Archive for November, 2009

Photos by  Kenny Howell

We caught up with ANNA PHOEBE on the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA Winter 2009 Tour when it stopped at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA. Aside from being the String Director and Solo Violinist for TSO,  PHOEBE has performed with Jethro Tull, Sean “P Diddy” Combs, George Michael, LeAnn Rimes and Oi Va Voi to name a few.

Solo material includes the critically acclaimed debut GYPSY and sophomore follow up – the infectious RISE OF THE WARRIOR (both available on iTunes).

For more information check out ANNA PHOEBE & TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA

For more videos visit us on YOUTUBE

For more photos visit us on FLICKR

During a recent visit to Rolling Stone, Paramore’s Hayley Williams was reluctant to talk about the new video for the band’s Brand New Eyes single “Brick By Boring Brick” — to be fair, Williams was reluctant to talk in general, as she was still suffering from laryngitis — hoping instead to keep the band’s long-in-the-works clip under wraps. But now the secret is out and the video is streaming on Paramore’s official Website.

The CGI-heavy, autumn-washed video finds a young girl wearing butterfly wings and carrying a doll — apparently a representation of Hayley’s own psyche — running carelessly around a dream world while the now-blonde Hayley sings alongside a newly dug grave. Midway through, the dream world gets dark and rainy as the young girl confronts evil mirrors and ravenous vines that try to terrify the girl into waking up.

To read the complete article visit ROLLING STONE

MÖTLEY CRÜE’s Tommy Lee, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN’s Greg Puciato, LINKIN PARK’s Mike Shinoda, XZIBIT and CYPRESS HILL are among the guest musicians who performed with the DEFTONES last night (Thursday, November 19) at the first of two benefit shows for DEFTONES bassist Chi Cheng.

Chi has been in a semi-conscious state since being involved in a horrific accident in November 2008, and his family has accumulated an overwhelming amount of medical bills that insurance does not entirely cover. It is DEFTONES’ mission to raise significant funds to help ensure Chi’s recovery by playing two very special benefit shows in Hollywood on November 19 and November 20, and also by launching a benefit auction in conjunction with CharityBuzz.com.

The auction features many special items generously donated by an array of DEFTONES’ friends, including METALLICA, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, BLINK 182, HIM, SLAYER and many more.

To read the complete article visit BLABBERMOUTH

To donate visit ONE LOVE FOR CHI

*Footage & photos by Kenny Howell

When DOLORES O’RIORDAN cancelled her show at the Paradise Rock Club in support of her sophomore solo album, NO BAGGAGE, to say I was crushed would be an understatement. But, it was a fair trade for the reunion of THE CRANBERRIES.

It is hard to believe it has been seven years since DOLORES O’RIORDAN (vocals), NOEL HOGAN (guitar), MIKE HOGAN (bass), and FERGAL LAWLER (drums) have graced the stage together but it was well worth the wait as the Irish rockers officially ended their hiatus with a 90-minute set on Friday night at the Boston Orpheum. This was the second date of the reunion tour.

O’RIORDAN was spunky as ever as she trounced from one end of the stage to the other dressed in gold-spangled tank top and sparkling Chuck Taylors.  She engaged the audience in her Irish brogue and her whimsical personality as she described how she kept busy for the week while the band held tour rehearsals in Boston.

“The Cranberries spent a week here rehearsing and I actually got a great flavor for Boston, It’s a beautiful place,” said O’RIORDAN who talked about walking the Charles River and catching a Bruins game.

The show was heavy on classic Cranberries material including shimmering pop opener “Animal Instinct” the solid melodic “Free to Decide” and the grungy and droning hit “Zombie.” The set also included some tracks from O’RIORDAN’s solo efforts such as “Switch Off the Moment” and the lush piano ballad “Lunatic” against the backdrop of the extravagant, cutting edge light show.

These youthful old pros have never sounded more winning or unified – Welcome back!

SETLIST:

• How
• Animal Instinct
• Linger
• Ordinary Day
• Wanted
• Just My Imagination
• Dreaming My Dreams
• When You’re Gone
• Daffodil Lament
• Can’t Be With You
• Ode to My Family
• Free to Decide
• Waltzing Back
• Switch Off the Moment
• Salvation
• Ridiculous Thoughts
• Zombie
• ENCORE:
• Lunatic
• Empty
• The Journey
• Dream

For more information  visit THE CRANBERRIES

For more footage visit us on YOUTUBE

For more photos visit us on FLICKER

Numerous bouquets of flowers made their way from audience to stage Thursday night in Baltimore as the Cranberries played their first U.S. concert in more than six years—accepted by beaming frontwoman Dolores O’Riordan, who sported the same boyishly cropped hair that fans remember from the band’s mid-’90s peak, and the same spunk.

As she chased back and forth across the stage — punting out joyful “woo”s, kicking off her boots and tossing them backstage, gushing about her children — the feeling was of returning to a roomful of old friends; the sold-out hall, Rams Head Live, was filled with everyone from business-casual men to young hipsters, all responding with the same feverish excitement you might see at a U2 concert.

The reunited Irish band gave a 90-minute show spanning all of their hits, for better (”Zombie”) and for worse (”Free To Decide”), with some interesting surprises in between.

A few of the latter included an O’Riordan solo number (the recent “Lunatic”), which couldn’t quite hold the energy of the room; the marvelously oddball doo-wop “When You’re Gone”; the simple lament “Can’t Be With You,” with its warbling vocal bridge; and “How,” a dark, powerful, and unlikely set opener equal parts race and dirge.

To read the complete article visit SPIN

Hot-shot resumes aside, the three heavy hitters in Them Crooked Vultures have a taste for the strange. Guitarist Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) indulges his weirder impulses in his long-running “Desert Sessions” ensembles. Drummer Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana) instigated the excellent heavy-metal detour Probot. And bassist John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) has collaborated with genuine subversives from Diamanda Galas to the Butthole Surfers. Together in Them Crooked Vultures, the three settle not for bland détente but for something a bit more out there.

The arrangements are laced with twists in tempo and mood. Nasty riffs and sticky melodies are everywhere, buttered over by the androgynous harmonies that have made Homme a hard-rock anti-hero, but verse-chorus arrangements hold little interest. Instead, there are fascinating digressions, packed with surprises.

To hear some new tunes visit MYSPACE

To read the complete review visit CHICAGO TRIBUNE

To see footage from the Boston show visit us at YOUTUBE