Check out the video below for a taste of what’s to come once they start announcing more shows.

Oh, and while you watch consider this. Grunge did not kill Metal, it perfected it. Close your eyes and imagine Dio, King Diamond, or Iron Maiden on stage. It’s not far off at all.

Dem Jones

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9:50 PM HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY "One"

While playing around with the Metallica iPhone App, I noticed that the Buffalo show was for sale! Check out LiveMetallica.com for that show and a TON of other Metallica live shows.

They also have a bunch of history about every show on the tour. Little details like “Metallica performed 18 songs tonight from 7 different albums: Kill ‘Em All (3 songs), Ride the Lightning (1 song), Master of Puppets (2 songs), …And Justice for All (1 song), The Black Album (3 songs), Garage, Inc. (2 song), and Death Magnetic (6 songs) “

Here’s my pick, and it might be a bit of a shock. Especially to my family and close friends. The best album of 2008 comes from a guy named Hayes Carll.  He’s hard to categorize.  You could call him classic country, alt country, folk, or Americana.  Whatever. I like his stuff.  That’s odd because I would go as far as saying I HATE COUNTRY MUSIC. At least what’s considered country today.  Top 40 with a slide guitar and a pretty lead singer is all you need to get on CMT these days.

Give me that old sound I grew up with. Example:  If I were to ever run into Willie Nelson you’d have to sedate me to keep me from hugging the man.  He’s a musical God.  That’s probably why I like Hayes Carll so much.  He reminds me of Willie.  Great songs about real life things. Stories being told that just happen to have a guitar in the background.

I discovered Hayes Carll on accident one day on a music blog I like called Hype Machine.  All I saw was the song title “She Left Me For Jesus” and curiosity kicked in.  I listened to it and thought the song was hillarious.  It’s a bit of a novelty, but it led to me searching for more of his material and buying his album on iTunes that day.  I spent a long time with the album and started to like the rest of the songs on “Trouble in Mind” more than the Jesus tune.  Songs about women, hard times, good times, getting drunk, and working in bars to keep a roof over your head.  Please take a second to check out some of his stuff.

Here is a nice little intor to Hayes and how he came about…

Here’s a live performance of “She Left Me For Jesus”

Here’s the official music video for it

One of my favorites from Hayes is “I Got a Gig”

And finally, “Drunken  Poet’s Dream”.  I think it’s a Dylan tune, and it’s usually stuck in my head every morning in the shower.

Go check out the entire album and some more videos at the Hayes Carll website.  Yeeee haw!

This band is solid and I thought this would be a fitting way to kick off the new year.  I give you a live performance of The Walkmen doing “In The New Year“.  In my little world, their new album “You & Me” comes in at number 2 for 2008.

Go see the video here

Later this week I’ll share my favorite album of 2008.  Here’s a hint….it’s country?

“Hey, Dem. Hope you liked the pics. Wachovia Arena. Wilkes Barre, Pa. Sunday night. Was an invite only crowd of around 2000, for the final dress rehearsal. Tour starts tonight.

Joe from Nunda”

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In 1997, I accidentally found the perfect album.  I was working for The Nerve and we got a box of CD’s from the label to give away. Radiohead had just released their new album “OK Computer“.  I always liked their song “Creep“, so I grabbed one and took it home to my basement studio apartment on Monroe Ave.  It was one of 10 cd’s I brought home that week.  I think that’s how they were paying me back then.

I put it into my CD player (remember those?) and let it run.  At first, I was thinking “what the f is this?” It was nothing like I had ever heard before, but it had caught my attention.  I could tell it was good, but it was a challenge to listen to.  After spending a week with it, I knew it was the best album I had ever heard.  11 years later, I still have the same opinion.  It still is the best album I’ve ever heard.

Oh….and it’s still in my CD player.  If you were to walk into ManTown right now and open my CD changer, you’d see it right there in slot number 1.  I’m not kidding.

Why do I tell you this long boring story about a Radiohead album?  Because I just learned that you can buy Radiohead’s “OK Computer” for $1.99 at Amazon.com.

Listen. If just one person reads this and takes advantage of the opportunity to buy this album for $1.99, I’ll be happy.

If you need the link, here it is.  If you buy it, let me know what you think.

Please feel free to post a comment and let me know what you think is the best album ever…

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That was our mantra last night at the Blue Cross Arena. I went to the show with my buddy Jackson Spurr from The Haystack across the hall.  He’s a big time Nirvana fan, so he was in his glory watching Dave (as well as Pat Smear) ripping through Foo Fighters biggest hits and even a rare Nirvana song.

Some highlights for me were SOLID versions of Everlong and Monkey Wrench.  The triangle solo was pretty sweet too.

Jackson is getting some fancy ass photos from our buddy Frank for his blog.  All I have is my crappy cell phone video once again. Enjoy…

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We’d like to thank the ticket winners who failed to claim their prizes.

By the way…you’re silly.

We had mostly lawn seats, but at the last minute we scored a pair under the shell.  I never actually saw the shell seats.  Once I realized I was past the last wave of security, I simply walked to the barricade at the front of the stage.  Nobody seemed to mind so I hung out, watched the show, and snapped a few pictures for you. I didn’t have my good camera with me so you’ll have to settle for crappy cell phone pictures today.

Today, I team up with my old friend Robinson and we review the new Donna Summer CD. It seemed like the least we could do after the label sent us about 200 of the damn things.

Watch what happens when we get interrupted by nosy sales people (again).

Just when you think the bit is ruined, we’re saved when a member of the WCMF morning show begins to dance.

Nine Inch Nails have come out with a new album. It comes hot on the heels of their last two releases, the concept album Year Zero and the instrumental Ghosts. The new album “The Slip” has made it’s way onto my iPod and here’s my take.

Trent has reassembled the band and they are going back on the road this summer. I have a feeling that the tour might be the reason that this album sounds like old school, stripped down NIN. As a matter of fact, the first time I listened to “The Slip” I didn’t like it all that much. I’ve gotten used to the sound that comes out of Trent Reznor locking himself into a studio a going crazy with his gear. The new album sounds like he got the guys together and they tore it up for a weekend in someone’s garage.

After spending some more time with it, I’ve decided that I actually like to hear Trent getting back to his roots and working with a live band again. I just hope that they can pull off the material from Year Zero live. I’d really like to see them do that at their Toronto gig.

I am leaving the best news about “The Slip” for last. It’s quite simple. It’s free. That’s right, free. I thought Radiohead did something cool with “In Rainbows” by letting you choose your price, but this beats it on a few levels. First of all, there is NO option to pay. Trent says “Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years — this one’s on me.”

One complaint people had about Radiohead’s download of “In Rainbows” was the quality of the audio files. They were medium bit rate mp3s that weren’t quite CD quality. “The Slip” is offered in several flavors including high quality mp3, Apple Lossless AAC, FLAC, and audiophile 24/96 WAVE files. I downloaded every single type and backed them up on my server for future use.

I know Nine Inch Nails aren’t exactly for everyone, but if you’re feeling adventurous you should check it out. Why wouldn’t you? It’s free!

Metallica has set up a new website to give you a preview of their upcoming album! Check out Mission Metallica