Ingrid Michaelson
June 16^th, 2010
House of Blues
Cleveland, Ohio

The ever lovable, entertainer, and musician Ingrid Michaelson took the stage right around 9:20 last night here in Cleveland, Ohio.  It was going to be a special night for her fans, and herself as well, as they were setup to film this show for a future DVD. Read the rest of this entry »

Country Throwdown
Blossom Music Center
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
May 20^th, 2010
Show Photos

It was a perfect day for a concert at Blossom Music Center and even better for a multi-artist event.  As the signs of summer filled the air, the sounds of country music filled the venue’s parking lot.   Read the rest of this entry »

Blue October
April 18^th, 2010
Cleveland, Ohio
House of Blues

‘I really need to talk with you’.  Blue October brought the ‘Pick Up The Phone’ tour to The House of Blues in Cleveland last night, and did what they do best; deliver their message through song.  The message is…you ask?  Well it’s not a message that can’t be simply defined, however, it is a simple message…all you need to do is listen to the song, the music, the band and the man.  It’s a message of life, of love and mostly it’s about the diversified nature of being.   Read the rest of this entry »

Michael Bublé
March 23rd, 2010
Wolstein Center @ CSU
Cleveland, Ohio

Oh what a night it was. Canadian born, 34 year old, Pop Jazz artist Michael Bublé and his 13 piece ensemble entertained the night away at The Wolstein Center in Cleveland. Bublé was on top of his game last night, playing to a crowd of nearly 10,000 of his adoring fans. Read the rest of this entry »

Paper Zoo
House of Blues
Cleveland, Ohio
November 3^rd, 2009

Ok, when checking out any new band one is always careful to move cautiously forward when evaluating the show for review. Well I did just that, but was pleasantly surprised by what I was hearing. Although they had a postage stamp size of the stage and lights that were anything but bright, they pulled off a great opening for Roger Daltrey. Read the rest of this entry »

Trans Siberian Orchestra

December 30^th, 2008

Quicken Loans Arena

Cleveland, Ohio

If you were to ask someone to attend a Christmas concert anytime after Christmas day, you’d be hard-pressed to find any takers, especially fifteen thousand of them, oh, and for 4 shows. That is until you tell them it’s the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, then step aside to avoid the stampede. Ten years they’ve been coming here and for ten years they’ve been putting on a jaw dropping performance.

The stage was grand as it was filled with local orchestra members, electrical instruments including a neon violin, dancers in all stages of dress, lights that came at you from every direction, cameras for the visually impaired and action like a superhero movie!

The show was your typical Trans-Siberian show, but then again, there is nothing typical about it. The show consisted of two halves. The first have was totally songs for the season. The second half was songs from the season along with other TSO music. As a matter of fact, during the second half of the show you could hear cuts from the bands non-holiday album ‘Night Castle’ which is due out sometime in 2009.

The best part of the night in my opinion was the performance of ‘Old City Bar’, but then again I’ve loved seeing and hearing that song for years. Most of the guys in the band and on stage were dressed in Tuxedo’s and the women were dressed as if they were going to attend the presidential ball. A narrator, who was there for the first half, did an outstanding job describing the shows story of Christmas past. Snow fell from the top of the stage and if you didn’t know any better, you would have thought you were watching something at a theatre.

The entire overhead truss was filled to the max with all sorts of lights, not to mention the tons of explosives TSO brings with them every year. This was truly a show for all ages. The band never disappoints their audience and it seems as though longevity is in their favor. They’ve been coming to town for 10 years now and here’s hoping for 10 more.

Mike

Partial Setlist:NED/March of the Kings
An Angel Came Down
Oh Come Holy Night
Prince of Peace
First Snow
A Mad Russian’s Christmas
Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)
Good King Joy
Ornament
Old City Bar
Promises to keep
This Christmas Day
An Angel Returned

Introductions

Wizards
Queen of the W Night
Prelude to Madness
Believe
Last Illusion/9th
Siberian Sleigh Ride
Tracers>Mozart
Christmas Canon
Carmina Burana
Key Dual-Wish Liszt
Requiem/12-24 Encore

Lindsey Buckingham
Cleveland, Ohio
October 1st, 2008
Show Time: 8:40 pm

 
You always know it’s going to be a good day when Lindsey Buckingham is in town, especially if you have a ticket to the show.  Lindsey played the House of Blues last night and was worth every penny you paid for a ticket.  No opening band, he needs no crowd warm up.  No fancy stage, it’s distracting.  No flashy stage show, he doesn’t need it.  He did however have a great setlist that featured his solo material as well as the crowd’s favorite ‘Fleetwood Mac’ songs.

This was an intimate event, Lindsey up close and personal…and how much more personal can you get without playing in someone’s living room?  I’ll tell you, before the show, Lindsey had the house get rid of the barricade that keeps the unwanted up on stage.  Lindsey wanted to make sure that if you wanted to get close, he didn’t mind.  The sound mix was phenomenal.  Lindsey’s voice was crystal clear, as it always is and his backing vocals hit the right notes. 

Lindsey played his Rick Turner Model 1guitar most of the night and for most of the show he went pick-less.  He says that he can’t accomplish the type of sound he wants from his guitar with a pick.   As a matter of fact, back when he joined Fleetwood Mac, the band wanted him to use a pick and Lindsey tried to adapt but later convinced them he had a better sound by playing with his fingers.  Just listen to one of his Fleetwood Mac tunes, or pick up his solo album and you’ll easily pick up the custom sound he creates with that Rick Turner Model 1 and his fingers.

You can see by the setlist that it’s pretty much standard as to what he plays from town to town, but what it doesn’t show you is the amazing way that he performs these songs live.
Take ‘Tusk’ as example.  You ask yourself how can he make it sound as good as it was when he had the USC Marching Band help him out…trust me, it was better.  The way he takes control and recreates the songs while he is on stage is nothing short of amazing.

The song ‘I’m So Afraid’ is good on the album, but when the man plays it live he makes it so you never want the thing to end.  When you hear the song ‘I Know I’m Not Wrong’ on the album you want to get up and dance or get up and move in anyway you can.  It’s an upbeat song that puts you in the rock and roll frame of mind…BUT, when he plays it live and vocalizes the ‘Da dah daht daht daht’ you want to rip of all of your clothes and dance naked…but you have to remember it’s live and others are watching, so jump inside your mind, get naked and dance all your cares away…that’s what Lindsey would want…do whatever it takes to make yourself feed good.  If you walked into that show down and depressed you should have left alive and refreshed, if you didn’t, well, you couldn’t have been depressed when you left.  The show was that good.

For all you die hard ‘Fleetwood Mac’ concert goers, he played a few of the songs he created for them and did them well, especially ‘Never Going Back Again’ and ‘Go Your Own Way’, but this was a Lindsey Buckingham show.  It was right on the money and was like a circus for your ears.  So, was it a good show? Nope, it was a great show, and as usual, kick yourself in the ass if you missed it or have a friend do it for you, either way you missed it.

—Set List—

Great Day
Love Runs Deeper
Trouble
Go Insane
Tusk
I Know I’m Not Wrong
Gift of Screws
Never Goin Back Again
Big Love
Shut Us Down
Under The Skin
Did You Miss Me
Come
World Turning
I’m So Afraid
Go Your Own Way
—Encore—
Second Hand News
Don’t Look Down
Treason
Time Precious Time

Mike
copyright (c) 2008 Cleveland On Stage

Mushroomhead

Peabody’s Downunder

Cleveland, Ohio

May 30, 2008 

Cleveland’s own best kept secret, Mushroomhead, has been embracing there fans with a unique and adventurous form of heavy metal since 1993. Vivid, experimental, and indefinable, Mushroomhead challenges the limits of heavy metal through both sight and sound. There is absolutely nothing better than a Mushroomhead show. They bring a lot of melodramatic, theatrical elements to the stage. Well known for the dramatic mind blowing stage show, and their facial disguise ‘X’ logo, which Mushroomhead owns. Mushroomhead along with 14 opening local acts, embraced there hometown Cleveland, Friday Night.

A Mushroomhead show is something you have to be ready for. After a long night of local acts, it’s finally 12 am and time for the main event: Mushroomhead. The stage crew set up, fog pours all over the stage, and the crowd goes nuts. Swaying back and forth, cheering for there beloved Mushroomhead. Peabody’s goes dark, and over the speakers you hear an eerie crack, and a beautiful foreign ladies voice off of “Superbuick” and “XX”, kicking off “Bwomp”. When Mushroomhead hit the stage, fits and metal signs flew high, the colorful lights soared from the stage, and the strobe lights started pumping. The crowd jumped and danced to the techno beat of “Bwomp”, and at the kick of the bass Shmotz, on keyboards, jumps into the fans hands. The whole floor is a pit of madness. Some crowd favorites, “43”, “Before I Die”, “Kill Tomorrow”, and “Never Let it Go”, were also a hit Friday Night.

The adrenaline never stopped, even after Mushroomhead’s set, techno beats pump through Peabody’s and girls go on stage and dance, mostly a favorite of the men. It’s an all night party, it’s not just a concert, it’s a highly anticipated event. If you have never attended, it’s defiantly something you should put on you’re to do list! Check Mushroomhead out Saturday June 7^th at the Cove in Geneva. You won’t be dissatisfied!

Lauren

GIGANTOUR 2008 Featuring MEGADETH

With In Flames, Children of Bodom and Job for a Cowboy

May 4^th, 2008

Time Warner Cable Amphitheater

Cleveland, Ohio

Although the weather was cold outside and there was still a bit of old man winter in the air, there was no shortage of heat inside Time Warner Cable Amphitheater as “GIGANTOUR 2008” took the stage.

Deemed “the brainchild” of Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine, “GIGANTOUR” is to thrash metal what air is to life, something you can’t live without.  With a more intense lineup than at last year’s tour, Megadeth put together the show of all shows.  With a lineup of talented bands such as “In Flames”, “Children of Bodom” and “Job for a Cowboy” you know your ears are in for a treat and a bit of pain from the amplified to the n-th degree speaker system.

“Sleepwalker” off the latest Megadeth LP was the opening song and from there the band never looked back.  Although the spotlight was on Mustaine most of the night, you couldn’t help but notice the shredding guitar playing of the newest member of the band, ‘Chris Broderick’.  Don’t get me wrong, Mustaine plays guitar like there’s not tomorrow, and after a scare with some nerve problems he had that could have left him unable to play guitar, he seems to have a renewed spirit and plays with so much more authority.

The fans weren’t going to be shorted on the songs they hold dearly to their metal hearts as Mustaine and company played classics such as “Take No Prisoners”, “Hangar 18” and probably the best song of the night, “Symphony of Destruction”.

Now, everyone thinks their still a kid when they go to concerts, but this crowd was filled with older Megadeth fans as well as newer, younger fans.  It’s funny to watch the older fans stand by the side as the mosh-pit was in full force.  I watched as an older gentleman tried to hang in the mosh-pit but then threw up his hands, grabbed a beer and said F-it. 

It’s good to see that the generation gap was closed by the tour, both young and old enjoyed what these guys threw out…think about it, it was 18 years ago when “Rust in Peace” was released…anyone who was 18 at the time is now 36.  Sure they still enjoy the music, but they’re letting their kids do the mosh-pit thing instead of them.

I didn’t see any sign that the band was getting older…just better with time.

MDN

Opeth & Between the Buried and Me
May 17, 2008
Time Warner Cable Amphitheater
Cleveland, Ohio

Noted as one of the best heavy metal shows of the season, Progressive Nation 2008 made its stop in Cleveland at Time Warner Cable’s Amphitheater.  Although an outside venue and it being unseasonably cold outside, the show went on and the molten metal that took the stage and shook the stage made it warm for all of those in attendance.  Read the rest of this entry »