George Thorogood & The Destroyers put on a a stellar blues show for the 2009 Sturgis Bike Rally crowd at the Buffalo Chip Amphitheater. In the chaos that was The Chip ’09, we never did post our full gallery from the blazing Thorogood set. It’s better late than never, so here is a collection of 23 photos for your viewing pleasure. Lonesome George is known not only for his impeccable blues musicianship and universal likability, but also for his intense live performances that can leave audiences slightly shaken – in a good way, of course.

View photos below:

We never did get to posting this gallery from Creedence Clearwater Revisited‘s set at the Buffalo Chip Amphitheater this summer, so what better time to do so than now. As their tour wraps up this Saturday, the band can look back on over 60 shows played – but that’s nothing new for a well traveled band like CCR. Original bass player Stu Cook remembers a much different time in 1995 when he and drummer Doug Clifford had no intention of going public with their newly formed band. The memorable hits of Creedence Clearwater proved far too memorable however, and they’ve been going strong ever since. Vocalist John Tristao (pictured above) does the songs great justice; his husky voice is perfectly suited for songs like “Green River“.

You can view the full gallery from the show at this link, or browse below with our new gallery feature.

The Bret Michaels photo gallery from the Dakota Rock Fest in Sioux Falls is now live. This completes our coverage of the fest, as all galleries and reviews are now posted. Be sure to watch for line-up announcements for the 3rd Annual Dakota Rock Fest in the spring. This is one rock party that you don’t want to miss!

Bret Michaels Photo Gallery

FireHouse played to a packed crowd at the Dakota Rock Fest on July 25, 2009. You can read the review here, and check out the full photo gallery by the link or thumbnails below.

FireHouse Photo Gallery

The Family Stone Project, led by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Jerry Martini and Cynthia Robinson, rolled into Sturgis on Augsut 1 for one of the first concerts at the Buffalo Chip Amphitheater. As one would expect, the show had the audience on their feet and moving to the beats of songs like “Dance to the Music” and “Family Affair“. After 40 years in the business, Jerry and Cynthia know how to assemble a great live show that brings the fun and carefree Family Stone feeling to the forefront. Click the photo to be taken to the full photo gallery of the Family Stone show, or click the thumbnails below.

The Family Stone Project – August 1 – Photo Gallery

Click photo or text to be taken to the full galleries from the performances of Tesla and Hinder at the Buffalo Chip Amphitheater in Sturgis on August 6

HINDER

TESLA

It’s hard to believe for those who attended, but it’s now been over a month since a wave of rock bands swept over the small town of Walker, Minnesota for the 18th Annual Moondance Jam. Yes it still feels like just yesterday when David Coverdale was jolting his mic stand in the air and Doug Aldrich was wailing away on his guitar to the strains of “Here I Go Again“. If you’re a regular reader, you know that the festival was covered here at Melodic Rock Concerts, and that photos (and reviews) from the performances of Journey, Whitesnake, Judas Priest, Yes, Asia, Lita Ford and the like have been up and running for quite some time. If you have yet to check those out, you will definitely want to do so by clicking this link.

Coverage of the Sturgis Rally concerts at the Buffalo Chip Campground, and of the Dakota Rock Fest in Sioux Falls followed shortly after, leaving little time to go back and finish out the Moondance Jam photo galleries for tribute bands like ThundHerStruck and Ozzmosis, as well as alternative rockers the Spin Doctors. Well, the day has finally come and those photo galleries are now live. You can find them all on their respective pages:

Spin Doctors: LINK | Thundherstruck: LINK
Ozzmosis: LINK | Zed Leppelin: LINK

Also you will want to take note of the fact that Moondance Jam 19 tickets are now on sale at a bargain – $110 for the full three days. You can also order camping, Rockstar access, or VIP tickets at reduced rates. Head over to the Moondance store for all the details. The 2010 Jam is guaranteed to be another absolute blast with the best rock entertainment that money can buy, so you don’t want to miss out.

The Aerosmith concert in Sturgis at the Buffalo Chip Campground on August 5 lived up to its expectation as the concert of the summer in every way possible. Not only did the crowd take in a killer performance from one of the world’s most respected rock groups, but they also were shocked when singer Steven Tyler fell off the stage. A sad moment, but nonetheless a part of rock history that no one who witnessed will ever forget. The good news is that Tyler is on the road to recovery, but the bad news is that the rest of the Aerosmith/ZZ Top tour had to be canceled.

We proudly present photos from the Aerosmith gig of the decade, just click the link below or the photo above and you will be taken to the gallery.

Billy Squier plays Sturgis

Click photo or text to be taken to the full gallery of Billy Squier’s August 4 performance at the Buffalo Chip Amphitheater in Sturgis, South Dakota

BILLY SQUIER

Before we delve into some more concert reviews and full photo galleries from the past week at the Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, here is an insight into the chain of interesting events and encounters that made 2009 perhaps the most memorable rally yet.

For the first few days, everything ran quite smooth at the Chip as the artists were giving great performances during great weather. Sunny skies were the rule, and apart from some wind and a chill during the evenings, it was a perfect setting for the likes of Mark Farner and George Thorogood. Activity and excitement picked up on the night of August 2nd, when Aerosmith‘s Steven Tyler showed up on grounds and spontaneously met with lucky fans who had purchased Fan VIP tickets for the evening and had no idea that he would be walking through. Tyler was in Deadwood the next day for the 2nd Annual Legends Ride, a charity parade of motorcycles that sees riders traveling from the historic mining town back to the Buffalo Chip Campground. Among the riders were Meghan McCain and Steven Tyler, but both did a fine job of blending in as ordinary bikers participating in a great cause.

A couple hours before its start, a Legends Ride press conference was held at the Franklin Hotel in downtown Deadwood. Buffalo Chip CEO Rod Woodruff, a spokesperson for the Children’s Home Society, and John Paul DeJoria were first to speak, followed by Steven Tyler. The last question for Tyler in the press conference came from myself on behalf of Melodic Rock Concerts, and it went something like this: “So Steven, how is it that the music of Aerosmith goes together so well with the crowd here in Sturgis?” His answer? “Yeah I think they just go hand in hand, don’t they. *sings* Love in an Elevator!” Aside from giving this rock fan a moment to remember, Tyler was extremely gracious in person and took time to meet other reporters as well.

Lita Ford and Toby Keith played that evening to a very extensive crowd (read the Lita review), and the next day Steven Tyler once again became a star performer while not even being on stage. A brief opportunity for fans and campers alike to meet Tyler was set up in the Buffalo Chip Amphitheater on Tuesday, with nearly 100 people lining up by 4:30. When the singer rode in on his Dirico motorcycle at 5:15, gasps were heard from women who quickly began to push their way forward to get in a photo. Completely nonchalant even as fans chased him on his way to the Lichter Motorcycle Exhibit, Steven took time to sign autographs and pose for photos with a few lucky fans. You can see below that the meet and greet created some interesting photos:

This particular evening featured a unique blend of entertainment in the form of Billy Squier and Cheech & Chong. I briefly spoke with Squier before the show and the singer sounded extremely gratified to be back on tour, informing me that the night’s playlist would contain a few surprises (read the Squier review). Aerosmith’s show arrived the next evening as history unfolded before the eyes of all who were watching the band perform “Love in an Elevator“. The story has been told on major news networks and in over 1,000 news articles, but only at Melodic Rock Concerts could you find a photo of Tyler on stage just half an hour before the fall (read the article here). More photos and a complete review of Aerosmith’s Chip performance will be published tomorrow.

Thursday August 6 at the Chip was a day of hysteria as the previous evening’s events finally set in. It was stunning to come to the realization that such a dramatic situation had unfolded hours ago, especially when Twitter led to my contributions to a breaking news article by the BBC. Tesla and Hinder both gave hard rock performances later in the day that effectively lifted spirits and eased minds.

The following day brought another series of bizarre and unexpected events. The Pink N’ Proud breast cancer charity auction took place in the afternoon, featuring Pat Simmons of The Doobie Brothers. Pat and his wife Cris worked to donate items that generated great revenue for the auction, among them being a signed copy of the Doobies’ album Cycles, and even the opportunity to join the band on stage for part of a show. Just minutes after the final gavel rang at the auction, attendees were told to seek shelter as a severe thunderstorm approached. Golf ball sized hail fell for nearly 15 minutes, devastating parts of the campground. Meanwhile in the exhibit building, a dozen or so individuals gained the unique distinction of being stuck in a hail storm with a founding member of a legendary rock band. Simmons signed autographs after the storm and gave everyone a laugh when he suddenly walked up with two hailstones in hand:

Finally on the last day of concerts at the Buffalo Chip, there was a return to normal as the property damage was assessed. Broken windshields were a common sight and many campers departed early, but those who remained on grounds gathered to watch The Guess Who perform the final show for the year. Even through a series of unfortunate occurrences, in the end every moment at the Chip seemed to bring something new and exciting to the table whether it was hanging out with Pat Simmons in a hail storm or watching Steven Tyler ride a motorcycle. What will 2010 bring? We can only wonder.