August 14, 2010 - Some bands have built such a reputation for stellar live performances that expectations at any given show are set quite high. Known for tight harmonies and energetic musicianship, the Doobie Brothers are one of those bands. But they’re well aware of those expectations, and ready to exceed them.
While capping off a week of concerts that included legends like Ozzy Osbourne and Bob Dylan, superstars like Kid Rock, and stadium fillers Motley Crue and Scorpions would scare off most bands, the Doobies stepped up to the plate and knocked one out of the park for fans gathered on a cool Saturday night at the Legendary Buffalo Chip.
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With anticipation mounting for Heart’s August 31 release of their first new studio album in six years, Red Velvet Car, Heart is seeing success on the road and at radio with their singles “WTF” and “Hey You” seeing increased airplay on AC, AAA and Classic Rock stations across the country.
Ann and Nancy Wilson will be in New York City in support of their new release and will be appearing on several national television shows including: “Fox & Friends” (9/1,) “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” (9/2,) “The Today Show” (8/31,) and “ShopNBC” (8/29.) Appearances on “The Joy Behar Show” will air on August 25 and on NPR’s “Weekend Edition” on September 4.
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August 10, 2010 – It goes without saying that you won’t find massive flashing lights or pyrotechnics at a Bob Dylan concert. Nor will you see the 69-year-old songwriter doing jumps and kicks in the air as he jams on the guitar. What you will see and hear is a music legend, and his songs. It’s really as simple as that.
The man who has changed the landscape of music over the course of his 50 years of recording brought his harmonica, guitar, and uniformly dressed four person band with him to play in front of a record crowd at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally’s Buffalo Chip. But as Dylan’s longtime friend and personal photographer Ken Regan once said, “It doesn’t matter if he’s playing for 600 people or 5,000 or 50,000. He just wants to play.”
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So it’s been eons since fans have heard anything new from Randy Bachman and Fred Turner. But you’d never know they’ve spent decades apart after listening to the forthcoming release from these two rock legends. The brand new Bachman & Turner release finds the two musicians somehow picking up exactly where they left off, and churning out fully charged rock sounding much like what could have come after 1974′s Not Fragile.
Their voices have withstood the test of time, and the pounding guitar pounding and catchy hooks are still in place. Bachman & Turner are back, and ready to rock.
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August 13, 2010 – For a band that’s on a proclaimed farewell tour, the Scorpions sure don’t appear ready to leave the stage. When this German metal band became a household name decades ago, the soaring vocals of Klaus Meine coupled with piercing guitars and strong melodies were what did it. Making their first ever appearance at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on stage at the Legendary Buffalo Chip on Friday night, none of those elements were missing.
Some bands have deteriorated so greatly from their peak that retirement should be the next step, but the Scorpions aren’t one of them. Fans in Sturgis witnessed a world class rock show from a band that’s hardly worn at all, and the amount of energy still present is simply dazzling. When it feels as if you’re hearing “Rock You Like a Hurricane” in a studio instead of an amphitheater, you know that the Scorpions are doing something right.
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August 9, 2010 – Touring hard for a decade, Buckcherry has more than enough stamina to make it through a set of rambunctious mainstream rock anthems. They’ve never played a boring show, but now in support of their fifth studio album it seems that the band has made their concerts into an even bigger spectacle.
Buckcherry now has a new studio album in the form of All Night Long to back up their already potent catalog. The songs from this release play with a more slick sound than the raw stylings of older cuts like “Talk to Me“, but still manage to come off as a natural progression for the band instead of a trip into overproduction. But then again, this is a group that could perform any song live and make it sound raw.
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August 12, 2010 – Accept no substitutes; the Prince of Darkness is reigning once again. Ozzy Osbourne has built such an immortal status in the world of hard rock and metal that seeing him in concert is a somewhat surreal experience. But the much anticipated concert in Sturgis at the Legendary Buffalo Chip was very, very real.
There’s a lot going on with Ozzy these days. Including lots of hype surrounding everything from his new album, Scream, to an appearance as a fake wax figure, to the mapping of his DNA by a scientific research team. There’s so much activity that one might wonder if the real Osbourne is still able to rock underneath all the circus. Smiling and jumping while singing with the same wicked tone, Ozzy gave confirmation that he’s back, and ready to rock.
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August 11, 2010 – Some bands change their formula constantly over time to satisfy fans and musical trends. Others, like Mötley Crüe, just stay the same. Sure they’ve cleaned up the act of overindulgence a bit in order to stay alive, but to quote Larry King from the band’s 2008 interview, “There’s plenty of hard core grime left behind.”
Vince, Nikki, Mick, and Tommy are still relying on over the top lyrics and outlaw personas to please fans both in the recording studio, and in live performances. Fresh off a European tour, the Crüe pulled back into America to play their first domestic concert of the summer at the Buffalo Chip Amphitheater during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The band proved their mastery of loud, hard rock with ease.
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August 7, 2010 – There really wouldn’t seem to be much crossover among the fans of ’80s hard rockers Tesla and alternative metal styled Drowning Pool. And perhaps in normal circumstances, there isn’t. But when both bands shared the bill on Saturday night at the Legendary Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, the fans gathered were ready for any kind of rock to be thrown at them.
Drowning Pool lived up to its reputation as one of the more aggressive modern metal acts with a set that contained enough head-banging and gritty vocals to please even the most hardcore enthusiast. Later in the evening, there was an air of confidence in the members of Tesla as they strutted around on stage with their electrifying sound. Between the two bands, (and even an interesting weather delay), it’s safe to say that rock fans young and old got what they were looking for.
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August 9, 2010 – There is no messing with ZZ Top. And that’s not just because we’ve all been told not to mess with Texas. It’s because the same three guys – Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard – have had one of the most consistently successful music careers ever. Blending blues with pop-friendly guitar riffing has long been the band’s secret formula, and no one’s been able to copy it.
At the Buffalo Chip in Sturgis on Monday night, the die-hard fans who mark their calendars with as many ZZ shows as possible each year were sprinkled in with younger fans wanting to hear the legendary sounds, and witness those truly legendary beards. This is how the band accomplishes a packed house, every time.
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