Photos – Ted Nugent @ Mid-America Center

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Review- Ted Nugent @ 7 Flags Event Center – Clive, IA

Photos – Ted Nugent @ 7 Flags Center – Clive, IA

Photos – REO Speedwagon @ Mid-America Center

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Photos – Styx @ Mid-America Center

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The Weeknd @ Hollywood Forever Concert Review

Abel Tesfaye, who is best known by his stage name, The Weeknd, has become one of the biggest buzzing artists on the screen today. At just 22 years old, he most recently gained attention after collaborating on several tracks with Drake. The Weeknd was also selected to perform at the sold-out 2012 Coachella Music and Arts Fest. In the wake of Coachella, The Weeknd scheduled two Los Angeles dates, one at the Fonda Theatre and another at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Both shows sold out instantly.

The Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a venue unlike any other. With hedge stones and mausoleum lining the grass where the stage is and a supper moon in the sky, you couldn’t ask for a better setting to listen to the smooth and sexy sound of The Weeknd. Unfortunately, due to this show being sold-out, it was tough to track down a ticket, and I managed to miss the first four songs of the set. Luckily, I made it into the venue just as Drake took the stage to join The Weeknd in performing “Crew Love” and “The Zone.” The crowd was going wild as the two tore up the stage. When the song came to an end, Drake took a moment to express his love and admiration for The Weeknd.

The Weeknd  – “Crew Love”, “The Zone” (Featuring Drake)

The show only consisted of 15 songs and lasted about 50 min, which was surprising since The Weeknd has already released three albums. Regardless, the entire show was beyond sexy and captivating. The smooth R&B vocals mixed with modern-day electronic beats made it nearly impossible to stand still. The Weeknd def lived up to his buzz, and with a heavy-hitting backing band, he put on one hell of a show. I have to give it up to the band’s drummer, as he hit it hard and kept the show on point. I especially enjoyed how he went back and forth between his standard kit and his electric set.

After the show, I took some time to interview some of the attendees at the show. Due to computer issues, I have yet to comprise my video concert review, but in a nutshell everyone seemed to be blown away and really excited about the show. I often find that people are hesitant to talk with a random stranger after a concert, this was not the case at this show. Folks were more then glad to sing the praises of The Weeknd.

I managed to see The Weeknd three times in the course of a month and can’t wait to see him again. There are big things ahead for Abel and his set is sure to suck you in. This summer he will be on tour with Florence and the Machine, and that is an opportunity that should not be missed.

The Weeknd @ Hollywood Forever Setlist 5/5/12

1. High For This
2. D.D. / The Birds, Pt. 1
3. Rolling Stone
4. Gone
5. Crew Love (with Drake)
6. The Zone (with Drake)
7. The Party & The Afterparty
8. Montreal
9. The Knowing
10. Outside
11. Loft Music
12. Trust Issues
13. The Morning
14. House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls
    Encore:
15. Wicked Games (Acoustic)

Visit http://the-weeknd.com/ for more info on The Weeknd!

Review – Joe Bonamassa @ Civic Center of Greater Des Moines

I keep hearing this guy referred to as “the best guitarist you’ve never heard of.” I’ve had this happen before when I go to a show, and I’m pleasantly surprised how good the band is that I haven’t heard of…but this guy takes the cake. I’m talking about Joe Bonamassa. He just about totally sold-out the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, and this show was a bit on the higher end of ticket prices.

Most of the people there seemed to already know about this hidden gem of a performer. Before the first song was over, I could tell I was in for a treat. As far as Blues players go, he is definitely one of the more rocking Blues guitarists. He’s a very technical player, which I really dig and his playing ranges from classical to very fast rocking.

The Civic Center is known for bands sounding amazing, and that is exactly what we got. When Joe Bonamassa was doing some of his more classical playing, you could have heard a pin drop in there. He showed off his licks on several different guitars – one being a white Gibson double neck. I don’t remember the last time I saw one of those on stage. His drummer, Tal Bergman, was also quite good. He put on a few very impressive solos during the show. While chatting with the audience, Joe Bonamassa mentioned how he will be turning 35 this week and the new album “Driving Towards the Daylight” is album number 13. That is quite an accomplishment.

This show completely caught me off guard, and I’m so glad I’ve been turned on to him. Joe Bonamassa is obviously going to be around a very long time and is sure to be one of the greats. The concert lasted about two hours and 15 mins. He played mostly his material, but he threw a few covers in there from bands like Led Zeppelin, The Who, and Gary Moore. The show totally rocked with no opening act – just Joe doing what he does so well. If you are a  Blues fan or a rocker, you’ll love this guy. He’s got plenty of dates left on this tour, and I hear his DVD “Live From The Royal Albert Hall” is a must-have. Check this guy out!

Click here for amazing photos from this Joe Bonamassa show!

Visit Joe Bonamassa’s site for more info and tour dates!

Win Tickets: Trampled By Turtles @ The Fonda Theatre

Trampled by Turtles has been at it since 2003, but just recently started to gain mainstream buzz. Just last year this indie folk band sold out the Troubadour and now they are coming back to the City of Angels to play The Fonda Theatre. Trampled by Turtles have released six studio albums, all of which have done very well on the US Bluegrass charts. The group’s most recently released album, Stars and Satellites reached the #32 position on the Billboard 200. The future is looking bright for these fellows and seeing them at The Fonda Theatre will surely be a treat.

Tickets for this show start at $22.50 and are still available online

For those of you willing to try your luck and not buy tickets in advance, YouTellConcerts and the fine folks at Goldenvoice are giving you a chance to win a pair of tickets to see Trampled By Turtles at The Fonda Theatre on May 19, 2012 .

Entering this contest is easy but you need to have a Facebook or Twitter account to enter! Simply like YouTellConcerts on Facebook, then leave a comment on our page letting us know why you should get to see Trampled By Turtles at The Fonda Theatre, OR follow @YouTellConcerts on Twitter , tweet this post and let us know why you should get to see Trampled By Turtles at The Fonda Theatre.

The contest will be open until 2:00pm on Friday May 18 , and the person with the best answer will win.

Trampled By Turtles – 7pm
The Fonda Theatre
6126 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028
Tickets: $22.50
All ages

Trampled By Turtles – “Alone” (live)

Win Tickets: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ El Rey Theatre

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah’s rock and roll stylings are constantly acclaimed. Their style is not that of your average rock and roll band. Lead singer Alec Ounsworth’s voice sucks you in like no others. The band’s greatest success was their 2007 release Some Loud Thunder, which debuted on the US Billboard charts at #47. The group’s most recent release was 2011′s Hysterical. If you are a fan of alternative rock and roll this is one show that you shouldn’t miss.

Tickets for this show start at $22.00 and are still available online

For those of you willing to try your luck and not buy tickets in advance, YouTellConcerts and the fine folks at Goldenvoice are giving you a chance to win a pair of tickets to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at El Rey Theatre on May 19, 2012 .

Entering this contest is easy but you need to have a Facebook or Twitter account to enter! Simply like YouTellConcerts on Facebook, then leave a comment on our page letting us know why you should get to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at El Rey Theatre, OR follow @YouTellConcerts on Twitter , tweet this post and let us know why you should get to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at El Rey Theatre.

The contest will be open until 2:00pm on Thursday May 17 , and the person with the best answer will win.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – 8pm
El Rey Theatre
5515 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tickets: $22.00
All ages

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – ” The Skin” (live)

Photos – Caught A Ghost @ The Satellite

Photos by: Nick Nakahara

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Caught A Ghost – “Sleeping At Night”

Caught A Ghost (Official)

Caught a Ghost @ The Satellite – 5/7, 5/14, 5/21, 5/28

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros @ Greek Theatre

I have seen Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros three times before this show and each time they blew me away. The shows were full of energy and the band always seemed to get the crowd up and dancing. The 11 piece band fronted by Alex Ebert released their first album just three years ago, and their single “Home” seemed to reach everyone’s heart. With Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros sophomore album Here dropping in a few weeks, the band’s performance at the Greek Theatre was perfectly timed.

The show wasn’t sold out but the turnout at the Greek was much better than I had expected. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros took the stage around 9pm. The show started with Alex Ebert’s familiar whistling. The top of the show was incredible with the band performing a new track that (I believe) was called “4 Earl Song”. The anthem like song grabbed the crowd’s attention before the band led into the well known “40 Day Dream”, which catapulted the crowd into a frenzy.

Edward Sharpe and company then played three new tracks, “Fire Water”, “Man on Fire”, and “Slim” before jumping into the crowd pleaser song, “Janglin”. From that point on, the band began to lose the audience. They were showcasing a lot of the new tracks off Here which was to be expected. Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros new tracks were great, but didn’t seem to have the same kick live as their older tracks. It might have been that the group hadn’t performed their new songs live before and needed to find their niche.

This show was def a mixed bag of nuts. It lasted around an hour and 45 min, and from what I understand was the first time that Edward Sharpe had ever used a set list. Around 10:20pm, Alex announced that he had just been informed that they only had 10 min left. The group then dove into their hit, “Home”. The crowd went wild and the lack of energy amongst them became non existent during the 8 min version of the song. Once the band had finished rocking out “Home” Alex made another announcement letting us know that their set had been extended another 15 min. This was the first time I had seen such a thing happen at the Greek Theatre, as they are usually very prompt and have a strict curfew. Having made it through their set list, the band began to discuss what they should play next. They finally decided on a new song entitled “Nothing”. I really dug the new track and the fact that Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros were winging it. The band then jammed out one last song which I have unfortunately been unable to track down the name of. Once again the group managed to captivate the crowd and created a magical moment.

In closing, I wouldn’t have minded if this show had been a bit shorter and more action packed. It started off incredibly strong, lost momentum then came back with a punch that seemed to win the crowd over and caused everyone to leave the venue happy. I would definitely see Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros again. I do however hope that they decide to stick to their roots next time around and play sans set list as it gives their shows a fun spontaneity.

Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros @ Greek Theatre – 5/4/12 Setlist

Ep.252 – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros @ The Hammer Museum – Westwood, CA

Win Tickets: Sugarland @ Greek Theatre

Sugarland has released four studio albums since 2004, and since then they have scored five #1 country singles. The duo comprised of Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles has also been nominated for 65 major music awards. Sugarland has taken 18 of them home, including several CMT awards, a AMA and two Grammy’s. These two are country music at its finest and seeing them at the Greek Theatre is the perfect way to spend a spring evening.

Tickets for this show start at $41.00 and are still available online

For those of you willing to try your luck and not buy tickets in advance, YouTellConcerts and the fine folks at the Greek Theatre are giving you a chance to win a pair of tickets to see Sugarland on May 22, 2012 .

Entering this contest is easy but you need to have a Facebook or Twitter account to enter! Simply like YouTellConcerts on Facebook, then leave a comment on our page letting us know why you should get to see Sugarland at the Greek Theatre, OR follow @YouTellConcerts on Twitter , tweet this post and let us know why you should get to see Sugarland at the Greek Theatre.

The contest will be open until 2:00pm on Friday May 18 , and the person with the best answer will win.

Sugarland – 7:30pm
Greek Theatre
2700 N. Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Tickets: $41 – $96
All ages

Sugarland w/ Sara Bareilles – “Come on Eileen” (Live @ The Greek Theatre)

This review of Coldplay at the Hollywood Bowl comes from concert guru Chris Modisette. He has a great insight into the world of music and has been to enough concerts in his life time to have become an expert. If you were at this show or have ever seen Coldplay please comment on this post and let us know what you think because this is You Tell Concerts and “When You Tell Concerts It’s Cooler!” – poppinoff

Coldplay @ The Hollywood Bowl Concert Review

Contest has ended

Win Tickets: Creed @ Fox Theater

Creed was by far one of the most distinguished and influential bands of the late 1990s. Their sophomore release Human Clay went 11x platinum in the United States and featured the hits “With Arms Wide Open”, “Higher”, “What If” and “Are You Ready”. The album has since ranked 54th on the top 100 selling albums of all time in the United States and the 8th top selling album of the last 20 years. In a special one time only commemorative tour, Creed will be performing Human Clay from front to back. In addition to performing Human Clay in its entirety the band will also be performing select tracks from the 6x platinum “Weathered” and their most recent release “Full Circle”.  If you are a Creed fan this will most likely be your only chance to see this classic album performed in its entirety.

Tickets for this show start at $32.00 and are still available online

For those of you willing to try your luck and not buy tickets in advance, YouTellConcerts and the fine folks at Goldenvoice are giving you a chance to win a pair of tickets to see Creed at the Fox Theater on May 13, 2012 .

Entering this contest is easy but you need to have a Facebook or Twitter account to enter! Simply like YouTellConcerts on Facebook, then leave a comment on our page letting us know why you should get to see Creed at the Fox Theater, OR follow @YouTellConcerts on Twitter , tweet this post and let us know why you should get to see Creed at the Fox Theater.

The contest will be open until 2:00pm on Thursday May 10 , and the person with the best answer will win.

Creed – 7pm
Fox Theater
301 S. Garey Ave., Pomona, CA 91766
Tickets: $39.50 -$75
All ages

Creed -  “With Arms Wide Open” (live)