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: Uli Jon Roth Venue: Iridium , 1650 Broadway, New York, NY Date: Sunday 4/26/26 Door: $75 preferred seating  8:15pm Uli Jon Roth Active: 1968 (Duseldorf, Germany) Latest Release: Tokyo Tapes Revisited Live In Japan (UDO, 2016) Affiliated: Scorpions, Electric Sun Featured: Scorpions Virgin Killer (RCA, 1976) Facebook Instagram Discog s Setlist Wiki AllMusic YouTube Spotify NYC has a double dose of Uli Jon Roth last night and tonight.  Originally I won tickets at Sony Hall but that got canceled and replaced at Les Paul's retirement club.  Uli gets a Monday night just like Les did, although I doubt Paul's backup band with make a cameo for Uli.  Not a joke--they used to! Uli is touring on a book, In Search of the Alpha Law , which is a heavy tomb.  The screen backdrop at Iridium wasn't as sharp as venues Uli was used to so he couldn't read an example.  The other big event was the 50th anniversary of the Scorpions Virgin Killer.  The se...

  Bill: Blues For Greeny Venue: The Cutting Room , 44 E 32 St. , New York, NY Date: Saturday 2/28/26 Door: $25 (had a +1) 9pm Blues For Greeny Affilliated: Peter Green/Fleetwood Mac cover band, Daniel Cervantes (Howlin' Rain, Chest Fever), Dylan Donovan (Sacri Monti), Ryan Grenda, Justin de la Vega (Warish)   Facebook Instagram   Setlist   YouTube   Dylan from Tee Pee band Sacri Monti was in town from San Diego with his Peter Green cover band Blues For Greeny, so I met up with Kenny at his local Tradesman and when subwayed it L to the 6 to 33rd St. to go to the "new" Cutting Room which opened in 2013 after the previous room went down in 2009.  Cutting Room always had low key industry showcase band and revival tours.  This particular Saturday night was dedicated to cover bands.  We got there when Fleetwood Macked were doing their final run of hits to a packed room. Bands like Howlin' Rain and Sacri Monti don't usually play the Cutting Room and thi...

  Bill: Acid Bath/Pentagram/King Parrot Venue: Brooklyn Paramount , Brooklyn, NY Date: 7/25/25 Ticket: $77  10:15 Acid Bath Active: 1991 (Hourna, LA) Latest Release:  Paegan Terrorism Tactics  (Rotten Records, 1996) Facebook   Instagram   Discogs   Setlist     AllMusic   Wiki   YouTube 9pm Pentagram Active: 1971 (Alexandria, VA) Latest Release: I'll Certainly See You In Hell: Rehearsal Sessions 1972-1975 (Pentagram, 2025), Lightening In A Bottle (Heavy Psych Records, 2024) Bandcamp Facebook Instagram Discogs Setlist AllMusic Wiki YouTube   Encyclopaedia Metallum Missed: King Parrot The 2nd Acid Bath reunion show in Brooklyn came 2 weeks after the first, hastily added when the first one sold out in advance.  This time the opener was Pentagram, Bobby Liebling's long running heavy hard rock band.  This current lineup joined Bobby just last year.  Henry Vasquez has been touring drummer for Saint Vitus, Sp...

  Bill: Ghost Venue: Madison Square Garden , New York, NY Date: 7/22/25 Tickets $102.50 + 28.45 fee bought resale gifted 8:15 pm Ghost Active: 2006 ( Linköping ,   Östergötland , Sweden) Latest Release:  Skeletá (Loma Vista, 2025) Bandcamp Facebook Instagram Discogs Setlist AllMusic Wiki YouTube The last time I saw Ghost they were opening for Iron Maiden in 2016.  Singer Tobias Forge noted the bands' NYC debut was 2011 in the short lived (at least for Rock bands) Basement at Webster Hall (actually The Studio).  They've come a long way to headlining.  I had a friend in town and picked this show to see and got some good seats in section 108.  Unfortunately, there are no photos or clips from this vantage point because they band was doing the sporadic Yondr bags.  In the past decade I've only had the Yondr experience twice for the Misfits in Jersey and Bob Dylan at the Beacon. As for the show, there was no opener, so Ghost went on pretty fast ...

  Bill:  Annihilation Time ,  Crux ,  Claimed Choice ,  Bog People ,  No Time ,  Fuerza Bruta ,  Concrete Elite , No Guard ,  XL Bully (On The Streets Again 3, Day 2) Venue:  Brooklyn Monarch , Brooklyn, NY Date: 7/19/25 Door: $90 (was on Tee Pee's +1) 9pm Annihilation Time Active: 2001 (Oxnard, CA) Latest Release: Down In The Street 7" (It's Alive, 2021), III-Tales of the Ancient Age (Tee Pee, 2008) Bandcamp    Instagram Discogs Setlist AllMusic Wiki YouTube Missed: everybody else Guitarist Graham Clise's long running band Annihilation Time came to town for the first time in God knows how long.  Last time was rumored to be the Charleston on Bedford when they were having shows in the basement.  Graham was in town recently for Stepmother so it seems like he was just around town.  That's the way it goes! I had a late meetup and got there standing outside waiting for Kenny coming from the other direction while...

  Bill: Acid Bath/Eyehategod/Wailin Storms Venue: Brooklyn Paramount , Brooklyn, NY Date: 7/11/25 Door: Sold Out (Kenny had an extra ticket he got for around $75 with fees a few months ago, they had dropped to $17 on tickpick night of show) 10pm Acid Bath Active: 1991 (Hourna, LA) Latest Release: Paegan Terrorism Tactics (Rotten Records, 1996) Facebook Instagram   Discogs Setlist   AllMusic Wiki YouTube 9pm Eyehategod Active: 1988 (New Orleans, LA) Latest Release: A History of Nomadic Behavior (Century Media, 2021), Four Strikes...From The Elementary To The Penitentiary (TPOS/Take As Needed, 2024)  Bandcamp Facebook Instagram Discogs Setlist A llMusic Wiki YouTube Missed: Wailin Storms Acid Bath are one of those band my friend Kenny has loved since I've know him. Their 1994 album When The Kite String Pops was always laying around various offices we were at. He last saw them in a small bar outside Chicago.  I never did although they did play Coney Is...