Fri 8 Feb – Coheed and Cambria, Between the Buried and Me, Russian Circles

Overall, a very, very good show. As a VIP, we were let in early to hear a song played "just for us." The security threatened us to no end NOT to take pictures, etc. which of course a few people promptly ignored. We were treated to a solo performance from Travis with acoustic guitar in tow. He played a song from his side project Davenport Cabinet (I believe).

This was my first time seeing Russian Circles, and although I'm not into instrumental bands, they played a…

Thu 2 Aug – Kansas at the Picnic Pops

Kansas performed with the Grand Rapids Symphony to end the Picnic Pops season, and what an ending! There was a local warmup band singing classic rock favorites, and about twenty minutes of the Grand Rapids Symphony playing, er "pops."

Kansas took the stage with the backing of the symphony and played an eighty minute, all hits set. I've seen Kansas twice previously, and sadly Steve Walsh's pipes are getting a bit rusty, but as the evening progressed he sounded better. The rest of the band sounded great. Much of their music…

Thu 26 Feb – Skindred
I was a bit concerned about this show. I've seen other bands that were on a major tour that did one-off concerts not on their schedule that stunk because they seemed beat. Skindred is currently on tour with Disturbed and Sevendust, and took a break from that tour to play this show at the Machine Shop. Thankfully, they did not disappoint.

Although doors opened before 7:00PM, the first opening act didn't get started until well after 8:00PM. First up was local band Last Encore. OK, I'll start my rant right here–why do we…

Yup, I took my wife to Tue 7 Oct – Alanis Morissette for our anniversary. Michigan Theater is a great, smaller venue. It is one of those older movie house style theaters with ornate walls and cool, old-timey lighting. It was a bit strange, however, to see people coming into the auditorium with buckets of popcorn clutched in their hands. I guess I don't go to shows like this too often; bringing in popcorn to the shows I typically frequent will earn you a sound thrashing.

The standout of the show (unfortunately for Alanis) was the opening act Alexi Murdoch…

Thu 29 May – Coheed and Cambria, Baroness

Ok, that is probably the cheesiest title ever created, sorry for that.

I had a great time at this show. There was a good mix of people attending (myself tending to be on the decidedly "older" side of the age spectrum), and I was blown away by how incident-free the night was. I would be surprised if the show wasn't sold out, because its been a long time since I've seen the Orbit Room that packed.

Baroness opened promptly at 8:00 PM and were much better than the crowd's reaction to them.…

Mon 14 Apr – Alesana

Overall a decent show. It was my first show at Skelletones. What a great venue!

The first band up was Our Last Night (I assume–they introduced themselves, but I think the singer had a mouth full of marbles. Note to new bands: make sure the audience knows who you are). The young lads had good energy, but need to expand beyond the three chords they know.

Sky Eats Airplane played next. They were better than Our Last Night, but not by much. Although the samples were a nice touch, they relied on them too much…

I have been a longtime fan of the movie Jesus Christ Superstar, especially because of Carl Anderson's amazing vocals. While visiting my in-laws in Ohio over the weekend, my Father-in-law and I hit several used CD stores in Cleveland. I saw a solo album by Carl Anderson and immediately snapped it up.

All I can say is wow. I wasn't prepared for the assault on my ears. It is utter rubbish; schmoozy, 80s style pop/jazz. OK, so the album was from 1994, but I expected it to be much better than it was.

I guess some memories should be…

Boy, I wonder what happened to Orange 9mm. They put out four incredible albums and then disappeared.