Staff Review: Stevie Nicks

Who says that working for BPD doesn't have its perks?

We recently sent our own Maree Peters to see Stevie Nicks perform. Here's what she had to say:

There's something downright magical about Stevie Nicks' unmistakable voice and charismatic stage presence that puts audience members on the edge of their seats with a single note or signature spin of her glitter-laced shawl. In the case of the In Your Dreams tour, the longtime Fleetwood Mac co-leader weaved a hypnotic musical spell over 110 action-packed minutes that revealed her songwriting is still as sharp as ever, with old hits standing up as though they were written yesterday.

Opening with "Stand Back" set the ideal tone for the evening, pumping out massive guitar grooves and chunky bass lines all wound around Nicks' gloriously gravely pipes. She then jumped straight into the present to unveil the equally magnetic "Secret Love" from her first studio CD in ten years, adapting a folk-tipped modern rock motif that could've easily been in the current company of Sheryl Crow, Vanessa Carlton or even Taylor Swift.

A little later, the sultry singer turned in the ultra-infectious mid-tempo cut "For What It's Worth," which once again highlighted her poetic song craftsmanship and a timeless tradition reminiscent of "Landslide" or "Silver Springs." When it came to past Fleetwood Mac crests, Nicks put her own spin on the soft pop staple "Dreams," the psychedelic "Gold Dust Woman" and a rearranged, momentum building take on the tender ballad "Rhiannon."

Yet it was the new cut "Soldier's Angel" that served as an emotional apex, chronicling the myriad of emotions the troops have faced in both the line of duty and the aftermath of injury, all wound around a bluesy guitar growl. That stripped down tone carried over to the classic "Leather and Lace," which may have missed out on duet partner Don Henley, but still had Nicks' more than competent vocal coach conveying its romantic story of opposites attracting.

Even more enduring was "Edge of Seventeen," extended perhaps a little longer than needed, but nonetheless explosive with its guitar-doused dance direction that's since been sampled from Beyonce's old girl group Destiny's Child. Surprisingly, Nicks encored with the contemplative encore "Love Is," but it was still a satisfying reminder of the singer's unwavering delivery and meticulous craftsmanship that hasn't just made her an inspiration for other women in rock, but a very pillar of the entire genre regardless of gender.

Because of some scheduling conflicts (mine), we couldn't hang together backstage. So Stevie was gracious enough to invite me back to her hotel where I self consciously limited myself to 30 minutes with her.

And what a marvelous 30 it was. Thanks boss!

Member Review: Maroon 5/Train

Member 26g34 sent in a review of this pairing:

Maroon 5 was first to take the stage, getting the crowd dancing in their seats with "Moves like Jagger" and "Harder to Breathe." Lead singer Adam Levine rarely stopped moving as he slinked around the stage seducing the audience with every turn. With a lead singer like Levine, it can be hard to remember that this is a band, not a solo act. The other members of Maroon 5 made sure the audience never forgot that, with tearing solos and strong backing vocals. Other song highlights included the slower "I Won't Go Home Without You" and recent radio success "Never Gonna Leave This Bed." As the crowd demanded an encore, Maroon 5 returned to the stage to finish out with 'Hands All Over' and a crowd sing along of "She Will Be Loved."

Train started their portion of the evening with a mix of old favorites and new hits. The crowd heard "Meet Virginia" early in the set, as well as "If It's Love." Lead singer Pat Monahan encouraged the crowd to join him, saying "If you don't know the words, please, make some shit up." Train made sure to include the crowd throughout the show, even bringing a group of ladies, nicknamed Trainettes, up onstage to sing and dance during "She's on Fire." Taking a moment out for a costume change (the first of many for Monahan), the lead singer returned to belt out "Calling All Angels."

Train's cellist played a major role in the show, even given a solo moment to sing the chorus from Blondie's "Heart of Glass." As she floated down to the front of the stage in her long white dress to dance, Train began in on U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." At one point Monahan joined the woman in a ballroom style dance. The moment bordered on beautifully artistic and completely bizarre.

Train shocked the crowd by bringing out country superstar Martina McBride to join them for an incredible rendition of McBride's "Broken Wing." The extreme power in their voices left the crowd speechless.

The night closed out with "Hey Soul Sister" and an encore including "Drops of Jupiter" and the appropriate "This Ain't Goodbye."

Thanks 26g34. What did you think of seeing the whole show from backstage?

Great Fall shows and tours still await us. Why not join BackstagePassDirect and request your passes early?

Setlist: Kenny Chesney

BPD member Ratso25 sent us this list from the Kenny Chesney show he attended backstage:

Live A Little
Reality
Summertime
Beer In Mexico
The Woman With You
Big Star
I Go Back
No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems
Anything But Mine
There Goes My Life
You and Tequila
(Acoustic)
Living In Fast Forward
Young
Somewhere With You
Don't Happen Twice
Never Wanted Nothing More
Out Last Night
When The Sun Goes Down
(David Allan Coe cover) (with Uncle Kracker)
How Forever Feels
The Boys Of Fall

Encore:

She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy
(with Billy Currington)
Dixieland Delight
(Alabama cover) (with Zac Brown Band)
If You're Gonna Play in Texas
(Alabama cover) (with Zac Brown Band)
Knee Deep
(with Zac Brown Band)
Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven
(with Zac Brown Band)
The Joker
(Steve Miller Band cover) (with Zac Brown Band)
Three Little Birds
(Bob Marley cover) (with Zac Brown Band)
Caress Me Down
(with Zac Brown Band)
Runnin' Down a Dream
(Tom Petty cover) (with Zac Brown Band)

Member Review: Blink-182

BPD subscriber Beefy Boy just this in:

Blink-182 , reuniting following drummer Travis Barker's near death in a 2008 plane crash – played a smartly-paced 90-minute set with a few from the forthcoming studio album Neighborhoods, their first since 2003.

”It's been eight years, don't f'ing rush us or we'll break up again,” singer/bassist Mark Hoppus jokingly threatened halfway through the set before he and singer/guitarist Tom DeLonge feigned splitting up.

With Barker on a riser and the group shown on video screens in black and white, Blink-182 quickly delved into hits like The Rock Show and What's My Age Again? while Up All Night, the first single off Neighborhoods, fared far better than anticipated.

”You guys have been rocking so hard my hair collapsed,” Hoppus said of his new “no hawk” hairstyle.

Occasionally ambling around the stage but content to mostly stick to their own sides, Hoppus and DeLonge sounded strong on the beefy Stay Together For The Kids and the sullen I Miss You, the latter seeing DeLonge on his knees to finish.

When not talking about urine, belching before excusing himself or asking fans to boo Hoppus, DeLonge did little to embarrass himself musically on the old-school punk punch of Dumpweed and Hearts All Gone, a new tune “which sounds like an old one.”

Of the new ones performed probably the best was After Midnight, quite groove-focused and guitar driven. It came across great but with at best a smattering of fans knowing it the track didn't gain much traction.

Other highlights were All The Small Things, Man Overboard and First Date. As First Date ended DeLonge briefly got serious, saying he was amazed 16,000 people were singing the song.

The only component that hasn't changed a bit is Barker's ridiculous prowess behind the drum kit. A drum solo during the encore saw Barker on a specially designed kit which rose high above the crowd and deep into the audience, even going on a very steep angle at one point.

Barker brought his son and daughter with him. It was neat to hang with the three of them backstage.

On the whole, the show was a sweet blast from the recent past, and what could be a promising new chapter.

Hey Beef, you weren't the babysitter, were ya? Seriously, thanks for the review.

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Lady Antebellum Own The Night 2011 Tour

Lady Antebellum will launch the first leg of their Own The Night 2011 Tour on November 11 in Knoxville, TN. Both the tour name and the trio’s upcoming album, Own The Night, were inspired by the album’s second single, “We Owned the Night.”
The album will be in stores on September 13.

Here are the dates:

11/11 Knoxville, Tenn. Knoxville Coliseum*
11/12 Macon, Ga. Macon Centreplex*
11/13 Pikeville, Ky. East Kentucky Expo Center*
11/16 El Paso, Texas El Paso County Coliseum*
11/17 Phoenix, Ariz. Grand Canyon University*
11/18 Las Vegas, Nev. The Joint @ The Hard Rock*
11/25 Huntsville, Ala. Von Braun Civic Center**
11/26 Florence, S.C. Florence Civic Center**
11/27 Savannah, Ga. Savannah Civic Center**
12/1 Colorado Springs, Colo. Colorado Springs World Arena**
12/2 Lubbock, Texas City Bank Coliseum**
12/3 Wichita Falls, Texas Kay Yeager Coliseum**
12/4 Belton, Texas Bell County Expo Center**
12/8 La Crosse, Wis. La Crosse Center Arena**
12/9 Sioux City, Iowa Tyson Center**
12/10 Springfield, Mo. JQH Arena**
12/11 Murray, Ky. CFSB Center**
12/15 Amherst, Mass. The Mullins Center**
12/16 Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Mohegan Sun Arena**
12/17 Roanoke, Va. Roanoke Civic Center**
12/18 Morgantown, W.Va. WVU Coliseum**

*Tour Dates with Randy Montana **Tour Dates with Eden’s Edge

F.A.M.E. Tour of Chris Brown

In what is probably one of the last major tours to include amphiheatres this year, Chris Brown begins an outing next month stretching to the end of October.
Touring in support of his fourth studio album, F.A.M.E, you can see Chris + show-openers T-Pain, Kelly Rowland and Tyga at these US venues:
Wed 09/14/11 Darien Center, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
Fri 09/16/11 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
Sat 09/17/11 Washington, DC Verizon Center
Sun 09/18/11 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena
Wed 09/21/11 Cleveland, OH Cleveland St. University
Fri 09/23/11 Tinley Park, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Sat 09/24/11 Maryland Heights, MO Verizon Wireless Amph. St. Louis
Sun 09/25/11 Noblesville, IN Verizon Wireless Music Center
Wed 09/28/11 Baltimore, MD 1st Mariner Arena
Fri 09/30/11 Uniondale, NY Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Sat 10/01/11 Raleigh, NC Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion
Sun 10/02/11 Mayfield, KY Lakewood Amphitheatre
Fri 10/07/11 Tampa, FL 1-800 Ask-Gary Amphitheatre
Sat 10/08/11 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Sun 10/09/11 Virginia Beach, VA Farm Bureau Live At Virginia Beach
Wed 10/12/11 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
Fri 10/14/11 Dallas, TX Gexa Energy Pavilion
Sat 10/15/11 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena
Sun 10/16/11 The Woodlands, TX The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Tue 10/18/11 Phoenix, AZ Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion
Thu 10/20/11 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
Sat 10/22/11 Concord, CA Sleep Train Pavilion At Concord
Sun 10/23/11 Wheatland, CA Sleep Train Amphitheatre
Wed 10/26/11 Memphis, TN FedExForum
Fri 10/28/11 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center
Sat 10/29/11 Pittsburgh, PA Consol Energy Center
Sun 10/30/11 Hartford, CT XL Center

We'll have backstage passes for all these dates; request yours today.

Lollapaloza Set Video: Foo Fighters

We hope you enjoy the almost 2 1/2 hours of video stream.

A BPD member who wishes to remain anonymus was gracious enough to send a copy our way.

Member Review: Vans Warped Tour

BPD subscriber StevieRockinon writes:

The Central Florida Fairgrounds smelled of hotdogs and pot. Shirtless guys and bras-only girls milled among the tents erected on the patchy field. With a 106 degree heat index, it was f'ing hot, but music junkies still came out to participate in the annual Vans Warped Tour. The party had the potential to be so awesome tha I stayed out front and never went backstage. Sorry BPD.

The event featured more than 50 bands, from pop punk to post-hardcore. Some of the major bands playing on the main stage included Simple Plan, The Devil Wears Prada, and Less Than Jake. However, some of the most entertaining performances came not from the main stage but from the lesser-known, but much appreciated bands such as Family Force 5. Wearing backpacks with inflatable balloon-like bobbleheads above their heads, the Family Force 5 entourage took the stage. "Orlando," Soul Glow Activatur (a.k.a. Solomon Olds)Mojo Morgan in his deep Southern drawl shouted into his microphone. "It's hot out here y'all." The band broke into some of their classic hits, including "Supersonic" and "Love Addict," and showcased their hip-hop funk talent while performing "Wobble."

The band's career has taken them 10 years from their hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, but their roots still showed throughout their performance. "Let's get gangsta y'all" one band member shouted from the corner of the stage. "We are your favorite white trash kids playing some ghetto music," another responds.

Like the Phil Collins of the Vans Warped Tour, Crouton (a.k.a Jacob Olds) performed the lead vocals for several songs, sometimes from the bench behind his drumset and sometimes at center stage. Soul Glow Activatur wowed the crowd when he donned a pair of green Hulk gloves, jumped into a giant, plastic bubble and pushed himself off the stage and into the audience where he proceeded to perform on top of the crowd. With so many strong voices in the band, one would think that the combination of their voices would result in a cacophonic rather than a harmonic sound. But the end result was surprisingly melodious and mesmerizingÑthe perfect blend. When listening to their live performance, it's obvious why the band has maintained their status for so long: because no other band could replace them.

What happens at Warped Tour stays a Warped Tour isn't necessarily a mantra one could swear by. When Less Than Jake took main stage at 7:00, they decided to spice up the crowd's dwindling energy by offering free mohawks for anyone who wanted one. So while the band performed "All My Best Friends are Metalheads," one lucky victim was brought upon the stage and received a "Three Minute Mohawk" from the "official Less than Jake template." Then, the band searched the crowd for a volunteer who was willing to make out with the newly-made-over stud. A not-so-shy girl was found, and the two ensued in an awkward kissing session before posing for pictures on stage while the band continued to play their set list, which included the theme songs for "Animaniacs" and "Spongebob Square Pants."

The best costumes of the fest were worn by Japanese punk band "Peelander-Z," who played several crowd favorites, including "So Many Mike" while wearing their color-coordinated comic book-like costumes.

As I said, it was hot as hell but when it comes to Vans Warped Tour, the brave come, but only the dedicated stay all day.

Thanks for taking the time to write StevieRockinon. If you had a good time, that's good enough for us.

Our members are always having a good time, usually from the back (StevieRockinon excepted). Why not join today and see for yourself?

Death Cab For Cutie Extends Tour

Death Cab For Cutie has extended their current tour thru the end of October.

New US dates just added:

Fri 09/30/11 Cincinnati, OH PNC Pavilion At Riverbend
Sat 10/01/11 Champaign, IL Assembly Hall
Sun 10/02/11 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
Wed 10/05/11 Memphis, TN Mud Island Amphitheatre
Thu 10/06/11 Birmingham, AL Alabama Theatre
Fri 10/07/11 Jacksonville, FL Florida Theatre
Sat 10/08/11 Sunrise, FL Markham Park
Mon 10/10/11 Houston, TX Verizon Wireless Theater
Tue 10/11/11 Austin, TX Austin Music Hall
Sat 10/15/11 Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara Bowl
Sun 10/16/11 San Francisco, CA Treasure Island
Tue 10/18/11 Boise, ID Taco Bell Arena
Thu 10/20/11 Portland, OR Memorial Coliseum
Sat 10/22/11 Seattle, WA KeyArena At Seattle Center