Clapton & Friends Rock Royal Albert Hall For Beck Tribute II
5/23/2023 - London, England - Another day in London and another Eric Clapton & Friends Jeff Beck Tribute Concert to attend at the Royal Albert Hall. The day started sleeping in from the full day before at our suite at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel. We took in our daily views of Big Ben and Parliament and then headed down Queens Walk along the River Thames having a nice breakfast. We then continued down Queens Walk and took in some nice views of Golden Jubilee Bridges, Millenium Bridge and St Pauls Cathedral. We decided to stop and take in the interesting exhibits at the Tate Modern. There we saw paintings from Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock. We then decided to catch the Tube and head to Royal Albert Hall for night two of the Beck Tribute. We arrived early at the Hall and were lucky enough to meet Clapton's bass player again, Nathan East, riding his bicycle to the show. We also greeted Chris Stainton, Eric's keyboardist, entering the Hall. Nice gents. We entered the hall and took our seats for today's show in the stalls left stage, most excellent again. Mike was opposite side right stage, excellent also. The show and setlist was pretty much the same as the prior night except maybe a bit more polished an tighter than the prior night. Here are some show highlights. Clapton opened the show with Blue October. He did a nice funky cover of the Yardbird's Shapes of Things. Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks came out for nice jams on Done Somebody Wrong and The Sky Is Crying. Robert Randolph joined Clapton and his band to take a shot at the Beck classic Freeway Jam. John McLaughlin, at the young age of 81, accompanied by Rhonda Smith on bass and Anika Niles on drums, did another excellent version of You Know You Know. Gary Clark Jr joined Eric and his band to do a nice cover of Buddy Guy's Let Me Love You Baby. Rod Stewart & Ronnie Wood joined Clapton to perform I Ain't Superstitious. Again they closed the show with everyone coming on stage for a jam filled Going Down. The night was finished with everyone on stage viewing the video of the Henry Mancini song Moon River that Eric released with Jeff and himself performing it. Another excellent show that was maybe a bit more polished tonight than the prior night, but both were excellent! This event was well worth the trip.Slideshow[]
Italy Travel Log - Pisa, Italy
Tedeschi Trucks Band Finally Get Wheels of Soul To Artpark
8/24/2022 - Pisa, Italy - Our Italy adventure continued today at our place, the Hotel Pasquale, with a delicious breakfast and pie of the day, Lemon pie, which was most excellent I must say. We decided to take our first excursion of the trip to Pisa and see the sites. We headed to the station at Monterosso and got a train direct to Pisa Centrale. It was a beautiful day and the hour and ten minute train ride brought us to the heart of Pisa. We walked thru the city past the River Arno and the beatiful Santa Maria della Spina heading to our final destination the Piazza del Duomo home of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. We spent time getting the tourist shots holding it up and took in the other glorious structures the Battistero di San Giovanni (The Baptistery) and Cattedrale di Pisa. We had a nice lunch at a street side restaurant with the nicest young girl waiting on us. We headed back on the train direct from Pisa back to our home base Monterosso. We finished the day with a great late night swordfish dinner at Il Piccolo Diavolo. A nice day seeing the sites and continuing our Italy adventure.Slideshow[]
7/12/2022 - Lewiston, New York - Tuesday in July, means Tuesday in the Park at Artpark in lovely downtown Lewiston, New York to see the greatly anticipated return of the classic jams of Tedeschi Trucks Band. This show was a reschedule of a reschedule and the hard copy tickets that had July 2020 on them were still good two years later. We left early to get to this show stopping at Reids in Lockport for a quick preshow bite, then off to the show. It threatened rain but never did and it turned into an abolsute perfect evening for a show. We got a perfect spot and the less than sellout crowd was as chill as ever. The show started promptly at 5:30 with the band's keyboard player Gabe Dixon opening with a great set of original material. After a brief intermission, Los Lobos hit the stage and did a great set. It included being joined by Susan Tedeschi for Someday and then being joined by Derek Trucks for nice covers of the Allman Brother's Don't Keep Me Wonderin' and Grateful Dead's Bertha with Derek's slide being joined by Cesar Rosas guitar. After another brief intermission, Tedeschi Trucks hit the stage and did a fantastic set ! It included their own classics like Shame and Midnight In Harlem and also included great covers of Derek and the Dominoes's Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad? and nice jam from Derek and Susan on Outside Woman Blues. They closed the set with Susan playing a tremendous ripping guitar solo on That Did it. The band was very tight on this gorgeous evening and they came out for a single encore of I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free. Again this was a great show and almost well worth the two year wait, we will definetely see you next time at Artpark as Susan said they would be back !Slideshow[]
Robert Cray Band Annual Jam At Turning Stone Casino
5/25/2017 - Verona, New York - Today I headed east down the NYS Thruway to Verona, New York to see one of my favorite blues guys, Robert Cray and his band, perform at Turning Stone Casino Resort's fabulous showroom. I picked up a single ticket center stage third row at cost from the box office. I arrived at Turning Stone a couple hours early and had a decent steak and lobster dinner at the Emerald Restaurant. I played a little video poker and won a few bucks then headed into the showroom. Of course just walking to my seat I see my fellow Robert Cray junkies from Lewiston, no surprise. The band started right on time and played the typical awesome set. He played his classics like Right Next Door (Because of Me), Chicken In The Kitchen, and Sitting On Top of The World. He also played some tunes from his new album Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm. His band was tight as always and Robert sang and jammed as only he can. He talked and joked alot with the crowd saying how they always seem to end up back at Turning Stone, not sure why they like this room but it is okay with me. He finished the show with his classic Time Makes Two. Another great show see you there next year!Slideshow[]
Whales Abound Celebrating Birthday And Final Days On Maui
Maui Ultimate Whale Watch Lives Up To Its Billing - Part III
2/25/2017 - Lahaina, Hawaii - The final days of our Maui trip included a happy birthday celebrating with whales and beaches galore. The day prior started early as we headed down this morning to Lahaina to hop on the Pacific Whale Foundation's ship Ocean Discovery. A gorgeous morning for a whale watch with plenty of tails, breaches and awesome panoramic views of the island of Maui that never get old! After the whale watch we were back to the end of Front Street in Lahaina for lunch at our new favorite spot Pi Artisan Pizzeria for a delicious lunch with custom pizzas and gorgeous ocean views. We then headed back to our condo at Kaanapali Shores and relaxed by the ocean front pool for drinks then hopped back in the car cruising across the island to spend the day at our favorite Maui beach, Makena Big Beach. We spent the remainder of the day there sunning, chilling, droning and taking in a fantastic sunset. After we had a good surf and turf dinner at Outback in Kihei. The next day was my birthday and we were up early again back to Lahaina for a whale watch with our favorite tour the Ultimate Whale Watch. Again the tour lived up to its name as we started out slowly spotting some bottle nosed dolphins and getting closeup views of them. Then after a brief search we encountered literally dozens of whales that were breaching all around us. We were whale mugged with whales coming right up to the raft and breaching within a hundred feet of us, just an AWESOME way to spend my birthday. After this whale watch it was back to the condo for a nice lunch at the Beach Club then chilling with drinks by the ocean front pool. We took in another sunset and had a pizza for dinner at Pizza Paradiso followed by a ride back down to Lahaina for some shopping and art gallery browsing to finish an excellent bday.Slideshow[]
3/29/2016 - Maui, Hawaii - Today we started early, heading into Lahaina for our first whale watch of the trip with the Ultimate Whale Watch tour. It was a nice day but a bit windy and choppy on the ocean. For the next two hours, we would be treated to what was a fantastic whale watch tour. We started following a mother and baby who were then accompanied by numerous male whales. This group of whales entertained us with tons of breaches literally jumping all around us. Again a fantastic whale watch that was probably the best we have ever seen. After the Ultimate Whale Watch, literally, we had a nice late breakfast at the Pioneer Inn in Lahaina. We headed back to the condo and chilled by the ocean front pool and took in a nice sunset. We headed back to Lahaina for a late dinner at Bubba Gumps. The next day started early capturing some nice drone footage of Kaanapali Shores, Lahaina, Napili Bay and Kapalua Bay areas. After flying, we had a nice breakfast on the lanai of the condo and packed up and headed east to drive up to the top of Mount Haleakala. The drive was scenic as always and the fantastic views at Leleiwi Lookout never get old for me. We headed to the summit for some extremely chilly views at 10,000 feet above see level looking into the moon like volcanic crater. We headed back to the condo and chilled by the pool taking in a free hula show followed by another great sunset. For dinner this night we headed across the street to one of our new favorite stops, Java Jazz for an excellent evening of dinner and live music. The live acoustic guitar performance was provided by Rick Glencross, who was great and played everything we threw at him. Every song he performed was already on my iphone. An excellent Maui day. 1245Slideshow[]
Robin Trower Rips It Up At The Tralf Music Hall
Kansas Rocks At Labatt Canal Concert Series In Lockport
10/18/2014 - Buffalo,New York - Today we took a short road trip west to downtown Buffalo to see one of the true classic rock guitarists Robin Trower, perform at The Tralf Music Hall. We were excited to finally see him perform live for the first time as he always seemed to allude us in prior shows. The evening started with a stop at Guitar Center to check out some of their inventory and do a little preconcert jamming of our own. After that we stopped at TGIFridays for a nice steak and lobster dinner. We then headed to the show, where we had general admission tickets and got a spot front row on the right front side of the stage. The Tralf is an excellent small venue seating only a few hundred people and we were literally within arms reach of the artists as they performed. The opening act was a local musician named Mick Hayes. He came out and did a good solo acoustic set that included overdubbing with numerous pedal effects. He played some covers including some Hendrix and some originals that included a comical Oreo cookie blues tune. Again he did a good set. Robin Trower and his band came out after a short intermission and jammed a fantastic set. The sixty-nine year old Trower played with great energy and ripped thru classics like Daydream, Day Of The Eagle, Rise Up Like The Sun and Bridge of Sighs. He played these as if it was the mid seventies and he extended the jams with great solos. The crowd loved it and he and his band really seemed to appreciate it. They came out for a two song encore of Too Rolling Stoned and For Earth Below. This was a fantastic show and truly lived up to my personal expectations after the long wait to finally see him live. Just love seeing great artists like this in these small venues, I hope he comes back next year we will be there.Slideshow[]
7/12/2013 - Lockport, New York - Today we decided to attend our first Labatt Canal Concert Series concert featuring the classic rock of Kansas. It was a perfect evening for a show and we started off by hitting Reids for the quick meal. We caught the opening act of Arc And Stones out of NYC who were very good. They had good guitar and vocals and played an entertaining original set. Kansas followed soon after touring to celebrate their 40 year anniversary. I personally have a soft spot for this band as I love there music and they were the first major concert I ever attended on their Monolith tour in 1979 at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. They came out and played a good set of their classic hits. They played many of their hits including Point Of Know Return, Song For America, Dust In The Wind and Portrait (He Knew) to name a few. The band sounded good musically but again vocally there age showed. They finished the show with a good jam on Carry On My Wayward Son. Again although they showed there age it was still a good show well received by the crowd and it was FREE.Slideshow[]
Just Chillin On The Gorgeous Beaches Of Maui - Part III
Dom Completes Second Season With Braves
4/4/2013 - Maui, Hawaii - Just another gorgeous Maui day starting with the sunrise beach walks on Kaanapali Beach. We started adventuring around the island starting with a stop in Lahaina at our favorite local breakfast spot, Moose McGillycuddy's for a good breakfast. We then got in the car and headed east to Wailea down to Makena Big Beach. This beach was excellent with golden sands, clear waters, and large waves to body surf in. We hung out here for a while and then journeyed to Little Beach and checked out the nude sunbathers. We headed back to the condo for drinks, swimming and sunning at the ocean front pool at Kaanapali Shores. We took in another excellent Maui sunset and were treated to several humpback whales playing not to far from shore. After the sunset, we headed back to Lahaina for a fun dinner at Bubba Gumps with beautiful open air views of the Pacific and Molakai. We impressed our server with our knowledge of Forrest Gump trivia and learned some new things from him, excellent crab legs and fish. We walked the shops and galleries in Lahaina doing some shopping. Next day we headed to Snorkel Bob's and rented some snorkel stuff as Deb wanted to try it. We headed west to Kapalua Bay a nice little beach and a good snorkel spot. Dom and Deb did some snorkeling here with Dom getting some good shots with the underwater camera. After a light fast food dinner of subs at Subway and pizza at Pizza Hut we headed back down to Lahaina to walk the strip and enjoy our favorite ice cream dessert concoctions at Coldstone Creamery. Just more typical relaxing Maui days. 1245Slideshow[]
6/13/2007 - Hilton, New York - Dominic completed his second season in Hilton Little League Baseball playing for the Braves today. Dom had a great year showing much improvement in his skills both hitting and fielding. Dom was one of the best all round players on his team. He had several extra base hits which is limited in the pitching machine league showing off his ability to hit with power. Dad was an assistant coach on the team and both Dom and Dad had a great time. Both may be moving up to the next level next year.Slideshow[]
Spooktacular Halloween Had By Dom And Nicole
Little Debbie Florio Turns 40 Years Old !
10/31/2006 - Hilton, NY - The Halloween holiday has become a large event at the Florio household. This year was highlighted by excessive Halloween decorations, a Halloween party for Dom and a bunch of his pals, a trip to Nigtmare Manor haunted house in Henrietta and lots and lots of trick or treating. Dom and friends had a party at the house followed by a trip to the haunted house around the corner which was bigger and better than last year. Aunt Suzi and Uncle Mark came dressed in full SCARY witch and zombie costumes. Dom was the Grim Reaper and Nicole was a princess not a big stretch for her. The weather was perfect for trick or treating and the kids hauled in tons of candy.Slideshow[]
8/7/2005 - Hilton, New York - Little Debbie Florio officially became an old lady today, turning the BIG 4-0 ! A party was held to celebrate Deb's landmark birthday at home with friends and family onhand to celebrate this joyous occasion. The celebration also included a belated birthday celebration for sister Suzi who turned 33 earlier in the week, just a youngster. Happy birthday to the sisters ooo and doo.Slideshow[]
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