Friday's Rockin' Roundup - Favorite Holiday Edition

Next week is Thanksgiving, here in the United States. A chance to reflect and remember what we have and all that we are thankful for. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday by far. It’s a time for family and friends to gather together and spend quality time with one another with no other hidden agendas (such as the lure of gifts on Christmas). It’s a holiday that allows families to be themselves, enjoy a grand meal along with one another’s company. It’s a period of relaxation just before the holiday rush kicks into overdrive.

This Thanksgiving, as I’ve done for the past few years, I’ll be heading north with my wife and step-daughter to my brother in-law’s farm. Cathy’s brother's home provides such an amazing escape for us, especially this time of year. It’s also great to see my niece and nephews and spend the weekend with them. It is a trip that I look forward to every year like none other.

With all the travel, and Thanksgiving preparations going on, The Rock and Roll Guru will be silent next week. No new posts, no new concert or CD reviews, and very few tweets. My apologies to the regular readers who look forward to their daily dose of the Guru. I’ll be back the Monday after Thanksgiving and we’ll start doing it all over again, all the way to the New Year. December is going to be a very enjoyable month around here as we reflect on the great things that happened in 2009 and prepare ourselves for 2010.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone! And to my regular readers, thank you for stopping back time and time again. It means a lot to me and I’m thankful to have readers like you.

Here’s what rocked this week:

Megadeth To Tour With Slayer
Megadeth, Slayer, and Testament on a winter tour beginning in January. Talk about mayhem and destruction! Tickets for most dates are on sale now.

More Concerns About Steven Tyler
This is sad. It’s obvious that Tyler has fallen off the wagon and needs help. Addiction is a very tough thing to overcome, no matter how many years you’ve been clean. And while I would love to see a new Aerosmith CD and tour with Steven at the helm, more importantly, I want to see him get well.

Rocklahoma 2009 DVD Available To Order
Covering most of the bands that appeared at this year’s Rocklahoma, this DVD is a 57 retrospective of the past summer’s glam metal festival from Pryor, Oklahoma.

Ladies Of The 80s
Christine over at Hell On High Hells posted this at the end of last week. Matel has announced a new line of Barbie’s featuring out favorite rocking ladies from the 80s. Hmmm, I wonder how they would look next to the original Kiss dolls?

Bob Dylan’s Must Be Santa Video
I was going to write my own post about this, but Sami at Rock It Out Blog already summarized everything that I would have said. I’m just speechless.

Shameless Self Promotion
And finally, you can read my review of Les Claypool’s latest record, Of Fungi And Foe by clicking on the link above which will take you over to Hard Rock Hideout, one of the best, if not the best rock sites on the web.

Friday's Rockin' Roundup - Yankees vs. Red Sox Edition

Tonight begins the final regular season series for the Yankees against their hated division rivals. A sweep will clinch the American League East for the Yanks and should guarantee home field advantage throughout the playoffs. For those of you who do not follow baseball, this is a huge deal. I’ll be watching the game tonight with both Red Sox and Yankees fans, so it is going to be a very passionate evening. Boston (as much as I hate to admit it) is a very tough rival and a talented team. It’s always a good series when these two teams meet, and this weekend should be no exception.

And while I was getting ready for the big series by reading the latest stats on CC Sabathia, Derek Jeter, Big Poppie, and Josh Beckett, here’s what rocked this week:

Megadeath North American Tour Dates Announced
Megadeath will be hitting the road in support of their latest effort, Endgame. The full tour itinerary(so far) is listed.

Aerosmith to Play Hawaii Concerts
Hmmm. It’s funny that they had to scrap they entire tour due to injuries and health problems, yet they can miraculously play Hawaii in October. The boys are fast falling from my top 5 list.

Kiss Concerts Instant Live
In yet another way for Gene to take your money, Kiss is offering their concerts on the current Alive 35 tour for sale. Either in CD or USB format and of course, they are not very inexpensive. When Pearl Jam does this, you can download the concert from their website instantaneously and it cost $10. When Kiss does it, you have to get a USB stick and it cost $30 (or more).

The Music of Ted Nugent Due Next Week
Uncle Ted (in collaboration with Legacy Recordings) is releasing a 3 disc set of hits. It appears that this is going to be a series of releases from different classic bands. The sets will be called “The Music Of” series and it is similar to “The Essential” collections that are out there for other bands. As for the track listing, let the debates begin.

A Review of “Born To Run” In Chicago
Our friends over at Backstreets have posted their review (and the entire setlist) of Bruce Springsteen’s concert in Chicago where the band played Born To Run in its entirety. It looks like this was a magical night. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a full album performance at Giants Stadium.