Miss Bike Week Rocks

Cheap Trick New Years 2011/2012

2012-01-28T10:39:00.000-08:00

An incredible New Year's Eve in Paradise. It had to be about 78 Degrees in
St. Petersburg, Florida that night and Cheap Trick blew us so far away we might as well have been on Mars. They did the entire Dream Police LP with the Mind Choir as back up and a few Beatle tunes to make us cheerful as the world went into yet another year.

Photograph @Eve Ustas all rights reserved.

Alison Krauss and Union Station

2011-08-29T07:09:00.000-07:00

What more can be said about a 39 year old woman who has already taken 26 Grammy Awards? Astounding? Best female vocalist in modern times perhaps? Union Station one of the best New Grass bands ever. I am reluctant to say that Alison and Union Station are a Blue Grass band. Yes the basic instruments and sound of the band are certainly influenced by American Blue Grass yet one hesitates to label the music as Blue Grass solely. Why? There are other elements found in the music that defy that definition. Some are more likely to be called traditional American Ballads. Heartland music. Music that comes from the soul of America. They stopped in Clearwater, Florida and sold out almost immediately. August 21st, 2011 The Ruth Eckerd Hall was host to an incredible night of music. Once you hear some of the shows from this latest tour you realize that this is a force to be heard in the United States. Alison and Union Station bring back images of the Great Depression and back to before the US was even a purely industrial country. Call it Blue Grass if you will but I think it can be labeled many different ways. Alison has the voice of an angel and during the performance your not really sure if she isn't one. Great show! Great night to end the long, hot summer in Clearwater,Florida,

Damon Fowler Group

2011-07-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

Well I got a chance to see this guy live again here in town. This time at the Palladium in Downtown St. Petersburg. July 16th, 20111. Damon probably won't be playing extremely small venues for long. He opened for George Thorogood at the Ribfest last year. He's really good. Shame guy with this kind of talent is reduced to playing small venues while drivel from Lady Ga Ga and Katy Perry go rewarded by millions. Damon is a first class Bluesman. Riding from town to town in a beat up van I believe he said. He told the crowd the story of driving all the way to Canada and I read on YouTube he blew Johnny Winters off the stage! Man he reminds me of a lot of great blues guitarist and throw in some Danny Gatton with that Telecaster and sprinkle in a bit of Lowell George with the slide and you sort of get the picture of how this guy operates. He's great and we will be feature his hit song Sugar Shack on Miss Bike Week Rockin radio.

Bruce Springsteen's Eulogy for Clarence Clemons

2011-07-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

I didn't forget or feel like it's too late. A legend has passed. To a kid growing up in the Mid-Atlantic States, me in Maryland. The Jersey shore was always a mythical place like some where far away. Asbury Park, the Jersey Shore had heroes like Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny and many others and a kid from Maryland Nils Lofgren. I never made the trip. They were famous by then all of them. They use to play the Cork and Keg on Dewey Beach, right next door to the record store I use to get my bootleg shows from. Still never caught a show. I did however make the 1999 re-union tour back in August of 1999. Stayed in Hoboken, NJ at a Sheraton where you could see the Twin Towers still across the river. I can remember driving through the tunnel into New York City and thinking this is the tunnel that the Boss refers to in "Meeting Across The River" Well here is a shot a friend of mine took in Philly maybe only second to anywhere in New Jersey to be called scared ground for the E-Street Band. I think it displays the love that the entire band had for each other.

Last but not least Bruce Springsteen's Eulogy for the Big Man "C":

I’ve been sitting here listening to everyone talk about Clarence and staring at that photo of the two of us right there. It’s a picture of Scooter and The Big Man, people who we were sometimes. As you can see in this particular photo, Clarence is admiring his muscles and I’m pretending to be nonchalant while leaning upon him. I leaned on Clarence a lot; I made a career out of it in some ways.

Those of us who shared Clarence’s life, shared with him his love and his confusion. Though "C" mellowed with age, he was always a wild and unpredictable ride. Today I see his sons Nicky, Chuck, Christopher and Jarod sitting here and I see in them the reflection of a lot of C’s qualities. I see his light, his darkness, his sweetness, his roughness, his gentleness, his anger, his brilliance, his handsomeness, and his goodness. But, as you boys know your pop was a not a day at the beach. "C" lived a life where he did what he wanted to do and he let the chips, human and otherwise, fall where they may. Like a lot of us your pop was capable of great magic and also of making quite an amazing mess. This was just the nature of your daddy and my beautiful friend. Clarence’s unconditional love, which was very real, came with a lot of conditions. Your pop was a major project and always a work in progress. "C" never approached anything linearly, life never proceeded in a straight line. He never went A… B…. C…. D. It was always A… J…. C…. Z… Q… I….! That was the way Clarence lived and made his way through the world. I know that can lead to a lot of confusion and hurt, but your father also carried a lot of love with him, and I know he loved each of you very very dearly.

Remembering Clarence Clemons: His Life and Career in Photos

It took a village to take care of Clarence Clemons. Tina, I’m so glad you’re here. Thank you for taking care of my friend, for loving him. Victoria, you’ve been a loving, kind and caring wife to Clarence and you made a huge difference in his life at a time when the going was not always easy. To all of "C’s" vast support network, names too numerous to mention, you know who you are and we thank you. Your rewards await you at the pearly gates. My pal was a tough act but he brought things into your life that were unique and when he turned on that love light, it illuminated your world. I was lucky enough to stand in that light for almost 40 years, near Clarence’s heart, in the Temple of Soul.

So a little bit of history: from the early days when Clarence and I traveled together, we’d pull up to the evenings lodgings and within minutes "C" would transform his room into a world of his own. Out came the colored scarves to be draped over the lamps, the scented candles, the incense, the patchouli oil, the herbs, the music, the day would be banished, entertainment would come and go, and Clarence the Shaman would reign and work his magic night, after night. Clarence’s ability to enjoy Clarence was incredible. By 69, he’d had a good run, because he’d already lived about 10 lives, 690 years in the life of an average man. Every night, in every place, the magic came flying out of C’s suitcase. As soon as success allowed, his dressing room would take on the same trappings as his hotel room until a visit there was like a trip to a sovereign nation that had just struck huge oil reserves. "C" always knew how to live. Long before Prince was out of his diapers, an air of raunchy mysticism ruled in the Big Man’s world. I’d wander in from my dressing room, which contained several fine couches and some athletic lockers, and wonder what I was doing wrong! Somewhere along the way all of this was christened the Temple of Soul; and "C" presided smilingly over its secrets, and its pleasures. Being allowed admittance to the Temple’s wonders was a lovely thing.

As a young child my son Sam became enchanted with the Big Man… no surprise. To a child Clarence was a towering fairy tale figure, out of some very exotic storybook. He was a dreadlocked giant, with great hands and a deep mellifluous voice sugared with kindness and regard. And… to Sammy, who was just a little white boy, he was deeply and mysteriously black. In Sammy’s eyes, "C" must have appeared as all of the African continent, shot through with American cool, rolled into one welcoming and loving figure. So… Sammy decided to pass on my work shirts and became fascinated by Clarence’s suits and his royal robes. He declined a seat in dad’s van and opted for "C’s" stretch limousine, sitting by his side on the slow cruise to the show. He decided dinner in front of the hometown locker just wouldn’t do, and he’d saunter up the hall and disappear into the Temple of Soul.

Of course, also enchanted was Sam’s dad, from the first time I saw my pal striding out of the shadows of a half empty bar in Asbury Park, a path opening up before him; here comes my brother, here comes my sax man, my inspiration, my partner, my lifelong friend. Standing next to Clarence was like standing next to the baddest ass on the planet. You were proud, you were strong, you were excited and laughing with what might happen, with what together, you might be able to do. You felt like no matter what the day or the night brought, nothing was going to touch you. Clarence could be fragile but he also emanated power and safety, and in some funny way we became each other’s protectors; I think perhaps I protected "C" from a world where it still wasn’t so easy to be big and black. Racism was ever present and over the years together, we saw it. Clarence’s celebrity and size did not make him immune. I think perhaps "C" protected me from a world where it wasn’t always so easy to be an insecure, weird and skinny white boy either. But, standing together we were badass, on any given night, on our turf, some of the baddest asses on the planet. We were united, we were strong, we were righteous, we were unmovable, we were funny, we were corny as hell and as serious as death itself. And we were coming to your town to shake you and to wake you up. Together, we told an older, richer story about the possibilities of friendship that transcended those I’d written in my songs and in my music. Clarence carried it in his heart. It was a story where the Scooter and the Big Man not only busted the city in half, but we kicked ass and remade the city, shaping it into the kind of place where our friendship would not be such an anomaly. And that… that’s what I’m gonna miss. The chance to renew that vow and double down on that story on a nightly basis, because that is something, that is the thing that we did together… the two of us. Clarence was big, and he made me feel, and think, and love, and dream big. How big was the Big Man? Too fucking big to die. And that’s just the facts. You can put it on his grave stone, you can tattoo it over your heart. Accept it… it’s the New World.

Clarence doesn’t leave the E Street Band when he dies. He leaves when we die.

So, I’ll miss my friend, his sax, the force of nature his sound was, his glory, his foolishness, his accomplishments, his face, his hands, his humor, his skin, his noise, his confusion, his power, his peace. But his love and his story, the story that he gave me, that he whispered in my ear, that he allowed me to tell… and that he gave to you… is gonna carry on. I’m no mystic, but the undertow, the mystery and power of Clarence and my friendship leads me to believe we must have stood together in other, older times, along other rivers, in other cities, in other fields, doing our modest version of god’s work… work that’s still unfinished. So I won’t say goodbye to my brother, I’ll simply say, see you in the next life, further on up the road, where we will once again pick up that work, and get it done.

Big Man, thank you for your kindness, your strength, your dedication, your work, your story. Thanks for the miracle… and for letting a little white boy slip through the side door of the Temple of Soul.

SO LADIES AND GENTLEMAN… ALWAYS LAST, BUT NEVER LEAST. LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE MASTER OF DISASTER, the BIG KAHUNA, the MAN WITH A PHD IN SAXUAL HEALING, the DUKE OF PADUCAH, the KING OF THE WORLD, LOOK OUT OBAMA! THE NEXT BLACK PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES EVEN THOUGH HE’S DEAD… YOU WISH YOU COULD BE LIKE HIM BUT YOU CAN’T! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE BIGGEST MAN YOU’VE EVER SEEN!... GIVE ME A C-L-A-R-E-N-C-E. WHAT’S THAT SPELL? CLARENCE! WHAT’S THAT SPELL? CLARENCE! WHAT’S THAT SPELL? CLARENCE! … amen.

I’m gonna leave you today with a quote from the Big Man himself, which he shared on the plane ride home from Buffalo, the last show of the last tour. As we celebrated in the front cabin congratulating one another and telling tales of the many epic shows, rocking nights and good times we’d shared, "C" sat quietly, taking it all in, then he raised his glass, smiled and said to all gathered, "This could be the start of something big."

Love you, "C".

Motley Crue/Poison and New York Dolls

2011-07-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

Well last night at the St. Pete Forum was a blow out! Three of metal/glams hottest bands going way back to probably one of the first truly "glam bands" the New York Dolls. Since we all know the Motley Crue drill thought I post this really cool New York Doll cover of Janis Joplins's piece of my heart. Enjoy!

Throw Up a Couple of Videos for 4th of July!

2011-07-04T07:15:00.001-07:00

Well it's the 4th of July 2011. Yesterday it was hot and sunny all day. Hope today is too! This Grateful Dead video is a great July 4th tune so why not!

And what July 4th would be complete without the Jimi Hendrix version of the Star Spangled Banner

More U2 Fever!

2011-07-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

I felt the presence of Bono like only 5 hours away yesterday. Bummed we could not make the show. A huge let down but nevertheless I did catch the Tampa show last year. Would love to fly to Jersey to catch the Meadowland show (they do call it that still don't they?)Anyway if I can't make it up North we can enjoy this one. Found it on YouTube but it actually comes from the incredible Deluxe Box of the Joshua Tree, a pro-shot of Paris 1987. Needless to say not having it amongst the 10,000 or so shows here burned me alive so I broke down and ordered it. Enjoy!

U2 Miami! 6/29/11 Just Like That!

2011-06-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

Wow! With the power of technology we can actually view U2 in Miami last night very cool!

Never Want to Forget How Incredible Eddie Van Halen Is!

2011-06-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Eddie Van Halen up close and real. Eddie talks about how he built his own guitar and how much he loves to "chase tone". Great stuff! Enjoy this insight into one of the most influential guitarist ever!

Please Allow Me to Introduce Blue Lena

2011-06-27T15:12:00.001-07:00

Blue Lena's Keith Shrine!

Well back in those pre-historic days ole DPR sent a photo of Keith in a Blue Scarf at Philly from the 1997 show. Being a fanatic I followed the 1994, 1997 and 2002 and 2005 tours to as many shows as I could attend. I even flew to the Dallas Speedway show for the Bridges to Babylon tour and ended up in Orlando in my own back yard at the time. I was new to Florida and new to the Web when I sent the Keith Scarf photo to Blue. She's been at it since 1996 and I would say is a historical figure herself. Check out the Keith Shrine!

Where It All Began!

2011-06-27T14:47:00.000-07:00

Shoot since I'm starting this here blog about Rock and Roll I guess I should start with the following story. In 1994 when the WWW was new to the public Mick Jagger and friends had the vision to create the VooDoo Lounge website that followed the VooDoo Lounge Tour with audio, video, graphics, tour schedules, info on tickets and so on. News daily almost on the tour. The Stones were probably the first rock band to leverage the new World Wide Web and even attempted a live Webcast from Dallas which broke the backbone of the Net as just too many people tried to access it. They actually clipped it to MP2s and you could hit an icon and one of the tunes would blast off. I was actually searching for Tumbling Dice from the 1994 Dallas show which was the show they attempted to stream live! YES! The Stones attempted to actually do the first live concert web stream in history. I have to hand to Ole Bums Jagger he's a brilliant businessman as well as performer. Since I can't find a clip of the Dallas 1994 show or even one of Aug 1st, 1994 (August 3rd the second night in DC exist as an audience shot. I know I own it.) Feast on this. Probably my favorite pro-shot that came out of the VooDoo Lounge Tour was Miami. They opened with Not Fade Away every night. Check this out!

Great Weekend for the Blues

2011-06-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

My friends up in Maryland were throwing the Cheasapeake Blues Fest in Sandy Point State Park and well I had to decide between Buddy and Bonnie or Feat and Marker Wenner of my favorite blues band the Nighthawks. Well you be the judge. Great show and I had to miss but through the magic of the Web here it is! Apolitical Blues w/ Mark on Harmonica:

Buddy Guy Wows Them at Taste of Pinellas

2011-06-21T12:06:00.001-07:00

What can you sat about Buddy he's 74 Years Young and still jamming probably better than most half his age!

Bonnie Raitt and Taste of Pinellas

2011-06-21T09:55:00.001-07:00

Bonnie Raitt was so Sweet! What a wonderful song! Sue me if the video quality isn't perfect but it was just like that night just perfect! Why I'm so in love with the show I do believe I will post some more Bonnie and Buddy Guy from St. Petersburg College Taste of Pinellas! 5/20/11. The more shows come up the more vids I will be posting with reviews and of course Bikes and Chick photos as fast as I can make them!

Taste of Pinellas

2011-06-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

Bonnie Raitt Was Sweet! Another Bonnie and then a Buddy Guy! What a day and what a night!

The James Taylor Classic done with a Bonnie Raitt heart!

Stevie Nicks Rocks St. Pete Forum

2011-05-11T12:32:00.000-07:00

Since I started this blog on the current state of affairs in the concert scene in the greater Tampa Bay area I will continue with a short post on the recent Stevie Nicks/Rod Stewart show at the St. Pete Times Forum. The Heart and Soul Tour as it was called kicked off in Tampa, luck us! Stevie opened for Rod with a very strong 90 minute set. She started with Fall From Grace and Encored twice with Led Zeppelin's "Been a Long Time" and the song "Love Is". Stevie is using full blown Social Multimedia to promote her new CD "In Your Dreams" the CD is great but the thrill of seeing Stevie live again was incredible. A quick poll at everyone around me and almost everyone was there to see Stevie. She really rocked out the Forum and the tour is still going on. I will provide some links to her own personal blog and another very cool blog that features the setlist and a video of each song to it. All very incredible.
Check out Setlist.fm a fan blog and Stevie's Own Blog NicksLive I loved the Led Zep cover of Been a Long Time certainly a tip of the hat to Ann and Nancy Wilson. View it here: Nicks_Live

I'm Back!

2010-09-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

Been a long time since I rock and rolled! Hey not really but the recession has really burned the concert scene down hard. Cancellations, Bono going down with age. Well I will comment on the two best shows of summer, no. 1 has to go to the Sting. Seems like no matter what he does he does it at the highest levels. This tour was no different. Really fantastic! Great stuff, can't say enough! Back soon!

Eddie Van Halen

2008-03-28T06:40:00.001-07:00

Man who knows what happened to Eddie? I saw the second to last show prior to a whole slew of re-scheduled shows for a "medical condition". What is it? No one will say. I will tell you he wailed away like no ones business that night in Tampa. What a great time. I may be able to see another show this year cause of work and gas prices. It ain't like the old days down here in Florida where you had very big bands play as many as 3 or 4 venues, all in driving distance. I believe VH played almost 8 shows in 10 days down here. It is funny as classic rock does not sell like it does up North. I mean no pushing or shoving for tickets. Scalpers are guys that were dumb enough to think that the box office would not have enough tickets and it never happens. I got floor seats 30 minutes prior to show time. Ed was thin and gaunt. I mean he looked like an older guy who had done the road for 30 years that's for sure. David Lee Roth on the other hand looked great. No hard wear and tear on him. Eddie has been on the BIG ROAD longer than Roth who had been reduced to playing gawd forbid Ribfest and outdoor, multi-act cookouts of various sorts. Eddie tore it up. To see this man play solo and the licks he has. Well you ain't seen nothing like it. He really is something else. Like catching Hendrix. I mean there will be plenty of people who disagree with that one but for his time Ed was innovative and still is. We wish him a speedy recovery. By the way I am new here so I hope I do not offend anyone etc. Until next
Check out the reunion tour clip!!

- Nuff Said DPR

Daytona Bike Week 2008 Cold & Deadly

2008-03-27T09:12:00.000-07:00

Well I just got back from my 11th year at the Daytona Bike Week 2008. Like always it's impossible to have a bad time but this year was the coldest I can remember ever. I mean I have survived 8 rainy days out of 10 one year. A tornado my first time in 1997 but the wind whipping off the Atlantic Ocean was cold. Oh, to you Yankees to have a sunny 52 degree day in late Febuary may seem like a peice of Heaven but to us natives it's miserable. Hey, I did say that it is impossible to have a bad time and this year was no different. The Rat's Hole show gets better every year and of course certain, uh, landmarks like Lollipops are always fun. I got a web site
that is nothing but bikes, bike week, girls, rock and roll, all the things we all love. . To all you guys and gals who rode this year God Bless I know it was cold on the back of that motorcycle. Until next time - Nuff Said DPR