A: We are DEVO.

McDonald's had made an enemy of D-E-V-O and their L-A-W-Y-E-R-S.
The Akron born band is suing the Burger Behemoth over a happy meal toy given away last spring as part of an American Idol related promotion. The toys were little plastic figures with outfits that correlated to various musical genres including Disco Dave, Rockin’ Riley, Soulful Selma and this little slice of copyright infringement dubbed New Wave Nigel.

Gee, that little guy's hat sure looks like one of DEVO's patented (and copyrighted and trademarked) Energy Domes, doesn't it?
The band sure thinks so and are turning loose their legal team on Mickey D's

Gerald Casale, Devo bassist and energy dome creator had this to say about the suit:

“This New Wave Nigel doll that they've created is just a complete Devo rip-off and the red hat is exactly the red hat that I designed, and it's copyrighted and trademarked," Casale told the Australian Associated Press.

"They didn’t ask us anything. Plus, we don’t like McDonald’s, and we don’t like American Idol, so we’re doubly offended,” he said.

The doll also sports an orange jumpsuit and plays a song that Club Devo.com says sounds like a mutated version of Doctor Detroit
( which is a crappy song)

I have to appreciate the love Alicia Keys showed a few of the R&B girls groups the early 90s at the '08 B.E.T. Awards held Tuesday night.
After performing her current hits Superwoman and Teenage Love Affair (with a band!) Keys brought out SWV. to perform their hit ballad Weak followed by a fully reunited Envogue who performed Hold On and then the surviving members of TLC (Chili & T-Boz) came to give us a little bit of Waterfalls out and get a little love from an artist and from the crowd, most of whom actually seem to remember the groups.

I'd embed the Youtube video here but Viacom doesn't play when it comes to copyright infringement, so instead you'll have to go to B.E.T.'s web site and search around a bit. Conversely, you could just wait a couple of days because I'm sure there will be several "encore" presentations of the show.

They all looked and sounded pretty good (though T-Boz who suffers from Sickle Cell Anemia seemed less energetic than usual) and it was a nice flashback and show of respect, especially for us Gen X-ers who used to dance to their music in the clubs back in the day.

Ahh, memories…

In a recent Saturday Night Live skit, resident goofball Andy Samberg plays singer/songwriter Jack Johnson as host of a talk show called “The Mellow Show” where he talks about being mellow to fellow mellow artists Dave Matthews and John Mayer and laments the passing of his many pets including a mini-gortex wearing iguana who died of neglect and “extreme mellowness.”

It’s the kind of silly/funny parody of the Hawaiian-born, ex pro-surfer’s image and music that should make both his detractors and fans chuckle and obviously Johnson has a sense of humor, as the skit is the featured video on his web site.

Tuesday night at Blossom, though his two hour set of tunes drawing from his five full length albums was very, very mellow, the near capacity crowd was in no danger from the (surely mellow) Grim Reaper. The mostly 18-30 crowd with a healthy heaping of older yuppies danced, sang a long and generally worked harder on having a good time under the pavilion and on the overstuffed briefly rain soaked lawn, than the object of their musical affection.

Johnson's triple platinum and counting Curious George soundtrack is officially named Sing-a-longs and Lullabies For the Film Curious George, but the first three words could be the title and description of just about all of Johnson's albums and concerts. His music is fairly narrow in range with unhurried tempos, gently rhythmic guitar strumming, gentle melodies that never reach for highs or lows but simply float around in a comfortable midrange so anyone can sing. Johnson seldom raises his voice above a friendly speaking level and his occasional guitar solos are like his singing, smooth, melodic and unfussy.

Johnson’s four piece band took the stage casually, looking like they had just stepped out of the audience (dude, it’s part of the appeal, he’s a regular cat just like you and me!) opening with the lightly funky groove of Hope from his 2008 album Sleep Through The Static, arguably his most musically mellow and lyrically serious collection to date. Switching between acoustic and electric guitar Johnson’s setlist bounced back and forth between two basic song formats. There is the midtempo, gently funky and/or reggae flavored groove found in songs such as Good People, Sitting, Waiting, Wishing and the crowd favorites Bubble Toes, Banana Pancakes and Staple It Together which featured a fun melodica duel between keyboardist Zak Gill and opener Money Mark. On the other end of Johnson’s (mellow) musical spectrum are the (more) soothing slower songs such as Losing Keys, Go On and Breakdown.

Through it all Johnson swayed (gently) back and forth keeping the banter to a minimum. Easily the hardest working man onstage was Gill whose grandmother drove up from Columbus to see him. Gill danced, frequently stood and body jammed, provided vocal harmony, animated accordion and added some swing to Johnson’s reserved grooves with his comping on the keys.

On the Blossom grounds fans could register to vote and volunteer and environmental organizations such as Surfrider Foundation and Climatecounts.org where fans could learn about the three “R's” (reduce, reuse, recycle) and other environmental concerns.

On and offstage Johnson comes across as a truly groovy, caring and yes, very mellow dude. The kind of guy who, if you walked up to him on the street, called him an expletive and kicked him in the nethers, he’d probably ask if you felt better and offer to talk about your anger issues and ways to channel your negative energy over a cup of chai tea at the nearest coffee house.

And, even if one finds Johnson’s music boring-as many folks do- it’s difficult to actively dislike the guy. His music is so inoffensive, safe and polite that a nonfan is more likely to forget their actually listening to it than be upset by his soothing sounds.

American Idol's biggest winner to date and budding country music superstar Carrie Underwood is bringing her slick country sounds to CSU's Wolstein Center on Tuesday, September 23 with opening act Little Big Town.

Tickets for the really big show go on sale Saturday, June 21st and will cost you $55, $45, $35.

P.S.
So Carrie Underwood, one of the hottest country/pop stars in the country is headlining the 10-15,000-ish seating Wolstein Center, but New Kids On The Block who haven't been the hottest anything in 20 years are banking on filling the 20,000 seat Quicken Loans Arena?

I'm not hatin' on the NKOTB reunion, I'm just saying….20,000?

Bad news for lovers of 80/90's hair rock,

The concert by Cinderella (whose look was more hair metal than their straight-forward rock sound), Warrant and Lynch Mob at the Time Warner Cable Amphitheater in Cleveland on July 19 has been canceled.

Aparently Tom Keifer, Cinderella's gravelly voiced lead singer (finally) had a hemorrage in his left vocal chord that has made it impossible for him to sing anytime soon.

‘‘Consequently, and most regretfully, the upcoming Cinderella tour has been cancelled.’’ quoth the presss release.

Yikes! Get better Tom.

Refunds are available at point of purchase.

Goodness how times have changed.

A quarter century ago British metal pioneers Iron Maiden’s American tour drew picketers across the country and piles of the band’s albums were burned by Christian activist groups offended (and perhaps a bit frightened) by the band’s macabre image and subject matter.

But in 2008, an Iron Maiden concert has become a family outing evidenced by the generations of metal heads that gathered at Blossom Thursday night to bang their heads to the band’s string of classic and hit metal tunes.

A impressive array of familial configurations could be seen rocking to the Maiden. There were toddlers likely attending their first concert (and likely getting their first whiff of marijuana smoke) with their dads; fathers and tween-aged daughters discussing the bands guitars; large families exiting their SUV’s all decked out in Maiden gear and even a women stretching her authentic 1983 tour shirt’s stitches to the breaking point as it tried to cover her very pregnant belly.

The sextet’s latest tour, dubbed Somewhere Back In Time, coincides with the release of yet another DVD and CD compilation and is visually based on the bands’ 1985 Powerslave tour and features music from their 1980 debut through 1992’s concept album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.

The band of mostly pentagenarians (save singer Bruce Dickenson who turns 50 in August) still performed with the energy they did back when protesters were declaring Number of the Beast a danger to the spiritual welfare of our nation’s children. The band is also still having fun onstage, constantly smiling at each other while working through their rock poses ripping through hot versions of classic Maiden tunes including the set opening twofer of Aces High and 2 Minutes to Midnight both from Powerslave.

Dickenson wearing awful “ripped” leather pants, a camouflaged shirt and a wool cap was the talkative host, shouting his standard audience request to "scream for me O-Hi-O!,” riffing on the amount of cows in the state, and praising the audience for giving the band its most enthusiastic response in the states in years.
"Many of you were not even born when many these songs were written, which is excellent.’ Dickenson said before a double shot of Revelations and a shout-a-long The Trooper from 1983’s Piece of Mind.

Naturally, their early MTV/radio hits, Run To The Hills and Number of the Beast received huge ovations and inspired much air guitar/bass/drums from the crowd, but the band also played their magnum opus and fan favorite, the 13 minute Samuel Taylor-Coleridge inspired Rime of the Ancient Mariner complete with expertly timed pyro and colorful explosions.

While hardcore fans may quibble with the setlist (three songs Seventh Son of a Seventh Son?), many of the songs such as 1992’s Fear of the Dark seem to be chosen in part because they are packed with sing-a-long moments and Dickenson constantly encouraged the crowd to participate and they happily obliged.

By the time Eddie, the band’s sinister zombie-like mascot and accidentally brilliant marketing tool made his obligatory appearance during the set ending Iron Maiden both the band and fans had worked themselves into a sweaty, fist-pumping metal fervor.

Yes, times sure have changed. Iron Maiden's strong, energetic performance before an equally energetic and appreciative crowd proved that the old 20th century bon mot about families that pray together could easily be modified for the 21st century to “the family that headbangs together stays together.”

Iron Maiden Setlist - Blossom Music Center 7/12/08

Intro. Churchill's Speech
1. Aces High - From Powerslave (1984).
2. 2 Minutes to Midnight - From Powerslave (1984).
3. Revelations - From Piece of Mind (1983).
4. The Trooper - From Piece of Mind (1983)
5. Wasted Years - From Somewhere in Time (1986).
6. The Number of the Beast - From The Number of the Beast (1982).
7. Can I Play With Madness - From Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988).
8. Rime of the Ancient Mariner - From Powerslave (1984).
9. Powerslave - From Powerslave (1984).
10. Heaven Can Wait - From Somewhere in Time (1986).
11. Run to the Hills - From The Number of the Beast (1982).
12. Fear of the Dark - From Fear of the Dark (1992).
13. Iron Maiden - From Iron Maiden (1980).
Encore
14. Moonchild - From Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988).
15. The Clairvoyant - From Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988).
16. Hallowed Be Thy Name - From The Number of the Beast (1982).

Personnel
Bruce Dickinson - Lead vocals
Dave Murray – Guitar
Adrian Smith – Guitar, backing vocals
Janick Gers – Guitar, backing vocals
Steve Harris – Bass, keyboards, backing vocals
Nicko McBrain – Drums, percussion
Michael Kenney – Keyboards

Due to production delays the first two weeks of british rock band Coldplays North American tour have been changed.

For North East Ohioans that means that instead rocking with the band on July 6
they will have to wait to Viva La Vida with Chris Martin and the gang until Tuesday, October 21.

Tickets will be honored on the new date

Rather than wax philosophic, I'll just let the man and his awesome conk/pompadour hairdo speak/sing/play for himself.

Hey, Bo Diddley and Bo Diddley

You Can't Judge A Book

Road Runner

Eric Clapton is a living rock legend.
He's the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's only triple inductee and a guitarist who used to be called God and influenced a few generations of guitarists and has a 40 year catalog of hits and classic rock radio staples.
But the 63 year old rock God and part time Ohioan has no new material to push (beyond yet another compilation) and brings with it the freedom to play what you want when you want, and Saturday night at Blossom Clapton wanted to play the blues and play them he did.

With a near sellout crowd ensuring that concert promoter LiveNation could crow about the venue's season opening numbers, Eric Clapton & His Band, a sextet, casually took the stage and and got the crowd on its feet with the funky blues shuffle of Motherless Children the opening track from Clapton's 461 Ocean Blvd.

It was a great, familiar and upbeat way to start the evening but it was the next two songs , Freddie King's funky arrangement of Key To The Highway and Muddy Waters Hootchie Cootchie Man that set the tone for rest of the evening. Clapton longtime guitar foil Doyle Bramhall II traded vocals and guitar solos on the former tune and Clapton let his Stratocaster do much of the talking on the on latter.

In fact Clapton didn't do much talking at all beyond the occasional declarative "Thank You!"
Casual Clapton fans hoping for a live "greatest hits" were likely disappointed in the 18 song cover filled set as he didn't play any hits from Cream, Blind Faith, his subpar overproduced 80's albums and only one song from the Unplugged associated tunes.

Clapton diehards content to hear Ol' Slowhand stretch out on guitar and play with passion however got an earful as both he and Bramhall (a lefty whose guitar is strung upside down) were in fine form. Bramhall played a lovely melodic solo for Little Wing and Clapton dug deep on the basic 12 bar blues of Otis Rush's Double Trouble, and showed his funky, rhythmic side on the near disco groove of Wilson Pickett's not well known Don't Knock My Love.

There was, of course, a semi-acoustic portion with Clapton playing Drifting solo before being joined by the band on Motherless Child, and Robert Johnson's Travelin' Riverside Blues featuring another tasteful slide solo from Clapton.

Aside from Clapton and Bramhall, keyboardist Chris Stainton also impressed with a fine imitation of Chuck Berry sideman Johnnie Johnson's machine gun piano style on Hootchie Cootchie Man and earned an ovation from the crowd for his rolling, saloon style solo on another Johnson tune Little Queen of Spades which Clapton answered with his own fiery above-the-octave solo that earned a standing ovation from the crowd.

Clapton may be in a place where pleasing himself onstage is more important than running through the hits, but he apparently didn't want to send the casual fans home with nothing to talk about beyond the number of songs they had never heard. Thus, the set closed with a string of hits. Wonderful Tonight, had couples canoodling in their seats followed by a suitably rousing Layla which brought everyone to their feet, and Cocaine gave Stainton one more chance to shine on the keyboard.

Opener Robert Randolph, the pedal steel phenom whose joyful, upbeat 40 minute set music got the the crowd's toes tapping and heads nodding, returned for the encore jam on Muddy Waters Got My Mojo Workin'.

Back in 2001 Clapton declared he was retiring from touring, but it was his love of the blues that brought him back to the road. Whether Clapton will ever feel like playing the "hits´´ in concert again remains to be seen. But blues fans and any fans who still might think Clapton is "God´´ should be giddy that he's playing the music he loves with fire rather than sleepwalking through Forever Man for the umpteenth time.

Eric Clapton & His Band Setlist

01. Motherless Children
02. Key To The Highway
03. Hoochie Coochie Man
04. Little Wing
05. Outside Woman Blues
06. Double Trouble
07. Don't Knock My Love

08. Drifting (acoustic)
09. Rockin' Chair (acoustic)
10. Motherless Child (acoustic)
11. Travelling Riverside Blues
12. Running On Faith (acoustic)

13. Tell The Truth
14. Little Queen of Spades
15. Before You Accuse Me
16. Wonderful Tonight
17. Layla
18. Cocaine

Encore:
19. I've Got My Mojo Working (with Robert Randolph)

Doyle Bramhall II - guitar, backing vocals
Chris Stainton - keyboards
Pino Palladino - bass
Ian Thomas - drums
Michelle John - backing vocals
Sharon White - backing vocals