May 12
Happy Birthday Billy Squier born in 1950
1967 – During a concert at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Pink Floyd uses bubble machines during their performance. The Machines would get them banned from the hall as it damaged the carpets.
1972 -The Rolling Stones release the critical acclaimed
Exile On Main Street. A double album recorded mainly outside of England so the band could avoid British taxes (they are “tax exiles,” thus the album name).
2008 – Neil Young has a spider named after him.
2017 – U2 start their
Joshua Tree Tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their 1987 album. The band plays the album in its entirety.
This episode of Bourbon on the Rock has been a fun one to plan. U2 s iconic Joshua Tree album is going to be paired with another Irish classic, Jameson Black Barrel. On the eve of St. Patrick s Day, it only seemed appropriate. Let s go!
As always, we start by opening the bottle of goodness.
Christine is back as a guest taster. She s Irish so this was a no-brainer. She picks up the double-char on the nose. It s a major factor in Jameson s distilling process so that was a great thing to pick up on. She also picked up on a perfect blend of fire and sweetness. By God, this girl is really coming along as a rookie bourbon/whisky fan. However, she isn t there yet. She asked us to add something to this drink to weaken it a bit so Scott, our other guest taster, whipped her up a Big Ginger. This guy s brilliant.
U2: The Virtual Road, a series of four concerts broadcast
for 48 hours only.
U2: The Virtual Road also marks the first time that three of these concerts – Slane, Red Rocks and Mexico – have been made available digitally.
The first concert will broadcast on St. Patrick s Day, March
th 2021.
U2 Go Home: Live From Slane Castle celebrates the band s return to the legendary Irish concert site on September 1
st 2001 for their first performance on the banks of the River Boyne in over twenty years. And in an exclusive YouTube performance,
Dermot Kennedy will open the show with a solo performance recorded last week outside Los Angeles.
“Contextually, The Joshua Tree seemed to in some ways mirror the changes that were happening in the world during the Thatcher/Reagan period. It seems like we’ve kind of come full circle and we’re back there with a different cast of characters.” – Adam Clayton, ‘Mojo’ Magazine, April 2017 issue
Adam Clayton’s astute reflections in the current edition of
Mojo reinforce the old adage that suggests that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Indeed, the political and cultural parallels the U2 bassist identifies between the New Right driven, Thatcher/Reagan endorsed conservatism of the mid to late 1980s and the resurgent, post-Brexit/Trump nationalism we’re confronted with in 2017 seem to bear all the hallmarks of history repeating.
WPGU 107.1
Credit: Chicago Sun-Times
Nothing will ever match that feeling when I stepped out on stage for the first time. As I paced back and forth in the green room with my guitar slung over my shoulder, making innocuous conversation about music with another performer, the sudden adrenaline rush caused a shakiness in my legs and voice. The notion that my legs just might fail me while I would be on stage only heightened my performance anxiety. To my surprise, walking up on stage and introducing myself would end up being the hardest part of that night because when it was time to perform, it was as if something came over me. My anxiety was replaced with comfort, and I found myself singing with more conviction and presence than I ever could in the comfort of my room. It was that cold January night when I realized that performing was my new passion.