Eaglebank Arena located on the campus of George Mason University had the pleasure of hosting the opening night of the 2017 Tour by the modern progressive metal band, Tool. Now, late May is really considered the beginning of the concert season but for the sold out crowd in the arena, it’s safe to say that they’ve already seen the concert of the year.
Prophets Of Rage (POR) started their long awaited tour to Make America Rage Again minutes outside Washington D.C., at EagleBank Arena on the campus of George Mason University, Fairfax Virginia.
The line-up of Prophets of Rage consisted of the sound and energy of the band Rage Against The Machine..the solid drum and bass rhythm team of Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford, and the most innovative and creative guitarist since Jeff Beck, Tom Morello. Thats 3/4 of one of the most notorious bands to come out of the 90’s. Missing was frontman, lead vocalist Zach de la Rocha.
The world famous 9:30 Club in Washington D.C. played host to one of THE hottest bands on tour in this early part of the summer concert season, yet a majority of the 1200 patrons at the sold out venue didn’t quite grasp what was going on onstage.
Rock guitar legend Ace Frehley made his first appearance on a DC stage in 15 years at the 9:30 Club, April 8th. It also marked his first EVER DC performance as a solo artist. And he did not disappoint his legion of followers so desperate for an all out rock and roll show in a city that is surely lacking them as of late.
It can be argued that the first guitar icon introduced to us was Jimi Hendrix in 1967 with the release of “Are You Experienced”. A decade later, the debut of Van Halen introduced to the next reigning champ of guitar wizardry, Eddie Van Halen. During the next decade, dozens of major g guitarist emerged with the birth of hair metal, all making the claim to be “the next big thing”.
Hi. My name is Sean and I’m a Rush-a-holic. It’s been ten months since my last fix when I wandered the streets on New York City for hours until Madison Square Garden finally let me, and the other 18,000 addicts, thru their doors. Ten months since I’ve waived my arms to show my air-drumming prowess. After what was my 49th RUSH show in June of 2015, I was prepared to give it up, say goodbye to the band that had given me decades of live music bliss. Even though they had never said it officially, they knew it… I knew it…we all knew it. After years of wondering with each new record release and tour, would this be the last tour… we now know it was.
Clutch is the hardest working band in rock today. They are the monsters of rock, and they have a legion of followers almost as big as their sound. They are not your corporate rock band from Washington D.C. They are a true, axle grease-covered, blue collar rock band out of Maryland, but they LOVE playing in Washington D.C. They come dominate the stage in a city lacking a true hard rock scene.
When you think of guitar heroes of the hard rock / heavy metal era, you think of shredders such as Satriani, Vai, Gilbert and Pettrucci. These are just a few of the axe wielders that showed a new generation of rockers that its OK to have a band where glam make-up and lyrical content about sex, drugs, and a misspent youth can take a back seat to top notch musicianship. That it is possible to surround you with a band of musicians with equal talent and write and perform beautiful, but complex compositions complete with blistering, melodic guitar and bass solos and thunderous drum solos that make you believe the drummer grew a few extra limbs.
A name that hardly ever shows up on that list but should be smack dab in the middle of the pit is Marty Friedman. And on September 9th, The Baltimore Soundstage played host to a sort of homecoming, as the Maryland native began his first North American tour in over a decade in front of hundreds of dedicated Friedman fans in support of the 2014 Prosthetic Records release, INFERNO.
On May 31st, Baltimore’s Pier 6 Pavilion hosted a six-string shootout with two of the best axe slingers to come out of the east coast. In one corner is a man is known for bringing the 50’s rockabilly look and sound to the 80’s and sparking a revival that will never end. And in the other corner was a man who made having the blues so much fun.
