Tuesday, September 30, 2008

PRETENDERS - US Festival, Devore, CA 1983

Hard left turn from Metallica into something a touch more chica-friendly, perhaps...

Saw Chrissie Hynde and her latest guitarist play in the acoustic mode at Amoeba Music last night. Kinda raw-n-ragged, but the old gal's voice still sounds fantastic, and she looks good too. Clearly a bit of a spiky type, our Chrissie, but that's why we totes heart her.

Plus, she could flat-out kick the asses of every member of Fall Out Boy without spilling her veggie burrito.

As for this show, it's not the "U.S. Festival" as stated above, but the good old 1983 US Festival. Y'know, Van Halen (as previously posted here), Ozzy, The Clash, David Bowie, New Wave Day, Heavy Metal Day and all. Classic boot, great sound, all the hits, can't beat the price. Thanks to Dino & Princess!

PRETENDERS
US Festival, Glen Helen Regional Park - Devore, CA - May 30, 1983 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

PASSWORD: sparkyibew

Saturday, September 27, 2008

METALLICA - Istanbul, Turkey 2008

Another day, another weekend, another steel-belted ass-ripper by the Metallifux, this one from Istanbul.

Seems they're done playing such far-off cities as this for awhile, and will soon be playing such cities as, like, Hollywood. (Or at least Inglewood.) Mastaaaaar...

METALLICA
Ali Sami Yen Stadium - Istanbul, Turkey - July 27, 2008 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

METALLICA - Stockholm, Sweden 2007

So as I was saying yesterday, about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? I've said before but it clearly bears repeating:

When as many rap/disco acts as hard rock/heavy metal acts are inducted into the, ahem, ROCK AND ROLL Hall of Fame, credibility issues do arise. Rap and disco are, by their very nature, NOT rock and roll. Hard rock and heavy metal, however, not only ARE rock and roll -- they are rock and roll times ten, times a hundred, times a thousand. Rock and roll as action movie.

So, which belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame more? That's all I'm asking here. That's it, and that's all.

I think I promised more of the recently nominated and hopefully soonly inducted Metallica. If not, here's some anyway. Epic, sick, monster-ass show with Jaymz in great growl, perfect sound (and I mean 1000% perfect, @ 320 bitrate no less), and a great setlist heavy on the Ride, Master and Justice.

This one's special too because it includes the rarely performed "No Leaf Clover", IMHO the most underrated ballad by a band that has written a couple of damn heavy ones ("The Unforgiven", "Nothing Else Matters").

METALLICA
Stockholms Stadion - Stockholm, Sweden - July 12, 2007 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3 / DOWNLOAD 4

Monday, September 22, 2008

METALLICA - BBC Radio 1, London 2008

Well, thank the Metal Gods! Today the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame pulled its addled head out of its bloated ass, for once, and nominated Metallica in their very first year of eligibility.

Given the eternal black mark on the Hall's record regarding Black Sabbath (ten long fucking years to induct, ehh, y'know, only one of the most influential bands in the entire history of popular music), I was hardly expecting them to get it right this time. But surprise surprise, I guess popularity and longevity do make a difference after all. (Except in the case of the dreaded Bon Jovi. Please, God, never them!)

Of course, Metallica's actual induction, on the first ballot or not, is a whole 'nother matter. I predict a wait of at least five years, during which time eighteen more shitty rap, disco and R&B acts will sail in.

But I predict Metallica still gets inducted before Rush, The Zombies, Todd Rundgren, Yes, Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, Deep Purple and about 97 other eminently worthy inductees waiting out in the cold who'll probably die of old age (well, except for poor Nilsson) before the Nominating Committee geniuses realize "Wait, you mean we're actually called the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a reason?"

Because if there's one group that can always be relied upon to try and look cool, desperately, pathetcially, in defiance of all taste, logic and common sense...it's rock critics. Remember, it took Rolling Stone 34 years to finally do a decent feature on Rush, just this past summer in fact.

So forget about any other metal greats getting in, from Maiden and Priest on down -- that ain't never happening. But more rap acts? You bet your Bentley.

Anyway, that does that, for this year anyway. Here's a wicked killer BBC broadcast from just a week ago (!) in celebration of Metallica's richly deserved nomination and also their rawk-solid new album Death Magnetic. Go dudes go!

METALLICA
BBC Radio 1 Theatre - London, England - September 14, 2008 (FMB)
DOWNLOAD

Friday, September 19, 2008

PINK FLOYD - "Live at Pompeii," 1972 (R.I.P. Richard Wright) REPOST @ 320!

A final tribute to Mr. Wright, died this year of 2008, and all those poor innocent folks in old Pompeii itself, died on a balmy August day in AD 79. Damn you, Vesuvius!

PINK FLOYD "Live at Pompeii"
Pompeii, Italy and Paris, France - October 1971 and Winter-Spring 1972
(SBD/STU @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

PINK FLOYD - Live 8 in London, 2005 (R.I.P. Richard Wright)

Any day a member of Pink Floyd dies is not a good day. Keyboardist Richard Wright succumbed to cancer yesterday in England, two years after Syd Barrett's passing. Heavy days indeed...

Here is an FM broadcast of Wright's last performance with Floyd, at the historic 2005 Live 8 reunion, their first gig together in 24 years and, as of yesterday, the final Pink Floyd performance ever.

So thank the gods of rock, and bless the bickering boys, for (carefully) burying the axe and pulling it together one last time and going out on a high note. R.I.P. Rick!

PINK FLOYD - Live 8
Hyde Park - London, England - July 2, 2005 (FMB)
DOWNLOAD

Friday, September 12, 2008

BOB DYLAN - "Blood on the Tracks" New York Sessions, 1974

Not much of a segue...but wasn't Judas Priest actually named after a Dylan song?

As promised, some Bobby D The Bard for your weekend of regret, heartache and misery. Chin up, lads!

BOB DYLAN
"Blood on the Tracks" New York Sessions
CBS A&R Studios - New York, NY - September 1974 (STU)
DOWNLOAD

Friday, September 5, 2008

JUDAS PRIEST - Denver, CO 1980

As promised, some fukken heavy-ass classic Priiieeeeest!!!

This one's from back in the glory days when Halford was "hetero," recorded at the (appropriately named) Rainbow Music Hall, in a world...in a time...

when "Living After Midnight" was the new single. Rrrip it!

JUDAS PRIEST
Rainbow Music Hall - Denver, CO - June 25, 1980 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

BLACK SABBATH - Boston, MA 1992

"Got those heavy boots of lead...make you dead!"

In recognition of how utterly fukken aweschom!!! Heaven and Hell (i.e., Dio-Sabbs) were at last weekend's aforementioned Metal Masters fest, I post another quality boot from the boys in black. It's every bit as official-release perfectoid as last week's.

In other news, went to a Brian Wilson event at Amoeba Hollywood yesterday morning, and am seeing Bob Dylan tonight in Santa Monica. Next week's posts will likely reflect these developments.

Meantime enjoy this, and y'all come back for one last metallic jolt of some killer Priest by week's end...

BLACK SABBATH "Black Bloody Black"
Orpheum Theater - Boston, MA - August 9, 1992 (SBD)
DOWNLOAD