By Mike Finkelstein Improbable as it may seem, twenty years after Jerry Garcia’s death, 2015 was a very eventful year in the Grateful Dead community. In July, it seemed that the final Fare Thee Well show in Chicago, with Phish’s Trey Anastacio on lead guitar, would be it for the resurrected Grateful Dead. But, as… Read More Dead and Co at the Forum New Year’s Eve eve and New Year’s Eve
By Mike Finkelstein Rock ‘n’ roll has always been the province of bad-asses. For the misunderstood, the misfits, and black sheep, rock’n’ roll is a sanctuary. It’s not that you have to be a badass to play it, but to live the lifestyle you’d better have that gear ready to go. And living it does… Read More An Appreciation: Lemmy of Motorhead
By Mike Finkelstein On Tuesday night the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA presented Crosscurrents, a truly special ensemble of legendary Western and Indian virtuoso musicians, to a full house. The group members are Zakir Hussain (tablas), Louiz Banks (piano/keyboards), Dave Holland (bass), Shankar Mahadevan (vocals), Sanjay Divecha (guitar), Vikku “V”… Read More Live Music: “Crosscurrents” (Zakir Hussain, Dave Holland, Shankar Mahadevan et al) at Royce Hall
By Mike Finkelstein On Thursday night in a Center for the Art of Performance concert at Royce Hall, Snarky Puppy and Kneebody played a sold out show of what might best be called jazz fusion or simply eclectic music, though trying to label music is probably not a great idea. Still, both units had a… Read More Live Music: Snarky Puppy and Kneebody in a CAP UCLA Concert at Royce Hall
By Mike Finkelstein For years, it seems that I’ve brushed up to a nice bushel or two of “keeper” songs from Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals. These tunes are the good stuff, the type of songs people use in their weddings, and the band’s reputation as performers is similarly top shelf. Still, I never… Read More Live Music: Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals at the Greek Theatre
By Mike Finkelstein If you have even a kernel of curiosity about the legend of Janis Joplin or if you simply want to see some great rock-related live musical theater, you will want to get to the Pasadena Playhouse and see A Night with Janis Joplin before it closes on August 23. Putting this production… Read More Musical Theatre: “A Night With Janis Joplin” at the Pasadena Playhouse
By Mike Finkelstein Last Tuesday night, a good old-fashioned triple bill pulled into town at the Greek theater, a triple bill headlined by Barenaked Ladies, and supported by the Violent Femmes and Colin Hay. It seems that in recent times, acts don’t interact much on stage during one of these tours. They simply go onstage… Read More Live Music: Barenaked Ladies, The Violent Femmes, and Colin Hay at the Greek Theatre
By Mike Finkelstein At the Greek Theater Saturday night, the Doobie Brothers and Don Felder brought the instant name recognition that two set lists-worth of big FM hits from the 70’s will fetch, and put them on display for a large, enthusiastic audience at the Greek Theater. The hits rolled pretty much all night long.… Read More Live Music: The Doobie Brothers and Don Felder at the Greek Theatre
By Mike Finkelstein Hollywood, CA On Monday evening the buzz was in the air above Hollywood Boulevard. LA’s favorite sons, Van Halen, were shooting a live mini-concert in support of their new live album, Tokyo Dome Live In Concert . This show was in front of easily a thousand or so of their most connected/lucky… Read More Live Music: Van Halen Make It Interesting As They Rock Hollywood Blvd. For The Jimmy Kimmel Show
By Mike Finkelstein Anaheim, CA. For anyone who appreciates music, the NAMM show is a scene you simply must make once in your life, maybe more. NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) convenes twice annually, once in the winter at the Anaheim Convention Center and once in the summer, in Nashville. It has become more… Read More Live Music and a Lot More: MY DAY AT THE NAMM SHOW
The International Review of Music 