Remembering Prince - Live Review

Christian was lucky enough to see Prince live just a couple months ago. Here's his review:

For a long time, the number one act I wanted to see live was Prince.  I missed two chances, in Las Vegas and in Australia, because of circumstances beyond my control. So, when he announced a snap tour with just him playing piano, and it was on my birthday back in February, I knew I had to go.  

He played small venues, less than 2,000 seats. When tickets went on sale, a lot of people missed out.  For perspective, the last time he toured, he sold out huge arenas, multiple nights.  I went to both shows the first night in Melbourne.  I paid $1,500 for VIP and got the front row for the first show.  I was literally right in front of Prince.

There was no opening act. There was a backdrop, with lights on it, and a door opened and he walked out. It was the night that news had broken of Vanity passing away. He told a lot of stories about her and was obviously deeply affected.  

The shows were advertised as being two hours, but he only played for 90 minutes. At the time I put that down to Vanity, but later the venue admitted to me they had just assumed and had been wrong. The show included a lot of deep cuts.  He played a Bob Marley cover ("Waiting In Vain"), but I didn’t realise, that’s how many songs he played I did not recognise (I also like Bob Marley and know some of his songs). Nevertheless, everything he played was amazing.  He played "Paisley Park" in a barrel house piano style, he played a lot of super fast, very clean jazz piano. He confessed in both shows I saw that his father was a great jazz pianist and he had always hoped to be as good as him.  I never heard his father play, but I’ve never heard someone play piano as well as Prince.

Later set lists included songs like "Cream," "Kiss," and "Let’s Go Crazy."  The curse of the Internet is that when an artist varies their set, you find out about the songs you missed.  But, what I heard was brilliant.  Seeing him tell stories about his childhood was also a rare treat.  He played several songs from his new CD, which we were given at the end of the night. The absolute highlight though, was "The Beautiful Ones" from Purple Rain, a song that he was able to pour a lot of virtuoso playing and a lot of emotion in to.

Overall, I would have loved to have heard more songs I knew, but I was thrilled to see what I did, it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience (now definitely true, with news of his sad passing). Wearing the tour shirt, lots of people have stopped me to ask how it was and told me they could not get tickets.  Having got to two shows was obviously a real stroke of luck for me. 

I’m very sad I never got to see a full Prince show, but I am very glad I got to see the "Piano and a Microphone" shows.

Prince -- Giant Rainbow Over Paisley Park Home https://t.co/gnLDzPWmXk

— TMZ (@TMZ) April 22, 2016

Sydney and Melbourne Soundwave 2014 -- Festival Reviews

It’s been a week since I got back from my best ever Soundwave.  I spent an entire week away from home, and attended the Sydney and Melbourne Soundwaves, with a different Sidewave ( side show ) every night between.  What follows is a combined review of all six days.

Sydney Soundwave takes place on the show grounds (fair grounds for those in the USA).  Thankfully, there’s a hotel right by the grounds (although their price doubles for Soundwave).  So, my daughter Hannah and I spent the night within walking distance and wandered over in the morning.

There are only three bands I saw at both the Sydney and Melbourne Soundwave, and only two I saw three times, including a sidewave.  The first band of the bill is one of those two bands. Amon Amarth are Viking death metal and a WHOLE lot of fun.  We ran to the barrier to see them with their songs of Thor, and their smoke breathing Viking ship.  They were a lot of fun and a great way to start the day.

From there I headed for the main stage.  I love Alter Bridge, their Fortress album was in my top albums for 2013 for sure.  I got there early ( hearing a bit of Biffy Clyro on the way ) and was close to the front.  They were good, as they always are, I just wish they’d done more than two new songs.

The next act on the main stage was Ritche Sambora, with Orianthi.  For those who don’t know, she was going to play guitar for Michael Jackson on his ‘This is it’ tour.  I assume you know who Ritchie is. 

It was *awful*.  They were a late add to the festival and it sounded like they’d only practised once or twice.  They did do a couple of Bon Jovi songs ( but not well ) and a good number of Ritchie’s solo songs ( I do own the CDs and like them ), as well as random covers ( Don’t Change, for example, which is VERY early INXS, and was topical b/c of a TV special on the band, but hardly what I wanted to hear from these guys ).  We left, disappointed.

Up next was the other band I saw three times over the festival, and my favourite band of the week, Volbeat.  If you don’t know these guys, you need to check them out, they mix Elvis, Johnny Cash, and metal.  It’s a great combination and they do it well.  For those who don’t know, Rob from Anthrax was going to produce their latest CD, and ended up joining the band.  They put on a great show and sounded brilliant.  I did get to the barrier for them, too.

We didn’t stay for the end because we ran across the grounds to catch Black Veil Brides.  I’ve seen these guys before and loved them, but Hannah had not, so they were high on the list.  Of course, a lot of people love to hate these guys.  Sadly, I think they are trying to change to be more fashionable.  Pretty much all the songs I heard, Andy was growling a lot more than he was singing.  It really did kill it, for me, and I left.

That gave me the time to race over and catch the end of the band that I was most disappointed to miss during the festival, namely Clutch.  I saw 2-3 songs and they were as great as they always are.  But, what was better was, I saw Rob and Michael from Volbeat watching from the side.  I threw the horns to Rob and he responded, then Michael came down and was signing stuff, I shook his hand and got a photo of the top of his head ( I’m not much of a photographer ).

Next up in that tent was Skindred ( the only other band I saw at both soundwaves ).  They are a mix of reggae and metal and they were brilliant, the singer is really funny and they were definitely my great discovery of the year.

Next I high tailed it back to the smallest stage ( where I saw BVB ) in order to catch Walking Papers.  These guys are Duff from GnR and a couple of guys from Screaming Trees I believe, and one other.  Guitar/organ/bass/drums.  The music is very laid back and atmospheric.  I discovered it because I bought the CD while in the USA at a Best Buy, and I’ve listened to it a lot.  I got there early to make sure I was right in the front, and as a result, I got to see BossHoss, a cover band that does country versions of songs like ‘Eyes without a Face’ , ‘Word Up’ and ‘Toxic’.  They were brilliant, I loved them.  I got online at the barrier to buy their CDs.

Walking Papers were everything I’d hoped for, and more.  They should have been on a bigger stage for sure, but the crowd who showed up for them clearly loved it.

From there I headed back to another smaller stage to see H.I.M.  I’ve kind of liked these guys for ages, and it seemed like a good chance to check them out, but while they were pretty good, I was tired enough that I left after five songs and went to bed.

For the next night, we saw Mushroomhead ( basically where Slipknot comes from ), Korn ( utterly awful ) and Rob Zombie.  We also did a meet and greet which was a lot of fun and got us to the barrier.  Rob Zombie always puts on a good show, although in Australia he doesn’t bring all the props he uses in the USA.  We scored a pick, and had a great time, it was well worth it,

The following night was Asking Alexandria, Five Finger Death Punch and A7X.  Asking Alexandria are one of my favourite new bands so they were the highlight of the night for me, they sounded great.  5FDP are always good, but hard to appreciate from as far back as we ended up.  A7X did a set of older fan favourite songs, but sadly, Hannah had had enough so we did not stay.  She went home the next morning and I flew to Melbourne.

The following night I saw Filter and Volbeat in a tiny club outside Melbourne.  It ran late, and it was only an hour set, but it was still a great night, they sounded great, and interacted with the crowd a lot.  I got there early and was at the barrier, the stage was about 12 people wide, and was not raised, and had no gap for people to pass through.  Someone moron decided to crowd surf and ended up flat on his back when he landed on the stage.  I got three picks, two from Rob and one from Michael.  It was the best night of the week for me.

At first Volbeat was supposed to open for Megadeth, but then Megadeth had Newsted thrown off that show ( they later on dropped out altogether ) and then when the guy who runs it let it be known, Dave pulled out altogether.  Sadly, no really good Thu shows eventuated afterwards, although there were several good ones on the Wed.  We ended up doing Amon Amarth/GWAR on the Thu night.  GWAR are flat out awful.  Amon Amarth were really good and did all different songs, so that made it worthwhile.

For Sydney, I ran around a lot to catch as many bands as I could.  In Melbourne, we ran to the barrier on the metal stage, and stayed for Amon Amarth, 5FDP, and Testament.  We’d have stayed for Trivium too, but we moved out to miss GWAR.

5FDP are great live, and while I’ve been close, I’d never seen them from the barrier before.  They put on a great show and it’s really obvious how much Ivan loves being on stage.  Hopefully next time they come they will rate higher on the bill and get longer than 45 min.

Amazingly, I’d never seen Testament.  I came close once, but they opened a bill I got to late ( actually the ticket times were wrong ).  Their last two CDs are brilliant so I was really pleased to finally catch them live.  I did JUST miss out on a pick, but apart from that, it was a really good show.

Up next was Volbeat, and you already know what I think of them.  From there we saw Trivium and they were really good, but another band where I wanted to hear more of the new stuff than they did.

After that, we got to Skindred early so this time we were near the front.  It was dusty where they played and with all the people jumping, it got hard to breathe, but it was still great.

From there we headed over to see Rob Zombie.  They did do ‘Enter Sandman’ live on the sidewave, and at Soundwave they also did ‘School’s Out’ which was a lot of fun. 

I’m told that Green Day did 3 hours sets headlining the main stage at Soundwave this year.  I wouldn’t know.  For me, the only headliner was A7X.  Hail to the King is THE metal CD of last year.  Listening to them do their set, I was hit with just how many great songs they have, over so many albums.  The crowd went nuts for ‘Critical Acclaim’, for ‘Beast and the Harlot’, for ‘Nightmare’ and ‘Buried Alive’, and of course, for the new songs.  I have to agree with a comment I read from them recently.  I can’t think of too many bands they could still open for.  They are definitely the next superstars of heavy metal music, and I’m certainly glad because without a band like them, there would be no next generation to keep it moving forward.  They didn’t bring their big stage set, but the show was still big, and full of pyro.  The songs were great, everyone was singing along, I was at the barrier, it was the perfect end to an amazing six days of heavy music.  I’m planning on doing three soundwaves next year. 

Top 10 of 2013 - Christian's Take

Hard to believe another year has gone by. This year has been amazing for new music, so I'm not going to do a top 5, I am doing a top 10 albums of 2013.

Number 10: Heaven & Earth - Dig.  Where did these guys come from ? I don't know why I bought this CD, or how I heard of it ( I buy at least 10 CDs a month, and through Amazon, so they come a month after I order them ).  But when it came, I scanned the personnel for anyone I'd heard of.  Nope.  I put it on, and the first thing I thought was, 'this guitar player likes Ritchie Blackmore'.  Then the singing started and I thought 'This guy sounds like Dio!.'  Put those together and you have a band that is channelling early Rainbow, to brilliant effect.  If you've not heard this, you should.

Number 9: Scorpion Child - self titled.  I had a chance to see Clutch while in the US, but I had a day to organise it and didn't get it together.  Afterwards I discovered the opening band, Scorpion Child.  Like Heaven & Earth, they are channelling 70s rock, but in a much more generic way.  This is not a bad thing, it just means they sound 70s, not like a specific 70s band.  They are a lot of fun, and well worth checking out.

Number 8: Airbourne - Black Dog Barking.  With the possible exception of Motorhead, THE most brutal pit I've been in was being right in the middle for Airbourne in a tiny uni bar in Canberra this year.  Was it worth it ? Yes.  These guys opened for Motorhead in that other show I was thinking of, in Melbourne, and I've seen them at Rock on the Range before, but they always put on a great show.  With Black Dog Barking, the song writing seems to have gone up a notch, although it still sounds like what AC/DC would have sounded like if they never got to be middle aged (and beyond).

Number 7: Asking Alexandria - From Death to Destiny.  From here on in, every band in my top 10, is at the Soundwave festival next year, bar Stone Sour (they were there last year, I was at the barrier).  Like a lot of screamo bands, Asking Alexandria seem to be mixing it up with some actual singing, and it's really made all the difference.  I have the older albums, but don't like them that much.  The new one has been in constant rotation since I got it.  Heavy guitars, a mix of rough and clean vocals, great songwriting, great hooks, I can't wait to see these guys live.

Number 6: Trivium - Vengeance Falls.  I've followed Trivium from a distance for a while, buying their CDs and giving them a listen, but not thinking much of them.  The last time Matt sang was on 'The Crusade', which sounded like the band had been dumpster diving for Metallica's rejected riff tapes.  This time the singing makes the quality and originality of the songs really shine through.  Another classic heavy metal masterpiece of 2013.

Number 5: Rob Zombie - Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor.  John 5 is perhaps the best guitar player around, today.  Certainly he is one of the most versatile, and it's always interesting to me that he is willing to bury all those skills to play for the song in a band like Zombie, which really is about groove, not virtuosity.  I loved the last album, I think I love this one even more.  

Number 4: 5FDP - The Wrong Side of Heaven, The Righteous Side of Hell (1 and 2).  If these guys had not released two albums this year, they would still be on the list, but perhaps lower down.  But the combined weight of 2 equally consistent albums of their brand of heavy rock, gets them the fourth position in my best of for 2013.

Number 3: Alter Bridge - Fortress.  I remember being asked if I'd 'discovered' this band around the time of 'Blackbird'.  I had not, and did not, at the time.  I more got in to Myles through Slash, and saw him with Slash at least 5 times.  So, a new Alter Bridge album was always on my radar, but when I got it, I was amazed at the step up from the last one.  The songs are heavier, the singing even better, everything about this album is a stone cold classic.  Any other year, it would have been my album of the year, easily.

Number 2: Stone Sour - House of Gold and Bones Part 2.  I believe Stone Sour topped my list last year with part 1.  What an amazing pair of albums.  I bought the box sets, I bought the comic books, I listened to little else for MONTHS this year.  It's rare that an album grabs me this hard AND still sounds this good 6 months later.  I am sure I'll still love these albums in 10 years time.

Number 1: Avenged Sevenfold - Hail To The King.  Wow.  So many good albums this year, it's hard to believe that anything topped Alter Bridge or Stone Sour, and by such a wide margin.  Avenged Sevenfold have always changed between albums.  But, this time, they set out to figure out why simpler, more classic rock, sounds 'bigger' than the complex songs they've done before.  Of course, they nailed it.  The songs are bigger, they breathe more, the riffs are humongous, and this is the classic rock album they were hoping to make, and then some.  From Shepherd of fire to the GnR stylings of 'Doing Time' to the big ballad of 'Crimson Day', through to the last two more 'classic' A7X tracks, this album is amazing from top to bottom, and one I am sure will be looked back on as not just a classic of 2013, but a classic of this era of hard rock and metal.

Honorable mention - Black Veil Brides - Wretched and Divine, Deep Purple - What Now?, Black Star Riders - All hell breaks loose.

Now, I know there are readers who don't like any bands whose members are younger than 50, or didn't have chart hit 30 years ago, so, I give you my top six albums of bands playing the nostalgia circuit.

Number 6: Aerosmith - Music From Another Dimension.  No, it wasn't Rocks, or even Pump, but, it was a decent return to form after a long time, and certainly the new songs sat well with the older ones when I saw them live in 2013.

Number 5: Skid Row - United World Rebellion.  I never thought I'd be giving these guys props, I've hated everything they did after Sebastian, and didn't think much of 'Subhuman race'.  But, this new EP is really great.  If they end up releasing a set, as they've promised, and they are all this good, then they will have created new music that deserves to be made the centrepiece of their set lists, instead of just playing the old stuff.

Number 4: Michael Monroe - Sensory Overdrive.  Great album, better than I thought he had in him.

Number 3: Queensryche - Queensryche.  They know their first album was self titled too, right ? Anyhow, all the drama around this band in 2013 was really disappointing, but the truth is, they've sucked for a long time now.  With the Tate fronted version releasing an album of crap in 2013, and the Tateless version releasing their best album in a long time, it was pretty clear where the problem lay.

Number 2: Stryper - No More Hell To Pay.  I don't like to rate albums I just got too highly, in case they wear off, but this is a great CD, probably their best ever, to my ears, and it deserves to be in my number two spot.

Number 1: Tom Keifer - The Way Life Goes.  Hasn't it taken forever for Tom to release new music? When John Kalodner gave all those 80s bands a second shot, and a one off album deal, Cinderella wasted theirs on a live CD.  And Tom alone is a lot more 'roots' and a lot less '80s hair' than Cinderella, but it's all the more rewarding for it.  I've always thought this guy was super talented and I'm glad to see him get something out there that shows he's more than a nostalgia act, more than a specific movement, he's just a great all round songwriter and musician.

Avenged Sevenfold, 'Hail to the King' Review

Avenged Sevenfold.  They started off as a hardcore band.  At first all the vocals were screamed.  Then their sound started to change, and with every new album, they seemed to find new fans, and lose ones who had hoped the new album would sound like the old one.  Their last album, Nightmare, was perhaps their greatest triumph to date, pulled from the ashes of the untimely death of their drummer, the Rev. 

After that tour, they regrouped to plan their future.  They found a new drummer, and once again, they found a new sound.  Directly influenced by all the bands we love, they set out to create a more "classic" sounding album, that didn't push the boundaries so far from the sounds they grew up with. They have succeeded.  The first song, "Shepherd of Fire," starts slow, with a thunderous riff that just does not let up.  The next song, "Hail to the King," is also the single, and starts with what sounds like a picking exercise (which incidentally, is what the intro to "Sweet Child O' Mine" was). Speaking of Guns n Roses, "Doing Time" channels that band so completely that the vocal sound exactly like Axl, and the solo sounds exactly like Slash. This is not a band scared to wear it's influence on it's sleeve, which only comes from having done so much that they have proven they have their own sound, and that they are able to inhabit another sound completely without it being a rip off.  I wish that there was at least one song on Chinese Democracy as good as this one.  The next song, "This Means War" is built off a b2 riff that is actually pretty different to "Sad But True," but certainly sounds the same. The rest of the song does not channel Metallica but that riff is really the thing that stands out when you hear it.  

Avenged Sevenfold can still do quirky, and "Requiem" starts with a harmony vocal in Latin, which reprises later in the song.  The rest of the song is a slow metal groove, reminiscent perhaps of Pantera, but to be honest, I wouldn't come to that conclusion if the rest of the CD didn't have me listening for influences for each song.  "Crimson Day" is the ballad of the album, and if they had been around to release this in 1988, they could all have bought houses out of it, I reckon.  "Heretic" is my favourite song of the CD.  I've heard people compare it to "Symphony of Destruction," and while I can hear what they mean, I think they are drawing a long bow.  It does stop and start, it does build and fall, but it's just a great hard rock song.  "Coming Home" is something else again.  There is no question that the band is channeling Iron Maiden, M Shadows even copying some of Bruce's vocal inflections at times.  I admit I did a double take the first time I heard it, but, while Iron Maiden are a band still releasing great new music, I do think I prefer the fire of "Coming Home" to the more placid music on their last few CDs.  

The last two songs are called "Planets" and "Acid Rain." I suspect they may have written these first, they certainly sound like "old" Avenged Sevenfold, and are a great way to wrap up the CD, with some more proggy music (but still heavy) that would not be out of place on their older albums.  It feels like a foretaste, as if future CDs might mix it up a bit more, but from now on they intend to both do the complex stuff, and do simpler heavy metal music as well.  I've read interviews where a few modern bands put their hands up to be the next "top shelf" bands of our genre.  Avenged Sevenfold are the only band who I think have the ability to pull it off.  Thankfully they are here, and for anyone who loves good heavy rock, no matter the age or look of the people making it, the future looks very bright indeed.

On Great, New Music

Something occurred to me the other day.  I can't remember the last time I listened to Motley Crue.  Or Poison.  I think I've spun Def Leppard once in the last year or so.  I don't even remember the last time I listened to Ozzy (before the new Black Sabbath CD came out). 

Don't get me wrong, of the 4000+ CDs in my collection, most of them came out before 'Nevermind' did.  I love all that stuff.  If it comes on the radio, I'd turn it up and sing along.  But there is so much great new music happening today, that I struggle to find the time to listen to it all, without going back to the songs of my teen years.  And I work from home, I listen to music ALL DAY.

Part of this is that, as a guitar player, I've started to discover some of the amazing pickers in the realm of country guitar.  Brad Paisely may be mainstream and have some pretty awful songs, but when he starts shredding, he leaves a lot of rock players in his dust.  John 5's solo albums have a lot of amazing country picking in them, and Johnny Hiland is just flat out amazing ( he is an instrumental country player whose albums feature Stu Hamm ( who played on "Surfin with the Alien") and Billy Sheehan ( do I need to tell you who he is ?) on bass.  But, this is BBG!, so I don't expect many of you want to hear about that...

As far as rock and metal is concerned, for me I think it started with 'Nightmare', that's the album when I went back and realised how brilliant Avenged Sevenfold are.  They have a new album coming this year.  From there I had another listen and realised I really love Rob Zombie.  He has a new album out, called 'Venomous Rat Regeneration Machine.'  It's really, really good.  Of course everyone hear knows that I think Stone Sour's 'House of Gold and Bones' part 1 and 2 are some of the best music I've ever heard. They are only recently falling off my play list, because I have so many other things I want to listen to.

Of course, everyone knows that Black Sabbath have a new CD.  I bought the deluxe edition box set, but I admit, I expected nothing but glowing reviews for a lacklustre product.  Thankfully, I was wrong.  I preferred Dio in Black Sabbath in the past, but, I think 13 is way better than 'The Devil You Know'.  I've been listening to it a lot. On top of that, Black Star Riders CD is finally out ( for those who don't know, this is the band that contains Scott Gorman and has been touring as Thin Lizzy ).  It's fantastic.  If you like Thin Lizzy, then you'll love all of this.  Not to mention the new Deep Purple (which I only bought because Bob Ezrin produced it, and it's their best in decades ), the new Avantasia (a band created by Tobias from Edguy. They do only concept albums, they are Euro metal with a lot of guests), and so on.

The new Megadeth was not great to my ears but I admit, I have so much to listen to, it's still in my pile for me to give it a better chance than it's had so far. Of course, Tom Keifer has finally released new music, and it's excellent.  On top of that, Five Finger Death Punch are on the verge of a new CD (in fact, they are copying Stone Sour and releasing two with a gap between), and I've just discovered 'Burning Rain', a band started by Doug Aldrich in 1999, they have a new CD and the two older ones have just been reissued.

And then there is Airbourne.  My first intention was to write a review of their new CD,' Black Dog Barking.' A lot of people have written to compare this band to AC/DC, which is not an invalid comparison. I've seen newer reviews trying to compare the new CD to other bands, like Def Leppard.  I don't hear that at all.  I don't think Airbourne were ever just ripping off AC/DC, they are simply starting from the same tradition, Aussie pub rock.  They are still in that tradition, they are just growing within that framework, the same as AC/DC did, and I still don't hear anything that I think would be out of place on a Bon Scott era AC/DC album.  That doesn't mean they don't have their own sound, they do, and it gets better with every CD.  The song 'Black Dog Barking' is a predictable stab at 'Idol' type competition winners, who have 'nothing on the inside' and 'never learned to play'.  I'm not sure I agree, but, they sure know who their audience is, and know how to please.  I'm very much looking forward to seeing them in Canberra later this month.  The deluxe edition has a handful of extra songs (all good) and a live CD (to my ears, not a good mix, I doubt I'd play it again ).  If you really want to 'Bring Back Glam!', I recommend buying some of the CDs I've mentioned, and seeing these bands when you get a chance.

Top 10 of 2012 - The Australian's Take

I know some of these albums came out in 2011, but the following are the 10 CDs I could not get enough of throughout 2012. Let me know your thoughts on my list.

10. Rival Sons - Head Down. The classic sound of 70s blues rock. Stand out track: "All the Way."

09. Europe - Bag of Bones.  A modern hard rock master piece. Are there really still people who think of these guys as a one hit wonder? Stand out track: "Bag of Bones."

08. Slash - Apocalyptic Love. More of a band effort than the star studded solo debut, this one left me hoping that Velvet Revolver never reforms. Stand out track: "Standing in the Sun."

07. Lacuna Coil - Dark Adrenaline. Dark, brooding euro metal. Their best album yet. Stand out track: "Give Me Something More."

06. Testament - Dark Roots of Earth. Better than anything the '"big four" have released for years, this was the thrash masterpiece of 2012. Stand out track: "Man Kills Mankind."

05. Manowar -  The Lord of Steel. Everything that is epic about heavy metal, without any self consciousness. Best Lyric: "In heavy metal we believe/ If you don't love metal/ time to leave." Stand out track: "Lord of Steel."

04. Nickelback - Here and Now. Yes, people hate them for the same reason they hated Poison or Def Leppard back in the day (except Nickelback's ballads are good).  But, these guys are the best shot for arena rock moving forward and this was a good example of that. Stand out track: "Midnight Queen."

03. Five Finger Death Punch - American Capitalist. Top shelf, bone crunching modern metal. Stand out track - "Coming Down."

02. Stone Sour - House of Gold and Bones Pt. 1. Amazing new modern rock CD, the only CD I felt strongly enough about to put on this list without giving it a lot of time to prove it will remain a top favorite. Stand out track: "Absolute Zero." (Fun fact, Rachel Bolan from Skid Row plays bass on this CD).  

01. Nightwish - Imaginarium. Hands down the best CD in a long, long time. Epic, orchestral metal. Stand out track - the whole thing.  Played over and over at high volume.  If I had to pick one song, I'd say "Ghost River."

Over the next few days, Allyson, Brian and Kim will post their favorites of 2012 as well.

Nickelback in Australia --- Live Review

Photo by Christian GrausHaving been front row for a Nickelback show in Houston earlier this year, I was very excited to hear they were coming to Australia, and keen for both my kids (big fans) to get to see them.  It was my son's first ever concert, so I was happy that it would be a 'big' show.

First I went with my daughter to see both Sydney shows.  We stood for the second show, and got pretty much to the front, without really queuing for long.  My son and I then saw them in Melbourne.  The shows were basically the same, so my review will be for the combined effect of all three.

The opening band was weird - two brothers, lead guitar and drums.  I've never seen a rock band with no bass guitar, let alone for such a band to be given such a big audience.  They might have been OK with a bass player, as it was, they were a weird sounding novelty act.

Nickelback started the show with "This Means War."  I immediately noticed the lack of pyro compared to the US show.  I had not expected them to bring all the effects they used in the US, but was surprised that the moving side wings of the stage did not get a look in.  The one-two punch of that and "Something in Your Mouth" (especially with the excellent light show for the second song) was a great start to the show. They alternate "Bottoms Up" and "Never Again" for the third song, the only difference in the show when they play two nights in a row in the same place.  Apart from that, the rock songs were "Animals," "Figured You Out" and "Burn It to the Ground."  That's five songs out of eighteen, the rest being ballads.  I personally think that Nickelback are very similar to Def Leppard, except the rock songs rock harder, and some of the ballads are actually really good.  However, while I note that most of the audience was middle aged women and bored looking men, I did feel that the lack of pyro and other effects really showed me why some people don't like these guys much.  They have a killer set of rock songs with a few ballads that they could easily put together, but because they play so many ballads live, without any pyro, the show lost momentum quickly and was quite boring in places.  I certainly felt bad that I'd told my son his first ever rock show would have lots of explosions and there was not one, not even at the end of the last song.  I still enjoyed it, and I really like some of the slower songs they did ("Gotta Be Somebody, "When We Stand Together," "Lullaby"), but some more rock would certainly have made it a lot better than it was, or failing that, a bit of pyro would have lifted the proceedings. 

The next day, because we had concert shirts on, we met a lot of people who told us how awesome they thought it was, so I suspect that their perspective was very different to mine (my having seen how much better it could have been), and so long as the local fans don't know any better, I guess there's no reason for them to change it, but I would love it if next time Australia got something a bit closer to the show I saw in the US.