Brandon Gibbs - October Twenty Four EP

What if...  What if there were a performer that came from a small town in Iowa, belonged to a couple of "super groups" and has sang lead vocals for a legendary rock band and he released a new EP, do you think he would be interesting?  What if I told you this same guy recorded music with some of the biggest names in '80's heavy metal and he is as humble as a dove?  And what if I were to tell you that he is as big a talent as there is in music today?  Would you want to hear more?

Lita Ford - Mississippi Moon Bar April 17th, 2016

Music is full of legends and inside of that are the stories of their life that at times are told in their music.  At times those legends are caught inside of their own environment or stereotypes which can muddy those legends.  All too often those legends aren't legends with just a little afterthought and deep introspective search.  What if we looked at those legends and tried to reshape their legend into its proper spot in music?  Well?

Ace Frehley - Mississippi Moon Bar, September 11th, 2015

Where were you on Christmas 1977?  I was at home celebrating with my family and the one real thing I remember was that as a nine year old boy I got "KISS Alive II" as a Christmas gift.  That album started this thirty-eight year frenzy that has been my obsession with the band.  It was so much fun getting new KISS albums and listening to those old vinyl albums over and over again.  There are many confessions I can make about KISS and now is the time to start...

Free Fallin' - Mississippi Moon Bar June 7th, 2014

The '80's were a time of a musical tsunami.  When MTV sprang forth an entire world of music we may have never really heard arrived to us on a nice little "platter."  We saw it all, new genres broke free from their little hiding places and bands became more than just sounds, they were out in the daylight of the world.  Some of the artists we did know brought to us a spectacular point where those images were ever etched into our minds, some for the good and some for the bad.  So?

Cheap Thrill - Mississippi Moon Bar

At some point in one's life we are presented with the opportunity to get a "cheap thrill."  Whether it be an unexpected chance meeting with a personal hero or celebrity, or watching a car chase on TV, the experience of a cheap thrill is the same.  One could even consider the Janet Jackson appearance, and her wardrobe "malfunction" as a cheap thrill but never discount the affects of a cold and rainy night in Iowa as to providing its own "Cheap Thrill."

Free Fallin' - Mississippi Moon Bar

Music has interesting beginnings for all of mankind, some of those beginnings are very, very good, some are quite strange, and some are just downright bad. Spawned from the roots of music, the beginnings can involve singing, instruments, high-energy, low-energy, and even sometimes writing about music. Every one of these beginnings has humble roots from within each and every one of us. For musicians and singers alike popular music often becomes their roots. The problem facing these musicians is whether or not they wish to create original material, or continue forth performing through their influences and material.  So...

Bang Tango - Mississippi Moon Bar

The number two has an amazing power on each of us, at least it seems like it.  It can mean everything from a two-year anniversary or a two-for-one special on pizzas if your name is Giorgio.  It's true that all numbers have amazing "powers" over us but unlike many others two can be used in another capacity, that being a place, second for example.  Second can be used in the capacity of "second place" for example.  I still own a t-shirt from many years gone now with the simple phrase "Second place is the FIRST loser" emblazoned upon its back.  There is still another option to examine, time.

BB King - Mississippi Moon Bar

Americans have some interesting people we look to as our heroes.  Of course athletes seem to fill our lists of heroes but there is a fascination with royalty and legends.  Its not much of a stretch to think that the "legends" list is filled with professional athletes and movie stars.  The fascination with royalty is an odd one for me but not for the reasons one may think.  Certainly the mixture of legend and royalty is as rare as ice in purgatory but when it happens it can be a beautiful thing.

Lita Ford - Mississippi Moon Bar

During the era of "hair metal" there was a phenomena that to this day is still perplexing.  At this firestorm that "hair metal" became one had to be cognizant of what they were looking at on the cover art of the associated bands.  The rationale being that some of the sexiest women on the covers were actually men and often were better looking than some women in the world of "pop" music.  Its interesting to think about that comparison, its a legitimate argument BUT was there a deficiency of women in "hair metal"?

Hairball - Act Three

I had the strangest dream recently, Friday March 8th, 2013 to be exact.  I had this dream about music but that isn't what made the dream strange.  I would chalk the strangest part of the dream to those that made an appearance, and they were some interesting ones.  Yes I could have opened up in therapy, to a psychiatrist or I could even bought a book on dreams, but what fun would that have been.

Bret Michaels Band - Mississippi Moon Bar

When we all look back at our birthday parties of years gone-by many mixed memories can rush toward us with the speed of a rescue panther.  Many of us remember birthdays with large animatronic mice schlepping nasty cardboard pizza, or having some sort of obnoxious hat thrust upon our heads whilst strangers sing sweet, out of tune birthday lyrics in a plethora of different languages.  Occasionally our birthdays are marked with the simple passing of the day into night but for Bret Michaels his birthday was incredibly different.

Kip Winger - Mississippi Moon Bar

As the lights went down in the city (okay, a cheap Journey reference sorry) and the lights began to raise on the stage of the Mississippi Moon Bar in Dubuque, IA a lone man with an aqua guitar took the stage.  Kip Winger was his name and he was there it make his presence known, but did he?

Hairball - Mississippi Moon Bar

Feline issues are not the kind of things one might expect from a music blog and yet I have decided to write about hairballs.  It is surprising that such an issue would be talked about by a man that doesn't own a cat and the thought of me trying to ascertain how such a condition occurs is mind numbing.  So imagine being presented with the chance to see "Hairball"...  Live at the Mississippi Moon Bar.  I was scared.

Asia featuring John Payne - Mississippi Moon Bar

The decade of the '80's means so many different things to oh so many people, but to me the '80's, more specifically 1982 was the year I entered high school.  This portion of the '80's was intertwined with school, girls, and music and all of the trappings that went with it.  The music of the '80's had a profound effect on the generation, it was an era that helped shape my musical palate, and bands like Asia were building blocks to that palate.

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?".

The Sweet - A Blast from the Past!

The title of this post really doesn't do the band justice, but I think for many it is a blast from the past.  I would be remiss if I didn't say very early on that "The Sweet" came, saw and beat the living crap out of the Mississippi Moon Bar.

It's been over a month since a post??? Really???

Why yes, it has been over a month and yes I've been bad but I am making an attempt to atone.  First up, I'm off to the Mississippi Moon Bar this evening to see a band with one of the most recognizable song of all time.  

2010 and 2011 - My Life in Concerts

Its been a fairly interesting, starting in September through today, I have been at a very eclectic series of shows.  Its been interesting to think how I have, in many instances, revisited some of my youth.  Having an exceptionally varied musical palate, it shouldn't be a surprise but the lineups of shows is even a bit of a head scratcher for me.

Rick Springfield @ The Mississippi Moon Bar

A typical Saturday night rarely starts raging to the sounds of Rick Springfield but I think Saturday 09 April 11 is the closest I think it can really come.  It became obvious whilst waiting in line for the show to begin, as it began to filter though those hanging about that some of us were there almost TWELVE hours early.

Concerts - The Hammer of the Gods

Now that is one dramatic title isn't it?  It seems to me that the description, "Hammer of the Gods", does fit a concert setting but in a non-religious fashion.  What is a concert really?  Isn't it our attempt to connect with our musical heroes?  Don't most of us seek a connection in the realm of "hero worship" and what do we worship?  No not the "almighty dollar", we worship our gods.