Monday, April 28, 2008

The classic metal show Megadeath at The Rave


Megadeath plays the Rave on May 7th. Dave Mustaine, the red haired metal maniac will perform in the ballroom to what I am sure will be a large audience. Various musicians have come and gone, but Dave remains the face of Megadeath. Peace Sells, but Who's Buying set the tone in 1986. At first, that album was a small budget and poorly mixed effort. After signing on with a major label, that album was remixed and released. It sold over one million copies. It is now considered to be a landmark thrash metal album. I didn't know that Megadeath was a recipient of the Doris Day Music Award, for their speaking out against canned hunts. Dave Mustaine got sober in the early 1990's. They broke up for a short time in 2004, but reformed in 2004 and have not looked back. Tickets for the Rave show are still available at the time of this posting, but I'm confident that it will come close to a sellout.


Party on!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

The Buble Center or Bradley Center?

The Bradley Center was tossing around the idea of selling the naming rights in hopes of generating revenue. Word is that the Bradley Center is already too aged to be able to bring in revenue that will help keep the Bucks competitive. The way that the fans bought Bradley Center tickets to see Michael Buble last night, you could ask him to pony up the cash. We could call it the Buble Dome, or the Buble Center, or perhaps the Buble Megaplex. The review of his show was good. He has the range to hit the notes of the top Motown songs, and can manage to pull of the old standards that Sinatra made famous. I like the name Bradley Center. I don't think it's going to change in the near future.

Monday, April 21, 2008

John Mayer and his devoted fan base


John Mayer tickets went on sale for the Marcus Amphitheater show over the weekend. I hear that his fan club had nabbed many of the tickets in advance. My sister-in-law loves John Mayer. She told me how upset she was that she couldn't get tickets to the show. Last year, Rolling Stone magazine had a feature story about the best rock and roll guitar players of the modern era. John Mayer was on the front cover. Needless to say, there were very unhappy fans of other guitar players who replied to Rolling Stone. They felt that John Mayer didn't deserve to be on the cover. I can't say what I think about John Mayer. I don't know any of his songs, nor do I care. John Mayer played Summerfest in previous years. His wide ranging fan base, and his apparently enormous fan club will sell this show out in no time.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Wisconsin State Fair announces thier shows

The Wisconsin State fair tickets, for shows that run the gamut, are available months in advance. Truly a family event, the Wisconsin State Fair books music that ranges from REO Speedwagon, to Vanessa Hudgens to the Doodlebops. The stage is set on the infield of the Milwaukee Mile. The best seats are on the track, with the worst seats being the grandstand seats. Sometimes, if you are slick about it, you can view the acts from the infield parking lot. It's a view from the side, but it can be done. You just have to watch out for the horse riding cops that patrol the infield lots. They will make you "move along" if you stay too long in one spot. Personally, I haven't seen a show there in many years. I would have to say that the best show I saw at State Fair was Billy Idol back in 1984. He was in interesting shape that night.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Stone Temple Pilots at Summerfest July 4th


Stone Temple Pilots will play Summerfest on July 4th. This is a reunion tour for the Stone Temple Pilots. Scott Weiland, Rober, and Dean DeLeo, and Eric Kretz all make up the band. There is little worry that this will implode. The tour goes on all summer long, and the Summerfest tickets for that show should be out soon. The hits you are sure to hear are Vasoline, Big Bang Baby, Down, Sour Girl, Interstate Love song, Creep, Wicked Garden, Plush, Sex Type Thing, and Lady Picture Show. Their CD "Purple" hit number 1. and "Core" hit number 3.

For the the Independence Day holiday, why not consider this event. Years ago, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra would always headline the Summerfest July 4th date. That situation changed long ago.
Summerfest is the 10 day festival along Lake Michigan. It's got 11 stages, with the Marcus Amphitheater as the main attraction.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Flight of the Conchords


Coming to the Pabst Theater is one of my favorite "shows." Flight of the Conchords, from HBO.

Jemaine and Bret from New Zealand are the sole members of the band named Flight of the Conchords. They struggle to find fame in New York City. Their songs are clever, hilarious, and topical. They land at the Pabst Theater on May 11th. Cheer on Jemaine and Bret as they bring the Kiwi sounds to Milwaukee.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Bruce Springsteen and his fickle fans

After hearing word that "The Boss" will headline the Harley Davidson 105th reunion, Bruce Springsteen's fans rushed to dump their March Bradley Center show tickets for the warmer and possibly more enjoyable Summer show. Bruce Springsteen fans are a loyal, albeit an aging base. His March show at The Bradley Center had strong ticket sales from what I heard. But given the choice of seeing "The Boss" out in the open, and under the warm summer night's sky, with 100,000 other fans, the dumping ensued. It didn't matter much that the Harley show requires membership of H.O.G. itself to acquire a code to purchase a ticket. Fans seem to be jumping through that hoop with ease.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Rock and Roll venue or sports dome. Milwaukee Theater, and more.


The Wisconsin Badgers just finished up their NCAA run at Ford Field this past weekend. I saw a report about how they managed to put a basketball court in the corner of the venue. That got me thinking about rock and roll venues that are converted from sports arenas. Before the Milwaukee Theater came to be, it was the Milwaukee Auditorium. That old venue could hold what looked to be around five thousand people.

But sometimes, the venue would be divided in half with a large 15 foot high curtain. The problem with that set up was the echo. The sound would travel over the top of the curtain and rattle around the back of the venue. It was awful. The Milwaukee Theater is an amazing replacement to the Milwaukee Auditorium. I can't even visualize the old Auditorium anymore. Back in 1996, I played the auditorium. It felt cool to be playing in such a huge venue. I know that there is no shot that I will ever play the Milwaukee Theater. That venue books only top name acts. We were a lowly touring band when we played our rock and roll at The Milwaukee Auditorium.