jamming in the san bernardino sun

Most people who hang out with me know that I despise the Forum and I hate Dodger Stadium, each for various reasons that inconvenience me. And there are a very select few musical acts I will go to those places to see in concert. Yet there is one single band I've seen at both places... and that fact should explain why I trekked to god-forsaken San Bernardino in October when it was a billion degrees outside for Cal Jam 17 at Glen Helen Amphitheater.

That band had an idea... and I and 65,000 other sweaty people joined in...



The parking was a nightmare -- we ended up on the other side of I-15 and had to walk a mile each way to the venue. (How about some shuttles next year Dave?). And I already mentioned it was a billion degrees outside in October. But other than that, for an outdoor, all-day music festival, the event was actually pretty well organized. There were tons of food and beverage stands, water stations to fill up water bottles, and a bit of shade here and there.

We arrived around 2:30 so my friend Lisa could see/hear Royal Blood on the main stage while we cooled down with shaved ice. Then we went in search of cooler temps and found them (after waiting in line for 20 minutes) inside the air-conditioned tent housing the Foo Fighters Rock n' Roll Museum,  which was packed with two decades of memorabilia -- everything from the "footos" in the "Big Me" video to Dave's throne from the Sonic Highways tour and the cast that necessitated said throne...



                     

Dave's motorcycle throne from Love Ride 2016

The "White Limo"

The knitted band name from the "Run" video

Wigs that aged the band in the "Run" video

"Best of You" lyrics

"Big Me" video's famous "Footos"

"Wasting Light" recording chart

My favorite guitar in the world :)

Photos from the Sonic Highways recordings/shoot.

Dave's original post-op drug-enduced sketches for the "throne"

After spending an hour in the air-conditioning, we went to get dinner, then settled into seats for the night's top three acts: Cage the Elephant, Queens of the Stone Age, and my beloved Foo Fighters, who played until past midnight with many, many special guests.

Enjoy this sampling (and be thankful I spared you the train wreck of Liam Gallager trying to sing "Come Together" with the band and Joe Perry -- that was almost 3 months ago and my ears still hurt)...

Foo Fighters "La Dee Da " w/ Dave Koz and Allison Mosshart @ CalJam17

 Foo Fighters and Rick Astley "Never Gonna Give You Up" @ CalJam17

 Foo Fighters "Dirty Water" w/ Inara George @ CalJam 17

 Foo Fighters and Joe Perry "Draw The Line" @ CalJam17

u2's joshua tree tour - the 2017 experience

Thirty-three years ago, I fell in love with an Irish band named U2 when I heard the songs "Bad" (still one of my two favorite U2 songs to this day!) and "Pride (In the Name of Love)." 

Two years after that, "Pride" earned me extra credit it 10th grade Social Studies as I played the song for my classmates and we discussed the political relevance of U2 and this song, focused on Martin Luther King Jr's fight for equality. 

A year after that, I wasn't able to see U2 on their new "Joshua Tree" tour at The LA Sports Arena and I was very sad (about not seeing U2; NOT about not going to the suck-ass, now-finally demolished Sports Arena). I loved that album, especially "With or Without You" (duh), and "Running to Stand Still," and the trippy, harmonica-laden "Trip Through Your Wires." 

So in January, when it was announced U2 was going to tour in honor of the album's 30th anniversary AND would play the whole album in its entirety, I was in line online day one for the Rose Bowl show with my U2 Fan Club pre-sale code! 

(Sidenote: Being a U2.com member is, seriously, the best $50 a year you can spend as a U2 fan. Not only do you get first dibs at great concert seats [see my view from this show in photos and videos below, and see my view from the U2IE tour here, and my GA ticket access to be against the railing at the foot of one of the claws on the U2360 tour here] but you get awesome subscriber gifts... usually unreleased or exclusive recordings [Edge's Picks of the Top 22 Live performances from the 360 tour, The Joshua Tree singles on Vinyl] or gorgeous prints or photo books).   

Last night I finally got to use the ticket and hear the amazing Joshua Tree album live! 

Because of the amount of people in attendance, it was recommended we arrive early, and we did.. landing in our pre-paid parking spot at around 3:45pm. People in the lots were tail-gating and having an awesome time despite the 95-degree heat, cuz U2 fans are cool like that. 

Around 5:30 we decided to go inside the stadium. The lines in the front of the Rose Bowl were HUGE, so we went around the side to Gate B and got in the security line for "people with bags," which was going to take 15-20 minutes long from my guesstimate. But just as we were about to enter the windy part of the cue, an awesome HUGE security guard told me to drink my water (in a non-allowed cup size) quick and then ushered us into the "no-bags" security line. This was the equivalent of having TSA Pre-check at LAX on a summer Friday! We breezed through, swiped my credit card for the ticket verification and were inside the gates, in the land of cocktails and merchandise stands charging $45 for an almost plain white tee ;)  

At around 6:45, the Lumineers hit the stage. They were really excited to be there, noting this was the largest crowd they'd ever performed for.

They played all their hits you know, but don't know you know, until you hear them and sounded really good. (I like any band that has a cellist!)

Then as the sun went completely down, and the temperature dropped to like 80 degrees, the pre-recorded music got louder. "Black Hole Sun" from Soundgarden played and the audience lit up, in tribute to Soundgarden lead singer Chris Cornell who passed away earlier this week on May 17th in Detroit.

Then as The Pogues' "A Rainy Night in Soho" played, a hot drummer (that would be Larry Mullen Jr. for those of you who are blind) walked down the ramp to his drumset on the "B-Stage" (aka the stage at the end of the ramp leading down into the audience), and the show started with this...

This first mini-set consisted of four songs from the pre-Joshua Tree years.

I was really hoping that, like in Vancouver and Santa Clara, song #3 would be "Bad," but alas we got "A Sort of Homecoming" (which I still lovely, but is not "Bad.")

Then they all went up to the main stage for the main part of the show... The Joshua Tree, in its entirety.

The videos on the giant screen behind the band were beautiful, many similar to the photography from the album and its videos.

Then, after "Bullet the Blue Sky," Bono paid tribute to Chris Cornell, dedicating the beautiful and sad "Running to Stand Still" to him, and sending love and prayers to the Cornell family. 

After, that, he simply said "And now welcome to Side 2.." (Those of you not alive 30 years ago have no idea what that means. Le sigh..) and they moved onto "Red Hill Mining Town."

At the end of the album, a disco ball appeared at the top of the screen's giant joshua tree above the stage...

And then we were in the post-Joshua Tree era.... 

They played four songs, all eventually working their way back to the "B-Stage" right in front of my seats.

Then after they played "One," I thought that would be it. But they played "Miss Sarajevo" and then "BAD"!! I was so happy (even though the guido in front of me kept bopping his head [to "Bad." Yes, in case you're wondering, he was very drunk.] and raising his arm into my camera shot. I almost smacked his greasy head, but contained myself. ) They don't play this song a lot.. I think the last time I heard live was one of the "Elevation Tour" shows in 2001. Enjoy...

They then said goodnight... but played one more song after that. Don't leave until the lights come up people!

All in all, this show was worth both the 30 year wait, and the pretty penny I paid for those excellent fan club seats. The band sounded AMAZING!! And the production was beautiful -- both visually and audibly. 

Here's the Full Set List:

On Tape before band came out:

• Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden) — the audience lit up with camera flashes in tribute to Chris Cornell
• A Rainy Night in Soho (The Pogues)

B-Stage 

• Sunday Bloody Sunday
• New Year's Day
• A Sort of Homecoming
• Pride (In the Name of Love)

The Joshua Tree

• Where the Streets Have No Name
• I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
• With or Without You
• Bullet the Blue Sky
• Running to Stand Still (dedicated to Chris Cornell and his family)
• Red Hill Mining Town
• In God's Country
• Trip Through Your Wires
• One Tree Hill
• Exit
• Mothers of the Disappeared

Encore:

• Beautiful Day (with "City of Stars" vocal interlude)
• Elevation
• Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
• One

B-Stage

• Miss Sarajevo (Passengers cover)
• Bad
• I Will Follow ('The Little Things That Give…)

a rockin' afternoon in... thousand oaks??

Thousand Oaks is my California hometown. The first place I lived after moving here in 10th grade. The place I learned to drive a car. The place I got my first job. The place my parents still live.

Every spring, Thousand Oaks holds Conejo Valley Days. There's a chili cook-off. A 5k run. And lots of carnival rides that, as a teenager, equaled a majorly exciting weekend in boring T.O.

I haven't been to Conejo Valley Days in more than 25 years... until yesterday.

Last year, I learned after-the-fact that Chevy Metal, a cool '70s cover band led by Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins (who lives nearby) had played "CVD"... and his Foo friend Dave Grohl showed up. So this year, when I saw Chevy Metal would be playing CVD again, I convinced my Foo Fan friend Lisa to join me in the hot afternoon sun to see Taylor and his Chevy-crew, and in hopes that history would repeat itself... 

Once the techs came out and started tuning guitars, I knew it would. Dave Grohl plays very distinctive guitars, and I saw his gold Gibson being tuned. But he didn't come out right away. So then I started watching the guitars Chevy Metal's other guitarist was playing as the set went on. They played some Motley Crue, Billy Squire, Queen, Van Halen and AC/DC. (Full setlist is here.)  But the guitarist never played a gold Gibson. 

Then about 40-45 minutes into the set, Taylor started calling, "Dave. Dave. DAVE!!" And out came Dave Grohl.... with his gold Gibson guitar. Apparently he was late, and Taylor blamed him for having to switch the entire set list around. Dave said he was off winning goldfish and puking on the tilt-a-whirl. :)

They ended up playing three more covers from the Rolling Stones, Faces and then ended with David Bowie's "Under Pressure" which I love. Taylor, Dave and Chevy Metal bassist Wiley Hodgden trading vocals. Enjoy... 

(And sorry about the feedback noise. I don't know if that's because of the wind, how I was holding my phone, the fact I was situated in between Wiley's amps and two giant speakers on the side of the stage, or a combo of all three. Just don't turn this up too loud. You've been warned.) 

57th and 9th at sunset and argyle

Late last year I broke my "I'm too old for General Admission" concerts rule and bought two general admission tickets to see Sting at the teeny, tiny Palladium in Hollywood. 

Yes that Sting. Of The Police. And of STING. 

So on February 8th, my concert pal Lisa and I hit the metro to Sunset and Vine, stopped for cocktails at The Well, and then trekked across the street to look for a place near the back wall to lean against for the next few hours. 

But there was no leaning space left on the back wall, because -- when compared to most of Sting's fan base -- we're actually on the younger side ;) However, there WAS leaning space left against the security railing right to the right side OF THE STAGE. So we staked claim to our space there and there we stood for the next 3+ hours. And it was a good thing we were on time, because Sting opened the show... shocking everyone by walking out on stage with just a guitar and singing "Heading South on the Great North Road" under a single spotlight.

Then he told everyone the plan for the evening... introducing the two opening acts -- Los Bandoleros, and Joe Sumner (aka Sting's son) -- and saying he'd be back soon. And he was... playing tamborine and singing back-up for Los Bandoleros, just like he did last summer on tour with Peter Gabriel. 

The main Sting set started with "Synchronicity II" .. one of my fave Police songs / the title track of the first Police record I ever owned in 5th grade. From then on, it was awesome song after awesome song. Sting has been having so much fun on stage the last year, starting with the Peter Gabriel dual tour, and now this tour with young up-and-coming artists. And being right up front, with a great view of the man who I've been saying (for like the last 15 years) only gets better with age, didn't hurt either. Enjoy the photos...

         

The Set List: 

Heading South on the Great North Road (Sting solo acoustic before opening acts)

Synchronicity II

Spirits in the Material World

She's Too Good for Me

Englishman in New York

One Fine Day

I Can't Stop Thinking About You

Down, Down, Down

I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying

Pretty Young Soldier

Petrol Head

Shape of My Heart

Message in a Bottle

Ashes to Ashes (David Bowie cover) (with Joe Sumner)

50,000

Walking on the Moon

So Lonely

Desert Rose

Roxanne (with "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers snippet)

Encore:

Next to You

Every Breath You Take

Encore 2:

The Empty Chair 

random thoughts on the 2017 grammy awards

It's time for my annual tradition of watching cool musical performances with some awards sprinkled in between. This year, for the first time in eons, LL Cool J is NOT hosting. This year, that "honor" goes to The Late, Late Show's James Cordon of "Carpool Karaoke" fame... let's see how well he can control this wild bunch..

• Yay Adele is singing first! Can she just sing the whole time?
• Okay the weird picture-in-picture thing going on on the screen behind her is super-annoying. Maybe they shouldn't have put the screen *right* behind her...
• James Cordon's opening intro/dance disaster was less than funny.
• His rapped monologue was good though.
• J-Lo is getting political.. now you know we're in deep sh*t.
• So John Travolta has finally admitted to not being able to read the teleprompter. (Two years too late.) Next, can he finally admit that's not his real hair?
• The psychedelic scrolling background stolen from Real Player (or was it the Windows Music player?) behind Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood is hurting my eyes.
• Twenty One Pilots missed the pantless LA Metro ride day by a month or so...
• Jetsetter and one-man band Ed Sheeran.... from SNL to the Grammy stage in 16 hours (+ a 3-hour time change). I keep meaning to actually buy his music. He's awesome.
• And David Bowie wins Best Rock Song for "Blackstar." #sniff
• Since when do singer's moms get to do Grammy intros? I guess when they are Beyonce's mom...
• So is this pregnancy going to be Bey's next concept album?
• Um... how can these professional musicians (roped into a live Carpool Karaoke) NOT know the words to "Sweet Caroline"? Shame on you John Legend... for that, the two songs you're performing at the Oscars this year should lose. (Props to J-Lo for at least getting into the performance aspect.)
• Bruno Mars looks like he's going to the Olympics.
• And OMG.. I swear that triangle thing behind/above him is leftover from the NHL All-Star Game! #staplescenterhand-me-downs
• If anyone can follow Beyonce, it's Katy Perry! Love the #resist armband! And The U.S. Constitution graphic. The fence makes more sense now. (Yes, it takes me a while...)
• I'm really loving Gary Clark Jr. lately.... makes me wish I'd shown up earlier to the Foos concert he opened for on the Sonic Highways tour.
• Adele performing the George Michael tribute. #love
• Adele's luck with earpieces on Grammy live shows. #hate
• Seen just now on the EW Twitter: "Only Adele could make the Grammy's start over." Yep. #queen
• "I'm sorry. I can't mess this up for him." #sniff #love
• She slayed. Beautiful.
• Lady Gaga with Metallica. Not as odd as you'd think...
• What is odd is James Hetfield's microphone not working. Someone's not getting hired as a sound tech again next year. 
• Note: Demi Lovato was not alive when Stayin' Alive came out. Neither was Tori Kelly. Lady Antebellum was... well most of them.
• How sad is it that they keep cutting to Barry Gibb.. the sole remaining Gibb. #sniff
• Andra Day apparently thinks kimonos were big in the '70s. She wasn't alive then either.
• Yay! Adele's "Hello" wins Song of the Year. #love
• Cutting off her co-writer Greg Kurstin to intro a Tribe Called Quest #hate
• The Prince tribute from The Time isn't nearly as sad as the George Michael tribute was... 
• And now "Let's Go Crazy" -- my fave Prince song. Bruno has the look down. But he still reminds me more of Michael Jackson.
• Bruno also has the guitar playing down. Wow!
• Yay Adele's "Hello" wins Record of the Year! And yay Adele for calling the producers out for cutting Greg off last time!
• Yay Adele's "25" wins Album of the Year! I love that album... shows her true beauty, heart and sass. #love

rock, paper, scissors

Continuing to catch up on overdue posts, here's a quick bit about the other awesome concert I saw this summer... Sting and Peter Gabriel, together at The Hollywood Bowl, for their joint Rock, Paper Scissors tour.

I've seen Sting in concert at least nine times (twice on The Police reunion tour, the rest solo shows at lovely places like The Bowl, The Greek, and Universal Amphitheater [RIP]). Of late, he's been very experimental in his musical styles (see Symphonicities and his Broadway show The Last Ship). And while the music on this tour didn't wildly diverge from what the two artists are known for, the format of the show did ... and it was awesome!

The awesome venue, where I've seen more live concerts than anywhere else.

Both Sting and Peter Gabriel had their full bands on stage with them for the entire show. Peter's band was "The Red Team," Sting's "The Blue Team." Everyone on each team -- including Sting and Peter -- wore at least a swatch of their team color. 

They would play together at times, separately at times. Sting would sing lead on Peter's songs and vice versa. And on some songs they traded verses. 

It was a really cool way to hear songs I've been listening to since the 80s in a whole new way. It was also awesome to see Sting (who's known for being "moody") having such a blast on stage. After the first two songs, he and Peter stopped to talk to the audience and give them a little intro to the format of the show. Sting said it's the most fun he's had on tour in decades and he hoped we all had fun too. If you don't believe him.. just check out the video for "In Your Eyes" below and look on the screens for his awesome back-up singer dance moves, in unison with the female back-up singers ;)

random thoughts on the grammys - 2016 edition

For the first time ever, the Grammy Awards are LIVE on the West Coast! Yay!

However, I'm working on a hour-long Tivo delay because I was signing refi docs for my house at 5, which means I should catch up around 6:45 as I skip the commercials and rap categories.... here we go:

First up, to set expectations, here's what I care about:

• When is Adele singing?
• When is Lady Gaga doing her Bowie tribute?
• Since they've been posting pix from all over LA this weekend, does that mean U2 is going to make a surprise appearance?
• And most importantly, is Dave Grohl there? Because Dave Grohl makes everything better.

Look it's Taylor Swift opening the show. Shocker. She cut her hair. I wish she'd sung Bad Blood. Then the cameras could have found Kanye in the audience... or John Mayer... or a JoBro .... or Katy Perry and created a fun awkward moment.

LL Cool J is hosting again. Does no one else know how to host this show?

And there's the Adele/Lionel Richie "Hello" joke. Took all of 3 minutes...

Rap category. Fast forward. (aka ff)

It's some guy singing with Carrie Underwood. She is very tan. (Sorry.. that's all I got. I was making dinner reservations on Yelp during that performance.)

Arianna Grande introduces The Weekend singing the song from "50 Shades of Grey." Somehow my Twitter feed already thinks he won something for this song. This is also the song that made "50 Shades of Grey" an Oscar(c) nominee. I really preferred the Ellie Goulding song...

That song wasn't that song...

Ooh speaking of Ellie Goulding, here she comes singing with Andra Day. I saw Ellie at the Bowl at the Katy Perry concert charity show a year and a half ago. And I saw Andra open for Lenny Kravitz at the Greek in September. She is AMAZING. Mark my words and remember her name....

Yay. They are singing the good "50 Shades of Grey" song. (Did I just say that?)

So they're saluting Lionel Richie. What do any of the people LL and James Corden just introduced (with the possible exception of John Legend, who's also a pianist/singer/songwriter) have to do with Lionel Richie? Demi Lovato and Meghan Trainor?? Umm well at least they can sing I guess. But Meghan Trainor looks like Nia Vardalos with brown hair... and that's all I can think about right now.

Tyrese is doing "Brick House." Was Bruno Mars (who's sitting behind Lionel Richie in the audience smiling like a dork) not available for that?

Is there ANY network Ryan Seacrest is not on? (Note: I do NOT want to see him host the Grammys instead of LL Cool J.)

Fancy in-the-round camera work on the intro to the Little Big Town "Girl Crush" performance. Love the acapella start followed by the strings.

Those are some snazzy bright sneakers Stevie Wonder is wearing.

Ahhh... so instead of one super depressing "In Memoriam" segment, they are doing musical tributes to those greats who passed away in the last year.. and by "the last year" we mostly mean the last 45 days. :(

AHH Dave Grohl is there!! (audience shot) YAY!

Taylor Swift is more excited for Ed Sheeran beating her for "Song of the Year" than I think she would've been if she won. He's so cute in his suit and Chucks... and thanking his parents for coming every year even though he never wins... til now. And saying he can't believe Stevie Wonder just gave him a Grammy. I heart him. And way to cut off his fellow songwriter Amy with the Glenn Frey clip as she started to speak... oops.

Now the Eagles' first performance without Glenn Frey. Don Henley looks like he's going to cry. I am too.

Great duet by Tori Kelly and James Bay. I love when people just sing with some stringed instrument.

Yay! Hamilton! This is probably the only time I'll see this cast perform live.

Kendrick Lamar. I feel I should watch this. Normally I would ff the rap.  That's a damn big fire inside Staples Center... I hope it's far above my Kings' ice. Way to bleep out a good 10 seconds of the song there censor with your finger on the button. That was pretty intense.

Look it's Seth McFarlane to present Best Musical Theater Album. Gee.. I wonder who's going to win this.... OMG! It's Hamilton (shocker). Lin Manuel wrote a rap for his acceptance speech. Of course he did.

Ooh. And now the live Gwen Stefani Le Target commercial. No pressure. She's like Alice in a Cruella de Vil Explosion... in a Barbie hair salon... in a speakeasy. And wow. She can roller skate. Or maybe not. What just happened. I'm so confused.

And the Foos lose "Best Rock Performance" to Alabama Shakes!?!?!?! WTF. No.

Yay! Bruno Mars! But wait. Why isn't he singing??? Oh, he's introducing Adele. That's allowed then. YAY! Shhh.

Why is the piano louder than she is? Sound guy... you SUCK. Oh. My. God. She looks pissed. Someone is sooooooooo getting fired. She looks and sounds beautiful though (now that I can HEAR her). Her dress is what I refer to as a "good red." And there is no doubt she sang that live. Wow. Such power and emotion. Love.

Bieber. I want to ff.. but I can't look away. Wait. He won a Grammy? So Bieber now has as many Grammys as David Bowie??!?!? Shoot. Me. Now.

Time to go get a glass of wine and some frozen Thin Mints. This has been a very traumatizing last 10 minutes since that Gwen Stefani Target commercial came on. Oy.

Nia Vardalos.. I mean Meghan Trainor just won Best New Artist. Okay. Stop crying. As anyone who isn't Christina Aguilera will tell you, this isn't necessarily a good thing. #bestnewartistcurse

Here's "Academy Award Nominee Lady Gaga"... the Bowie tribute. She's just about the only person other than him who could pull that performance off. Wow. And we thought her Sound of Music tribute was amazing at the Oscars. Now I miss him all over again. Aww. Nile Rogers is playing on "Let's Dance." Love.

Now a salute to the incomparable BB King. Miss him too. Geez the last year really sucked for losing great musical talent.

Alabama Shakes is performing. ff out of spite. #foofightersforever

Whoa stop! It's Dave Grohl... "the leader of Foo Fighters with FIFTEEN GRAMMY AWARDS!" Aww. He's talking about Lemmy. #riplemmy
(Ed. Note: They've actually only won 11 Grammys. And Nirvana only won one. So Dave only has 12. Some Grammy fact checker just got fired too.)



Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, Johnny Depp, Duff and Matt Sorum.... The Hollywood Vampires. I love that this is on CBS right now. All the old people who watch CBS are like, "What is this scary man with black circles around his eyes and blood on his shirt doing on my television and why is Johnny Depp playing guitar with him?" Hahahaha.

"Ace of Spades" tribute to Lemmy. Dave needs to be playing with them. Run out there!

Oh, it's the little piano prodigy I saw on "60 Minutes"... Joey Alexander. He's 12. He has talent. Right now, Justin Bieber has more Grammys than he does.

Now the dreaded "In Memorium" segment. It's packed with so many greats gone. So much amazing music. Nice extra long moment for Natalie Cole at the end since she didn't get a tribute segment. Unforgettable indeed.

This show is now officially too long.

Lifetime Achievement Award to Earth Wind and Fire. Another loss. Maurice White.

T-Swift just won Album of the Year. She's the first woman to win this award twice. Nice #girlpower speech... as she's surrounded by her male producing squad. Le sigh. 

Beyonce doesn't need an intro apparently. 

Bruno wins Record of the Year for "Uptown Funk." I support this decision. Geez Bruno Mars is short. 

That means it's over now right?

Wrong.

Pitbull still sings? Is this necessary? This sounds like the Macarena. ff. Wait. Why is Joe Perry participating in this? Oy. More wine....

Oh thank god it's over. That was SO not necessary. 

Okay. Break down the stage so my LA Kings can come back home....

PS: U2 never showed up. :( I guess Adam was having too much fun at The Getty today....

music in mourning

The end of 2015 and beginning of 2016 have royally sucked, as every few days another music legend has passed away... shockingly, because most people had no idea these artists were even sick.

First, on December 28, two days after being diagnosed with an extremely aggressive cancer, Motorhead legend Lemmy Kilmister was gone.. and rockers everywhere mourned their idol.

Natalie Cole died on New Year's Eve from heart disease.

Then a week ago, the world was rocked by the death of David Bowie.

Today, another shock.... founding member  of The Eagles, Glenn Frey has died from a combination of rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and pneumonia.

What the heck? The last three weeks are going to take up the entire allotted time for the "In Memorium" tribute at the Grammys next month. Was God bored with heaven's current musical offerings? Were John Lennon, Michael Jackson, Elvis, Mozart and Bach not cutting it anymore so he needed to mix it up with some '70s metal, soul and rock? It's just so sad. I know people die, but this many greats dying so close together is just unbelievable. 

In announcing Glenn Frey's death this afternoon, The Eagles website posted the lyrics to “It's Your World Now," written by Glenn Frey and Jack Tempchin, from the Eagles’ Long Road Out of Eden album. So beautiful... yet so sad. 

Rest in Peace legends. Thanks for leaving so much good behind. And enjoy your freshmen class of heaven jam session... 

“It's Your World Now"

A perfect day, the sun is sinkin' low
As evening falls, the gentle breezes blow
The time we shared went by so fast
Just like a dream, we knew it couldn't last
But I'd do it all again
If I could, somehow
But I must be leavin' soon
It's your world now

It's your world now
My race is run
I'm moving on
Like the setting sun
No sad goodbyes
No tears allowed
You'll be alright
It's your world now

Even when we are apart
You'll always be in my heart
When dark clouds appear in the sky
Remember true love never dies

But first a kiss, one glass of wine
Just one more dance while there's still time
My one last wish: someday, you'll see
How hard I tried and how much you meant to me

It's your world now
Use well your time
Be part of something good
Leave something good behind
The curtain falls
I take my bow
That's how it's meant to be
It's your world now
It's your world now
It's your world now

dust to stardust

Last night as I was falling asleep with the 11pm news on, I was shocked awake with the breaking news that David Bowie had died.

Apparently, he'd been battling f*in cancer for 18 months. But it seems few people knew. Good for him for maintaining his privacy... but shocking for us to end up so rocked by the surprisingly sad news.

I never considered myself a huge Bowie fan, but I've always enjoyed his music, especially the '80s stuff I grew up watching on MTV (in between the Duran Duran videos I obsessed over.) So I was surprised by just how sad his passing made me and how much I've thought about him today. He was an artistic icon... a genius... a legend ... and I guess sometimes it takes losing someone to truly realize what they meant to your life.

Social media today has been filled with tributes and rememberences of David Bowie. Here are some that touched me:

This "Bowie through the Years" gif is awesome. Artwork by Helen Green

Conan O'Brien replayed some of his favorite moments with David Bowie on his show:

One of the first Bowie songs I remember, and maybe my favorite to sing along with:

My friend Lisa's friend Myriam Santos knew and photographed Bowie -- here's her tribute

Bowie and Queen's "Under Pressure," which is included on my favorite film soundtrack ever - Gross Pointe Blank. This song always makes me smile... and I LOVE this a-capella version that's popping up now! I hope David and Freddie are having quite the reunion concert in heaven today :)

They played this for the Dance-cam at the Kings game tonight as a tribute :)

And this amazing quote, immortalized in chalk art by the cool undercover artists DangerDust

#ripdavidbowie

foos in the afternoon

Okay, first things first. I am not a biker. I do not ride motorcycles.. never have, never will. 

However, I AM a huge Foo Fighters fan. So when it was announced that the Foos would be performing at the finale of the 32nd Annual Love Ride event at Castaic Lake -- a mere 30 minutes from my house -- there was no way I was not going to go see them and my favorite baby blue Gibson guitar on the planet. (Especially since riding a Harley there was not required for entry.)

So early this morning -- in order to beat the caravan of motorcycles cruising up the 5 North -- I headed for Castaic, and then waited and waited and listened to opening act Social Distortion and then waited some more before Dave Grohl -- still on crutches -- along with Taylor Hawkins, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett and Nate Mendel took the tiny stage in front of the lake and start rockin' out.... Taylor on a pink Andy Gibb-adorned drum kit, and Dave on a motorcycle-modified throne. (I love these guys!)

Since this was a special event, the band played around with their (shorter) set list, opening with "Learn to Fly" and "The Pretender."

Then they got into a pattern of a Foos song, a cover song, a Foos song, a cover song. The covers included Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love," Queen's "Tie Your Mother Down," David Bowie's "Under Pressure," and Tom Petty's "Breakdown"... enjoy a #snippet ((c) Dave Grohl, September 21, 2015) here:

Dave was his normal chatty self, still dropping f-bombs here and there, even with his 6-year-old daughter "Harps" dancing around on the side of the stage, with giant lime green headphones on. (He also informed the crowd he would be paying her in lots of jellybeans later for all the bad words he'd said.) Towards the end of the show, he also hilariously spotted a guy out "by that tree," dancing up a storm, doing the "sprinkler" and "running man." So, Dave Grohl being Dave Grohl, he pretty much stopped the show to call attention to him.... and then started calling out wacky dance-move requests.

While it was a shorter set than the Foos' normal 3-hours of awesomeness, and it was really hot when the sun wasn't behind a cloud, (and the bikers will complain that the event ran out of beer..whatevs), it was a super fun show! And best of all, it was for a great cause... all proceeds from the Love Ride go to the Wounded Warrior Project. Feel free to click that link and make a donation if you are so inclined :)

More Foo Fighters Fun:

• A night of foos, thrones, legends and the demise of my favorite baby blue gibson guitar
• My You Tube Foo Fighters concert playlist