Float My Boat

An extremely important aspect of enjoying rock music, especially of the alternative variety, is live concerts. So while I am certainly not getting all of them, here are some great tours worth taking note of happening in the U.S....Before I get to the currently announced dates though, I want to mention the best news in touring so far in 2008, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS summer reunion tour!! Scott Weiland just went into rehab, so let's hope everything works out well and the tour comes nationwide. Other bands doing small tours worth checking out include The Sword, Witch, Graveyard, Saul Williams, Dredg (west coast only), Candlebox (west coast only, but with more to come), Black Mountain, and Dead Meadow. I have seen most of these bands before, and they all put on amazing live shows. Here are the bands/artists that have already announced nationwide tours between now and the summer:

LES CLAYPOOL

February 29th Charlotte, NC - Neighborhood Theatre
March 01st Asheville, NC - The Orange Peel
March 03rd Nashville, TN - City Hall
March 04th Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
March 06th Everglades Nat. Park, FL - Langerado Music Festival
March 08th New Orleans, LA - House of Blues
March 10th Kansas City, MO - Voodoo Lounge @ Harrah's
March 11th Ft. Collins, CO - Aggie Theatre
March 12th Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
March 14th Seattle, WA - The Showbox SoDo
March 15th Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
March 16th Boise, ID - Big Easy Concert House
March 18th Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
March 20th Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
March 21st Milwaukee, WI - The Eagles Club
March 22nd Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
March 25th Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom
March 27th Dallas, TX - House of Blues
March 28th Houston, TX - Warehouse Live
March 29th Austin, TX - Stubb's BBQ
April 01st Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre
April 02nd San Diego, CA - House of Blues
April 04th Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern Theatre
April 05th San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre

THE MARS VOLTA (with more dates to come soon)

April 01st Orlando, FL - House of Blues
April 04th Myrtle Beach, SC - House of Blues
April 05th Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle
April 17th St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
April 18th Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
April 20th Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
April 21st St. Paul, MN - Roy Wilkins Auditorium

THE GUTTER TWINS (Mark Lanegan & Greg Dulli)

March 2008
1 - San Francisco, CA - Bimbo's 365 Club
3 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
4 - Seattle, WA - Showbox
7 - Chicago, IL - Metro
8 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
9 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
11 - Newport, KY - Southgate House
12 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
14 - Toronto, Ontario - Mod Club
15 - Montreal, Quebec - Cabaret du Musee Juste Pour Rire
19 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
20 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
21 - Atlanta, GA - Roxy Theatre
22 - New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jacks
26 - Austin, TX - Antone's
29 - Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre

FU MANCHU & BURNING BRIDES

Feb 27 - San Francisco, CA @ Slim's (Noise Pop)
Feb. 29 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
Mar. 01 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
Mar. 02 - Spokane, WA @ The Boulevard
Mar. 04 - Boise, ID @ The Bouquet
Mar. 06 - Aspen, CO @ The Belly Up
Mar. 07 - Fort Collins, CO @ The Aggie Theatre
Mar. 08 - Denver, CO @ The Larimer Lounge
Mar. 11 - Milwaukee, WI @ Vnuk's
Mar. 12 - Chicago, IL @ Double Door
Mar. 13 - Detroit, MI @ The Magic Stick
Mar. 14 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
Mar. 15 - Columbus, OH @ Ravari Room
Mar. 17 - Pittsburgh, PA @ The Smiling Moose
Mar. 18 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Mar. 20 - Boston, MA @ Middle East Club
Mar. 22 - Wilmington, NC @ The Soapbox Laundrolounge
Mar. 23 - Raleigh, NC @ Volume 11
Mar. 24 - Charlotte, NC @ 314 N College St Camel Cigarettes Free Show
Mar. 25 - Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
Mar. 27 - Houston, TX @ The Meridian
Mar. 28 - Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues -- Cambridge Room
Mar. 29 - Austin, TX @ Mohawk
Apr. 01 - Albuquerque, NM @ The Launchpad
Apr. 02 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Sets
Apr. 04 - Albuquerque, NM @ The Launchpad
Apr. 05 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Troubadour

EELS

March
28 Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Church
29 Washington, DC - Sixth & I Historic Synagogue
31 Boston, MA - Somerville Theatre
April
01 New York, NY - Highline Ballroom
02 New York, NY - Highline Ballroom
04 Toronto, ONT - The Mod
05 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
06 Chicago, IL - Park West
07 Minneapolis, MN - Pantages Theatre
09 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre
11 Seattle, WA - Showbox Theatre
13 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
14 San Francisco, CA - Palace Of Fine Arts
16 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theater

and last but certainly not least...

TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS SUMMER TOUR

05/30/08 Fri Van Andel Arena Grand Rapids, MI
05/31/08 Sat The Palace Auburn Hills, MI
06/03/08 Tue Air Canada Centre Toronto, ON
06/05/08 Thu Wachovia Center Philadelphia, PA
06/08/08 Sun Nissan Pavilion Bristow, VA
06/10/08 Tue Post Gazette Pavilion Burgettstown, PA
06/11/08 Wed New England Dodge Music Center Hartford, CT
06/13/08 Fri TD BankNorth Garden Boston, MA
06/17/08 Tue Madison Square Garden New York, NY
06/18/08 Wed Prudential Center Newark, NJ
06/21/08 Sat Darien Lake Performing Arts Center Darien Center, NY
06/22/08 Sun Blossom Music Center Cuyahoga Falls, OH
06/25/08 Wed Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, CA
07/02/08 Wed United Center Chicago, IL
07/03/08 Thu Verizon Wireless Music Center Noblesville, IN
07/08/08 Tue Riverbend Music Center Cincinnati, OH
07/09/08 Wed Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park Alpharetta, GA
07/11/08 Fri Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Charlotte, NC
07/12/08 Sat Walnut Creek Amphitheatre (formerly Alltel Pavilion) Raleigh, NC
07/15/08 Tue Bank Atlantic Center Sunrise, FL
07/16/08 Wed St. Pete Times Forum - Ice Palace Tampa, FL
07/20/08 Sun Qwest Center Omaha, NE
07/22/08 Tue Sprint Center Kansas City, MO
07/23/08 Wed Target Center Minneapolis, MN
08/07/08 Thu Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Maryland Heights, MO
08/09/08 Sat MTS Centre Winnipeg, MB
08/11/08 Mon Pengrowth Saddledome Calgary, AB
08/12/08 Tue Rexall Place Edmonton, AB
08/15/08 Fri The Gorge George, WA
08/16/08 Sat The Gorge George, WA
08/20/08 Wed Jobing.com Arena Glendale, AZ
08/22/08 Fri Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (Irvine Meadows) Irvine, CA
08/26/08 Tue Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Selma, TX
08/27/08 Wed American Airlines Center Dallas, TX
08/29/08 Fri Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion The Woodlands, TX

Everyone loves going to concerts, so make sure to attend some of these excellent choices. These are all can't miss acts that will guarantee a great time and experience. If you want to come to any of them in New York with me, let me know!

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Writing this blog has given me the opportunity to look at my mixes in a more thorough light. I have been listening to albums more constructively, as well as noticing songs I just can't explain why I hadn't already used on a previous volume. But with that in mind, I have made my second new mix in less than a week. I don't usually like to make mixes that close together, since I haven't even had the proper time to enjoy Vol. 15, but I feel confident that the selections on Good Rock Music Vol. 16 are not rushed choices. So today's mix, was actually made today...

Featuring many great artists, including several that are new to my mixes, and some trusty old favorites. After writing the articles on Filter and The Twilight Singers, I had to include the stand-out tracks that I wrote about, as I have been listening to them on a heavy rotation. With the article I wrote on the Failure tribute album, it dawned on me to use Orion's cover I had mentioned, as well as a Cave In cover that they withdrew from the album. It also made me realize how much I like Failure's track "Daylight."

I realized the other day that while Dredg are one of my all time favorite bands, I haven't used a single song of theirs on any of my Good Rock Music series mixes. This is due in part to the fact that I don't like breaking apart their albums, as they serve to complete one large picture, and sound better in context, but I caved. "Symbol Song," is one of my favorite tracks since I first heard it as a freshman in high school. I have used this song on countless mixes since then, but it never gets old to me. Complex, shifting drums, an almost tropical sounding guitar line, the impending doom of the bass sound, and the beauty in singer Gavin Hayes voice and lyrics make this song an all time classic for myself. I added the NIN contribution to the mix after listening to "With Teeth" for an upcoming blog on the album. This song stuck out to me for the first time, putting it in high standing company as one of the better tracks on the album. I had to include something from Stone Temple Pilots since hearing the amazing news of the reunion tour. Did I mention I was excited for that?? Hum's "Stars" was a must to include since I hear it every time I'm watching TV now that it's used in all the Cadillac commercials. Do I think they've sold out? Not in the least, considering they don't even exist anymore, good for them to get some great exposure. Now if people only knew it was them...

Christian Langdon is a great songwriter located in Brooklyn, NY. Related to the Spacehog family, and a member of the now defunct Arckid, Christian regularly updates his myspace page, which I've linked here, with great new songs. "The Subway Sessions" are awesome, and I'm waiting for the day that I see him on the trains. Please check him out and support his music, as he crafts great acoustic alternative pop songs. Last thing I want to mention is the Burning Brides. Brought to my attention by Maynard of TOOL and their upcoming tour with Fu Manchu, I want to highly recommend their new album, "Hang Love." While the cover album art looks like something straight out of the "screamo" sub-genre, don't get it misconstrued. The Burning Brides rock with the intensity of Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, and Black Sabbath all rolled into one great band. I had a lot of trouble picking which song to put on this mix, as they are all real good. I can't wait to see them live with Fu Manchu!

Good Rock Music Vol. 16

and the tracklisting is...

1. Filter - Skinny (Title of Record)
2. The Twilight Singers - The Killer (Blackberry Belle)
3. Cave In - Magnified (Failure cover) (Creative Eclipses)
4. Failure - Daylight (Fantastic Planet)
5. Pet Genius - Float My Boat (S/T)
6. Dredg - Symbol Song (Leitmotif)
7. Cracker - Euro-Trash Girl (Kerosene Hat)
8. Tripping Daisy - Piranhas (I Am An Elastic Firecracker)
9. Nine Inch Nails - Love is Not Enough (With Teeth)
10. Stone Temple Pilots - Unglued (Purple)
11. Hum - Stars (You'd Prefer an Astronaut)
12. Christian Langdon - Fallen For Love (unreleased)
13. Orion - Another Space Song (The Nurse Who Loved Me: A Tribute to Failure)
14. The Octave Museum - Kill the Queen (S/T)
15. Lions - No Generation (No Generation)
16. Burning Brides - And I'm Free (Hang Love)
17. The Gutter Twins - Idle Hands (Saturnalia)
18. Beck - Lazy Flies (Mutations)
19. Local H - No Problem (As Good As Dead)

DOWNLOAD HERE: Good Rock Music Vol. 16
**password - rishloo

ENJOY AND SUPPORT THE ARTISTS/BANDS!!