Brett Milano
If drummer Ginger Baker’s staring into the abyss, he’s doing it with defiance and a good beat.
Read MoreClassic rock (which is really a radio format, not a musical genre) is a strange animal, which has spawned an audience that apparently cares more about hit songs and memories than about who’s actually onstage.
Read MoreEven by Widespread Panic’s intuitive standards, this was a fairly challenging show: The setlist seemed to favor their deeper, less outgoing material.
Read MoreEven by the standards of prog shows, which only get close to mainstream if a Yes or Rush is headlining, these bands were largely from the underground.
Read MoreMichael Nesmith’s proto-Americana songs had aged the least—listen to the jangly guitar and stream-of-conscious lyric on “Tapioca Tundra” and you’d swear that was where R.E.M. got the idea.
Read MoreThe band was still Television and often as not, still magnificent.
Read MoreBetter than Ezra may be more than a hardworking, nice-guy band permanently fated to be overshadowed by more significant artists.
Read MoreIf Boy George had carried on in this vein — working the best of the old in with the new, and keeping the soul roots upfront — the night would have been a surprise triumph.
Read MoreAs a solo artist, Neil Finn’s moved away from straightforward pop and toward a moodier sound, with lyrics asking bigger questions about life and mortality.
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