Rush played the Kia Forum in Los Angeles last night (or whatever the place is called these days).
I am so happy. I am so happy. I am so happy.
I said I wasn’t going to watch any clips but I am suspending that rule for this one thing. It’s the first thing that my social media algorithm madness sent my way. Pretty sure it’s the first song in the set. I haven’t watched it yet. I’ll post it here and then watch it.
I am so happy and I can’t wait for July 28th at Madison Square Garden. I cannot wait.
Triumph’s 50th anniversary tour, the Rock and Roll Machine Reloaded. My first Triumph show in almost 40 years.
It was pretty cool. I must admit. Rik Emmett used to have the highest voice in the universe. He most definitely does not have the highest voice in the universe anymore. He’s 72 years old, that is expected.
Back when I was in high school and playing in a cover band, two of the four band members were Triumph fans so naturally we wanted to play one of their songs. Emmett’s voice was so ridiculously high that no mere male mortal could ever pull them off. Fortunately, Triumph had two lead singers. Gil Moore, the drummer, sang lead on about half of the songs. None of the hits, mind you, but there was plenty to choose from. If we couldn’t sing the high voice songs, we could pull off the low voice songs, right?
Gil Moore’s voice was drastically deeper than Rik Emmett’s. That is a scientific fact. Unfortunately, there was some weird psycho-acoustic kind of thing going on where when you listened to the two of them singing side by side, Moore sounded like a normal range voice. However, when you removed Emmett’s voice from the equation you realized that Moore’s voice was also ridiculously high and very few mere male mortals could hit his high notes. He sounded normal in comparison but the truth was we couldn’t sing his songs either.
Now? 40 years later? Mr Moore’s voice is no longer ridiculously high. Suffice to say when either of the original band members were singing, the songs were played in lower keys and the melodies were adjusted so that the highest high notes were avoided. That’s just biology. It happens to all of us.
My issue was with the songs they didn’t sing. I was worried that with three new members on stage it was going to feel a little like a tribute band. For most of the show it did not, though watching Rik Emmett sit back and play rhythm guitar while Phil X absolutely shredded through a solo that was originally Rik’s… well that felt weird. Especially because it seems that Emmett’s guitar playing, unlike his voice, is every bit as good as it was 40 years ago. The dude was on fire all night. He just played nicely and let Phil X shine as well (not to imply that Rik’s singing wasn’t excellent, it was. It was just different, that’s all).
When Phil X or Todd Kerns took a lead vocal though… that felt wrong. I would have an instant where my brain would think to itself, this isn’t what I signed up for, then I would get over myself and just enjoy the song. Both of them were excellent, even though they both often had to break into falsetto to hit the high notes. I’m trying to think if either of them sang an Emmett song… I’m not sure. They both song Moore songs. Huh… maybe they’ll release a live record down the road somewhere and I’ll be able to revisit it.
So there were tribute band-esque moments. Absolutely. On the whole though, it was a really fun show. No explosions on stage like the old days, but lots of cool visuals and lots of lights.
The set list was pretty expansive too. When I saw them in 1986 that was my one complaint. There were no surprises other than not hitting the Never Surrender album at all, and leaving off a few songs that I thought would have been staples. That was not the case this time. I think every record except the crappy Surveillance album that was made after things came unglued and the 90’s attempt at a comeback, Edge of Excess, was represented. Let’s see…
Spoiler alert if you have tickets to one of the 2–3 remaining shows and don’t want to know what’s coming. Stop reading now. Otherwise…
They played Blinding Light show and one other thing from the first album. They played the Joe Walsh cover and the title song from Rock and Roll Machine. They played both of the hits from Just a Game, Lay it on the Line and Hold On. Must to my surprise, they played I Live for the Weekend, one of the two strong cuts from their not-so-good Progressions of Power record. They played the two obligatory songs from Allied Forces, Magic Power and Fight the Good Fight, as well as the title song. They played When the Lights go Down and Never Surrender from the Never Surrender album, two songs I sorely missed back in ’86. They played the two hits from Thunder Seven, Spellbound and Follow Your Heart. Side note, the video for Follow Your Heart was shot at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, RI and I’m pretty sure my future drummer, Bob from Break Even, was there. They played their biggest hit single, Somebody’s Out There from The Sport of Kings. Ironically it was the second song in the set and it was the second song in the set back in 1986. Silly, but I noticed. I’m sure I missed a song or two, but that’s most of what they played. Just don’t ask me to list them in order.
All that’s left of note is the photos. I took my little point and shoot camera. The one Jen got me for xmas. I took it out during the opening band’s set to see how it would work and it crashed on me. It just died. I was zooming in and the lens just stopped moving and then the LCD screen when black and that was it. I kept trying to reboot but nothing I did had any effect. The camera was dead, Jim. I took a few pics with my iPhone and they came out fine. Strangely, as the show was ending I tried one more time to reboot the point and shoot and it worked. I guess 30th time was the charm? I haven’t tried to use it today to see if it will work. I’m too scared. Oh well. Here are a few iPhone pics.
And there you have it, folks. My second Triumph concert and my first in almost 40 years. It was a really fun show. All that was missing was Mike Levine and my Uncle Johnny.
I went to my first real concert on October 23, 1986. I went with my Uncle. It was Triumph at the Worcester Centrum in Worcester, MA. It had been rescheduled from an earlier date… I don’t remember what the original date was. I heard that guitarist/vocalist Rik Emmett fell down a flight of stairs while getting off of a plane and screwed up his knee so they had to postpone a couple of dates while he recovered. I don’t know if that’s true or not, it’s just what I heard.
I was 15 back then and early in my sophomore year of high school. I was a big Triumph fan, but maybe not that big a fan. Certainly not as big a fan as I was of the other three-piece band from Toronto, Rush. Still, Thunder Seven, Allied Forces, and Just a Game were A-List albums in my book. Never Surrender and The Sport of Kings were both really good too. They were touring to support Sport of Kings when I saw them that night, and a couple of years later my first real band would cover a song from that record, Tears in the Rain. It often went over surprisingly well when we played it, even though the guys in the band were probably the only people in the room who were familiar with it. I wonder if anyone thought we’d written it? Probably not. It was WAY better than our handful of original tunes. I mean, WAY better.
I didn’t know it at the time but Triumph was just about reaching the point where they were falling apart. I recently read Rik Emmett’s memoir and he mentions that the first nail in the band’s coffin happened during the recording of Sport of Kings. They had planned to record a song written by an outside writer, a groovy little ballad called Just One Night. It was expected to be the album’s big single and the band had decided that drummer/vocalist Gil Moore would sing it. The guy who was originally hired to produce the record had spoken privately to Rik Emmett and said he should be singing that song instead of Moore and he wanted Emmett to break the news. Emmett did, on an airplane flying home to Toronto, and I guess Moore lost his shit (probably very politely, given that they are good Canadian boys after all) and that was the first step toward everything falling apart. It took a couple of years but eventually, in ’88, Emmett quit.
Moore and bassist/keyboardist Mike Levine eventually tired to bring it back from the dead. They hired guitarist Phil X, who these days is best known as Bon Jovi’s lead guitarist, and made one more record. I heard a song or two on the radio and it was pretty good, but not good enough to really reignite my interest. I had high hopes for Rik Emmett as a solo artist but his first record was a glossy poppy disappointment and that was that for me.
Fast forward to a few months ago and out of nowhere Triumph announced a 50th anniversary reunion tour. Rock and Roll Machine Reloaded (Rock and Roll Machine was the name of their second record in Canada and their first in the US). I think the reloaded part of the tour’s name sort of points to some lineup changes. Early on they reported to us that Mike Levine would not be playing at every show. He had a medical issue to deal with (something wrong with his hand, I think?) and he would join the band onstage whenever he felt up to it. I’m pretty sure the tour ends next week and the total number of appearances he’s made is equal to zero. That’s disappointing.
Due to that, a second bass player, Todd Kerns, was added to the lineup. Additionally, Phil X would also join them. He wasn’t a member 50 years ago, but he was a member in the 90’s. That seems fitting. When I saw them in ’86 they did have a second guitarist on stage with them. His name was Rick… something. I forget. I do remember finding him a little annoying. Like, I wanted to see the trio. I was okay with the extra guy but maybe he could have stayed off to the side out of the way. I was an asshole. Sorry. As if two extra musicians weren’t enough, Gil Moore made it clear that he wanted to come out from behind the drums and sing a couple of songs from the front of the stage. That requires a second drummer. Brent Fitz was added. He’s a keyboard player as well so I guess he’ll also be covering some of Mike Levine’s parts.
So this Toronto trio is now a group of five or six (if Levine appears). I guess everyone sings so the vocal harmonies are going to be denser than they used to be. Also, Moore and Emmett are old now, both in their 70’s. Their vocal ranges are nowhere near what they used to be (especially Emmett, whose near-soprano days are long over) so the “new” guys are going to be singing lead on a some of the songs. That is… troubling to me. That sort of makes me fear that this is going to be a tribute band that just happens to have two original members. I don’t know how I feel about that, but I am choosing to ignore it and just enjoy having this long lost band back again.
When the tour was announced, the final show was scheduled for June 6th in Boston and it sold out instantly. I tried to get a ticket but no luck. A couple of days after they went on sale I went to ticketbastard’s site just to see how it looked and there was a show on June 4th with almost no tickets sold. Huh? I Googled and sure enough they had booked a second Boston show and somehow didn’t really announce it. I grabbed a ticket in the back. I don’t want to say a cheap seat… how about a less crushingly expensive seat.
Now here we are on June 4th and I am psyching myself up to go experience the Rock and Roll Machine in person for the first time in almost 40 years. I’m flying solo for this one. I didn’t want to subject anyone else to the 80’s of it all. I checked the venue’s camera policy and point and shoots are acceptable, so I am totally bringing one. We’ll see how it holds up to the lighting and the distance. I expect lots of blurry, shaky messes. Doors open at 7:00 and the show is supposed to start at 8:00. The opening act is April Wine. I’ve heard of them but I don’t think I’ve ever heard a single note. I know they are another Canadian band so I expect them to be very polite and I will be equally polite as I wait for the headliner.
My Uncle passed away a long time ago. He’ll be with me in spirit though. I’ll be thinking of him. Especially if Rik plays the acoustic solo from the Thunder Seven record, Midsummer’s Daydream. Uncle Johnny was very impressed with that one.
Happy 50th anniversary to the first band I ever saw live. Here’s hoping for a good time at the old rock and roll show.
PS: I tried to find the set list from October 23, 1986. I failed. I did, however, find the set list from October 24, 1986. It is probably the same, and from what I remember it lines up.
If there was a difference, my show might have swapped the last two songs. I remember their Joe Walsh cover closing the encore, but maybe it closed the set and Fight the Good Fight (by far their best song… like by astronomical units) was the encore? Who can say.
This has been quite the big weekend and it has very little to do with a zombie who gave up his weekend for our sins. But I digress.
Today, April 5th, is the 19th anniversary of my first date with my wife. Clearly she wasn’t my wife at the time, but it was a pretty good first date. Very successul. We celebrated by going to a matinee. We saw Projet Hail Mary again. It was my second viewing and her third. Great movie. If it is playing on an IMAX screen anywhere near us next weekend we might go see it one more time.
After the movie, Jen made a fancy easter/first-dateiversary dinner and it was wonderful. We ate at the dining room table like civilized people instead of slumming it in the living room in front of the TV like usual. It was a very nice moment.
Yesterday we had my in-laws over for a pre-easter easter dinner. Jen made lasagna. I don’t like lasagna so she made me some pasta on the side. She’s the best.
After dinner I hopped in the car and headed to Boston to see a show. Throwing Muses. It was a fantastic show. I was feeling kinda negative at first. I was feeling like I’m too old to go to shows in bars. Two songs into the Muses set though my whole universe changed. By that time I was actively trying to think of a world where I could see Throwing Muses live every day for the rest of my life. It was magic.
There was one negative though. Halfway through their set I got a nose bleed of all things. Not just any nose bleed, but a massive, gushing nose bleed. It was everywhere. I looked like I was living through a horror movie. Gore.
To summarize, it’s been a very good weekend. I’ve been nuts about my wife for 19 years now and I just keep getting nuttier and nuttier as time goes by.
Now, a few pics from the show last night.
I was really hoping for this… 90’s alternative rock nerd boy just scored two tickets to see Belly in October. Now I just need Throwing Muses to announce North American shows and my 2025 musical life will be complete. I want to see both halves of Throwing Muses this year.
I did not see Belly when they were together in the 90’s and I did not see them when they got back together a few years ago and I did not see them when they played in my freakin’ back yard (Lowell, MA) last year. This will correct this gross oversite on my musical obsession bingo card. I saw Tanya Donelly shortly after Belly split, and once more years later with Jen, and once with Throwing Muses back in 1989, but I’ve never seen Belly.
I’m trying to remember all of the Muses related shows I’ve seen…
Damn… that list is a whole lot shorter than I thought it would be. I’m pretty sure that’s it though. Hopefully this year we’ll be adding two more shows to it. Hopefully… if Throwing Muses would just announce a nice Boston show to go along with their already announced European shows.
Happy concert tickets day, everyone.
Throwing Muses stopped being a full time thing in… 1997? I think? Every few years they pop back up again with a new record and I go berserk for a while. For me there are two bands that I would take a bullet for. Rush is one, Throwing Muses is the other. It doesn’t make sense, it’s not rational. I don’t care. I’ve been obsessed for decades and there is nothing I can do about it.
There is a new album due to come out on March 14th. I am beside myself with anticipation. They’ve snuck out three of the songs already and I’m literally losing my mind over them. The last record they gave us came out in 2020 (Sun Racket) and it is fan-freakin-tastic. This new one… Moonlight Concessions… I cannot wait. I absolutely cannot wait.
The only question left is, are they going to tour. The answer is yes, but as of right now the only shows they’ve announced are in Europe in May. I don’t think I can get to Europe to see them so I am going to have to just sit (im)patiently and wait to see if they announce North American shows. I need to see them. I NEED to see them. The last time I saw them was August 11, 2006 and if I don’t see them again I am going to mentally fall apart forever. No exaggeration at all. I will lose my skull.
But wait, there’s more! Possibly… I don’t know for sure.
Remember that sad time in 1992 or so when Throwing Muses split in two? It was sad at the time but the end result was two bands who were operating on very similar release/tour schedules. We had Muses proper, and we also had Belly. Remember Belly? Gold record, huge hit single, grammy nominations, round the clock MTV airplay. Yeah, you remember. It was almost (not quite, but almost) like having two versions of one of my favorite bands operating at the same time.
Well it turns out Belly is coming back again this year as well. It’s the 30th anniversary of their second record (which should have been a gigantic hit but wasn’t) and they have announced that there will be live shows. We don’t know when or where yet. I never saw Belly live. Even when they got together for short stretches a few years ago, I still haven’t seen them. I saw Tanya Donnelly on her own shortly after they broke up, but I never saw Belly.
This is the year. I don’t know where, when, or how but I NEED it to happen.
I haven’t seen any Muses related artists live since October 6, 2007 when Jen and I experienced the magic of Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donnelly on the same bill at the Brattle Theater and they did a set together and it was amazing. Remember that day?
I need NEED both bands to announce Boston area shows and I need it to happen soon before I go insane and I also need them to be on consecutive days so that they both sit in with each other because that would be pretty much the only thing that could make me feel better as the United States descends into fascism.
Pretty please
My New Years resolutions speculations post from a few weeks ago included seeing more live music this year. I’ll use posts like this one to sort of take notes on shows that may be coming to my neck of the woods (or not) that I would like to try and work up the energy/courage to go see. We’ll see how this list develops over the course of the year.
More to come as the year rolls on. I want 2025 to be a more musical year, but how badly do I want that? I’ll let you know as things develop.
Today is going to be long and difficult. It’s 9:28am and I am already exhausted. Yippee, right?
I got home at about 12:20am this morning. I had a glass of water and went to sleep a little before 1:00. I woke up about 5:30. Yeah, I’m tired.
The show was fun. I think for the first time I may have seen Iron Maiden showing its age a little. We know the drummer had a minor stroke not long ago, and he’s let it be known that there are things that he used to be able to do that he is no longer physically able to do. Was that why the set was somewhat lacking in classics? Maybe. Was that why the band was… and I mean this in the most respectful way possible… somewhat less than tight? Probably not. I mean, as great as a live band as they are let us be frank with ourselves and admit that they were never really that tight. They always had their moments where things would lock in and the results would be spectacular, but over all? Yeah, they could be sloppy. Rhythmically, mostly. Tempos were always a little weird. Guitar leads and vocals would slide in and out of time here and there. These aren’t criticisms at all. Not at all. It’s just how they play. Always has been. It’s just that last night those moments seemed maybe a little more frequent and maybe a little more obvious. Vocally there were some struggles. Timing wise for the most part, but pitch wise too. Bruce is 66 years old. Over all he was amazing, as usual… he just wasn’t quite as perfect as he used to be.
Again, these are not complaints at all. Not even a little bit. They are just observations from a picky music school nerd who clearly loved every second of the show… and I clearly loved every second of the show. It was great.
The highlight for me was Fear of the Dark. I used to think I was the only one around who really dug that song, but the crowd went berserk when they played it. We were in the back row of the middle level and couldn’t see the stage at all if we stood up. Still, when Fear of the Dark started half of the people in front of us stood up and went nuts. I guess I’m not the only one who loves that particular song.
They only hit the first record (still my favorite) once. They played Iron Maiden… the song from the album of the same name from the band of the same name. It was one of those moments where the tempo was alarmingly slow, and Bruce let the crowd sing a lot of it. Totally understandable, but the second that Dave Murray started playing it, your humble narrator here was on cloud nine.
Now if he can also just get through the work day so he can get himself a little more sleep. Hang in there, tired people!
We went to the rock and roll show tonight and saw some nice English kids play fast.
Later tonight I am going to get my frustrations out on some new wave of British heavy metal madness because it is still 1981.
I can practically smell your jealousy.
Inside the Red Head's Head 