Concerts 2015 & The Reasons For My Obsession

[buccaneers37]

Please indulge me. I have thought about starting this for the last year or so & now I am finally getting around to it.

Some of you might find this interesting & some may pass right over it, that's what's great about this sub-forum! I am going to post each time I go to a concert with the main bands and any openers I find really interesting. I may or may not post some of my thoughts afterwards. Kind of an e-diary, if you will. I think it would be fantastic if some of you wanted to comment on individual bands, if/when you have seen them or even some of the recent concerts you have gone to. If you want to participate, don't worry about "hijacking" my thread, the "more the merrier". Also, negative comments are not necessarily bad , either. Everyone has their own tastes and I respect that. If I don't find a type of music or an artist that someone likes appealing to myself, I will tell that person, but still keep an open mind. There are certain things even I just can't "get into". What I can't tolerate is when someone says "that's horrible" or "I can't see how you listen to that garbage" or will razz you about music/groups you like. It's perfectly fine that you don't like something, just remember, a form of music would not have been produced if someone didn't like it. All I ask is respect other's tastes. Be tolerant!

A little bit about "My Other" hobby:

Music has been a passion of mine, I guess, since I was born. I was born in January of '66 & soon after, The Monkees were born, too. This is my favorite group of all times. I was told that whenever their TV shown would come on, my sisters would place me in front of the television & I would "rock out" to their music. So I guess I'm the perfect example that would prove the experiment of having something ingrained on your brain at an early age! They also had an extensive collection of 45s (including The Monkees) they would play for me continuously. My parents played music in the house quite a lot, which accounts for my liking the stuff from the '40s & '50s. I had my mom buy "my own" first albums for me in the late '70s (two Blondie albums). I like a wide range of genres and it isn't uncommon for me to be listening to punk, hair metal, electronica, blues, old school rap & classical all in the same day. At last count, I had over 1,800 CDs that I started collecting way back in 1983. I was a "late bloomer" when it came actually going to hear music played live. The school I attended did not believe in concerts & that was where most of my friend were from, so I had no one to go to concerts with. That is one of the reasons I go to as many bands from the '70s & early '80s that I can find, because that was the music I grew up on and I missed seeing them the first time around. My first official concerts was at the USF Sun Dome in 1985 to see The Beach Boys. I went to concerts semi-regularly until the early '90s when I took a "concert hiatus" until Van Halen in 2008. I have been going regularly since. Last year I set a new personal record when I saw 32 shows (my friend that works at 97X saw 102, so it makes me feel inadequate!).

Thank you for putting up with my ramblings (this started out to be WAY shorter). I will post my first concert from this year later today or in the morning. I hope some find this as interesting as I do. Most of us are more than "Just Palm People". That passion manifests itself in many areas.

Wayne.

[Danilopez89]

How bout the Coachella fest? It's happening in my backyard right now. I'll be able to hear ACDC from my dads house later.

[buccaneers37]

Thant would be pretty sweet! They have a good lineup this year. My friend has gone to Bonnaroo the last 5 or 6 years and always tries to get me to go with him. I have been to a couple of music festival before, however, baking in the sun all day tend to wear me out. I am going to Guava Fest in Tampa this year, but I only bought a ticket for Saturday. I'm mainly going for The Pixies & The Strokes, so I probably won't show up until later in the day.

[buccaneers37]

I'm going to start off with a quick recap of the people I saw last year and then I will post my first 2015 concert tomorrow:

Sunshine Music & Blues Festival / AFI / Against Me! / Army Of The Universe, Skinny Puppy / Flogging Molly / Young The Giant / Shiny Toy Guns / Agent Orange / Icona Pop, Miley Cyrus / The Dead Milkmen / The Sounds / Dropkick Murphys / Neon Trees / DOA / Cage The Elephant / Paramore, Fall Out Boy / Helmut, Filter / Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails / Stiff Little Fingers, Pennywise, Bad Religion, Offspring / Off! / Alice Cooper, Motley Crue / Torche / Rise Against / Chvrches / Memphis May Fire / Skrillex / The Menzingers, Less Than Jake / Interpol / DRI / The Black Keys / Saigon Kick / Bleachers

[Gonzer]

This could be an interesting thread although I haven't been to concert since Michael Shenker blew out my hearing at a UFO gig in '97. Wayne, usually at our age we're reminiscing about the good gigs, not going to boatloads like you!!! Ever seen Concrete Blonde?

[redbeard917]

Looking forward to hearing your impressions. I worked in the live music industry for about 12 years. There were definitely some great moments, along with a lot of forgettable pop stuff. I liked and respected Aerosmith, a country singer named Randy Houser, Fleetwood Mac and Reba more after hearing/seeing them live. Also Madonna, not so much for the music, but the quality of the entire production.

Here's a pic of an Eric Church show from a few weeks ago from backstage. Most phone pics don't come out well but this one did.

[Sandy Loam]

Wow-- If I had known that the Pixies were playing in Tampa, I probably would already have bought tickets. Thanks for tipping me off about Guava Fest. I am seriously thinking about going and just emailed a buddy about possibly heading down together to check it out.

Buccaneer37, your recent concerts list is interesting. I actually saw some of those bands years ago.....like, I won't say how many years ago (as in, before anybody had heard of them and they were playing small venues). No further comment -- but I can definitely dig the live band frenzy as a mid-life passion. ....maybe will bump into you at Guava Fest!

[Kennybenjamin]

Here is a couple of old tickets from the better concerts I have attended...

Pearl Jam probably my fave band of all time and I even convinced my wife to walk down the aisle at our wedding to the first few bars of "yellow Ledbetter" by PJ ( played acoustically by my mate )

Other memorable ones include The Rolling Stones, Elton John, red hot chilli peppers, Metallica, jack Johnson and Ben Harper.

I have been to about 7 or 7 big festivals here in Australia which had numberous our other big name bands playing. Need to get back into in but due to our 6 month old baby that isn't easy right now.

[_Keith]

Good thread. One a business trip recently I watched That Metal Show on VH1 Classics. Reminded me of all of the great concerts I was lucky enough to enjoy. The highlight was seeing Blue Oyster Cult opened by Rush at The Warehouse in New Orleans. Needless to say, Rush stole the show. I'll be a Rush fan always. My biggest regret was not spending the $200 a ticket to see AC/DC in concert a few years ago in Houston. Second best concert was ZZ Top in Tulane Stadium right before it was demolished. Stage was in the shape of State of Texas, and a 2000 pound long horn bull came up from beneath into the center of the stage. For some reason or another I don't remember much after that, lol.

[buccaneers37]

I have not had the pleasure of seeing Concrete Blonde in concert yet, but would love to. I find that going to concerts (as well as gardening, bowling, etc.) keeps me feeling young - well, as much as possible anyway.

If you go to Guava Fest, Look for the 6' 9" guy with a 12" long, mostly white beard. That would be me. For some reason, people seem to recognize me, concert to concert. I haven't figured that one out yet.

My wife walked down the aisle to "I'll Love You Forever" by The Monkees. I had always meant to get our wedding picture autographed by Davy Jones, with those words, but now he can tell her in person.

I have lots of favorite concerts, it's so hard to pick. Some highlights were the first time I got to see The Monkees, in 1986; That same year when I went to a LL Cool J & Run-DMC concert and these three unknown white guys walked out on the stage, unannounced & to an almost empty arena, and started rapping. Those guys were The Beastie Boys and this was several months before Licensed To Ill has come out; in 1989 I saw Paul McCartney at Tampa Stadium. It was during that tour that he sang Hey Jude for the first time in concert since The Beatles had broken up. The whole stadium joined in singing it, it was bone-chilling; When I got to finally see Coldplay in 2012 during their Mylo Xyloto tour. That was the most electric, positive-vibe feeling crowd I have EVER been in; When I got to see Devo & Blondie that same year in St. Augustine. I caught Mark Mothersbaugh's yellow suit (which is my most prized piece of concert memorabilia) and Debbie Harry was my first ever crush as a pre-teen boy AND SHE POINTED AT ME AS SHE WAS PULLING AT THE "BEARD" ON HER CHIN!!!!!!; at the end of 2012 when I saw Men Without Hats at The Orpheum and the crowd parted as I did The Safety Dance and Ivan Doroschuk acknowledged me with a "thumbs up". Getting to see Stiff Little Fingers last year on their 1st ever visit to Florida (a punk legend in Ireland) at the same concert as The Offspring played the entire Smash album......and all the memories from all the concerts in-between.

[Alicehunter2000]

A Halloween night the family will not forget ....lol

[_Keith]

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A Halloween night the family will not forget ....lol

[buccaneers37]

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A Halloween night the family will not forget ....lol

This looks so fun!

[buccaneers37]

2015 concert # 1. January 16th. Pennywise at The Cuban Club in Ybor. I took my grandson Dalton to his second ever concert & we stood at the edge of the pit. He stood about 3ft. behind me in case of random flying concert-goers. I've been trying to cultivate his musical interests, which I think are basically nonexistent. He really enjoyed this concert; his first, not so much. Last year I took him to the Helmut / Filter concert and he just didn't "get it". This left me to try and figure out how he can possibly be related to me. Anti-Flag was the opener that came on right before them & I really enjoyed their music. The fans got WAY rambunctious and almost trampled the sound tent. Dalton proceeded to move a couple more feet back. One of the things I tend to do at some concerts is get way into the music (as you can tell from my brief Men Without Hats story), it's something I use to blow off steam and momentarily lose myself from everyday life. Near the end of the show, during the Pennywise song "F--- Authority", I was jumping into the crowd, singing at the top of my lungs & using the "universal sign". While we were walking back to my truck, Dalton told me some person turned to him, pointed at me, and told him that it was pretty cool that "that old guy" was getting into the music so much. For some reason Dalton didn't tell him that was his Pop-Pop acting like a complete idiot! Even though Dalton is not really big on music, he said he will go with me anytime I want just to spend time with me, which I think is pretty neat. Back in the late '80s / early '90s, I took his uncle to quite a few shows (Motley Crue, Poison, Cinderella, etc.). I do go to several shows on my own, but I prefer to go with people I know, it makes the evening more enjoyable.

I have really enjoyed the stories I've read from everyone else, please keep them coming.

Wayne

[Eric in Orlando]

I'm going to start off with a quick recap of the people I saw last year and then I will post my first 2015 concert tomorrow:

Sunshine Music & Blues Festival / AFI / Against Me! / Army Of The Universe, Skinny Puppy / Flogging Molly / Young The Giant / Shiny Toy Guns / Agent Orange / Icona Pop, Miley Cyrus / The Dead Milkmen / The Sounds / Dropkick Murphys / Neon Trees / DOA / Cage The Elephant / Paramore, Fall Out Boy / Helmut, Filter / Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails / Stiff Little Fingers, Pennywise, Bad Religion, Offspring / Off! / Alice Cooper, Motley Crue / Torche / Rise Against / Chvrches / Memphis May Fire / Skrillex / The Menzingers, Less Than Jake / Interpol / DRI / The Black Keys / Saigon Kick / Bleachers

WOW, never thought I would see Skinny Puppy mentioned on PalmTalk!!!

[buccaneers37]

I've listened to them for a long time, but that was the first time I saw them in concert. I was very impressed with the music AND theatrics. I'm a pretty diverse person. I'm fairly confident that I can say I'm the only person to see Agent Orange and Miley Cyrus in the same week!

[Alicehunter2000]

Believe it or not I try not to expose my girls to much "societal underbelly" stuff this early in their lives. I don't want them to live in a bubble either. The thing I like about Alice shows is that he never swears and curses in his shows. Even still, I checked the the setlist and made sure some of his more questionable antics were not in this particular show.

It was Halloween and my daughter actually entered a costume contest and won tickets and a free hotel stay at a really nice hotel which was also the concert venue. How cool is that! We ate Filet Mignon at the hotel restaurant in full Alice Makeup.

After the show my wife insisted that we go outside and wait near the tour bus.....we met the whole band (except Alice which is $500 to Meet and Greet) and took pictures. Even met Alice's wife Sherryl (a professional ballet dancer) who talked for a while with my daughters (who are both ballet dancers) about the theatrical ballet dancing she does during the show. One of the staff saw the girls had no candy and went on Alice's bus and got them a whole bag full. All in All....a night to remember. The girls first rock concert Halloween Night! ......The Legendary ALICE COOPER!!!

[buccaneers37]

The only time I saw him was last year when he opened for Moltley Crue. I have always been noncommittal about his music (even though there are many of his song I like), but I thoroughly enjoyed his show, I would definitely go to see him again.

I guess at this point I do need to say my grandson is 17, so I am not too worried about being a bad influence on him (I do understand where you're coming from, though). However, I'm pretty sure I did (inadvertently) teach him his first curse word. My son, his wife & Dalton lived with me and my wife for about 18 months after he was born. I was out in my game room (a shell at the time) putting up vapor barrier sheeting on the studs with a slap stapler and should have been paying more attention. I drove a staple right through my thumbnail. I started running around the room, blood spurting from my thumb, loudly "protesting" the pain. Dalton was running right behind me, laughing & "mimicking" his Pop-Pop. On a side note, Linda cut the staple in half with side cutter & pulled the pieces out with a pair of vice grips. If you took the drywall of the west wall, you would still see the evidence of my little accident.

[Sandy Loam]

I've listened to them for a long time, but that was the first time I saw them in concert. I was very impressed with the music AND theatrics. I'm a pretty diverse person. I'm fairly confident that I can say I'm the only person to see Agent Orange and Miley Cyrus in the same week!

I wonder what they're theatrics are like in 2015(?) I didn't know that Skinny Puppy still even existed. When I saw them in concert in 1987, their theatrics were unbelievable.....biting into bleeding hamburgers, a body being carried away in a bag, a beer bottle being smashed over someone's head... I could go on. I was so young back then that I actually thought it was real. And the Severed Heads from New Zealand was the opening act.

I was a young teen at the time and I can't believe my parents let me go to concerts like that alone (with equally young friends) all alone back then. They probably had no idea about the gruesome theatrics. Perhaps Skinny Puppy have mellowed out since then (?)..... in concert, at least.

Edited April 15, 2015 by Sandy Loam

[Eric in Orlando]

Skinny Puppy is still awesome live. I saw them here in Orlando in Feb. 2014 and its still a great show and they sound good. I missed the recent Tampa show with Front Line Assembly. I did see Front 242 last Sept. in Tampa. They are still good too but the sound at the Orpheum could be better.

[buccaneers37]

Concert # 2. January 20th at The Crowbar in Ybor. I went with my friend, Mark the "Concert Guru", who works at 97X and is going to USF for his masters in Sports & Music Management. I mainly went to see the 2nd group, Torche. They are from Miami and play, what is described as, "melodic stoner metal". Whatever they are called, I like this band a lot & go to see them whenever they are around here. Saw a really good new (to me) band that opened the show, called the Nigh Birds. One of the reasons I like going to these shows is to see the opening bands, which are groups I have normally not heard of before. Sometimes it's a BIG miss, but sometimes I find new music I enjoy and that is how I build my music collection up (I found a real gem this way, as far as I'm concerned, from Oakland that you will her about later). The headliner was Municipal Waste, who I had listened to before, but never paid them much attention. I will be now. They were awesome in concert and interacted with the crowd well. I have since purchased all of their CDs.

[sur4z]

Who is going to the Wanee Festival that starts today along the Sawanne River in Live Oak Florida??

[NorthFlpalmguy]

I'd love to go but it's not my wife's cup of tea so to speak-

http://welcometorockvillefestival.com/

I've never been to a metal concert, only country/southern rock/bluegrass but love going and like most all genres of music.

[Alicehunter2000]

Since you all are talking about Punk Bands.....I saw The Dead Kennedy's in Miami....back in the day. Went through a punk phase in college...lol. Then just went back to good ol' hard rock. Would like to see Suicidal Tendencies....think they are still putting out music? Would like to see Motorhead before Lemmy keels over dead. Both of these bands got pretty crappy singers but the intensity of the music would be fun to watch.

[sur4z]

Here is this weekends lineup for the Wanee Festival

http://www.waneefestival.com/

[buccaneers37]

Since you all are talking about Punk Bands.....I saw The Dead Kennedy's in Miami....back in the day. Went through a punk phase in college...lol. Then just went back to good ol' hard rock. Would like to see Suicidal Tendencies....think they are still putting out music? Would like to see Motorhead before Lemmy keels over dead. Both of these bands got pretty crappy singers but the intensity of the music would be fun to watch.

Motorhead is putting on a cruise at the end of September, sailing out of Miami. Along with Motorhead, is Suicidal Tendencies, Slayer, Anthrax and some other bands. That would be one extreme cruise.

[NorthFlpalmguy]

Since you all are talking about Punk Bands.....I saw The Dead Kennedy's in Miami....back in the day. Went through a punk phase in college...lol. Then just went back to good ol' hard rock. Would like to see Suicidal Tendencies....think they are still putting out music? Would like to see Motorhead before Lemmy keels over dead. Both of these bands got pretty crappy singers but the intensity of the music would be fun to watch.

They'll be at Welcome to Rockville actually. The only kind of rocking I get to do these days is rocking my son to sleep.

[Alicehunter2000]

Since you all are talking about Punk Bands.....I saw The Dead Kennedy's in Miami....back in the day. Went through a punk phase in college...lol. Then just went back to good ol' hard rock. Would like to see Suicidal Tendencies....think they are still putting out music? Would like to see Motorhead before Lemmy keels over dead. Both of these bands got pretty crappy singers but the intensity of the music would be fun to watch.

Motorhead is putting on a cruise at the end of September, sailing out of Miami. Along with Motorhead, is Suicidal Tendencies, Slayer, Anthrax and some other bands. That would be one extreme cruise.

Wonder if those working on the ship understand what they are going to have to endure.

[buccaneers37]

Concert # 3. January, 18th @ The Ritz in Ybor. Against Me!, which is another band I will go to any time they come around. They put on an excellent show and there is always such a high energy, feel good vibe to the crowd. I think Laura Jane Grace is an extremely brave person, to be doing what she is doing in a punk band that leaves her wide open to criticism. It takes a lot of guts, whether you agree with her or not. I went with Dalton, who thoroughly enjoyed the show, and Linda's nephew Jayme (I don't call him my nephew since I am only a few years older than him and he was already in the Navy when we got married). Basically, if I don't go to concerts by myself, I am going with either Mark or Jayme (and now, once in a while with Dalton). I got to see another opening band I had never heard of, Creepoid. They are kind of gloomy, sludgy, eerie indie-rock(ish). Definitely different than Against Me!, but I liked it. Even though I lean towards the punk/new wave/(starting of)electronica, I am very broad on what I listen to and like.

[Eric in Orlando]

I'm going to Peter Hook and the Light Sunday. PH is the former bassist for Joy Division and New Order and is performing JD and NO songs. I've looked up vids from his recent performances and it sounds very good.

[buccaneers37]

I'm going to Peter Hook and the Light Sunday. PH is the former bassist for Joy Division and New Order and is performing JD and NO songs. I've looked up vids from his recent performances and it sounds very good.

I'm seriously thinking of going to his show tomorrow night in St. Pete. Joy Division is one of my all-time favorites. I'm installing a new ac unit at my house tomorrow, depending on how it goes, that will dictate my activities for the rest of the day.

I'm actually going to St. Pete tonight to see The Ting Tings. Concert / Rays vs. Yankees & Friday afternoon traffic. This should be a pleasant drive across the bridge!

[Eric in Orlando]

I saw New Order back in 1989 at the old Bayfront in St. Petersburg. One of the only Florida appearances for NO. Great show but they didn't perform any Joy Division then.

[Sandy Loam]

It's interesting to hear about all of these concerts nearby. I never know what is going on anymore.

I am personally going to skip the Peter Hook concert because it won't be the same as seeing Joy Division and, obviously, no one can ever see Joy Division again. I used to be a Joy Division fan, but was never much of a New Order fan beyond their 1981 material. Already by 1983, they were a little too "pop" for my tastes. They had lost their indie edge by then.

Bucaneers37 - We now have tickets to that Guava Fest and I will be going with a couple of friends. I will look out for you.

Eric - re: your earlier post, I think I saw all of those bands you mentioned in the late 80s/early 90s. In fact, I believe I saw Front242 twice in 1989 in two different countries. I don't do that genre of music anymore, but I saw others along those lines at the time, including Laibach.... Gosh, who else did I see back then? Hmm.

[buccaneers37]

Note: My record keeping sucks. The last post was actually concert # 4 from February 18th. I will now post about the real concert # 3 from February 5th @ Jannus in St. Pete. I went with Mark and we met one of our concert buddies, Angela, there. Two bands that I had seen before and thoroughly enjoy, Reel Big Fish & Less Than Jake. I like listening to ska punk. The addition of the horn section gives the music that bid band swing feel that makes it easy to move around to. The opener was Authority Zero, who also put on a good set. A ska concert is where I got one of my "concert nicknames" (yes, I have been given more than one). Some guy had turned to me and made a comment about my size & appearance and big foot (don't know where that came from) and I told him one of my friends at the bowling alley calls me Sasquatch Santa. This guy just lit up and said "that's it, I'll call you Ska-Squatch!", and that's who I was for the rest of the night. Less Than Jake headlined and before their last song before the encore, Chris (lead singer) was talking about often visiting St. Pete when he was a teenager and going to concerts at Jannus. He started talking about the poll that used to be out I the middle of the audience that everyone used to mosh around. Well, he spotted me standing at the corner of the stage and yelled, "You, tall guy with the beard". He told me to move towards the center of the audience about 15ft. and then back some. He said I was the "new pole" and told everyone that when the song started to form a big circle pit around "The Poll". Well, I had a 200 person circle pit form around me for the next 4 or 5 minutes with people coming up to me and bumping me and giving me high fives. Needless to say I had a BLAST. I stayed in the mosh pit for the encore and got bounced around a bit. When we walked back to my truck, people kept yelling at me "it's the poll". I now have a custom shirt that says "The Poll Aka: Sasquatch Santa, Ska-Squatch, 7 Foot Wizard". I know some of this may sound childish to some of you (especially at my "age"), but I go to concerts to have fun, and if that involves acting like an idiot sometimes, so be it. A girl stopped me as I was leaving the Skrillex show last year and said she had been watching me and said I was one of the most energetic people there and asked me my age. I told her I was 48. She replied, "That's cool!" and added in a rather disappointed tone "My mother's 48.....". You're only as old as you feel.

[buccaneers37]

Concert # 5. March 21st @ Backbooth in Orlando. Went all out old-school punk. I had wanted to see The Dwarves for 20 years, they just don't come to this area hardly at all and I was not able to make their show when they came to Tampa in 2012. It was on a Saturday and the trip to Orlando SUCKED. It took me 2 hours and 40 minutes, I should have been late, but all the bands were stuck in that horrific traffic too, so everything was backed up about an hour. The drive ended up being well worth it & the concert did not disappoint! It was high energy from the start and never let up. I heard a great band from Orlando that opened up, Caffiends. I definitely will go to see them when they come to Tampa. And then came the "gem" of the concert, a band from Oakland, California, The Atom Age. I don't know how this band got past me. Kind of the old-school California surf punk sound with sax & keyboard thrown in for good measure. I immediately ordered their CD, The Hottest Thing That's Cool, and it's had heavy rotation at work and at home. I contacted the band and they said they will be back this way in the fall after they release their new CD. I can't wait. Next up was Richie Ramone. About the only thing I knew about him was that he drummed for the Ramones for 5 years back in the 80s, but he put on a rocking performance, both in his drumming & singing. The Queers came out next. I have a few of their CDs but have never seen them live. They really did kick A**. They had Richie come up at the end of their set(once they found him, he was across the street at 7-11 slamming beers!)and play drums while they did Sheena Is A Punk Rocker. It put the audience into more of a frenzy then they already were. Then came what I had been waiting for, The Dwarves, the kings of the 1:30 long fast, vulgar,punk song. They put on a high energy (albeit too short)set and then Blag just got off the stage & walked out the front door (as I heard he likes to end their concerts) and that was the show. You very rarely get quality music from top to bottom, but this was one of those shows.

[buccaneers37]

As is popular with movie franchises these days, I'm "Re-Booting" this list. It was doomed from the start last year, as I already had several concerts under my belt before I decided to do this little blog, and then, a few things came up (as they tend to do) which kept me away, and I just could never catch up. Since my first concert of the year is tonight, I am going to do a short recap of who I saw in 2015 and start fresh this weekend. It is my intention to keep up this year.... So here goes:
A Wilhelm Scream-Anti Flag-Pennywise//Night Birds-Torche-Municipal Waste//Authority Zero-Reel Big Fish-Less Than Jake//Creepoid-Against Me!//Caffiends-Atom Age-Richie Ramone-Queers-Dwarves//Menzinger-Taking Back Sunday//Sunbears!-Good Graeff-Mates Of State//Kaneholler-Ting Tings//Finch-Downtown Fiction-Yellowcard//Attack-Flogging Molly//Jeff Beck-ZZ Top//Pixies-Strokes//Temperance Movement-Rolling Stones//System Of A Down//Styx-Def Leppard//Imagine Dragons//Neon Trees//Smashing Pumpkins-Marilyn Manson//Rubeo-Counterpunch-Authority Zero//Get Up Kids//Umphrey's McGee//Van Halen//Mickey Guyton-Justin Moore-Brad Paisley//Atom Age(Seminole)//Atom Age(Orlando)//Applebutter Express//Streetlight Manifesto//Masked Intruders-Mustard Plug-Lagwagon-Teenage Bottlerocket-Off With Their Heads//Mansionair-Chvrches//Public Image Limited.

I saw loads of great shows, but my main highlight(s) were seeing The Rolling Stones in Orlando on one Friday and then catching System Of A Down in Toronto the next Friday.I fell a little short of my record, but I still went to 30 shows last year. Already have tickets fo 9 so far this year. Here's to a good concert year!

[buccaneers37]

#1

So, Friday a week ago, I caught my first concert of the year, The Soft Moon @ The Orpheum in Ybor. They are a post-punk/darkwave/industrial band from Oakland. Thoroughly  enjoyed myself. Met a girl from Edmonton/Toronto that was down here on  trip she won from her work. Come to find out, she sings for two post-punk bands that have their music released by a guy out of Finland who I buy a lot of my Goth music from. Small world! After the show (which didn't get over until 1:10), I walked down to The Castle (a local alternative club that plays Goth & Industrial on Friday nights) & stayed there until they closed. I went and had dinner & didn't get into bed until 4:15, and then I was up @ 9:00 to do yard work. Boy was I tired all day. I'm not as young as I used to be!

[buccaneers37]

#2

One of my favorite Florida (Miami) bands came to town a couple of Sunday's ago, Torche. That sludgy, melodic metal sound gets down deep inside of you and makes you move to the pulsating beat. It's always a pleasure to go to one of their concerts. My type of music typically does not have a lot of metal in it (although, I'm going to try to branch out a little this year with different concerts), however this is not what I would refer to as "typical metal". They put on an awesome show, as always. Even though they were plying on the patio of the New World Brewery in Ybor where it was extremely COLD (at least by Florida standards), they played an extra long encore until 1:00am. If you haven't listened to them before, I would recommend you at least give them a try.

 

[buccaneers37]

# 3

Week ago Monday I went to The State Theatre to see one of the original American Punk bands, Agent Orange. Mike Palm's vocals still sound strong after all of these years. A big crowd showed up to see these legends and were not disappointed.  The opening act was a band out of Colorado that I had not heard of before, In The Whale. Two guys that play a mix of alternative, hard rock & punk. They were REALLY good. I will definitely be following their music.

And I finally got a descent picture from my phone!:

[buccaneers37]

# 4

I went to a rare country concert. I drifted away from country when my wife died & went back to my roots of rock, punk, new wave & alternative. I think this was my 3rd pure county concert in the last 10 years. I went to see Travis Tritt, and I was very impressed. He did an acoustic set, and it was just him & his guitar on stage for an hour and fifteen minutes. His voice is still as good as it was when he started & he is an excellent guitar player. I enjoy acoustic music for a change of pace. I have my four favorite "modern" male country singers (last 25 years) that I follow, and he was the only one I hadn't seen (Clint Black, Garth Brooks & Brad Paisley being the others).