The Cult In Minneapolis, MN

I was in pure Les Paul guitar bliss at the Cult show at First Avenue last night. Billy Duffy gets the most perfect sound out of that guitar of his. It's my favorite sound in the world.

Three of us left for Minneapolis from work at noon yesterday. We got out of town before 2pm and made great time getting to our hotel and in the room before 6pm. We had heard there was a Hard Rock Cafe across the street from First Avenue so we decided to make it our dining stop. We headed out, figured out where both places were and paid for our parking. As we got a block away from the parking lot, the guy with the tickets realized that HE LEFT THE TICKETS AT THE HOTEL!! What a friend! We hopped back in the car, drove the 6 blocks to the hotel and made him run up to the 4th floor to retrieve the tickets. He put us about 30 minutes behind. Fortunately, the lady at the parking lot remembered us and let us in without paying again.

The Hard Rock is a pretty cool place. I've never been to one before so I was checking out the walls to see what souvenirs they had. There were guitars from Bon Jovi, Steven Tyler, and Bono on the wall as well as drum heads, gold and silver records, and even a shirt and vest from Bob Dylan. The food was expensive, but good. I had the pulled pork (I've been in the mood for barbecue a lot lately! Maybe it's my anxiousness for summer.) and even had the Chocolate Peanut Butter Sundae for dessert. I'm kind of wishing I had some extra cash for a souvenir, but I think I'll probably see some more shows there since it is closer than Kansas City. Oh, and Minneapolis really looks like a city, as opposed to Des Moines.

We got to the venue in time to chill out, literally, for a while before letting us in at 8pm. It was VERY cold since they had just had a blizzard that shut some things down a few days before. There was quite a bit of snow on the ground. We were early enough to get FRONT AND CENTER for this Cult show. They were also recording it live as part of the Instant Live CD's that you can purchase after the show. I had to have this since it was only $25.

The show itself was great. There was no opening band so The Cult went on at 9:15pm to a packed house. This is the venue that Prince filmed Purple Rain in so it is a decent sized club with a nice stage and some great history. We heard the strains of A Clockwork Orange and then the band came out to L'il Devil. The rocked right through Sweet Soul Sister, the Witch, and Peace Dog before Ian had much to say in between songs. He chastised some of the guys for not rocking out as hard as the two girls next to us in front of the stage. It didn't take long for the band to really look like they were having fun and really feeding off the energy of the crowd and it only picked up steam as the show went on. The set consisted of the following:

L'il Devil
Sweet Soul Sister
The Witch
Peace Dog
Revolution
Spiritwalker
In The Clouds
Wonderland
Brother Wolf
Gone
Rise
Rain
Fire Woman
Wildflower
War

The first encore was:

Edie (acoustic)
Electric Ocean
Sanctuary

The second encore:

Love Removal Machine

The intensity of the show spilled over into a stage diver late in the set, but seemed to be at its height during Fire Woman. There were several highlights such as their bass player Chris playing an electric upright bass, the acoustic beginning to their encore with Edie, and the sense of humor both Billy and Ian displayed when talking to us between songs. They were grateful for the large turnout and really seemed to be running on all 8 cylinders during this show. The band was tight with rhythms grooving by John Tempesta and Chris and the awesome crunch and color of Billy's playing.

After the show, we hung out a bit to get our Instant Live CD's and see if we might get some autographs. As I was heading for the restroom, I happened to see Ian signing some things by the stage. I ran back to get one of the friends and we all 3 got autographs from Ian and Billy and got a few words to them of gratitude for putting on such a great show and looking toward the future with new music. I told one of the friends that I had to get the drumstick that John tossed me signed before we left. As we headed outside to see if Johnny T. was on the bus, this particular friend though we had no chance of meeting Tempesta, but then got shocked when we met the tour manager and he led us back into the venue through the back to find JT. We couldn't find him inside so the manager tried calling JT's cell phone. After not getting an answer, he told us that eventually JT had to come out to the bus so we were welcome to hang around until then. My negative friend still hung outside waiting, but was about to give up as I headed back to the front of the venue. As I was walking to the building John Tempesta happened to be walking toward me. He saw that I had his drumstick and I struck up conversation with him about the show. He stopped and my friends came running up to get their CD's signed. Once we finished visiting with John, it was time to head back to the hotel. Rock N Roll Mission Accomplished!

We were rocked by a band I have always liked, but have never been a huge fan of. Now I'm a much bigger fan and will see them any time they are in the area. They are great guys with good humor and really enjoy what they are doing. It's infectious in a good way. Check them out on tour when you have the opportunity and get the Instant Live CD so you can relive your memory any time. We checked mine out in the car on the way back from Minnesota today and it was a great quality recording of last night's show. Hopefully these guys will get some new music out soon and keep making things fresh and new with new tours as well.

March 11 Update

I have the girls here a second weekend in a row. I had to trade due to working on a Saturday next week, which doesn't happen often. It looks like it's going to be a great weekend and the girls are anxious to do something outdoors. I've been sick with a sinus infection or something the last couple weeks, but I'm up for anything when they are here.

I purchased Petra's Farewell DVD, which just came out this week. It's only $10!! I'm watching it now and I can't wait to get to the medley's when former Petra members join them on stage. Now if only they'd put all the other Petra videos on DVD...

There are some CD's I just can't get out of my system lately. I've recommended Crashdiet and Hardcore Superstar before and still highly recommend them. I'm adding a few to the mix, though. Billy Idol's Devil's Playground is a great CD that doesn't get old. It's fresh and a little edgier than some of his older stuff. Superchick's Beauty From Pain is a fun CD. I have it in when the girls are in the car. They also enjoy, as I do, Bon Jovi's Have A Nice Day. I created a 16 track version of that CD with the 3 bonus tracks from the Japanese release. One I started listening to this week is The69Eyes. I'm still not sure about that singer since he sings in a low voice like old Bowie or Type O Negative, but it fits the sound and the style is good. It's kind of a got/sleaze if there is such a thing. Warrant has a new one called Born Again coming out. I will be purchasing it when it comes out, but I have the leaked version currently. It has some great songs on it. Angels, Hell CA, and Good Times are some of my favorites and I can't wait to see them performed live.

I finally got my new phone in on Wednesday. It's one of those that works over cable internet. I can't tell any difference in the few calls I've made. It actually seems to be a little louder and clearer. Mediacom made a deal with Sprint to offer this service. I called my dad with the first call from it and then my daughters got the next call. I'm not a big phone talker, but with free long distance that could change at least a little.

I'm looking forward to The Cult concert next Wednesday. My friend Richard is a HUGE Cult fan and he is pretty pumped for it, too. It's good to attend shows with people as excited as you are. We plan on having a great time and coming back the next day. I told him I'm hoping my recent luck at shows helps him meet his idols, but we shall see. We should be down front, though!

One last thing... Check out www.godsfort.org/godtalk for some great conversations. There have been more people getting involved and you don't have to be from the church to get involved. It's free to register and maybe some of your questions can be answered or you'll make some great friends online.

The Move Is Over

These last two weeks were a pretty decent move for a change. The new landlord gave us the 20th-28th at no charge to get things moved. It's so nice being able to move slowly without having to cram everything into one or two days and have boxes all over the place. Most eveything is unpacked, but there are some small things left to do. All of the big things are in place except for the basement. Everything that belongs down there is there, but needs to be arranged. I'm letting the roommates take care of that at their leisure.

The girls are here this weekend and they really like the new house. They were pretty excited about this being their first weekend at the new house. Because there is only one bathroom, there are a few habits to get used to. Thankfully, the new one has a fan! :) I still have to finish the kitchen, but I'm using the dishwasher to get everything clean before putting it away. Oh, the new place has a dishwasher, too. :)

It's interesting living next door to a nursing home and at the end of a dead end street. Parking is something to get used to. We have one long driveway that has enough room for all 4 vehicles. On weekends we are able to use the nursing home parking lot if needed. Due to differing work schedules, we have to work out this parking arrangement. The street is narrower and the neighbors across the street park in front of our house. Just a new arrangement to get used to.

Thankfully there isn't much left to do to unpack, but THE MOVE IS OVER! Now if we can only stay here longer than 18 months...

Naked Beggars in Clear Lake, IA

Way more than I expected! This was an $8 show and worth so much more. There is not reason this band shouldn't be headlining much bigger venues.

J-Dub and I hit the road and got to the venue at 8pm. We were told the show started at 8:30pm, but it turns out that Naked Beggars didn't go on until about 10pm. Thankfully, there was a nearby sports bar to grab some barbecue. The opening band sounded like some 70's band with older guys and they weren't very good. Some songs too fast, others too slow, bad vocals, and no stage presence at all. Fortunately, some of the members of Naked Beggars were wandering around before the show so I got both CD's signed and had time to slip on a Get Naked shirt.

I was able to meet Kris, Kristine, Inga, Eric, and Shawn. Kris was soft spoken, but kind and told me he played a Les Paul mostly, which is my favorite. Since all I had previously heard was the three song sampler from Spit It Out, I wasn't sure what to expect for a stage show and how the musicianship would translate. Kris helped allay my fears when mentioning a Les Paul through a Marshall stack. Inga is just a ball of energy and very excited about the band and the music. She was moving and singing along to the opening band when they started doing Buckcherry's Lit Up. She mentioned doing an acoustic tour this summer while Cinderella are on the road, so I'm hoping they hit Des Moines. Shawn played drums for Bret Michael's single Driven. After the show he signed a broken drumstick for me. Eric was soft spoken and polite. He didn't stick around very long, but was gracious and signed the CD's for me.

Kristine was my favorite! It turns out she used to live in Ft. Scott, KS, and my lil bro married a girl from there. My lil bro has a brother-in-law I'll call PW and Kristine and I both know him. That was kind of a "small world" experience as we were both shocked that we had a common friend. She actually remembered mine and J-Dub's names after the show, too. She has such a great personality and I hope she goes very far with this band. Oh, and she's also a nurse! So awesome and I hope I see her again this summer with the band in Des Moines. (She's hot, too!)

The show was great. So much stage presence, great songs, total confidence in what they are doing, and Inga can really work a stage with the best of them. I'm sure I have a set list around here somewhere, but have misplaced it in the move temporarily. They did 10 cuts from the new CD and paced them perfectly throughout the show. There were some cuts from the original and even a few Cinderella tunes! Jeff puts on quite the show as he always does, but his personality seems to come out more here. Eric held down the bottom end with a quiet confidence and truly looked like the music moves him. He and Inga had some fun playfulness on stage, too. Kris also had a quiet confidence on stage and just ripped those rhythms and riffs as tight as could be. Shawn played a left handed setup and was phenominal. He has such a heavy sound that I could feel in my chest. His drum solo was full of rhythms that kept us all watching, while showing off his skills. Kristine proved her versatility by playing keys, singing some great harmonies, and then came out with the violin! She just really added a great dimension to the music with some honky tonk keys, great synth tones, and the violin worked perfectly in these songs. This band works together well and truly puts on a performance greater than the sum of their parts.

After the show, the band came out to meet everyone there. Unfortunately there wasn't a big crowd, but they certainly had fun with those of us that did show up to support them. They took lots of pictures, signed everything anyone asked them to (including some drunk guy's back side - Kristine had the perfect comment that she was used to seeing old people's butts and it wasn't bad for his age - the things they have to be nice about...), and generally had a good time promoting the band.

I will be e-mailing Inga some information on places to play in Des Moines and doing my best to spread the word about this awesome band. Jeff and Eric will be on tour with Cinderella as they trek with Poison this summer so I will catch them a few times this year. Shawn is taking the summer to work on some other projects he has brewing. Inga, Kris, and Kristine will be doing the acoustic shows. Get Naked...Beggars on CD and go see their shows. They rock and really connect live.

Superchick In Earlham, IA

Yes, I actually like some of this stuff. Superchick is on their This Is Your Anthem Tour with Eleventy Seven and Seventh Day Slumber. This is an interesting mix of bands and a little something for all ages. I took my daughters and we went with several in our church.

Eleventy Seven went on first and they are a pop punk trio that would be compared to Good Charlotte or any other pop punk band on the radio these days. They were fun, but nothing out of the ordinary. They did get all the teens, tweens, and kids singing along with I Want It That Way, a Backstreet Boys cover.

Superchick actually went on second due to SDS being broken down on the highway and trying to make it to the church on time to get a set in. It wasn't a bad thing having Superchick on next since there were so many young kids dying to see this group. Superchick went on in full pink and black mode and took this small crowd by storm. They did a lot of their popular songs such as One Girl Revolution, Princes And Frogs, and Bowling Ball. My youngest daughter was jumping, clapping, and singing along in front of me just a few feet from the stage. The band was tight and they had such catchy choruses that you couldn't help but cheer them on. I will make sure my daughters have any CD by this group that they want.

Barely making it in time was Seventh Day Slumber. They played only 3-4 songs and then the singer rambled on about himself and Compassion International for quite some time. The songs had a couple of good riffs, but these types of bands that basically play their songs like they would on an acoustic guitar only louder are a dime a dozen. There is no originality in the music under the melody. They don't stand out musically. Once they played the few songs they did it became such a gab fest that the band was tearing down their equipment while the singer kept talking. When he finally wrapped up there were several asking for one more tune and he had to apologize since so much equipment was already put away. This was very stupid on the band's part to allow that to happen. At least they were last and my girls were able to get some rest.

Superchick is fantastic and well worth the time. Check them out if you can.

Nine Inch Nails In Des Moines, IA

I think I finally got it. I've never been a big fan and really wondered why the band got as big as it did, but I think I finally get the appeal of Nine Inch Nails. Brutal is a word I would use to describe the beginning of this show. They came out ready to destroy the world, it seemed. The lights were spot on. The rhythms as tight as can be. The energy was non-stop. The musicianship first class. Everything about this show was well done, until the lull in the middle. They started the show behind a curtain and the lull started when they brought the curtain back down and ran video on it. It was entertaining still, but not as full of energy as the beginning of the show. Thankfully, as they pulled up the curtain the pace started to pick back up and finally reached the high energy for the last three songs.

The set list was as follows:
Mr. Self Destruct
Sin
Terrible Lie
The Line Begins To Blur
March Of The Pigs
The Frail/The Wretched
Closer
The Big Come Down
Burn
Gave Up
Eraser
Right Where It Belongs
Beside You In Time
With Teeth
Wish
Only
Everyday Is Exactly The Same
Even Deeper
Suck
Hurt
The Hand That Feeds
Starfu(k3rs, Inc.
Head Like A Hole

I didn't know many of these songs to begin with and couldn't wait to hear The Hand That Feeds live, but the others were well worth it. I will be getting more of Trent Reznor's music and have become a bit of a fan now.

Recommended Listening

Check out these CD's!! I can't get them off the stereo. They are kicking my musical backside!

Crashdiet - Rest In Sleaze
Hardcore Superstar - Hardcore Superstar

Both are 2005 releases and rock from beginning to end.

Also grab some CD's from Bang Tango and Pretty Boy Floyd. Pretty Boy Floyd is working on a reunion and Bang Tango has a new CD called From The Hip that will be released in May.

Metal In America 2006

I had the time of my life in Cedar Rapids last night for the Metal In America 2006 tour. I returned at 8AM this morning! It was so good!

I picked up J-Dub at 5:30pm to hit the road. We arrived at Muddy Waters about 8PM or so. Muddy Waters is an unusually shaped bar and is above their restaurant. We only went through the restaurant on the way in. The stage didn't have a lot of room in front of it, but there was room for the hardcore. The sound board wasn't far from the stage. We hung out in front of the stage and left about 3 feet of room for the bands to tear down after opener All But Screaming.

ABS has a frontman who plays rhythm guitar without the use of his right hand. He straps on a pick and uses it to play. They are a good band that had one song that really stood out for me called Build It Up. I talked to a guy from Muddy's who really liked this band and he told me that they are a Christian rock band that plays there frequently. Not a bad band, but I was there for the main three bands, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bang Tango, and Stephen Pearcy.

Bang Tango and Pretty Boy Floyd shared the same backing band. Only the singers were different. The band is the current lineup of Bang Tango and two of the guys also are in Beautiful Creatures. Steve Summers was on first as Pretty Boy Floyd and he rocked the house! Everyone was singing along and we were louder than he thought so the parts where he'd get a sing-along going didn't go as long as he'd planned since we were totally into the show. It surprised him and the band as to how many were singing along. He opened with Rock N Roll Outlaws and Leather Boys With Electric Toyz and then proceeded to play Good Girls Gone Bad from their 5 song EP. I'd been singing along with that song earlier in the day while listening to their music. He did the first Motley Crue cover of the night, Toast Of The Town next. On his set list he has Your Momma as the next tune, but skipped that to do I Wanna Be With You. He asked for and received some Jager shots and asked for and received a couple pairs of breasts so this felt like a rock n roll show. He did another Motley cover of Live Wire and then had us singing Shut Up. He closed with 48 Hours and Rock N Roll Is Gonna Set The Night On Fire and then told us he'd be back at the merch table.

This is where the night took an interesting twist. I was one of the first back to the merch table and I'd been anxious to see how much the PBF DVD was going for as I'd love to have it. While chatting with Steve at the table, I volunteered to help him out with things to keep his line moving so he could chat with the fans more. He actually took me up on it!! I was stunned, but went behind the table and learned where everything was and what it was going for. He took in some good cash for the night and sold quite a few shirts, CD's, DVD's, and photos. I helped make sure he knew what needed to be signed and who it was going to. I also had to keep track of my sharpies! He met a lot of the people there and then asked who I had come with to the show. I introduced him to J-Dub and they briefly talked about the last time we saw PBF on the Sludge tour. J-Dub had a picture of him and Steve and got it signed.

When the line had dwindled and it was getting time for Bang Tango to go on, Steve invited me and J-Dub out to the bus. We made sure the merch table was fine and then headed out. The bus was locked! Steve was feeling pretty good and asked what we wanted to do. I told him it would be hilarious to go to the front of the stage during Bang Tango and rock out for a bit. I was sure the guys in the band would get a kick out of seeing Steve down front like a fan. We made our way through the crowd with me leading the way and holding Steve's beer. He jumped up over the front of the stage to the side area and the security guy had me follow. Steve let the crew know I was with him and was ok. We stood back there and rocked out for a few tunes. Steve even jumped up on stage while Joe Leste (Bang Tango/Beautiful Creatures singer) was talking. Joe got a laugh from that and then Steve came back over to the side. Unbeknownst to me, Steve had procured the key to the bus while we were back there. He had me help keep an eye on his jacket since the merch cash had been taped inside it. We hopped the bar, instead of going back through the crowd, and headed out to the bus while BT played the rest of their set. J-Dub joined us and we sat in the back of the bus chatting and J-Dub and Steve had large shots of Jack Daniels. Steve called them Hollywood Shots.

Steve was very gracious to us and shared some stories, some laughs, and made sure we "were all on the same page" for the evening. This meant that we needed to make more cash and pick up girls for after the show. Steve had me take care of the bus key and the change needed for the next round at the merch table. When we got back in the club, BT had finished and was back at the merch table, too. There were jokes about which band was selling which merch and they were teasing about giving away free PBF shirts. I think Steve did very well merch-wise since he had more baby doll shirts and CD's. Bang Tango wasn't selling any BT CD's, but did have the import version of Beautiful Creatures' Deuce. I had to pick one up myself and get them to sign it. I introduced myself to the band and Joe even leaned over later asking who I was since I was asking him to sign some of their stuff. I told him I was just glad to help out both bands with what I could, but of course, I was really trying to help Steve out the most since he seemed to be doing quite well with a couple of ladies as the night wore on.

Stephen Pearcy and the Rat Bastards took the stage while we were at the merch table. I got to see most of their set on the big screens that Muddy's had around the bar. I could only see heads from the back of the bar. I heard some great Ratt tunes, a new song, and Nothing To Lose, an Arcade tune. I could see Chuck Wright having a great time and I think he has become my favorite bass player. That guy has so much class and I got to say hello to him twice. He has played with so many people and when I told him that I'd miss hearing him with Quiet Riot on the new CD as they had planned last summer, he said to "tell them that".

We were behind the merch table throughout the entire Pearcy set and the guys from BT and Steve wandered around at the back of the club meeting people. Pearcy's band had no merch to sell and didn't stick around to meet people. Chuck Wright was the only one I noticed that came back in and visited with people.

After the club started clearing out, I packed up the merch bin for PBF and then carried it out to the bus. The crew guys were great and invited me onto the bus. (HUGE THANK YOU TO MARK ROJAS FOR GRABBING MY DVD'S THAT I'D LEFT BY THE STAGE!! Mark, you are the man!) We hung out for a while and heard that there were a lot of people heading out to The Lumberyard II. I grabbed the car, found J-Dub sleeping in it since the JD had gotten to him early in Pearcy's set, and followed the band out to this club. I fully was prepared to pay to get in and be responsible for myself, but the crew made sure that me and a few other fans were brought in with the band and taken to the VIP section. It was a blast hanging out with the band and crew there. We were telling jokes, talking to and about the girls, and stayed until the place closed. We went back to the bus and Joe disappeared into Steve's back of the bus area with a married couple. We have NO IDEA what they were up to, but had plenty of laughs speculating. I hung out with those guys until 4:45AM and then said my thanks and goodbyes.

I wish I could remember everyone's name, but huge thanks to Mark again for grabbing my things, the other crew guy (geez, I wish I could remember his name because he was a real bro) for including me, Tim and Mark and their bass player (this guy was just cool and had a straight face when trying to get me in trouble by suggesting I go knock on the back door to say bye to Joe...which I did...) for the laughs and stories and for treating me like one of the guys, Joe Leste for being cool and letting me help hawk a few of their things for them, and most of all, the awesome, laid-back, most cool front man I've ever met, Steve Summers! Steve, you are a true brother and I hope you guys have a blast on the rest of the tour. Thanks for trusting and I hope I came through good for you at the merch table. It was an honor, a treat, and a real blast getting to meet a true rock star in the best sense of all that implies. You guys deserve the best!

Please go support these bands. It was only $10 for the concert at this venue and you'll have a great time checking out a very tight band and some great rock n roll! AND BUY THEIR STUFF!!

We Are Moving!

We got the house!! As I previously posted, we have to move due to our landlord selling the house we are currently renting. We had looked at a few houses and found one we liked last week, but it was rented out the very next day It would have been awesome since it had so much room. The house we found is more expensive, but about the same size as where we are and in a kind of hidden away area. It's closer to downtown, too. I'm pretty excited and the landlord will let us start moving in about a week before the end of the month. Moving is always a hard thing to do, but this should be a good move. I just hope it's a place we can be for a few years.

Struggles

I have a friend of mine who brought up an interesting dilemma that I'm sure many people face.

She has recently become single again after a few years of marriage. She has been reluctant to get back into the church due to the issue of sex outside of marriage. It's not that she knows she won't be accepted into a church flaws and all, but it's her overriding guilt keeping her from going.

Having been married myself, I know what a struggle this can be, which is probably why we aren't supposed to be getting divorced in the first place. Well, part of the reason... This is a difficult issue. You get married and enjoy the benefits of it and then it's taken from you while at a young age. The Scriptures tell us that we aren't to remarry, either. In today's day and age the marriage partner doesn't have to have a reason for the divorce other than "irreconcilable differences". I know my marriage was taken from me this way and I didn't have one thing I could do about it. The decision was not mine as I don't believe in that option.

How do you go back to being celibate again after enjoying the benefits of marriage? If you aren't allowed to remarry and you're still young, what are you to do? I know God loves us anyway, but He hates the sin and who wants to be in that position to live in sin whether you remarry or not? If you remarry, you are committing adultery and the same for having sex outside of marriage.

What a conundrum, eh?

Now, I wasn't a virgin when I got married and I haven't been exactly faithful to my marriage vows since the divorce. It's hard to put that genie back in the bottle. It's probably the only regret I have in life that I didn't wait until I was married. It has been over a year, though, and it's been a difficult year.

You can't explain things away or justify actions. You have to be honest with yourself and do your best. God loves us in spite of our flaws. Knowing that doesn't make anything easier, but knowing God does make it harder since you are aware of right and wrong. Is this how Adam and Eve felt once they knew the difference?