Review by Greg Maki-----Sometimes just putting on a concert is a feat worth celebrating. John 5 was scheduled to bring his solo tour to Hard Times Cafe in Hagerstown, Maryland. But less than a month before the show, the venue, which had seemed from an outside perspective to be growing in prominence in the past... Continue Reading →
Review by Greg Maki-----The hottest ticket in metal this winter undoubtedly is Lamb of God’s first U.S. headlining tour in support of its latest album, “VII: Sturm und Drang,” released last summer. The Richmond, Virginia-based band has grown steadily through the years to a point where it could fill the venues it’s playing on this... Continue Reading →
Review by Greg Maki-----For some people, a vacation is a time of relaxation, of escaping the real world and the responsibilities that come with it. Some visit with friends and family. Others travel to new and exotic locations around the world. Me? I take a break from my day job to cover four concerts in... Continue Reading →
Review by Greg Maki-----As all the members of Saint Asonia have said since the band went public in May 2015, frontman Adam Gontier (formerly of Three Days Grace) insisted on stage at Baltimore Soundstage that this is not a “supergroup” or a one-off deal. He said this band—also featuring guitarist Mike Mushok (Staind), drummer Rich... Continue Reading →
Review by Greg Maki-----I don’t know how, but each year, Rock on the Range, the best music festival I’ve ever attended, gets better. The lineup largely features acts from the same pool of bands playing all the festivals throughout the “World’s Loudest Month,” but the atmosphere here is different. Everyone knows this is the big... Continue Reading →
Review by Greg Maki----It’s become popular in online circles to bash Scott Weiland, the erstwhile Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver vocalist now fronting an act billed as Scott Weiland & the Wildabouts. An off night leads to rampant speculation about what substances he might be on, and quotes from interviews are taken out of... Continue Reading →
Review by Greg Maki-----The new version of Stone Temple Pilots, with Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington center stage, replacing the fired Scott Weiland, is a hard sell for some. Others will never accept it, end of story. It’s their loss, because if this show on a Friday night at the sold-out Fillmore Silver Spring is any... Continue Reading →
Review by Greg Maki-----Let’s get one thing straight: “Unblackened” does not equal “unplugged.” Many people, including fans, are under the impression that Black Label Society’s “Unblackened” tour is an acoustic affair, despite the presence of a 2013 live album of the same name that offers definitive proof otherwise. (Of course, the Wikipedia entry on the... Continue Reading →
Mikey Carvajal of Islander Review by Greg Maki-----Even at the early hour of 6:30 p.m., the Fillmore was mostly packed when Islander hit the stage, kicking off four and a half hours of music on this cold January night. The most important thing an opening act can bring to the stage is energy; even if... Continue Reading →
Review by Greg Maki-----We haven’t finished the fourth month, but I have a surefire candidate for the best show of 2014. And the band pulled it off with its singer fighting a cold or some other malady affecting his voice. Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge The last time I saw Alter Bridge in concert, they... Continue Reading →
