Houston.BloggersPub

Quick note about the Ozzy Osbourne and Slash show at the Toyota Center in Houston Tuesday night (1/18/2011).

Great show. This is my fourth attempt to see Mr. Osbourne in concert. The first two were foiled due to weather. The third, because Ozzy broke his leg or something. Fourth was the lucky charm.

You always hear mixed reviews on Ozzy’s voice, but lately reports say it is stronger. My thought, it sounded pretty good. The only issue is it took a few songs to get all the audio levels right…at least where our seats were.

For a guy in his early 60s, Ozzy sure is high energy. If you wanted to remain clean, don’t sit in the first 15 rows. Ozzy likes to pull out a hose with foam and spray the audience (a trademark in his act). Don’t worry, he sprays himself too.

Osbourne’s backing band is awesome. Gus G is the new guitarist (replacing Zakk Wylde). Gus likes to shred and pose above a fan to bring out his maximum rock star looks in the big stage video screen. Rounding out the rhythm section are bassist Blasko and drummer Tommy Clufetos (both played with Rob Zombie previously). Lots of energy with these three too.

Ozzy pulled out songs from his new album, solo classics and Black Sabbath tunes. There was also an extended guitar solo/band jam which worked well.

Slash performs with Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy and backing band. Slash is Slash, enough said. Slash is supposedly off the sauce and you can tell. He seems slimmer and full of more energy than I have witnessed live in a few years. The band preforms Guns N’ Roses, Slash’s Snakepit, Velvet Revolver and new solo album songs.

Kennedy is a good singer. He nails the Guns N’ Roses tunes with his own style while not totally replicating Axl Rose. He has more trouble pulling off Scott Weiland Velvet Revolver songs. Our seat mates agreed that what Kennedy is lacking is stage presence. He might be able to sing, but he isn’t too interesting on stage (especially considering who he is covering).

Does Kennedy feel his job is to support Slash and not upstage him? Maybe. But Slash is now a legend and he has played with two great front men and clearly held his own then. Enough already though…the original Guns N’ Roses lineup must reunite. Just from watching the latest rock news, I think things are lining up for this to happen (Duff plays a few songs with Axl in London, Slash is nicer to Axl in the press). But the classic GNR lineup has an appetite for destruction so don’t hope too much!

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The new DVD “Live in Houston” features Velvet Revolver in the band’s early years. And that wasn’t that long ago - 2005. Since then the band released another album, lost Scott Weiland as the singer and hasn’t been together since 2008.

I was at the featured 2005 VR show which took place at Verizon Wireless Theater in downtown Houston. It was an awesome show. The band was on fire (I’m sure having a camera crew didn’t hurt) and the crowd was really into it. We were right in the middle of the floor (the jib camera kept flying overhead).

Later that night, we were actually those people, the ones that go to the bus loading area. We got all of the band member autographs though.

The Velvet Revolver “Live in Houston” DVD comes out November 16. (via Blabbermouth)

> Mike McGuff Blog

I did a decent job decorating tonight. Trick or treaters told me it was scary. Hopefully they weren’t talking about the paint job.

But the moment that really stood out was when a little dude mentioned my shirt. My weak costume was “a rocker.” The only actual rocking part of my ensemble was an old Guns N’ Roses shirt (it has the same logo as the image here).

So the kid says, “Hey, that’s the band from Guitar Hero!”

At least Axl Rose and crew are finding new fans.

> Mike McGuff Blog

Guns N’ Roses: New Stadium Tour
- GUNS N’ ROSES To Tour With VAN HALEN?
- Ask GUNS N’ ROSES A Question
- An open letter to Axl Rose

- Miley Cyrus Snubbed By Radiohead, Vows to “Ruin Them”

- MÖTLEY CRÜE To Perform ‘Dr. Feelgood’ In Its Entirety On CRÜE FEST 2
- Cruefest 2: Worst tour ever?

- New pics of Stones, Beatles on ’spring break’
- “The Beatles: Rock Band” Set to Hit Stores September 9, 2009

- How Def Leppard and Poison Mended Fences for Summer Tour

- KORN Frontman On LIMP BIZKIT Reunion

- Spinal Tap Rockers Announce “Unwigged & Unplugged” Tour, New Album

- Michael Jackson Announces 10-Concert Run at London’s O2 Arena

- CHRIS CORNELL Not Concerned About Possible Backlash Over TIMBALAND-Produced Album

The Billboard Q&A: Axl Rose
In his first major interview in nine years, the Guns N’ Roses frontman talks about his band, his label and finally releasing “Chinese Democracy.” Wait till you see what he says about Slash.

A Look At The “Mystery” Of Coldplay
60 Minutes’ Steve Kroft Gets A Rare Glimpse At The Inner Workings Of The Popular Band.
- Coldplay on summer tour

- Van Halen to Rock On With David Lee Roth
- Eddie Van Halen on Son Wolfgang: “He Is a Part of Van Halen. Permanently.”
- David Lee Roth video game

- Live Nation, Ticketmaster Close to Merging

- MÖTLEY CRÜE’s SIXX: ‘I Do Everything And Anything To Not Be A Rock Star And Just Be An Artist’

- FILTER Mainman: ‘Musicians Have To Learn How To Make Records Cheaply, Efficiently And Quickly’

- Music Bloggers Say Google Is Deleting Posts Containing Music Without Warning

- NYT: Rick Rubin under fire at Sony… ‘questions have surfaced about… continued executive role there’

- Johnny Depp to Narrate Doors Documentary

- Heavy Metal Laundry Tips

- How A ‘Click To Buy’ Button in a Google Search Could Make Google The Most Powerful Music Company Ever

I just had the pleasure of reading Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns N’ Roses by Stephen Davis. Now here is THE defenitive biography of GNR.

Stephen Davis is also the author of Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga and Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith so you know he is no lightweight when it comes to rock bios.

It’s obvious that Davis culled a lot of archives and did a lot of interviews to gather the early life of Bill Bailey (aka W. Axl Rose) in Lafayette, Indiana. Sadly, that is one messed up life. But the book doesn’t just focus on Axl, although largely it does and that is why it is so interesting.

Once you start reading, you will remember many of the events that Davis writes about, but there is so much more explanation and detail offered.

For example, did you know that Izzy Stradlin appears to be the heart and soul of Guns N’ Roses? In the early days, he was the leader of the band for the most part. Did you know we have those four opening shows for the Rolling Stones to thank for the what the band became during the Use Your Illusion tours? Also, that the tour GNR took in 2006 was done partly to finish Chinese Democracy? And do you know why the album has that title?

More on Watch You Bleed: The Saga of Guns N’ Roses from Amazon.com.

Did Axl Rose Swindle Guns n’ Roses and Steal Slash’s Song? A Guide to Rose’s Online Rants
Axl Rose didn’t give any magazine or TV interviews to herald the release of Chinese Democracy, but he went online…a complete guide from RollingStone.
- Axl Rose Posts About Keeping the Gn’R Name in New Message Board Chats
- Chinese Democracy Leaker Enters Guilty Plea
- Duff McKagan Says Axl Rose ‘Sounds Amazing’ On ‘Chinese Democracy’
- Brian May Not Feeling Snubbed By Axl Rose

- Should Led Zeppelin Record New Album With Guest Singers?

- Review: The Pownce.FM You’ll Never See

- Disc Makers spins into Houston

- Expert Says Headbanging Is Dangerous

- Techcrunch: LaLa just may have the right formula

- No Doubt Postpones Album! Booooo!

Axl Rose has broken his silence and is talking directly to Guns N’ Roses fans on Internet message boards.  No surprise I find it totally fascinating.  He refutes much of what Slash and other GNR members have said about him. Hey, Axl, if you want to talk, I’ll interview you in a more structured manner than a bunch of fans. After all, I’ve been promoting Chinese Democracy since 2005.
- AXL ROSE: Why I Am Continung To Use Name GUNS N’ ROSES
- AXL ROSE Breaks Silence On ‘Chinese Democracy’, Original GN’R Reunion, DR PEPPER And BRIAN MAY
- AXL ROSE Takes Part In Another Online Chat, Says There Are ‘No Plans’ For GN’R Tour Right Now
- Axl Rose finally promotes Chinese Democracy…sort of

- VAN HALEN’s Legendary M&M’s Rider Unveiled

- Iron Maiden have integrity and a sense of humor

- Pearl Jam Ready Massive “Ten” Reissues

- METALLICA’s KIRK HAMMETT: ‘We’ve Always Had An Open Mind Toward The Internet’

- KISS Making First Album Since ‘98

- POISON’s C.C. DEVILLE Tops GUITAR WORLD’s List Of ‘100 Worst Guitar Solos’

- NIN To Stop Touring

- Coldplay Responds To Plagiarism Accusations

- Faith No More Not Reuniting

- Smashing Pumpkins To Become A ‘Singles Band’

- Fall Out Boy Streaming New Album On Myspace

METALLICA: Pro-Shot Footage From Houston
The clip includes footage from meet-and-greet sessions, backstage jams and the actual performances.

- What’s The Worst Band Name, Like, Ever? (Thanks Brian!)

- DR PEPPER SNAPPLE Responds To GUNS N’ ROSES Debacle
- Some pundits say AXL ROSE Is largely to blame for low ‘Chinese Democracy’ sales
- GUNS N’ ROSES: ‘Chinese Democracy’ Tops Canadian Chart

- iTunes competitor, open source Songbird released
Songbird is like an open source version of iTunes that handles just about everything that program does, while swapping out the iTunes store interface in favor of the world’s music blogs.

- Nominees for the 51st Annual Grammy Awards

- U2 Premiere “Father Christmas” to Kick Off (RED)WIRE

- AC/DC: BON SCOTT Movie In The Making

- Thurston Moore Pays Tribute to David Bowie’s Video Canon

- OZZY OSBOURNE Hits 60

- MORTIFICATION: Pre-Production For New Album Complete

Dr Pepper Drinks Its Words on ‘Chinese Democracy’ Promise
A cheeky promotional offer by Dr Pepper has drawn the ire of Axl Rose.
- GUNS N’ ROSES: More ‘Chinese Democracy’ First-Week Chart Positions Revealed
- GUNS N’ ROSES: Have They Missed The Rock Boat?
- Guns N’ Roses ‘Chinese Democracy’ Limited Deluxe Box Set Due Next Month
- MATT SORUM Says ‘Chinese Democracy’ Is A ‘Toe-Tapper’
- Killers Beat Out GN’R On UK Charts

Lars Ulrich = Michael Keaton?
MetalSucks thinks the Metallica drummer and the actor now look alike.
- METALLICA’s Longtime Soundman BIG MICK HUGHES Interviewed
- METALLICA Contemplating Internet Release For Next Album

- VAN HALEN: 2008 Concert Rider Revealed

- The Story of Nirvana’s “In Utero”: Download The 33 1/3 Audiobook

- Austin struggles to keep the title of ‘Live Music Capital’

- Bad news