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Monday, July 21, 2014
Videos / Opinion Ranking Weird Al's eight 'Mandatory Fun' videos
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Jul 21, 2014 at 4:28 PM
On July 15, 2014, Weird Al Yankovic released his 14th studio album, and his first in three years. Along with the album's release, the King of Parodies unleashed eight videos. Featuring covers of Iggy Azalea, Robin Thicke and Southern Culture on the Skids among them, some of the videos are better than others.
So, in case you missed any of them, here are the eight videos — from worst to best:
8. "Sports Song" is a valiant effort at making fun of sports teams and over-enthusiastic sports fans, but it's hard to make a marching band song that's catchy.
First Notes First Notes (7/21/2014): Eddie Vedder covers 'Imagine,' more
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Jul 21, 2014 at 11:26 AM
Editor's Note: First Notes is a weekly update of recent happenings in the world of music.
Eddie Vedder performed a cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" for the first time ever. It's just one more note in the ongoing anti-war rhetoric from the Pearl Jam frontman recently. Last week, he posted an anti-war blog on the band's website.
Eddie Vedder - Imagine (live in Portugal) by sheehanpaul-ie
A 21-year-old attendee of British Columbia's Pemberton Music Festival was found dead in his tent on Friday night. The cause of death is still under investigation.
setlist / Heard / Live Reviews Heard: Kiss, PNC Music Pavilion (7/19/2014)
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Jul 21, 2014 at 10:43 AM
Kiss
PNC Music Pavilion
July 19, 2014
For 40 years, Kiss has been a well-oiled, money-making, touring machine. The make-up-wearing, leather-clad quartet has undergone a few lineup changes, but some things remain the same. If you go to a Kiss concert these days, you're going to hear the hits. You're going to see Gene Simmons spit fireballs, drool blood and fly to the rafters. You're going to hear Paul Stanley hit all the high notes and run his hands through his hair. You're going to see Tommy Thayer shoot fireworks from his guitar.
Walking into a Kiss show, you don't expect surprises, you simply expect to be entertained. On the band's current tour, they're playing a 75-minute closing set after co-headliner Def Leppard. Instead of reviewing the show and giving you the same details you can read in countless other places, we thought we'd offer some of the gems we caught wind of in the crowd, along with five comments you'd never hear at a Kiss show.
Heard in the VIP area between sets by a loud guy talking to a group of his buddies:
Guy A: "It's not a good concert unless you see titties. I'd even take one titty."
Guy B lifts his own shirt to expose his chest.
Guy A: "Not yours. You keep your shirt on!"
Thursday, July 17, 2014
News Johnny Winter dead at age 70
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Thu, Jul 17, 2014 at 10:12 AM
Johnny Winter has died at age 70. The blues guitarist, who was set to release a new album this fall, was scheduled to perform at the Neighborhood Theater on Sept. 12.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Videos Late Bloomer releases "Dr. Abernathy" video
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 12:52 PM
Charlotte indie-rock trio Late Bloomer has released a video for the song "Dr. Abernathy" from its sophomore album, Things Change. Late Bloomer is guitarist Neil Mauney, drummer Scott Wishart and bassist Josh Robbins.
Videos / WTF Wednesday WTF Wednesday (7/16/2014): Paris Hilton's new video
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 11:39 AM
* Paris Hilton released a video for her song "Come Alive." The auto-tuned club song has plenty of thumping beats and simplistic lyrics. It's as bad as you'd expect it to be:
* Andre Johnson, who raps under the name Christ Bearer, has finally given an interview to explain why he cut his own penis off. "Yes, I was using drugs that night, but I was in complete control," Johnson told E!. "I cut it off because that was the root of all my problems. My solution to the problem was the realization that sex is for mortals, and I am a god...Those kinds of activities got me into trouble, and I came here to be a god."
Monday, July 14, 2014
Photos / setlist / Live Reviews Live review: Justin Timberlake, Time Warner Cable Arena (7/12/2014)
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Jul 14, 2014 at 1:42 PM
Justin Timberlake
Time Warner Cable Arena
July 12, 2014
- Photo by Jeff Hahne
- Justin Timberlake
Let's keep it real from the start. I'm not a fan of Justin Timberlake's music. I don't own any of his albums. I don't have one song of his on my iPod. I refuse to refer to him as "JT" and I never liked NSync either. I'm familiar with his music though because, hey, that's my job. All that being said, I do find Timberlake's appearances on Saturday Night Live funny, and I've enjoyed his collaborations with Jimmy Fallon.
So, while I was walking into Time Warner Cable Arena for his concert, my only thought was, "I bet he puts on a good show." Nearly two-and-a-half hours later, I still had no plans to buy his music and my initial thought was wrong. The guy puts on a fantastically entertaining concert.
Unlike many people in the packed downtown arena, I wasn't singing or dancing for the duration of the 28-song set. But just like everyone in the place I couldn't take my eyes off of the show. And that's what it was — a show. From start to finish, Timberlake keeps those in attendance fixated on everything he does. From dancing and running across the expansive stage, from playing a piano or keyboards or acoustic guitar to asking the crowd to sing along — put plain and simple, the guy's a star.
Photos / setlist / Live Reviews Live review: Beck, Uptown Amphitheatre (7/11/2014)
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Jul 14, 2014 at 12:39 PM
Beck, Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger
Uptown Amphitheatre
July 11, 2014
Considering this was the first time in 18 years Beck had performed in Charlotte — and that he's been off the road completely for the last handful — it should be no surprise that I hadn't seen the singer live before last Friday night. (Check that one off the list.)
I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I didn't read any recent reviews and, given his latest album's folk-rock sobriety and a spinal injury that kept him off the road for years, I was prepared for something a bit low key. I figured I'd see the 44-year-old taking it easy with an acoustic guitar and focusing on his newest release, this year's stunning Morning Phase.
But all preconceived notions were thrown out from the first notes of "Devil's Haircut." Beck sang with a bounce in his step, shaked and shimmied his way around the stage and generally looked like he was having a great time without hesitation.
First Notes First notes (7/14/2014): Last original Ramones member dies
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Jul 14, 2014 at 10:50 AM
Tommy Ramone, the last original member of The Ramones, died at age 65 over the weekend from bile duct cancer. Born Tom Erdelyi, he was the drummer for the influential rock 'n' roll band.
A metal trio of Brooklyn 8th-graders, known as Unlocking the Truth, has signed a record deal with Sony that could net them as much as $1.7 million. The deal includes $60,000 for the group's first LP with as much as $350,000 on its second.
Live Reviews Live review: Touché Amoré, Amos’ Southend (7/11/2014)
Posted By Patrick Wall on Mon, Jul 14, 2014 at 10:35 AM
Touché Amoré
Amos’ Southend
July 11, 2014
Around the time Touché Amoré was getting ready to close its set with a visceral rendition of “~,” the opening song from its phenomenal Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me, I got a text message from a friend of mine who was catching Beck’s set at the Uptown Amphitheatre. The genre-hopping pop singer, he said, was in the middle of “Debra,” a silly but seriously funky tune that’s one of my favorites from Beck’s catalog. My friend was, in essence, gloating: I had chosen to see Touché Amoré, an intensely loved and meaningful punk band, instead, and he was attempting to iterate that I had chosen poorly.
There’s a romance to punk, mostly of its tendency to be, for young turks, life-affirming. And watching people fight their way to the front of a sea of bodies just to scream a single lyric within earshot of Touché Amoré frontman Jeremy Bolm is something of a life-affirming experience in itself, to say nothing of how life-affirming it was for everyone in the crowd to be seeing this band in the flesh.
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Judas Priest, Deep Purple rock the Queen City 1
Legendary bands show they've still got what it takes during Charlotte, NC concert.
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Florence & The Machine offer a vocal showcase in Charlotte area
Billie Eilish offers talent beyond her years as opening act.
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Odesza brings the beats to CMCU Amphitheatre
EDM duo sells out Uptown's outdoor venue.
