The Avett Brothers at the Toledo Zoo Amphitheater, Toledo, Ohio 7/9/16

     I love the Avett Brothers. This was the fifth time seeing them live over the years. I was attending the show with my son Sam Teller, another big fan of the band. We were looking forward to hearing the new material from the album True Sadness released in 2016.
VENUE: This was my first time at the Toledo Zoo Amphitheater. Quite the nice set-up with the stage in a clamshell backdrop and the seating fanning out from there. There were fold-up chairs down front and stands with backs further on back. We were lucky enough to be in the center of the third row, right in front of the stage.
MERCH: The band had a large selection of shirts, posters, and other items available for sale.

     

The band came on stage at approximately 8:20 am with the full band launching into "D Bag Rag" with Scott Avett (above) and Seth Avett with kazoos. At the end of the opener, the brothers threw their kazoos into the audience with Scott's landing right in my hand! I have caught set lists, guitar picks, and drum sticks, but never a kazoo!

     Seth Avett (above) and the band then followed with one terrific song after another in a thirty song set. Early highlights were "Satan Pulls the Strings", "Down With the Shine", and "Ain't No Man". Although much of the new material has a different sound or feel to it, it sounds great with the older material. 

                                      

                            Bob Crawford on bass and violin provided his usual solid backing.

Joe Kwon adds so much to the sound of the Avett Brothers 

with his cello playing and background vocals.

The interplay of Scott and Seth is such a huge part of the sound and live performance of the band.

Second half highlights included "Head Full of Doubt", "I and Love and You", and "No Hard Feelings". Overall, an amazing selection of songs. And to top off the night, when the band was throwing their setlist into the audience, Scott Avett threw his right to me! Awesome!

Here are some additional pictures.

Joe Kwon on cello.

Another good one of Scott and Seth.

Seth Avett

The Avett Brothers

I loved this show. It was definitely a five out of five starts! And thanks Scott Avett for the kazoo and the set list! Can't wait to see you guys again!

Eagles of Death Metal, Newport Music Hall, Columbus, Ohio 5/28/16

     This was my first time seeing Eagles of Death Metal. And what a great show that I hope it is not my last! I wore my Iggy Pop Post Pop Depression Tour t-shirt, which brought a number of "Hey, cool shirt. Did you see them on the tour?" Yes was the answer -- and an original member of Eagles of Death Metal was featured on that tour: Josh Homme.

     I thought the pictures from this show turned out really well. So I am gonna let them do the talking. Great show with awesome musicianship -- these guys can rock! The band seemed to have as much fun putting on a show as the crowd enjoyed seeing it. And EODM threw more guitar picks into the audience than anyone (except maybe Cheap Trick) -- I almost got one (maybe next time!). Thanks for the great show, Eagles of Death Metal!

 Stage banner

 Jesse Hughes of Eagles of Death Metal

Dave Catching (guitar), Jorma Vik (drums), and Matt McJunkins (bass) of EODM 

Eagles of Death Metal

Jesse Hughes

I had never seen anyone go into the balcony at Newport until Jesse did it that night!

People in the balcony seemed stunned that Jesse was up there. Cool moment.

Dave Catching doing a guitar solo.

Eagles of Death Metal

Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame Inductees I Have Seen In Concert

     When my son recently overheard a conversation at a rock show about how many Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductees they had seen in concert, he asked me how many I had seen. I did not know the answer. So I checked Wikipedia for a year-by-year list tonight and added it up. Here is the list:

2016

Cheap Trick x 2

Chicago x 3

Deep Purple

Steve Miller x 2

2015

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts x 3

Green Day

Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble

2014

Peter Gabriel

Hall & Oates

Kiss x 2

2013

Heart

Randy Newman

Public Enemy

Rush x 5

2012

Beastie Boys

Red Hot Chili Peppers x 2

2011

Alice Cooper x 2

Dr. John

2010

Genesis

2009

Run-DMC

2008

John Mellencamp x 3

2007

R.E.M.

Van Halen

2006

Black Sabbath

Blondie

Lynyrd Skynyrd

2005

Buddy Guy

The O’Jays

Pretenders x 2

U2

2004

Jackson Browne

Prince

Bob Seger x 2

ZZ Top

2003

AC/DC x 2

Elvis Costello & the Attractions x 3

The Police x 3

2002

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Ramones

2001

Aerosmith x 3

Queen

Steely Dan x 3

2000

Eric Clapton

Earth, Wind & Fire x 3

Bonnie Raitt

James Taylor

1999

Billy Joel x 3

Paul McCartney x 2

Bruce Springsteen x 20

1998

Eagles

Fleetwood Mac x 2

Santana x 2

1997

Parliament-Funkadelic

1996

David Bowie

Gladys Knight & the Pips

1995

Neil Young

1994

Elton John x 2

Grateful Dead

1993

--

1992

The Isley Brothers

1991

--

1990

The Who

1989

The Rolling Stones x 3

The Temptations

Stevie Wonder

1988

The Beach Boys

Bob Dylan x 2

1987

Aretha Franklin

B.B. King

Smokey Robinson

1986

--

 So the number is 68. The most I have seen an inductee: Bruce Springsteen. Biggest regrets (that were attainable): Led Zeppelin, The Clash, Talking Heads, the Stooges, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, and Tom Waits.

Still might see them live: Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Guns 'n' Roses, Jimmy Cliff, Tom Waits, Neil Diamond (umm...), Metallica, Jeff Beck, Patti Smith, Madonna, and Leonard Cohen.

Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, Newport Music Hall, Columbus, Ohio 5/27/16

     I have been fortunate to see Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls previously -- at Shaky Knees Festival 2015 (Atlanta, Georgia). I was very much looking forward to seeing the band again. And when I found out that Two Cow Garage was an opener, I was even more excited. 

VENUE: I have lost track of how many shows I have seen at the Newport Music Hall -- a lot! A great venue for a sweat show!

MERCH: All three bands had a good selection of music, t-shirts, etc for sale. And Derek Zanetti and a member of Two Cow Garage were behind the merch table meeting fans after the show.

OPENER: I love the name Homeless Gospel Choir. And when a single performer comes on stage to start the show, you wonder where is the rest of the choir. Derek Zanetti then broke into one after another punk-folk song. He time and again said "This is a protest song". And he was right. I really like the material. A welcome addition to the night!

SECOND OPENER: Two Cow Garage are an awesome punk/alternative country/rock band from Columbus, Ohio. I saw them at a show in Franklinton a couple summers ago at an arts festival. There set was filled with energetic, catchy songs with an edge. The songs are terrific and the crowd was really energized by the set. Love this band!

HEADLINER: Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls recently released a new album, Positive Songs for Negative People, and the band is touring to support it. A stop in Columbus, Ohio was welcomed by the energetic crowd in attendance. The band played new material, old favorites, and an interesting cover song: Frank told guitarist Ben Lloyd that the hall was America's Oldest Continuously Operating Rock Club. Frank and the band then paid tribute to a band that played here years ago by covering "Ace of Spades" by Motorhead. 

     I appreciate that Frank Turner opening encourages his fans to all be on their best "play nice together" behavior while dancing, singing along, and enjoying themselves. His words about respecting the women in the audience are much appreciated by me -- thanks Frank and band!

     The show was terrific with the band energetically (the whole show was filled with rock 'n' roll energy) performing the material, interacting with the audience, and genuinely enjoying themselves. As you can see by the photo below, Frank Turner crowd-surfed into the audience and back. Great performance.

     As the crowd headed out and the security folks were getting restless, Ben Lloyd handed a fan a setlist. I was standing just behind the barrier in front of Tarrant Anderson's spot on stage. When he came back out to pack up equipment, I politely asked for his setlist and he handed it to me! Yeh! Thanks Tarrant!!

     Overall, a very enjoyable show with all three sets being excellent.

Newport Music Hall, Columbus, Ohio -- America's Longest Continuously Operating Rock Club

Homeless Gospel Choir (Derek Zanetti)

Columbus' own Two Cow Garage

Micah Schnabel of Two Cow Garage

Shane Sweeney Two Cow Garage

Frank Turner

Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls

Frank Turner

Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls

Ben Lloyd, Frank Turner, Nigel Powell, and Tarrant Anderson on stage

Frank Turner crowd-surfing at the Newport Music Hall

 Tarrant Anderson, bassist

 Frank Turner

Tarrant Anderson handed me his setlist

Peter Case at Natalie's Coal-Fired Pizza, Worthington, Ohio 5/25/16

     Peter Case is one of my favorite performers from the last 30 years who I have never seen live -- until Wednesday night at Natalie's. Peter was a founder of the power pop, alternative band the Nerves, the alternative rock band the Plimsouls, and has been a long time contributor to the Americana singer-songwriter scene with excellent material throughout his career. The Plimsouls album Everywhere at Once is one of my favorite alternative albums of the 1980s. 

     Peter has a new CD out, Hwy 62, and the audience was fortunate to hear a number of excellent material from the CD. "Pelican Bay", "Waiting On A Plane" (written in Port Columbus, per Mr. Case!), and "All Dressed Up (For Trial)" were all topical and interesting.

     A gentleman sitting near me asked Peter to play "Million Miles Away" from the Plimsouls Everywhere At Once album and Peter did an excellent version on his 12 string guitar, sounding in excellent voice also. In addition, Peter did another excellent song from that album, "Oldest Story In the World". Hearing these made me very happy!

     The rest of the set included a very funny story about a late-night packed hotel room in Athens, Georgia that featured a meeting between Peter and now recently deceased Guy Clark. Peter followed the story with a tribute to Guy Clark. Peter also told a funny story about him introducing a politician on stage with a humorous slip-up. Mr. Case has met so many talented musicians over the years that the audience was blessed to hear some of these excellent stories.

     After the performance, Peter stayed around to interact with the fans and I was lucky enough to talk with Peter for a few minutes. I was thrilled he signed the new CD and some older record albums. Overall, an excellent evening. I hope to catch him again live. The 30+ year wait was very worth it!

 Peter Case

 Peter Case

 Peter Case on keyboards and harmonica

 Thanks for signing the new CD, Peter!

Peter was kind enough to sign this Plimsouls LP and these two Peter Case LPs.

Rock On The Range, Columbus, Ohio 5/22/16 - Day Three

     The final day of Rock on the Range 2016 featured a more alternative/modern rock feel to the lineup and sunny weather. We were lucky enough to arrive while Highly Suspect was on stage and snagged a very nice location in Section 125 to "camp" for the rest of the day/evening in comfortable seats.

Notes on the bands:

Highly Suspect 

A band from Massachusetts that features Johnny Stevens and twin brothers Rich and Ryan Meyer. They feature a hard, alternative rock sound. I hope to hear more from these guys in the future. Nice set!

The Struts

Wow! What a lively, classic rock with an alternative twist sound from these guys from the UK. From the Mercury meets Jagger lead singer Luke Spiller to the solid sound from guitarist Adam Slack and the excellent rhythm section of Gethin Davies and Jed Elliot, these guys are built for a nice career. My son Sam was able to grab their autographs at the FYE tent -- cannot wait to see these guys again!

Death From Above 1979

The DFA79 are from Canada and this was my third time seeing them live in the last year. I LOVE their sound. The vocals, drums, and bass guitar sound all meld together into a hard alternative sound that just sounds great. This was another excellent performance! Their song "Trainwreck" is one of my favorite songs of the last 5 years. 

Wolfmother

I was lucky enough to catch these guys at RotR a couple years ago, but my son Sam had never seen them. We were both very pleased with this set! Lots of top songs and album cuts! Nice guitar intro on "Joker & the Thief" and overall an excellent performance.

Bring Me The Horizon

I was not previously aware of this band but their performance was very solid. I'd love to see these guys again. An interesting twist: English band with a lead singer wearing a Bernie Sanders t-shirt performing an anti-Trump song!

The Deftones

I have not heard too much of their material previously, but have liked what I heard. This was an interesting show with lots of varied songs and excellent musicianship. Really good set.

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Today's headliner might not be a classic RotR band, but fit in perfectly to this day's lineup. This was our second time seeing the Peppers, and this show did not disappoint. The band added some between-song instrumental flourishes and then repeatedly launched into hit after hit. Lead singer Anthony Kiedis was in fine form though the Peppers were forced to cancel last weekend's performance when he was ailing. Flea was in stellar form with much energy and excellent playing. Guitarist Josh Klinghoffer really impressed all night. An excellent set and a fine way to end the weekend.

 Highly Suspect on the Main Stage

 The Struts on the Main Stage

 The Struts

 Death From Above 1979 on the Main Stage

 Wolfmother

 Bring Me The Horizon

 the Deftones

 the Deftones

 Red Hot Chili Peppers

 Red Hot Chili Peppers

 Red Hot Chili Peppers

 Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers