Concert Reviews, Photos, Videos and Rock and Roll Stories from fans who love live music

Street Sweeper Social Club

I saw Tom Morello back in the late 90′s with Rage Against The Machine here in Toronto at the Phoenix Concert Theatre. The songs I knew… the guitrist I didn’t. I was blown away by a style I hadn’t seen or heard beofre in a live setting. Over a Decade later Tom’s new project Street Sweeper Social Club kicked off a great night of alt-funk-rock by hammering the “concert gas peddle” hard.

With Boots Riley on the Mic this band blasted through a 30 minute set that offered some “Rage” flavoured beats and guitar work that of course blew away 1st timers and basically had me nodding at buying the new CD when it arrives on June 16. Here’s a taste…

Nine Inch Nails

After my first NIN concert last fall ..I had seen one of the best light shows I had seen in years along with some great music. It wasn’t a Top 10 for me or anything & I didn’t know alot about the band…but the show was well worth seeing. Tonight’s show was different. Not as many lights and no 25 minute selections off  the slower instrumental “Ghosts”.  Trent Rezner @trent_reznor took the wheel from SSSC and unloaded the Nitric Oxide…. heavy

From the opener “Terrible Lie” till the “get your lighter out” closer “Hurt” These guys played harder then last fall’s ACC show in Toronto. Was it the Morello & Navarro sandwhich? Back in the 300′s behind the soundboard every song sounded bang on. The place was full to 16,000+… and full of NIN fanatics dancing, moshing and loving this show. The intensity of this band is so likeable… you don’t need to know the music… just step inside the NIN-Rock-Chamber. As I glanced around I spotted Richard Beland shooting for Chart… and as he flexed his professional lense I clicked on my trusty Sony while NIN delivered a nice version of David Bowie’s  ”I’m Afraid Of Americans”

By the time “Head Like a Hole” started to wrap itself around us all for the squeeze it seemed as though we were watching the headliners…. maybe we were? This was feeling like a Festival almost knowing there was another wicked band still to take the stage. When the music gets this loud and this good…. the only thing that gets better is when you get the “text message” saying to come down front after the NIN set from our favourite NIN soundmaster. So we get “Hurt” for an encore with lotsa lighters and then go for a walk on the intermission. I overhear some people saying some concert goers are leaving now as they only came for NIN.  We headed down front to stage left and saw Richard again and eventually got some passes in hand…

Janes Addiction

Even the above pass didn’t get us in the PIT but we managed to sneak into the 3rd row just as Janes Addiction took the stage. Right out of the gate that familiar vocal from Perry along with his Bowie-esque outfit and moves… it just drew me in… the presence of  Dave Navarro on the axe and a drummer & bassist that caught my attention right away. 

Navarro and Perry seemed to do their own little shows within the show… as did the drummer who assaulted his intrument…song after song….  the groove was good and it was obvious these guys were connected heavy. By mid set the vocals got even better and the Bass player seemed to shine at times even over the two flamboyant frontmen. 

As we were walking out of the Molson Amphitheatre I heard one fan say to another that “the” moment for him was during “Summertime Rolls” I didn’t know the song…but chose to video it and noticed it getting response from fans who obviously know Janes Addiction. If you look closely behind Navarro while he solos…you can see a couple of his friends grooving to the show.

This show was solid all the way around. A Total ride back to time where I had crawled out of highschool and was trying to figure things out…as was the music scene then. Now as we get “STOP” The band totally ERUPTS…. everyone seems to be on 12 Red Bull and part of Farrell’s costume is off exposing the Corset and his wirey frame as he gyrates on the monitor…holding the Mic out for us to participate!  We Did….

He talks about how nice Toronto the city is, dreadlocks and more and they leave… only to come back with the anticipated Jane Says

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The biggest surprise for me at this show was Billy Joel.  He really brought everyone into the show like we all were in some huge piano bar somewhere in New Jersey. I saw him back around 1983 at the “Aud” in Buffalo, but to say my memories of that show are dim to nil would be an understatement.

The show opened with Elton playing Your Song and then Billy playing, Just the way you are. They were actually facing each other each behind a Black Yahama Grand. The songs had the same feel and tempo and these were solo songs. Next Elton played, Don’t let the Sun Go Down on me with a small band and Billy played My Life. This was a nice show opener. Face to Face piano masters. The flamboyant colourful John facing the conservative back to piano bar roots Joel.

Elton opened his main set with Funeral for a Friend / Loves Lies Bleeding. This song is worth the ticket price alone. I have seen Elton John 11 times (my 1^st EJ show was 1979 at the O’keef Centre) and Funeral is still one of his best songs live for me. He rolled through 11 songs with highlights for me seeming to be the extended piano playing on songs like Tiny Dancer, Madman Across the Water, Rocketman  and Levon. Burn Down the Mission may have been the gem here because I can’t recall having heard this song  live before and I really enjoy the Tumbleweed Connection album era.

I have to say the Elton John Band doesn’t get enough accolades. The Nigel Olsson drums sound like cannon fire at times and Davey Johnstone still plays a mean lead guitar. Davey came out with this awesome Les Paul with the Captain Fantastic album motif on it. It looked really good. I guess with Elton you pretty much get what you expect, stellar piano playing, a great band then a machine gun of classics. The last time out I saw the Captain and the Kid tour in Nov 2006 and was lucky enough to get a copy of my Goodbye Yellow Brick Album signed. I took a couple of pictures of Elton John signing &  caught a really nice close up of his hand as he passed the album back to me. (see below from 2006)

Billy opened his 11 song main set with Angry Young Man. I have to say he was pretty funny telling all kinds of stories and joking about people facing his back and the special effects of his piano turning around every couple of songs. He kept referring to the seats at the back as Hamilton, Ontario. He blasted through a bunch of classics like Allentown, Moving Out and Always a Woman to mention a few. At one point he was out front playing a guitar. I never followed Billy Joel very closely so that was a big surprise. He finished out his set with a rousing Still Rock N Roll to Me and Only the Good Die Young.

There was a very short break if 1 at all and EJ was back with Billy to play I Guess That’s Why they Call it the Blues first then into a Joel song.

Each playing verses of each other songs. Uptown Girl is next then a few more before going into the Beatles Happy Birthday and Back in USSR.  I caught a video of these 2 songs. I wasn’t sure why but I liked the change up.

The encore was candle in The Wind and the very appropriate Piano Man.

It was good show all around. Even at 300 bucks a ticket it felt like good value.

It was kind of like seeing 2 concerts with a gem or 2 thrown in.

…I heard about this show sometime in early to mid April. I didn’t hear it mentioned as Chickenfoot rather Sammy Hagar playing in a band with Joe Satriani on lead.  Interesting! Then I heard Van Halen’s, Michael Anthony would be playing bass, more interesting!  Finally I heard the name of the band was Chickenfoot and the band would be rounded out with Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the drums.

As of show time there had not been album out as of yet and there were only a couple of songs released on You Tube Down the Drain, Soap on a Rope and I think Oh yeah! Were the tunes with a scattered interview here and there.  This has all the makings of a great event concert, super group, small venue, hard to get ticket, wrist band policy and a sound / album that who knows may take off and become the next huge sound. You never really know. This was to be a 6 city tour to promote the album prior to release to get the buzz going kind of thing. So as I often do I hit ticketmaster on and off for days on end. Guess what?.. bang a couple of tickets show up. These tickets were selling for $300+ on Craigslist (if you could get one because of the wrist band policy & purchaser having to be present to enter with the guest).

Anyway I scored 2 tickets and away we go.  The of the day of the show I go down pretty early as I like to get into the whole vibe / pre show buzz, especially for this type of event. I get down to College Street and get in line. There are maybe 20 people already in line at 3:30PM. I quickly ascertain the process for the ticket sale etc. There is a fan club VIP line (maybe 20) then the line I was in. The game plan is to get a wrist band when you are checked against a list as a registered purchaser and upon entry we are given the hard ticket. I mean literally as you walk through the door into the venue we are handed a ticket.

The waiting is always fun. There are people from Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago, Winnipeg and Sudbury to name a few. Lot of travelers! As we enter the patio area they are selling Cabo Wabo tequila. Sammy’s booze line!! The shots were $12 bucks each and you got a hat or a t-shirt with the shot if you wanted one.   The Mod Club is small inside only holding about 600. As we entered I headed for the left the Satriani side and ended basically 2 or 3 people from the stage front. Nice spot. To be honest Sammy wasn’t the draw for here more Satch then the entire package before Sammy. Even the Hagar solo stuff and his Van Halen work  probably, would not have got me here but the whole band combination did.

Believe me 3 tunes in I was a serious Hagar fan. What a great show!! It was fun, fun, fun!!  Man Chad Smith hitting the drums was deadly. He just pounded the hell right out the skins. Satriani doesn’t miss a single note. He is fast and serious. Joe didn’t cheat a note. I have seen a lot of players get the general sound out of the guitar by cheating the notes. Joe is really beautiful to watch. Especially when he is playing his own signature series Ibanez guitars!!  In fact everyone was playing great instruments – Micheal had at one point this perfect bass decaled with hot peppers and peppers as fret board markers, Sammy pulled out a Cabo Gibson and as I said Joe with his own line. Looked good! I caught a video of Down the Drain and a few other tid- bits. The song Sexy Little thing really sticks with we and the whole sound is just really great.

It has all the elements you would expect. A hint of VH mostly from the bass lines, some serious RHCP funk and stinging lead guitar smothered Sammy Hagar vocals.  How could it miss? The whole vibe was amazing.  Sammy is a pretty funny front man. He tells jokes a lot and gives insight into the sessions the album was born out of. Someone through a wrapped gift up onto stage ( I guess it was near his birthday) , Sammy picked it up and said “hey these guys get nervous when I receive gifts…I will share it with them…it looks like 2 and half pounds of dope!”

We got the whole 11 tunes from the new album (I found after there are 11 tunes because at show time the Chickenfoot website was not running this info and I did not end with a set list) and a little encore thing. I caught a drum stick and scored a Sammy Hagar guitar pick. I can’t write enough accolades to explain this show.

All I know is the show was a blast and the music was really heavy and excellent. What more can you ask for?  Check out some of the – you tube video’s and buy the album when it comes out in June. Trust me!! Maybe on the next round after the album hits the band will be back for the full arena tour.

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