So this is happening: Metallica will bring their massive 72 Seasons world tour to cinemas next month.
The concert will be live from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX on August 18 and again August 20.
Metallica: M72 World Tour Live From Arlington, TX; A Two Night Event, will feature two nights of completely different setlists. Metallica won't play a song twice over these two nights, so fans can watch both concerts and get totally different experiences which is kind of cool.
I like when bands don't just perform their biggest hits during concerts. Paying customers are usually there for some deep cuts too.
You can get tickets on Metallica's website - click through below.
Well, if you want to feel ancient, I can help: Def Leppard's High N' Dry album is 42 years old. Of course the album features "Bringin' On The Heartbreak," a song that solidified the Brits as the real rock deal.
The new Def Leppard book DEFinitely has a little tidbit about the album cover for their debut On Through The Night and how the band had nothing to do with the creative concept at all. The label "took care of it" and the band wasn't pleased. From then on, the members of Def Leppard exerted creative control over their album covers and iconic art. The cover for High n' Dry was actually meant for Pink Floyd in the late 70s, but rejected by the prog legends. (The graphic designer of the cover was Storm Thorgerson. He also did the art for Dark Side of the Moon).
Def Leppard began their long partnership with the late designer Andie Airfix with the Pyromania album.
Just as the title says, my beloved Dirty Honey has a new track called "Won't Take Me Alive" and it sounds like 70s era Aerosmith! It's a great song that is on the band's upcoming album Can't Find The Breaks. That new album is due this fall and you can see Dirty Honey on tour this summer, including some dates with Guns n' Roses.
Earlier this week, Netflix dropped a new documentary called WHAM! The film is a look at the British pop sensation created by Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael in the early 1980s.
The film is directed by Chris Smith.
Based on a true friendship – a brotherhood – the documentary uses the voices of both Michael and Ridgeley to recall their childhoods, upbringing and joint obsession with music.
The interviews of Ridgeley are current. The audio of Michael is taken from past interviews before his death on Christmas Day in 2016.
The interviews are so parallel, it’s hard to tell them apart, timewise. Both George and Andrew recall their childhoods and early rise to fame – and mega stardom – with such vivid recollection, it is easy to forget that Andrew is answering questions so many years after George. Of course, there is archival footage including lots of never-before-seen moving video and photos. A big boon to WHAM! is all the scrapbooks Ridgeley’s mom kept of the boys are they embarked on their band. Each important milestone is marked by a new book and you get to see little snippets of it, with press clippings and photos and such. You’ll hear Ridgeley’s voice say “Book 21!” and suddenly see press clippings of him out on the town with the woman of the week. That must have been odd for his mother.
As the documentary goes on, the viewer gets a firsthand look at the internal struggles George Michael faced everyday as a gay man in an early 80s-homophobic-and-AIDS-terrified world. Both he and Andrew had girls chasing them down everywhere they went. Plus, there was never-ending press frenzy about the two good-looking young men. So when George came out to Andrew and the tiny circle around WHAM!, it was decided to keep the information private. The number one reason, though, was that George didn’t want his dad to find out. That caused a heavy burden.
On the music side of things, Andrew Ridgeley was the one who really pressed George to start a band. Andrew’s goal was to become a famous musician in a band. Period. In the beginning, he wrote songs right alongside George. As WHAM! progressed, George assumed all the songwriting duties. He was evolving as a person and musician and his songs were getting too deep for WHAM! and thus a massive solo career was born. Because WHAM! was a band built on fun and youth, they called it quits after just a few years at the top of the charts. By the time the band retired, Ridgeley was ready for it to be over. His goals were achieved: he was a famous musician and he wanted to be left alone. He knew George was destined for more great things. As a true best friend, he was always willing to stand back and do what was best for George. Ending WHAM! turned out to be the best thing for both George and Andrew.
It is not lost on me the irony of WHAM! having such a successful – and short – career. When it was decided to call it quits, the band announced a special final concert at Wembley, aptly called The Final. There wasn’t a three-year long farewell tour. There were no contracts promising to never tour again as WHAM! There were just honest interviews and quotes from both Andrew and George about how WHAM! is a band for young folks, by young folks. There would be no “middle aged” WHAM! It is hard to imagine a hugely popular musical act bowing out so early these days.
A special highlight of WHAM! is the part of the documentary that looks at the duo’s historic trip and performances in China. WHAM! were the first western rock act to perform in Beijing (then also known as Peking) and Guangzhou. That trip was massive for both China and also for WHAM! and breaking into America, because the press coverage was so heavy. There are behind-the-scenes shots of the media interviews, which is a very fly-on-the-wall sort of thing. After a live shot via satellite with an American news affiliate, the duo answers a couple questions, the interview ends and Andrew quips, “Ok let’s hit the streets!” Afterall, WHAM! were young, rich and handsome. It was time to party.
WHAM! is a short watch and totally fun. The throwback clothes and hair are a laugh riot. The music brought back a lot of great memories for me and filled my heart with happiness. Not bad for 90 minutes of entertainment.
After "Hell Froze Over," the Eagles have been on and off the road for years (you know, after they retired the first time). Now, the end is apparently really here. This morning, The Eagles announced their final tour. My beloved Steely Dan will provide support. (There's a joke here between The Eagles and Steely Dan. IYKYK).
The tour is called "The Long Goodbye" and Don Henley, Joe Walsh, and Timothy B. Schmit, with Vince Gill and Deacon Frey will all participate. The tour will go through 2025. Tickets go on sale July 14. I'll go ahead and predict this won't be cheap.
Thanks to our dear friend Metalboy! - a cover of a KIX classic! Crack The Sky (CTS) - an obscure prog act from the 70s that still exists today - covered "Don't Close Your Eyes."
CTS singer John Palumbo is credited with writing the track, along with Donnie Purnell and Bob Halligan, Jr. Like KIX, Crack The Sky has a cult-like following, especially on the east cost and around the Baltimore, Maryland area. People comment "Hammerjacks!" on CTS YouTube videos. It makes since that CTS would cover the song, especially since it is the biggest "hit" KIX ever had... and we all know Steve Whiteman and the boys are hanging it up for good in a couple months.
I guess a side question would be: is it a cover song if you actually wrote it but didn't record it originally?
Fellow Americans, enjoy your day off and celebrate freedom! Be careful if you are setting off fireworks tonight. Make sure you keep all your fingers and toes in tact! Play some metal at your barbecues - ramp it to 11!
Monday, July 10, 2023 at 11:36AM 