NYC Show Obsessive

  Bill: Rush Venue: Madison Square Garden , 4 Pennsylvania Plaza , New York, NY Date: Saturday 8/1/26 Ticket: $218.75 via Stubhub (Sec 203, Row 1, Seat 5) 7:30pm Rush Active: 1968 (Toronto, ON, Canada) Latest Release: Rush 50 (Anthem, 2025), Clockwork Angels (Anthem, 2012) Facebook Instagram Discogs Setlist AllMusic Wiki YouTube Spotify It's been a while since I've last seen Rush. 22 years to be exact on the Snakes and Latters cover album tour at Radio City Music Hall .  Before that, I hadn't seen them since back to back '84 ( Grace Under Pressure ) and '85 (P ower Windows ) tours in Worcester.  This tour is the debut of 43 year old German fusion drummer Anika NiIles. It was a fine tribute to Neil Peart, two sets and encore lasting about three hours.  I got the song that never seemed to get played when I truly cared back in the 80's: "Working Man."  They have been alternating feature albums, so this time we got Moving Pictures start to finish at the...

  Bill: Sugar Venue: Webster Hall , 125 E. 11 St. , New York, NY Date: Sunday 5/3/26 Ticket: $59 50 Face plus fees (got a friends ticket for $40) 8:30pm Sugar Active: 1992 (Brooklyn, NY via Minneapolis, MN/Boston, MA/Athens, GA) Affiliated: Bob Mould ( Hüsker Dü ), David Barbe ( Mercyland ), Malcolm Travis ( Human Sexual Response ) Latest Release: " Long Live Love " (BMG Rights Management, 2026), ' House of Dead Memories " (BMG Rights Management, 2025) Bandcamp Facebook Instagram Discogs Setlist AllMusic Wiki YouTube Spotify While Sugar didn't carry the deep nostalgic impact that  Hüsker Dü  or even Human Sexual Response has for me, I did have a residual desire to check in on their reformation on a slightl y greater urge in comparison to seeing Bob solo.  I guess that is because it guaranteed I was going to see a full band vs Bob alone with guitar, which I last went to at Iridium .  No dig on that, I enjoy Bob Mould in any format, but I prefer him with a...

  Bill: Drop Nineteens/Lowertown/Birthday Girl/Colle/Me At Night Venue: Elsewhere , 599 Johnson Ave ., Brooklyn, NY Date: 11/21/25 Door: $40 9:30pm Drop Nineteens   Active: 1990 (Boston, MA) Latest Release: " White Dress " (Wharf Rat, 2025)  1991 (Drop Nineteens, 2024) Biggest Release: Delaware (Caroline, 1992) Bandcamp Facebook Instagram Discogs Setlist AllMusic Wiki YouTube Spotify Missed: everyone else Had an unexpected trip to see "shoegaze pioneers" Drop Nineteens who I ignored completely in Boston during their 1990-1995 initial run.  My Land-Line cohort got on the list so we met up for a few rounds at Cobra Club and walked over to Elsewhere to catch their 9:30 headlining set.   Nowadays these third-tier Amerindie bands of the 90's have a bit of rejuvenation, especially the American bands that were heavily influenced by the earlier British 80's Creation Records bands.  Now they are considered influential to the "Shoegaze" genre, which...

  Bill: Kula Shaker/The Mystery Lights/Dinowalrus Venue: Irving Plaza , 17 Irving Pl ., New York, NY Date: 9/22/25 Tickets: $47.50 (got free from DoNYC) 9:50pm Kula Shaker Active: 1993 (London, UK) Latest Release:   Natural Magick (Strange F.O.L.K., 2024) Bandcamp Facebook Instagram Discogs Setlist AllMusic Wiki YouTube 8:40pm The Mystery Lights Active: 2008 (Brooklyn, NY via Salinas, CA) Latest Release: Before You Realize It b/w Cerebral Crack (Wick, 2025)  Purgatory (Wick, 2024) Bandcamp Facebook Instagram Discogs Setlist AllMusic   7:50pm Dinowalrus Active: 2007 (Brooklyn, NY) Affiliated: Titus Andronicus Latest Release: " A Day Of Doing Nothing " (Dinowalrus, 2025), Complexion (Personal, 2014) Bandcamp Facebook Instgram Discogs Setlist Wiki YouTube Kula Shaker has been a bucket list band to see since I got their first CD on my old friends' recommendation.  I probably haven't heard it since 1996 but songs like "Hey Dude" and "...