Pat Benatar And Neil Giraldo - Mississippi Moon Bar

"Actually, there are three girls at Ridgemont who have cultivated the Pat Benatar look."  That one solitary line from "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" alerted the rest of the American public to what was the phenomena of Pat Benatar and firmly cemented her place not only in the pop culture of 1982, but for the next 29 years.  Cut to August 18th, 2011 and Pat Benatar's appearance at the Mississippi Moon Bar in Dubuque, IA and the question that befalls all of the musicians from the '80's, "Can she still rock?".

"Riot" At The Wisconsin State Fair

The headlines read "State Fair melees produce 11 injuries, 31 arrested", "Racial mob violence rocks the Wisconsin State Fair", and "Did Gov Walker Stage Wisconsin State Fair Race Attack?", so what does one do when given the opportunity to see a music act that one has seen previously?  Queue the creepy music because that is exactly what I did.

Jani Lane Dies At 47

Jani Lane the former lead singer of "Warrant" was found dead in a hotel room in the San Fernando Valley (north of Los Angeles) on August 11th, 2011, he was 47.  Death at any age is a tragedy, and inasmuch as that is true, I'm sure that press agencies will be speculating on a cause of death.  Obviously I am not a press agency, but I believe that talking about the man is more important than rampant speculation on a cause of death.

Home Sweet Home - The Soundtrack Of My Life

"You know I'm a dreamer, but my hearts of gold"  So starts one of the most emotional songs in my life.  We all have songs that remind us of someone or something, they may elicit a variety of emotions and reactions and occasionally we aren't sure why.  Sometimes we have to look deep within to understand to find a reason if not merely to explain our emotions.

i wireless Center - Motley Crue

It was a very interesting time the '80's wasn't it?  Bands came and went, there were so many flashes in the pan it was hard to tell if it was a quick dying of their fan base, or someone put a flame to all of the Aqua-Net they were wearing.  A few bands survived, and a few thrived but a few brought monstrous success and that brings to mind Motley Crue.  Motley Crue has the distinction of having been all three, but what about today?

i wireless Center - Poison

Poison has come quite away from their first album cover where, as a friend of mine once said, there were four "hot chicks" on the cover.  For the past 25 years Poison has played together, faced hardships, nearly died and been a part of several reality television shows and yet they seem to be able to push everything behind them.  But can they still perform and be relevant?  That's the $64,000 dollar question now isn't it.

i wireless Center - New York Dolls

Its fascinating to think about all the bands from the '80's being reborn and their fan base beginning to explode with that rebirth.  While this phenomena appears not to be slowing down, other bands, from other eras are creeping in and appear to be trying to catch a little bit of what the '80's bands are experiencing.  The band "New York Dolls" is doing just that.

The i wireless Center

Being from Illinois (keep your snickers to yourself) and less than 100 miles from Moline, IL, it seems that I should be very familiar with the city  Unfortunately I really am not that familiar with it, except my Uncle David lived there and John Deere is there but that's really about it.  Moline sits in a Bi-State area of Illinois and Iowa and is part of the Quad Cities and although I have attended many concerts on the Iowa side, Moline has never been a destination for me, until now.

Half Way Jam - Skid Row

The decade of 2010 seems to have become a decade that every rock band from the '80's has made a triumphant return and the lineup of "Halfway Jam" really reflected that.  Skid Row closed out the third day of what could only be described as an All-Star lineup.  Was Skid Row and the singer "that isn't Sebastian Bach" worthy of closing out the event?