things but I happened to yell something that caught his attention, “You’re not bad for a New York band”. He spun around and asked me, “what was that”? I shouted it again. He repeated it so everybody heard it. He then made a dismissive comment about, “I guess that’s Cleveland humor”. That's right.

I suppose the biggest disappointment was my own fault. I waited until after the show before trying to buy a t-shirt. They sold out of two of the four styles so I left without a souvenir…other than three signed discs. I think I’ll be OK.

A night with family, a great concert and some signed discs from Tom Verlaine. It all came true man, wow, that's something else.
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Billy, Don't Be A Porter

[Bnx]

I introduce you to my current favourite band Palm.

Here's a presentation I made about them for music tech:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RFjSNdViKINFO13sPRzNjHZlhrHV7SSE/view?usp=sharing

(This was a lot better when I presented it, because, a lot of the information I mentioned when presenting is missing from the pdf [powerpoint when I made it, I just accidentally sent it to my teacher as a pdf, so had to present it like that]

On the first slide I played a portion of "Heavy Lifting", little bits of different sections of "Second Ward" on the fifth, the intro of "Walkie Talkie" on the 7th, and the intro of "Dog Milk" on the 8th)

Here’s a big list of (mainly) live performances I made (/am making): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUy7Zz_TnLzQd7tBOCNt3H6rX8OwWWbta

Dog Milk and Two Toes (Probably my two favourite live performances from them, basically just because of the intro to Two Toes): https://youtu.be/53RqW3Ep0UA?t=1580

Crazy unreleased song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-9ILXwKN40

Website: https://www.palmmlap.com/

Releases include:
Into the Bulk EP (This one is within Samples)
Samples EP
Ostrich Vacation EP
Trading Basics LP
Shadow Expert EP
Rock Island LP

Possible artists they could remind you of: Captain Beefheart, King Crimson, Women, Slint, Animal Collective or Panda Bear, Brian Wilson or Beach Boys, etc.

Here's a list of non-YouTube links to do with Palm:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zcHeFG3F7m13ORtqb7JkBD0479z0zP6HhvfqogyHXFs/edit?usp=sharing
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You want to know what I could only ever hide

[Buckeye Randy]

Alice Cooper
July 14, 2019
Jacobs Pavilion @ Nautica
Cleveland OH
Sold Out

Another concert that doubles as a family outing. This time it is six of us piling into the family bus for a trip to Cleveland to see America’s original shock rocker, Alice Cooper. Ha, I remember when Alice Cooper was the LAST thing a parent wanted their children to see and now Alice is considered wholesome family entertainment. Our family pack has a range of ages from a youngster of 18 to one of us being 58 (yikes!). A perfect mix of old and new. Four of us have seen Alice before with Mrs. Buckeye leading the way racking up her fifth Alice show.

Alice typically names his tours and this one is titled, ‘Ol Black Eyes Is Back’. The tour has a handful of shows before Alice begins a 17 stop co-headlining tour across the U.S. with Halestorm. After that he takes his troupe to Europe in the fall and then back to the States to complete the tour. In all, Alice will be performing ‘Ol Black Eyes Is Back’ over 70 times before December rolls around which seems like an aggressive schedule for a guy of 71 years.

The 5000 seat Jacobs Pavilion is an open air theater on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. The canopy insures concert goers of not getting baked by the sun in the late afternoon and that the show goes on rain or shine. This is my fourth time at Nautica but the first where the pit section had reserved seating. I’m not positive what dictates if the pit will be a GA standing area or have reserved seating. It could be the age and number of hip replacements in the crowd or more likely it is the disposable income of ticket buyers. Alice Cooper fans apparently have deep pockets for plenty of the close to the stage VIP passes.

The one odd thing about an Alice show at an outdoor venue is…daylight. It seems more fitting to have an eerie darkness with a Vincent Price type aura than sunbeams rendering the stage lighting mostly useless the first half of the show. It seemed especially odd when the entire stage looked like a dungeon in an old castle.

After several minutes of mood setting intro music the banner in front of the stage fell and the band stormed into “Feed My Frankenstein”. Alice commanded the stage and captivated the crowd as he lurked about his dungeon throughout this high energy opener. The first nine songs were played in rapid fire fashion with no breaks between the songs. It was a perfect blend of classics from the ‘70’s, 80’s, 90’s and even a song from 2017’s release (“Paranormal”). Nice opening.

After that great opening segment, darkness began to fall and the stage lighting started taking over and the castle dungeon began looking like a very scary place.

Nita Strauss is quite the guitar player and has been with Alice for several years now. Her extended solo was impressive as she wandered the stage playing and posing just like a guitar god should. “Roses On White Lace” served as the arena for Alice to play out a violent scene with a bride (which was played by his real life daughter). It was at this point…it happened again…Alice had his head chopped off. It never gets old.

Don’t worry, Alice reappeared alive and well as he exited a coffin from the dungeon wall. The balance of the set was mostly themes of creepiness and death, the props and costume changes were plenty. The highlights of this portion were ‘dead babies’ wandering the stage and a 10 foot tall Frankenstein during the closer, “Teenage Frankenstein”.

The encore was back to business as far as music and included a very special guest in the form of original Alice Cooper Band member, Dennis Dunaway. The band and crowd shouted their way through “Under My Wheels” and Schools Out”. There was also a bizarre looking 8 foot tall baby with Alice make-up that had ‘billion dollar baby’ written on his belly. Why wouldn’t he?

This concert was over in 90 minutes from start to finish, that’s a little on the short side for a top tier headliner. I think the length is due to this show being built for the co-headling tour with Halestorm. We all would have enjoyed a few extra songs from the early era but we can’t complain. The band was great and the stage show is never disappointing with Alice.

Sooo….I mentioned earlier how this show had reserved seating in what is normally the GA pit area. Not one person sat at any point during the concert. There are not many acts that command a crowd to stand an entire show without taking a break for a few tunes. Also of interest was the age of concert goers, fans from 8 to 80 were in attendance wearing Alice make-up and going crazy.

All in all, a very successful family outing and I can’t wait to see Alice get his head chopped off again.

Set List

1. Feed My Frankenstein
2. No More Mr. Nice Guy
3. Bed of Nails
4. Raped and Freezin'
5. Fallen in Love
6. Muscle of Love
7. I'm Eighteen
8. Billion Dollar Babies
9. Poison
10. Guitar Solo (Nita Strauss)
11. Roses on White Lace
12. My Stars
13. Devil's Food
14. Black Widow Jam
15. Steven
16. Dead Babies
17. I Love the Dead
18. Escape
19. Teenage Frankenstein
20. Under My Wheels
21. School's Out
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Billy, Don't Be A Porter

[Buckeye Randy]

[Bnx]

To me, Two Toes always sounded like the relationship of a couple. In the first instrumental interlude it isn't so bad, but, you could hear slight problems. But, in the instrumental outro, all hell breaks loose. It's like the two guitars are the couple, the bassist is a friend of the couple, and the drums are added atmosphere.

A lot of their live performances are extended (e.g. The studio version of Two Toes is 3:29, whereas this one I'd say is 7:13. [I'm counting from when the slowed down parts of Dog Milk ended, to when the buzzing at the end of Two Toes completely stops. If we were to count from when Two Toes is first hinted at, I'd say it's 7:35])
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You want to know what I could only ever hide

[Buckeye Randy]

Mott The Hoople has added a third leg to their current tour which is a tribute to the 1974 line-up. Highly recommended.

Oct 21 Port Chester NY
Oct 22 Washington DC
Oct 24 Atlanta GA
Oct 26 Nashville TN
Oct 28 Dallas TX
Oct 29 Austin TX
Oct 31 Scottsdale AZ
Nov 1 Los Angeles CA
Nov 3 Oakland CA
Nov 5 Portland OR
Nov 6 Seattle WA

Link to official website
https://www.mottthehoople-74.com/
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Billy, Don't Be A Porter

[Eric Murray]

Human League tonight in Glasgow- it’s open air - hope the rain stays off

[Buckeye Randy]

[Eric Murray]

At 18.45 the rain was bouncing down and I considered giving it a miss - sitting at an open air bandstand was not appealing
Luckily by 19.30 rain stopped and off I went on the Glasgow underground
The Human League were excellent- a good mix from the entire back catalogue- well worth seeing if you can

[Spyke]

Nights out don't get much better than a Human League gig! The band have a top-notch back catalogue to choose from and put a lot of work into the staging. They always seem to be on tour, so don't seem to have the time to make another album!
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"but we can hear what others can't hear..."