Allegheny Landing Park, Pittsburgh, PA.... The WYEP Summer Music Festival In Brief: The only old song Shocked played was "Anchorage"--everything else was new. But unlike many performers who are heavy on their latest material, she was so dynamic that no one seemed to mind. Erin McKeown sat in on guitar for about 4 songs. There were some technical troubles during Penn's set, but he still played well. "Long Way Down" was interrupted halfway through ("I'd like to soldier on," Penn explained when he stopped the number, "But it's hard to sing if I can't hear the guitar"), but I'm so glad he played it. He closed with "Walter Reed," one of my favorites of the new record.
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ This was one of the most fun concerts I've ever attended. I've been to perhaps better concerts, on a number of criteria, but rarely have I enjoyed myself more at a show. post continues.... This was an outdoor concert at Deiner Park, a lawn built over Route 18 and overlooking the Raritan River. It was beautiful September night, with that sort of coolness which, when mixed with activity, is neither chilly nor hot. Mick Jones' B.A.D. II's album The Globe had just connected with the cultural zeitgeist in a way that he hadn't managed since his days with The Clash (and, at this writing, he was not to do so again). Fueled by the big-beat dance-rock sound that was soaring to ascendency during 1991 (in what was also to be effectively its swan-song, as the hammer was even then being cocked to fire grunge's gun square at American musical tastes), "Rush" was just then becoming Jones' only U.S. post-Clash Top 40 hit;...
Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, PA..... The P.L.E.A.S.E. Benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief. my credential from the show "P.L.E.A.S.E." stood for "Pittsburgh Lends Emergency And Saving Efforts" and was an attempt to raise money for the American Red Cross following the devastation of the New Orleans area in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. (80% of the proceeds were going to the Red Cross while 20% was donated to efforts in Western PA to help people still recovering from Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Around $100,000 was raised.) Many of the region’s leading names in multiple music genres came together several weeks after the Louisiana flooding, bringing out around 8,000 people for this unique show. Not only was the crowd entertained by the musical acts, but current and former Steelers players made appearances, including Franco Harris, Louis Lipps, Andy Russell, Craig Bingham, and Jeff Reed. (All the Steelers players whipped up the crowd talking up the team's...
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