Welcome to another edition of Friday’s Rockin’ Roundup
where I roundup all the cool happenings in the world of music. And while I’ve
been trying to keep up on my favorite bands and music there’s been a little
distraction going on called the NHL Playoffs. Regular readers probably remember
that I am a huge fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins. I started watching hockey
because of Mario Lemieux---one of the greatest Penguins ever.
The Penguins have had an exciting post season thus far
and they just beat the Washington Capitals in an exceptional game 7 to advance
to the Eastern Conference Finals. If they win their next series against the
Ottawa Senators, the Penguins will go to the Stanley Cup Final for the second
year in a row. Last year they won it all and I am hoping that they will repeat
their championship performance this year. The first game of their next series
is Saturday night. I will be glued to my television, rooting for a Penguins
victory.
And while I was busy watching the coolest sport on Earth,
here what’s rocked this week:
The Gaslight Anthem are a band that I absolutely adore.
They are currently on an indefinite hiatus, but that doesn’t stop me from
constantly seeking out the latest news about the band. Mostly I do it in the
hopes of hearing that they are coming out of hibernation and working on a new record.
Being that the band is from New Jersey, NJ.Com took the liberty of ranking all
the Gaslight Anthem songs from worst to best. And while I don’t necessarily
agree with all the rankings, I love that they put this up for debate. If you
are a fan of the band, this is a must-read article. And if you aren’t familiar
with the band, NJ.Com was kind enough to include a You Tube video for each song
so you can sample them for yourself.
They aren’t the first band to try the fan first technology,
but they are the first band that brought it to my attention. Ticketmaster launched
what they call “Verified Fan” earlier this year and Linkin Park is using the
technology to help real fans get tickets to their show. The concept is
simple---the more you are willing to do for the band, the higher your chances
are of scoring presale tickets. Join the fan club, tweet about the band,
promote them on Facebook, and/or pre-ordering their latest album are all ways
that you can improve your standing. The concept was created to help battle the
scalping bots and I think that it’s a step in the right direction. It may not
solve the re-selling of tickets at overinflated prices permanently, but it’s
good to see that Ticketmaster and Live Nation are trying.
Evolve will be
available on June 23rd. This will be the third album from Imagine
Dragons. Their first two records were impeccable, so expectations for disc
number three are high with me. Their tour starts in late September and runs
through the fall. Presale tickets will be available starting next week. I am
going to try my best to catch one of their shows. I’ve never seen Imagine
Dragons in concert, but I hear they are amazing.
U2 kicks off their 30th anniversary tour
tonight. The first concert takes place in Vancouver and U2 will be touring
North America for the rest of the spring. The
Joshua Tree will be played in its entirety and I am revved up to see this
concert. I haven’t seen U2 live since 2005, so this is going to be a special
treat for me. I know that I will be checking the Vancouver set list come
tomorrow morning.
Sir Paul McCartney has added more shows to his
summer/fall tour. Additional nights have been added in the NY/NJ area as well
as Chicago and Detroit. Tickets are on sale today, so if you want to see
McCartney you’d better get to Ticketmaster now and get some!
