Tag Archives: Music

Musicians on Tour – Great Concerts in 2016

31 Jan

Are you available to see a concert in the year 2016? You are? Excellent. This post will have some applicability for you. A great concert is ineffable. From the purchase of the tickets to the anticipation to the moment when the band/artist comes out on stage to the tinny sound of ringing ears as you are pouring out the venue, live shows have a special place in the musical muscles of melody seekers. To help you in the quest to find that perfect concert this year, here are a few tours that might be coming to your backyard in 2016.

Note: Billy Joel is not on this list, even though he has almost taken a permanent residence in Madison Square Garden – much like a Broadway play or Las Vegas residence.

Black Sabbath – The End Tour

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Although Ozzy had to postpone some recent dates because of a bout of sinusitis, Black Sabbath – as current constituted with Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler – started its goodbye tour in Omaha to be completed in September. The pioneers of heavy metal music are technically touring their recent release The End. This is the last time you will be able to see the band that brought the music world “Iron Man,” “Paranoid,” and, well, Ozzy Osbourne.

Tour Dates

Fall Out Boy – Wintour is Coming

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Fall out Boy has made an impressive comeback after a 4-year hiatus (which ended in 2013) with songs like “Uma Thurman” and “Centuries,” which line its new album American Beauty/American Psycho. Now, the band is touring, and if the Game of Thrones pun is any indication the tour will be quite engaging. What’s even better is FOB wisely chose AWOLNATION (and Pvris) to open for the show; AWOLNATION is one of the most exciting bands out there. This should be an awesome show.

Tour Dates

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – The River Tour

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BRUCE!!! To celebrate the release of The Ties that Bind: The River Collection, a 52-track, 4-hour video collection celebrating the 35th anniversary of The River, Bruce has once again set out on a massive tour that will seem him traversing the continental U.S.; he will also be heading to Portugal for a date in May. The show has been typical Bruce, fit with 30+ songs from his extensive collection.

Tour Dates

Florence + The Machine – How Beautiful Tour

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Florence Welch, who my sister widely regards as “The Goddess,” is an unbelievably talented musician who, with her tremendous Machine, recently released How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, which features songs like “What Kind of Man,”  and “Queen of Peace” and has been widely regarded as a mature, strong release. The tour, which starts in May, is well worth seeing if you have the ability to do so.

Tour Dates

Coldplay – A Head full of Dreams Tour

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Oh, Coldplay. You have to give the Britpop band some major credit; Coldplay has been around since 1996 and is still creating unique music. The band is a true chameleon; it is constantly transforming its sound, not necessarily to create mass-market sounds, but, instead, to constantly recreate its music. This strategy is clearly working as the band is gearing up for another tremendous world tour that will include a stop in San Francisco next week for the Superbowl. Go to a Coldplay show if you can; the band is awesome live.

Tour Dates

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Top 10 Songs of 2015 – #3: “Coming Home” by Leon Bridges

24 Dec

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Here is an immediate fun fact about Leon Bridges. He is not Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, or Marvin Gaye. He is, however, young enough to be any of those singers’ grandsons. That’s surprising isn’t it, especially after you listen to the following:

Let me repeat my earlier statement: Bridges is not one of those seminal soul artists; that said, he is doing his best to assure that the legacy of these individuals is not spoiled. I am going to make a proclamation; it’s bold, I’m just giving you bold morning. If Bridges had been his age in 1965, we would be talking about him in the same breath as the singers I mentioned earlier. Bold, yes. Reckless, no. Bridges is already a consummate musician and performer; he is deft and adroit, a passionate performer and baby-face smooth singer. Bridges is tremendous in every sense of the term. If he represents the future of music, music is in good hands.

For an “oldies” music lover like me who adores both Motown and STAX records, Bridges is refreshing. He is a chip off the old block. He is what music should be, what it should sound like. And the fact that Bridges’ song “Coming Home” was a Top 10 Most Viral Track on Spotfy that is a good sign for the direction of music. His debut album of the same name as the title track hit #6 on the charts depicting an insatiable urge of individuals for pure, old-fashioned, unadulterated music. There are no special effects here. It is Bridges, a keyboard, two guitars (one of bass variety), and some drums. The formula for great music is not complicated. When I wrote about this song some time ago, I also had some flattering comments about the song, which I will share below.

“Coming Home” immediately takes on the feel of “You Send Me” with tastes of “A Change is Gonna Come,” and Bridges soft croon, a smoother Hozier (to make a modern comparison), has a rich Gospel feel to it that is just the right kind of sweet, not mawkish and not overpowering – it’s a voice that you can sink into, like silky gelato. The song itself is classic early Motown. It is carried by a bluesy piano and guitar mixed with traditional percussion. It is not difficult to imagine Sam Cooke or Otis Redding singing this song, and Bridges’ voice is not really a step down; heck, I am almost willing to go so far to exclaim that Bridges parallels the singers in a sense. Not too shabby.”

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Top 10 Songs of 2015 – #7: “Get It” by Matt & Kim

19 Dec

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Matt & Kim are a deliciously weird due from Brooklyn, NY whose eccentricity is a story in and of itself; however, like all eccentric music groups, if the music doesn’t hold up, then the band won’t last. Since 2006, however, this duo has created nothing but genre-bending, effervescent music that has not changed with the release of their latest album in 2015, New Glow. We go way back to the beginning of the year for the #7 song on the countdown, “Get It,” the first single released off the new album. Those of you who have stared at a television this past year might recognize this one from the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line commercials.

If anything, this song is deliciously Matt & Kim, engaging listeners in the same zeal as songs like “Daylight” and “Let’s Go.” Matt & Kim creates such unique Indie/Dance music that it is tough to compare them with any other band; just when you start thinking they sound like somebody in the business, the band modifies its sound; for this specific song they implemented some odd synth noises that mixed with percussion spark immediate movement in the listeners; it’s inevitable; you might as well succumb to it. It’s tough to describe what the “drop” of the song is; it almost sounds like a breathless frog – and, yes, that does sound negative, but it’s pretty darn cool. The song is driven by synth sounds just like that one, and these breakdowns make the song desirable. The song, which is about partying (in case you couldn’t guess), models a party; it is driven by constant dance beats and repetition of lines like “we don’t want to go home.” One desires to be part of the crowds displayed in the music video, which is wild.

If I had to summarize this review and quickly describe why I think it deserves a spot on the top songs of the year list, I would only need one word: fun. There are not many songs that can be described as simply fun, and Matt & Kim encompass that idea in almost all of their songs, but, on their 2015 album, especially “Get It.”

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Top 10 Songs of 2015 – The List Begins … Tomorrow

14 Dec

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As we are about to say hello to 2016, it is once again time for The Music Court to countdown the best songs of 2015; And, yes, I did make an Adele pun. Her hit song will almost certainly end 2015 at the top of the Billboard charts (as her new LP is selling like hot cakes doused with maple syrup). It may even start 2016 at the top and pull an “Uptown Funk,” which ravaged the Billboard charts for around four months before giving way to the melancholic summer hit, “See You Again.” That said, let’s move beyond these introductory pleasantries and get to the nitty gritty of the list.

Last year, Zoe and I labored over several songs to choose a Top 10 list fit for the music kings and queens, and this year is no different. Thus, as always, some well-deserving songs were left off the Top 10. Thus, like each year we have done this list, on the eve of the list’s start we bring you a few songs that just missed the top 10 and found themselves on the environs, still excellent songs in their own right.

#12: “Ong Ong” by Blur

After a 12 years, the longest album gap in Britpop mainstay Blur’s illustrious career, Damon Albarn and the boys released The Magic Whip in April of 2015 and with it released track 11, “Ong Ong,” a jaunty, repetitive track that just might be one of the best songs ever released by the band. Why? It’s droning underbody hums like that of a dying car’s roar, which sounds awful, I know, but in reality it is infectious. The song carries from there in a tight, skilled manner only an organized, experienced band can create.

#11: “Stressed Out” by 21 Pilots

We go from sagacious songsters Blur to relatively new kids on the block Twenty One Pilots whose blend of alternative-rock hooks mixed with hip/hop make for a unique and exciting sound. “Stressed Out” is excellent for two reasons – lyrics and hook. I’m not a big rap fan (as the music selection on this blog may suggest); however, the rap in this piece is effective – the song’s message is that of nostalgia.

“It’d be to my brother, ‘cause we have the same nose,
Same clothes homegrown a stone’s throw from a creek we used to roam,
But it would remind us of when nothing really mattered,
Out of student loans and treehouse homes we all would take the latter”

21 Pilots does an effective job melding youthful memories with current mid-20s problems. The hook talks about turning back time and does so with an almost reserved vigor that is melodic and catchy.

 

Great songs and they missed the list! The top 10 starts tomorrow. Stay tuned.

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First Sight Brings New Meaning To True Love

24 Nov

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With no better way to describe Van Norden, as having dream pop influences, this Vancouver musician carries an almost gothic sound to his music, and First Sight brings it to you in a powerful way. The overall sound does not sound cluttered at all, which sometimes is hard to do amongst the EDM scene. The lyrical quality of First Sight does not back down either with mentioning of constellations, finding each other within space, and the feeling of that intense love at first sight feeling. Prior to releasing First Sight, Van Norden has experience being an acoustic folk musician, frequently playing with the LA based SPINdriftr. With a sound that could be best described as having international influences, it’s to no surprise that Van Norden frequently collaborates with musicians in Canada and Los Angeles. The track overall delivers a deep, almost ethereal environment rather than being an ordinary track alone, and for that, we are excited to see what Van Norden has next in store.

 

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