Dante's got a bit hot this past Saturday.

Music is a driving force in my life. My tastes are pretty varied, but good old ROCK & ROLL is where my heart drifts to most often. Portland, Oregon is fortunate to have a very vibrant and thriving music scene. Even better, this is perhaps becoming the Tribute Band capitol of the world!

Big Words? A bit of a boast? Perhaps, but I think it could be proven as a fact with very little work. Saturdaynight was just another example. Iconic Portland nightspot, Dante's located on Burnside hosted a show consisting of Grand Royale, (Beastie Boys) Shoot to Thrill, (AC/DC) and Unchained (Van Halen). A bit of a confession, when the Beastie Boys first hit the scene, I was so against anything "rap" related, that I refused to even give them a listen. Then I heard one of the best albums ever...Paul's Boutique.

Saturdaynight was my first time catching Grand Royale...it will NOT be the last. They were smokin' hot and had the act down cold. I have not had that much fun watching an opener in a long time, and I have a feeling they will be moving up on the venue slots before long. Jason Fellman told me about these guys a while ago, and he is (as usual) spot on with his assessment of the amazing talent. And how many other bands do you know that invite an audience member to come up and face them in a beer drinking challenge? Yep...probably just this one.

They nailed the hits and still pulled out a few of the non-pop gems. I would love to hear more from Paul's Boutique (High Plains Drifter comes to mind right away). This is a group that I think we will be adding to our "must see" list any chance we can. They even let me sing along on No Sleep 'til Brooklyn. That was kinda fun.

Shoot to Thrill was second to hit the stage in this 4 hour music extravaganza. This is the premier AC/DC tribute band in Portland, Oregon, and perhaps beyond. They cover both the Bon Scott and Brian Johnson eras. Evan is the voice and ever-improving front man for this group and has the showman chops of somebody much older. He has even worked in wearing the very recognizable Brian Johnson cap during songs from that part of the band's catalog. (You're welcome , Evan...I was the one who spotted it under the drum riser after the show and gave it to one of Jason's crew to return to you. It looks better on you than it ever would on me anyway.)

This band is perhaps one of the tightest musically with a very solid backing band that drives a fierce hard rock engine. They play a great set and own the stage from start to finish. They have a very loyal fan base and once you catch them, you will see why.

This is a band that puts a lot of energy into their shows. They pull off many of the signature show highlights from AC/DC's stage shows when they have room. The small stage at Dante's is fun because you are almost certain there will be a massive collision. One more thing of note, this is a band that features a father-son combo. Evan's dad is Angus. Very cool.

Closing the show was one of my personal favorites. Unchained tosses the audience into a time machine and shoots them back to the early 80s when Van Halen ruled the world of rock. They have the swagger and the personalities of the original four young punks from Santa Monica without some of the drawbacks of the old days like Diamond Dave's propensity for forgetting the lyrics or being too drunk to understand.

If I could win guitar lessons from one person in the Portland Tribute scene, it would be a toss up between guitar iron man Dan Bates or Brad "Shreddy Van Halen" Halleck, DDS. (Yeah...probably the coolest dentist in the entire world!) If you remember the old VH videos, Eddie always had a smile on his face. Brad shows off that very same grin throughout the show and just manages to look so damn cool the whole time. He is a reminder of why we all wanted to be Eddie when we were growing up, the big difference is that he gets to play him on stage with amazing effect.

By the time the show ended, Dante's was sweltering and the only cool thing in the place were the members of the three bands that gave one helluva show. If you missed it, then I suggest that you get your tickets to Harefest V. (They go on sale today, just an FYI.)

Here is the lineup:

Fri July 17

Appetite for DeceptionGuns 'N' Roses
MotorbreathMetallica
Crazy TrainOzzy Osbourne
LovedriveScorpions
UnchainedVan Halen

Sat July 18

Stone In LoveJourney
Ramble OnLed Zeppelin
Grand RoyaleBeastie Boys
Petty FeverTom Petty
Shoot to ThrillAC/DC
SteelhorseBon Jovi
BarracudaHeart
Jukebox HeroesForeigner

Why are people dumping ice water on their heads!?

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have been seeing all these people, famous and not-so-famous, dumping buckets of ice water on their heads. You may be wondering why? Simple, it is to raise money and awareness for ALS. For those not exactly sure what that is (c'mon, admit it...there are a few of you {me} who did not know exactly what ALS is besides just some disease), I have provided you with that information below.

From Wikipedia: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)—also referred to as motor neurone disease (MND), Charcot disease, and, in the United States, Lou Gehrig's disease—is a neurodegenerative disease with various causes. ALS is characterised by muscle spasticity, rapidly progressive weakness due to muscle atrophy, and difficulty in speaking (dysarthria), swallowing (dysphagia), and breathing (dyspnea). ALS is the most common of the five motor neuron diseases.

In the U.S., more than 5,600 are diagnosed every year, and up to 30,000 Americans are currently affected. ALS is responsible for 2 deaths per 100,000 people.^[1]

Median survival time from onset to death is 39 months, and only 4% survive longer than 10 years, although rare cases survive 50 years or more. Most die from respiratory failure, usually within three to five years from onset of symptoms.

Now, for what you came to see...

However, in addition to the challenge, I have also sent my own donation of $100 and ask that each of you reading this send just $5. If you do so, and then email me at twbrown.maydecpub@gmail.com, I will give you the choice of any of my audible titles OR the epub or MOBI (depending on your ereader device) in my library. Yep, I will be taking you at your word.

Also, wish me luck. Saturday I will be running in a half-marathon (13+ mile obstacle course that starts with a half mile swim) called Inferno. This is my longest distance to date.

Partying like it was 1984!

I had a great weekend.

Unchained Girl says, "Bottoms up!"

Denise and I went to the 80s Throwback Party at the Hawthorne Theater. I make no secret about my love of 80s music (some of the GREATEST guitar music came from that era). I saw a Cult, Poison, and Van Halen tribute band. They were all good, but Unchained, the Van Halen band was the highlight for me. Oh...and I even got a pick from "Eddie" which I will be using on my guitar...maybe it will channel some of that guy's talent. He was a-freaking-mazing!

I am a known KISS fan, but if I had to pick my top 5 bands of all time (excluding Stevie Ray Vaughn--he is his own category...GENIUS!), it would be:

1. KISS
2. Van Halen (the DLR years...I was VERY unhappy when Sammy joined)
3. Aerosmith
4. Queensryche
5. WASP

So, seeing Unchained was a treat. These guys go the extra mile to pull off the tribute. "Eddie" keeps that ever-present smile, "Diamond Dave" is all swagger and innuendo, "Michael Anthony" carries killer harmony vocals and has a gruff sort of swagger, and "Alex" beats his drum kit with abandon.

Even better was how they pulled off the sound. Looks only get you so far, but Unchained leaves little doubt that you just experienced the Van Halen experience. These guys are a blast...just see for yourself.

And as you can see, we were VERY close to the action. Which was almost like re-living my old days as a concert rat back in the 80s, minus having to sleep in the parking lot of the Portland Memorial Coliseum (which is what you had to do if you wanted to be up close on the floor back in the days of General Admission.)

Unchained Girls, Unchained band...and me!

After the show, the band was even nice enough to pose for a few pics, and even brought along their Unchained Girls. Talk about making a guy feel special for his birthday. Diamond Dave even took home a copy of DEAD: The Ugly Beginning and we talked briefly about the "good old days" of Romero's original Dawn of the Dead. Does a band get much cooler? Probably not.

I will try to have my Wednesday post up, but since I will be turning 48 that day, no promises. In our house we celebrate "Birthday Week" so there is no telling what could happen. So, don't let Monday get you down. Pull out some classic VH and re-live some good times.

Last, but not least, I have one unclaimed set of audio books: Zomblog, Zomblog II, Zomblog: The Final Entry, and That Ghoul Ava and The Queen of the Zombies. Comments are entry tickets, so if you comment, you could win!