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BeatKodak Center, Rochester NYOctober 19, 2024I saw King Crimson in 1981 on the Discipline tour and, to this day, it ranks as the best concert I have ever seen. (Followed by a close second place of Crimson in 2021.) So I was eager to see this version of that tour and snatched up tickets as fast as I could, when they became available. If you’re not familiar, Beat consists of Adrian Belew (guitar and lead vocals) and Tony Levin (bass)...

I love it when your love of a band is born from a chance meeting. I didn’t know having my teeth cleaned was going to lead to long-lasting love of Gwar, but as my dental hygienist was making small talk, we somehow, SOMEHOW, came to the topic of music and she highly recommended I check out Gwar. I had heard of them and always thought of them as a joke band, but the joke was on me. As I heard...

I had an MRI on my knee this week. If you’ve never had one, it is a very noisy procedure. Clicks and raps and something that sounds like a muffled jackhammer assault your ears for fifteen to twenty minutes or more, while medical technologists create an image of your chosen body part. While not painful, it is an ordeal. You’re probably asking, “What does this have to do with a music festival?” The fact is, the MRI reminded me of...

OSEES have no right being as good as they are. They’re simply remarkable. They put out an album a year (sometimes more). There are certainly hits and misses among them, but I’d gladly play the “worst” OSEES album instead of 99% of music that gets put out nowadays. They have done nothing but gain momentum over the years and still (STILL!) show no signs of stopping. They are doing it for themselves and don’t care who comes along. They’re even...

A deeper look at the grooves pressed into Bass Drum Of Death’s “Live… And Let Die” LP. Even on first glance at the cover of “Live… And Let Die“, I began to get excited. The cover of the album reminded me of so many other live albums I’d seen before; with a black and white photo and an arguably trite title, the album instantly calls to mind similarities to live albums by bands like Aerosmith, Judas Priest, The Black Keys,...

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How do you even define Billy Bragg’s music anymore? Nowadays it almost sounds like easy listening, but with a leftist political leaning. The man has always worn his heart on his sleeve and although his political songs can seem a little too on the nose and simplistic, his love songs are simply beautiful. I just love the guy, OK? The Chevalier is quickly becoming the cool spot to see shows. I remember it looking more like a rundown high school...

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In Penelope Spheeris’ Decline of Western Civilization Part I, X are depicted as the gatekeepers or elder statesmen of LA 70s punk rock. It’s hard to say whether that label really stuck, but whatever the case, they never asked for it. One thing is for sure, X have been a machine always on the move for the past 40 years, and the creative juices of “leaders” John Doe and Exene Cervenka’s never stopped flowing. X’s influence in music over the...