Poison - Peoria, IL

07/15/2008
Poison
Peoria Civic Center
Peoria, IL

Opening Band: Sebastian Bach

I needed to be in the area for a week, so what better time to schedule that than when there was something else going on? That's what I thought :)

I had an awesome seat. It was right near the stage in the lower bowl, 2nd row. Wow! I was so close that I could feel the heat when they set off the pyrotechnics. The show was a lot of fun. I had never seen Sebastian Bach before, but really loved Skid Row way back when. He put on a great set.

I wish that I would have had a better camera...the pics were taken with my phone.

Poison put on a fun show. They pretty much played all of their biggest hits, and that was great. It was like a trip back in the time when they had the original videos playing on the big screen during each of the songs. My, oh my! It sure was cool back then, but I am sure glad that big hair has gone out of fashion :) At the end of the show, Bret had Big John bring out a Corona for him (what happened to Bret's Brew?). He toasted the crowd and thanked everyone for 22 years. Has it been that long already?

Dave Matthews Band - Bridgeview, IL

06/06/2008
Dave Matthews Band
Toyota Park
Bridgeview, IL

Opening Band: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings

The weather didn't seem to want to cooperate today! There were severe thunderstorm threats, and lots of wind. The weather was hot and humid. Luck was on our side, and it cooled off for the show, and the rain stayed away. Not the best DMB show ever, but still very good. We had an awesome time!

Set List:
Dreaming Tree
You Might Die Trying
Pantala Naga Pampa
Rapunzel
Crash Into Me
#27
Grey Street
Money
So Damn Lucky
Gravedigger
Louisiana Bayou
#41 *
Don’t Drink the Water *
Corn Bread *
Stolen Away On 55th & 3rd
Everyday
Anyone Seen The Bridge
Too Much
Ants Marching *
__________________

Long Black Veil
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)

Show Notes:
* Bela Fleck

Bon Jovi - Chicago, IL

02/23/2008
Bon Jovi
United Center
Chicago, IL

Opening Band: Daughtry

Setlist:

Lost Highway
You Give Love a Bad Name
Raise Your Hands
Runaway
Complicated
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Blood on Blood
Summertime
Blaze of Glory w/ Knockin' On Heaven's Door intro
Whole Lot of Leaving
Born to Be My Baby
We Got It Going On
It's My Life
Bad Medicine w/ Shout
I'll Be There For You
(You Want To) Make a Memory
Bed of Roses
Have a Nice Day
Keep the Faith
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Living on a Prayer

ENCORE:
Hallelujah
Wanted Dead or Alive
I Love This Town

Jim Peterik & World Stage - Glen Ellyn, IL

02/16/2008
Jim Peterik & World Stage
College of DuPage
Glen Ellyn, IL

Rick Springfield - St. Charles, IL

11/17/2007
Rick Springfield
Arcada Theatre
St. Charles, IL

Opening Band: The Squirts

Melodic Rock Fest - South Bend, IN

Melodic Rock Fest
Morris Theater
South Bend, IN

Lineup:
Scrap Metal - Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger), Matthew & Gunnar Nelson (Nelson), Mark Slaughter (Slaughter), Eric Martin (Mr. Big) with special guests Jim Peterik (Survivor, Ides of March, Pride of Lions), Jimi Jamison (Survivor), Jack Blades (Night Ranger, Damn Yankees, Shaw Blades), and Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow)

Jeff Scott Soto
Kevin Chalfant Band (with Josh Ramos) from The Storm and Two Fires
7th Heaven

This was an awesome day of music!! This all day event was in celebration of melodicrock.com's 10th anniversary, and luckily we didn't have to stray terribly far from home to see it. They said that there were people there from 34 different states and 8 countries, although the theater only held 2200 people. The festival featured many of the lead singers from the great melodic rock bands of the 80's, and was incredible! It was great to see many of those that I had never seen before...and also several that I have seen many times.

Here's a pic of the group, after doing Night Ranger's You Can Still Rock in America:

Jack Blades:

Kevin Chalfant:

Kelly Keagy:

Mark Slaughter:

Kevin Chalfant & The Storm - Utica, IL

09/29/2007
Kevin Chalfant & The Storm
Starved Rock Lodge
Utica, IL

Opening Band: Fickle's Lot

An awesome show in an awesome setting :)

Dave Matthews Band - East Troy, WI

08/25/2007
Dave Matthews Band
Alpine Valley
East Troy, WI

Opening Band: The Roots

What can I say?!?!?! When DMB starts off the show with Two Step, it's gonna be HOT! We had an awesome time, and the setlist was smoking. Alpine Valley itself was a bit challenging, though. We have had torrential rains across the upper Midwest this past week, and Alpine was no exception. We had to be pushed into our parking spot, with high hopes of being able to get out again after the show.

We knew we were in trouble when we arrived around 2 PM in Whitewater to check into the hotel, and were told that maybe we could check in at 1 AM or so. Turns out, there was a Rage Against the Machine show at Alpine the night before, and all of the bathtubs in the rooms at the hotel were filled with mud. YIKES!

All I have to say is, thank goodness we're in the fan club, and thank goodness for pavillion seats!!! I graduated this time... to the spot that Bryon always has...dead center in front of the sound board. It was incredible!

The only thing that disappoints me about this show is that we weren't able to stay for Sunday. Let's face it, we have to go to work...and a Sunday show (knowing you won't escape the parking lot until at least 1 AM after a 3+ hour show) just won't work. Looking at the set list from Sunday, in addition to Monday, makes us think that they have heard the rumors and will be releasing a DVD from the weekend. We can only hope! The rumor is that they will be razing Alpine Valley Music Theatre as we know it after this season and building condos. That is totally crazy, considering that the ski season is about 3 months long and there is nothing else there.

From the DMB website:

"In the words of Carter Beauford, "This weekend was OFF THE HOOK!" We say it every time, Alpine Valley is one of our favorite places to play. There's an unparalleled vibe fed to us by the audience at this place. We were all extremely excited to have The Roots opening up the shows here. The Roots' guitarist, Kirk Douglas, played an awesome solo on Jimi Thing tonight. Kirk and the entire Roots' horn section joined us for Eh Hee, with MC Black Thought laying down some brilliant freestyle rap. The horn section continued to play on and off throughout the main set, laying it all out for Too Much. We're on our way to Kansas for a show on Tuesday. See y'all there."

Setlist:

Dreaming Tree [tease]
Two Step *
You Might Die Trying *
Loving Wings *
The Song That Jane Likes *
When The World Ends *
#27 *
Louisiana Bayou *+
Bartender *+
Crash Into Me *+
#41 *~
Corn Bread *
Dancing Nancies *+
Grey Street *+
Eh Hee *Ä
Warehouse *Ä
Stay (Wasting Time) *
__________________

Sister 5||
Dream Girl *
Tripping Billies *

Show Notes:
* Rashawn Ross
The Roots Horns
~ Joe Lawlor
Ä Questlove
5|| Carter, Butch and Rashawn: Back-up vocals

Crossroads Guitar Festival - Bridgeview, IL

07/28/2007
Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival
Toyota Park
Bridgeview, IL

What an incredible day of music! It was a very long day...I think that I'm getting too old :) We had general admission tickets, and didn't know that we could bring in blankets and pillows. Luckily, they gave us a brochure in the parking lot, and we grabbed some towels out of the truck to sit on. For July, the weather cooperated quite nicely. It was about 80 degrees, but cloudy (thank goodness!!) There was a wind out of the north, which helped to keep things cool.

The entire show was incredible. They had a stage that revolved around, so there was very little "down time" between artists. As one act was performing, they were able to set up the equipment for the next act...and then twirl the stage around. Bill Murray was the host for the day, and did a great job!

I was very impressed with Derek Trucks and his band. I could have done without Willie Nelson. It took him half way through the first song to remember the lyrics, and he was very boring! Shery Crow was great, but I wish that she played longer. Jeff Beck was good...and had a (very!) young lady bass player who was incredible...but an hour was a bit too long for all instrumental stuff. Robert Randolph was great, and B.B. King put on a great show as well.

We left a bit early, and missed the last part of Clapton, and Buddy Guy. But after nearly 10 hours of sitting on the ground, we were worn out. The good thing, though, was that it didn't take us two extra hours to get out of the parking lot!

I'm a bit sore after sitting / standing on the lawn for 10 hours, but that's okay :) This was an incredible event, with an impressive line-up, for a great cause. *AND* the did it in Chicago :)

Artist Listing:
Jeff Beck
Doyle Bramhall II
Eric Clapton
Robert Cray
Sheryl Crow
Vince Gill
Buddy Guy
BB King
Alison Krauss and Union Station
Sonny Landreth
Albert Lee
Los Lobos
John Mayer
John McLaughlin
Willie Nelson
Robert Randolph
Hubert Sumlin
Derek Trucks
Jimmie Vaughan
Steve Winwood

Reviews:

Rolling Stone 1
Rolling Stone 2
Rolling Stone Pics
Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune Interview with Clapton
MSN Clips

Dave Matthews Band - Bridgeview, IL

07/08/2007
Dave Matthews Band
Toyota Park
Bridgeview, IL

Opening Band: Guster

This was our first trip to the relatively new Toyota Park, and it was a pretty nice place to see a show! The only downfall was that it took quite a while to get out of the parking lot after the show. But it was relatively close to home (about an hour), and sure beats the heck out of the World / Tweeter Center / First Midwest Bank Ampitheatre (or whatever name it is going by these days).

The weather was hotter than hell, and I would have to say that this show was even hotter!! This was the first show of the summer tour, and the band seemed ready to kick it off great! Dave busted a move numerous times, and the set list was incredible. To top it off, they played the elusive Two Step as the final song. I have been waiting so long to hear that one again live, so I was thrilled!

Set List:
One Sweet World *
You Might Die Trying *
Still Water
Don’t Drink the Water *
Grey Street *
Louisiana Bayou *
The Idea Of You *
What Would You Say *
Anyone Seen The Bridge *
Too Much *
Falling Off The Roof [new song] +
Dream Girl *
The Maker *
Seek Up *
Satellite *
Crush *
Stay (Wasting Time) *

Encore:
Sister ~
Two Step *

Notes:
* Rashawn Ross
+ Dave and Carter
~ Dave Solo