Author: Jeremy Hinks

For all the punk shows I have seen, there are so many that only rolled through once or twice over the near 40 years I have been attending live shows. There are others that we sometimes think are going to live forever. Such bands just tied up a group party known as the “45 Years of Groupsex” tour, celebrating the aged like fine wine, the masterpiece of Los Angeles’ punk legends, “The Circle Jerks”.

Being a sort of spinoff of Black Flag, they fired up their own west coast punk act, with their first album “Group Sex” in 1980, if you were offended by the band name, or the title of the album, clearly this band was not for you.

I saw them in the flailing days of “Alice’s” in Salt Lake City that closed shortly after these gigs. No time for nostalgia, they came through several more times as an ever-touring band before they disbanded in 1990.

Coming back and delivering an all-out show of historic punk rock with “Adolescents” and Detroit’s “Negative Approach” in tow.

I arrived at the venue “The Depot,” which is a pretty large concert hall, and though I have seen The Circle Jerks in smaller venues over the years, never anything this big. I got up to the main floor  and saw it was filling in pretty well. Aside from a festival, this is turning out to be the biggest hardcore punk show I’ve been to over the years.

NEGATIVE APPROACH

I got into the pit, and got my lighting levels set, and one of the bouncers (who was also a fan) explained who “Negative Approach” was and that they had a brief stint on the scene from 1981-1983, and likened them to the MC5. Whoa, now those are some shoes to fill.

They took the stage, and the singer John Brannon introduced the band, and lemme tell ya, he has a world-class scowl. He told us we would have a brief set tonight, but that he was glad to be back on the road.

They blazed through the set. I know their first song was “Hypocrite” because Brannon said so, it went down really fast, and much like an old Ramones gig, after a song finished, they take a breath and then drumsticks tap in 3 times, then off into the next song. Somewhere in the set, he said, “This is A Sham 69 cover, called ‘Borstal Breakout”And a handful of songs later, he said, “Any Iggy and the Stooges fans out there?” Everyone cheered, and then they played “I Got a Right”. I honestly couldn’t tell you much more about the setlist, just because I had never heard them before, they were tight and fun.

Adolescents

The summer of 89 was a mad summer for punk shows. I saw Testament, Nirvana, TSOL, and so many others. It was a great time for the heyday of hot summer nights and 5$ tickets at the Speedway Cafe. That was when I last saw Adolescents, and they put on a great show. I was sure I would enjoy them tonight, though many of us were now feeling a bit more on the geriatric side, several of my old school punk friends were there. WE all have grey beards, and several of us use canes.

Adolescents took the stage, with all of them looking old-school and just greyer. I was hoping to see Rikk Agnew in this lineup (being an old Christian Death fan), but no such luck; his sons weren’t there either. (we all know how old school acts have high turnover)

They opened with “No Way, and to my surprise, Tony sounded just as good as he did in his 20s. They sounded just really tight. If I closed my eyes, I thought I was back at Speedway. He sounded great, as if no toll had been taken on his voice after all these years.

“Brats in Battalions” followed, while they weren’t as animated on the stage as years past, the floor was pounding to the punters, forming a somewhat large mosh pit. I had to keep dodging the bouncers catching people flying towards them, and still get photos.

I think they were playing “Rip It Up” Before I left the pit, again shooting in between human flight tests.

I went up to the balcony to get more pics, and that was where I saw the mosh pit and the insanity of it all. Reminded me of so many great shows I went to starting in 87, but, yeah, never going to do a mosh pit again. At least not that crazy.

We got what I think was a whole 15 songs on this bill from them, I didn’t get the whole setlist but I remember “Self Destruct”, “Amoeba”, “Democracy” and “Just Because”. There was a lot of anxiety in the air this evening, the angst was powerful, and it kept the punters spinning, and those who were crowd surfing always had somewhere to land.

I will write a little note here about the security staff at “The Depot”, many years ago, some guy sucker punched me and hit my friend in the stomach because I was talking to his girlfriend (Whom I’ve known since 8th grade while she was congratulating me on my new baby born about  a week later), and my friend fell to the floor and was just as stunned as I was at this asshole’s behavior. The bouncers were all over this guy for hitting a woman in the stomach, and just hitting some guy out of nowhere, and continuing to threaten him. He was out the side door before he could explain he was just a totally drunken, insecure douchebag. They were asking us if we needed medical, etc all within less than a minute of this. So, it’s clear they know how to handle a fight breaking out. BUT, how do you manage a moshpit and crowd surfing? Well, they seem to do that really well, knowing the boundaries of a mosh pit, people violently ramming into eachother, and not seeing it as an “altercation”. They made sure no one hit the ground and managed to catch everyone flying over the top of the crowd. I haven’t seen something that intense for the bouncers since Lollapolooza, so kudos to The DEPOT on this one.

Now, a breather, striking the gear for Adolescents, they were playing some knarly good polka music. AND, you all know that I am a HUGE polka music fan. So, I was getting my groove on at the absurdity of this, and the chief bouncer in the pit was up on that little platform at the barricade, also getting her polka on. Now, she actually KNEW these dances, I wondered if she was from Wisconsin cause she had those moves down. I tried to get a video of it, to make a TikTok of it, “Bouncer Getting her Polka on, Prior to Punk Rock Gig”. It was too dark and didn’t come out, really, it was a site to behold, for any polka music fan.

THE CIRCLE JERKS!!!!!

With the place just hot with sweat everywhere, and so far, everyone having a great time, Keith and crew took the stage. Keith said, “Ok, I have to give you all a bit of Punk Rock History here,” and he explained how each member came from which LA band and who came from what other band, and how they ended up in this band. Each name brought cheers, but without a whiteboard, it was hard to follow such a historical family tree. Then Keith said, “Ok, so we have 30 songs, and one hour, and we’ll get through this. They tapped out 3 on the drums and started off with “Deny Everything. (I was also given the first 6 songs to shoot, because most of the songs were less than 2 minutes each).

With Zander Schloss on guitar, looking like he walked out of a blues band, and onto the stage for this gig, Greg Hetson on bass, in pinstripe shorts, slacks, and his head shaved, and big glasses, he sort of fit the part. Joey Castillo on drums, with a clear “FUCK YOU ICE” attitude, and the tattoos to show he means business, Keith Morris was there in blue jeans, a black t-shirt, a Greek Fisherman’s hat, red “Chuck Taylors” and dreads past his waist, this was PUNK ROCK as current as it ever was.

With two-minute renditions of the following: “Letterbomb”, “In Your Eyes”, “Stars and Stripes”, and “Back Against the Wall”, I hoped I had gotten enough good shots to cover this gig; it was a whirlwind, and no one could think otherwise. I went upstairs to the balcony, took a seat in a booth, got some really great shots, and just enjoyed the rest of the night.

With a sea of punks rolling around in waves, and a very wide mosh pit, only stopping when a song was finished, waiting for the next one to start, or Keith Morris taking the opportunity to go off on some political tirade about how Trump sucks, and how racism is evil, he would get yelled at by Joey telling him we were all on a time crunch, and start tapping his sticks for the next song. All of this means that everyone was having a really great time.

Several songs, “Beverly Hills”, stand out, and then a great “When the Shit Hits the Fan”, the first song I ever heard by them, in a friend’s basement in 1987. Then “Under the Gun”, and the classic “Coup d’etat” (Let’s face it, they are all classics if you’ve been listening to them since age 13).

After a few more songs, Keith stopped the set, talked about how all of this converges about the rich billionaires making laws on the rest of us. He talked about how people work hard to live normal lives and get out to see a show like this. He said that after so many years, he has never seen the “RICH” class, just rip away everything from the working class, as if we were all criminals who don’t deserve to be rich. He pointed out how, over the last several months, he has seen rights stripped away from people for the first time in his life. Keith then pointed out that at his age of 70, he lives off his social security, and just wants to make enough on tour to stash away to pay his rent. We all cheered at him for his honesty and the fact that he was just like the rest of us. Then the drumsticks went at it, with “Don’t Care”, then “Live Fast, Die Young”, and ironically “Paid Vacation”.

For another break, Keith talked about this next song, bringing them the ONLY sort of hit in their repertoire, we knew it was time for “Wild In The Streets” that I had no idea was a Garland Jeffreys cover. This song is just under 3 minutes, so we had about a minute more fun with this one.

A stint of 5 more songs in 10 minutes, I was looking at the clock above the monitor’s desk, wondering if we were going to make it, at 38 minutes into the set.

Once we were at “Red Tape”, and a one-liner that escaped me, it just made all of us laugh. Keith said they were going to do a handful of Black Flag covers. They gave us some great renditions of “Depression”, “Revenge”, and “Nervous Breakdown”. We were getting all kinds of great punk rock history this evening, the last song was so well done, it is one of the songs The Circle Jerks has done for years, and is an audience favorite.

They closed out with my 2nd fave song of theirs, “What’s Your Problem”, I had been waiting on this one, and it was AWESOME, and the “Question Authority”. It was 4 minutes to 11 when they were done, we managed to do the whole set together, with Keith’s political statements, stories, and fun rants.

Everyone was cooling down and walking out; the bouncers were giving each other high fives for a difficult, chaotic job well done. Lots of hugs between everyone in the mosh pit.

I went backstage and had a word with the band, Keith signed my 7” of “Sweet Transvestite” he had sang with T.S.O.L. I didn’t bring any of my other vinyls or CDs; I just wanted this one (Red Vinyl) signed. Another longtime fan was asking me about it, not knowing it had just been released a few months earlier. The band was happy to sign my autograph book, and I got a fist bump from everyone.

Walking out of the venue, I met Adolescents and got to tell Tony how good he still sounded after so many years.

I talked to John Brannon for a minute, we connected on Facebook, and I learned that we had several mutual friends, he said “Any friend of Frank Meyer (FEAR) is a friend of mine”.

All in all, it was an incredible evening, two bands I have loved for years and seen before, and one that flew under the radar, and had broken up by the time I got into punk.

For any old school punk fans, you would LOVE seeing any of them live, so, snag a gig any time you see them rolling through your town, if anything, you’ll feel young again. I guess that’s what punk does to us all.

http://www.circlejerks.net/

https://www.blackflagband.com

https://www.theadolescents.net

#thecirclejerks #keithmorris #theminutemen #blackflag #negativeapproach #adolescents

Concert Review

Artist: Big Country

Date: September 7 2025

Venue: The Egyptian Theater

City: Park City Utah

I NEVER TOOK THE SMILE AWAY FROM ANYBODY’S FACE
There are those bands that just “Appeared” in your life, and have always shown up in cycles over the years. For me, one such band is Scotland’s “Big Country”. I heard them for the first time in January 1987, in a small town in the mountains of southeastern Utah, while driving to a friend’s place in sub-zero temperatures. I just remember 9 feet of snow on the streets, and wondering how in the hell I ended up in such a miserable place, from the only real home I knew in northern Virginia just a few months earlier. My brother put in a cassette of “The Crossing,” and I pretty much fell in love with this band on that short drive across the frozen landscape. I saw the name on my brother’s tapes, but the name turned me off, as well. That town we just moved to – all they listened to was country and bad metal. Once I learned these guys were from Glasgow, just like my father’s immediate clan, and they sounded SO AMAZING, that made my night there really wonderful, and thus, a love for Big Country was born. Through the years of Mike Peters of “The Alarm” playing with them, just because HE LOVED THEM, the death of Stuart Adamson, changeovers and borrowed band members from so many other great bands, they have made history more than once.

When on my LDS Mission in Germany, they played in a venue that was in the same massive centrum as my apartment. I could go out of my apartment’s ground floor, go down a little hallway, and it was backstage to “Das Capital” in Hannover, Germany. 3 times I wandered through there when bands I liked were playing, and I met Marillion (Without FISH), then I met FISH two weeks later. Before that, I walked through the hall one afternoon, as the tour bus had parked there a few hours earlier, I was honored to meet Mark Brezicki and Bruce Watson, just coming through the hall. I got a quick 3 min chat and was thrilled to have met these guys. That was in late 1995.

Fast forward to summer 2025, and to my surprise, the local theater, in another little city up in the mountains of central Utah, was hosting Big Country for a four-night residency. Somehow it’s all coming full circle, the band had just finished 6 weeks with the “Lost 80s Live” tour, with Modern English, Josie Cotton, and some other great bands. So, for them to make a stop here, and hang out for a few days just before heading home was going to be, for me anyway, nothing short of monumental.

I had been in touch with current vocalist Simon Hough, who took the reins of the singer as the band tried to rise from the ashes of the death of Stewart Adamson. We arranged for me to shoot the gig, the day after the Billy Idol gig, yeah, this was a very busy week. I jabbed Simon about being a “Manc”, but he could prove himself playing with some “Glaswegians”.

The Egyptian Theater is on Historic Main Street, in Park City, Utah it is an old, quaint postcard town, with a couple of outdoor amphitheaters, and was home to the “Sundance Film Festival” til just recently. The Egyptian Theater is themed as just that, with the ancient Egyptian art as the motif for everything. It was built during the silver mining explosion of the great rushes in the late 1800s. This place has amazing acoustics, and you could honestly play an out of tune hurdy-gurdy here and it would sound AWESOME.

The stage was set up to make it look more like it would be a folk gig, and I was hoping it was going to be a pretty charged show, though Simon mentioned online he had a bit of a head cold earlier in the week, and was hoping it didn’t interfere with his performance.

Opening the set, Mark Brezeki the original drummer walked out to the mic, and welcomed everyone, and mentioned that they would be doing a set covering several different phases of their catalog over the years, with everyone applauding the rest of the band took the stage, and they opened the set with “Harvest Home” from their first album “The Crossing”, one of the songs that hooked me when I first heard them. With their signature guitar that sounds almost like bagpipes, and Simon singing live, his voice is not exactly like Stuart’s, but it gives a great tribute. I was taking photos, and singing along the lines “JUST AS YOU SEW SHALL YE REAP!! TO THE HARVEST HOME!!”, this was my inner 12-year-old rocking out.

Trying to just take it in that I was finally seeing Big Country live, they pulled out a wonderful, lesser-played gem “Winter Sky”, one of those “Album Cuts” that, while listening to cassettes, you wouldn’t fast forward through, a great song that never made the hit list, but just a loved piece of music.

Another few songs off the “Breakthrough” album, “Steeltown”, “Come Back To Me” then “Just A Shadow” were taking the entire venue back to some wonderful memories. This was not a “Nostalgia” show, but more a few hundred people sharing the same experiences we all once had through music in our younger days. But this time, this, at this moment, with these people in the mountains of Utah, was so powerful. There is nothing more moving than the shared experience. I’ve had them at concerts with other punters, where we all became one with something the band did. From Peter Murphy to U2, this Big Country moment was worth hugging everyone over.

Having the first 4 songs power up the vibe, and I was thinking that this show was for the history books, we got to hear some of the later work “Fragile Thing” from 1998’s“Driving To Damascus”, an album that flew under the radar for many, but the songs were solid, and some great work. Then they played “Hold The Heart” off my fave Big Country album of all time, “The Seer”, I was getting excited about where this might go, with a specific song I had in mind.

They stopped for a bit, and Simon began talking about how they managed to get together as Big Country again. Saying that he had some big shoes to fill in Stuart’s position. He said he never could see himself even being able to fill those shoes. He said he was honored to be in this band and to continue paying tribute to Stuart Adamson, and he really wanted that legacy to live on in the fans. He then said that they were going to play a few songs that were from “The Raphaels”, the band Stuart was in during his American Country & Western phase. To be honest, I hadn’t listened to those records he made, so this was all new to me. They played “Private Battlefield”, and “Learning to Row”.These songs were powerful and beautiful. Imagine Big Country, with a noticeable Celtic influence, and just slow and easy country, more “Western” than country. They were very moving, showcasing Stuart’s later work.

Then they pulled out the most obscure song, “13 Valleys,” that I believe can only be found in the box set. Nothing about this setlist was expected so far, songs you haven’t heard for years, or even rare B-sides. They closed out this first part of the set with “Tall Ships Go”, having played most of “Steeltown” and played all of it so well, I think everyone needed a good breather, they told us they were coming back to play more of the classics.

A few minutes later, Big Country returned to the stage, and Simon said “Thank you all so much for sticking around, let’s do this”, then Mark brought his sticks down hard and the formidable bassline of the well known classic “Peace In Our Time”, had me singing along, knowing it was too loud for anyone to hear me, cause I’m sure I was out of key.

Back into familiar territory and to my fave album, they played “Look Away”, this was just as powerful as the first time I heard it in 86. One of those songs that you just can’t get over how it hits you, with the guitar lines, and the verses, the lyrics were always something wonderful from these guys.

The haunting guitar lines with the signature guitar sound mixing, and the notable bassline, we got “Lost Patrol” from the debut album “The Crossing”. This is one of the many songs where the bass line stands out, and you can hear the bassist leading the song, kind of a cool tool they used throughout so much of the catalog. “Lost Patrol” has almost the most pagan vibe to it, 2nd only to the title track of “The Seer”.

“Wonderland” was a great hit that had weaved itself into the singles collections, and lots of radio play on the alternative station in Salt Lake, carried us through. By this late in the set, Simon said, “Ok, I’m going to need your help with this one,” with instructions on how to sing the chorus with him. Again with a strong bass-line and the funky xylophone sounding guitar, we were into “Chance” from proably my 2nd song of theirs. It is about a woman who “Played chance with a lifetime’s romance, and the price was far too high”. A man who sees how the years have changed people, ripped away opportunities, made us grow old, lose our beauty, vitality, youth, and even a sense of purpose. By the 3rd chorus he asked us to sing along “Oh Lord, where did the feeling go?” then we would chant “2, 3, 4”, “Oh Lord, I never felt so low”.Powerful in its own right, with the venue chanting this between singing the lines, it all felt like we were in this together, feeling the same shame and grief as the song when it was first written.

Simon then introduced the band, with Mark Brezicki on drums (Original member), Gil Allen also from “The Skids” pre Big Country, no surprise there, but the big surprise was Ken Nicol on guitar, from “Steeleye Span”. I freaked out about that, to be honest, I am a big fan of theirs too, some real legends on the stage here, as the band’s personnel history is legendary.

They turned it up to “Eleven” now, and played “Fields of Fire”, everyone was dancing, and I am sure this was the loudest music ever played in the Egyptian Theater, that bassline, leading, with the rhythm guitar, then signature bagpipe guitar on top, Simon had all of us dancing, as he sang with all the vigor he had been saving up all week blasting it out in “ON FIELDS OF FIRE!!!”, I’m afraid for what the personnel changes over the years, songwriting masterpieces, and great live show, tonight, Big Country was telling everyone it doesn’t get better than this.

They left the stage to some roaring appreciation from the punters, who had high expectations, but never expected this. They returned a few minutes later, Mark grabbed his microphone on his drum kit and said, “Ok, everyone, we didn’t expect this, really. This is our last song tonight, but please go to the foyer after the show, we want to meet all of you”. Then they played “In A Big Country” with all the intensity they could muster, which we heard when they all sang “you can’t stay here when every single hope you had is shattered”. I think the fact that they were playing on a mountainside, out in the middle of nowhere (half an hour from Salt Lake), was what brought the rest out of those guys tonight.

Big Country walked off the stage, and as we all congregated in the lobby, everyone was sacking the merch table, and we waited for the band to come meet us.

They came into the lobby, and I approached Simon and reached out to shake hands. Though we hadn’t met yet, he knew who I was. I was surprised when he just grabbed me and hugged me. Simon was so pumped, so thrilled, so proud of the show they had just given us. I realized he was so emotionally high that I don’t know what would have brought him down. He thanked me over and over for the support and had a perma smile. I told him that they had done a great set, and he just said over and over, “I know, it was fucking fantastic, wasn’t it?”. You can’t really say much more in that situation. He was floating about 10 inches off the floor; he was so happy. Frankly, if a band can deliver a set like that, with the lead singer still going through a head cold, those guys had everything in the world to be proud of.

I talked to Mark for a minute, and I told Allen that I worship Maddy Prior (singer of Steeleye Span), and he assured me she is a sweetheart. We all took selfies, and everyone was closing the night of a beaudacious set, by meeting the guys who gave us such magic.

Big Country will hopefully cross the pond and grace us again on a tour, and I hope you all get to see them should they come to a city near you. The music is timeless, and in the end, they did Stuart Adamson and everyone else right.

Thanks so much, fellas. Please, can we do that again sometime?

https://facebook.com/inabigcountry

https://www.facebook.com/simonvandownham

#bigcountry #simonhough #lost80slive

Concert Review

ACT: Alice Cooper

Supporting Act: Corrosion of Conformity

Date: October 12, 2025

Venue: Utah First Credit Union Amphitheater

City: West Valley City, Utah

Happy Halloweekend friends

A late September evening in 1987, I had just moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, less than a month earlier. I had made friends with some kids at school, a bunch of local skate punks. It was a Friday, and my friends and I had pretended to be in a punk band for a couple of hours, recording ourselves, generally just making noise out of tune from one another, and trying to keep up with the drummer, the only guy who knew his instrument at the time.
That night, I was sitting in one guy’s bedroom, playing all of this great American Hardcore Punk. I knew Generation X, Sex Pistols, Dead Kennedys, Husker Du, The THE, and I had an album “This Is Oi”. Most of my punk was British, with a few German and yank bands. That night, my buddy introduced me to The Stupids, FEAR, The Burnt, The Exploited, and Corrosion of Conformity.
I fancied CoC as one of the great crossover bands of Punk/Metal, like Faith No More, and Motorhead.

Corrosion of Conformity became staples at Salt Lake punk shows, playing $5 gigs at spots like the Speedway Cafe or Alice’s. They were always a great live act and made regular stops in town. The last time I saw them was early 2001 at “The Palladium” in Worcester, Massachusetts. Having seen their name on many tour rosters from 2001 until now, I was thrilled when they were announced as the openers for Alice Cooper and Judas Priest.

Corrosion of Conformity took the stage, with as much confidence as any veterans could have taken their space on such a magnificent bill. I was getting my passes situated, so I missed the first 2 songs in the photo pit.
Opening with “Bottom Feeder” from the album “Deliverance”, it was straight out of their mid-90s playbook, slow, methodical, it just set the mood for their set (When they picked up their fusion jazz drummer). This is one of those songs that has time changes, and winds around, and dare I say it was “Jazz” drumming, the song kicked off a great mood for everyone, be it punk, or metal, or suddenly jazz, everyone was grooving, even I was from the back of the amphitheater.

They gave us “King of the Rotten” again from their powerhouse mid-’90s work, while I was walking down to get to the pit. I got into the pit for a few shots at the tail end of “Seven Days”, noting that most of this set so far was from their apocalyptic phase through the 90s. They cranked out “Vote With A Bullet” , “Who’s Got the Fire”, and then “Albatross”, which was a bit of a surprise for this set; they haven’t played that one much over the last 2 years.

They closed out “Clean My Wounds” again, not from the hardcore 80’s material, but I have to say, they still have it, mixing sounds around since 1982. Chalking up another flawless CoC gig, I was enjoying the night so far.

Now for the theatrics, ALICE COOPER
My story with Alice Cooper is as follows: I saw some great video footage in the mid-80s, and I really loved his albums “DaDa” and the album “Alice Cooper Goes to Hell,” which made me just like the guy, and I never took him seriously after that. My ultrareligious Mormon cousin swore to me up and down that Alice’s father was an LDS leader in Roy, Utah, though no one could verify it; it was the stuff of “Legend” to Mormon Rock & Roll fans. I later found out that there was a SHRED of truth to this by 6 degrees of separation. Alice’s (nee Vincent Furnier) Great Great Great Grandfather was one of the great leaders of the “Bickertonite” spinoff sect of the original Mormon Church, and his family has remained strong in that faith until Alice became a teenager obsessed with music in Detroit. Needless to say, Alice Cooper has a huge fanbase in Utah for some of the reasons stated above. Mostly, cause he makes great music with vaudevillian horror musical play theatrics. And he just totally rocks.

Alice began his theatrics by complete accident. He was playing a very early gig in Detroit (almost a neighbor to our chief Editor, Ken) and somehow a chicken ended up on the stage. Alice had NO idea about chickens, and that they couldn’t fly. He kicked the poor bird out into the audience, and the audience thought it was part of the show, so they tore the chicken apart. The media had a complete frenzy, and Alice was devastated about what it was doing to his image. Frank Zappa was his mentor, and told Alice over a phone call, “DO NOT COMMENT ON THIS!!!! Let the story work its magic.” So Alice said nothing, and people started coming to his shows for the blood and guts. Alice Cooper’s sage persona was solidified as he borrowed ideas from the campy horror films we all grew up watching.

With a stage setup that I will leave you to enjoy in the photos, the intro track “Alice’s Attic played, and they came out and opened with a Judy Collins cover “Hello, Hooray” as an intro and the band took the stage. A bassist that looks like Lemmy from Motorhead, and on guitar the bad ass Nita Strauss (of Iron Maidens fame), and another guitarist that looked like Stevie Ray Vaughn. The concert actually started out like a play, with a well-built set and great lighting. Alice fired off with “Who Do You Think We Are”, walking around in a top hat and a long cane. He made “Spark in the Dark” so theatrical, I was in sheer awe of being so close to someone who has been doing this kind of thing for 50 years (He is 77 now BTW). So many of the songs at first blended together. The first full-length one was “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, as he walked around, waiving a foil (dueling sword), and long tuxedo jacket. Alice thanked everyone for coming and said something about sharing a nightmare together.

I got back to my seat, and Alice rocked his way through “House of Fire”, and a campy fun “I’m Eighteen”. They gave us the “Wayne’s World” fave “Feed My Frankenstein”, but through this performance, they had a faux killing of an annoying
photographer (wasn’t me this time) where Alice impaled this guy with a lance. It was impressive theatrics, and still singing away. He sang “Dirty Diamonds,” and his voice was, well, smooth, not as raspy as I am used to it. This is going to sound weird, yes, Alice was still singing his high-pitched, sinister vocals, but his voice sounds like it has aged, and aged well. It just seemed weird to hear his vocals sounding like this. Like a “mature” version of Alice. He was singing and sounding like he LOVED what he was singing, but still sounding a thousand times better than most guys his age, still trying to sing. Alice Cooper has clearly taken care of his voice.
In the middle of the set, we were treated to an amazing guitar solo from Nita Straus, seeing a badass woman out there playing rocking guitar is a total thrill, I am being honest, but when she is doing it cause she is in the band of such a legend takes everything just a few notches cooler.

Through Alice being put in a straitjacket, and wearing it through several songs, getting electrocuted, whipped, and all kinds of methods of abuse and torture. Somehow it flowed into him stabbing a woman (Who was kind of burlesque dancing) during the song “Cold Ethyl” and fake blood spurting everywhere, then she in turn comes back and puts Alice’s head in a guillotine, and drops the blade. (Fair is fair, right?) The guillotine was so iconic over the years, it was all just awesome to see this done on stage.
Alice then played a song I wasn’t expecting to hear, he paid tribute to women, just to women in general, how they put up with men, even when they shouldn’t, with the song “Only Women Bleed”. I have always loved this song, and he used it to bring the tone down for a while; it somehow seemed to fit perfectly in this part of the show.

As the set was starting to wind down, they started playing “Second Coming”, then it seamlessly went into “Going Home” from the colossal classic album “Alice Cooper Goes To Hell”. Then it was time for the one song we were all waiting for, “School’s Out”, with a small clip from “Another Brick in the Wall” to make the introductions of the band members. It was time to dance along and laugh with Alice and the band, and 15k other fans in the cold. This whole set, theatrics and all, gives credit to the creativity of Alice Cooper, and his art/production people; they gave us an entertaining show we would never forget.
When the song was over, and we finished applauding, Alice Cooper took his curtain call with the band, all waving and cheering us on. Alice gave one final line, “Thank you so much for coming, AND, may all your nightmares…… COME TRUE!!!!!” with all of the fanfare and confetti blasting everywhere.

Looking back on so much of the dark horror music we love, so much was inspired by Alice Cooper; every industrial gig I go to with blood, every goth gig with skulls, decapitations, whatever to stir the macabre, we all have one guy to thank for it; he showed the bands we love today how it’s done.

Concert Review

Artist: James

Date: September 25, 2025

City: Salt Lake City, Utah

Venue: The Commonwealth Room

One of the many times I have photographed “James” was when they were supporting the Psychedelic Furs. That night, they took the stage and played the first song. Then the lead singer, Tim Booth, said, “You know, this camera operator down in front, he looks just like me, only he’s BIGGER than me, GOD he’s HUGE”. That went down in the history of gigs in Salt Lake, as I still get jabbed about “That time Tim Booth called you out for being the buff version of him from the stage”. I have met James several times, from gigs in the States and the WOMAD festival in Denver, to even backstage at the Guinness Fleadh in London’s Finsbury Park. I asked Tim, “Hey Tim, can I get you to sign this real quick?” He laughed and signed “Real Quick, Tim Booth”. Every time I see them live, they mix up the set and deliver something amazing. Even now, with the tour playing the masterpiece album “LAID”, the selected songs around it are all switched out every night, which keeps it interesting, and the band is always on their toes.

Touring the US right now, James stopped off in Salt Lake to play at “The Commonwealth Room” to a sold-out crowd. The venue was packed to the doors, and word was that the singer Tim Booth had come down with food poisoning that day. Everyone in the crowd was wondering how this was going to go down.

As the band took the stage one by one, they opened with the eerie guitar intro that makes you think of a long drive into the sunset, almost western style, the song “Dream Thrum,” you could almost feel the scorching heat from the desert going through a dry, barren landscape. Once Tim walked out, the band was complete, and I counted 9 people on that stage. Tim was dressed in a Tai Chi practice shirt and a black skirt, with platform sneakers. Looking almost like he was ready to take us all through a yoga class.

They had as follows, Two drummers (Debbie Knox-Hewson and Dave Baynton-Power), a bassist (Jim Glennie), an occasional bassist/tamborine/vocalist/guitarist (Chloe Alper), guitarist (Larry Gott), violinist/guitarist (Saul Davies), keyboards (Mark Hunter), trumpet (Andy Diagram), another guitarist (Adrian Oxaal), and (occasional) Megaphone (Tim). With that many people and that many instruments, we all knew this was going to be an over-the-top performance.

Tim said, “Thank you so much for coming out to see us. It’s good to be back. Just be advised, I’ve had some bad food poisoning, so I might not be as active as you are used to, but we’ll get through this together”. Then they played “Say Something”, and he danced mostly in place. The band had EVERYONE dancing, and for an album such as “LAID” we all knew it note for note, it seemed.

They got to “Seven” which was so powerful with the line “Understand the world we’re living in, Love can mean anything”. I was in the pit, still taking photos, and noticed we were missing the signature trumpet line from this song. In the pit, just feet from them, and I yelled at Andy Diagram (Trumpet Player), “I can’t hear you”, which was really weird, being that close to him. He fiddled with the mic on his trumpet and gave me a thumbs-up as I left the pit.

They played “Tomorrow”, “Heads”, which was a surprise, because I never heard this one live before, and “Lullaby”, we all were figuring out that they were playing the whole album, just not in order.

Then the guitar sort of whammy bar sound started playing, and the violin on top of it, and the other guitar chimed in, and the entire venue was swaying to “Five-o”, with the lights spinning like two opposite faces of a clock, and everyone on the stage was the ensemble singing the rest of the song out. This was one of those James songs that didn’t really follow conventional songwriting and showcased the fiddle player (who also played guitar for several songs too).

As the band began playing the opening lines for “Born Of Frustration,” the bouncers walked Tim into the crowd, and he sang it while sitting on the edge of the sound booth. It was his only real opportunity to get into the crowd. We could all see he was enjoying it, and that it was taking it out of him; he looked a bit drained, but sounded incredible.

Closing the first set out with “Out To Get You” everyone on stage and off were swaying along with the band to the heavy beats “Insecure, what you gonna do? Feel so small they could step on you”, after a magnificent crescendo of “WHAT I NEED” it was almost silent when Tim sang oh so softly the last “I need you” as if it was storytime at the library, and they are trying to get all the kids to go to sleep.

The band left the stage for a good 20-minute intermission and returned without Tim. The crowd was a bit confused, and Chloë Alper took the mic and said, “Good Evening, everyone. Tim wanted me to sing this for you,” and she sang “Skindiving,” which was fine, really she KILLED IT. Followed up by “P.S.,” as Tim came back to the stage, it looked a lot better. For a while, we were not sure if this would go on much longer. There were lots of cartons of coconut water on stage; I suspect he had been drinking a lot of that.

With the brush sticks on the snares, and the signature guitar lines, and a single bassline that leads almost every song on this album, they went into the…. Well, open to interpretation as to the meaning of the somber song “One Of The Three”, which many of us, when we were Christians, thought was written to Jesus himself. A song reflecting tragedy that someone’s belief took them through, looking for peace, or sacrificing themselves for the greater good. Was it mocking the ideas, saying that they went too far? All of this that we, the listeners and believers, have asked ourselves, it all became very present in the mood and tone for a moment. Well done, guys, really well done.

With the same vibe and feeling of HEAT from the other songs, they went into “Everybody Knows” with the great whammy bar effects in the background. What else can you say about this song?

Then they pulled a brand new one out and threw it at us, “Shadow Of A Giant”, with the deep violin of a haunted celtic wood, with beautiful piano to warm up into the actual song. A great song off the album “Yummy” from last year. It ended with the feeling of the shared experience, as if we all would have been singing “I shall be released” by Bob Dylan. They quickly followed up with “Way Over Your Head”, also from “Yummy” (I really think you should check out this album; they teased us all with some great samples, but let’s face it, we all need to buy that album anyway.

With the sort of “Pulp Fiction” inspired bassline, we all got our groove on into “Knuckle Too Far”, like all other songs on “Laid”, you can’t skip them, you just ride through them. This is a wonderful song, but something about it live just hits the spot, with the Robyn Guthrie-esque chiming guitars on a great bassline. I have always liked this song, but LIVE, well, nuff said.

Their ONLY song that sounded like American Guitar Country, they fired up “Low Low Low”, with lyrics like “I’m a member of an ape-like race

At the asshole end of the twentieth century

This film’s a thriller of the mind

Will we destroy our homes, release ourselves from the

Weights of gravity

I’ll be amazed if we survive.” How could you not LOVE a cheeky take on the subject matter? The entire venue was howling “LOW LOW LOW” along with the band, and yeah, we were pretty hoarse and loving every minute of it.

By now, Tim Booth was able to gauge how much energy he had, and needed to finish the gig, and began dancing a bit, giving us some of his reserves for “Sometimes”, and we all knew the words, so by the time we got to the chorus everyone was singing “SOMETIMES, WHEN I LOOK DEEP IN YOUR EYES, I SWEAR I CAN SEE YOUR SOUL”, loud enough for even the band to smile, and feel the love.

Closing out the 2^nd set they played the title track “Laid” and everyone was singing loudly, the band were smiling and everyone feeding off each-others energy, and I am not sure anyone was in key when they got to “Ah you think you’re so PRETTY—-HEEEE HEEEEE” though I am not sure it even mattered, this was the culminating song of the evening the one undoubtedly on the playlist of any James fans.

They walked off the stage for 5 minutes, took a breather, and took their positions. Tim Booth had his instrument in hand (his megaphone). We all knew what was coming next, the guitar and bassist began in sync playing the same two notes, then the 2^nd guitarist started flipping the distortion on his guitar. Tim began singing into the megaphone, “This is the invitation, to leave yourself behind, do something out of character, do something, you’ve never done before”. This had EVERYONE dancing in a way that Tim wasn’t able to at that moment, but he looked THRILLED to see the audience bouncing in sync to this one. The Trumpet lines, the dreamy guitar, everything was just feeling and sounding perfect. “Laugh at all the madness in this world,” we all sang along with them. With the trumpet being the lead instrument and the band playing underneath it all, there was no longer a band and punters; it was James and a bunch of friends in a crowded room becoming one with the music. By the time Tim got to the prayer section of the song, it was just a mad rush of love for everyone in the room. I was singing along, all teared up, “I call upon the love, I call upon the power, I call upon the witnes, to inspire us, I call upon my father’s spirit watching over me”. Andy Diagram was walking around in the crowd playing the trumpet line, and Tim got into the gap between the stage and the punters, and shook as many hands as he could. As he walked back to the stage while the song was ending, the two drummers went completely insane, perfectly in sync; this was why they needed two drummers.

Once the song finished, Tim introduced everyone in the band, getting to the drummers, he said, “Debbie Knox-Hewson, and Dave Baynton-Power, AND ONE of them is 7 months pregnant”. Debbie stood up and waved her sticks to the cheers of all the women in the venue, cheering her on as much as just appreciating her skills.

With everyone exhausted at this point, they closed the evening out with “Come Home”, by far the oldest song on this set list, from 1989.

With everyone sweating and in a bit of a haze from what we had just experienced, no one was coming down from this high for a while. We all walked out of the hall without a single complaint. With Tim as sick as he was that day, they all managed to pull together and give us an unforgettable show. They have proven themselves every time, with a completely different setlist every time, they can bury any expectations you ever had for a concert. James Live is a “must see” and you will remember each as a knock-down, awesome experience. From WOMAD in 1993 til Salt Lake “Laid” in 2025, I’m afraid it doesn’t get better than this.

At the moment of publishing this James are prepping for a string of dates in Mexico. Since this gig last week, they have already posted dates for their “Love Is The Answer” tour next year, so, you all want to check that out if you missed this tour.

#jamestheband #timbooth #jameslaid

If there was any constant in my life, it was in 1985, when my oldest brother started playing “Rebel Yell” at the house, then “Hot In The City”, and it moved from there to the sound that I could not even comprehend, from Duran Duran being my fave at the time (I was almost 11) and listening to Ozzy. Judas Priest, I heard this unspeakable glory in the sounds of “Generation X”, learning what the sound was behind this “Punk” thing. I can honestly say that, as much as I loved the metal we heard around the house, PUNK changed my life. The wildest moments were in August 1986, driving with my brother’s punk buddy at 4 am around Washington, DC, hearing “YOUTH YOUTH YOUTH”, or “Kiss Me, Deadly Tonight”, Punk somehow shifted in my brain to this new sound, and I have never broken free of it since.

Concert Review

Artist: Billy Idol

Date: September 5, 2025.

Supporting Act: Joan Jett

Venue: Utah First Amphitheater

City: West Valley City, Utah.

I have seen Billy Idol several times over the last almost 40 years, and knowing that this is the kind of tour that is his own Viking Funeral, going out in flames and glory, I expected nothing short of exactly that.

Joan Jett.

Well, for someone who has earned her stripes starting the same time a Billy Idol but in Los Angeles, Joan Jett is one of the godmothers of Punk herself, she was in “The Runaways” the first all girl punk rock band with Cherie Currie, Lita Ford, Sandy West, and are most known for shocking everyone within earshot with their song “Cherry Bomb”.

Joan delivered a tight set, but her voice sounded really hoarse. She was good, but wasn’t singing in the higher notes that we are used to hearing. The only song that sounded like it should have been “I Love Rock & Roll”.

No photos were allowed.

So, Billy Idol, well, from the humble raw beginnings of Generation X, in small clubs, with barely a stage and a couple of lights, suddenly we saw the sold-out amphitheater go dark, and a large screen behind the stage light up, with echoes of previous hits. In contrast, the lights went white, red, and blue, and the band took their positions on the stage. “Hey Little Sister” and the silhouette from the first album, glowing red, the drums kicked off, then Steve Stevens on the guitar gave way for the legend to come running out on the stage, and he gave us “Still Dancing” with “Sneer Delight”, he was back in front of a full audience, doing what he does best.

“Cradle of Love” from the 1990 album “Charmed Life”, he was all over the stage dancing, moving quickly, only a little stiff in his leg, but he clearly has been able to bounce back from the incident where we almost lost him.

He had a costume change, where he took off his leather biker jacket and swapped it out for a biker’s cut vest. The band amped up with the guitar and basslines of “Flesh For Fantasy”. It felt just as intense as when I first heard it in ’85. With images of TV screens stacked behind him, it was evident that he had taken care of his voice for all these years. He was on top of the platforms on the stage, making the standard Billy Idol wave, also known as “The Fist,” with all the leather spiked bracelets from 1984. Each member showcased their instruments, where the bassist got to thump out some lines, and the rock and roll god Steve Stevens played the top line over the bass, and was just as cool as ever, big hair and all. Taking the guitar lines into almost an improvised guitar solo, Billy would wave a fist and yell “FLESH” with everyone singing along. It was all pretty intense here, and we were only 3 songs in.

He talked about everyone who felt like an outsider, and played “77” for those of us who made our world listening to this kind of music, against whatever the grain was. Billy and so many other artists gave us all of this, starting in 1977.

While ramping everyone up, with banter “GIVE IT TO ME, GONNA HAVE SOME FUN?” and expecting everyone to yell “YES!!!”, we suddenly heard an almost new age synth line, straight out of “old VH1” then Steve Stevens started playing flamenco guitar almost in a minor chord progression under a white spotlight, this went on for a few measures, then the band kicked in, with it sounding like a smooth-jazz vibe, it all turned into “Eyes Without A Face”. (oh yeah, and Billy had another costume change). It was so mellow, and as rich as always, but a very “Adult” sounding vibe with it. I guess we are all grown up now. It was in the right meter, but it felt like slow motion. When the guitar solo was secondary to Billy’s “smooth” vocals, as strange as it was, it still just felt fantastic with how they are doing it these days.

As though we weren’t already graced by some guitar solos, Steve Stevens kinda went off into playing a meddle of guitar riffs from whatever was on his mind that night, some old Billy songs, some Spanish guitar, some Bach crescendos, I thought I even heard the guitar line from “The Damned” cover of “Alone Again Or”, then everyone chanting “Ole”, a piece of “Stairway To Heaven” and who knows hat else, it was just fun.

They went into the biggest song in Utah that everyone knows by Billy Idol, his cover of “Money Money” by Tommy James and the Shondells. That song got continuous airplay, and was played at EVERY LDS youth stake dance, and school dance, and often in the dance clubs. Billy had the crowd losing their minds. It was a bit odd, though I noticed that he had forgotten the words in a few places. Maybe it was just out of boredom, it tightened up at the end of the 2^nd verse, and he had the entire amphitheater singing along with him. With his background vocalists all glammed out standing at his sides, they were just as intense as Billy was, getting everyone worked up to sing along. These ladies made it sound so much better than the recording on the EP “Don’t Stop”.

Billy then started telling the audience how good they all looked, saying, “You are the best looking audience we’ve seen in a while”, all for the cheers. Then they played a cover of Rose Royce’s “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore”. A nice selection outside of the norm, and they did it well.

Billy took a somber moment to talk about having near-death experiences. Talking about his motorcycle accident, where he was on too many substances, and it led to him almost dying, and all the medical treatments in the world to put him back together. It reminded me of the gig on the “Charmed Life” tour, where he walked out on stage with a cane, then threw it away after the first song, while mocking the doctors who said he would never walk again. He had a sense of arrogance and bravado that night. I am not sure how real it was, or if it was for show. He said some really jerky things back then on stage and laid down a lot of crude jokes. Tonight he explained how all of those days were behind him, and too many times he was supposed to have died, then he humbly said, “I had to wise up, because I realized I wasn’t ready to go yet, I still had too much fun waiting for me”. Then he played his song “Too Much Fun”, which told that exact story, in a killer Glam Punk Rock delivery. It was magnificent to have that moment, and the song was his way of sharing those thoughts with all of us.

After another costume change, he brought up losing a friend and a great musician, Ozzy Osborne, a few weeks earlier, and introduced one of Ozzy’s best friends, Billy Morrison, who was in the band. Billy Morrison told a great story, said “Yes, he was THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS, and that I hope you all know he is looking over us tonight,” and had everyone chant “OZZY” really loudly. He told this story about being in the studio with Steve Stevens, and how much Ozzy loved punk. They would be recording, and at any random interval in the studio, Ozzy would say, “I just fucking love Billy Idol”.

SO, to celebrate Ozzy, let’s have a nice slice of Punk, how about some Generation X (You all know Generation X), Billy said, “Yeah, let’s do it! “Ready! Steady! GO!”. With that, all the old school punk fans were standing up and singing along with the punk rock classic, pogo stick dancing, and waving fists. This was not the amphitheater of 18K people; it was a basement pub dive bar in London, 1978. The only thing cooler would have been if Tony James, Mark Laff, and Bob Andrews were there for this one. (I met Tony in the Sisters of Mercy back in 1991, oh so close)

With a grinding Steve Stevens guitar solo that NO ONE was complaining about, playing more lines from obscure songs, flipping feedback switches, at random, then the guitar lines of “Blue Highway”.

All the old school fans were singing “You you we want to ride, On the Blue Highway”, reminiscent of Hunter S Thompson’s legendary road trip, being caught up in one of the best punk songs that Billy Idol wanted to sing about. The song closed out with Steve Stevens just showing off by now, playing some more great riffs, showing what an absolute Deity on guitar that he is, some fun lines familiar to us, he smiled with a rather mischievous grin, as he went into the theme from “Top Gun”, yeah, that was just cool too. At this point, with all the vocalists taking their slice of attention on the stage, and showcasing what they have done, it was only fair and proper that we get that one out of Steve Stevens.

“Cheers, Steve,” Billy said, then began to tell a story where he was at a party at someone’s place in New York City, shortly after he moved to the United States. It was Ronnie Wood’s house from the Rolling Stones, at one point during the night, standing in front of him was Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, and Ronnie Wood, and each had this big bottle of “Tennessee Southern Sour Mash Bourbon” and he was curious what they were all drinking, then as Keith Richards put the bottle to his lips, he noticed one name on the label, it was “REBEL YELL”, what a way to introduce a song. They played Rebel Yell just as pure and tight as we all first heard it. This was how they finished out the first part of the set. The Graphics on the screens were fantastic; you just had to be there to get it.

After a several-minute interlude and another costume change, they took the stage again. The unmistakable drum line for “Dancing With Myself,” the guitar fired up, and everyone was doing exactly what the song suggested; all of the punters were dancing, going back to so many of those great memories resurrecting in this one shared moment.

While all of us were sweating and catching our breath, he told another story about moving to New York City in March of 1981 to start his solo career. He was going to renew himself, and when he was going through that boiling summer, and he was walking around in bondage boots and leather trousers, he felt like he was in that movie “The Warriors”. He was walking around and thought, “People around me seem hot, if there is the first song I’m gonna write, it’s gonna be ‘Hot In The City'”. This was the ONLY song he sang out of the original vocal vibe. It was good, just different. Everyone was swaying their heads to this one. He was singing like Elvis at the end, letting his background singers take the lead.

Billy then went into his apology to the world, to his friends, and to his fans. I found his humility (If you could have been on the stage like this) authentic. He knows he had some less-than-stellar albums and tours; he knows that right now, this time, nostalgia is what people are going out to see. He talked about his family and these experiences, and this new song, “People I Love”. It was a great song, actually, and spilled out his heart to everyone he had disappointed over the years while being on the road. His candor in all of this was real, and he earned everyone’s respect.

Apologizing for not knowing where he was in the set, he asked the punters what they might have missed. Then with “Steve, show them what a hit song sounds like, will ya?” And there were all these women in wedding veils running down to the front tossing them at the stage, yes, it was “WHITE WEDDING”. The set closed out with as many classics and fun new songs, showing the world that Billy Idol still has it. Yes, everyone, like he said, one or two lines about this “It’s a nice day to TOUR AGAIN”. Whether you went for a few singles from high school, or you are a die-hard fan, Billy Idol delivered the most amazing set, showing us all that he still has what it takes to entertain a crowd, and tell us all how much he loves what we gave back. Billy Idol decided to go out with a BANG, anyone who sees this tour will give him that.

Cheers Billy.

#billyidol #generationx #stevestevens #ozzy #punk #glampunk