Billy Joel
Madison Square Garden
May 9

Happy 70th Birthday Billy Joel!  YOU ARE THE PIANO MAN!!!  Well, there’s Elton and Stevie and other dudes who tickle the ivories as well or better, but this night was all about you – and seeing Frampton play the two songs I’ve needed to hear Frampton come alive to, which means now I don’t need to see Frampton solo.  So thanks for being born Billiam, and on reaching 70, and of course for playing my favorite ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’ (unlike last time when I saw him). 

ROCK N ROLL A COLA WARS I CAN TAKE IT ALL THE MORE!!!!!!

Setlist – Big Shot / My Life / Vienna / The Longest Time / The Downeaster Alexa / The Entertainer (The Lion Sleeps Tonight / Runaround Sue / Sherry intro) / Don’t Ask Me Why / Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones cover) / Start Me Up (The Rolling Stones cover) / Keeping the Faith / New York State of Mind (with Alexa Ray Joel) / She’s Always a Woman / Allentown / Show Me the Way (Peter Frampton cover with Frampton) / Baby, I Love Your Way
(Peter Frampton cover with Frampton) / Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song) / I Go to Extremes / Sometimes a Fantasy / Only the Good Die Young / The River of Dreams / Nessun Dorma (Giacomo Puccini cover With Mike DelGuidice on vocals) / Scenes From an Italian Restaurant / Piano Man

Encore – We Didn’t Start the Fire / Uptown Girl / It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me / You May Be Right (with Peter Frampton)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxREACWhQNJ/

[rowsdowr]

never 5get

Cher + Chic
Prudential Center
May 3

Cher-man of the bored?  Well, Cherilyn Sarkisian started 30+ minutes late, played one song, then recounted some meandering story that lasted 30+ minutes (or what seemed like an eternity). I was starting to get fidgety, then sleepy, then fidgleepy.  Can we turn back time to an hour+ before when Chic set the stage ablaze, tearing thru jamming hit after hit???? 

Calm down.  Once Cher finally carried on, taking us on a musical journey thru her life story, everyone became a believer!  DO YOU BELIEVE??  And I had never seen a men’s bathroom so empty at a concert!  Which is strange, considering that Cher has a lot of male fans. 

Anywho, Cher – wow.  Since last fall, and thru the end of this year, the 72-year-old will perform at least 80+ shows on her latest ‘farewell tour’.  My word.  My mom is three years older than Cher, but I couldn’t picture her doing anything remotely like this even once, in a year, and especially at anything after 7pm!

What’s the secret Cher?  Care to share Cher?  Carry on!  I mean, who wouldn’t want to see you as a 92-year-old, strutting around in that fishnet-pantyhose-see-thru outfit???

Chic Setlist – Everybody Dance / Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah) / I Want Your Love / I’m Coming Out / Upside Down (Diana Ross cover) / He’s the Greatest Dancer / We Are Family (Sister Sledge cover) / Get Lucky (Daft Punk cover) / Let’s Dance (David Bowie cover) / Le Freak / Good Times / Rapper’s Delight

Cher Setlist – Woman’s World / Strong Enough / Gayatri Mantra / All or Nothing / The Beat Goes On / I Got You Babe / Welcome to Burlesque / Waterloo (ABBA cover) / SOS (ABBA cover) / Fernando (ABBA cover) / After All / Walking in Memphis (Marc Cohn cover) / The Shoop Shoop Song (Betty Everett cover) / Bang Bang (Guitar Solo) / I Found Someone (Michael Bolton cover) / If I Could Turn Back Time

Cher Encore – Believe

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxBvQbGhVYL/

Joan Baez
Beacon Theatre
May 1

At the end of July, on a stage in Madrid, Spain, Joan Baez will play the final show of her fare(thee)well tour and call it a career.  No Joan, no!!!  She’s earned the right to do as she pleases (actually no one has to ‘earn the right’ to do anything they please, juss do as you please – as long as you don’t harm anyone!!), but we still need you Joan.  We need you to folk the sh#t out of stuff, cause we are still trying to overcome, but things keep coming, and they suck, and your still voice is the guiding light at the end of our ear tunnels!

JOAN!

WE MOAN FOR JOAN!!!

Have never been a big Dylan fan, but I knew I had to see him before he or I goes.  I did.  He was fine, but he didn’t play Dylan songs I wanted to hear.  And even if he did, they wouldn’t sound Dylanesque enuff for me.  Well Joan, an ex-lover and contemporary, played FOUR of his tunes AND a song she wrote about him (‘Diamonds and Rust’) and they sounded even better than the real thing!  And she played plenty of other peoples stuff!!  Including Lennon’s ‘Imagine’, making it the 4th time I’ve heard it played in concert – joining the takes I’ve heard by Christopher Cross, Petula Clark AND Stevie Wonder!

What I don’t want to imagine is that there’s no more Joan Baez!

but don’t worry kids, Joan Baez is just warming up

Setlist – Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Bob Dylan cover) / Honest Lullaby / Lily of the West / Whistle Down the Wind (Tom Waits cover) / Silver Blade (Josh Ritter cover) / It Ain’t Me, Babe (Bob Dylan cover) / Deportees (Woody Guthrie cover) / The Things That We Are Made Of (Mary Chapin Carpenter cover) / Diamonds & Rust / Catch the Wind (Donovan cover) / Birmingham Sunday / No More Auction Block / Another World (Antony and the Johnsons cover) / The President Sang Amazing Grace (Zoe Mulford cover) / The House of the Rising Sun / A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall (Bob Dylan cover) / Gracias a la vida (Violeta Parra cover) / Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around

Encore – Forever Young (Bob Dylan cover) / The Boxer (Simon & Garfunkel cover) / Imagine (John Lennon cover) / Dink’s Song (Fare Thee Well)

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw8Wc_tB2A9/

Dungeon Family featuring Big Boi, Goodie Mob, Organized Noize, DJ Envy
Terminal 5
April 23

I have seen Outkast, I have seen Gnarls Barkley, I have seen Big Boi solo, but have never seen Goodie Mob live, or CeeLo share a stage with Bog Boi and share the same stage with like 38939239 other Dungeon Family related people!  Too many MCs, not enough mics! NEVER ENUFF MCs – PLENTY OF MICS!!!

HOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTlanta Madness!!!!!!!! 

It was hit after hit, banger after banger, and 2 rump shaking hours later, I was left wanting more!  MORE!!!! 

The south has risen again, but not in that dumb white way!!  If only Andre 3000 was with us last night.  C’mon Andre 2019!!!

Setlist – 6 Minutes (Dungeon Family It’s On) / Goodie Bag (Goodie Mob) / Cell Therapy (Goodie Mob) / Kill Jill (Big Boi) / So Fresh, So Clean (OutKast) / ATLiens (OutKast) / Skew It on the Bar-B (OutKast) / Rosa Parks (OutKast) / Holiday (Witchdoctor) / 5, Deuce, 4, Tre (Backbone) / Get Rich to This (Goodie Mob) / Dirty South (Goodie Mob) / In Da South (Big Boi) / Ms. Jackson (OutKast) / Black Ice (Sky High) (Goodie Mob) / Thought Process (Goodie Mob) / Fuck You (CeeLo Green) / SpottieOttieDopaliscious (OutKast) / Steppin Out (Big Gipp) / I Can’t Wait (Sleepy Brown) / Return of the Dope Boi (Big Boi) / Rainbows (Goodie Mob) / In Da Wind (Goodie Mob) / I’ll Be Around (CeeLo Green) / B.O.B  (OutKast) / Trans DF Express / They Don’t Dance No Mo (Goodie Mob) / All Night (Big Boi) / Doin’ It (Big Boi) / Crazy (Gnarls Barkley) / The Way You Move (OutKast) / Kryptonite (Purple Ribbon All-Stars) / (Unknown) / Watch for the Hook (Cool Breeze) / (Unknown)

and nothing was more magical than the transition from this Gnarls anthem, to that Outkast gem…

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwn3cCDBD5w/