What a fabulous Friday it is fellow bloggers!
Here in the Garden state it's about 68 degrees(well...it was when I first started writing this...but I've had a few interruptions)...the skies are clear, bright and blue and the weekend looks like it's going to be beautiful, warm and sunny!
It's good to be alive on days like this.
Since normally my Friday blogs have something to do with music, I wanted to keep the same theme going here.
I'm taking a bit of a break from my normal posting of songs that are "so bad but you still sing along with anyway" to post something a bit different.
So...no Drippin' with Cheeze and no Beanbag Chronicles.
Not to worry though...I will have more musical mutations for you in the upcoming weeks!
Today I just want to post something about one of my all time favorite groups.
aaaannnd the reason I'm doing this post today is because we saw them in concert last night and they were freakin' AWESOME!!!
M had told me this group was coming to one of the small concert venues near us and asked if I would like to go!
Hell yeah!
There were three bands that were playing. The first one...eh....the second one...FREAKIN' AWESOME...the third one..eh.
We had lawn seats...which were fine because I wanted to "hear" the music more than "see" the groups. Plus it was a beautiful night to be outside.
The first group that sang was Cheap Trick. Not one of my favorites, but I did know the songs they played.
They really had a hard time pulling it together on a few songs and Robin Zander's voice cracked a bit. We did get to see one of those crazy 5 necked guitars though...that was kind of fun.
It was very intersting to see a lot of Mom's and Dad's who brought their kids to this concert. The Mom's and Dad's who are all in their 40's, 50's and perhaps 60's were rockin' out while the kids - mostly teenagers...sang right along with them.
I don't know about you, but I never went to a rock concert with my Mom and Dad.
M rocked out!
She sang every song!
Next up....the best act all night in my opinion!
The beautiful and talented sisters from the Northwest: Ann and Nancy Wilson from Heart.
They were fucking amazing!
They were polished and had a clean sound and Ann's voice!!!! Oh...that woman has THE most beautiful and THE most powerful female rock voices in the world. It's clean and it's clear and she can scream without sounding harsh and belt out blues that will just make you weep.
I LOVE...Heart!
Love them.
Nancy is no slouch either!!!! She can play that freakin' guitar and mandolin and dance and jump all over the damn stage and still sing like an angel.
Both women look fabulous! Just gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!!!
The band...awesome!
You can tell that they enjoy playing together and they know each other and are professional and talented...and I could go on and on...but I won't because...I just won't...that's why!
The very last band to play was Journey.
What can I say about Journey?
I had one of their albums when I was a teenager. I knew a couple of their songs...and I liked those couple of songs but I always thought Steve Perry was kind of freaky looking.
He was short...he had a big nose and long stringy hair.
I could listen to them...but not watch them!
Well Steve Perry isn't with the group any more and they found this guy - Arnel Pineda to replace Perry who is this freakishly amazing Steve Perry imitator. He is the same build and has the same hair and dances around like a wild man on stage...but the voice...was....the....EXACT same as Perry.
It was a bit freaky.
More than a bit freaky.
Anyway...there were a lot of "wiseguy" wanna-be's in the crowd and I guess they were there to hear "Don't Stop Believing ". (Oh...and I didn't know this song was part of the last scene in the Soprano's because I never watched the show)
We stayed to hear about 3 songs and that was enough.
I still was on the Heart high and didn't want to ruin the moment by listening to the drunken' Jersey boys screamin' to Journey. (It ain't pretty I gotta tell ya)
The dilemma I face was trying to pick the best Heart song to post for today.
That isn't easy.
I could go the easy route and go with the standard: Barracuda
Or I could pick something more recent like: All I Wanna Do is Make Love to You
Both are fine...but I wanted to post something that I thought really showed off the talents of both sisters.
And...this is kind of my favorite song of theirs and it's my blog....so deal!
The beginning of this song is one of the main reasons why I love the guitar as an instrument. Nancy plays this beautiful classical intro which shows off her talent as a musician and then BAM...it opens up and Ann belts out the lyrics as only she can.
Originally, this song was played with a quick tempo, but in later years they slowed it down...made it more bluesy and gave it much more emotion. I prefer the slower version ...it grabs you and holds you til the end.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a You Tube clip that shows both versions the way I heard it last night, so I've posted versions of each and then you can use your imagination on how they would sound if you took that brilliant intro part....slowed it down and then add Ann's heartfelt singing to the second half.
I totally recommend cranking these up while listening in order to get the full effect!
#1 - the faster version with the intro:
#2 - a bit slower and then it builds up:
Happy Weekend all!
Peace!
7 comments:
We joined the middle aged rockers to watch Bruce Springsteen on Tuesday night. Everyone was close to my age, give or take a few years. Must admit, Bruce was fun to watch and a good listen. He is a pretty awesome guitar player too,(but not as good as dive). I'm glad you left during Journey. I hate Journey. The world knows I hate Journey. Heart set a precedent for women rockers. Go Heart.
I don't know Heart, but I know Crazy On You
ps I haven't forgotten the embarrassed song deal. I seem to be struggling, but I'm working. Having a lot of fun remembering though. ;)
Oh thank you, Shazza! I loved early Journey (before the ballads). They had Greg Rollie of Santana fame. I don't own a lot of Cheap Trick, but love them when Zander's voice is warm. As for Heart, got to meet them once. Their Uncle taught journalism at Ellensburg High School.
Nice girls..OK..that's not what was going through my pubescent mind. I was "in love" with Nancy. So, one of my favorites is Treat Me Well from Little Queen. Two others from that album are among my all time favorite songs also, Cry to Me/Go On Cry (actually one song) and then Dream of the Archer. Drum rolllllll my all time favorite song is........ eh, too hard to pick..either White Lighting and Wine or Soul of the Sea....Like I said, too hard hard to pick. I love 'em all!
Thanks again Shazza! WAY better than the last unmentionable rendition of a song I'll never understand.
Yay and woohoo, Shazza!
This is spooky. All the way home on the train last night I had searched the iPod for something nice and nostalgic and was listening to nothing but Heart for the three and a half hour journey. Right back to good ol' Dreamboat Annie, and I woke up just now with "Crazy On You" on my mind!
Damned freaky coincidence!
What an awesome post!
I confess to cranking this right up, plugging in the Les Paul and playing along, note for note; old saddo that I am. Hee hee.
Cool. Barracuda one of Rolling Stone's all-time greatest guitar songs - not that the mag is relevant anymore. Nancy - back away from the donut - we want to hear you belt them out for many more years to come. Shazza, Neetzy, you'll be happy to know that one of your Calif. cousins almost put Steve Perry's lights out while he was working security at a concert - I guess you're dissappointed to know that he didn't deck him. Earlier poster had it about early Journey with Rollie and Neal Schon (sp) the guitarist - very talented musicians in a 70s jazz fusion outfit. All was cool until Perry came and Rollie split. Steve Perry - bleccchh
I saw the name Robin Zander and knew without looking any further that it was Cheap Trick. The first band that I ever saw live in concert, Cobo Arena, Detroit, MI sometime in 1977 when I was 12 years old. We did have a friends' parental unit with us for driving purposes and because no parent in their right mind would let a bunch of little pre-teen suburb girls loose on the streets of Detroit without someone around. The best...your mama's all right, your daddy's all right, they just seem a little strange...oh, yeah, but now I can embrace them for them strangeness and they can embrace me for mine.....
Hi Tribegirl! Thanks for stopping by. They sang that song and the weird part was watching two middle aged Mom's singing that to their kids.
Kind of freaky!
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