BY MIKE METTLER — AUGUST 3, 2020
35 years ago today, I saw Dire Straits live for the first time on August 3, 1985, at Poplar Creek in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The ticket cost a whopping $15 — 15 bucks! $14 plus a $1 service fee (those were the days!) — and we got the […]
BY MIKE METTLER – OCTOBER 28, 2016
All systems pointed to a resounding, emphatic exultation of “YES” as ARW — the collective acronym for vocalist Jon Anderson, guitarist/vocalist Trevor Rabin, and keyboard guru Rick Wakeman — converged their mighty collective talents into an uplifting and sonically spectacular show at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New […]
BY MIKE METTLER — MAY 27, 2014
“We’re all here for a common reason, which is the love of music.” That’s Jeff Pilson of Foreigner, succinctly assessing the manifesto of The Soundtrack of Summer tour, which features three powerhouse classic rock artists at the top of their respective games: Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles, […]
BY MIKE METTLER
“Love is all around you.” It’s a phrase that enveloped me in full during the climax of The Beatles — LOVE. My reaction? “Yeah yeah yeah!” The 7:00 p.m. performance on January 10, 2014 was my fifth time seeing this Cirque du Soleil extravaganza in its 7 years (and counting) at The […]
BY MIKE METTLER — NOVEMBER 19, 2013
“Same three guys. Same three chords.” It’s a refrain that ZZ Top guitarist extraordinaire Billy Gibbons has been preaching from the stage for years, but it’s how this little ol’ band from Texas mixes up that deceptively basic formula with its own brand of down-home, blues-slathered gee-tar grease […]
BY MIKE METTLER
“No way to slow down.” Though it’s a line from the night’s lone encore (more on that later), it also aptly describes Ian Anderson’s energetic 128-minute set at the Beacon Theatre in New York City on October 10. As billed, Anderson and his ace six-piece band ran through Thick as a Brick […]
