LIVE REVIEWS Archives - Page 4 of 13

September 8, 2025 Jason Shrum

NIN Peels It Back in Nashville

The setlist drew from The Downward Spiral more than any other album, although they played from various records. The group was now gaining momentum with rising fury and ripped one expeditious track after another; this included ‘March of the Pigs’, ‘Repitle’ and “Heresy” (all from The Downward Spiral); then ‘Copy of A’ (from 2013’s Hesitation Marks) and ‘Gave Up’ (also from Broken). They then began their rapid trek onto the more intimate setup where it got more electronic with Boys Noize joining in for all four of the songs. These were essentially remixes as Boys Noise shifted the tonality a bit with his additional soundscape. It was ‘Vessel’ (Year Zero), ‘Closer’ (The Downward Spiral), ‘As Alive as you Need Me To Be’ (from the new TRON:Ares soundtrack) and ‘Came Back Haunted’ (Hesitation Marks). I would love to hear a proper recording of the joint they prepared on ‘Closer’ (I’ll include that clip too).

September 1, 2025 Jason Shrum

I Believe in a Thing Called The Darkness

My passion for the British rock group began back in 2003 when I first heard the single ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’, off their debut album Permission to Land. Now singer/guitarist Justin Hawkins, his brother guitarist Dan Hawkins, bassist Frankie Poullain, and drummer Rufus Taylor (son of Queen drummer Roger Taylor) are back with their eighth studio album. If you know anything about The Darkness, then you know about a high level of intensity when playing live gigs. As the band first emerged on the scene there was this inkling that they were some kind of joke band. That they were spoofing the 1970’s hard and glam rock scene, but those ribbings were quickly left by the side of musicality road. This band is absolutely enthralling. Listeners and critics alike fastly found themselves realizing the technical fortitude of this sonically reverent band.

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August 25, 2025 Jason Shrum

Bully Packs A Punch at The Blue Room

I was back at The Blue Room again in Nashville to cover the Bully show with Jawdropped supporting on the second evening of a two-show engagement. You know you spend a lot of time at a venue when you walk up to the ticket person and they say, “Oh, it’s you again”. I laughed. Live music venues are my happy place, so I was certainly glad to be there again. This would be my third time seeing Alicia Bognanno and her band. “Bully” refers to her “inner bully” or the “inner demons” she confronts in her music and life. The name Bully also represents the initial band she fronted a decade ago but later became synonymous with Bognanno herself as the sole member.

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August 22, 2025 Jason Shrum

Arts Fishing Club Drops Lines in Blue Room Waters

Their sound is hard to root down and that’s why I am excited about their future. You can say they are this or that, but their ability to play just about anything is evident in their music. At the core, Arts Fishing Club is branded as an indie-folk rock band, but I am not sure that’s the best descriptor of what they are about, although I am not sure how I would list them if I had to. The music is fun. The band plays tight. It’s fast when it needs to be but slows down with all the right accents tapping directly into all the listeners emotions. They keep it light between songs too, letting the audience know just how much fun they are having. On this Thursday, in the dimly lit architectural aqua-bowl of a room, our guiding light was AFC.

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July 15, 2025 Jason Shrum

Jukebox Jam 2 at The Basement East

The Basement East in Nashville was transformed into an old juke-joint/ sock hop with soul on Saturday night. The room was electric as people poured in, some donned in 1950’s and 60’s attire to watch a spectacular evening of beautiful music from the yesteryears. The stage was set with glittery streamers laced in a gold and red background, paper records looped around the venue, as a disco ball illuminated both floor and ceiling. There was an enchanting feeling that made me sense Michael J. Fox was about to blow up this “Under the Sea” monikered prom by ripping his cherry red Gibson ES-345 guitar and showing us the future of music.

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May 27, 2025 Cretin

Metallica Causes Quake

I had never heard of Metallica, and this, their second album was my first exposure. I scanned through the album in my headphones while another tune played across the airwaves. Probably Deep Purple – they were my “go to” at that time. As a DJ in the 80’s you sampled an album by lifting and placing the needle ten times and hearing the beginning of each song. The first one to catch my attention was “Trapped Under Ice.” Harder than most stuff I listened to, but it was fresh, aggressive, and damn good music. It became my theme song for that show, and eventually was my opening song every Friday night. It seemed the perfect segue from the guitar-laced classic rock played before my shift started.

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May 20, 2025 Jason Shrum

Billy Idol & Joan Jett Still Crushing It

Billy Idol followed about a half hour after Joan and her Blackheart mates finished their set. Idol, now 69, also looked fantastic and I wondered how he would sound. I have been a long-time fan of both musicians since I was about 12 years old. I knew about Runaways and was also listening to Billy’s former band Generation X thanks to the older kids that I knew when I was in middle school. Again, these formations broke-up long before I was listening, but I had catching up to do.