A Different Kind Of Concert
Van Halen Concert Review Well, cross a really big one off the ol’ bucket list. Anyone that knows me even remotely well knows that I’m a massive Van Halen fan. As an 11 year old in 1986, my first exposure to the band was the Sammy Hagar-led era with the 5150 album. I remember being over at my friend Jamie’s place as I often was back at that time, and he brought out this cassette (OMG I’m old!) and told me I had to listen to this album. He was pretty revved up about it, and given that we have …continue reading
VH ADKOT Day 4: “China Town”
Alright, getting back into this after some really busy times! An interesting bit of what sounds like tapping from Edward leads into some crashing drums and power chords that instantly takes us into an absolute earthquake of drums and bass underneath some crunchy guitar and I’ve grabbed onto my desk to brace for the upcoming destruction of the world… … and then I’m a bit underwhelmed. The earth stops shaking, and the walls stop crumbling around me. The song progresses into a good driving …continue reading
VH ADKOT Day 3: “You And Your Blues”
I’m not entirely sure if this song is one of the redone demos or if it’s a new song, but this one opens up with a guitar riff that sounds like it might have been written in the 5150 days – a nice muted-picking number that’s a good melody in it’s own right. Dave sings a few lines by himself over the guitar, then the bass accents a few spots here and there while Alex keeps time on just the high-hat. All this is adding layer over layer, building wonderfully to a drum fill and the entire band kicking …continue reading
VH ADKOT Day 2: “She’s The Woman”
The second song on the new Van Halen album “A Different Kind Of Truth” is one of those songs from the late 70′s/early 80′s that was redone for this new album, and you can tell. This sounds like something you might have heard on the first or second album, and personally, this sounds very much like the style of the songs from the first Van Halen album. This song opens up with Eddie playing a quick lead over a quick repetitive bass run from Wolfgang, and leads into the first time the album really …continue reading
VH ADKOT Day 1: “Tattoo”
Alright, here’s Day 1 of my review of the new Van Halen album, “A Different Kind Of Truth”. One of the questions that faces the “new/old” Van Halen is whether Edward’s son Wolfgang would be able to replace Michael Anthony’s legendary backup vocals. C’mon folks let’s face it… Anthony is irreplacable as a background vocalist in any rock band. As VH opens the album up with the harmonious repeats of “Tat-too, Tat-too”, you can hear not only how tight vocally this band is, even with the replacement …continue reading
Look At All The People Here Tonight!
Well, in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you couldn’t have possibly missed what happened just a few days ago. Rock legends VAN HALEN released their first studio album since Van Halen III in 1998 and their first album with iconic frontman David Lee Roth since 1984. “A Different Kind Of Truth” dropped onto store shelves and into the waiting hands of legions of fans who have been waiting with baited breath for well over a decade for a new album by arguably the biggest …continue reading
Me? On iTunes? You Bet!
Alright everyone, I need to make an announcement. *stands up and addresses the crowd* My name is Jarret, and I’m a pro wrestling fan. I have been for an awful long time. I watch wrestling on television. I’ve participated in fantasy wrestling federations where we role-play as wrestling characters and developed our own wrestling tv shows. I’ve been to many live professional wrestling events, and for a while, I wanted to BE a pro wrestler, and even started training to do just that. <begin …continue reading
Let Me Hear You Scream
Alternately: A date with Ozzy Osbourne I’ve been on a pretty good streak the last couple weeks. On the 13th, I got a phone call to tell me that I’d won a draw to be one of the first 25 in line to see The Dog Whisperer himself, Cesar Millan, in a meet in greet on the 15th. On the 14th, it was Cesar’s seminar (more on that coming up), and on the 15th, Stephanie and I got to meet him! Then on the 17th, I got an email from the folks at LiveNation, informing me that I’d won a pair of tickets to …continue reading
‘No Doubt’ about it…
… last night’s concert was an amazing show. Featuring warm up act Bedouin Soundclash, special guests Paramore, and headliners No Doubt, the concert brought the wide range of aural assault. While the concert itself was fantastic, there were also some lessons to be learned about the whole experience. On with the explanation / show review… Lesson #1: Come Prepared Stephanie signed up with the No Doubt Fan Club to get special floor tickets that allowed us entry to the venue before the general …continue reading
It’s HERE!!
Finally… THE ROCK HAS COME BACK… No, just kidding. After a couple weeks of waiting and worrying, I finally got our picture of Stephanie and I meeting Nickelback. Way cool. Nothing much more to say about it – if you read my previous blog post about it, then you’ve got it all. So, here’s the pic!