Breaking Benjamin and Starset Unplugged Druid City Music Hall Tuscaloosa, AL 1/23/16

Breaking Benjamin and Starset Unplugged at Druid City Music Hall in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on 1/23/16. Taken for RockRevolt Magazine. Enjoy!

Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, & Sevendust Huntsville, AL 11/11/15

Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, and Sevendust at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, AL on 11/11/15. Taken for RockRevolt Magazine. Enjoy!

Nothing More Zydeco Birmingham, AL 10/6/15

The Monster Energy Outbreak Tour featuring Nothing More, The Color Morale, Turbowolf, and Separations at Zydeco in Birmingham, AL on October 6th, 2015. Enjoy!

Lee Bains & The Glory Fires Green Bar Tuscaloosa, AL 2/5/15

Whoever said Rock and Roll is dead is a big fat liar. The show I witnessed tonight at Green Bar was beyond one of my more memorable shows. That says a lot for a 19 year old who averages around 50 shows a year.

To start of the maximum Rock & Roll experience, was Tuscaloosa’s own The Golden Monica.

They gave the allusion of the 70s with their lead singer wearing vintage sunglasses and having hair like The Jackson 5.

The one aspect of their performance I thoroughly enjoyed was the way they moved about and presented themselves. I also thoroughly enjoyed their cover of Living On Tulsa Time.

It was a gritty, true, Rock and Roll experience.

Now, onward to Lee Bains…

Energy. Action. Passion. Those are a few of the elements to expect at a Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires show.

The band played over two hours of nonstop Rock and Roll.

Numerous moments and elements of the evening stood out to me.

The story behind the song Dirt Track was told. It was about Bains’ girlfriend’s mom’s boyfriend loving stock car racing, but not NASCAR. When the song was played, Bains went off mic and sang the line “Keep on working, keep it on the dirt track” and the crowd responded by clapping and singing the song at the top of their lungs. That is one moment of this particular show that I will not ever forget.

After that, the band said they were finished for the evening, but the crowd was not having it. The drummer jokingly asked, “Can y'all not just be happy with your number one recruiting class?” when asked for an encore.

There were also various stage antics, such as Bains jumping into the crowd and playing guitar, and the guitar player getting on his shoulders and walking around the venue.

So I will end this with a question. Is Rock & Roll dead?

No. It is not. 

Flogging Molly Iron City Birmingham, AL 11/24/14

Edit this setlist | More Flogging Molly setlists

Jimmy Eat World Workplay Birmingham, AL October 2014

Jimmy Eat world came to Workplay in Birmingham and they played my favorite album, Futures in its entirety. They came. They conquered. They rocked.

They played:

Futures

Just Tonight...

Work

Kill

The World You Love

Pain

Drugs or Me

Polaris

Nothingwrong

Night Drive

23

Encore 1:

Over

Closer

Chase This Light

Blister

Appreciation

Disintegration

Encore 2:

I Will Steal You Back

My Best Theory

Bleed American

The Middle

I was in Heaven.

Widespread Panic Von Braun Center Huntsville, AL 10/10/14

Over the weekend, I went to Huntsville to catch Widespread Panic on their current tour.

This was the first time the band has been back since 2007 and the band delivered an electric set to a crowd of over 9,000 people.

The crowd was in full force dancing along with the music and participating in all the rituals that normally take place during a Panic show.

The band's set, which lasted over three hours, consisted of two sets and an encore (a concept that I was not familiar with until I started going to Jam band shows.)

Set 1:
One Arm Steve
Walkin' (For Your Love)
Space Wrangler
Shut Up and Drive > Papa Legba, Greta > Up All Night
Pickin' Up The Pieces > Chilly Water

Set 2:
Little Kin
Jack > Saint Ex > Driving Song > Pilgrims > Driving Song
Werewolves Of London > Maggot Brain > Protein Drink > Sewing Machine

Encore:
Tail Dragger
Climb To Safety

The entire show was performed with Duane Trucks on drums.

After Saint Ex there was a Won't Get Fooled Again' tease

There was a Red Hot Mama jam after Pilgrims.

A Sweet Home Alabama' rap ensued during Werewolves Of London

Lastly, Maggot Brain had a spoken word intro. (Longest Jam I have sat through in my life)

Overall, I agree with those who say Panic is an outdoor band. While the show was stellar and the crowd was on point, I feel the band could have benefited from an outdoor crowd and what all they could bring to the table.

Ben Rector Bama Theatre Tuscaloosa, AL 10/8/14

Ben Rector made his second Tuscaloosa appearance last night at The Bama Theatre in support of his newest record, The Walking In Between.

This sold-out show featured an electric crowd and sounded like the audience of a One Direction show, but it made for a good time.

The first performer of the night was Jon McLaughlin.

He was a little John Mayer-esque, but he had a sense of humor that carried him through the tough job of being the opening act.

When Ben took the stage, the crowd was on fire.

It reminded me of the first time I saw Justin Bieber: screaming girls everywhere.

There were a few guys in the mix, though and their turn in the spotlight came a little bit later in the night.

Throughout the 12 song set, Ben transitioned from playing guitar to the piano: the piano being more prominent.

His set consisted of:

When I'm With You

Let The Good Times Roll (On the setlist, it says Roll (Tide))

Moving Backwards (Ben said "It's about to Kenny G Up In Here when the piano player played the saxophone.")

When A Heart Breaks

Summertime

I Like You

Ordinary Love

Forever Like That

Hold On, We're Going Home (Drake Cover)

The Beat

White Dress

Encore:

Sailboat

Before the Drake cover started, Ben told the guys in the crowd that they were about to dance. He demonstrated two separate dances: one for the shy guys and one for the more outgoing. One guy was hilarious with his dance moves and got a shout out from Ben. It turned out that the guy's name was Ben as well. ("Guy in the red shirt is your name really Ben? If not that is the cleverest thing you've ever done.")

Closer to the end of the show, Ben told the audience that most of his songs were not written about his wife, they were just made and we were here to listen to songs about his feelings. He told the story of a guy in Iowa, who, when he told the story, said "Ugh! Aww! Ugh!" when he found that out. After the show he asked Ben if what he said on stage was true. He repeated the same "Ugh" response from earlier and Ben asked, "Would you rather me have lied about it?" The guy answered affirmatively. 

The last song, Sailboat, evoked a wonderful crowd response and I saw several girls cry.

It's not a show unless someone cries, whether it be happy or sad tears.

Props to you, Ben Rector, props.