Rock

TOP 10 Best Rock Songs | 2021

Stingray Curators — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 22:05:04 +0000

TOP 10 Best Rock Songs | 2021 Stingray Curators Tue, 11/30/2021

As a tribute to Spinal Tap, this Top 10 “goes all the way to 11.”.

11 new rock classics that shaped the sound of the Stingray Music’s rock music channel and Stingray Loud music video channel in the last 12 months.

Proving rock music is not only “better in the old days”.

Best rock songs of 2021

“These go to 11” Special Mention.

11. “Hunter’s Moon” - Ghost

I hate this band. Cause every time they release one of their new catchy and haunting rock anthems, I spend days and nights figuring out what band it reminds me of. Is it Blue Oyster Cult, The Goblins, Black Sabbath, Kiss, or Type O Negative? Well done Papa Emeritus and friends, well done. You did it again! With “Hunter’s Moon,” the band once more borrowed all-over sound and imagery from goth metal, horror movies and theatrical rock bands. Love it!

10. “End of Me” - Billy Talent

Get ready for a wink to the ‘90s alt-rock sound. They even invited Rivers Cuomo (from Weezer) to sing on the track. An era when a lot of music, even when dark, could be a light at the end of the tunnel for the twisted teenagers or young adults we were. “End of Me” is just that, a feel-good tune flipping the bird to his tragic lyrics and putting a smile on our faces.

9. “Waiting on a War” - Foo Fighters

Maybe they released too many songs in the last few years or had too much pressure trying to be the guardians of rock. But after a suite of “just ok” songs, it’s good to hear one Foo Fighter gem that sticks around for more than a few weeks.

8. “The Writing on the Wall” - Iron Maiden

Everything in music goes in circles. And the lack of new heroes created the perfect opening in the rock matrix for Iron Maiden to come back and make all of us realize how good they are. Welcome back Eddie, fantasy art imagery, powerful vocals, and legendary riffs. You were missed.

7 ex aequo. “White Buffalo” - Crown Lands

Thanks to Canadian rock band for keeping rock alive in the last 10 years. After Sheepdogs, Monster Truck, Glorious Sons, Crown Lands took the crown back in 2021 with achieved and effective rock hymns like this one.

7 ex aequo. “Don’t Back Down” - Mammoth WVH

With this song, Wolfgang Van Halen’s one-man band avoided falling into the traps and coming out sounding like a pale copy of his legendary father's band. “Don’t Back Down” is pure and solid hard rock, niched halfway between classic Queens of the Stone Age and newer Volbeat. Still the family talent is felt, and ‘80s’ guitar hero riffs are all over the track.

6. “California Dreamin’” - Dirty Honey

Dirty Honey topped my “Time to Ride” playlist last summer along classic Deep Purple, Motley Crue and GnR tracks. Sometime rock just needs to be fun grooves and good vocals. And why did guitar solos disappear again? They are so much fun!

5. “My Lucky Card” – Billy Gibbons

Fully eclipsed (with reason) by the shocking death of ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill, Billy Gibbons’ new grimy blues-rock album stayed in the dark. Too bad, since “My Lucky Card” is a direct road trip back to the band’s late ‘70s’ albums. It’s the best music Billy G released in years.

4. "Built by Nations” - Greta Van Fleet

Rock and roll imposters or Rock and roll saviors, every Rock fan has is opinion on the UK quartet but they are definitely now a fixture of the Nostalgia Rock sound lining up radio anthems. Heat Above slowly rose from the shadow of sister hit Heat Above and is definitely born for a longer life…

3. "The Bandit” - Kings of Leon

Did When You See Yourself bring us the best Kings of Leon music since Only by the Night? Probably. And “The Bandit” leads that strong, overlooked, great opus. Hopefully, the return of live music festivals in 2022 will give “The Bandit” and other perfectly crafted alt-rock gems on this album, a well-deserved second life.

2. “Crawling Kingsnake” - The Black Keys

Some said this Delta blues classic rendition album just showed how The Black Keys may have become an uninspired record label pleaser. But most fans digged it and rock radio played the hello out this song. And their name is back on the top row of many festival headliners. So maybe blues-influenced garage rock is just what the band does best.

1. “I Don’t Live Here Anymore” - The War on Drugs

Rising above the trendy nostalgia rock bands and newest work from established rock gods, emerged my favorite song of 2021. It’s a simple but epic masterpiece rooted in Americana, ‘80s and indie rock. “I Don’t Live Here Anymore” will make you want to wander on a country road or in a pile of old vinyls. The song features waves of vintage guitars backing inspiring lyrics that could come straight out of Springsteen’s Nebraska or U2’s Rattle and Hum.

The best of rock music on Stingray Music

And there you have it! Listen to these songs and other great rock legends on our Stingray Music mobile app. We have more than 2,000 music channels, all curated by music experts. So, what are you waiting for?

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Queen Rock Montreal Concert | Things you didn't know

Eric C. — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 19:16:10 +0000

Queen Rock Montreal Concert | Things you didn't know Eric C. Mon, 11/08/2021

The year is 1981, Lady Di is preparing to tie the knot with Prince Charles, the film Raiders of the Lost Ark marks its debut in theaters, Ronald Reagan becomes US President, and it’s also the year of the first American test-tube baby and the first flight of US Space Shuttle Columbia. In Canada, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau brings the constitution home from the Queen, and the band, Queen, is at the peak of their power! On November 24 and 25 of 1981, Freddie Mercury and the boys from Queen take the stage at the Montreal Forum for a concert film entitled We Will Rock You. Qello Concerts is celebrating the 40th anniversary of this legendary show with an amazing HD version! The show is entitled Queen Rock Montreal.

How Saul Swimmer convinced Freddie Mercury to film the show

At first, Queen was not really into doing a concert vfilm - in fact, director Saul Swimmer, who had quite the track record, having directed the movie The Concert for Bangladesh (George Harrison's iconic benefit concert in 1972), and co-produced The Beatles' documentary Let It Be, said the key factor in Freddie’s decision was the result of a trip to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. where Saul showed Freddie a three-story IMAX screen, suggesting that the frontman imagine himself onscreen. It worked. Mercury, as we all know, was a massive rock star, but he also just wanted to be loved, and this was a great vehicle for adoration, and with Mercury on board, the rest of the band followed suit.

The size and scale of the production was a bit much for audience members though, as they were forced to deal with massive IMAX cameras blocking their views from time to time. In fact, rumor has it, the band itself was not so enamored with the extent of the production. As the story goes: Saul Swimmer originally had an idea to film a Queen concert, in an extremely high 35-millimeter film. The band was not on tour at the time, so all the sound and lights, production and crew had to be re-assembled just for this occasion. Not to mention that the band was out of practice, so there was a lot of work to be done. Plus, the band didn’t get along with Saul Swimmer at all. Freddie, in particular, was not too thrilled with Saul and his way of doing things. According to band members, "this turned to something like hatred, when we discovered on the first night that Swimmer had put up his own lights on the audience, changed the colors in our lights, and had cameras all over the stage … obviously, we were not going to be able to treat it like a normal gig. It got worse on the second night, when Saul Swimmer demanded that Freddie wear the same clothes as the first night … and make the same moves … this guy had no idea that the show wasn’t choreographed … We basically did what we liked … So tempers flared … and it shows." Maybe not to the audience who were eating it up, though!

The first time Queen ever played Under Pressure live

The music was about as good as it gets! The show started with a fast and furious version of We Will Rock You, and you can really feel the band putting a lot of muscle and power into that version. It’s that power that was so striking about the band. This concert also marks the first time Queen ever played the song “Under Pressure” live. The song was wildly popular at the time, especially with the participation of David Bowie, and even though Bowie did not join the group on stage (some in the crowd were sure it might happen), they managed to pull off a killer version that had the crowd chanting for more. Little known fact: prior to becoming famous, Freddie met David Bowie at a stall where Freddie worked with drummer Roger Taylor in London’s Kensington Market, where Freddie sold Bowie, then also a struggling musician, a pair of vintage boots! So, their relationship goes way back.

Among the crowd was future Quebec rock star, Simon Fauteux, who was an impressionable young gentleman at the time - the young man, who went on to experience his own career as a singer/songwriter, with hits like “Elle,” “Laura,” and “Ou es tu,” drew inspiration from the show that essentially changed his life and made it clear for him that he wanted a life in music. Today, Simon is the founder of Six Media Marketing, and he works with acts like Ghost, Koriass, Bryan Adams, and Men Without Hats, to name a few. Simon remembers the night with crystal clarity, the barrage of sound that the band managed to create with just the four of them on stage was exceptional. Freddie was absolutely fabulous and that night, he proved himself to be the greatest and absolute best frontman in rock history. According to Simon, “The one-two punch of the opening track, the quick version of ‘We Will Rock You / Let Me Entertain You’ was tremendous! THAT’s one way to start a show. POWER POWER POWER!”

Queen in Montreal: production tricks

Incredibly, tickets for this show were in the $10 range! Imagine that! And it was a pivotal concert for many Montrealers, like Fauteux, who also says, “I remember Queen's light system which, at the time, was huge, with its removable panels - absolutely breathtaking! Not to mention Roger Taylor, the rockstar-looking drummer, was clearly an influence on some of my looks over the years!” According to Simon, and surely, this was the case for so many in attendance for the show, "that gig is by far the most significant show I've ever attended, to this day!"

The material was recorded with the highest-quality equipment, and the visuals were crisp and dynamic. There were some issues with the original footage, however, so the film was sent to the US to be fixed, through a process using algorithms, invented by John D. Lowry (from NASA) for rescuing the film from the Apollo Moon missions. We are talking major hi-tech solutions!

In fact, production-wise, they played some interesting tricks, as material from both nights has been used in the final version. In a number of instances, the footage is a mixture of camera shots from one night and audio recordings from the other night. At first the band hated the material, when it was released as a film called, We Will Rock You, but then they bought back the rights years later and re-released it with significant editing changes under the name Queen Rock Montreal. We’ve got it in all of its glory for your enjoyment, at Qello Concerts. It’s a click away!

Queen Rock Montreal tracklist

The tracklist from the concert is a veritable greatest hits from one of the hottest bands of their time. The songs span from early rockers like “Keep Yourself Alive” from their 1973 self-titled debut album, all the way up to “Under Pressure,” the new single from their (at-the-time forthcoming) album, Hot Space. Here is the complete list of Queen Rock Montreal:

We Will Rock You (Fast Version)
Let Me Entertain
You Play the Game
Somebody to Love
Killer Queen
I'm in Love With My Car
Get Down Make Love
Save Me
Now I'm Here
Dragon Attack
Now I'm Here (Reprise)
Love of my Life
Under Pressure
Keep Yourself Alive
Drum and Timpani Solo
Guitar Solo
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Jailhouse Rock
Bohemian Rhapsody
Tie Your Mother Down
Another One Bites the Dust
Sheer Heart Attack
We Will Rock You
We Are the Champions
God Save The Queen

It also bears mentioning that Montreal, at that time, was a hotbed of passionate music fans (and still is today). Back then, Montrealers were renowned for discovering and supporting some of the most innovative music happening in rock circles at that time. Bands like Supertramp, Genesis, Yes, Gentle Giant, and a host of prog rock bands from the UK were welcomed in this city way before they created a buzz anywhere else in North America. Montreal had already gained a reputation amongst music fans and musicians, alike, of being a musical Mecca! Fans came from everywhere to experience Queen at the legendary Montreal Forum, home to The Montreal Canadiens and their 20 plus Stanley Cup banners, and the site of some of the most incredible concerts to take place in the history of Canada. For anyone who was there to witness the regal rock ‘n roll of Queen at that iconic show, it remains a memory etched in time. For those who weren’t able to be there in person, now, you can live the entire experience in glorious HD thanks to Stingray Qello Concerts!

For details, click here.

Long live ROCK!

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10 Pop and Rock Star Costume Ideas for 2021

Stingray Curators — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 18:45:10 +0000

10 Pop and Rock Star Costume Ideas for 2021 Stingray Curators Mon, 09/20/2021

Stingray Recommends: Top 10 Costume Ideas for Halloween 2021

One of the best things about Halloween is feeling like somebody else for a while.

Shy by nature? Tonight, you’re an ultra-confidant, sexy vampire.

People pleaser? Tonight you’re an axe-wielding serial killer.

But there’s no need to go full-on freaky or scary. The world of pop music has plenty of characters to inspire a temporary makeover.

Need some ideas? In no particular order, here are our Top 10 Costume Ideas for 2021.

Go ahead, release that inner pop star - and be sure to tag Stingray in the photos!

Olivia Rodrigo

If you’re on a tight budget, it doesn’t get easier than this. Perfect that Sour look with a face covered in kids’ stickers.

►Decades of Pop Hits

Freddie Mercury

It’s almost 30 years since we lost this trailblazing legend. Pay homage with his unmistakable moustache and a flamboyant outfit of your choosing. (An outrageous crown gets you extra points.)

►For The Fans of Queen

Lil Nas X

Freddie Mercury’s kindred spirit. Spray paint a cheap cowboy hat hot pink, then scour Value Village for matching pink belts and blazer. You’d better befriend a seamstress, ‘cause this one’s elaborate!

►Guest Curator: Lil Nas X

Kacey Musgraves

One large white cowboy hat, pastel-coloured eye shadow and a bucketful of glitter. That’s it, you’re done!

►Women of Hot Country

Yungblud

We’ve all done a punk rock costume at some point in our lives. Refresh the concept with fetish wear and platform shoes. Go Robert Smith with your hair.

►Alternative Now

Cardi B

WAP was a major thing in 2020, and it isn’t going away any time soon. Get her uber-sexual video look with a wavy beehive wig and lots and lots of pink cloth.

►For The Fans of Cardi B

The Weeknd

Doing this Canadian star in 2013 would’ve required a major trip to the hair stylist. Fortunately, all you need now is a red suit, handlebar moustache and oversized 70’s shades.

►For The Fans of The Weeknd

Billie Eilish

You have two options here: Billie circa 2019 (green streaks in your hair and baggy t-shirt), or this year’s red-carpet version (blonde wig + cream-coloured gown).

►For The Fans of Billie Eilish

J Balvin

Start with a crew cut and go crazy with the hair dye. Add signature smiley face medallion and you’re 90% there. Just make sure you can do some passable rhyming in Spanish.

►Guest Curator: J Balvin

ZZ Top

Pay tribute to one of classic rock’s beloved icons, the late Dusty Hill. A wizard-like beard, suit jacket, black shades and grey fedora does the trick. Then find a partner to be your double.

►For The Fans of ZZ Top

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Remembering the Summer of Love, 50 Years After

Ben Fong-Torres — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 14:33:50 +0000

Remembering the Summer of Love, 50 Years After Ben Fong-Torres Mon, 09/13/2021

Author’s Note: In and around San Francisco, it’s all about the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love. Exhibitions in museums and libraries; concerts and special events in Golden Gate Park and around town; a return of the musical, “A Night with Janis Joplin.” It’s the endless summer of love, and it’s happened every decade.

In 1987, the San Francisco Chronicle noted the 20th anniversary with several articles, including this one, which I’ve edited for space. I have not updated it, but should note that since then, we’ve lost three of the people I spoke with: Bill Graham, Jerry Garcia and Paul Kantner.

"I never felt that the music coming out of San Francisco was so revolutionary," said record producer David Rubinson, "but I think it was a revolutionary attitude of the bands and of the audience that swept the country."

In the mid-'60s, the San Francisco Bay Area delivered unto the world a mind-blowing array of popular bands, among them Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother & the Holding Company, the Grateful Dead, Country Joe & the Fish, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Sons of Champlin, Moby Grape, Blue Cheer, It's a Beautiful Day, Steve Miller Blues Band, Great Society, and the Charlatans.

Before the Summer of Love was over, however, many of the bands had been signed by big record companies, new recording studios sprang up in San Francisco, in Marin, and on the Peninsula, the Airplane was on the cover of Life magazine, and "acid rock" and "the San Francisco Sound" had joined the trend-watcher's vocabulary.

The music -- first played at parties, then on the streets and in the parks, then in clubs and concert halls, and finally on radio and records -- was the constant backdrop for the times. "Rock 'n' roll," said promoter Bill Graham, "was one of the means of expression for people who were looking at life differently."

The music, said Paul Kantner, now with the Kantner-Balin-Casady Band, "was a good clarion call to action." It was, said Country Joe McDonald, "a very important part of solidifying the community. It was a morale booster; it'd make everybody feel good, and they'd go home being more convinced than ever."

But, as some of the musicians will admit, there never was an actual "San Francisco Sound." There was a volume level: way up. Before there was such a thing as a "lifestyle," there was a style and an attitude -- a combination of laissez-faire and too-stoned-to-care.

One of the first bands on the scene, the Charlatans, was put together by a designer, George Hunter, who was far more interested in image and style than in music.

The Grateful Dead never expected to be commercial: "We never had that glamour flash,” Jerry Garcia said, “that was sellable."

These days, sex, drugs, and politics rarely make the charts, there's no identifiable new wave of San Francisco bands, the barriers are back up between bands and fans, radio is formatted as tightly as in its Top 40 years, and the Beatles' "Revolution" is being used to sell Nikes. And, oh yes, the Airplane's "White Rabbit," having been used in the Academy Award-winning movie Platoon, is out again, complete with a video on MTV.

Did anything really change?

"No," said Grace Slick. "I thought that, with an incredible amount of media blitzing and books and knowledge, you could change people. But you can't. The only person I can change is me."

Maybe, said Country Joe, who now sings and works for Vietnam vets and against ongoing wars. "Life is more interesting now, and more amusing and entertaining."

But as he thinks back 20 years, he grows wistful. "We really thought we were going to convince the whole world to love each other by getting them to listen to rock 'n' roll music and taking a drug called LSD. Our generation had a lot of casualties; we paid a heavy price. And when you look back at the beginning of the end of the Summer of Love, to the battle going on in America, you realize that the Establishment did not voluntarily relinquish its control over the government and the culture. And that we survived that, is unbelievable."

Here on Qello Concerts, you can find the Grateful Dead in features like “Classic Album” and “The Festival Express.” There is also the Jerry Garcia tribute concert, "Dear Jerry." The Airplane’s signature song, “White Rabbit,” is performed by Grace Potter at the Moe. down Festival. Janis and Big Brother & the Holding Company are documented in “Comin’ Home.” Country Joe and the Fish are part of the series, “All You Need Is Love: The Story of Popular Music,” in the episode, “Songs of War and Protest.” Jimi Hendrix, like Janis a breakout star at the Monterey Pop Festival, is in, among other features, “Jimi Plays Berkeley.” There is also the Tony palmer series "All You Need is Love" Episode 14, specifically, covers the height of the Haight.

---

Ben Fong-Torres was a writer and editor at Rolling Stone from 1969 to 1981. He was a DJ on KSAN, has published ten books, writes the Radio Waves column in the Chronicle, and created the online station, Moonalice Radio, where his DJ show runs from 9 to 12, day and night.

*Our content library is updated on a regular basis and some of those concerts might not be available at the moment.

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Tina Turner: One Last Time, Live in Concert

Ben Fong-Torres — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 19:08:35 +0000

Tina Turner: One Last Time, Live in Concert Ben Fong-Torres Tue, 08/31/2021

Beyonce may be hot – OK, she is – but Tina Turner was the firestarter, the first to represent and generate pure sensuality on stage, to combine sexy songs and a throaty delivery with a tough ‘tude and a totally liberated dance style, complemented by the Ikettes, foxy dancers who could knock you over with a thrust of their synchronized hips.

Tina’s career ranged some 50 years, from her start as a teenaged partner to the nasty blues guitarist and band leader, Ike Turner, to her escape from him and into a brilliant second life as a solo star. She did several farewell concert tours, including One Last Time in 1999, when she was the sexiest 61 year-old imaginable, but would continue to say goodbye on stage until 2009.

Much of Tina’s reign as the acclaimed “Queen of Rock” can be seen here on Qello. Originally, I thought I’d be recommending Rio ’88, when she was in her saucy prime, playing for an adoring mass of fans in Brazil. As it turns out, she left her dancers home and didn’t perform one of her biggest hits, “Private Dancer.” She’s still great, but I’d suggest the aforementioned One Last Time, in which she brings on not the usual three dancers, but five, performs all her solo hits, and digs back to 1960 for “A Fool in Love,” once again reminding that, long before Fantasia on American Idol, she had cut the definitive version of that scorching number. (Fantasia, I should add, did an incredible job on the song.)

But, speaking of Ike & Tina hits, any fan of hers should also check out the oddly titled Legends in Concert: Live at the Big TNT Show. This is, actually, a compilation of Ike & Tina Revue performances from a variety of programs. Only four of the 18 tracks are from the TNT, a 1966 all-star revue. The rest are from the Ed Sullivan show, an Italian show, Playboy After Hours, and two other, unidentified television programs. The result is repeat performances of “I Want to Take You Higher” and “Proud Mary.”

Still, it’s fascinating to chart the changes in Tina’s performances—not to mention in her hair, her outfits (skimpier and skimpier; tighter and tighter), and her Ikettes. Actually, Ike Turner chose the backup singers and dancers, and controlled all the women with an iron hand, as I learned when I profiled them for a Rolling Stone cover story in 1971 (the year of their “Proud Mary”).

It was a great day in rock and roll history when Tina made her escape, and began to live out her Wildest Dreams. And that’s another concert, from 1996 in Amsterdam, that’s worth a viewing. As always, Tina is energetic, engaging, entertaining—and hot.

Check out the various Tina Turner programs below on Qello, and enjoy this special excerpt from Legends in Concert as she and Ike perform the Beatles' classic Come Together live at the Playboy Mansion in 1969.

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The Everly Brothers - Reunion Concert: Live at the Royal Albert Hall

Ben Fong-Torres — Tue, 31 Aug 2021 18:05:20 +0000

The Everly Brothers - Reunion Concert: Live at the Royal Albert Hall Ben Fong-Torres Tue, 08/31/2021

When Phil Everly died early this year, a lot of music-loving writers got their chance to pay tribute to one of the greatest rock and roll acts of all time: the Everly Brothers.

Big as they were in the late ‘50s and through the ‘60s, they weren’t that easy to write about. They famously broke up in 1973 in the midst of a concert in California, and didn’t reunite until a decade later. And although they each made solo albums as well as joint projects over the past three decades, none of them dented the charts, except for EB 84, a 1984 effort that included a song Paul McCartney gave them. They did precious little press, and the media had few reasons to pursue them.

Now, 30 years later, with the passing of one of the Everlys, at age 74, the spotlight shines again on one of the most influential vocal duos in pop history. Sure, Phil and older brother Don learned from those who came before – the Louvin Brothers come to mind – but they intertwined their voices with country-flavored ballads, rockabilly and rock and roll songs so beautifully that they, in turn, influenced many who heard them on radio and TV. They include the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, the Hollies, the Mamas and the Papas, the Righteous Brothers, the Byrds, Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris, and numerous Motown groups – pretty much anybody who sang in close harmony.

The spotlight here is on that September evening in 1983 when the brothers reunited in concert, at the Royal Albert Hall in London. (They’d previously performed there and had an affection for the UK; witness their great album, Two Yanks in England, done with plentiful assistance by members of the Hollies).

Although it was an emotional moment, the brothers played it straight. After arriving onstage from opposite wings and hugging briefly, they got down to business, playing their hits and pausing only once (at least on the resulting film) to greet the audience, with Don doing all the talking. Prompted by Phil, he said, “It’s good to be back.” He referred to their breakup as “our necessary vacation. We enjoyed part of it, and we hated part of it..”

Don, it turns out, also does all the solo vocals on the Everlys’ many hits, with Phil chiming in on the high parts. They rolled through most of them: “Claudette,” “Walk Right Back,” “Crying in the Rain,” “Cathy’s Clown,” “Take a Message to Mary,” “When Will I Be Loved” (which Don noted was written by “our baby boy Phil”), “Bird Dog,” “Bye Bye Love,” “Wake Up, Little Susie,” “All I Have to Do Is Dream” (a gorgeous rendition, eliciting a satisfied smile from Phil at the end), and a bunch more. They are generous, and they also dip back into their Kentucky childhoods, performing a few numbers from their early album, Songs Our Daddy Taught Us (recently covered by Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones).

But it’s not a jukebox. The guys, dressed in tuxes and backed by a full band, provide many lovely moments, especially for fans who know some of their roller-coaster history. And Don plays with the melodies of his solo bits. Check out “Let It Be Me.” But when it comes time to harmonize, they lock eyes and synchronize their voices, and their parts, perfectly.

Like brothers.

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Letter to you

Steve Jones — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 15:48:19 +0000

Letter to you Steve Jones Tue, 10/20/2020

I feel like I just read a man’s diary.

Bruce Springsteen’s new album Letter to You is intimate enough to induce a sense of guilt for witnessing such raw vulnerability. These are 12 songs representing the inner thoughts of a man at peace with his 71 years of hopes, dreams, failures, and successes. Even his mortality.

As he has masterfully done for nearly 50 years, Bruce Springsteen weaves compelling characters and stories into his songs, but this time around, many of the characters feel like younger versions of the artist himself.

The album opens with “One Minute You’re Here,” and Bruce finds himself “so alone,” reflecting on life’s unrelenting clock as “the summer wind sings its last song.” Yes, the album begins with the end in sight and continually reminds you that the days ahead are finite.

That same imagery appears again on “Burnin’ Train,” as Bruce tells us that “time is my hunter.” He comes face to face with his accomplishments and failings, singing “with our shared faith, rising dark and decayed.”

He looks back at “faded pictures that somebody took when you were hard and young and proud” on the very moving “Last Man Standing.” Inspired by a friend’s death, Bruce sings about his younger self, the man who could “kick in the band” and “take the crown on their mystery ride.” Impressively, he can still kick in the band. Appropriately, “Last Man Standing” soars on the back of Jake Clemons’ saxophone, invoking the spirit of his late uncle (and E Street legend) Clarence. As a collection, these songs rock with the best of the E Street Band’s work. The band is tight and full of energy, and the sonic quality often takes the listener back to relive the glory days.

“Ghosts” revives the mid-70s wall-of-sound that was Born to Run. While on the surface, he is singing to someone who has left us, it feels very much like that departed person is once again Bruce’s youth. When he sings about the old guitars, clothes, memories, ghosts, and spirits in the night, you feel both the longing for simpler times and the peaceful realization that, at some point, we are all “comin’ home.”

While not an overtly political album, Bruce has not lost his ability to reflect the zeitgeist. There are multiple shots at Donald Trump, landing a direct punch with “the criminal clown has stolen the throne” in the fantastic “House of a Thousand Guitars,” and punching more subtly with “Rainmaker says white’s black and black’s white / says night’s day and day’s night” in “Rainmaker.” This is the Springsteen who, from the earliest days, has always intuitively felt the pulse of his generation.

The album closes poignantly and perfectly with Bruce singing once again to the departed in “I’ll See You In My Dreams:” “I remember you, my friend, and though you’re gone and my heart’s been emptied it seems… I’ll see you in my dreams”. Is this “friend” another nod to the Bruce of decades gone by?

Letter To You is Springsteen’s 20th album, recorded in just four days at his home studio in Colt’s Neck, New Jersey. And you can hear all of that in the music. You can hear the maturity of a man who has recorded 20 albums, the energy of a real band playing real songs in real-time, and the warmth of old friends gathered together, sharing personal stories and memories. For Bruce and his fans, this album is therapy and stands up to the high bar set by his previous 19 albums. It is a very worthy addition to The Boss’ body of work.

Qello Concerts Presents Summer Encore Festival

Stingray — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 16:45:06 +0000

Qello Concerts Presents Summer Encore Festival Stingray Wed, 07/15/2020

Save the date!

Music lovers, don’t give up on festival season just yet!

Qello Concerts is excited to announce that we’ve got you covered for 2020 with the ultimate virtual streaming festival, kicking off on July 29th and running until August 18th. Join us for three weeks of the most iconic performances from international music fests and concerts by your favourite artists.

For the Summer Encore Festival, we’ve curated a time and space-bending medley featuring shows from Jimi Hendrix, Amy Winehouse, Shakira, Bob Marley & The Wailers, and more. You won’t need to worry about choosing which stage to go to or which performance you’re willing to miss since all the shows are available on-demand!

Travel back in time to Woodstock, soak up the sun at Rock at Rio, or feel the electrifying thrill of Glastonbury. Or, kick back and experience all of them, because you can!

Each week, the Summer Encore fest will give you free access to some of the most memorable concerts and festival performances of all time, from Amy Winehouse’s stunning set at Eurockéennes de Belfort in 2007 to Coldplay’s eye-popping and confetti-filled show at La Cigale in 2012. You’ll also have access to spectacular shows from The Cure, Ellie Goulding, Royal Blood, Gregory Porter, Michael Kiwanuka, Beck, and many more.

Our crew of festivalgoers and music lovers will also be able to view even more jaw-dropping concerts with the ALL-ACCESS pass for exclusive VIP content. Experience the pure magic of Queen’s legendary Wembley Stadium show, Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney’s iconic sets at Live at Knebworth in 1990, Janis Joplin’s renowned Woodstock performance, Bruce Springsteen Live at Hyde Park, plus concerts by Wu-Tang Clan, Ed Sheeran, Jimi Hendrix, Metallica, The Killers, Sam Smith, Green Day, Bob Marley, The Who, and many more.

As if it weren’t enticing enough, we’re spicing things up with a contest for those who reserve their festival entry right here. RSVP for lineup details, an exclusive offer, and the chance to win a one-year all-access pass for Qello Concerts and incredible festival merch!*

Summer Encore Festival lineup!

WEEK 1: JULY 29 – AUGUST 4

QUEEN LIVE AT WEMBLEY STADIUM

PINK FLOYD LIVE AT KNEBWORTH 1990 – VOLUME III

SHAKIRA LIVE FROM PARIS

WU-TANG CLAN LIVE IN MONTREUX

MUMFORD & SONS THE ROAD TO RED ROCK

ELLIE GOULDING LIVE AT MAIN SQUARE 2016*

ENRIQUE IGLESIAS VINA DEL MAR 2000*

THE LUMINEERS LIVE AT MUSILAC 2017*

ROYAL BLOOD EUROCKEENNESS 2017*

GREGORY PORTER NICE JAZZ FESTIVAL 2012*

WEEK 2: AUGUST 5 – AUGUST 11

THE ROLLING STONES SWEET SUMMER SUN: HYDE PARK LIVE

PAUL McCARTNEY LIVE AT KNEBWORTH 1990 – VOLUME 1

JANIS JOPLIN 50th ANNIVERSARY OF WOODSTOCK MUSIC FESTIVAL: THE WOODSTOCK DIARIES

SHERYL CROW MILES FROM MEMPHIS LIVE AT THE PANTAGES THEATRE

THE KILLERS LIVE AT V FESTIVAL 2014

COLDPLAY LIVE AT CIGALE 2012*

TOTO VINA DEL MAR 2004*

BECK LIVE AT LES EUROCKEENNES FESTIVAL 2016*

JACK JOHNSON MAIN SQUARE 2014*

INXS VINA DEL MAR 2003*

WEEK 3: AUGUST 12 – AUGUST 18

CARLOS SANTANA GREATEST HITS: LIVE AT MONTREUX 2011

KATY PERRY LIVE AT ROCK IN RIO BRAZIL 2015**

THE WHO LIVE AT HYDE PARK

BOB MARLEY AND THE LIVE IN CONCERT

WAILERS

SAM SMITH LIVE AT V FESTIVAL 2014

GREEN DAY BULLET IN A BIBLE

CARLOS SANTANA GREAT HITS: LIVE AT MONTREUX 2011

AMY WINEHOUSE LIVE AT EUROCKEENNES DE BELFORT 2007*

THE CURE TOURNEE 2012 AUX EUROCKEENNES DE BELFORT*

MICHAEL KIWANUKA LIVE: GAROROCK FESTIVAL 2017*

DAMIAN MARLEY EUROCK 15*

OF MONSTERS AND MEN MAIN SQUARE FESTIVAL 2013*

*FREE CONCERTS

** exclude Canada

Summer of love

We’ve had the chance to speak to some of these legends thanks to Ben Fong-Torres, ex-editor at Rolling Stone magazine, and our very own Zach Monson’s great interviews. Discover Ben’s article on the Summer of Love and his review of Paul McCartney’s performance at Knebworth in 1990, and Zach’s sit-down with Mumford & Sons.

We’re immensely stoked to present summer 2020’s biggest music festival, all while keeping festivalgoers safe from home. It’s important to hold onto things we enjoy during this strange period in time. We can’t wait to have you at the Summer Encore Fest, so bust out your best summer outfits and come jam with us!

Psst! If you’re craving summer music right now, check out Stingray Music playlists like 2020 Summer Hits, Classic Rock: Summer, Fab Summer Cookout, and so many more. You’re welcome 😉.

Don’t forget to RSVP for the festival!*

*Contest ended July 28th at 11:59 P.M EST*

Qello

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Eric Clapton: MTV Unplugged

Ben Fong-Torres — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 15:43:55 +0000

Eric Clapton: MTV Unplugged Ben Fong-Torres Fri, 06/19/2020

Eric Clapton didn’t get off to a very promising start in his performance for the MTV Unplugged series in 1992.

Seated on stage at the Bray Studios in London, alongside guitarist Andy Fairweather Low (of Amen Corner in the ‘60s), Clapton didn’t address the exuberant cheers from the audience. He turned to Low, muttered, “Ready?” and essentially warmed up with an instrumental, “Signe.”

“Thank you very much,” he offered before moving into Bo Diddley’s “Before You Accuse Me,” which Slowhand had cut in 1978, and which quickly crystalized whatthe Unplugged concept is all about: taking songs people have come to love in their full-band glory and stripping them down, thus reinventing and refreshing them. Here, without his percussionists (yet), the crowd jumped in to serve as the rhythm section.

Without a full band, the focus is on the voice. Clapton’s is nothing special, and he looks more like a professor than a bluesman. But when he gets into a lyric, it’s clear that he’s dedicated to the form, both in his singing and his precise, yet passionate playing, often on bottleneck. After a mostly instrumental “Hey Hey,” he expresses his satisfaction with a smile and a laugh.

Joined by a full (albeit acoustic) band and backup singers, he moves into “Tears in Heaven,” which was new at the time, and doesn’t register with the audience the way, a few songs later, “Layla” will. He also scores with “Walkin’ Blues,” “Alberta” (which shares its melody with “Corrina”), and, especially, “San Francisco Bay Blues,” by far the liveliest number in the 14-song set. There are kazoos for everyone, and Clapton’s even got one on his harmonica rack.

For some reason, the entire group is seated throughout—even the backup singers. Maybe it’s to accentuate the low-key jam atmosphere of an unplugged show, to differentiate it from a rock band presentation. The result is that, aside from being more difficult for the gathered audience to see, Clapton and company appear less than energetic. The star rarely says more than a cursory (but sometimes forceful) thank you.

But appearances are deceiving. The band and singers may look relaxed, but they’re a well-oiled machine, totally in sync with each other and with each of the songs Clapton has chosen to revisit.

The concert itself is well worth revisiting.

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The Dead at the End of ‘So Many Roads’

Ben Fong-Torres — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 17:07:29 +0000

The Dead at the End of ‘So Many Roads’ Ben Fong-Torres Wed, 06/17/2020

It’s not a sexy, round-number anniversary, but I bet Deadheads know that July 9 was the date of the last Grateful Dead concert with Jerry Garcia. That was in 1995, at Soldier Field in Chicago. With the surviving Dead having celebrated a 50th anniversary with a farewell tour—and then a return of most of them, as Dead & Company—they continue to be in the news.

They are on Qello Concerts, in the Classic Albums series (Anthem to Beauty) and in Festival Express, rocking and partying across Canada by train with Janis Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy and other pals. And they are on my mind, since I wrote The Grateful Dead Scrapbook in 2009 and chronicled that last concert.

It came in the middle of a year when the Dead, their staffers, and increasingly more fans were alarmed by the state of Garcia’s health, owing primarily to drug use. But in spring, he appeared to be better, and, as I wrote:

The Dead and their fans enjoyed some excellent shows, including ones featuring guests and opening acts like Bruce Hornsby, Dave Matthews Band, Bob Dylan, and Chuck Berry.

At too many stops, though, the spirits deserted them, and the road was riddled with gatecrashing incidents and worse. Two people fell from an upper level at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh during a Dead show. The band weathered a death threat against Jerry in Pittsburgh and another in Indiana. A hundred or more people were injured at a campground called the Farm near Dead shows in Maryland Heights, when a veranda around the lodge collapsed.

The Dead’s performances themselves were uneven. As always, the fault lay with their leader. “Garcia had backslid into heroin use,” according to Holly George-Warren in Grateful Dead 365. “The sight of Jerry—clammy and gray, always out of breath, incommunicado onstage as well as off—was frightening to us all,” said Lesh.

The tour ended in Chicago with concerts on July 8 and 9 in Soldier Field. With plenty of media around, looking to capture some of the drama that surrounded Dead concerts, the band pulled off a trouble-free pair of shows, beginning with “Touch of Grey.” The last song Jerry Garcia sang was “Black Muddy River,” a melancholic Robert Hunter composition that the writer said was “about the perspective of age and making a decision about the necessity of living in spite of a rough time.”

Earlier in the concert, he performed “So Many Roads,” repeating the ending refrain, “So many roads to ease my soul.” No one knew that this was the last time Garcia would sing this deeply personal song. “It’s Hunter writing me from my point of view,” he once said. “The song is studded with little references that have to do with me and where I’ve been, what I’ve been involved with, my own musical background, my roots.”

At his post on bass, Lesh was moved to anguish by what he witnessed. “I watched in despair as Jerry—whey-faced, hunched over with chin on chest, fighting for breath before singing every line—struggled his way through an incredibly moving performance of “So Many Roads.”

In the audience, (veteran Dead chronicler) Blair Jackson saw and heard the performance, which stretched out to almost ten minutes, with the Dead providing background vocals in shades of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.” “This was Garcia’s soul laid bare,” said Jackson, “and the audience responded by cheering him on, empathizing with him, struggling with him.”

Back in California, Jerry entered the Betty Ford Clinic near Palm Springs, but left a couple of weeks later, saying he didn’t want to spend his birthday, August 1, in rehab. But then he checked into another facility, called Serenity Knolls, in Marin County. There, he died of a heart attack in his sleep. It was very early, August 9 th , and he had just turned 53.

August 9, 1995: One of the saddest anniversaries in rock.

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