http://www.concertlivewire.com Fri 6, Nov 2009 02:30:04 GMT Fri 6, Nov 2009 21:54:01 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/dailydish.htm She may be best known for the smash single "One of Us," but Joan Osborne is one of the most versatile vocalists of our time just as capable of authentic soul and Motown covers as she is singing for The Dead. These days, she's touring in support of Little Wild One, a New York-inspired album that's just as literary in the lyrical department as it is compelling in the area of arrangements. Blues legends The Holmes Brothers and poetic troubadour Paul Thorn open... ConcertLivewire Fri 6, Nov 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/daltry09.htm Daltrey professed that one of his personal favorites is "Behind Blue Eyes" and from the enthusiasm of the crowd as he belted out a very emotional version, it was apparent that he wasn't alone with his affection for this Who classic. While Pete Townshend may not have been shredding his guitar for last night's performance, his younger brother Simon did an admirable job doing both guitar and vocals as he kicked the crowd into gear singing "Going Mobile"... ConcertLivewire Fri 6, Nov 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/voodoo09.htm Sure, the aging act that likes to rock and roll all night and party every day is the pinnacle of stadium clichˇs these days and a mere caricature of its heyday, but key members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley served as fitting ringleaders for the revelry. Tunes from the new Sonic Boom were met with indifference, but its big hit, alongside towering production, pryo and constant tongue curling, aptly complimented the city's grand excesses... ConcertLivewire Fri 6, Nov 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/rebelsoulscd.htm SOn their 5th album, Seize the Time, the Souls find themselves recording again with True Stereo engineer Ken Christianson, and the results are as to be expected: stunning. Reinterpreting the works of socially-conscious artists like the Clash, Charles Mingus, Caetano Veloso, Miriam Makeba and Stephen Foster (yes, that Stephen Foster), as well as offering up several excellent originals, this talented group makes a strong case that great music and political activism are still a vital combination. Led by Sirota's propulsive drumming, the Rebel Souls include several of Chicago's finest young talents, including bassist Jake Vinsel, guitarist Dave Miller and a dream team front line of Greg Ward on alto sax and Geof Bradfield on tenor and soprano saxes and bass clarinet... ConcertLivewire Fri 6, Nov 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/dailydish.htm The Rolling Stones sure have its fair share of superfluous product, but the 40th anniversary box set of the now classic Get Yer Ya Ya's Out (Abkco) isn't one of them. In fact, it's been begging to earn deluxe treatments for decades, which besides a remastering of the original concert album, also includes a pair bonus CDs featuring unreleased material from that same era. Add in a DVD boasting six additional clips, and it's a fan's dream of the Stones in the sixties come true... ConcertLivewire Tue 3, Nov 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/pantonescd.htm I admit that before receiving The Pantones' sophomore effort, Inside The Sun's Wild Flame, I hadn't heard of the Lansing, MI quartet before. But after reading that their music incorporated elements of earthy Americana, '60s Britpop and modern indie rock, and that the media likened their previous release, Sleepless Nights, Silent Mornings, to touchstones such as The Beatles, Old 97s, The Byrds and Neil Young, I had to check them out.... ConcertLivewire Tue 3, Nov 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/mcdonald09.htm Now that he's been in the music business nearly forty years, Michael McDonald can pull from a massive bag of tricks when he shapes his set lists. On the most obvious fronts, there's his time in the Doobie Brothers through several solo smashes, not to mention some collaborations with Steely Dan, tipping his hat to Motown, and in the case of this particular concert, several Yuletide tunes. Though Halloween hadn't hit when he set up shop at the always up close and engaging "Soundstage," his special in support of the new This Christmas (Razor & Tie) will fit perfectly alongside other holiday programming... ConcertLivewire Tue 3, Nov 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/dailydish.htm As tales of ghosts and goblins start creeping up in the spirit of the season and costumes start flying off store shelves, New Orleans' City Park is gearing up for the famed Voodoo Music Experience. While it always lands right around Halloween, this year happens right in the heart of the celebratory action, which besides the Big Easy's usual revelry, includes tons of live music. In fact, it all kicks off tonight with headliner Eminem coming out of an extended hiatus, alongside Fischerspooner, Silversun Pickups, The Black Keys and The Cool Kids... ConcertLivewire Sat 31, Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/zombieint.htm Rob Zombie's career thus far has been one of a dark Renaissance man. From creating heart thumping metal with his band White Zombie (named after the 1932 horror film starring Bela Lugosi) and turning to a very successful solo career in 1998 to taking horror films into a tasty and twisted new world with "House of a 1,000 Corpses," "The Devil's Rejects" and the two "Halloween" films, Zombie is staking his claim as an innovator with a twisted vision. Zombie is taking a break from his filmmaking (there are current reports that he might do a remake of the 1950's sci-fi classic "The Blob") to hit the road with his band on The HELLBILLY DELUXE 2 TOUR. He hasn't headlined a tour since 2007 and is apparently itching to hit the road. Openers include Nekromantix and Captain Clegg & the Night Creatures last seen puttin' the musical hooks in Haddonfield, Illinois in Zombie's latest film "Halloween II." The tour will usher in Zombie's forthcoming album Hellbilly Deluxe II... ConcertLivewire Sat 31, Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/hauntedwoods.htm That's the range of possibilities, right? There's either something in these woods - or the watchers are imagining there is. They are either experiencing something, and it is extraordinary - or they are not, and it isn't. Portals leading to another world - or just a series of arched trees? Psychic dimensional shifts - or photographic double exposures? Ectoplasm surrounding the watchers - or fog made visible by a camera flash?... ConcertLivewire Sat 31, Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/clarkson09.htm She gets a lot of crap from the media, for being, so called "overweight," but she looked happy and healthy. It was nice to see that she doesn't give in to the Hollywood hype of being disgustingly skinny or what their perception of beauty is. Clarkson sang a cover medley that featured an oldie, but a goodie, and a popular song on the radio right now. The first song was "That I Would Be Good" by Alanis Morissette, and the second was "Use Somebody" by the Kings of Leon. Those two songs were also labeled as Clarkson's "favorite songs ever." She went on to say "This is my favorite tour with cover songs. I love making others songs my own." Her takes on both numbers had her distinctive and often beautiful voice make them her own... ConcertLivewire Sat 31, Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/noahcd.htm "This is a song for anyone with a broken heart," croons Noah & The Whale's frontman Charlie Fink at one point on their newly released sophomore full-length, The First Days of Spring. But in reality this entire album is for the broken hearted, as Fink documents his own painful experience with lost love through all 11 tracks.... ConcertLivewire Sat 31, Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/dailydish.htm Don't call R.E.M.'s latest Live at the Olympia (Warner Brothers) just an average concert CD and film parading through the same old hits because it actually digs significantly deeper. Instead Michael Stipe and company test out an astounding 39 tunes during its 2007 tour's dress rehearsals in Dublin. Expect an aggressive, absolutely urgent alternative rock aura similar to last year's Accelerate studio CD... ConcertLivewire Mon 26, Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/dailydish.htm Cover bands aren't exactly the subject of critical fodder, but when an original artist is dead or a group ceases to exist, they're the next best option. Enter Cash'd Out, who salute the late great Johnny Cash, along with This Must be the Band, who are amongst the world's first Talking Heads hat tippers. The combination doesn't exactly seem like a hand in glove match, but anyone with discerning music tastes will be able to appreciate the diversity in each original act's innovative style... ConcertLivewire Mon 26. Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/wilco09.htm If there's any artistic and business model to follow in a band, it's unquestionably Wilco, one of Chicago's most prized treasures these days that's steadily ascended from an act with strictly underground appreciation to achieving a full-blown mainstream conquest. All the while, the Jeff Tweedy-led troupe's continued to evolve, surprise and endear, never selling out in the process and always making sure to return to its Windy City roots at least once a year... ConcertLivewire Fri 23. Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/elliscavecd.htm lthough Nick Cave and Warren Ellis have been creating music together for the last decade-and-a-half with The Dirty Three, Grinderman and, most notably, The Bad Seeds, it wasn't until a few years ago that they shifted from their deep, dark rock roots and started composing music for films. Their first foray was in 2005 when they scored the ethereal soundtrack for John Hillcoat's quasi-Western "The Proposition" (which Cave also wrote the screenplay for), followed up two years later by creating the music for Andrew Dominik's "The Assassination of Jesse James" by the Coward Robert Ford. While both films take place in the 1880s (Australia's and The Wild West outback, respectively) the music doesn't hearken back to the time as much as it helps define the feel of the storylines and specific scenes of these wonderful films, both music scores which have been released as part of a two-CD set entitled White Lunar... ConcertLivewire Fri 23. Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/gaslight09.htm Great shots by Livewire's Matt Schwenke of these innovative bands... ConcertLivewire Fri 23. Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/dailydish.htm Now that Peter Murphy is back on the solo circuit and Love and Rockets is reunited, chances are the final nail's been pounded into Bauhaus' coffin. Nonetheless, the iconic goth rockers are finding box set treatment of the now classic In the Flat Field (4ad). Besides the original album in remastered format, the double disc collection also includes b-sides, previously unreleased takes and alternative versions from the same sessions. An accompanying 48-page book includes rare photographs and memorabilia reproductions... ConcertLivewire Mon 19. Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/witchesofww.htm What most of us know about Whitewater are of a fine university, great parks and our old neighbors to the north located in the northwest corner of Walworth County, Wisconsin. But, what many of us don't know are the things that lurk in the shadows there and ignite the subconscious in uncharted areas deep in the mind.... ConcertLivewire Mon 19. Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/fosterint.htm Very few producers have ascended to the heights of household familiarity, but considering David Foster's worked behind the boards with pretty much every major superstar on earth, he's certainly one of the few. In fact, he's sold so many millions of albums collaborating with the likes of Whitney Houston, George Harrison, Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, Cher, Chaka Khan, Madonna, Christina Aguilera and countless others that even the most detailed statistics counter couldn't keep up. Along the way, he's also amassed a hit ripe solo catalogue and simultaneously serves as head of 143 Records, where he discovered The Corrs, Michael Buble and Josh Groban (to name a handful). The multi-tasker is also hitting the road inspired by a recent autobiography and the CD/DVD collation Hit Man: David Foster and Friends (Warner Bros.), where he'll be joined by a who's who of past and present tag team partners, including Phillip Bailey (Earth, Wind and Fire), Peter Cetera (Chicago), Richard Marx, Deborah Cox, Charice, plus Ruben Studdard and Michael Johns (both from "American Idol")... ConcertLivewire Mon 19. Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/bensoncd.htm Jazz guitar superstar George Benson's metamorphosis into a smooth jazz crooner is one of the more puzzling transitions to occur in the history of modern jazz, but clearly his album sales saw a rise with the move and he truly and honestly seems to enjoy singing as much as he loves playing. On Songs and Stories, Benson recorded songs with lyrics he felt spoke to him personally, while at the same time working with some of his favorite artists and songwriters. Musicians Marcus Miller (who also coproduces with John Burk) David Paich and Steve Lukather of Toto fame, Gerald Albright, Lee Ritenour, Norman Brown, Patti Austin, Tom Scott, Greg Phillinganes, Paulinho da Costa and more assist Benson in covering songs by James Taylor ("Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight"), Donny Hathaway ("Someday We'll All Be Free"), Smokey Robinson ("One Like You"), the legendary Bill Withers (a newly-composed "A Telephone Call Away" - sung with Donny's daughter Lalah Hathaway), Joe White ("Rainy Night in Georgia" - a hit for Brook Benton), Rod Temperton ("Family Reunion")and Christopher Cross ("Sailing")... ConcertLivewire Mon 19. Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/dailydish.htm A homecoming concert for Wilco is equivalent these days to the Smashing Pumpkins coming home to the Windy City a decade ago. While Billy Corgan and his band of faceless players has become increasingly irrelevant, Jeff Tweedy and the boys continue to be even more treasured as time passes. The group's touring in support of its cheekily titled Wilco (The Album) (Nonesuch), which also marks its first area jump to the arena level... ConcertLivewire Fri 16. Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/tiestoint.htm He's often referred to as the "biggest DJ in the world" and that isn't just record label hype or personal ego getting in the way, but a genuine fact backed up by plenty of evidence. Known just as Tiesto these days (no "DJ" introduction required), his resume includes a smash hit remix of the Delerium/Sarah McLachlan single "Silence," a performance at the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, a Grammy nomination, along with sold out tours across the entire globe. The beat genius can also add another critical triumph to the cap as his fourth studio CD Kaleidoscope (Ultra) just hit streets, accompanied by a slew of special guests including J—nsi from Sigur R—s, Nelly Furtado, Tegan and Sara, Kele Okereke from Bloc Party and Emily Haines from Metric. Here's more from the wildly diverse genre-bouncing wizard, who checked in from New York to talk about the new tunes, the Windy City and his lauded legacy... ConcertLivewire Fri 16. Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/fosterint.htm Very few producers have ascended to the heights of household familiarity, but considering David Foster's worked behind the boards with pretty much every major superstar on earth, he's certainly one of the few. In fact, he's sold so many millions of albums collaborating with the likes of Whitney Houston, George Harrison, Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, Cher, Chaka Khan, Madonna, Christina Aguilera and countless others that even the most detailed statistics counter couldn't keep up. Along the way, he's also amassed a hit ripe solo catalogue and simultaneously serves as head of 143 Records, where he discovered The Corrs, Michael Buble and Josh Groban (to name a handful). The multi-tasker is also hitting the road inspired by a recent autobiography and the CD/DVD collation Hit Man: David Foster and Friends (Warner Bros.), where he'll be joined by a who's who of past and present tag team partners, including Phillip Bailey (Earth, Wind and Fire), Peter Cetera (Chicago), Richard Marx, Deborah Cox, Charice, plus Ruben Studdard and Michael Johns (both from "American Idol")... ConcertLivewire Fri 16. Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT http://www.concertlivewire.com/girlscd.htm Whatever oppression he may have suffered through his youth, however, doesn't show up - at least musically - on his band's debut, simply titled Album, as it's chockfull of rock and pop influences throughout the last four decades. Owens, along with co-conspirator Chet "JR" White, deliver a tasty baker's dozen of fuzzed-up, lo-fi, melodic pop rock that's as artful as it is instantly accessible. While "Big Bad Mean Mother..." conjures up the sunny pop of mid-'60s Beach Boys, it's also rife with skuzzy, oil-stained punk rock - as if Brian Wilson was fronting The Cramps. On the equally positive sounding pop opener "Lust For Life" Owens' shares some of his inner turmoil when he cries, "I wish I had a father, maybe then I would've turned out right. But now I'm just crazy, I'm totally mad," before a ray of hope prevails as he continues, "and maybe if I really try with all of my heart, then I could make a brand new start in love with you."... ConcertLivewire Fri 16. Oct 2009 12:12:50 GMT