Ed & Julie’s Blog!

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Posts Tagged music

Iron Maiden 6-20-10

Jun 21

Posted by Ed Nelson in Misc stuff | No Comments

A couple of months ago, I won tickets to see Iron Maiden (with opening act Dream Theater) in Concord, Ca. Iron Maiden was the 1st real heavy metal concert I saw back in 1986 with my friend Dean. Back then, we drove to Oakland and was blown away…it spoiled me to all other concerts. No concert had lived up to that Maiden show (and i have seen a lot of concerts).

Needless to say, I was excited to see them. A few days ago, I found the set list and found out that they were playing 95% new stuff and almost no classics. That out a damper on my excitement, since musically, I am stuck between 1982 and 1994 and am a giant fan of there older stuff.

The morning of the concert, Julie and I drove the 2 hours to the Bay Area and got a room in Fairfield (my Mom was house/pet sitting for us). We stopped in Vacaville at the Outlet stores and Julie picked up a Coach wallet (Happy Father’s Day to her).  We hung out and got dinner, when drove the 45 minutes to the outdoor amphitheater. One thing that hasn’t changed at Iron Maiden concerts was the loooong line of cars waiting to get into the venue. The last mile easily took us 30 minutes.

We had lawn seats (that means waaaay in the back…hey, they were free) and got in about 20 minutes before the  opening band, Dream Theater, hit the stage. Dream Theater was good. I’m got a fan, and know only 1 song. They played well for an hour and was well-received by the crowd.

Iron maiden hit the stage and was awesome (from what I could see from my space shuttle-distant view). Yes, most of the set was new stuff that I had never heard, and honestly, ain’t a fan of. The did play some classic songs at he end of the set, and judging by the crowd reaction, the classics (Iron maiden, Number of the beast, Run to the Hills) were more loved than the new songs too. It was a two and a half hour set.

After the concert, we finally got out of the venue after waiting nearly as long as we did to get in. It was smooth sailing until we got to the I-680 toll bridge, then hit another 20-minute traffic jam of concert fans trying to get out o the Bay Area.

We got back to the motel room about midnight, and the next morning we was home just after 11am.

Here is a short, crappy clip from Number of the Beast to give you an idea of where out seats were:

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Metal Mania! 4-4-09

Apr 4

Posted by Ed Nelson in Guitar, Misc stuff | No Comments

It’s’ my routine on Saturday mornings to wake up, let the dog out (usually, it’s the dog waking me up to let her out), read the paper, and watch Metal Mania on VH1 Classics.

It depresses me to no end that the music I love is on a “classic” channel…next thing you know, I’ll qualify as ‘antique’.

Normally, as I watch the episodes each week, I am usually commenting in my head about each video…this week, it’s channeled through my fingers:

For Whom the Bell Tolls (Metallica): Live video. One of the best songs Metallica ever recorded (and the one I can pretty much  play on Bass guitar). Videos like this keep me watching. I miss ‘old’ Metallica.

Is it Metallica day??

Sad but True (Metallica): Dude, so far this is the the best Metal Mania e.v.e.r!! Wanna bet they ruin it and play a Kingdom Come (Clone) video next? Did I mention I miss the old Metallica??

Armageddon It:(Def Leppard): Fantastic in concert (in the round, Sacramento, CA Arco Arena with Tesla), HATE this song. What the hell do the lyrics mean??

(Gimme all of your lovin’)
Ev’ry little bit
(Gimme all that you got)
Ev’ry bit of it
(Ev’ry bit of your lovin)
Oh, c’mon live a bit
(Never wanna stop)
Yeah, but are you gettin’ it?
(Armageddon it!)
Ooh, really gettin’ it?
(Yes, Armaggedon it!)

Okay…so apparently it’s a DOUBLE SHOT day!

Foolin’ (Def Leppard): Okay, so VH1 redeemed themselves by playing one of Def Leppard’s better songs. Yes, the video is super cheesy (all video’s in this time frame were uber cheesy), but the song seriously stands the test of time. It’s clear the video cost all of $200 to make.

Crap…another Def Leppard song. I guess Def Leppard has VH1 stock:

Love Bites (Def Leppard): One of the ‘power ballads’ that made them a boatload of money, but even the most dedicated metal fan (like me) has trouble listening to it. This was one of the songs that signaled the end of my fandom with them. Their last few albums were way off my radar.

No one Like You (Scorpions): One of my favorite bands. I wore out ‘World Wide Live’ on cassette…twice. Doesn’t get more class than this!

Rhythm of Love (Scorpions): One good, one not so much. Tepid song, video saved by hot girls. Gotta love the Video Vixens of the 80′s!!

Scorpions got in on the VH1 stock option also…

Rock You Like a Hurricane (Scorpions): OKay, so I love and hate this song. Yes, it’s a great song, but since 1984, I have heard this one 12,000 times. Too much of a good this is too much.

Seriously!???!!

Big City Nights (Scorpions). One of the best songs and videos. Them playing, them touring, them showing hot girls…’Nuff said.

Well, there is still plenty to go in the show, but I’m off to shop before I leave for training on Monday.

My thoughts on the show? Glad you asked!

I hate the double and triple and Quad-shot format. I’d rather change it up and see lots of different bands.

Metal mania started out well with some obscure videos, but then played the same old videos they have shown over and over and over. Where is the Anthrax? Hell, I’d settle for a Winger (yeah, I said it) video than a 4-shot a Scorpions.

I have seen all the bands so far this week in concert (Metallica, Def Leppard, and Scorpions), and of those three, I would like to see the Scorpions again.

Question for you:

Which of the three would you want see in concert?

Just it “Comment” belowand let me know.

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Hello, I’m not Johnnie Cash

Feb 26

Posted by Ed Nelson in Guitar | 1 Comment

You can just call me ‘Sucky Suckstein’.

Learning to play guitar has been harder than I thought as I come up on the 2-month mark.

My lesson last night cemented the fact that I’m hitting a wall.

Chord changes and reading music just seem beyond me.

Looking at  a web site, I got some good hints:

http://www.instantguitarist.com/blog/learn-guitar-chords-top-10-mistakes/

The Top Mistakes People Make When they try to Learn Guitar Chords:

Giving up too soon

Like anything you learn you’re going to suck at it when you first start out, and this goes for everyone, I don’t care if you’re Jimi Hendrix or Joe Blow from down the street, you are going to have a hard time when you try to learn guitar chords but you absolutely have to stick to it. The critical time is when you’re almost there, you know how to make the shape of the chord, and can sometimes strum it cleanly and you’ve been practising for the past 7 days but haven’t seen any improvement… well that’s the worst time to give up because you’re so close, just keep going, keep reading and keep practising, don’t give up.

Looking at your hands too much

I always say you should be wearing a blindfold once you can play each chord. You need to be able to form the chord without looking at it. Just think about it do you see guitarists staring at their guitars every time they need to change to another chord? No… it’s silly. However they do look at their guitars when they do a tricky change, or they’re playing a solo, we’ll get to that later on. You really should be able to change from any open chord to any other open chord without looking, and as the saying goes ‘practice makes perfect’.

Good stuff…I just need to keep plowing ahead. I will get better eventually…right? Right??

‘Scuse me, while I wallow in pity for a moment……

.

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. Whew that’s better! Now, where did I leave my pick. I need to practice!!

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