and let me just go ahead and put that alert set to ON for the Tool show in a few weeks!

Enjoyed Rival Sons and STP last night. Also really enjoyed the general admission at Revention. More comfortable than HoB.

I've only been to house of blues in Dallas and Houston, worst venues in each city by far, i assume all HoB's suck

If you think HOB is the worst venue in town you haven't been to too many places. It's not my favorite but it's far from the worst.

I enjoy HoB as I like getting fairly close to stage, but it can get a bit intense some times, not to mention ridiculously pricey. I just appreciated the change last night.

We have no problem with HOB in Houston. We just don't buy drinks there. Before and after for the drinks

I'd argue that the House of Blues Houston is the worst venue in the city. The balcony hangs so far over the front that you can't see the the front half of the stage at all times.

The floor is set up terribly. First there are giant poles on both side that block a big array of views from the sides. Second the stupid VIP sitting area takes up most of the floor so if the concert sold well you better hope you got there early and found a good spot and don't need to leave it for any reason or you'll be SOL. And lastly, and its low on the list, I hate places that have a bathroom attendant, I can wash my hands on my own thank you very much.

I can't think of a venue in Houston that is worse. I'd rather go to Revention, Smart Financial, Warehouse, CWMP, White Oak, NRG, Jones Hall, or Toyota Center before HOB. Hell I've had a better concert experiences at Numbers over HOB.

I agree with sentiments about HOB Houston.. that balcony feels like it's on top of you unless you're pretty close to stage on the floor. And all those tables take up so much room, then there's like a wall at the back of the floor.. it seems compartmentalized, sight-lines are terrible and it seems really cramped.

Denver just had a new venue open called mission ballroom and it's a perfectly designed small venue.

Wide open sight-lines, no poles, no crampiness feelings.. and it was ridiculously easy to get in and out of. That place was empty in about 2 minutes flat. They have 3 sets of double doors on each side that led straight outside from the floor area in addition to the ones that go from seating back to main concession area which also lead outside.
There was a wide open bar on both sides of floor as well. Most 'seating' is just open bleacher style, with reserved only being smaller sections immediately left and right of stage. I was on the floor for the only show I've been to.




Sound booth nice and tucked away in front of seating.

Damn, speak of the devil, after I post my response above, I get an email from Opeth with their USA tour dates..

In Denver at the mission ballroom!

Also in Houston at HOB.


Feb. 13 - Cleveland, OH - The Agora Ballroom
Feb. 14 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
Feb. 15 - Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre
Feb. 17 - Worcester, MA - Palladium
Feb. 18 - Montreal, QC - Mtelus
Feb. 19 - Toronto, ON - Rebel
Feb. 21 - New York, NY - Apollo Theater
Feb. 22 - New York, NY - Apollo Theater
Feb. 23 - Silver Spring, MD - The Fillmore
Feb. 25 - Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room at Old National Centre
Feb. 26 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium*
Feb. 28 - Houston, TX - House of Blues
Feb. 29 - Dallas, TX - The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Mar. 01 - Kansas City, MO - Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland*
Mar. 02 - Denver, CO - The Mission Ballroom
Mar. 04 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium

Counterpoint said:

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Damn. I wonder if they would have cancelled S&M if it wasn't such a one (or two) time thing?

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My aunt (who lives in Vail) was at 10th mountain spirits (a distillery also in Vail) recently and she said the bartender said James came in around 6-8 weeks ago.. that would have been a bit before S&M. Lots of speculation there of course, as there was no more info with that statement, but I just hope he sought out help before he got too far deep into a relapse.

Rival Sons/Stone Temple Pilots tonight

That looks a lot like Revention to me, which is my favorite Houston venue.

I didn't mind HOB the first couple times I went, but the last time I went sucked. Modest Mouse was supposed to play Revention, but Harvey damage made it have to shift to HOB. It was WAY to crowded and I got stuck behind a pillar. Blew.

Headed to ACL tomorrow to see Tyler Childers, The Raconteurs, Tame Impala, and Guns and Roses.

Did anyone else catch the Marcus King Trio on Thursday in Houston? It was free, and they played a great set.

I was out at Marcus King last night! I had wanted to see him for years, and they didn't disappoint! Loved the SRV cover near the end of the show, too.

My wife won free tickets to the Raconteurs show at Revention for tomorrow, so it'll be a good week of free live music.

blinnboy83 said:

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I was out at Marcus King last night! I had wanted to see him for years, and they didn't disappoint! Loved the SRV cover near the end of the show, too.

My wife won free tickets to the Raconteurs show at Revention for tomorrow, so it'll be a good week of free live music.

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I had been wanting to see him for a while, too. I liked the ZZ Top cover, too, along with a Hoochie Coochie Man.

I would have liked to have seen the Raconteurs. That will be a good show.

Side note: how come every show I want to see happens in the first week of September to the first week of November? One of my favorite late '80s-early '90s bands, Tora Tora announces Texas dates, but I already have tickets for Dwight Yoakum that weekend in Austin. Marcus King was here. Tedeschi Trucks Band is early November. Plenty of other good shows, too, all at the same time.

Can't speak for others, but I'd pay a higher price to see an old area size rock band in a half size arena like some of these pics. Get the old fans together in a small arena style venue and turn it up, all close and personal. Will it recreate the old full tilt arenas when we first saw them? No. But it will re create the atmosphere of one full and pumped, with popcorn replacing the smell of pot. I'm not kidding about that. When Van Halen rolled through San Antonio's ATT Center several years ago, I was worried about "contact smoke" for my job. Great show, but laughed with my wife that the smell of pot was replaced with popcorn and beer. Not a bad thing for Old's like us.

Frampton. Tonight.

Many people thought this would be hard but I was front rail at ACL at both main stages and one of the midsize ones.

The Cure, easily the best of the whole weekend. Flawless.

https://instagr.am/p/B3QyphJlrAH

GNR ... disappointing.

https://instagr.am/p/B3OR_5Pl978

Billie Eilish crazy crowd for sure. 6th time seeing her

https://instagr.am/p/B3QwA2cFJZI

Saw Tame Impala last week at Toyota Pavilion in Irving

Wow, just insane performance and show. That's all i got, it was incredible.

Metallica headlining 5 DWP festivals next year, playing friday and sunday at each.

https://metallicaxx.com/

Is it just me or does it seem weird/inappropriate to start hyping big gigs while your lead singer is sitting in rehab again?

I enjoyed Greta Van Fleet last night in Houston. Solid setlist, great vocal and music performances. They don't put on much of a stage show like Iron Maiden or Kiss but good solid music.

catching Jon Pardi tomorrow in Houston.

Has anyone been to White Oak? Does it suck for short people?

LSCSN said:

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catching Jon Pardi tomorrow in Houston.

Has anyone been to White Oak? Does it suck for short people?

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Looks like he's on the lawn. If you are good with standing on the bottom of the hill just far enough up to see over everyone in between the stage and the hill, you're golden.

That's the kind of info I was looking for. Thank you

Junkhead said:

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Is it just me or does it seem weird/inappropriate to start hyping big gigs while your lead singer is sitting in rehab again?

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I'd guess these have long been booked. And they are 7 months away. He could be out of rehab for all we know. It's obvious he's not a Weiland or Staley.

Gotta keep the S&M hype train going.

62strat said:

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Junkhead said:

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Is it just me or does it seem weird/inappropriate to start hyping big gigs while your lead singer is sitting in rehab again?

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I'd guess these have long been booked. And they are 7 months away. He could be out of rehab for all we know. It's obvious he's not a Weiland or Staley.

Gotta keep the S&M hype train going.

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Tangentially related... Is alcohol his problem?

Counterpoint said:

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62strat said:

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Junkhead said:

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Is it just me or does it seem weird/inappropriate to start hyping big gigs while your lead singer is sitting in rehab again?

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I'd guess these have long been booked. And they are 7 months away. He could be out of rehab for all we know. It's obvious he's not a Weiland or Staley.

Gotta keep the S&M hype train going.

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Tangentially related... Is alcohol his problem?

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It was for the st. anger/some kind of monster era. He's never had an issue with the heroins and cocaines and such.

But he is a lot older than 2004.. maybe it's pain pills as well.

Interestingly, he got his first tattoo about 97/98. Then he had one or two more by turn of century. He goes off the rails, comes back sober, and within no time has had chest, back, neck and sleeved both of his arms. It was as if he channeled his addiction into something more positive.

So weird for a heavy metal icon to not have a tattoo until his mid 30s, 15 years into his career. But then again, lars is tattoo free still.

Tool tonight baby! They debuted pneuma and title track at aftershock.. totally stoked to hopefully hear pneuma which is my fav. track as of now.

Someone spotted Adam Jones at WWE Raw in Denver last night.. also at the pepsi center!

Anybody ever check out ticketmaster or stubhub a few hours before a show starts to see what seats are still available??

Just curious hah. Lots of front row seats in my section and one section closer still available on TM/SH for Tool tonight. Lot better view than my row 18!

Can't believe I passed on them when they came through 2 years ago. So f-in good.

Great album variety; 4 from new album, 3 songs each from aenima, lateralus and 10k days, and 1 undertow goodie.

Maynard's vocals were sounding great. Can't believe they can get through some of these time signature nightmares.

My view:



Very strict no cell phone/camera policy.. signs every where, security constantly walking up and down aisles getting people. Overall worked, I didn't see one phone up in front of me the whole show.

Then before the last song, Maynard said 'you guys have been good, you can now pull out your phones and record the rest of the show. Security, please no tackling or punching.' So I had to grab a few pics.

They actually played behind this stringy curtain thing for a few songs. Then it came back at intermission. Allowed for some cool 3-D visuals, since the lasers would hit those strings and it acted like a projector.

Saw Jon Pardi and Steve Wariner this weekend. Two great shows. White Oak is a great place for a show, first time visiting that venue.

Tom Morello tonight

This is for 2020 but Foreigner just announced 2/11/2020 @ Rudder auditorium!