Stats/Stats/Stats

 

Rockin Roberts/BMellis and Deke’s rocking out to Tom Keifer!

Hey Friends ….

Once again thanks to YOU the readers of this Blog who continually show up/read/comment around these parts and enjoy my Scribbles of Rawk!

Some Rando Info …Up to this point I have reviewed 452 albums/books/live shows…

I had a couple of guests as well to add to the total which were Tbone with a Hip and Van Halen review and my sister who reviewed Def Leppard recently! Tbone and Kristin did a fantastic job!

A total of 455 Posts and over 27,000 views in three years along with 8,525 comments!  Holy Crap! Thanks everyone!

I thought it would be cool to show u the Most Viewed Blogs from June 24th  2016 to June 24th 2017 (that’s when this Post was typed)…

dEke’s Top 10 Most Viewed Rambling’s are….

1-Sebastian Bach/18 & LIfe On Skid Row- Yup Ladies and Gents in the past year a Book takes the top spot. Mikey Ladano posted my review on his Twitter page in which Baz seen and retweeted it to his Twitter and posted it to his Facebook Page. Thanks Mikey….and just goes to show you  that people are watching what you post even coming from a  rock schmuck sitting at his computer in Tbay!

2-Toque-Is the all star Canuck only group featuring Todd Kerns/Cory Churko and Brent Fitz who released a fun Canuck only cover album featuring a bunch of cool cover tunes with an updated sound! Thanks to Cory who posted my review on the Toque Facebook homepage!

3-Stephen Pearcy/Smash-  Stevie-o totally stepped up on this album and kicked out the jams in superb 80’s sleazeball rock that totally blew me away. Blown away that Stephen plastered my review on his Twitter and Facebook page and sent me a thanks via messenger!

4-Rock The Fort Day 2/The Cult/Cinderfella…- This was the ass kicking festival that showed up in Tbay and was a two day affair with Day2 headlined by Wolfchild and Duffy who basically ruled the weekend with there performance(check out current release Hidden City folk’s) Must also mention that Tommy Keifer showed up and played a wicked set of Cinderella tunes and solo stuff. Ol Tommy almost stole the weekend….Trews/Helix and Doucette also played this day as well! Great day of Live Rock!

5-Helix/Wild In The Streets-This review was written a few years back and Helix bassist Daryl Gray  graciously posted my review at the time. Daryl a few months ago reposted it via his memories on Facebook and this review picked up a bunch of steam again. Why not! Its a great album and ‘Whacha Bringing To The Party?”

6-Age of Electric/Live at Crocks,April 7th 2017- AOE showed up played Tbay and blew myself and Tbone out of the water with an airtight show filled with a ton of cool tunes. Met the dudes afterwards and they signed my discs and were all cool to chat with.

7th (Tie)- Metal Heart/Aiming High With Accept- Author Martin Popoff wrote a wicked good read on Accept that is well worth the dough. I am by no means a huge Accept fan but Martin delved in a band that really wasn’t written about much even back in the day so it’s these kind of Rock Books that peak my interest level. Martin interviews all these Accept dudes so it’s not some bullshit read. Check out  Popoff’s site.

7th(Tie)-Age of Electric/The Pretty Ep-AOE comes in with there second Top 10 entry and for Todd Kerns it’s 2 Top Tens here with AOE along with Toque. Dude is everywhere. AOE after a ton of years had passed put out this little ass kicker of an EP that is worth your time friends. Do check out!

8-The Tragically Hip-Roxy & Elsewhere- A bunch of fellow writers decided to do a 200 word only review and I choose to do this great soundboard bootleg of The Hip that was recorded back in 1991! They are on fire on this release. Highway Girl and Killer Whale Tank are so good as singer Gord Downie is looped and in another time zone but is so good at telling stories with the Hips riding shotgun and blasting off a ton of riffs underneath! Pure Brilliance and Geoff Stephen would and will be proud to see this entry of his hometown homey’s!

9-KISS Rocks Vegas- Is the audio portion from KISS’s Vegas performance that Mikey Ladano sent me! (Thanks Mikey) How could KISS not crack the Top 10.  These old Geezers are a part of my Musical DNA so to speak and say what you will. Whether you like em or hate em Kiss are a great discussion …..

10-Swords And Tequila/Riots Classic First Decade-Martin Popoff scores a second book here in the Top 10 and Riot is a band I love that stuck out great albums but for some reason never lifted off. Martin did his homework here, Tons of interviews/pics/the real story of which took me right back to over 3 decades ago.  Riot had even less written about them than Accept! Martin fixed that problem and wrote what I feel is one of his best written works!

Well,there you have it. Kinda wild that 3 books cracked the Top 10! Some Cancon is included withThe Hip, AOE,Helix & Toque.  Kinda of a neat mix really….

Thanks for reading….

 

Age Of Electric- “Remote Control” Live At Crocks-Thunder Bay

Here’s some Remote Control for you’s out there that I filmed on my iPod at Last Friday’s (April 7th Show)…Yeah it’s ruff n roll and Hey this is my first stab at doing something like this…

Still though….

Crank it!…And where is the damn Remote Control??

 

 

Age Of Electric/Live At Crocks….April 7/2017

They call my hometown Thunder Bay the home of the Sleeping Giant and well there was a lot of people sleeping in this town last night (April 7th)  that missed a great show as Saskatchewan’s Age Of Electric  showed up and  played an airtight solid Rock Show in front of the faithful who know what Rock N Roll is about! So if were keeping score myself and Tbone (whom I went with) do know what Rock is about and hey for a couple of us Geezer’s who are 50 years young(Tbone) and myself (come October, I hit the Half Century mark) we still know and love the Rawk!

Todd Kerns(Lead Vocals/Guitar) John Kerns(Bass) Ryan Dahle(Lead Guitar) and Drummer Kurt Dahle took to the stage opening with I Don’t Mind from 1997’s Make A Pest A Pet release which this tour is based around and from there it was 16 more AOE tracks that were featured.

AOE comes across live as a real Ass Kicker of a unit! These guys are seasoned pro’s who have been in the game long enough to know what works in a live setting meaning the AOE are top-notch musicians as guitarist Kurt played a bunch of wicked like solo’s almost at times bluesy but make no mistake as this cat can play the guitar. I know Todd from the stage talked about making new music but where this band excels is definitely in the live setting so perhaps a Live Album is in the making  boy’s?

Speaking of new music not to just make this a nostalgia show AOE played the Four tracks from there recently released  Pretty Things Ep. Kids Break Bones especially come’s across live with Todd and Kurt trading riffs and generally oozing fun from the stage.

Todd knows how to talk to a crowd, basically keeping the vibe going in a positive route with some humour tossed in. At one point  he introduced Kurt as “On Lead Guitar…Ace Frehley “to which he spoke that he would love to be in a band with Ace and just eat KFC and do Cocaine all day” Than he added ‘Well I don’t like KFC!”  He also spoke of Thunder Bay being the ‘Gateway” between East and West and that they were headed East. Even when introducing new songs like Elephant and Keys  Todd would intro it by saying “Here’s a song we are playing for the first time ever…..In Thunder Bay that is!”

Todd also thanked the owner and promoter of Crocks Frank Loffredo for being in the business for 30 plus years or so. Todd also spoke about local opening act Tourist Bureau for playing a great set as Todd says that you should “always appreciate the opening act as it’s like foreplay” and as he added he himself had “been a part of the opening act foreplay a million times!”throughout his career.

Untitled was wicked live with John Kerns bass grumbling while Todd sang the line of “Destroyer/Rebuild/Destroyer/Rebuild” Untitled was a beast live and not to be outdone the crowd sand along with Todd in Ugly.

One song that was played and was tossed in was 1991’s Aphrodisiac Smile which featured Todd jamming out on the  Harmonica while Kurt kept the tune chugging forward from behind his kit.

The Band came back out and wrapped up the night with a two song encore( me and Tbone were  chanting play 8 more songs!)  which AOE closed out with Remote Control.

Course after a few minutes members of the band came out and hung around the merch table to talk to us and they were super cool guys. Just down to earth chaps.

It was pretty cool to get the The Ugly Ep signed long at last and what was even more cool was that John and Ryan don’t even have a copy of it! They all were gracious to sign my CD’s and take the time to chat!

 

 

Great show and thanks once again to Frank for bring AOE to town!

Thanks to Tbone at Rock Til You Drop Photography for the pics..

Now where’s my ride home?(see pic below)

 

Age Of Electric/The Pretty EP(2017)

2017 and Regina Saskatchewan’s Age Of Electric are back with a 4 Song EP that clocks in just under 13 minutes!

The Electric Men Are…

Todd Kerns – vocals, guitars
John Kerns – bass
Ryan Dahle – guitars, vocals
Kurt Dahle – drums, vocals

Great to see these Guys back in action where they had a decent run in the mid 90’s with the albums Age Of Electric(1995) and Make A Pest A Pet(1997). Like many a band A.O.E packed up shop for a  few years(17 years if you call that a few) and various projects by the members as in the Dahle Brothers  forming Limblifter while the Kern Brothers released the excellent Static In Stereo album. Todd as any rock fan knows  ended up slinging Bass in Slash’s solo band while also putting out the real slick throwback all Canadian Covers album with a bunch of Canadian Hotshot’s and calling themselves Toque which as you know I have reviewed!

The Tuneage…..

A.O.E have put out 4 standout tracks. It’s like after all this time they never skipped a beat which is amazing but the caliber of the vocals/musicianship should come as no surprise!

Kids Break Bones leads off and is a straight ahead rock track. Like the shuffle of the drums along with the short blasts of guitar riffs. The chorus is oh so good once you hear it will be stuck in your noggin for hours. Not to heavy and not to light in the rock department  but just a good well written track. Check the video I posted below …

“There’s an Elephant in the room” sings Todd and were off and running. John Kerns drives this tune with his Bass and its a another bonafide winner here. Love how the drums pushes the song towards the end while the guitars and drums shift gears. The Rhythm section of John and Kurt take over this tune!

Show Me Your Weakness kicks off with a quick guitar riff and this fast paced Rocker features not only Todd on vocals but I believe Ryan sharing the lead vocal as well. Nice vocal interplay between the two.

Keys ends this shorty EP with another great piece of  rock. Guitars set the pace here. These guys do know how to write slick choruses and Keys is another one. Todd sings “Keys are in the Ignition and the door is always open” Nice sonics with the guitars on not only this song but the other three as well…Vid is posted…

Real cool that these Electric Dudes are back in Action! This is a great little four getting to know you all again starter pack! Dig the fact that in 1994 AOE released the 4 Song Ep and called it Ugly. Now 23 years later here comes the The Pretty EP.  The Kern and Dahle Brothers on this EP dip back a bit in there sound of yesteryear  yet maintaining an eye towards the future which I hope results in a full-out album release…

Look forward to the AOE  show when it hits Thunder Bay April 7th at Crocks! Get tix here by clicking…

http://loffredo.ca/website/#!/The-Age-Of-Electric-Friday-April-7th-at-Crocks/p/79124344/category=285314

I will be there!

 

 

 

 

Toque(2016)

Toque  are the Canadian Supergroup formed by Four Cool Canucks! First of all love the name as that’s about as Hoser as you can get with  Back Bacon along with a Two Four Of Molson Eh!?

Todd Kerns/Cory Churko and Brent Fitz along with newest member  Shane Gaalaas  have put out a 12 song album(available on iTunes) that feature songs that we (the 40-50 year old age bracket) remember hearing on the radio and  video  on MuchMusic. But You can be any age to enjoy these tunes done by various Canuck’s like Streetheart/Trooper/Honeymoon Suite/Harlequin/April Wine and others.

The Classics Redone By Toque…

“Fantasy”
“Dance”
“Working For The Weekend”
“Thinking Of You”
“My Girl”
“Go For Soda”
“Crying Over You”
“On The Loose”
“Roller”
“Lonely At Night”
“New Girl Now”
“Raise A Little Hell”
“Action”

Toque though redo these songs pretty much to a T but of course with an updated sound. When the song calls for Synth action like Saga’s On The Loose or Loverboys Working For The Weekend The Synth is added to enhance the song not deter it. It also helps that the guitars recorded here have a bit of punch to them and even Toque pulls off Platinum Blondes Crying Over You with a bit more of a punch but still staying true to the original.

No easy feat as well when it comes to Chilliwacks My Girl as Kerns does the “Been Gone So Long’ vocal line perfect. Todd lays down superb lead vocals thorough out as well Fitz and Churko back him with a ton of Musical Muscle Firepower.

My Fav’s currently are Toque’s spin of   Aldo Nova’s Fantasy (Superb Dual Lead Guitar Action),Queen City Kids Dance  and well to be honest it’s all a fabulous listen! Sooooo Good!

Check Out Dance Below….

Nothing serious around these parts…Just Some Good Fine Rawk!

You don’t need to be Canadian to enjoy these songs as many people outside our borders will recognize these tracks…

Congrats Toque on bringing back the Classics…

Well Done!

SONIC WAVES ..Slash,Myles Kennedy &The Conspirators /Live At The Roxy 09/25/2014

So we all know that Slash and Company’s album World Of Fire was my fav album of 2014 that I called back in September of that same year  a full 3 months before Mike Ladanos end of the year lists went up on his site!  He did ? me about it saying would  Slashs album be my fav as there was still time left in the year of 2014? Nothing came close as Slash,Myles,Todd Kerns and Brent Fitz slapped me outside the noggin with World On Fire….to refresh yourselves read it here….https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2014/09/20/sonic-waves-slash-feat-myles-kennedy-and-the-conspirators/

(Actually the comments from fellow readers on the Word On Fire review are classic…man I laughed at those comments than and still laughing now!)

Also of note when you play the two vids posted there are 10 second advertisements before the Slash Performances! Arena Rock Thunder does not support this method as I don’t cater this blog to Corperate Bullshit! Having said that to get my message across with my babble it’s important to feature video so you as the reader can figure out just what the hell I’m going on about! How’s that??……Ha!

June 16 2015 and heres  Slash releasing what has been becoming the norm for many a rock act! Which is DVD and Digital release. So I preordered this bad boy a few months back and well it’s time to yammer on a review of this real solid live release!

2015 and the last 3 albums I have purchased have been Van Halens Live At The Tokyo Dome,Sammy Hagar and The Circle and now Slash,Myles and there peeps! Basically all live albums! Yeah I love them! These three I mentioned are worth your cash…..

Poor Poor Axl!(that ones for you Robbo!)

GHOST- is a great opener as Slash opens the proceedings with his signature sound and we’re off! Slash on tour is aided by Frank Sidoris who handles all the rhythm fine and dandy and should be giving some kudos as well! Todd Kerns and Brent Fitz nail down and keep everything in check and like why wouldn’t they there fellow Canuckleheads as well! Myles Kennedy like I have said before is one of the best Rock vocalists plying his craft right now!

NIGHT TRAIN- Fitz nails down some cowbell as the band ploughs forward and its Guns N Roses time folks and Kennedy when I hear him sing these GNR classics the question of “why bother” comes up which is really Theres no need for Slash to do a GNR reunion. Like why,when you got Myles who shows up gives it 120% every night singing your old bands songs! Stay drama free Slash!

HALO-this song keeps the pace going! great guitar-in from Slash and Frank and the band as well is tight! Halo keeps the rock vibe going and  Slash has built up quite the the catalogue since he enlisted Myles. They are for all intent purpose a very good rock n roll duo!

BACK FROM CALI-this tune has a laid back vibe to it at the beginning of it with just Slash picking and Myles vocally leading the song out of the gate but before you know it all hands on deck as the rest of the fellas strike up the song and it features a great groove a even better chorus and some neat little intricate time changes! Great song!

STONE BLIND-has for me become one of my fav Slash and Company tunes ever! Love how the intro has some kind of trippy hippy vibe and than boom into the money shot of the song which is the verses! Myles man the dude can write lyrics and these are some great lines here! Slash and the rest of the  pack keep the tune a grooving ala Aerosmithy kind of vibe.

YOU COULD BE MINE-Brent Fitz does that real cool drum intro that we all know and Frank An Slash rip there guitars to shreds and Slash  nails down the solo and we’re off! This is classic GNR! One of there best tracks and this song just rocks from start to finish!

DR ALIBI-Todd Kerns the bass masher steps up to the plate and sings Dr Alibi and the dude has a real good rock voice himself and for all of us Canuckleheads we all remember him when he sang and played geetar in Age Of Electric! So yeah he’s one of Slashs secret weapons and that’s Kerns who can take the song vocally and make it his own! This song is a straight ahead 4 on the floor rocker!

YOUR CRAZY-Dr ALibi ends and milliseconds later were right into another GNR Classic and guess what kiddies Todd handles the vocals once again and gives Myles a double break! ( I’m sure when Myles takes this break in the show he’s probably writing lyrics for the next Alter Bridge album!) Kerns gives it gas here I mean lets all say it! “Your Fuckin Crazy,” see don’t we all feel better!

WICKED STONE-boom this song kicks ass! Great driving rhythm and the song cooks in a Slash kinda way! Love the groove oooozes with Aero drippings in spots!

30 YEARS TO LIFE-love the slide guitar opener of this track! Brent Fitz kicks his snare into overdrive and Slash and company rock it to the top! Another catchy tune like these guys just drip coolness with there own rock vibe. Slash knows the deal as were all getting older but you can still blast the Rock loud! This is loud …don’t believe me….buy the damn thing! Real cool rock tempo,cool verses and real slick chorus!

ROCKET QUEEN- 17 minutes 4o secs of Rocket Queen! Yeah you read that right! You know what folks,i’m totally ok with Slash doing this as he kicks the song in the ass with a real long jam between at first him,Kerns and Fitz driving the bus. Slash keeps the mojo cooking with real cool slick lead fills and does not over due it and Kerns lays down some real cool bottom end and after a few minutes Frank joins the party and its a free for all jam! Myles gets a break and he should  as he’s  always giving it in the vocal department! Smart move by Slash instead of doing the obligatory 7 minute guitar solo which i would listen to not as much as the song Slash keeps the band moving forward. Thanks man for not doing guitar wanking 101! I salute you!

BENT TO FLY-is a great Rock track it starts off kinda moody but not to mopey and by the time we get to the chorus the song ramps up with power chords and macho swagger just letting me know that were not wimping out here but we’re actually ramping it up kids! Cool Slash and you know it’s him once the solo starts I mean the guy has classic written all over him! He ebbs and flows up the fretboard with relative ease and man what can Ya say! I was Bent To Fly!

STARLIGHT-i’m really surprised that Myles can sing this tune at the top of the vocal register without tossing out his lung! This is back to back(along with Bent To Fly) chill Slash! Good song and Slash can chill ,Slash can Rock and for that all is well at Arena Rock!

YOUR A LIE-love the power down slammer hammer of this tune and it comes across live! Great verses and chorus and thanks Slash for just flat out rock in the year of 2015! Thanks also for not sapping out!

WORLD ON FIRE-whoah I love this tune I really love it! This  kicks serious ass! This was Slashs first single from World On Fire! This song kicks ass the verse is sick good! Myles lays down super cool vocals and Kerns like he does all over this album provides grade A backing  vocals amazing that the dude who does the backing vocals is solid in his own right! Smart move Slash roping in Kerns! This song Smokes! Watch the video and see how it’s supposed to be done! FYI take Myles advice…just trip the wire!

ANASTASIA-Slash plays a real cool opening on acoustic and shifts to electric in a rock second and were off with cool time changes and once again more money shots in the chorus also love how in the middle section of the tune Slash hops back on his acoustic and before you know it he’s back to the electric ….bada bing bada boo!

SWEET CHILD OF MINE-Ummm what needs to be said about this tune that already hasn’t been said? Yeah that’s what I thought!

SLITHER-is the sleazy tune from Slashs Velvet Revolver Daze! I dig the opening of this tune as Kerns lays down some sleazy like bass action in synch with Fitzs drums and Myles introduces the band members and than they take it up a notch with Slither! Great all round rock tune!

PARADISE CITY-hey! What I said about Sweet Child also applys here!

IN CONCLUSION- if you haven’t figured it out by now I really dig this live opus by Slash and Dudes! These guys rock it up big time but keep themselves in check and that’s by playing the tunes and not letting ego dictate drum solos,guitar solos. Just  feed me 17 minutes of Rocket Queen and we all can go home happy!

SONIC WAVES…Slash Feat. Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators/World On Fire

Yah man I’m breaking protocol and reviewing sumthin new and probably well too new for me but it’s not too often that a new release can come out and basically kick me in the ass of awesomeness but World On Fire has done that man and it will possibly quite well be my número Uno 2014 fav release!

Slash and the boys have outdone themselves here. I mean when I seen it was 17 tracks deep I was like ah no way man maybe 10 keepers and 7 close calls but nope nada ….17 little cookers that prove to me in the year 2014 that guitar oriented rock is alive and well in Slashville.

Lets see what’s cooking under the top hat!

WORLD ON FIRE-The boys kick out the jams right out of the gate with the catchy lead off single. Myles Kennedy is without a doubt one of the best rock singers out there right now period. The dude holds his own and it helps that they have cranked up Todd Kerns on bass and backing vocals I mean why not Kerns fronted Age Of Electric and now he slings the 4 string for Slash and man how many bands can you say out there right now have two lead vocalists ? Yeah and that’s this band! Slash is riffing like crazy on this and on all others! Yeah if you choose to play the vid on your big screen,make sure the kids aren’t around ahem! Just don’t trip the wire!

SHADOW LIFE-starts off moody kinda chill like vibe and boom into gear and big Chrous and like I said Kerns and Kennedy a one two vocal punch to the gut. There not screwing around and man these guys are locked in by track two!

AUTOMATIC OVERDRIVE-this band just punches the gas and roars. You know the deal your baby is Automatic and she’s in Overdrive. This songs just clocks in under 100 mph so you know it’s a rocker. Slash has totally stepped up with the playing on this album. Man, you want huge riffs this is the place for em!

WICKED STONE- man oh man this one reminds me for some reason of that big band Slash was in about 20 yrs ago. Slash puts this song on his back and carries it right thru. Also of mention again is the fact that Kennedy is a crafty lyricist and he delivers it vocally. Plus the fact that they got Kerns cranked up as well vocally is a smart move(dude can sing,don’t believe me check out Ugly from his old band Age Of Electric). This song just keeps the momentum going ! Holy crap still 14 more songs to go!

30 YEARS TO LIFE-Brent Fitz slams some serious drumming along with some killer cowbell on this road rocker. Actually this whole band is firing and now there on the run. 30 years in the clink. Well if your gonna get locked up Myles at least your going in style! Slash once again riffs and riffs but not to the point of overkill. Brent Fitz is kicking the crap out of his drums, man he’s good.

BENT TO FLY- whoa, Slash slams on the breaks and the boys kinda chill out on this one well until the big hooky Chrous with the big hooky voices. Even though it’s a little more slow paced. The boys keep it rocking in a different way I mean you can’t go 100 mph 24/7 anymore. Well maybe 85 mph24/7 actually I would be at roughly 33mph/24/7 you get the drill!

STONE BLIND- all right this one is a scorcher. The song starts off super chill with Kennedy just chillin and than boom The verse is so friggin catchy. This one just grabs ya and doesn’t let go! This song rocks from start to finish.

 

TOO FAR GONE- it’s all been decided your Too Far Gone sez Myles and the boys. Yep your right fellas this song reminds me once again of that ol band (GNR) but how could it not .Slash wrote some huge riffs back than. And he continues to do it to this day! More power to ya Slash!

BENEATH THE SAVAGE SUN- the beginning reminds me of ol school Aerosmith and that’s where the comparison ends. The band shifts into some different time signatures and Kerns drops down some cool low end bass in at as well. Kinda epic style Slash N Roll…

WITHERED DELILIAH- hey I think SMK&C may have a hit here. This song just rocks along and it will make a great single. This album courtesy of Brent Fitz has a bunch of cool percussive action going on this whole album!(COWBELL) Kudos to Slash for keeping this unit intact for a few years now and not some revolving musical door!

BATTLEGROUND-this is the close to 7 minute epic track…slow buildup and man it’s a diversion of the rock that so dominates this release. Cool that like I said earlier are many different musical moods and this is a moody piece….but in a cool kinda way!

DIRTY GIRL- song number 12 and Slash heads back to the Sunset Strip for some Dirty Girl!  Of course you knew this kind of song would be on here tucked neatly away and BAM here comes the Dirty Girl. Cool that dudes pushing 50 can still sing about sleaze and roll not be called out as creepy! YET!  Great song man….this will be on the radio for all ya ol farts!(myself included)

IRIS OF THE STORM-it’s always a buzz to get this deep into a album and you realize this is my favourite track! Oh wait yeah it is. Songs starts off slow and slowly picks up steam. Man this album is chock full of radio rock and this is one of em also. Dig Kennedy’s voice on this golden nugget of a tune!  The band is right in the pocket on this one!

AVALON-comes crashing out of the gate at rocket speed! SMK&C aren’t letting up man!  Good solid rock song that pushes almost like a Heavy Nine Lives Aero Feel at times….

THE DISSIDENT- starts of like a mono LP with someone going off about the objector well make that a F*%kin Objector and than Fitz and Slash kick off the festivities and man during the Chrous you get some whoas and double whoas and man this is now my favourite track currently. It’s so damn catchy you will cruise around your house singing it..u will man..u will!

SAFARI INN- just a cool little musical and hey were over a hour into this bad boy and ya gotta give the lead vocalist a break!

THE UNHOLY-ends the record with some more epic material kinda like along the lines of Battleground. It’s ok man,this song is a fitting end it build and build and it’s over!

IN CONCLUSION- To say this is a great rock record in the year 2014 would be a understatement! It for me is thee rock record of 2014! SMK&C take it to another level with this release. Solid songs,solid performances all around and solid production take a bow Michael Baskette! Like I said earlier it’s cool that Slash has kept this trio of guys with him for a few years now and it shows in spades the cohesiveness of this unit. Hundreds of shows played and well the boys bring it home! So basically set aside about  1 hour and 17 minutes and head out on a rock n roll journey!

Enter Sandman Hi-Jacks The Night Train

Guns N Roses/Metallica/ Faith No More/Minneapolis/Sept 15 1992

So the two biggest selling bands of the early 90s touched down in Minneapolis on a co-headline jaunt with tension amongst the ranks in the bands, in other words, Axl VS everybody and Metallica cruising with a 5th member (John Marshall) filling in for James’s guitaring as he was almost cooked by pyro in Montreal. So there we are that day headed towards the Metrodome in Minneapolis and it’s basically a big cement pit with a white roof on top that can hold 50,000 people and man it was humid outside that day so to get into an air-conditioned cement pit was welcome to me and my buddy Al who made the trip down with me on a party bus! Once in we got into the building which was around 6 30 pm and took our seats that were lower level at center field, Faith No More was already into there set. Once I sat down and adjusted my eyes towards the stage which was a ways away I could see the band. I could hear Mike Patton but could not see him. It wasn’t till I started watching the screens that Patton was laying down on the ground on his back singing ….uh ok, pal and this continued basically until they ended with there hit song Epic! Thanks for coming out Mike Patton.

Now after a quick changeover it was Metallica’s turn….boom were into Creeping Death, Harvester Of Sorrow, Welcome Home (Sanitarium ), Sad But True, Wherever I May Roam, Of Wolf And Man and For Whom The Bell Tolls, holy shit these Tallica dudes are relentless in driving your head into the cement foundations of the Metrodome,50,000 people chanting Die,Die, Die,Pyro(watch out James)  going off left right Center. Pass me the Ibuprofen, please.

Thank God they’re taking a breather by playing The Unforgiven, and now it’s back to metal with Shortest Straw, Fade To Black(awesome), Master Of Puppets, Seek And Destroy and Whiplash, man that was a ton of metal and wait for it ….here comes the encore…..

Nothing Else Matters, Am I Evil?, Last Caress and the best pyro display I ever saw One…..crap I’m exhausted…..oh wait ..Metallica splits off stage and comes out and rips out Enter Sandman and then says adios and splits for good!

Metallica played almost a good two and a half hours…..

Geez, I wonder how much time it will take for Axl to stroll up to the stage? After a not too long of a wait(hard to believe) Out of the gate comes Gunners with new recruit Gilby Clarke, and the Guns hit the ground running with Outta Get Me(great opener of a song) followed by Welcome To The Jungle, Mr Brownstone, Live And Let Die, Attitude, Bad Obsession (complete with 3  female horn players), shall we notch it up with Double Talkin Jive, Civil War, by this point I’m like holy crap Gunners are matching the intensity set by Metallica now that is impressive, no sooner so I think that than a loud poof is released. That poof is the energy of the building being let out by a 10-minute version of Wild Horses(great song but 10-minute jam ?? After Metallica?) well maybe Axl will ramp it up? Nope how about Patience! Holy crap the oxygen is being sucked outta me. Geez, guys crank it up will ya please your losing all 50,000 Do you think Gunners heard me ?? Cue November Rain ?? Shit, Axl put the baby grand piano away and here comes another 10 minutes of well Axl blowing his testosterone all over the Metrodome. Whew, can’t believe it ok, now what’s on tap? How about a Matt Sorum drum solo? Good drummer but we have lost a good 40 minutes of momentum here folks……

But wait here comes some energy from the stage yep cue Sorum segueing into You Could Be Mine. Yeah, I think this is one of Gunners coolest tracks. The crowd comes to life were back. Sweet Child O Mine follows and everyone is rocking out and to close it out, Axl tosses his Mic in the crowd waves and splits!! Now that’s better buddy, that’s what I do expect, a quick Axl escape.

Gunners do return with a little too long sing along with Knockin On Heavens Door and to cap it off Paradise City ends with a flurry of fireworks! The show is officially over! Axl stayed sane!

IN CONCLUSION – now I don’t do these for concert reviews but I have too for this concert! Axl should have put his ego aside and let Metallica close the show as there was no way you could keep the energy up after Metallica drove the Metal bus off of the cliff.  Gunners hung in there though but that over a  half-hour where they chilled out in the show they just had a hard time sustaining any crowd energy after that (in my eyes anyway).  Compared to when I have seen Gunners in May of 91, this version with the horns, backing singers was just too much. I preferred the Alpine show much better(6 piece band)it was cool catching this tour because this was the end of an era so to speak, not that anyone knew. Two of the biggest hard rock bands at the time playing stadiums and playing full sets!

The crinkled ticket was due to a flash food that happened outside the dome while we were inside rocking (remember the humidity I talked about earlier?!) Our bus was stranded so we had to foot it back to our hotel(a story for another time!) so needless to say I was drenched! It was worth it though…