The Providence crowd came out early to see a great rock and roll show. By the time Cavo took to the stage the venue was already nearly full. Despite some early sound glitches, the crowd was really getting into the band’s music, including performances of their well-known songs “Champagne” and “Crash.” The band seemed very happy to be there and thanked everyone for listening.

Lifehouse put on an incredible energetic performance. The music was tight and Jason Wade’s vocals sounded great. During “Nerve Damage,” Wade ran into the crowd and up into the stands. The fans were giving him enthusiastic hugs and high-fives. I’d never seen Lifehouse perform live before, and was completely impressed with just how well these guys owned the stage.  With ten years and five albums under their belt, it should have come as no surprise.  I discovered what the many fans in the crowd already knew; Lifehouse rocks!

When Chris Daughtry took the stage with his band, I almost didn’t recognize him because he was sporting an unshaven head.   But once Daughtry started to belt out their tunes, the music was instantly recognizable.  Chris Daughtry’s vocals sound incredible live, and he puts everything he has into the performance. During the set, the band played a rousing cover of Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell, ” followed by “Home,” from their self-titled debut.  During “Home,” Jason Wade jumped back on stage to perform the song with Daughtry.   It was a great moment to watch, from a show already packed with great moments, great music, and a receptive crowd.

When covering these events, sometimes you leave a show feeling spent up and tired, especially if the bands onstage are just going through the motions of the performance.  Tonight, three great bands gave it their all, and on nights like this you leave feeling like you never want it to end.

Before the doors opened, there was already a line waiting to get into The Berklee Performance Center. While walking past the eager crowd, I spotted a van from a local rock station parked near the front door. It made me chuckle a bit, because while that station often play(ed) Tool and A Perfect Circle, the music of tonight’s act, Puscifer, is seldom heard on their airwaves.

Satire was in full swing for tonight’s performance, and not so subtly with the opening act, Uncle Scratch’s Gospel Revival. With “preachy” evangelical songs about redemption, sex and their favorite topic, the Devil, Brother Ed and Brother Ant had the crowd cracking up as soon as they walked on stage. During their act they frequently spouting their favorite faux-pious slogans like “the Devil is a punk-ass bitch.” This novelty act also utilized various visual props as well, including a cardboard tube drum kit complete with a metal milk-crate hi-hat (which was tipped over repeatedly). The biggest laugh came when they unfolded a poster-sized picture of the the Devil himself, Tom Cruise. This duo is nothing but entertaining.

Photo by Kristen Pierson

Puscifer took to the stage with each member dressed up in clergy garb. This is not a show for those who may be sensitive about their religious beliefs, especially if you are Christian, because Maynard James Keenan pulls no punches in his satirical attacks on organized religion.

Puscifer’s performance was nothing like I anticipated… it was so much better. The instruments were pushed to the side of the stage, with drums and bass on one side, guitars and percussion on the other side, with Keenan and vocalist Carina Round at center stage, and a giant video screen above it all. The Puscifer show is as much a visual arts experience as it is a musical performance. At the back of the stage, Keenan and Round stand behind monitors with mic and cameras rigged so that their faces are displayed only on the monitor. Two couches and tables used by the band at various points to relax with some wine (probably from Caduceus Cellars) and cheese were placed front and center.

During the fist song the band seamlessly played over a spoken word piece played on the video screen. Musically, based on how the records are done, I expected at least some of the music to be pre-recorded, but was surprised to find it was all performed live… flawlessly. That’s how the set progressed, a mixture of music and visuals… humor and biting satire.

The set wasn’t filled with ad lib moments or unscripted banter with that crowd, but about an hour into the set Keenan quietly said to the crowd, “You can stand-up if you want to,” and everyone did just that. The entire crowd rose up out of their seats and moved to the music. Highlights include the live renditions of “Indigo Children,” “Vagina Mine,” and “Momma Sed.”

As I left the venue, I couldn’t help thinking that I’ve never seen a performance like what Puscifer had just laid out. It was a unique experience both visually and musically. And I think everyone in the crowd would agree, we’d love to see it all over again.

We were all completely engrossed in the music, and loving every moment. As one fan posted on Twitter, “So I probably would have stayed for another three encores last night, Providence got an incredible earful of true music at its finest.”

Be sure to check out Citizen Cope’s latest album, The Rainwater LP, released on 2 March 2nd under his own record label, RainWater Recordings Inc.

www.citizencope.com

It had been many years since I’d seen Buddy Guy perform, and I swear he just keeps getting better. His sublime voice and vicious guitar playing, and banter with the crowd combine to make one of the most exciting blues shows you’ll ever see.

Toward the end of the set he brought onstage 10-year-old blues-prodigy Quinn Sullivan. Guy’s Strat may have had a tonal edge of Sullivan’s ES, but when it came to laying out righteous licks, Sullivan and Guy put on one hell of duel. Sullivan reminds me of artists like Joe Bonamassa and Kenny Wayne Shepherd when they were younger.

Guy’s banter with the crowd helped to turn this performance into an entertaining blues revival.  Guy had no problem calling-out the audience for forgetting to sing the words loud-enough; “I just came back from playing a show in Tokyo.  They didn’t fuck up the words like you did.”  That comment elicited a laugh and ensured the crowd wouldn’t mess up so badly again.

When the set was over, Guy greeted fans, passed out picks, and signed autographs at the front of the stage while his band, including Quinn, played on.  Then B.B. King picked up right where Guy left off. King’s band played a couple numbers before King walked onstage to take his throne. Fans rushed up to the stage to give him gifts while he passed out picks and shook hands. Then the real show began.

King, like Guy, blends story-telling with the music. King’s tales of late are more personal, relating to his age and health, including struggles with Diabetes and bad knees. But King doesn’t use these issues to draw sympathy, he uses them to continue telling his story, fortifying his legacy.

The real treat of course is the music. While King’s guitar playing may not be at it’s peak compared to how it once was, it’s still exceptional. His voice is as strong as ever, and the crowd was enthralled with the entire performance. I’m ill-equipped to put words down to describe it properly. A great night was had by all.

For more information:
www.bbking.com
www.buddyguy.net
www.quinnsullivan.me

A good sized crowd, and a lively mix of seven-year-olds to thirty-somethings, filled Club Hell for tonight’s event. The club’s stage is only about a foot higher than the main floor and there’s no barrier, so the crowd is able to get right up close to the artists. That would prove to be adventageous for the bands performing tonight.

Photo by Kristen Pierson

Once Phil Bensen wrapped up his opening set, Emily Osment and her band took to the stage and the crowd started buzzing with excitement. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Osment’s performance, but after a few bars it became clear that she’s serious about her music and has the vocal and guitar playing talent to back it up. The fans in the crowd were completely sucked into the show and were energetically moving to the music. I had a hard time finding something solid to lean on in order to take a steady photo because the whole venue was shaking with fans moving to the beat.

Next up were headliners Push Play, and many of the girls in the crowd started screaming as they jumped onstage. Right away, many started singing along to the music from Push Play’s debut album Found. At nineteen-years-old, CJ Baran is already shaping up to be a formidable front-man who knows how to draw the crown into the music. He even pulled one lucky girl onstage to be serenaded.

Photo by Kristen Pierson

Highlights of Push Play’s performance include a lively cover of the Beastie Boys’ classic “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!).” The crowd loved that one. Also at one point Osment’s drummer jumped up onstage to join the band for a song. He and Derek Ries played completely in sync and each had looks of excitement on their faces because they played so well together. It’s such a blast watching musicians having such a good time.

Another real treat for fans happened toward the end of Push Play’s set when Emily Osment joined the band onstage for a duet. Osment and Baran have a lot of onstage chemistry and sang very well together.

After the show all the bands moved to the back of the club to sign autographs. There were a lot of the people, but everyone patiently waited their turn as the bands happily interacted with each fan.  Emily Osment and Push Play, both with only one release-worth of material, did a great job putting together what turned out to be a tremendous experience for fans. Great music, great times.

New York City. Looking at the crowd from the pit, it was clear that the excitement was building in anticipation of the show tonight. I too was excited to be present for this special “secret show,” and to be able to share the experience with the thousand Evanescence fans standing behind me.

Photo by Kristen Pierson

After a brief intro, the band started playing “Going Under.” Sometimes, as a photographer, you concentrate so hard on getting the shot that everything else gets tuned out. This was not the case tonight. The band sounded tight and Amy Lee’s voice sounded stronger than ever. It gave me goosebumps. Her outfit was similar to what she’s worn in the past, but the colors were more vibrant. The stage lighting created a subtle fluorescent effect as she moved around the stage.

Finger Eleven’s James Black joined Evanescence onstage for this performance. He has a very strong stage presence and brings a lot of energy to the set. I’ve always enjoyed watching him play.  Tim McCord also seemed fired-up and moved around the stage more than usual.

There was a lot of interaction with the crowd during the show. A few songs into the set Terry Balsamo was having guitar problems and Lee entertained the crowd by joking with fans that they’re “crazy” for selling out this show in five minutes. During a quiet moment while the band was performing “Good Enough” someone called out from the crowd “Yes you are!” Lee glanced over and gave a slight smile.

This was my third time seeing Evanescence perform, and this show easily topped the others. Lee had joked that she was using the New York crowd as “guinea pigs,” because they needed a warm-up show before they played a large festival in Brazil. Evanescence played so well, and this was such an intimate event, that I can’t imagine the Brazil show could have been better.

Set list:

“Going Under”
“Weight of the world”
“The Only One”
“Missing”
“Cloud nine”
“Haunted”
“Lithium”
“Good Enough”
“Whisper”
“Call me when your sober”
“Imaginary”
“Bring me to Life”
“All that I’m living for”
“Taking Over Me”
“Lacrymosa”
“My Immortal”
“Your Star”

The crowd wasn’t sure what to expect from Lenny Kravitz during his Foxwoods appearance. He had canceled a show a couple nights earlier because he blew out his voice.  As soon as he took the stage and started to sing, the concern abated.

The set featured some lesser known songs like “Mr. Cab Driver” and “Blues for Sister Someone,” and also hits like “Fly Away” and “It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over.”  By the time he and the band performed “Always on the Run” it became clear his voice was starting to go when he wasn’t singing the high vocal parts.

Kravitz had a lot of fun during the performance… climbing into the crowd at one point, and later poking fun at the New York media for thinking his spring water was vodka.

Near the end of the set, Kravitz’s voice was still sounding good, but he was obviously struggling. During the song “Are You Gonna Go My Way” it seemed like he was only able to sing half the parts. Luckily, the crowd was pretty worked up, and more than happy to sing when Kravitz wasn’t able.

Lenny Kravitz deserves a ton of credit for this performance. The set was designed to make sure the audience was treated to a real rock and roll music spectacular. Even at fifty-percent vocal capacity, he put on a better show that some of that band’s I’ve seen on their good days. I can’t wait to see him again, because I can only imagine how good it will be when he’s firing on all cylinders.

With the last notes of hellogoodbye‘s final song “Here (In Your Arms)” still ringing my ears, I made my way through the crowd to claim my position in the photo pit. The three levels at The House of Blues in Boston were buzzing with anticipation. When the familiar chant of “Hanson! Hanson! Hanson!” began, I scanned the sea of people and realized that this was a different kind of Hanson crowd. It felt more like an indie rock show, partly due to the fact that along with hellogoodbye, Sherwood and Steel Train are also on the road with the trio.

Photo by Christine Bartolucci

When the lights went back down, Hanson took the stage and the crowd erupted. The sounds of their new tune, “World On Fire”, which is available on the acoustic EP Stand Up Stand UP, served as a preview of what’s to come for the band.

The song “Great Divide” really had great live energy and got the crowd on their feet. When the old favorite “Where’s The Love” faded out, my time viewing the show through my camera lens had come to an end and I took my place in the crowd

While taking another look around the House of Blues, not only was I digging the art hanging high on the walls, but I was also really impressed with the venue’s acoustics. It made the three part harmonies that Hanson is known for really stand out.

After a short break, the band returned to the stage for a more intimate acoustic set. The audience was treated with solo performances from Zac and Isaac. Zac performed another new song from the Stand Up Stand Up EP named “Use Me Up.” His soulful vocals were only accompanied by his piano. The stripped down performance was a great lead into Ike’s more upbeat rendition of their old classic “River”. Isaac had the entire crowd clapping and singing along.

The word among the crowd was that Taylor was battling the flu that day, which actually lead him to miss the one-mile walk they do with fans to raise AIDS awareness in Africa at each venue they play. Honestly, if we hadn’t known about it, we would have never noticed. His voice was strong and clear during “Blues Sky”, and another new song, “Waiting For This.” His vocals were just as powerful as every other time I’ve seen these guys play. As if to give Taylor’s voice a break, the audience was more then happy to sing most of the song “Crazy Beautiful” back to the band. A fun moment for the fans, almost as if to say ‘we’ll take it from here Taylor.’

Hanson closed the main set with a rocking performance of the Isaac fronted song “Watch Over Me”. The eldest brother got the crowd waving their arms back and forth by doing a similar motion with his guitar held high over his head.

When they came back for the encore, I was pleased to learn that the Cheap Trick classic “ I Want You To Want Me” won the online poll they have on the their Web site. The poll allows fans to pick songs they’d like to hear during the band’s set… in this case, during our retro encore. It was fun watching Zac practically jump into the first row of the crowd. Lucky fans got high fives on his way back up to rejoin the rest of the band on stage. This show was fun, full of energy, and guaranteed to bring Hanson more than a few new fans.

Samuel Has Problems

That’s what the shirt of drummer, Sam Loeffler, said on Saturday night at the Bourbon Street Ballroom. However it wasn’t Sam who had problems; it was the venue who had problems as they appeared to be rather unprepared for the many Chevelle fans rushing the rail as they took the stage. Fighting an uphill battle, security tried to brace themselves between the rail and the stage, sometimes pushing the crowd back almost 20 feet from the stage. Despite the unpreparedness of the venue, fans were not discouraged and still enjoyed an energetic performance from the trio.

Opening with “Sleep Apnea,” the lead song from their new CD, Sci Fi Crimes, Chevelle made it clear that they were there to rock and have a great time. Despite their growing number of hit singles, Chevelle was still able to include several crowd favorites including “Family System,” “Comfortable Liar,” and “Forfeit.” As a part of the encore, the crowd was treated to a special acoustic performance of “Highland’s Apparition” that featured Pete alone with a guitar.

After seeing Chevelle numerous times over the past several years, I am still hard pressed to find a single highlight in their shows. From the safety of the rail on the balcony, I literally had a birds-eye view of the stage and enjoyed watching the threesome interact with each other, often sharing a smirk or a laugh during the set. While I can only imagine what inspired those moments, it demonstrates how much fun they are having up on stage while they are playing for us. Several singles, trials, and shows after seeing Chevelle for the first time, their ability to deliver a seemingly flawless product from start to finish keeps me coming back for more.

Set List:

Sleep Apnea
Brainiac
Well Enough Alone
Family System
Vitamin R
Jars
Closure
Letters From A Thief
Comfortable Liar
The Red
Forfeit
Send The Pain Below
The Clincher
Higland’s Apparation
I Get It

Lancaster, on a Sunday, is a quiet city. It seems like the only stores open are convenience stores and diners. However, the serenity would soon be disturbed by the three bands on tonight’s bill… sometimes rock and roll can’t be restrained.

I reviewed Tunnels To Holland’s EP back in November 2008, but had never had the opportunity to see them perform live until now. I can’t believe what I’ve been missing. It’s refreshing to see a band that works so hard to create a unique sound and draws the crowd in by simply playing great music. Singer Dan Blumig gets into a zone where it seems like he’s channeling the spirits of the great rock and roll front-men. Definitely pick up the EP if you get the chance, and keep an eye out for an upcoming full-length release.

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly three years since I discovered the music of Hurt.  Since then, and after the release of two additional albums of new material and some rhythm section line-up changes, Hurt is sounding better than ever.

This is one of the strongest sets I’ve heard Hurt assemble, with seven (out of eleven) of the songs, “Got Jealous”, “Pandora,” “Fighting Tao,” “Well,” “Pills,” “Dreams Away,” and “Wars,” coming from their latest album Goodbye to the Machine. The crowd was very receptive, and a modest mosh pit even formed for several songs. I’m hard pressed to choose any highlights from the set, but a few standout moments include the jarring transition from “Aftermath” to “Pandora”, the dueling guitar and violin during “Fighting Tao”, and listening to new drummer, Louie Sciancalepore, destroy the drums during “Rapture”.

Sick Puppies always bring a tremendous amount of energy to their live performances. Their new album, Tri-Polar, is made for it. The entire set seemed to be loaded with one adrenaline pumping song after another, from “Street Fighter (War)” to “Cancer.” The only reprieve was toward the end of the set when they played “My World.”

It’s always exciting to see Shimon Moore get a crowd worked up, and Mark Goodwin lay down some heavy beats, but the bass player in me is a sucker for Emma Anzai. She jumps around the stage and plays the hell out of her bass, and it seems like she never misses a note. I’ve seen this band play a few time over the past couple years, and each time they become more on top of their game. They’ve found the right formula to really put on a great show for their fans.

After the show all the bands signed autographs at the merch tables for the eagerly waiting fans. Then the 10pm curfew kicked in and the club started to usher everyone out. I’m not used to such an early night, so then it was off to the diner for conversation and food with some old and new friends. This sleepy town still had some life left in it.