Reading through a lot of blogs for year end thoughts, I've seen a lot of people talk about how it was a down year in music (once again! they exclaim) but I have to say I found a whole lot to like as I usually do. It's been a great year with several great artists I've discovered and been to concerts from Vegas to the world famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. I've seen the full scope again from washed-up hair bands to country stars to Rock N Roll Hall of Famers. So my friend 2009, you get 2 thumbs up from me... and you will be missed.So let's start with my favorite concerts of the year, and despite the fact that I had a lot to pick from it was still not near as many as I've been to in several recent years. Age catching up? You shut yer mouf! Well, probably. But regardless, here are my...
Top 5 Favorite Concerts of 2009
1. Metallica with Machine Head at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas (more here)
2. Gary Allen with Jack Ingram at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville (more here)
3. KISS with Buckcherry at Verizon Arena in Little Rock (more here)
4. Keith Urban with Sugarland at Verizon Arena in Little Rock (more here)
5. Tora Tora reunion show at The New Daisy on Beale Street in Memphis (more here)
That was 5 awesome shows, but it still leaves off so many others that I loved... like Daughtry with Cavo and Theory of a Deadman just this month, Queensryche in Nashville, Black Stone Cherry and Bombay Black back in the Spring, Mudvayne and Nonpoint just before that show, Faster Pussycat with Bullet Boys at the Rev Room and finally AC/DC with The Answer way back in January. And I haven't even mentioned the big Edgefest show (because it was so brutally hot and I'm not a big fan of the festival type shows anymore I guess... see the "too old" bit above) with Korn, Static-X, Black Label Society, Mudvayne, Burn Halo and a lot of other sweaty, tattooed metal rockers. Oh it was a good show, but I stood on a paved parking lot for 8 hours in direct sunlight for most of it and 90+ degree weather chugging as much water as I could. That took away a lot of the enjoyment of some cool bands, trust me on that.
Searching back through my blogs it seems I hardly posted a mention at all one of my favorite musical moments of the year, and that's back on my March Vegas trip when I went to see Monster Circus at the Hilton, met them, got a picture and sat side stage. They are a collection of rockers from bands like Twisted Sister, Motley Crue and KISS that play a bunch of great old 80s tunes along with some acrobats, fire breathers, a ring master, an evil clown guy and sexy dancers on stage. It's a very Vegas style show with some solid tunes like “Once Bitten, Twice Shy,” “Crazy Train” and “Highway to Hell.” A bit cheesy you say? Perhaps. But a helluva great time and the packed crowd loved it as well.
Check out my picture with the guys below... Fred Coury (Cinderella), Tony Montana (Great White), John Corabi (Motley Crue, Ratt), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot, Whitesnake, Dio) and Bruce Kulick (Kiss) .
So yeah, 2009 will be tough to top, but I'll give it a shot.
