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Three Days Grace w/The Warning show review

Canadian hard rockers Three Days Grace rolled into Montreal, Canada on November 20 in support of their newly released Explosions album. With 20 top ten hits on Billboard charts spread out over 20 years, the term grizzled veterans can be applied to them. Led by lead singer Brad Waist (and younger brother of lead guitarist Matt) who joined the band in 2011, Three Days Grace performed a show similar to many of today’s modern rock bands, and that is what it was, a very produced and choreographed show performed by aged veterans.

Opening with So Called Life and following up Animal I Have Become, Three Days Grace had the crowd going from the start. Home and Pain had the early vibes of Three Days Grace but that is when the process became too rehearsed and choreographed.

The show progressed between Painkiller and I Am The Weapon from The Explosions album, but a long keyboard setup and Brad Waist chants for Three Days Grace kept breaking up the fluidity. Brad Waist’s banter to the crowd lacked sincerity before World So Cold. Following songs such as Good Life and I Hate Everything About You were played. Encore songs were Never Too Late and Riot but at that point, the crowd had noticeably diminished.

Opening up for Three Days Grace was The Warning, a trio of sisters from Mexico. Playing songs off their newly released Errors album, they stole the show with their high energy tempo, rhythms, stage performance and enthusiasm. Things that the Three Days Grace show lacked. And their cover of Metallica’s Enter Sandman had a crowd sing-a-long going. Setting up the whole evening was The Standstills, a Canadian duo from Oshawa, Ontario, playing standard rock radio fare from their two albums Shockwave and Badlands.

The Offspring w/ Simple Plan concert review

Punk music has changed a lot over the decades since bands like the Sex Pistols and The Ramones. Two different generations of punk bands played on November 4, 2022 in Montreal, Canada. 1990’s California punk rock band The Offspring rolled into town with their Let the Bad Times Roll tour, originally postponed from earlier in the year due to the pandemic, with 2000’s hometown boys pop punk band Simple Plan opening up for them. And a great show it was.

One thing about the change in punk music is how much more it is streamlined for public consumption. The audience itself knew the entire catalogue of songs by both bands and the evening itself was a large sing-a-long of the songs for both bands.

The veterans and headliners of the show, The Offspring opened up their set with Keep them Separated and closed with Self Esteem. The majority of their songs came from their albums Americana and Ixnay on the Hombre with the only noteworthy addition to the setlist being Slim Pickens Does the Right Thing and Rides the Bomb to Hell being added. A cover of Blitzkrieg Bop was played. Noodles played several guitar riffs midway through the set to give Dexter’s voice a rest. The show was smooth as the dialogue between Dexter and Noodles – who isn’t as funny as he thinks sometimes – kept the set going in between guitar changes and tuning. But as Noodles commented, the sing-a-long factor of the crowd was tremendous and made the whole show fun.

But the real fun of the evening went to Simple Plan. As they are from Montreal and spoke in French, they had a huge pop and crowd response the whole night. Right from the start of their show with I’d Do Anything, the crowd was immediately behind them. But the highlight was special invite Marie Mai, a successful French pop star, to sing the female parts of Jet Lag which was the third song on their setlist. From giant beach balls from the rafters during Summer Paradise to a sing a long mix of All Star/Sk8er Boi and Mr. Brightside, Simple Plan’s show had a headline vibe. I’m Just a Kid also had the crowd going and they closed with Perfect, their ballad which had the loudest sing-a-long of their evening. Simple Plan played with a high level of energy the whole evening and did not miss a beat with no dead time. A very well-done show.

Exxxotica Expo New Jersey Draws Huge Crowd !

Edison , New Jersey – What is considered a home-base for the team behind the erotic convention known as Exxxotica ,the fact that they are from the area had little to do with this weekends success . The simple plain fact is they produce a quality product and deliver the goods at a reasonable price . Hence the huge crowds and especially Saturday where it was so packed I didn’t know where to look.

Leda Lotharia adult starlet signing autographs at her booth and meeting fans !

The expo itself is divided into many subsets but has a little bit of it all .Want to meet a celebrity like adult 90s star Micky Lynn, or WWE superstar Rob Van Damn and actress Katie Morgan , yep all there .

Nicky Huntsman adult starlet signing autographs at her booth and meeting fans !

Interested in being an adult performer, lots of seminars and classes on that as well . Want to try out whips and floggers . There are plenty of classes and demonstrations on that as well .

Bacon of Red Room Accessories demonstrating some of their product line

Interested in sexy cosplay for the inner geek ? Show it off here , no judgement zone .Do you have a favorite cam model you always wanted to meet ? Im sure MFC or Chaturbate or Cam4 will have who you are looking for .

Some Cam Models meeting some of their fans

The one thing that is missing is the clip content creators section lile Clips4Sale , Many Vids or Onlyfans .There were a lot of Onlyfans creators just not in their own area .

The event takes place four times a year and the next one is in Washington DC in Dec so mark you calendars and click on the link for more info https://exxxoticaexpo.com/

Within Temptation 2022 Live Review

Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation played in Montreal, Canada on October 13 as part of their 2022 North American tour. With a catalogue spanning over 25 years, they are considered one of the vanguards of symphonic metal. Although they have leaned more towards pop metal over the last few albums, it’s hard to stay hard over the years, the band’s focus has always been on Sharon den Abel’s vocals. And Sharon’s vocals were still there, for most of the night.

Starting the set with See who I am, following up with Paradise, In the Middle of the Night and then with Faster, the show was at the top of its form. More recent songs that followed like Entertain You and Shed My Skin received a more tepid response. In between, Sharon acknowledged the LGBTQ crowd base, paid tribute to the people in Ukraine and discussed her past issues with exhaustion and the death of her father. Ballads like Angels drew a large sing-a-long

Closing the evening with encore songs Supernova and Mother Earth, the pause for the encore itself gave Sharon a few minutes to regain vocal form as the finale had a lot of energy. On the whole, the show was fun although there was a sense that the band was going through the motions. Even after 2 and a half decades, Sharon still has a presence and a voice. So, it was worth seeing Within Temptation, even if it’s just for one time.

Opening the evening was last minute call in Vrylnia, a Montreal based symphonic metal band. With a strong opera influence from lead vocalist Ariane Martel, the band played a tight set of songs from their just released debut CD, the Other World. It was worth the evening in its entirety just to discover a new band

Micky Lynn to appear at Exxxotica Expo Jersey!

Edison ,New jersey – 1990’s adult film star Micky Lynn is set to appear at Exxxotica Expo ,New Jersey the weekend of Oct 21-23 at booth #146 and make sure you swing by for a photo and autograph . She has been a delight and fan favorite for decades and be sure to meet her at this rare public appearance . For more information about Exxxotica please see the official website at https://exxxoticaexpo.com/

State Champs at House Of Blues Cleveland 11/11/2022

Albany, NY – Celebrating what has so far been a monumental year, New York powerhouses State Champs will soon be embarking on the Kings Of The New Age Tour. Special guests Hunny and Between You & Me are joining the cross-country affair, with Young Culture (11/11 – 11/20), Games We Play (11/22 – 11/30), and Save Face (12/2 – 12/10) also joining for select dates. All tickets are on sale now here.
“I’m particularly excited for the KOTNA Tour because of how much we as a band are focusing on the aesthetic and flow of the show,” says vocalist Derek DiScanio. “This will be the first tour where it feels more like an experience rather than just a band on stage playing songs. The stage production is by far the most unique and badass it’s ever been, and you bet the mixture of songs in our catalog (new songs, old songs, and some surprises) will create a wild set list. Best night ever.”
Earlier this year, State Champs planted their flag firmly in pop-punk history with their 4^th studio album, Kings Of The New Age, out now via Pure Noise Records. The album includes hit singles “Eventually”, “Everybody But You” (ft. Ben Barlow), “Outta My Head”, and “Just Sound” alongside seven all new tracks featuring additional guest vocalists Chrissy Costanza, Mitchell Tenpenny, and Four Year Strong.
On the highly anticipated release, the band shares, “Kings of The New Age is our fourth album, the one that we spent the most time on, and the one that makes the biggest statement. After writing over 30 songs, we narrowed it down to 11 that best represent our mission as a band, and sonically, match the energy level we wanted to captivate heading into this new chapter.”
Kings Of The New Age is available to buy and stream now at https://lnk.to/StateChamps
Album four is often when a beloved rock band shifts gears, frustrating longtime fans, searching for a more “mature” sound. State Champs raise a joyous middle finger to that trope with Kings Of The New Age, an enthusiastic and confident reminder of what the Upstate New Yorkers do best.
Younger than Gen X punk heroes like Billie Joe Armstrong and Mark Hoppus; older than Willow and Trippie Redd; the foursome balances energy and experience. As a new generation resurrects angsty unrest on TikTok and Machine Gun Kelly puts guitars back on the mainstream chart, State Champs double down on the vibrant pop-punk they’ve championed for a decade. They were several steps ahead of the seismic sonic shift. Kings Of The New Age will now claim the crown.
Derek DiScanio, Tyler Szalkowski, Ryan Scott Graham, and Evan Ambrosio deliver a strong message. Produced by Drew Fulk (Lil Wayne, A Day To Remember, Ice Nine Kills) aka WZRD BLD, Kings Of The New Age is a big album, without sacrificing the heart cherished by a legion of fans.
Starting in bedrooms and basements in 2010, State Champs quickly ascended as leaders of a new scene owing as much to early Fall Out Boy and Green Day as latter-day Warped Tour bands. In 2022, Kerrang!declared them “one of the most authentic and well-respected bands in pop-punk.” Over the course of their career, State Champs delivered their music and heartfelt message on extensive tours with bands like Fall Out Boy, 5 Seconds Of Summer, A Day To Remember, and Simple Plan; three different Warped Tours; and a co-headliner with Neck Deep.
Kerrang! gave the band’s first album, The Finer Things, a rare 5K review in 2013. Rock Sound and Alternative Press served up adoring cover stories. Around the World and Back entered the Billboard Current Rock Albums chart at No. 3 and made Rock Sound’s Top 10 Albums of 2015. Living Proof followed in 2018. Billboard called them “modern-day pop-punk torchbearers” the same year. They are an arena-ready rock band with the freedom of punk’s soul. 2022 belongs to State Champs.
Welcome to The New Age.

Upcoming Tour Dates Oct 22 – Las Vegas, NV – When We Were Young Fest^ Oct 23 – Las Vegas, NV – When We Were Young Fest^ Oct 24 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy & Harriet’s Oct 29 – Las Vegas, NV – When We Were Young Fest^ Nov 11 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues * Nov 12 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live * Nov 13 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel * Nov 15 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Theatre * Nov 18 – Chicago, IL – Concord Music Hall * Nov 19 – St. Louis, MO – Red Flag * Nov 20 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater * Nov 22 – Denver, CO – Gothic # Nov 23 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Union # Nov 25 – Anaheim, CA – House of Blues # Nov 26 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues # Nov 27 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren # Nov 29 – Austin, TX – Empire Garage # Nov 30 – Dallas, TX – South Side Music Hall # Dec 2 – Orlando, FL – Plaza Live + Dec 3 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore + Dec 4 – Nashville, TN – Eastside Bowl + Dec 6 – Richmond, VA – The National + Dec 7 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom + Dec 9 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner + Dec 10 – Albany, NY – Empire Live +
^ Festival Appearance * with Young Culture # with Games We Play + with Save Face

WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS: THE RETURN OF EMERSON LAKE & PALMER

WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS:
THE RETURN OF EMERSON LAKE & PALMER
Sole surviving member Carl Palmer, in association with the Estates of his bandmates Keith Emerson & Greg Lake, has announced the much-anticipated WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS- THE RETURN OF EMERSON LAKE & PALMER Tour. Launching on Friday, November 18th., 2022 at the 2300 ARENA in Philadelphia, PA, the tour will actually reunite ELP LIVE ON STAGE through modern technology.

After exploring the idea of a Hologram tour in detail, Palmer (with the Estates of Emerson and Lake) opted for what they felt was a more honest approach using live footage of Keith and Greg on massive video walls alongside Carl (and his band) playing LIVE on stage. The voice and instrumentation of Greg Lake and the unmistakable keyboard mastery of Keith Emerson will be mixed with Palmer’s onstage live drumming to magically reunite ELP once again. Paul McCartney’s duet with John Lennon at the end of his recent Got Back tour is a good idea of what ELP fans can expect from this show.

Emerson and Lake passed away nine months apart in 2016, leaving Palmer to carry on the band’s enormous musical legacy.

“About five years ago I explored the idea of trying to reunite the band using digital holograms,” said Carl Palmer. “We saw a few shows of other artists but it did not seem like an honest approach. We were able to use just the camera shots of Keith and Greg, with the sterling audio tracks of their performances resulting in a combination of film and onstage performance that brings back the magic of ELP.”

Here is what music fans can expect:

After establishing themselves in bands such as The Nice, King Crimson, and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, ELP was formed in early 1970 as one of rock’s first (and biggest) supergroups. With record sales of over 50 million and decades of sold-out tours through the 1970s and again in the 1990s, Emerson Lake & Palmer has remained one of the best-selling classic rock bands of all time. The band’s complete recorded catalog, now under the direction and distribution of BMG MUSIC, continues to be a steady force on the international music scene. The tour will coincide with the new BMG box set of classic ELP hit singles pressed on vinyl with reproductions of the original picture sleeves. The ELP ‘Out Of This World, Live’ box set’, on 10LP and 7CD, released by BMG in 2021, includes the whole Albert Hall London 1992 show being used for the on-stage Greg and Keith footage in the ‘Return Of ELP’ tour shows.
The tour is being launched with the full approval of the Emerson and Lake Estates, as well as the various managers who have represented the members of the band. WELCOME BACK MY FRIENDS- THE RETURN OF EMERSON LAKE & PALMER will start in the US during Fall 2022 and eventually play all over the world where ELP toured throughout its career.

ICKETS WILL BE ON SALE SEPTEMBER 9^TH., 2022
FRI NOV 18. 2300 ARENA – Philadelphia, PA.    BUY TICKETS
SUN NOV 20 PENN’S PEAK – Jim Thorpe, PA. BUY TICKETS
TUE NOV 22 SHEA CENTER – Wayne, NJ    BUY TICKETS
WED NOV 23. PATCHOGUE THEATER – Patchogue, NY    BUY TICKETS
FRI NOV 25. TOWN HALL- New York, NY       BUY TICKETS
SAT NOV 26. COLLEGE ST. MUSIC HALL -New Haven CT BUY TICKETS
SUN NOV 27. WILBUR THEATRE – Boston MA BUY TICKETS
THU DEC 1. ARCADA THEATRE- St. Charles. IL     BUY TICKETS
FRI DEC 2. DES PLAINES THEATRE- Des Plaines IL BUY TICKETS
SAT DEC 3. THE GOODYEAR THEATRE – Akron, OH    BUY TICKETS

Dr. Ravi Singh Delights Crowd at Crypto Connect Expo!

West Palm Beach, Florida-The future of the crypto currency met this past weekend in West Palm Beach at the Palm Beach Convention Center and it was a learning experience for all those in attendance.

NFT Kids Magazine showing that you are never to young to learn !

The main topic during the conference was both the future of crypto currency and the emergence of NFT’s ( A non-fungible token is a record on a blockchain which is associated with a particular digital or physical asset. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the blockchain, and can be transferred by the owner, allowing NFTs to be sold and traded .)

Digital Dolphin showcasing we can help out aquatic friends thru NFT’s

BitBasel showing that tradition arts have a place in the NFT /Crypto world .

NFT’s can now be created by companies, individuals,organizations , content creators and artists and be bought and sold in the digital age .

Legion showcasing the mix of tangible items such as watches can be mixed with NFT’s

The company XCLSV are there to help guide Onlyfans creators in utilizing NFT’s to their advantage

The many variations were on display this past weekend and included everything from NFT’s by kids, environmental and animal welfare groups, all aspects of arts including traditional artists such as oil paintings, multi media , acting ,products such as watches and even a company that help OnlyFans creators work with NFT’s for their audience as well .

Dr Ravi Singh and his #socialpayme team showcasing the technology

The stand out company was #socialpayme at the event , whose goal and purpose is work with influencers and instruct them how each and everyone one of their social media posts can be converted into assets to be used for a revenue stream including the use of NFT’s . This breakthrough and was led by MIT graduate Dr. Ravi Singh PHD whose speech on the subject was jaw dropping to the attendees and had a crowd around his booth all weekend .To learn more please see the website http://www.socialpayme.co

Andrea Ocamo and her husband showcasing their Goddess Of The Elements NFT docuseries
Andrea is a former WWE ring announcer as well as actress and entrepreneur

What did I take away from this weekend ? I need to get up to date on emerging technology before I become a dinosaur and extinct as the landscape of finances are now emerged in with the arts like never before!

The ROCK LA CAUZE 2022 festival review ft Billy Talent/Rise Against/The Used

The Rock la Cauze festival in Victoriaville, Quebec returned in full force on Aug 11-13, 2022 after a 2-year pandemic hiatus. A social economy project, the purpose of the festival is to raise money for local charities. Themed as a punk rock festival, the schedule of performers featured an array of musical genres, centered around the main headliners: Billy Talent, Rise Against and The Used. Other noteworthy performers included The Lazy’s from Australia, Face to Face & Senses Fail from the USA.

The festival schedule was split into different music genres. Day one of the festival featured local French punk bands such as Exterio, Irish Moutarde & Bob Gorgée – leaving the crowd attracting headliners for the weekend.
The second day of the festival opened up with the Lazy’s. Featuring a trademark style sound, they played their Australian hits ranging from “Little Miss Crazy” to “Half Mast Blues”, with a tribute to AC/DC (their Australian brethren) “If you want Blood” before closing with their biggest hit “Nothing but Trouble”. The next band, Tagada Jones, was a French Punk Band with huge success In France. They were effective in setting up for Friday’s headliner, Billy Talent. From Toronto and born in Montreal, Billy Talent has a long history of love in Quebec. Playing his full setlist, Billy laughed as he defined moshing as “Pushing and Shoving” – which only incited the crowd to mosh more. His set subsequently ending with the crowd in a giant mosh pit for Viking Death March, though Fallen Leaves also created a huge pit as well. And thus ended the second day.
The third day of the festival had an emo music genre feel. It really began with Senses Fail, a band from New Jersey. Emo music in genre, their performance was similar to other bands such as Red Jumpsuit Apparatus or Taking Back Sunday. As it was mid afternoon, they were effective in getting the crowd, who were just arriving, warmed up for the next act, Face to Face. Playing what turned out to be the strongest set of the night, these “old guys playing old songs” to quote lead singer Trever Keith, wasted little time with talk and played their catalogue from start to finish.

Which could not be said for the next band, The Used. The lowest point of the night, although the band played great, lead singer Bert McCracken’s constant talk and choice to quote Shakespearean soliloquies to a predominantly French speaking audience deflated a lot of the crowd’s energy and limited the band to a short setlist. Fortunately, the next band Rise Against, who also has no shortage of love in Quebec, saved the evening with another strong headlining performance. “We have been a band for over 20 years” to quote lead singer Tim McIlrath, and is showed as they clearly had experience with the crowd as Tim would speak in his best French and talk about Rise Against’s history in Quebec. They played their catalogue of hits with the notable addition of :Hero of War” this set and the omission of “Help is On The Way” before closing with “Survive” and “Savior”. It was a great show to conclude a great 2022 festival.

Shinedown – Planet Zero tour review 2022

Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed by singer Brent Smith in 2001. With a long list of hits in the mainstream rock billboard charts and 358-day delay due to the pandemic, Shinedown returned to Montreal, Canada July 20 at the Salle D’Olympia for a big evening on their Planet Zero tour. Despite brief pauses in between each song, Brent Smith and the group performed another solid show in traditional Shinedown fashion.
After a long introductory video welcoming us to planet zero, the title of their newest album, Shinedown opened with pyro and flames with the opening song The Saints of Violence and Innuendo
Another success was their following song, Devil, following up with Planet Zero and on it went with a sing-a-long with the song 45 off their debut album. Shinedown covered their discography of hits and re-introduced Call Me into their setlist as well. Daylight, the second single off of Planet Zero, was also included in the setlist. And in Shinedown fashion, the evening concluded with Sound of Madness.
Brent Smith’s voice and vocals held high over the guitars of Zach Myers, the bass of Eric Bass and the drums of Barry Kerch. Smaller venues such as the Salle Olympia help these things unlike larger auditoriums. With many video pauses and emotional support speeches by Brent Smith, the show lacked fluidity and the customary getting people to light up their cellphone looks nice but takes up time to get accomplished. A few more songs could have always been added in their place.
Once Enemies played, as sense of energy returned, followed by Cut the Cord. An audio clip of top 40 DJ Casey Kasem and post song explanation isolated the ballad Second Chance from the rest of the set. The pyro and light show for Diamond Eyes was the definite high energy moment of the evening. And in a small venue, the heat from the flames was really felt throughout the building.

Before Shinedown, POP Evil warmed up the crowd in spectacular fashion with a high energy show. Led by lead singer Leigh Kakaty, the band from North Muskegon had a good quality light, audio, smoke and sound show. Opening with Let the Chaos Reign, POP EVIL opened mostly with their recent released songs off their Versatile album such as Work. Set me Free and Breathe Again. Playing their catalogue of harder rock hits such as Trenches, Legendary, Deal with the Devil and Waking the Lions, the only slower moment was for the ballad Torn to Pieces. It was definitely a solid although short set for POP Evil.

Beginning the evening, the singer/guitarist Ayron Jones from Seattle opened with a Hendrix-like set filled with guitar-centric rock songs. Jones played a style similar to Lenny Kravitz with a solid bass and rhythm section. An up-and-coming performer for sure.