The Greatest Concert of All-Time

I have been very fortunate to have seen more concerts than I can count over the years.

I sat in the front row for the Rolling Stones at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham.

I watched U2 from the soundboard during their "Pop" tour and have seen them on each tour since.

I stared in amazement as Paul McCartney plowed through three hours worth of solo, Beatles, and Wings hits.

I saw The Greatest Concert of All-Time, however, in Oakland, California on December 3, 2010 and the very same tour is coming to PNC Arena on July 9, 2012 - it is Roger Waters performing "The Wall".

First, disclosure of non-bias.  I like Pink Floyd a great deal and "The Wall" is easily my favorite Floyd album.  BUT...they are not in my top 10.  I didn't start getting into Pink Floyd's music until college, which is when the band was embarking on what would become their final tour, for "The Division Bell".  I did not get to see that show, and Waters was long gone from the lineup at that point.  So, I viewed the chance to see Waters' performance of "The Wall" as my last chance and made an extra effort to get to Oakland to see the show with my mother.  (I know - going to see a concert with my mother featuring an album that Waters wrote in part about his dysfunctional relationship with his mother....ironic, huh?)

So....what makes Roger Waters - The Wall Live the greatest concert ever?  Let me count the ways:

• The sound is perfect.  Always a staple of Pink Floyd shows, Waters takes great care to ensure that the music is crystal clear in surround sound.  The typical arena "echo" is non-existent and you will never hear a better concert in a space like this.
• The visuals will literally floor you.  Some have said this production of "The Wall" is more like seeing a Broadway musical than a rock concert and that's somewhat accurate.  Not one moment of this show goes by without an accompanying visual that complements the song.
• The band is really, really good.  See, what happens when you play the exact same setlist, night after night for two years straight, is you get ridiculously good at it.  
• It's emotional.  Extremely emotional.  Things you remember forever have something in common - they made you feel something.  It could be ecstasy, despair, or a range of emotions in between, but most concerts don't leave you with feelings like this.  It's on a different level entirely.

I hope you get the chance to see Roger Waters at PNC Arena in Raleigh on July 9th.  I loved it so much (as you can tell), that I'm going again.  If you do get the chance to attend, please let me know what you think. I can't wait!

Foster

Radio 96.1

Alice Cooper Review

It's funny how rain keeps people from leaving their house.  Oh no, I might get wet and melt like the Wicked Witch!!!

But there were a few thousand brave souls that braved the dreary conditions that lasted for about half of Alice Cooper's set last Friday night at Raleigh Amphitheater.

It appeared most of the crowd was lured into purchasing a $5 poncho at the merch table, as I was about to until someone in my posse questioned my manhood.  As it was, a dreary backdrop is somewhat appropriate for an Alice Cooper show because, let's face it, the set isn't filled with unicorns and rainbows.  What it was filled with was the fun spectacle you'd expect.  The tone was set when Alice appeared in a spider outfit on a riser for the opening number, "Black Widow".

By the 30 minute mark of the 90 minute set, we had already seen Alice dispensing (presumably) fake money to the crowd from a fencing sword during "Billion Dollar Babies"; the waving of a bloody crutch for "I'm Eighteen"; and a live snake around his neck.

You want hits?  Alice brought the hits - "Under My Wheels", "No More Mr. Nice Guy", "School's Out", and the highlight of the night, a 10-foot tall Frankenstein for "Feed My Frankenstein" that featured a nifty disappearing trick and a guillotine.

At 64 years old, Alice's voice is perhaps a testament to his now long term sobriety - it was in incredible form and his band was superbly tight.  I went in expecting a great spectacle and got that and then some.

Foster
Radio 96.1

Alice and Barbeque

I'll be honest - the greatest thing about my job is the perks.

I've seen so many concerts over the years, there aren't many artists that I can think of that I haven't seen.  The reason for that is that I've made a special effort to see classic singers and bands before it's too late.  I've seen most of my favorites - Paul McCartney, U2, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Van Halen, Robert Plant, and Aerosmith, to name a few....but I've never seen Alice Cooper.

I'm not the biggest Alice fan in the world, but I do know that this guy is gonna give you your money's worth.  I get agitated these days when, as ticket prices keep rising, some bands just stand there and play with no effort towards entertainment value (yes, Kings of Leon, I'm talking to you).  So tonight, I'm definitely taking the opportunity to see Alice at Raleigh Amphitheater and I'll have the review for you on Monday.

Tomorrow from 2-5pm I'll be on Salem St in Downtown Apex for the Peak City Pig Fest, the only BBQ competition in the Triangle sanctioned by the Kansas City BBQ Society.  I don't know what that means, but it sounds important - although for some reason I'm picturing some guy from Bunn saying "We don't need no Kansas City types tellin' us how to do barbeque...."

Cooper and Cue - should be a fun weekend.  Hope to see you around town!

Foster
Radio 96.1

The Band That Blew Me Away

Last Thursday, after Oak City 7, I met up with my friend Gary downtown in Raleigh.  Gary knows everyone, heck, YOU probably know Gary, if you've ever had a drink at the Landmark.  One thing led to another during our drinking on Thursday, and somehow, my boyfriend and I ended up at Slim's on Wilmington Street, to see this "band of kids" from Annapolis, MD, that "used to open up" for Gary and his former band.  Apparently, the story goes, this band--The Dirty Names--opened for Gary back when they would tour all over and Dirty Names was just a group of 16 year old kids.  Now, they are still together, out on their own, and are apparently, judging from their show, experts at time travel.

For "kids" (they are so NOT kids anymore), I have never been so impressed.  The band looked like 1972; I felt like I was watching a house band play the Moon Tower Party during Dazed and Confused:  boots, bell-bottomed jeans.  The lead singer, Harrison has a 'fro and his shirt unbuttoned ala Robert Plant. The lead guitarist is cool as a cucumber in his fedora getting ready to showcase how you really play rock and roll guitar.  But it didn't matter after 2 measures of music WHAT they looked like.  My mind was blown away. 

The Dirty Names are a cross between Led Zeppelin and ZZ Top, with some Wilson Pickett and even some Johnny Cash thrown in for good measure.  They slink and slide and control their stage space with ease, pulling you into each original song so that you want more, more, more.  I couldn't believe that these were people in their early 20s; songs so tightly woven together, you feel like they were written by old men who were trying to break free from these young bodies.  It was electric.  I don't use that phrase about every band I see; "electricity" is either something you have, or something you don't.  The Dirty Names are electric. Someone, somewhere needs to manage them (hello, Gary!  Get on it!) and put them in front of someone who can make them rock and roll stars.  Not only have they earned it, but they deserve it.

Keep this in mind when thinking about trying out the Dirty Names.  Only once in my entire career, have I gone to see a band and came away from the opening band thinking, "I WANT to see that band again.  I MUST see that band again."  I felt that way after seeing the Dirty Names open at Slim's the other night.   (By the way, the only other band I ever felt that way about before was Fitz and The Tantrums.  I've now seen them three times.)


Check out both of The Dirty Names EPs by clicking here.
Link to The Dirty Names on Facebook,  here.
Plan where you'll see them next  here.


Alli


Like Alli Morgan on Facebook, or follow her on Twitter.

"Rock of Ages" Review

Had fun seeing so many Radio 96.1 listeners at the advance screening of "Rock of Ages" at North Hills last night!

Having seen the musical last year on Broadway, I feel like I'm going to sound like that person that always says "the book is better than the movie"....because the musical was, in fact, better than the movie.  That doesn't mean, however, that the film version of "Rock of Ages" was bad.  Just....different.

Different in that a few major plot lines were completely changed - among other things, the endgame for Tom Cruise's character, Stacee Jaxx; the relationship between Stacee and Sherrie; and the sexual orientation of club owner Dennis Dupree (played by Alec Baldwin).

The number one question I've been asked today is "Can Tom Cruise sing"?  And the answer is yes.  Cruise plays Jaxx well as a lonely, aloof, misunderstood rock star and his vocals are good - but this is one of the prime differences between the movie and the musical.

The musical stars Broadway talent that are professional singers.  The film stars talent that are professional actors.  The music is good...just not at the same level.  The individual performances by Baldwin and Russell Brand steal the show, and the actors with singing chops, like Catherine Zeta Jones and Mary J Blige, do a great job.  

Ultimately, if you love 80's music you'll love "Rock of Ages".  If you came of age in the decade of decadence, it will bring back memories of school and mix tapes and The Breakfast Club and Tower Records and happy times.  And since movies are meant to be escapism from the real world, well...mission accomplished.

Foster
Radio 96.1

Radio 96.1 Rocked Bonnaroo

Sydney, getting a free pic taken at Bonnaroo.  Namaste, Syd.

Sydney, who works in our office, volunteered to be our special correspondent from Bonnaroo in Tennessee last weekend.  If you love music as much as Sydney and we do, then you will love her special Top 12 blog about the show's goings-on.  Check it out here, and maybe you'll get to check out some new music in the process!


Alli


Special Correspondent Sydney's Bonnarroo Top 12

It's a lung time coming

I am grateful to my new friends at the Lung Transplant Foundation for allowing me to host and play in their 2nd Annual Fred Krenrich Golf Tournament at Duke University Golf Club yesterday.

At the dinner that followed a beautiful day of swinging the sticks, I shared a story of losing one of my closest friends to leukemia when we were both 16 years old.   That's him below.

Back in 1988, the five year survival rate of childhood leukemia was 58% - today it is over 80%.  Lung transplants are relatively new and the procedure is being pioneered at Duke - while it has been incredibly successful in the short-term, the five year survival rate is very low.  Awareness of the incredible work they are doing at the Lung Transplant Foundation will bring funding, which will bring research which will create the same success stories we've seen with leukemia treatments.

Please take a moment to read up on this terrific foundation and I hope to see you on May 5, 2013 - the date of the 3rd annual Golf Tournament.

Maybe since it's on Cinco De Mayo, they'll be serving tequila.  I'm not sure if that would bring more or less money....

http://lungtransplantfoundation.org/main/

Foster
Radio 96.1

Design Your Thursday Night Around This Band

I think I've made it pretty clear over the years here in Raleigh that I love music.  I love all kinds of music.  And, I'm lucky in that I get sent a lot of music from a lot of local artists, so I get to check out all kinds of things. 

One of the bands that has caught my ear recently are The Design.  But it's not just their glam-rock influenced sound that gets me--it's the fact that this is one of those Raleigh bands that has street buzz.  A few weeks ago, I was having drinks with a friend at a bar downtown, and was introduced to some folks who, like me, love music.  And, who, unlike me, actually play music and are quite good at it.  We got chatting about local artists, and suddenly, The Design's frontwoman, a singing powerhouse named Kat Robichaud, came up.  My new musical friend went on and on about how awesome Kat is, how different her low voice is, and how she's a powerhouse.  And, he's right.  Kat's voice, which is different than anything I've heard before, gives the band an edge that a lot of local bands just don't have.   You can check out The Design TONIGHT, as they headline a three-band bill at the Lincoln Theatre.  The all-ages show starts at 8.  Why not go and check out one of Raleigh's hardest working local bands, and expose your kids to quality rock and roll, too?  Get tickets at the door, and go be blown away by The Design.

Get an early taste of The Design on their Facebook page, here.



Alli


Like Alli Morgan on  Facebook, or follow her on Twitter.

Star Gazing in Cary

This photo was tweeted by Marvel Comics yesterday, it was taken on the first day of shooting of Iron Man 3.  The same Iron Man 3 that is filming in Wilmington, and for the next few days, in Cary, too.  There's been a lot of secrecy surrounding this "little" film, that will shoot not only here, but in other locations including China before being released next May.  This "little" film is a BIG deal.  And it's shooting here!  In North Carolina!  Score one for us!

People lined up yesterday to try to catch a glimpse of Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, or Gwenyth Paltrow.  Huge stars, right here in the Triangle.  Not only are we the best place to live for many reasons, now we're one of the places Hollywood picks to film blockbusters.  And that's alright with me--I will line up to see the movie even faster, now that I know it was shot here, in my back yard. 

Alli

Like Alli Morgan on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.

Rediscovering Falls Lake

I hadn't been to Falls Lake in a LONG time.  In fact, it's been seven years since I visited Sandling Beach off of Creedmoor Rd. in Raleigh.  Wow, is it beautiful.

For those of you that remember the drought of 2007, you may recall this:

That's what the lake looked like in November, 2007 - completely empty and terribly frightening.

But Falls Lake is back, baby.  On a glorious weekend with no humidity, we swam, rode on a friend's boat, and barbequed on the beach.   It's a great reminder that even though we have great beaches within a couple hours of the Triangle, you don't even have to go that far for a great time on the water.

Foster
Radio 96.1