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Hell on Earth Tour Review – Exodus, Rob Zombie and Slayer
Rob Zombie in Portland Hell on Earth Tour
Metal has really languished as a category over the past few years, as the heyday of metal has seemingly come and gone. After the death of Dimebag Darryl from Pantera and Metallica's overly touchy feely "metal bands have relationship issues, too" docu-drama, the golden era of metal ended with both a bang and a wimper.
While metal may not enjoy the popularity it once had, loyal fans still head bang and spin around the mosh pit to their favorite band. As with a lot of other music genres, major acts come together and tour in shows that bring together some of the best bands in the genre for an evening of entertainment. Thus is the Hell on Earth Tour with Exodus, Rob Zombie, and Slayer, which made one of its final stops at the Memorial Coliseum. While the coliseum wasn't packed, the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd (especially for Slayer) made up for the less-than-full auditorium.
Britney Spears Femme Fatale Tour Portland Concert Review
I'm Britney, Bitch!
"I'm Britney, bitch." Yeah, but is that enough?
After a very full evening of entertainment, including a fantastic set by Nicki Minaj, I find myself wondering if a grand spectacle is reason enough to go see someone live in concert.
Jack Johnson To The Sea Concert Review
Jack Johnson at The Sleep Country Amphitheater
There's something magical about seeing a performer at the top of their game. It's an indescribable quality that permeates everything they do. For Jack Johnson, the To The Sea tour is a clear apex in his career. With several albums under his belt and some significant changes in his life along the way, Jack Johnson has made the transition from funky surfer guy to a full blown rock star. What makes Jack Johnson so special is that through all that transition, he has managed to maintain the core of who he is as an artist. Even while playing to a packed house at the Sleep Country Amphitheater, Johnson manages to make you feel like you're seeing him strumming his guitar on the beach after a long day of surfing. Being able to scale that kind of intimate performance is a difficult task and Johnson does it with ease.
When it comes to performing, you really can't fake heart and it was clear as Jack Johnson moved through his cannon of music that he loves what he does. Most artists build anticipation by saving their latest hit for the end of the concert, but Jack Johnson opened with it. As he sang You and Your Heart the crowd leapt to its feet and remained there singing and dancing throughout the concert. In many ways it was like Jack Johnson cared too much to make his audience wait to hear something they really wanted to hear, so he gave it to them right from the start. Read more…
Arcade Fire in Portland Concert Review
Arcade Fire in Portland
I saw Arcade Fire back in May 2007, the last time they came to Portland, at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The venue was perfect, the sound was perfect and the band kept the audience engaged with almost every note. It was one of those magical nights that you always hope for but never can expect.
I saw the band again in September of that year, on the same tour, at the Hollywood Bowl. While I liked the show at the Hollywood Bowl, something got lost as it scaled to the big venue. Somehow the intimacy and magic present at the Schnitz was completely absent at the Hollywood Bowl.
Flash forward three years and Arcade Fire is simply on fire. They went from one of the biggest buzz bands around to one of the top bands performing. For The Suburbs tour, this necessitated a move to bigger venues and larger arenas for their shows.
Acutely aware of the issues with scaling their shows, Arcade Fire drummer Jeremy Gara admitted to fears to NME that the band wouldn't "connect" with fans when they play big arenas. This combined with the fact that the Portland stop on their tour was booked at the Memorial Coliseum made me a little hesitant about seeing their show. The Coliseum isn't Portland's best venue (the best happens to be the Schnitzer) and it can really have significant acoustical problems.
Given how good the band was the last time around and how good their new album "The Suburbs" is, I decided I absolutely had to give it a try. Read more…
American Idol 2010 Tour Review
American Idol 2010 Tour
The 2010 American Idol tour made one of its final stops in its national tour with a very clear message: what happens on the series isn't always reflected when the show is translated onto the big stage. For some like Andrew Garcia or Big Mike Lynche, this leads to significant disappointments, but for Casey James, Tim Urban and Aaron Kelly it was a tremendous opportunity to show what kind of artists they really are.
The 2010 American Idol series has often been criticized as a weaker season than many of its predecessors. The truth is the Adam Lambert v. Kris Allen battle is a tremendously tough act to follow. But as a whole, this year's American Idol Tour was actually stronger than last year's, with better production values and some great surprises from some of the underdog performers.
The evening started out pretty well with Didi Benami, who did a solid job with ”Lay It On Me” by The Rescues. It was much stronger than other performers who've made it into the top 10 right on the cusp. Her rendition of “Terrified” by Katharine McPhee was simply fantastic. For a moment Didi really showed the talent that got her into the top 10 and made a strong argument that she probably should have finished higher. "Terrified" was one of the real great moments of the show. Read more…
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