He’s been called “the greatest songwriter of our time,” and Rufus Wainwright did not disappoint, taking the stripped down stage to showcase his raw talents. With only a piano and acoustic guitar to accompany him, Wainwright played a set of familiar classics and songs from his latest masterpiece, Out of the Game.
“Maybe I should have chosen a different title for my comeback record,” he jokes with the crowd. Out of the Game was produced by the renowned Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse) and as Wainwright put it, “was supposed to be huge.” While half-heartedly joking, he was absolutely right.
Three songs into the evening’s set, Wainwright switches from piano and goes into the two highlights of the evening—the title track from his latest opus “Out of the Game,” and into what is quite possibly the best song of his career, the ’70s cabaret, roadhouse gem, “Jericho.” This is where Wainwright really shines and his one of a kind voice reminds us that there are true originals in the current bloated music scene.
He’s been “kicked” out of the band that he started and pretty much defined, only to be replaced by Chester from Linkin Park. That is insane to me, and not just because I hate Linkin Park, but because I can’t imagine STP without Weiland.
And I’m not a purist by any means. I support two versions of LA Guns, two versions of Great White, and even two versions of Queensryche (don’t get me started), but for the love of God, I have to draw the line somewhere. Anyway, so Weiland decided to his own thing and that’s fine by me, and it was fine by a packed house at the legendary Fillmore last week in San Francisco as well.
Mark Kendall is the lead guitarist and a founding member of the hard rock band Great White. 30 years after founding the band in Los Angeles, Mark and company have sold over 10 million records worldwide and continue to record and tour. Elation is the band’s twelfth studio album and the first to feature vocalist Terry Ilous.
Great White might have been lumped into the Hair Metal category back in the ’80s, but Mark Kendall’s incredible guitar playing and his love for the blues gave the band its distinct sound, which has enabled the band’s music to truly stand the test of time and keep a loyal fan base hungry for more, even after 30 years.
The new album undeniably has the Great White signatures. “Feeling So Much Better” has a harder side to it, while “Shotgun Willies” sounds like classic GW. “Hard to Say Goodbye” boasts incredibly great songwriting that showcases the vocal abilities of new singer Terry Ilous. He’s no Jack Russell, and that’s ok, because what’s most important is that the core of Great White is still together and stronger than ever.
I had the chance to chat with Mark Kendall, and he was kind enough to share some remarkably interesting stories from the his fruitful career so far.
Great White started in LA back in 1982. Can you tell me what the vibe was on the Sunset Strip at that time?
The scene was really electric. It was really healthy in the early ’80s, apart from ’81 when New Wave started coming through a bit. There was really something happening in Hollywood. I was going up there a lot because there was always someone playing: Motley Crue, Ratt, Dokken. Back a little bit before that is when Van Halen got their record deal, and that’s when we all said, wow, this is possible.
I followed them a bit because I saw them when I was a teenager in a backyard somewhere. I was inspired not only because they were the best band around at the time, but also by their work ethic. They played more than anyone. I could relate because Great White also followed that trend for a while when we played a ton of shows for free just to get our name out.
It’s a battle for me now. I clearly thought that I had seen the best live band of 2013, and they are called Night Moves. The problem started on Thursday night however at The Independent here in San Francisco. An artist named Finn Andrews took the stage and from the opening note of the night, my mind was completely blown.
Finn Andrews is the son of XTC keyboardist Barry Andrews and he’s the frontman of the critically acclaimed band The Veils, touring in support of their first record in four years. The London-based indie rock combo have delivered what I would consider to be the best album of their career. It’s a modern masterpiece titled, Time Stays, We Go.
“The Pearl” is probably the best example of songwriting and storytelling I have heard so far this year. Finn gets lost in the music and lyrics as he delivers the stunning vocal performance on this gem. The song builds to a Phil Spector-ish “Wall of Sound” but never truly hits a climax, and that’s the beauty of this band overall. They constantly keep the listener wanting more and more.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has just released their seventh studio album titled Specter at the Feast. They recorded the majority of the album at Dave Grohl’s studio in Los Angeles on the same console which is featured in Grohl’s Sound City, the documentary that explores LA’s legendary recording studio of the same name, Sound City.
The new record comes three years to the month since Beat the Devil’s Tattoo. The band wasn’t planning on taking a break, but they were left with an uncertain future following a devastating loss.
Just five months after releasing the record, Robert Levon Been’s father, former Call frontman Michael Been, passed away whilst working as a sound engineer at a BRMC concert in Belgium. The band covered Robert’s father’s song “Let The Day Begin” on their Spectre at The Feast and Been appeared in two concerts with a reunited The Call taking his father’s place on bass and vocals.
BRMC opened up their set with this song and looks to be doing so across the country. A fitting tribute to a rock ‘n roller who left us way too early and was a big part of the band’s live sound.
How to Destroy Angels is Trent Reznor’s latest musical endeavor. We find the genius behind Nine Inch Nails alongside his wife Mariqueen Maandig, Atticus Ross, and Rob Sheridan (who is also the group’s art director).
The first thing anyone notices during the show at the Regency Ballroom last week is the huge 16-foot-tall curtain of surgical tubing. This veil of sorts offers a semi-transparent surface onto which band member Rob Sheridan projects abstract lighting effects. It’s a bizarre setting for any live performance, but for this one in particular, it truly adds to the band’s mystique and dark soundscapes.
HTDA has just returned from playing at Coachella, where they were hailed as one of the Top 10 performances, and after witnessing this show, it’s very easy to see why. Leave it to the genius that is Trent Reznor to put on what I would recall as the show of a lifetime inside an intimate venue.
I have to admit that I wasn’t too familiar with Matt Costa before heading over to the show last weekend. The venue was Slim’s which is one of two nightclubs here in San Francisco owned by the legendary singer/ songwriter Boz Scaggs. It has a real charm to it, but it’s challenging to say the least for photographers as the place can get jam-packed very quickly and make it difficult to move around. This was one of those nights.
Matt Costa got his break many years ago when a homemade demo reached No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont, who offered to record more demos for Costa in his home studio. Those first recordings led to two EPs that Costa and Dumont distributed themselves. These were later combined and mixed by Phil Ek in order to form Costa’s first full-length release, Songs We Sing. He has since toured alongside Jack Johnson, Modest Mouse, Oasis, and Ryan Adams to name a few, and now he’s built up a rabid fan base filling up clubs across the States.
Costa’s latest release is a comeback album of sorts as he surprised many of his fans with 2010′s Mobile Chateau which took his Jack Johnson-ish acoustic sounds into unfamiliar territory. For me, I think it was Costa at his finest as he honed in on ’60s psychedelic/ cosmic pop rock and did it very well. I love it when an artist throws a curve-ball to his or her fans because is reminds them that they are indeed listening to a true artist in every sense.
Music can act as a time machine of sorts by transporting the listener back to a certain place almost instantaneously. Now, whether or not that’s a good thing depends on the memory. When it happens in a good way, it’s a wonderful thing, and that’s what happened to me the first time I heard Minneapolis trio Night Moves.
Night Moves are touring in support of their Domino Records debut Colored Emotions. It’s a trip down memory lane for those of us who grew up alongside AM radio in the ’70s. What MGMT tried to do by stripping the electronic beats and pop melodies from their debut album and failed with on Congratulations, Night Moves succeeds and makes it look easy.
It’s a mix of ’70s soul, incredibly well-written songs, a touch of light jazz, and a lead singer who is caught somewhere between Daryl Hall and Bono. The ten songs that make up Colored Emotions clock in at just under 35 minutes, but it’s quality over quantity in this case.
He’s been called “the greatest songwriter of our time,” and Rufus Wainwright did not disappoint, taking the stripped down stage to showcase his raw talents. With only a piano and acoustic guitar to accompany him, Wainwright played a set of familiar classics and songs from his latest masterpiece, Out of the Game.
