GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

It was Friday and events in the UK climaxed with the royal wedding, the fairy tale story of Will and Kate. Thank goodness it is over, no more television shows going into details of what they will be wearing, comparisons to Charles and Diana, pictures of an old stuffy queen. To commemorate the occasion, I decided to listen to the Sex Pistols with their irreverent Anarchy in the UK and God Save the Queen songs.

AS snarling punk idol Johnny Rotten, singer John Lydon famously railed against the monarchy in The Sex Pistols' Seventies anthem God Save The Queen.

So you might not expect him to join well-wishers queuing to congratulate Prince William and Kate. Here he tells SEAN HAMILTON why he wishes them well.

"WHEN I heard William had popped the question to Kate, I had a nice cup of tea for them. Later on, I might even put some bucks fizz in my veins in their honour."

"This is a beautiful love story and I like that. He's done very well for himself - she's bang on the money! He got the No1 contender. "

"People think I hate the Royal Family, but that's not true. My animosity is towards the institution, not the people themselves."

"What I've always resented with the Royals was the austere nonsense that was being propagated."

"But Willy and Katy look like they are genuinely in love and that's all I look for. That's what being a human being is all about. That is what is important in life."

Read it all here:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3233897/God-save-Wills-Katebrsays-Johnny-Rotten.html


I pulled the truck out behind the house around 10 PM. Even though it was the end of April, the skies had clouded over and it began snowing. But I was warmly dressed and the doors were opened up and the stereo cranked to very loud. I was looking forward to a pair of really good recordings.



Sunday morning was spent skiing at Loveland, light snow falling much of the day. Over the course of this past week they received another 20 or so inches of powder, still evident in the trees. May 1st and it still feels like February with 100% of the mountain open!



First up was the Sex Pistols performing at Club Citta in Tokoyo, Japan on November 19, 1996. Great recording. The band did their best to fire up the audience, but Johnny was somewhat disappointed by the audiences response during the encore. "Shut up! I am very disappointed in you! This is not respect. This is stupid old Japanese laziness! Noise!"


Love authority
Pales to the Republicans
Love of cruelty

GOP artists
Picture lovingly painted
With the brush of fraud


Their dark hopes shattered
A people without a cause
Look at the asses

No more argument
The lies have been disproven
Tears in birthers eyes


Southern klansmen's kin
Dress suits for their fathers robes
Dream in black and white

Delusional fringe
No amount of evidence
Minds that can't believe

Is he US born?
Is he a British subject?
Is he circumcised?


Clones call for the same
Questioning his breed of dog
As though it matters

Hourly worker
Puts all faith in millionaires
Hands over his wallet


Carnival barker
Trump speaks to all silly clowns
In his audience

What’s fake? Hair, issues,
Presidential candidate
All of the above


Christ surveys the hate
Commit sorrow in his name
Spear thrust in his side

Kings ride their carriage
With pomp and ceremony
The street sweeper pays


Download it from pilhead:
http://sex-pistols-pil-live.blogspot.com/2010/11/19th-november-1996-club-citta-kanagawa.html



Next up was Nirvana performing at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City on July 23, 1993. Another excellent recording of the entire show. Kurt supposedly overdosed on heroin minutes before the show, but was revived and able to play. This was the first show with Lori Goldston on cello. This was the only show with "Big" John Duncan on second guitar. He played on "Drain You," "Tourette's," "Aneurysm," and "Very Ape." He just played with them once. After that, Pat Smear joined the band as a 2nd guitarist. John Duncan "was the guitar player for the Scottish punk band the Exploited, and he later worked as a roadie/guitar tech for Nirvana/Kurt. He played with them for a few songs in July 1993 at the Roseland Ballroom in NYC. It wasn't really clear who he was or why he was playing with them at the time, but I've since read that it was actually a live 'audition' of sorts, as they were seeking a second guitar player for the In Utero tour.









Download it fron QualityBootz:
http://qualitybootz.blogspot.com/2008/09/nirvana-ny-ny-1993-vg-aud-flac.html

TEQUILA MAKES BAD BRAINS

A friend clued me into the fact that Bad Brains was scheduled to perform at the Summit music Hall on Friday night April 22, 2011. Within minutes I had a ticket waiting for me at will call.



Wikipedia describes then as:

Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of other genres like funk, heavy metal, hip-hop and soul. Bad Brains are also notable as religious followers of the Rastafari movement.

Originally formed as a jazz fusion ensemble under the name Mind Power, Bad Brains developed a very fast and intense punk rock sound which came to be labeled "hardcore", and was often played faster and more emphatically than the music of many of their peers. The unique factor of the band's music was the fact that they played more complex rhythms than that of other hardcore punk bands, also adapting non-punk style guitar riffs and solos into their songs.

Bad Brains broke up and reformed several times over the years, sometimes with different singers and/or drummers. The band's classic and current lineup is singer H.R. (Human Rights), guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer, and drummer Earl Hudson, H.R.'s younger brother.


I arrived just as the doors were opening, wanting to grab a spot at the front rail at the edge of the stage, knowing that a mosh pit would form behind me, having something to lean against when people pushed. Members of Bad Brains roamed the music hall early on. I got Doctor Know to sign my ticket stub. H.R. turned down my offer for a drink while he was standing in the back near the bar. I spent most of the first hour waiting, standing and watching the people gather in the audience behind me.


Other Russia took the stage first followed by Frontside Five. They are a local hardcore/punk/rock band. FF put on a really good show and I hope to check them out online, intent on ordering one of their CDs. Lead vocalist, Brandon Stolz, would periodically would take in a mouthful of beer that he would then spray the audience with. I returned the favor by spraying him with tequila. The crowd was suitable warmed up when they departed the stage.


Bad Brains, a nice mix of punk and reggae. Loud and fast at times, soft and slow, respectively. A fragrant odor hung in the air all night long. I was flying throughout their show, tequila in my veins, hugging the hand rail as the wild crowd behind me surged forward.

The show ended relatively early for a Friday night, so I went over to the diner at Colfax and Speer for a late night snack. Back in bed late that night.


While Bad Brains may not have the frenetic stage energy of three decades ago, the hardcore godfathers still managed to fuel quite a few mosh pits over the course of its 45-minute set at a packed Summit Music Hall.

Early on in the set, the band drew from its 1982 self-titled debut, which Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch dubbed "the best punk/hardcore album of all time," and fired out vigorous takes on "Attitude," "Right Brigade," "Sailin' On" and "The Regulator." On these cuts frontman Paul "HR" Hudson played an Ibanez hollowbody guitar using mostly his thumb, which isn't the easiest thing to do when playing punk. Meanwhile the rest of the band, which included the original line-up of guitarist Dr. Know, bassist Darryl Jenifer and drummer Earl Hudson, all sounded quite tight.

Before slowing it down on the reggae of "Jah Love," from the band's latest effort, 1997's Yauch-produced Build a Nation, a HR put down the guitar and sang the song with his hands in his pants pockets and pretty much standing still. While the next few cuts, "Give Thanks and Praises" and "Universal Peace," also from Build a Nation, packed a lot of punch, HR essentially stood in the same place, hands in pockets. It was kind of surreal juxtaposition seeing HR hardly moving during some of the heavier cuts or the fast as hell hardcore of "F.V.K.," especially after seeing footage of the band at CBGB in 1982 when HR was a frenzied madman on stage.

Following the reggae and dub "I and I Survive," HR almost looked liked he was close to falling asleep during "At the Movies." The band closed out the short set with some powerful takes on "Re-Ignition" and "Pay to Cum" and then ended the night with the one song encore of "I Against I."

Pictures and full review here:
http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2011/04/bad_brains_at_summit_music_hal.php






Download the excellent audience recording here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=84A5NCCT

DURAN DURAN

Very little effort was needed to convince me to go to the sold out show at the Ogden Theater featuring Duran Duran this Wednesday night. I was surprised to see people waiting in a line outside the theater when I drove by shortly before 5 PM. I joined them an hour later, standing 300 feet from the doors.

While having dinner at the Cheeky Monk before the concert I noticed that Governor Hickenlooper was sitting at the adjoining table with a guest. As he was departing I approached him and commented on the fact that I first met him 20 years ago in the basement of the Wynkoop Brewery, he dressed in an apron tending to his beers, commenting that I too am a geologist and that I am now his employee. He made the observation that we have come full circle after 20 years, meeting again under different circumstances. I also congratulated him for his win last November. If he attended the concert, I did not see him, being all the way up front near the stage.



Perhaps one of the most buzzed about tours across the country right now is that of the internationally renowned UK superstars Duran Duran. Denver, CO was lucky enough to score front row tickets with a stop on their tour at the sold out Ogden Theater on April 20, 2011. The more intimate venue served up a rare opportunity for fans to catch an up close and personal glimpse of a band who has sold out arenas. And after receiving some pretty compelling reviews of their performance at Coachella last weekend the crowd eagerly anticipated their own exclusive experience.

Rather than riling up the already eager crowd with an opening act Duran Duran chose to play a 45 minute video montage from their extensive music video library. It served its purpose well as the crowd cheered for their favorite songs and seemed equally as entertained and engaged as they would have been with an opener. And when the lights came up on the band taking the stage so did the energy and electricity in the venue

Read it all here:
http://www.examiner.com/pop-music-in-national/duran-duran-all-you-need-is-now-tour-review-review


Nick Rhodes hasn’t changed at all in more than three decades. Neither have John or Roger Taylor. Simon Le Bon? Aside from growing a rough beard that makes his face just a little more round (and a voice that’s missing some of its youthful squeal from time to time), he also looks timeless. Up close in the tightly packed confines of the Ogden Theatre on Wednesday night, the original members of Duran Duran might have looked even better than I remembered.

And their performance didn’t disappoint. Through 16 songs over 80 minutes, the iconic group delighted a gathering of fans that looked like they’d been at the same party since the video of “Hungry Like The Wolf” was first broadcast. Rhodes and Le Bon sported signature suits with sparkling lapels and boots, and led the band through a set that depended a tad too heavily on material from the new record, this year’s “All You Need Is Now.” It may have been a general lack of familiarity with the new stuff, but the connection to the performance was visibly troubled until the recognizable first notes of their mega-hits jolted the audience back to life.

Read it all here with many more pictures:
http://www.heyreverb.com/2011/04/21/duran-duran-photos/


At least from where I was standing near bass "god" John Taylor, it appeared women outnumbered men three to one. The people I was standing near me were all there to savor JT's handsome looks and moves, screaming and cheering at every opportunity. The opening act, a string of videos featuring songs off their All You Need Is Now album, released here in the US on March 22, 2011. After the third or fourth video, the crowd groaned when a new one appeared on the screen, everyone wanting to get on with the real show.

Had a blast dancing the night away! Too bad it was a week night, not able to cut loose knowing I'd be at work only hours away.






































Download the excellent audience recording here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DJO6PW3K