Bret Michaels Recovers From Health Scare

On Thursday night, Bret Michaels fell ill during a show in New Hampshire and had to leave the stage during the act. The show ended and Bret was rushed to the hospital. Turns out he was sick from the flu and diabetes.

Via Facebook, Bret's PR team explained that the singer was "violently ill" after he left the stage. Doctors determined he was suffering from insulin shock and severe low blood sugar plus exhaustion/dehydration/fever and the novo flu virus.

Basically, Bret was trying to do a concert with the stomach bug. Just think back to the last time you had stomach bug. You probably couldn't leave the bathroom floor. I can't imagine Bret trying to jump around with that plus fighting a severe diabetes issue to boot. I wish him well.

When this story was unfolding Thursday night and I saw it on Twitter, I thought "Which news organization will call Bret the former Poison frontman first?" To the best of my knowledge, that award goes to the Associated Press. In every report, the AP incorrectly referred to Bret as Poison's former frontman and it just hacks me off. Probably irrational on my part, but still.

Monster Energy Aftershock Festival Lineup Announced

The third annual Monster Energy’s AFTERSHOCK Festival returns to Discovery Park near downtown Sacramento September 13 & 14, 2014 bigger than ever with a massive lineup includingGodsmack, Weezer, The Offspring, Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch (back by popular demand), Limp Bizkit, Rise Against, Chevelle, AWOLNATION, Seether, Mastodon, Pennywise, Bad Religion and many more.

After the major success of last year’s festival (sold-out with 32,000 in attendance), California's biggest rock festival is expanding to four stages in 2014, offering more bands than ever.

The daily band lineup for Monster Energy’s AFTERSHOCK Festival is as follows, with more bands to be announced on July 1:

Saturday, September 13: Weezer, The Offspring, Limp Bizkit, AWOLNATION, Chevelle, Bad Religion, Pepper, Black Label Society, Hellyeah, Memphis May Fire, Fuel, Dead Sara, Nothing More, The Last Internationale, Butcher Babies, Emmure, Sleepwave, Anti-Mortem, Eyes Set To Kill, Viza, Dig The Kid

Sunday, September 14: Rob Zombie, Godsmack, Five Finger Death Punch, Rise Against, Seether, Mastodon, Pennywise, Theory of a Deadman, Buckcherry, Of Mice & Men, We Came As Romans, Black Stone Cherry, KYNG, Otherwise, Lacuna Coil, Redlight King, We Are Harlot, Burn Halo, Crossfaith, New Medicine, Cilver

The Offspring’s Dexter Holland says, "We're thrilled to cap off our summer tour at AFTERSHOCK 2014 and play our Smash album in its entirety for NorCal music fans.  It's going to be an epic weekend." 

A special “Pre-Shock” discounted Weekend Ticket pre-sale for Monster Energy’s AFTERSHOCK Festival will take place from June 3-5 at www.AFTERSHOCKConcert.com/Tickets. During the pre-sale--which begins at 10:00 AM PT on Tuesday, June 3--a limited number of discounted Weekend General Admission tickets will be available for purchase. In addition, Weekend VIP tickets will be available at a reduced price during all three days of the Pre-Shock. The Pre-Shock ticket prices are as follows:

Tuesday, June 3-Thursday, June 5: $199.50 (Pre-Shock Weekend VIP)
Tuesday, June 3: $69.50 (Weekend GA)
Wednesday, June 4: $79.50 (Weekend GA)
Thursday, June 5: $89.50 (Weekend GA)

Hotel packages will also be available for purchase during the Pre-Shock pre-sale.

Regularly priced weekend and single day tickets go on sale Friday, June 6 at 10:00 AM PT at www.AFTERSHOCKConcert.com/Tickets, www.Ticketmaster.com and at all Ticketmaster outlets. Ticket prices will be as follows until June 9, when prices will increase: 

2-Day General Admission: $99.50
2-Day VIP: $209.50
GA Ticket 4-Pack: $360.00
Single Day General Admission: $59.50
Single Day VIP: $109.50

VIP tickets include: a VIP entrance to venue; access to VIP lounge area featuring dedicated bar, beverage and food service; viewing of main stage (seated and standing areas); seated area with shade for dining and private restroom facilities; a VIP commemorative guest laminate, and more. 

As in the past, ticket discounts will also be available for active military through AFTERSHOCK partner GovX.

For full details about all tickets, military ticket discounts, hotel and VIP packages, visit www.AFTERSHOCKConcert.com.

“After a sold out 2013, I’m excited to bring a more diverse lineup to AFTERSHOCK with many of the top artists of the last two decades in rock, alternative, punk and metal,” says festival creator/producerDanny Wimmer of Danny Wimmer Presents. “The addition of a third main stage this year and the expanded rock genres will only add to the excitement of what makes Monster Energy’s AFTERSHOCK a one of a kind experience.”

Discovery Park is a 160-acre park conveniently located near downtown Sacramento, where the American and Sacramento Rivers meet. Gates for Monster Energy’s AFTERSHOCK Festival open at 11:00 AM each day.  

'Whole Lotta Love' -- New Video

On June 3, Led Zeppelin will celebrate the release of deluxe reissues of their first three albums. As part of the excitement leading up to these reissues, the band just released a new video for the alternate version of "Whole Lotta Love." The song was originally released in 1969. On a semi-related note, CNN will debut a new series tonight at 9pm ET called The Sixties. Music will be a large part of this series, and I'm definitely watching.

Steve Perry, Surprise Performance

Steve Perry of Journey fame made a surprise appearance during and Eels concert over the weekend in St. Paul, Minnesota. Steve hasn't performed in public in 20 years! He still sounds great to me!

Twisted Sister Pays Tribute to Lemmy

Motorhead was supposed to play Rocklahoma, but the band had to pull out of the fest because Lemmy is sick. Twisted Sister played Rocklahoma over the weekend and they wanted to give the crowd a little Motorhead. Here's their cover of "Born to Raise Hell."

Happy Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day, fellow Americans! Extreme thanks and gratitude to our veterans and current enlisted men and women. Here's Slash's rendition of the National Anthem. 

'Randy Rhoads Remembered: A Celebration For A Guitar Legend'

If only I was near one of these tour stops! Starting June 3, music legends from the rock world will do a mini tour of the east coast to pay tribute to guitarist Randy Rhoads. I think this is a very cool idea!