Chris Isaak - Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank , NJ 11/30/2019

     Chris Isaak brought his 2019 Holiday Tour to the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank New Jersey. It was the first time he had played the theatre since 2014.
      He still has the same band which only get better as the years go on.
      As usual he was very talkative between songs and very self deprecating.
      The setlist ranged from his original material, to many songs from his Christmas album to a few select covers, a couple which can be found on his album Beyond the Sun.
       Hopefully he will return much sooner than the last time.

     

Here's the setlist:

         

            American Boy
            Blue Christmas
            Somebody's Crying
            5:15 / Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
            Big Wide Wonderful World
            Christmas on TV
            Wicked Game
            Go walking Down There
            Oh, Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison cover)
            Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash cover)
            Mele Kalikimaka
            Two Hearts
            I Know My Baby Loves Me In Her Own Peculiar Way (Ernest Tubb cover)
            Gotta Be Good
            Forever Young
            Can't Help Falling In Love With You (Elvis Presley cover)
            Hey Santa!
            Blue Hotel
            San Francisco Days
            Notice the Ring

            Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing
            Pretty Paper

         

It Was Fifty Years Ago Today - Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ 10/17/2019

  The concert tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Beatles White Album, actual title The Beatles, came to the Count Basie Theatre last week.
  The concert features the majority of the White Album performed by Todd Rundgren, Christopher Cross, Joey Molland of Badfinger, Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees and Jason Scheff of Chicago. Guitarist Jeffrey Foskett from The Beach Boys also joined in for some of the songs.
   The format had the artists the artists taking lead on songs throughout the night. The first half consisted of songs from the White Album and each of the featured artists doing two of their own songs. The second half only contained songs from the White Album.
   It was great to get to see all these performers share the stage and talk about their love of The Beatles. I only wish Jason Scheff, being the sole bass player so he rarely left the stage, had performed two songs he recorded with Chicago as opposed to singing ones recorded by Peter Cetera. But having been in Chicago for nearly 30 years, he had been singing them longer that Peter Cetera. Would love to have hear Heart in Pieces though, a rarity and very underrated.
  All is all, a very special show and one that shows how diverse The Beatles were.
  Here is the setlist:

                   Set 1
         Back in the U.S.S.R. - All
         Dear Prudence - Jason Scheff
         Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me and My Monkey - Todd Rundgren
         Martha My Dear - Christopher Cross
         Savoy Truffle - Joey Molland
         I'm a Believer(Monkees song) - Mickey Dolenz
         Pleasant Valley Sunday(Monkees song) - Mickey Dolenz
         Baby Blue(Badfinger song) - Joey Molland w/Todd Rundgren
         No Matter What(Badfinger song) - Joey Molland
         Hard To Say I'm Sorry(Chicago song) - Jason Scheff
         25 or 6 to 4(Chicago song) - Jason Scheff
         I Saw the Light(Todd Rundgren song) - Todd Rundgren
         Hello It's Me(Nazz song) - Todd Rundgren
         Sailing(Christopher Cross song) - Christopher Cross
         Ride Like the Wind(Christopher Cross song) - Christopher Cross
         Honey Pie - Christopher Cross
         Why Don't We Do It In The Road - Mickey Dolenz
         While My Guitar Gently Weeps - Todd Rundgren

                   Set 2

          Blackbird - Christopher Cross
          I Will - Christopher Cross
          Julia - Jason Scheff & Christopher Cross
          Mother Nature's Son - Christopher Cross
          Rocky Raccoon - Mickey Dolenz
          Revolution 1 - Joey Molland
          Sexy Sadie - Todd Rundgren
          I'm So Tired - Mickey Dolenz
          Happiness Is a Warm Gun - Mickey Dolenz
          The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill - Todd Rundgren
          Piggies - Jason Scheff
          Glass Onion - Jason Scheff
          Helter Skelter - Todd Rundgren
          Birthday - Mickey Dolenz & All

          Ob-La-Di, Ob-La Da - All

          

Mickey Dolenz

Todd Rundgren

Christopher Cross, Joey Molland, Mickey Dolenz

Christoper Cross, Jeffrey Foskett, Joey Molland, Mickey Dolenz, Jason Scheff

Jason Scheff & Todd Rundgren

Mark Knopfler & Bonnie Raitt - Madison Square Garden 9/25/2019

Mark Knopfler completed his World Tour with a remarkable show at New York's Madison Square Garden.

 For this final show Bonnie Raitt opened the show with a 55 minute set sounding and looking like she did 30 years ago. Her voice is virtually unchanged and her guitar playing is as beautiful as ever.

 Mark Knopfler and his 10 piece band performed a remarkable set, which was pretty much unchanged from most shows on this tour, with the exception of  being joined by Bonnie Raitt for the penultimate song, Wherever I Go.

 Mr. Knopfler's grizzled voice and unique guitar style get better as time goes on. He would do one solo and you would think there was no way for him to top it during the show, until his next solo came. The main set closer Speedway at Nazareth was easily one of the greatest concert performances I have ever seen.

 His band switched easily from full on rockers to quiet Dire Straits classics to Scottish folk influenced songs with great ease, closing the show with Going Home, the theme from great film Local Hero, for which Mark Knopfler wrote the score.

 Here's hoping many more years of being blessed with his artistry.

 Here's the setlist:



     Bonnie Raitt

        Unintended Consequence of Love
        Need you Tonight (INXS cover)
        One Belief Away
        I Believe I'm In Love With You ( Fabulous Thunderbirds cover)
        Devil Got My Woman
        Something To Talk About
        Thing Called Love
        Angel From Montgomery
        I Can't Make You Love Me
        You Got The Love (Rufus cover) / Love Sneakin' Up On You

       
   Mark Knopfler

         Why Aye Man
         Corned Beef City
         Sailing To Philadelphia
         Once Upon a Time In The West (Dire Straits song)
         Romeo and Juliet (Dire Straits song)
         My Bacon Roll
         Matchstick Man
         Done With Bonaparte
         Heart Full of Holes
         Your Latest Trick (Dire Straits song)
         Postcards From Paraguay
         On Every Street (Dire Straits song)
         Speedway at Nazareth

         Money For Nothing (Dire Straits song)

         Wherever I Go w/Bonnie Raitt
         Going Home (Theme of The Local Hero)

With Bonnie Raitt

         

Bruce Springsteen

                                                              Happy 70th Birthday

In Memoriam - Ric Ocasek

       
                                                                        Rest in Peace

In Memoriam - Harold Prince

                                                     
                                                                    Rest in Peace