Def Leppard and Tesla Live in Edmonton July 29th 2019

Damn, it's already been over two weeks ago since Janis and I went to the Def Leppard and Tesla double bill at Rogers Place. I myself was only interested in seeing Tesla so wasn't going to go but Janis had never seen Def Leppard before and really likes them. So we managed to get cheap tickets and decided to go. The last time I had seen Def Leppard was back in 1988 and who was opening for them back then but Tesla. These two bands are have been tour mates many a times. Phil Collen the guitarist for Def Leppard actually produced Tesla's latest album Shock.

We made sure to get to Rogers in plenty of time to catch openers Tesla. This would be my fifth time seeing them in concert. I've always been a huge fan of this band, especially their first three albums. As we were getting ready for Tesla to start, two guitarists came out on stage under a spotlight and started wailing away, I wasn't sure at first if this was part of soundcheck or start of the show, but as I listened and looked, I could see that it was actually Dave Rude and Frank Hannon given'r on the guitar, this went on for almost two minutes and then out came lead singer Jeff Keith and they kicked into "Cumin' Atcha Live", a great opening song. By this time the coliseum was starting to fill up. After the opening song, which fucking rocked, they went into "Modern Day Cowboy" two songs from their 1986 debut album Mechanical Resonance, and next up was "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)" another awesome song this one from their second album The Great Radio Controversy. What a great three song opening. The guitars were super loud, lead singer Jeff Keith hasn't lost a beat, he sounded just like he did back in the day. Kind of a Steven Tyler junior. His between song banter is a bit hokey, but then it always has been, ne more then makes up for that minor flaw with his singing and energy. I thought their 11 song set was excellent, great song choices, they made the best of their 50 minute opening slot. By the time they finished the place was filling up good. I really enjoyed them and am very happy that I went to see them in concert again.

Setlist.

Edit this setlist | More Tesla setlists

Tesla at Rogers Place.

Next up was headliner Def Leppard. This would be my second time seeing them in concert, I could have swore I had seen them more times, but I guess not. I gave up on them with the Hysteria album.

What surprised me most about this show was how many people there were. By the time Def Leppard came on stage the place was packed. I didn't expect much of a crowd, considering we got half price tickets a week before the show. My guess would be about 14,000 in attendance, I had no idea that Def Leppard still drew that kind of crowd. Another surprise was the production of their show, wow, big stage, big lighting, lasers, huge screen behind them. I really wasn't expecting all that for a band that to me hasn't been relative in many years. But for all those there, they were rocking the hell out, including my Sweetie Janis. she was rocking, and singing to all the songs. Def Leppard's selection of songs was good for any old school fan. Lots of songs from the Hysteria album, that was the most dominant album of the whole show. But there was also some from the Pyromania album, songs like "Foolin'", the two songs they played for the encore were "Rock Of Ages" and "Photograph". A great way to end the show. I really liked that they also played two songs from the High "n" Dry album ""Bringin' On the Heartbreak" and "Let It Go".

The band sounded pretty good, lead singer Joe Elliott doesn't have the pipes he used to have, not that I really thought he did in the first place, but the rest of the band which still includes Phil Collen on guitar, Rick Savage on bass, one armed drummer Rick Allen who looked like he was having the most fun playing, and the newest member whom has been with the band since 1992 Vivian Campbell. It was a fun show all around. I'm glad I went. Good times!!!

Def Leppard at Rogers Place.

Interstellar Rodeo in Edmonton July 28th 2019

A couple of Sunday's ago Janis, Erin and I attended the last day of the annual Interstellar Rodeo Festival here in Edmonton at the Hawrelak Park Amphitheatre. This was the second year in a row where I only attended the last day of the festival. I'm just finding that the line ups haven't been as good as previous years and the ticket prices keep going up. I love this festival as it's very laid back, interesting and eclectic bands and a great crowd. So I pick what I think will be the best day, and this year's Sunday looked like a good line up and the weather was decent.

The first band of the day was a band I had never heard of before called Southern Avenue from Memphis, Tennessee. They are a five piece blues/soul band led by Tierinii Jackson on vocals. The lady had lots of energy and a great voice for this kind of music. I enjoyed their set and it was a great way to start the day.

Southern Avenue.

Next up was Saul Williams a musician/actor from New York. His performance was a mix of rap, hip hop, spoken word, poetry, with all of this seeming to have something to do with politics. I was not a fan of this whatsoever. I watched and listened to as much as could stand, it was time to go out for a smoke and beer.

Saul Williams.

Lucius was up next, they are an indie pop band formed in New York led by two ladies on vocals by the names of Jesse Wolf and Holly Laessig. These two women have backed up everyone from Jackson Browne, John Prine, Sheryl Crow, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy and most recently Roger Waters, having toured with Waters over the past three years on the Us + Them Tour. With Jesse and Holly wearing matching orange outfits and sharing a microphone the harmonizing from these two were incredible. I wish I knew their material better even so, it was a great hour long set.

Lucius.

The next band up was one of the bands that really interested me in the Sunday line up. A band based out of Austin, Texas and has been around for fifty years. I'm talking about Asleep at the Wheel. What a treat it was to see this group perform live. Led by Ray Benson on guitar and vocals, with Katie Shore on fiddle, Cindy Cashdollar on steel guitar, David Sanger on drums plus a few more musicians that I am not sure of their names. Asleep at the Wheel's music is a western country swing style of music mixed with Americana. They were amazing and so much fun. At times it reminded me of Dr. Hook. Some of the songs I recognized were "Hot Rod Lincoln", "Milk Cow Blues", "Route 66" and ending their hour long set with "Happy Trails". This was such a fun set, Ray and his band looked to be having a blast up there as were all those watching and listening. I heard a lot of people talking about how much they enjoyed Asleep at the Wheel. Certainly the highlight for me out of all the bands I saw.

Asleep at the Wheel.

Next was Whitehorse a band based out of Hamilton, the two main members are the husband and wife couple Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland. This would be my fourth time seeing the band live. When I first saw them in concert was at Interstellar in 2012, back then it was just the two of them, now they have a full band, which sounds great. Whitehorse is always a fun band to see in concert and this time was no different. How to describe their music, hmmm, a mix of blues, swamp rock with some pop mixed in. Enjoyed their set again.

Whitehorse.

Closing out this years Interstellar Rodeo was Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats. While I only have one of his albums and that being his debut album with the Night Sweats, an album I thought was just ok, until I saw him on the Austin City Limits TV program, and wow, was he ever good on that. So I was looking forward to seeing and hearing him in a live environment. And Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats did not let me down. There style of music which is a mix of soul and blues with some Americana mixed in was amazing, you could probably add some funk to the list of style of music. Nathaniel sounded great and him and his band played with a lot of energy in which the crowd fed off, as did the band. I didn't know all the music, but they played a good selection of tunes from the album I do have. The biggest song of his set of course was his hit "S.O.B.". A very entertaining show. All and all another fun night out at Interstellar Rodeo. Good times!!!

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats.

Slash Live in Edmonton July 20th 2019

A few weeks ago my buddy Buzzard and I went to the Slash concert featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators at the Edmonton Convention Centre. I've always been a fan of Slash since getting into Guns N' Roses as a teenager, but as for his solo stuff, never really been a fan. I've listened to some of his stuff including the album they are touring for Living The Dream and it just doesn't do anything for me, very middle of the road music. But I thought maybe it will be better live, as some bands just are. And hell I got tickets for only 20 dollars so it was worth taking the chance.

We missed the opening act Joyous Wolf which is too bad as I wanted to see them but by the time we got in the venue they were just leaving the stage, so missed them.

There wasn't a very long break between bands. Slash and his band The Conspirators came on stage early which was weird, that had people scrambling out of the beer line ups and making their way to the front of the stage, as this show was general admission so you could take your drink and get as close as you wanted.

As for the songs they did, I really don't know the titles of them. But those in attendance sure seemed to know them quite well, as people were rocking out and singing along. Lead singer Myles Kennedy who also fronts the band Alter Bridge has a decent voice and did a great job of the one Guns N' Roses song they did "Nightrain". Slash was Slash in all his glory, he's almost kind of a cartoon figure in his long curly hair, shades and top hat, but he sounded good and did lots of solos, which really did nothing for me. What did impress me was the two songs Canadian bassist Todd Kerns did lead vocals on. Todd use to front the band The Age Of Electric who were a good band back in the day. Overall it was a fun night out, lots of beers and some rock n' roll. Not a great show but a good one. We got our moneys worth. Good times!!!

Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators at the Edmonton Convention Centre.