Yet Another Good Year In Music (2017)

Red Hot Chili Peppers - 1/21/17 @ Target Center

Tesla - 2/4/17 @ Mystic Lake Casino

Roger Waters - 7/26/17 @ Xcel Center

Ozzy Osbourne - 8/11/17 @ Treasure Island Casino

U2 - 9/8/17 - US Bank Stadium

After Los Lobos - 5/5/17 - Mystic Lake Casino


With work being so crazy busy I have not had a chance to write a blog in a long time, but I still manage to make time for live music.  All my friends are currently in New Orleans this weekend seeing our favorite band the Radiators doing their 40^th anniversary shows at Tipitinas.  I could not make it down there this year, so I am going to look back at my 2017 calendar and reminisce about the shows I did get to see last year.

The first show that made a huge impression on me and one of my year's favorites was the Chili Peppers at the Target Center.  The first time I had seen them a few years ago I was not that impressed.  They seemed tired and bored and not into it, but this last show…holy moly.  Despite Anthony Kiedis’s busted foot in a walking cast he was all over the place dancing and going nuts.  And it goes without saying that Flea was twice as crazy and in my face half the night.  I ended up in the front row against the stage next to a chick in a large banana costume.  The show was intense, psychedelic, funky and somewhat healing while I was still in the beginning stages of Trump-shock.

 

Another great show soon after was Tesla headlining at Mystic Lake Casino.  I have seen them opening for Def Leppard a few times, but getting them front row at a smaller venue where they could play their full show was awesome.  Still rocking, still personable and just a great time with one of the all-time great American bands from the 80’s.

 

One of my favorite shows was during my now annual Summer trip south to see Dead & Company, this time at Wrigley Field in Chicago.  52 years since 3 out of the 6 members from that band started making music it is still incredibly fun and that makes it relevant.  Of course if I am on a road trip I am not about to choose a Dead & Co. cd to listen to over a Jerry-era cd, but Jerry’s dead and the Dead & Co. are alive and making incredible music.  This band is still worth traveling for.  The music is always fun but another huge aspect of the scene is running into old friends.  I found my old buddy Sean Morrison in the streets outside of Wrigley and got to meet his new sweet bride Staci, who tragically died a couple months later.  I feel fortunate that I got to meet that beautiful soul one time before she left us.

 

My favorite big venue shows for the year were a close tie between Iron Maiden, Roger Waters, Ozzy Osbourne and U2.  I have loved Iron Maiden ever since I first got the 'Number of the Beast' album as an 11^th grader in 1982, and saw them a year later in Milwaukee with Twisted Sister opening.  The band has lost nothing over the decades in the way of power and strength, and Bruce Dickinson is the consummate front-man with his non-stop energy and incredible voice even while battling with Eddie onstage.

 

I have been obsessed with Pink Floyd and Roger Waters ever since 'The Wall' came out in 1979.  I owned it on album, cassette & 8-track, and listened to it almost non-stop throughout “high” school.  I have seen Roger a few times including his performance of 'The Wall' twice which were of course two of my favorite shows of all time, but this last show was almost as powerful.  An incredible anti-Trump performance that was mind-blowing in its visual effects and its message that hit home in these crazy times.

 

I was sad a year ago while writing about seeing the final Black Sabbath show, but Ozzy lifted my spirits last summer when he reunited with Zakk Wylde to put on an incredible Ozzy Osbourne show at Treasure Island.  I went with Frank the Tank, and Ozzy still brought the madmen out in all of us as he was jumping around the stage in great voice while Zakk was in our face with his stellar guitar shredding all of our favorite Ozzy and Sabbath tunes.

 

U2 at US Bank Stadium was a breathtaking spectacle of light and sound as they assaulted us with audio/visual overload.  Frank and I got there early and scored a prime spot about 3 rows back from the front/center of the stage.  The sheer majesty and awesomeness of their stage and sound will never let you down, and I hear they are coming back on tour this year and I will be there.

 

For smaller venue shows, special mention goes to Zakk Wylde for ripping our faces off in front of hundreds of fans at the small Fine Line Café in Zakk Sabbath a mere few weeks after ripping our faces off in front of thousands with Ozzy at Treasure Island.  The man is a beast on guitar with a perfect rock and roll voice and we love him.

 

My favorite rock and roll experience of the year though was seeing Los Lobos at Mystic Lake on May 5^th.  How can you beat seeing East LA’s finest on Cinqo de Mayo?!  The band hooked me and Frank up with great seats and backstage passes and the show was fantastic as always.  After the concert we decided to hit the bar to celebrate, so me, Frank, David Hidalgo, Conrad Lozano and a few others were heading to one of the casino bars and happened upon a ballroom filled with drunks cheering on a real live all-star wrestling match in a ring.  Conrad was really into it and we watched that freak show for awhile, and then it was off to the bar for beers and tequila.  Just a fantastic night runnin’ with the Wolf.

 

Anyways, here is what I managed to see last year:

 

1/14/17 – Kris Kristofferson @ Pantages Theatre – Minneapolis, MN

1/21/17 – Red Hot Chili Peppers/Trombone Shorty @ Target Center – Minneapolis, MN
2/4/17 – Tesla @ Mystic Lake Casino – Prior Lake, MN
2/25/17 – Lettuce @ First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
3/11/17 – The Subdudes @ Dakota Jazz Club – Minneapolis, MN
3/17/17 – Blue Oyster Cult/Mark Farner @ Medina Ballroom – Medina, MN
3/24/17 – Galactic @ First Avenue
3/31/17 – Warrant/Great White @ Medina Ballroom
4/9/17 – John Koerner/Tony Glover @ Cedar Cultural Center – Minneapolis, MN
4/15/17 – New Orleans Suspects @ Bunkers – Minneapolis, MN
4/21/17 – Def Leppard/Poison/Tesla @ Xcel Center – St. Paul, MN
4/22/17 – Burton Cummings/Gypsy @ Medina Ballroom
4/29/17 – Three Dog Night/Fabulous Del Counts @ Medina Ballroom
5/5/17 – Los Lobos @ Mystic Lake Casino
5/25/17 – Gov’t Mule @ State Theatre – Minneapolis, MN
6/2/17 – The Malone Brothers @ Dakota Jazz Club
6/3/17 – The Malone Brothers @ Mitch’s House – Golden Valley, MN
6/16/17 – Iron Maiden/Ghost @ Xcel Center
6/18/17 – Don Henley @ Xcel Center
7/1/17 – Dead & Company @ Wrigley Field – Chicago, IL
7/2/17 – PINK/Peter Frampton/Steve Miller @ Summerfest – Chicago, IL
7/14/17 – Queen @ Xcel Center
7/26/17 – Roger Waters @ Xcel Center
7/28/17 – Billy Joel @ Target Field – Minneapolis, MN
7/30/17 – Guns ‘n Roses @ US Bank Stadium – Minneapolis, MN
8/5/17 – Hot Tuna @ Dakota Jazz Club
8/11/17 – Ozzy Osbourne @ Treasure Island Casino – Welch, MN
8/19/17 – George Porter/Frogleg/Jon Cleary @ Como Lakeside Pavilion – St. Paul, MN
8/25/17 – Stevie Nicks @ State Fair – St. Paul, MN
9/1/17 – Garrison Keillor @ State Fair
9/8/17 – U2 @ US Bank Stadium
9/20/17 – Gene Simmons/Don Felder/Cheap Trick @ CHS Field – St. Paul, MN
9/23/17 – Honey Island Swamp Band @ Whiskey Junction – Minneapolis, MN
9/24/17 – Honey Island Swamp Band @ Ted Booker’s House – Coon Rapids, MN
9/26/17 – Zakk Sabbath @ Fine Line Music Cafe – Minneapolis, MN
9/30/17 – April Wine/Lita Ford @ Medina Ballroom
10/12/17 – New Orleans Suspects @ Dakota Jazz Club
10/20/17 – Widespread Panic @ Riverside Theater – Milwaukee, WI
10/25/17 – Bob Dylan @ Xcel Center
10/28/17 – Jon Groh Band @ The Hook & Ladder Theater – Minneapolis, MN
12/9/17 – Marvel Universe Live @ Xcel Center
12/30/16 – Frogleg w/Camile Baudoin @ Hook & Ladder

 

And looking forward to 2018, besides the Lana Del Rey concert I just saw over the weekend I also have tickets for:  Bob Seger, Pink, Jorma Kaukonen, Robert Plant, Jefferson Starship/Mark Farner, Lynch Mob/Slaughter, more Pink, New Orleans Suspects, Lorde, Dave Davies, Rob Lowe, Rod Stewart and Taylor Swift.  I am looking forward to those and whatever else pops up, including The Dead at Alpine Valley.