Monday, December 10, 2007
John Mellencamp Live Albany NY 12.08.07 - Authority Song
John Mellencamp performing his hit "Authority Song" live at Albany, NY's Times Union Center on December 8, 2007. This was his encore.
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John Mellencamp Live Albany NY 12.08.07 - Crumblin' Down
John Mellencamp performing his hit "Crumblin' Down" live at Albany, NY's Times Union Center on December 8, 2007.
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John Mellencamp Live Albany NY 12.08.07 - Check It Out
John Mellencamp performing his hit "Check It Out" live at Albany, NY's Times Union Center on December 8, 2007.
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Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Shaw Blades
Buy Shaw-Blades Influence
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Buy Shaw-Blades Hallucinationon amazon.com
on amazon.comBuy Shaw-Blades Hallucination
on amazon.comWell this was a weekend I was looking forward to for a while. With the Shaw-Blades concert Friday night and the Q103 Viva Van Vegas contest on Saturday night it had all the makings of it being a good one. And when I found out for sure earlier this week that my friend Dina would definitely be coming up to go to the concert with me, I was really pumped. Dina's one of about twelve people on this planet I would actually die for and almost all the rest of that dozen are family members.
She made the 4 hour trek up here on Friday and brought her 12 year old daughter along with her. Original plans were to have my 2 daughters here as well with my oldest (16 year old) doing the babysitting of my friend's daughter and my other 11 year old daughter. Well, my oldest bailed on me because she's in a new play and had rehearsal that night. So the two girls were going to go up to my parents' house and we would either pick them up after the concert or they would spend the night there. That plan got nixed as well. I was planning on bringing them up to my parents then taking Dina out to Olive Garden for dinner before the show. But the girls insisted they would be OK alone and Dina thought they would be fine as well. So we ordered a couple pizzas, ate here and then left for the show. Dina's daughter seemed a little apprehensive to me when we left and I mentioned that to Dina in the car, but Dina said that wasn't the case...that Abbey had something else on her mind that might have been bothering her. That eased my mind somewhat.
Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY is where the show was. It's about an hour from my house. I had told Dina this. Turns out Dina thought I was exaggerating some. She said that when people on Long Island say it takes an hour to get somewhere it usually means 10 minutes. lol. Anyway, we get there a little after 7:30, go to the will call window where my name was a-waiting and in we go. My buddy Scottie B. was there and we hung out with him through the opening act (The Velmas) who did a really good job. They're one of those local bands that you pretty much can't go wrong with every time you see them like The Clay People and Ten Year Vamp....but this is the first time I've seen them do an acoustic set and it was really impressive.
But when it was time for Shaw/Blades we made our way up closer to the stage. It's Dina's goal in life to meet Tommy Shaw. She loves the guy's music (don't we all?) and has come close to meeting him a couple of times but for some reason, it just eludes her. This night would prove to be no different in that regard. I've always been a fan of Styx, the band where Shaw gained his fame, but when I was a senior in high school, Night Ranger became my favorite band and remained my favorite band for many years. Jack Blades was the bassist and shared lead vocal duties in that band. Years later, Jack Blades and Tommy Shaw would be together in a band called Damn Yankees. Maybe you've heard of them. Some guy named Ted Nugent was in that band too. Their show was nothing short of awesome. After the show was over, Dina went and bought herself a tour t-shirt and we walked out of the club around 11:45....
The show went much later than we anticipated....
As I said, Dina's lifelong goal is to meet Tommy Shaw. I had tried emailing various people associated with the tour to try and get backstage passes so she could do just that but to no avail. We decide to walk around the back of the club to where the tour bus would be parked to see if we can still make this meeting happen...
There is no cell phone service inside the club. They just don't work inside the building for some reason....
We're outside starting to walk around the club when both of our cell phones go off indicating we have voice mails. Dina's is from her daughter. Mine is from my mother. Abbey and Erica (my daughter) were nervous wrecks. It had gotten very windy that night and the wind was causing a strange vibration at the front door. This vibration was creeping the girls out. Erica had called my mother. Everybody was nervous that something may have happened to Dina and me because they couldn't get hold of us. So Dina is talking to Abbey and I call my mother back who is explaining to me what happened. We get around the back of the club and are approaching the tour bus when Dina indicates to me to turn around. Abbey is a wreck so we just get back to the car and drive home. Dina keeps Abbey on the phone the whole time we're driving back to try and keep her mind at ease. We get back to my house around 1:00 AM....
Which is where Dina pisses me off. I love this woman to death...I truly do...but every time we get together, which is rare, she has to do something to piss me off lol. I wanted her to take my bed while I took the couch. She and Abbey could have slept in there together...but no...she ends up crashing on one of my couches while Abbey sleeps on the other. She just refused to take a bed and I was somewhat aggravated over that. I don't want my guests to be uncomfortable....especially ones I care a great deal about. I know damn well she didn't sleep well despite her telling me she did. They left here a little before 11:00 AM Saturday morning. I always hate saying goodbye to her whenever we get together just because there's no knowing how long it will be before we see each other again.
Saturday night found me at Graney's in Albany trying to win a trip to Vegas to see Van Halen on Dec. 30 and spend New Year's Eve there. With a whole radio station staff rooting for me to win....hell, let's face it, the whole damn country was rooting for me to win...I was a shoo-in. OK, I exaggerate some. There was one guy at the radio station who was rooting for a hot chick but I'm pretty sure he just wanted to get in her pants.
This was a last man standing contest...last name drawn among those who qualified would win the trip. A person I befriended from a couple of past Q103 events had also qualified. Her name is Nancy. We were having fun hanging out together and joking around about who was going to win. First name drawn was a woman named Nancy. Second name drawn was a Dave. Different last names though and we laughed about it. In the fourth or fifth round of names being drawn, Nancy's was the fourth name drawn out of five. I immediately said to her, "That means I'm next." I was. That was just plain weird. And so, neither of us won. I was hoping she would win if I didn't, but, alas, it wasn't meant to be. After that, she and the friend she was there with left. I had one more club soda (yeah, I'm wild like that) and headed downtown to where my buddy Jeff Mrozek, who's the afternoon jock on the station, was playing at the Skyline with his band "Mrozek and the Dirty Girls". Stayed for a couple of sets and dragged my tired ass home.
Waiting for pictures from Dina from the Shaw/Blades show as once again, big bad security dude tells me I have to put my camera-that-looks-better-than-it-actually-is away after I snapped only a couple of pictures. Ironically, Dina's camera probably takes better pics than mine does but because it's smaller, it's ok. When are these fucktards gonna learn? When I get them, I'll post some.
She made the 4 hour trek up here on Friday and brought her 12 year old daughter along with her. Original plans were to have my 2 daughters here as well with my oldest (16 year old) doing the babysitting of my friend's daughter and my other 11 year old daughter. Well, my oldest bailed on me because she's in a new play and had rehearsal that night. So the two girls were going to go up to my parents' house and we would either pick them up after the concert or they would spend the night there. That plan got nixed as well. I was planning on bringing them up to my parents then taking Dina out to Olive Garden for dinner before the show. But the girls insisted they would be OK alone and Dina thought they would be fine as well. So we ordered a couple pizzas, ate here and then left for the show. Dina's daughter seemed a little apprehensive to me when we left and I mentioned that to Dina in the car, but Dina said that wasn't the case...that Abbey had something else on her mind that might have been bothering her. That eased my mind somewhat.
Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY is where the show was. It's about an hour from my house. I had told Dina this. Turns out Dina thought I was exaggerating some. She said that when people on Long Island say it takes an hour to get somewhere it usually means 10 minutes. lol. Anyway, we get there a little after 7:30, go to the will call window where my name was a-waiting and in we go. My buddy Scottie B. was there and we hung out with him through the opening act (The Velmas) who did a really good job. They're one of those local bands that you pretty much can't go wrong with every time you see them like The Clay People and Ten Year Vamp....but this is the first time I've seen them do an acoustic set and it was really impressive.
But when it was time for Shaw/Blades we made our way up closer to the stage. It's Dina's goal in life to meet Tommy Shaw. She loves the guy's music (don't we all?) and has come close to meeting him a couple of times but for some reason, it just eludes her. This night would prove to be no different in that regard. I've always been a fan of Styx, the band where Shaw gained his fame, but when I was a senior in high school, Night Ranger became my favorite band and remained my favorite band for many years. Jack Blades was the bassist and shared lead vocal duties in that band. Years later, Jack Blades and Tommy Shaw would be together in a band called Damn Yankees. Maybe you've heard of them. Some guy named Ted Nugent was in that band too. Their show was nothing short of awesome. After the show was over, Dina went and bought herself a tour t-shirt and we walked out of the club around 11:45....
The show went much later than we anticipated....
As I said, Dina's lifelong goal is to meet Tommy Shaw. I had tried emailing various people associated with the tour to try and get backstage passes so she could do just that but to no avail. We decide to walk around the back of the club to where the tour bus would be parked to see if we can still make this meeting happen...
There is no cell phone service inside the club. They just don't work inside the building for some reason....
We're outside starting to walk around the club when both of our cell phones go off indicating we have voice mails. Dina's is from her daughter. Mine is from my mother. Abbey and Erica (my daughter) were nervous wrecks. It had gotten very windy that night and the wind was causing a strange vibration at the front door. This vibration was creeping the girls out. Erica had called my mother. Everybody was nervous that something may have happened to Dina and me because they couldn't get hold of us. So Dina is talking to Abbey and I call my mother back who is explaining to me what happened. We get around the back of the club and are approaching the tour bus when Dina indicates to me to turn around. Abbey is a wreck so we just get back to the car and drive home. Dina keeps Abbey on the phone the whole time we're driving back to try and keep her mind at ease. We get back to my house around 1:00 AM....
Which is where Dina pisses me off. I love this woman to death...I truly do...but every time we get together, which is rare, she has to do something to piss me off lol. I wanted her to take my bed while I took the couch. She and Abbey could have slept in there together...but no...she ends up crashing on one of my couches while Abbey sleeps on the other. She just refused to take a bed and I was somewhat aggravated over that. I don't want my guests to be uncomfortable....especially ones I care a great deal about. I know damn well she didn't sleep well despite her telling me she did. They left here a little before 11:00 AM Saturday morning. I always hate saying goodbye to her whenever we get together just because there's no knowing how long it will be before we see each other again.
Saturday night found me at Graney's in Albany trying to win a trip to Vegas to see Van Halen on Dec. 30 and spend New Year's Eve there. With a whole radio station staff rooting for me to win....hell, let's face it, the whole damn country was rooting for me to win...I was a shoo-in. OK, I exaggerate some. There was one guy at the radio station who was rooting for a hot chick but I'm pretty sure he just wanted to get in her pants.
This was a last man standing contest...last name drawn among those who qualified would win the trip. A person I befriended from a couple of past Q103 events had also qualified. Her name is Nancy. We were having fun hanging out together and joking around about who was going to win. First name drawn was a woman named Nancy. Second name drawn was a Dave. Different last names though and we laughed about it. In the fourth or fifth round of names being drawn, Nancy's was the fourth name drawn out of five. I immediately said to her, "That means I'm next." I was. That was just plain weird. And so, neither of us won. I was hoping she would win if I didn't, but, alas, it wasn't meant to be. After that, she and the friend she was there with left. I had one more club soda (yeah, I'm wild like that) and headed downtown to where my buddy Jeff Mrozek, who's the afternoon jock on the station, was playing at the Skyline with his band "Mrozek and the Dirty Girls". Stayed for a couple of sets and dragged my tired ass home.
Waiting for pictures from Dina from the Shaw/Blades show as once again, big bad security dude tells me I have to put my camera-that-looks-better-than-it-actually-is away after I snapped only a couple of pictures. Ironically, Dina's camera probably takes better pics than mine does but because it's smaller, it's ok. When are these fucktards gonna learn? When I get them, I'll post some.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Chris Cornell Rocks Northern Lights
There are only a handful or so of artists who can actually move me with their voice.
Freddie Mercury, Geoff Tate, Robert Plant, Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, Ann & Nancy Wilson, Delbert McClinton, Steven Tyler, Steve Perry, Layne Staley and Ian Astbury are some examples of those that can.
And Chris Cornell is another. Back when grunge and the whole Seattle sound began to change the course of rock music, I wasn't into it. It wasn't my thing. Nirvana didn't do it for me. In fact, I hated the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit", which is probably the song that can be looked back on and pointed to as the song that changed rock and roll. Pearl Jam was just OK to me.
But then I heard Alice in Chains (Layne Staley) and Soundgarden (Chris Cornell). And that was when I started to embrace the "Seattle sound". It made me start to appreciate Pearl Jam more. I still didn't like Nirvana. I don't really know why. To this day, I still hate "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
The other night, November 10,2007, Chris Cornell rolled into Clifton Park, NY to play a sold out show at a club called Northern Lights.
Freddie Mercury, Geoff Tate, Robert Plant, Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, Ann & Nancy Wilson, Delbert McClinton, Steven Tyler, Steve Perry, Layne Staley and Ian Astbury are some examples of those that can.
And Chris Cornell is another. Back when grunge and the whole Seattle sound began to change the course of rock music, I wasn't into it. It wasn't my thing. Nirvana didn't do it for me. In fact, I hated the song "Smells Like Teen Spirit", which is probably the song that can be looked back on and pointed to as the song that changed rock and roll. Pearl Jam was just OK to me.
But then I heard Alice in Chains (Layne Staley) and Soundgarden (Chris Cornell). And that was when I started to embrace the "Seattle sound". It made me start to appreciate Pearl Jam more. I still didn't like Nirvana. I don't really know why. To this day, I still hate "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
The other night, November 10,2007, Chris Cornell rolled into Clifton Park, NY to play a sold out show at a club called Northern Lights.
The opening band was an act by the name of Earl Greyhound, a 3 piece group out of NYC that absolutely rocked the place. They really should have had more than 30 minutes to play. A really good Zeppelinesque band. Check out their website at earlgreyhound.com. You can buy their latest album here.
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Chris Cornell took the stage a little before 10:00 PM. The band started out with an instrumental intro and then Cornell came out to a huge ovation and launched into "Let Me Drown". At one point he mentioned that he thought it had been about 15 years since he played in Albany. He also remarked that he had never seen a club so packed. And it was. We were shoulder to shoulder and whenever somebody needed to (or wanted to) make their way through the crowd, it was havoc. He also commented that "Madison Square Garden doesn't get this loud...trust me." And I believe it. The crowd was totally into it. And it was obvious that he was feeding off that energy. He covered material from all his projects...Soundgarden, Audioslave, Temple of the Dog, and his solo material.
He played until 12:30 AM including the encore, which itself was about 35 minutes long. Not your typical come out and do one or two songs and say good night encore. It was a 35 minute jam/medley. In the middle of his set, he did a 6 or 7 song acoustic set which consisted of just Cornell and an acoustic guitar. That portion of the set ended with my favorite Audioslave song "Doesn't Remind Me" which started out acoustically but during that performance the band made its way back onstage and halfway through it became electric and that was how the rest of the show went.
I didn't keep notes myself, but I did a search for the setlist and this is what I found...it seems to be fairly accurate:
I didn't keep notes myself, but I did a search for the setlist and this is what I found...it seems to be fairly accurate:
Let Me Drown
Outshined
Say Hello 2 Heaven
Rusty Cage
Billie Jean
Can't Change Me
Wide Awake
All Night Thing
I am the Highway
Scar on the Sky
You've Got to Hide Your Love Away
Like A Stone
Doesn't Remind Me
Pushin' Forward Back
Ty Cobb
Cochise
Out of Exile
Arms Around Your Love
Spoonman
Show Me How to Live
What You Are
Jesus Christ Pose
No Such Thing
Black Hole Sun
Be Yourself
Encore:
You Know My Name
Sunshower
Slaves & Bulldozers/4th of July/Overfloater/Whole Lotta Love
That came from this site.
Note the date change on the picture. This one was taken during the encore which was after midnight.
It was an incredible show. Cornell's voice still moves me. The guy can sing like nobody's business...there's no doubt about it. Check out the videos from the show...the links are over there on the left. You can see some more still pictures from the show that I took by going to my MySpace page, clicking on View My: Pics and clicking on the folder titled Chris Cornell 11.10.07
It was an incredible show. Cornell's voice still moves me. The guy can sing like nobody's business...there's no doubt about it. Check out the videos from the show...the links are over there on the left. You can see some more still pictures from the show that I took by going to my MySpace page, clicking on View My: Pics and clicking on the folder titled Chris Cornell 11.10.07
Rock on.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Chris Cornell Live - Black Hole Sun
Chris Cornell performing "Black Hole Sun" live at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY 11/10/07.
Chris Cornell Live - Spoonman
Chris Cornell performing "Spoonman" live at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY 11/10/07.
Chris Cornell Live - I Am The Highway
Chris Cornell performing "I Am The Highway" live at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY 11/10/07.
Chris Cornell Live - You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
Chris Cornell performing The Beatles' "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" live at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY 11/10/07.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Puddle of Mudd Live at Northern Lights - She Hates Me
Puddle of Mudd performing their hit "She Hates Me" at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY. 10/25/07
Puddle of Mudd Live at Northern Lights - Blurry
Puddle of Mudd performing their hit "Blurry" at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY. 10/25/07
Puddle of Mudd Live at Northern Lights - Psycho
Puddle of Mudd performing their hit "Psycho" at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY. 10/25/07
Puddle of Mudd Live at Northern Lights - Control
Puddle of Mudd performing their hit "Control" at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY. 10/25/07.
Saliva Live at Northern Lights - Your Disease
Saliva performing their hit "Your Disease" at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY 10/25/07.
Saliva Live at Northern Lights - Click Click Boom
Saliva performing their hit "Click Click Boom" at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY 10/25/07.
Saliva Live at Northern Lights - Ladies & Gentlemen
Saliva performing their hit "Ladies & Gentlemen" at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY 10/25/07.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Tesla & Pornstars
No videos in this one. Read on and you'll see why I wasn't able to capture any...
Alright, for those of you who pay attention to the bulletins I post (this is a MySpace reference, where I originally posted this blog), you know I was going to see Tesla on Friday night in Clifton Park, NY and was looking for someone to go along with me since 3 different people who originally said they wanted to go all bailed for different reasons (and legitimate ones I might add...I don't want anyone to think I'm pissed over it). Anyway, nobody else from here replied that they were interested in going (well one did, but way too late) and of course none of my friends that live close by could make it. They're all married and never go anywhere anyway.
So I headed off to Firkin & Fox where all the festivities were beginning alone.
Firkin & Fox
OK, I leave my house at about 4:10...it takes me about 45 minutes or so to get to Colonie. I arrived at Firkin & Fox just a couple of minutes after 5:00. I walk in and step up to the bar to get a beer. Which I wait a good 10 minutes before one of the Firkin Foxes asks me what I want. So right away it starts. I mean, come on. The minute I step into the place, somebody should be yelling, "Hey, Dave fuckin' Lazer is here. Get the man what he wants." But, no. I have to wait. And PAY for a beer. Can you fuckin' believe it? I'm tellin' ya, Armageddon is right around the corner.
Alright, I'm kidding. The place was pretty damn busy. So I get my beer and start heading out to the patio where my buddy Mrozek is broadcasting for Q103. But Jeanette from the radio station stops me and says wait, you need to sign this contest thingy. Not in those words, but that's what I had to do. See, I won the tickets to the show from the radio station. Part of that winning was that I and everyone else who won got to be in a guitar playing contest in front of the members of Tesla and everybody else that was there and I think it was broadcast live on MTV, VH1, CMT and MuchMusic. LIVE! I know I got a phone call from Damien Fahey later in the evening asking if I'd be willing to make an appearance on TRL to showcase my mad guitar skills.
But I digress. I tried protesting to Jeanette that I didn't want to participate in the contest but she made me. If she didn't know me from Adam, I'd have been able to get past her without her ever knowing I was one of the dudes that won the tickets. But I've been to enough Q103 events that most of the staff has gotten to know me, much to their benefit. I mean, let's face it, everybody's life that has Dave in it is better.
Nicole from Q103 is also hanging out in that vestibule and she comes over to the table and after I sign everything away over to Q including my first born (they can have her), I start talking with Nic and Jeanette for a little bit. Jeanette asks me if I found someone to tag along with me yet and I said no, and she told me Scottie B was looking for a ticket. So I said he could have my other one. I'm about to call him up, she says she'll call him and I noticed on my phone that I had a missed call and there's a voicemail.
The voicemail is from my long-time MySpace friend, Dawn. I remember giving her my phone number one time but we had never spoken outside of MySpace or AIM. I had emailed her earlier in the week regarding what was going on at Firkin & Fox and that she and her boyfriend should come over. Well the voicemail was just that...a message saying they had made it and they were out on the patio. While I'm listening to that message, Jeanette is leaving a voicemail for Scott telling him about the ticket.
Oh...I almost forgot. Just before signing my next house away to Q103, I spotted a familiar face in the bar...Nancy, someone I had met at another Q event earlier in the year, the man cave party at the Skyline in Albany. Went over and said hi to her and she didn't remember me so I said, "I'm Dave fuckin' Lazer" and then of course she remembered.
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She'd be the second one in from the left.
OK...out to the patio I go after signing my first car worth more than $750 over to Q103 and I spot Dawn. Yep, like she always says, she's a hugger. She was there with her boyfriend and her son and it was really nice to meet them all. Dawn and I had been each other's therapists at various times when we each were facing rough times in our lives and this guy she found is a really good guy. I can tell he is just from hanging out with them for a few hours and it makes me feel really good that she has this happiness in her life.
Q103
So like I said, Mrozek was broadcasting live for Q103. I was talking with Dawn and John, and I excused myself to go say hi to him and the rest of the Q103 people that were there...Levack, Flounder, and Dawes. Went back to talking with Dawn & John and Mrozek started doing a radio interview with the Firkin Fox of the Week.
I think that's what he was supposed to be doing anyway. I don't know if any words were ever spoken or exchanged because I was pretty much staring at boobies the whole time. And by the looks of things, so was Mrozek.
Go over and talk to Nancy for a while. Find out she loves Queensryche as much as I do. Rock on. All the good ones are married. At some point I placed a phone call to Scottie B. as I hadn't heard anything from him since Jeanette had left her voicemail. Left my own voicemail. A little while later I get a text message from him saying thanks anyway but other plans had been made.
Tesla arrives
Well, two of them anyway. Turns out it's guitarist Dave Rude and drummer Troy Luccketta. So they sit down to do an interview with the boob-staring hippie.
Nice, affable guys. I had brought my Real to Reel CD along with me to get it signed. I had been under the impression the entire band was going to be showing up at F&F until I was on my way in to the place and heard Mrozek saying a couple of them would be there. So I got two of them to sign it anyway. Guitar contest time.
OK, so here's where things get interesting. It's time for the guitar playing contest. Winner gets a guitar autographed by the entire band plus gets to perform with them on stage later that night. I'm pumped because I've been playing guitar since I was 6 months old. I got this thing in the bag. Alright, the truth is I don't play guitar. Not really. A little more than I let on last night, but not enough to win any contest. I play several instruments...guitar just isn't one of them.
The Kid
I can't remember if the kid was before me or after me. All I know is I was the first person to get called up that DOESN'T play guitar. Great spot. So I did the opening notes to "Blister in the Sun", said that was all I know and got the hell out of there. The Kid was amazing. 15 years old and he comes out and starts playing Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World"...not only playing it but singing it too. After everybody's had their turn, the Tesla guys narrow it down to 3 finalists. The Kid and 2 others. The Kid does "Purple Haze". The Kid wins. The Kid is going to play on stage with motherfucking Tesla.
OK, game over. Dave and Troy hang around to do pictures and autographs with everyone. Nancy, who wasn't going up to the concert said goodbye and left. Dawn and John, who WERE going up to the concert had left before the contest started so they could get her son home and fed before heading up the road to Clifton Park. So I do the picture thing and off I go...
Northern Lights
I thought the evening had been pretty damn interesting so far. Little did I know how much more interesting it was going to get. Get up to Northern Lights, check in at will call window where my name is on a list and in I go. Dawn and John spot me and call me over and I go and sit with them and we start talking. John asks me if I got my CD. I mentioned earlier I brought my Real to Reel disc to get signed. Well the deal on the disc is this. It's technically a double disc set, but when you buy it in the store, there's only one disc in there. You get the second disc when you go to one of their headlining shows. When I won the tickets on the radio, Mrozek explained to me I'd be getting the tickets to the show, plus the disc. Anyway, when John asked me, I said, "no, how do I get it"? He said I should have got a green ticket at the door when I went in. So I go back over to the will call table and ask. They said no, only if you bought the ticket, not if you won them. Well, Dawn and John had 2 CD's so they gave me one of theirs, which I'm tremendously grateful to them for. That was a really nice gesture on their part.
A half hour or so after I got there, the opening band came on. Poets & Pornstarsis their name and they are REALLY good. Hard driving, 3 chord, sleaze rock that just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, especially if that was the stuff you loved growing up, as I did. And a really hot bassist whom I'm now in love with. I want to marry her and have her babies.
They play their set, and head over to the merch table where they sell their own merchandise, and would actually carry on a conversation with the fans, and I had a fairly lengthy one. Actually, it was more of a stern talking to. I probably shouldn't have flopped my pecker on the table and said "Sign this, bitch". I probably should have asked nicer. Anyway....
Some time later....
Dude comes out on stage and I'm like, "Holy shit! Jeff Keith put on a little weight since the last time I saw him!" But it wasn't Jeff Keith at all. It was Jeff Levack from Q103! He really had the crowd fooled there for a while. So this Yankee lover comes out and announces that Tesla will be taking the stage very soon. Yay!
Some time later....
Tesla takes the stage! So I'm standing off to stage right, behind Dawn and John on an elevated section of the floor, taking pictures. And this is where the first big adventure takes place. I'm holding my camera up, trying to get the damn thing to focus right, because sometimes it's just a pain in the ass in low light and DUDE WITH STAFF WRITTEN ACROSS THE BACK OF HIS SHIRT jumps up and says "You gotta put that down." OK. I'm thinking he just doesn't want me holding it up for any length of time because that would maybe be taking a video. Gasp! So a few minutes later I'm taking more pics with it. This time dude comes from behind and motions for me to follow him. He tells me I have to put my camera in the car. I say, "why, i'm not allowed to take pictures?" He tells me not with that camera. I'm explaining to him it's just a regular digital camera....that it's no more special than any of the other hundred digital cameras being held up, but he tells me the tour manager told him I couldn't be using that camera. I guess because it LOOKS like a professional SLR camera. Which it's not. It's just a Kodak EasyShare Z710.
Whatever. I bring it out to the car and come back in. But I'm pissed. And I'll be damned if I'm not gonna take some more pictures. So I go out to my car and get it. Stick it in my pocket. Stay on the low part of the floor this time so I'm not so easily spotted. Dave is going in stealth mode. I'm in the middle of the crowd now. Bald headed guy standing in front and to my right. Blonde girl standing just behind him. They keep bantering back and forth, she touches his head a couple of times. I figure they're a couple. I pull my camera out of my back pocket and feel something hit my foot. It's dark and I can't see what it might be so I assume somebody dropped something. Go to turn my camera on and nothing. The thing that hit my foot was the batteries...the battery compartment door must have opened as I was pulling it out of my pocket. I find one battery with my foot, bend down and pick it up and while down there am looking to see if I can spot the other one.
This is where the night REALLY got interesting...
I feel a hand on my back....then moving down my back and actually slightly into my pants. I turn around and it's that blonde chick I mentioned. She asks me if I lost something. I stood up and told her I had dropped my camera batteries. Tesla had just started sing "Love Song" at this point. All of a sudden this woman....and she was very attractive...started kissing me. And I mean kissing. I think we made out for about 3, maybe 4 songs. Then she excused herself and that was the last I saw of her all night. Just like being at a concert back in the 80's...except usually the move would be made by offering a girl to sit up on my shoulders. Then the makeout with random hot chick would take place. But this was weird in more than one way, and it's really caused me to do some hard thinking. See, I haven't been with a woman...not even "made out" with one in over a year. Not since my last girlfriend whom to this day I consider the absolute love of my life. And kissing this stranger should have been exciting. But it did nothing for me. Didn't cause any desire within me. And it makes me think that there really is only one woman for me. And she's gone.
Anyway, I snapped off only a couple more pictures, after going back out to my car and putting in the extra batteries I had with me. I didn't want there to be any kind of scene or incident. I did manage to get one of The Kid though:
All in all, a good time. Tesla rocked. They're such a talented band and I've been a huge fan of theirs since the beginning. I hadn't seen them since 1989 and I'm glad I got to go to this show.
Oh yeah, and Scottie B's other plans? He went home and fell asleep! He's regretting it today though....
Listen to Q103
Alright, for those of you who pay attention to the bulletins I post (this is a MySpace reference, where I originally posted this blog), you know I was going to see Tesla on Friday night in Clifton Park, NY and was looking for someone to go along with me since 3 different people who originally said they wanted to go all bailed for different reasons (and legitimate ones I might add...I don't want anyone to think I'm pissed over it). Anyway, nobody else from here replied that they were interested in going (well one did, but way too late) and of course none of my friends that live close by could make it. They're all married and never go anywhere anyway.
So I headed off to Firkin & Fox where all the festivities were beginning alone.
Firkin & Fox
OK, I leave my house at about 4:10...it takes me about 45 minutes or so to get to Colonie. I arrived at Firkin & Fox just a couple of minutes after 5:00. I walk in and step up to the bar to get a beer. Which I wait a good 10 minutes before one of the Firkin Foxes asks me what I want. So right away it starts. I mean, come on. The minute I step into the place, somebody should be yelling, "Hey, Dave fuckin' Lazer is here. Get the man what he wants." But, no. I have to wait. And PAY for a beer. Can you fuckin' believe it? I'm tellin' ya, Armageddon is right around the corner.
Alright, I'm kidding. The place was pretty damn busy. So I get my beer and start heading out to the patio where my buddy Mrozek is broadcasting for Q103. But Jeanette from the radio station stops me and says wait, you need to sign this contest thingy. Not in those words, but that's what I had to do. See, I won the tickets to the show from the radio station. Part of that winning was that I and everyone else who won got to be in a guitar playing contest in front of the members of Tesla and everybody else that was there and I think it was broadcast live on MTV, VH1, CMT and MuchMusic. LIVE! I know I got a phone call from Damien Fahey later in the evening asking if I'd be willing to make an appearance on TRL to showcase my mad guitar skills.
But I digress. I tried protesting to Jeanette that I didn't want to participate in the contest but she made me. If she didn't know me from Adam, I'd have been able to get past her without her ever knowing I was one of the dudes that won the tickets. But I've been to enough Q103 events that most of the staff has gotten to know me, much to their benefit. I mean, let's face it, everybody's life that has Dave in it is better.
Nicole from Q103 is also hanging out in that vestibule and she comes over to the table and after I sign everything away over to Q including my first born (they can have her), I start talking with Nic and Jeanette for a little bit. Jeanette asks me if I found someone to tag along with me yet and I said no, and she told me Scottie B was looking for a ticket. So I said he could have my other one. I'm about to call him up, she says she'll call him and I noticed on my phone that I had a missed call and there's a voicemail.
The voicemail is from my long-time MySpace friend, Dawn. I remember giving her my phone number one time but we had never spoken outside of MySpace or AIM. I had emailed her earlier in the week regarding what was going on at Firkin & Fox and that she and her boyfriend should come over. Well the voicemail was just that...a message saying they had made it and they were out on the patio. While I'm listening to that message, Jeanette is leaving a voicemail for Scott telling him about the ticket.
Oh...I almost forgot. Just before signing my next house away to Q103, I spotted a familiar face in the bar...Nancy, someone I had met at another Q event earlier in the year, the man cave party at the Skyline in Albany. Went over and said hi to her and she didn't remember me so I said, "I'm Dave fuckin' Lazer" and then of course she remembered.
She'd be the second one in from the left.
OK...out to the patio I go after signing my first car worth more than $750 over to Q103 and I spot Dawn. Yep, like she always says, she's a hugger. She was there with her boyfriend and her son and it was really nice to meet them all. Dawn and I had been each other's therapists at various times when we each were facing rough times in our lives and this guy she found is a really good guy. I can tell he is just from hanging out with them for a few hours and it makes me feel really good that she has this happiness in her life.
Q103
So like I said, Mrozek was broadcasting live for Q103. I was talking with Dawn and John, and I excused myself to go say hi to him and the rest of the Q103 people that were there...Levack, Flounder, and Dawes. Went back to talking with Dawn & John and Mrozek started doing a radio interview with the Firkin Fox of the Week.
I think that's what he was supposed to be doing anyway. I don't know if any words were ever spoken or exchanged because I was pretty much staring at boobies the whole time. And by the looks of things, so was Mrozek.
Go over and talk to Nancy for a while. Find out she loves Queensryche as much as I do. Rock on. All the good ones are married. At some point I placed a phone call to Scottie B. as I hadn't heard anything from him since Jeanette had left her voicemail. Left my own voicemail. A little while later I get a text message from him saying thanks anyway but other plans had been made.
Tesla arrives
Well, two of them anyway. Turns out it's guitarist Dave Rude and drummer Troy Luccketta. So they sit down to do an interview with the boob-staring hippie.
Nice, affable guys. I had brought my Real to Reel CD along with me to get it signed. I had been under the impression the entire band was going to be showing up at F&F until I was on my way in to the place and heard Mrozek saying a couple of them would be there. So I got two of them to sign it anyway. Guitar contest time.
OK, so here's where things get interesting. It's time for the guitar playing contest. Winner gets a guitar autographed by the entire band plus gets to perform with them on stage later that night. I'm pumped because I've been playing guitar since I was 6 months old. I got this thing in the bag. Alright, the truth is I don't play guitar. Not really. A little more than I let on last night, but not enough to win any contest. I play several instruments...guitar just isn't one of them.
The Kid
I can't remember if the kid was before me or after me. All I know is I was the first person to get called up that DOESN'T play guitar. Great spot. So I did the opening notes to "Blister in the Sun", said that was all I know and got the hell out of there. The Kid was amazing. 15 years old and he comes out and starts playing Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World"...not only playing it but singing it too. After everybody's had their turn, the Tesla guys narrow it down to 3 finalists. The Kid and 2 others. The Kid does "Purple Haze". The Kid wins. The Kid is going to play on stage with motherfucking Tesla.
OK, game over. Dave and Troy hang around to do pictures and autographs with everyone. Nancy, who wasn't going up to the concert said goodbye and left. Dawn and John, who WERE going up to the concert had left before the contest started so they could get her son home and fed before heading up the road to Clifton Park. So I do the picture thing and off I go...
Northern Lights
I thought the evening had been pretty damn interesting so far. Little did I know how much more interesting it was going to get. Get up to Northern Lights, check in at will call window where my name is on a list and in I go. Dawn and John spot me and call me over and I go and sit with them and we start talking. John asks me if I got my CD. I mentioned earlier I brought my Real to Reel disc to get signed. Well the deal on the disc is this. It's technically a double disc set, but when you buy it in the store, there's only one disc in there. You get the second disc when you go to one of their headlining shows. When I won the tickets on the radio, Mrozek explained to me I'd be getting the tickets to the show, plus the disc. Anyway, when John asked me, I said, "no, how do I get it"? He said I should have got a green ticket at the door when I went in. So I go back over to the will call table and ask. They said no, only if you bought the ticket, not if you won them. Well, Dawn and John had 2 CD's so they gave me one of theirs, which I'm tremendously grateful to them for. That was a really nice gesture on their part.
A half hour or so after I got there, the opening band came on. Poets & Pornstarsis their name and they are REALLY good. Hard driving, 3 chord, sleaze rock that just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, especially if that was the stuff you loved growing up, as I did. And a really hot bassist whom I'm now in love with. I want to marry her and have her babies.
They play their set, and head over to the merch table where they sell their own merchandise, and would actually carry on a conversation with the fans, and I had a fairly lengthy one. Actually, it was more of a stern talking to. I probably shouldn't have flopped my pecker on the table and said "Sign this, bitch". I probably should have asked nicer. Anyway....
Some time later....
Dude comes out on stage and I'm like, "Holy shit! Jeff Keith put on a little weight since the last time I saw him!" But it wasn't Jeff Keith at all. It was Jeff Levack from Q103! He really had the crowd fooled there for a while. So this Yankee lover comes out and announces that Tesla will be taking the stage very soon. Yay!
Some time later....
Tesla takes the stage! So I'm standing off to stage right, behind Dawn and John on an elevated section of the floor, taking pictures. And this is where the first big adventure takes place. I'm holding my camera up, trying to get the damn thing to focus right, because sometimes it's just a pain in the ass in low light and DUDE WITH STAFF WRITTEN ACROSS THE BACK OF HIS SHIRT jumps up and says "You gotta put that down." OK. I'm thinking he just doesn't want me holding it up for any length of time because that would maybe be taking a video. Gasp! So a few minutes later I'm taking more pics with it. This time dude comes from behind and motions for me to follow him. He tells me I have to put my camera in the car. I say, "why, i'm not allowed to take pictures?" He tells me not with that camera. I'm explaining to him it's just a regular digital camera....that it's no more special than any of the other hundred digital cameras being held up, but he tells me the tour manager told him I couldn't be using that camera. I guess because it LOOKS like a professional SLR camera. Which it's not. It's just a Kodak EasyShare Z710.
Whatever. I bring it out to the car and come back in. But I'm pissed. And I'll be damned if I'm not gonna take some more pictures. So I go out to my car and get it. Stick it in my pocket. Stay on the low part of the floor this time so I'm not so easily spotted. Dave is going in stealth mode. I'm in the middle of the crowd now. Bald headed guy standing in front and to my right. Blonde girl standing just behind him. They keep bantering back and forth, she touches his head a couple of times. I figure they're a couple. I pull my camera out of my back pocket and feel something hit my foot. It's dark and I can't see what it might be so I assume somebody dropped something. Go to turn my camera on and nothing. The thing that hit my foot was the batteries...the battery compartment door must have opened as I was pulling it out of my pocket. I find one battery with my foot, bend down and pick it up and while down there am looking to see if I can spot the other one.
This is where the night REALLY got interesting...
I feel a hand on my back....then moving down my back and actually slightly into my pants. I turn around and it's that blonde chick I mentioned. She asks me if I lost something. I stood up and told her I had dropped my camera batteries. Tesla had just started sing "Love Song" at this point. All of a sudden this woman....and she was very attractive...started kissing me. And I mean kissing. I think we made out for about 3, maybe 4 songs. Then she excused herself and that was the last I saw of her all night. Just like being at a concert back in the 80's...except usually the move would be made by offering a girl to sit up on my shoulders. Then the makeout with random hot chick would take place. But this was weird in more than one way, and it's really caused me to do some hard thinking. See, I haven't been with a woman...not even "made out" with one in over a year. Not since my last girlfriend whom to this day I consider the absolute love of my life. And kissing this stranger should have been exciting. But it did nothing for me. Didn't cause any desire within me. And it makes me think that there really is only one woman for me. And she's gone.
Anyway, I snapped off only a couple more pictures, after going back out to my car and putting in the extra batteries I had with me. I didn't want there to be any kind of scene or incident. I did manage to get one of The Kid though:
All in all, a good time. Tesla rocked. They're such a talented band and I've been a huge fan of theirs since the beginning. I hadn't seen them since 1989 and I'm glad I got to go to this show.
Oh yeah, and Scottie B's other plans? He went home and fell asleep! He's regretting it today though....
Listen to Q103
Monday, August 27, 2007
RATT Live at SPAC - Back For More
Ratt performing their hit "Back For More" August 26, 2007 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).
RATT Live at SPAC - Way Cool, Jr.
Ratt performing their hit "Way Cool, Jr." August 26, 2007 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).
RATT Live at SPAC - Slip of the Lip
Ratt performing their hit "Slip of the Lip" August 26, 2007 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).
Vains of Jenna Live at SPAC - Noone's Gonna Do It For You
Vains of Jenna, the opening act of the evening before Ratt and Poison performing their song "Noone's Gonna Do It For You", from their album titled Lit Up / Let Down
This was their final song of about a 25 minute set. August 26, 2007 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Saturday, August 25, 2007
Arguing with a Mascot
A couple of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers fans arguing with the Albany Conquest mascot. July 27, 2007 at the Times Union Center, Albany, NY. Final game of the season. Last place Albany upset the first place Pioneers 56-42.
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Friday, August 24, 2007
Velvet Revolver Live at SPAC - Slither
Velvet Revolver performing their hit "Fall to Pieces". From their August 23, 2007 concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPA Velvet Revolver performing their hit "Slither". From their August 23, 2007 concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). This was their final song of the night. Sorry for the quality.
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Velvet Revolver Live at SPAC - Interstate Love Song
Velvet Revolver performing Stone Temple Pilots' "Interstate Love Song". August 23, 2007 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).
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Velvet Revolver Live at SPAC - It's So Easy
Velvet Revolver performing Guns 'N' Roses "It's So Easy" from their concert on August 23, 2007 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).
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Velvet Revolver Live at SPAC - Patience
Velvet Revolver performing Guns 'N' Roses' "Patience" from their concert August 23, 2007 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).
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Velvet Revolver Live at SPAC - Fall To Pieces
Velvet Revolver performing their hit "Fall to Pieces". From their August 23, 2007 concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).
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Velvet Revolver Live at SPAC - Set Me Free
Velvet Revolver performing their song "Set Me Free". From their August 23, 2007 concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).
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Velvet Revolver Live at SPAC - Just Sixteen
Velvet Revolver performing their song "Just Sixteen". From their August 23, 2007 concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).
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Velvet Revolver Live at SPAC - Wish You Were Here
Velvet Revolver performing Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" from their concert August 23, 2007 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).
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Velvet Revolver Live at SPAC - Sex Type Thing
Velvet Revolver performing Stone Temple Pilots' "Sex Type Thing" from their concert August 23, 2007 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC).
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Velvet Revolver Live at SPAC - Vasoline
Velvet Revolver performing the Stone Temple Pilots "Vasoline". From their concert at SPAC August 23, 2007. Ironically, Scott Weiland sounded better doing Guns 'N' Roses material than he did on Vasoline....which was his song with Stone Temple Pilots.
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Alice in Chains Live at SPAC - Man in the Box
Alice in Chains performing "Man in the Box" from their concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). Alice in Chains was the opening act for Velvet Revolver.
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Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Dickey Betts Jams
A jam from Dickey Betts & Great Southern's free show at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, NY on August 8, 2007.
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Sunday, August 12, 2007
Nickelback Live at SPAC - Figured You Out
"Figured You Out", Nickelback's final song of their awesome show at Saratoga Performing Arts Center on 07.08.07
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Nickelback Live at SPAC - Dan Adair Drum Solo
From Nickelback's concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) on 07.08.07, Dan Adair's drum solo. Sorry for the quality. This one is going to be more of an auditory experience rather than visual. I didn't bother making sure the camera was in focus before starting to record it (it was a Kodak digital camera).
A funny note...at the beginning of the video you'll hear a woman scream out "We love you Ryan"....this woman was so toasted she threw her shoes into the crowd...apparently she wasn't aware of the fact that Ryan Vikedal hasn't been the drummer for over 2 years now!
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Nickelback Live at SPAC - Side of a Bullet
Nickelback's tribute to Dimebag Darrell Abbott from their concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center 07.08.07. Worth noting that the guitar solo is ACTUALLY Dimebag playing. The solo was pieced together from different Dimebag Darrell outtakes and used in the song.
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Dickey Betts "Ramblin' Man"
Dickey Betts of Allman Bros. Band fame performing a free show at The Empire State Plaza in Albany, NY on August 8, 2007. I was glad to see him do this song as I had just seen The Allman Bros. Band the previous Sunday night about a half hour up the road at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), and that was one they didn't do.
Shooter Jennings, whose band played earlier in the day, joins Dickey on stage.
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Kick at King Neptune's 08-11-07
Kick is one of my friend Tricia's favorite bands. She lives in MA. Kick is from CT. I'm in NY. The three states collided in Lake George, NY on August 11, 2007. Here's a video from the show. Sorry for the iffy quality....seems I forgot to make sure my camera was properly focused first.
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