Exploring London Town & Jeff Beck Tribute Night One At RAH
5/22/2023 - London, England - Today, after getting some rest in, we began our first full day in London town. We were up early and had an excellent but pricy breakfast at our hotel, the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London, also allowing us to take in the nice view of Big Ben and Parliament. After breakfast, we headed thru lovely St James's Park watching the Royal Guard march to Buckingham Palace and see the Changing of the Guard ceremony. After the ceremony, we walked thru Green Park and headed to Trafalgar Square and spent some time taking in the amazing artworks at The National Gallery. The National Gallery is a must do when in London and we saw fantastic paintings by famous artists like Monet, van Gogh, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and Renoir to name a few. We stopped back at the hotel and then hopped on the Tube at Westminster Station to South Kensington Station and walked up Exhibition Road on this gorgeous London day to Royal Albert Hall. This would be night one of the the Jeff Beck Tribute concert there featuring Eric Clapton and many friends paying tribute to Beck who passed away earlier this year. We arrived early as I had VIP access for this show and was able to attend a preshow party featuring excellent food, beverages and early entry into the Hall. Mike had to wait for general admission to get to his excellent seat but was fortunate to meet Clapton's bass player Nathan East before the show ! I met a couple nice people from England, a father and son who I ate and enjoyed drinks with, we shared great stories and met later at the break for more drinks. I headed to my seat in the Stalls which was awesome stage right. The show opened with Clapton and his band playing Blue Rainbow. They then covered some Yardbird's classics including Shapes of Things and Heart Full Of Soul. The first guest artist was Derek Trucks who came out and jammed on Little Brown Bird, then were joined by Susan Tedeschi for a great jam on The Sky Is Crying. Trucks did a fantastic solo cover of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. Ronnie Wood was next to join for Beck's Balero. John McLaughlin joined Beck's Band for incredible covers of Stratus and You Know You Know. Imelda May performed Train Kept A Rollin' with Wood, Billy Gibbons, Kirk Hammett and Johnny Depp and Remember Walking In The Sand. Rod Stewart performed Rock Your Plimsoul and Gary Clark Jr rocked Cause We've Ended As Lovers. Everyone joined the finale of Going Down. A fantastic show that we get to do all over again tomorrow !Slideshow[]
Robert Cray Band Returns To The Smith Opera House In Geneva
Daryl Hall & Todd Rundgren Entertain Downtown Syracuse Crowd
3/11/2023 - Geneva, New York - Today, we headed East down the NYS Thruway to Route 14 South into the lovely town of Geneva, New York to see the classic blues of one of our favorites the Robert Cray Band. Cray and the band were returning to this Seneca Lake town to perform at the Smith Opera House which they performed at in June 2018. We were back again today to see them perform again. We arrived early on this cool but sunny March afternoon and had a decent meal at Ciccino's Pizzeria, the calamari was surprisingly good! We headed into the Smith Opera House grabbed some drinks and headed to our excellent seats three rows back dead center. Cray and his band came out promptly and played an excellent ninety minute set. They opened with Anything You Want and I Don't Care. The band was tight as usual and the sound mix was very good. The chemistry between Cray on guitar, Richard Cousins on Bass, Dover Weinberg on Piano and Les Falconer on the drums just gets better with age like a fine wine. They played several classics including Sitting On Top Of The World, Deep In My Soul and Phone Booth. They finished the show with a two song encore of I Shiver and Time Makes Two. We managed to snag a couple of Cray guitar picks after the show ended from his guitar tech Greg Zaccaria. This was another excellent Cray show and the sound and vocals were both excellent. We will be back when you come back again, great venue and show.Slideshow[]
11/19/2022 - Syracuse, New York - In what seems to be a common theme for me this year, at the last minute I decided to head East down the NYS Thruway to downtown Syracuse, New York to see two classic Philadelphia musicians, Daryl Hall and Todd Rundgren, perform at the nice Oncenter Crouse Hinds Theater. I picked up a ticket on Ticketmaster about fifteen rows dead center in the small but nice venue in downtown Syracuse. The show was not a sellout but a large crowd came to see the two stars play a lot of hits and some nice covers. The show opened promptly at 7:30 with Rundgren hitting the stage with the Daryl's House Band backing him. He played a great set of his classics and some nice surprising covers. He opened the just over an hour set with Real Man and played many hits including We Gotta Get You A Woman, It Wouldn't Have Made Any Difference and Sometimes I Don't Know What To Feel to name a few. He broke out the electric guitar and did a nice jam on I Saw The Light with the help of Daryls House band member Shane Theriot adding some slide. Todd and band sounded pretty good and his vocals were good with help from backup singers. He crooned a couple cover tunes like Smokey Robinson & The Miracle's Ooo Baby, Baby and Marvin Gaye's I Want You. He closed his set with The Want Of A Nail. Again a good set by the seventy-four year old. Soon after Todd's set Daryl Hall joined his band played a good set of old, new and covers songs. He played some Hall & Oates classics like Everytime You Go Away, Sara Smile and I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) to name a few. He did a nice cover of the Eurythmic's Here Comes The Rain Again with acoustic guitar help from bandmate Shane Theriot. He came out for four song encore being joined by Rundgren for Wait For Me, Can We Still Be Friends and a decent cover of the The Soul Survivor's Expressway To Your Heart. Hall sounded good but is beginning to show his age at seventy-six. He closed the show with You Make My Dreams Come True. Again a good show, featuring two legendary artists at a nice venue. Definitely worth the trip.Slideshow[]
Long Wait Ends For Fleetwood Mac Show In Toronto
Exploration Of Italy Begins With Trip To Naples
11/1/2019 - Toronto, Canada - Today, we headed north of the border across the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge to Toronto,Canada to see the legendary classic rock band Fleetwood Mac perform at Scotiabank Arena. We started out early and got across the bridge painlessly but ran into traffic getting near the Kipling Station. We grabbed the TTC there and headed to Union Station bringing us to the front door of Scotiabank Arena. Time was tight but we managed to grab a good preconcert dinner at Jack Astor's. We then headed to the sold out arena to watch the revamped Fleetwood Mac. The wait for this concert was especially long since it was rescheduled from April of 2019 due to Stevie Nicks illness. Lindsay Buckingham was out of the lineup replaced with two good musicians, Tom Petty & The Heartbreaker's Mike Campbell and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn. Our tickets were great and the band had no opener and came out promptly for a great two hour plus set. They opened with The Chain and played other classics like Dreams, Landslide, Oh Well and Gold Dust Woman. The set included good covers of Black Magic Woman and Crowded House's Don't Dream It's Over. They closed the set with Go Your Own Way and came out for a two song encore covering Tom Petty's Free Fallin' and closing the show with Don't Stop. A great show that was worth the very long wait! Slideshow[]
10/15/2018 - Naples, Italy - The Italy adventure kicked into gear today starting with the daily breakfast delivered to our excellent villa at Villa Angiolina Relais. After breakfast we walked, what would be a daily walk, down thru the village of Sorrento to the port to catch a ferry to our first destination the city of Naples. The forty-five minute ferry ride provided nice views of the Italy shore from Sorrento to Naples to Mount Vesuvius. We arrived late morning at the Port of Naples exploring the city sites including Castel Nuovo, Piazza del Plebiscito, and Galleria Umberto I. We stopped for lunch in the heart of Naples at the Caffe Rosati. We headed back to Sorrento taking in the nice views of Naples, Vesuvius and Sorrento. We spent the evening exploring more of Sorrento's many sites and shops. Much, much more to come.Slideshow[]
Arrivederci Roma Londons Calling Us Next On Europe Tour
9/6/2017 - London, England - Today was a bitter sweet day, we were up early and enjoyed one final delicious breakfast at the Hotel Artemide and had to say goodbye to Rome on our way to the second destination of our journey London, England. I arranged a private car to take us to the Leonardo da Vinci- Fiumicino airport to catch an early afternoon British Air flight to London's Heathrow Airport. We arrived on-time but were stuck in customs for a while due to long lines. The car ride from Heathrow to the hotel was nice with the driver providing great conversation and insight into the typical Londoner. We arrived mid afternoon at our hotel the Park Plaza at Westminster Bridge and as a returning customer I received a free room upgrade to a penthouse room with a fantastic view of Big Ben and Parliament. We grabbed a quick bite of fish and chips and took in some sites including Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey. The next day we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel and headed down Queen's Path along the Thames River to take in more sites. We saw many sites including the Tower Bridge, London Bridge, St Pauls Cathedral, Big Ben and Parliament. We stopped for a nice late lunch at the Centre Page in the heart of downtown. We hopped on the Tube and headed over to Abbey Road Studios and did the walk the Beatles did some 48 years ago. We ended up in Piccadilly Circus enjoying the many street performers and many shops. This included finding my favorite candies Regal Crowns and a great Lego depiction of Big Ben at the largest Lego store in the world. A great first full day in London. Much more to come.Slideshow[]
Rochester Rock Hall Of Fame Induction At Eastman Theatre
Storm Cuts Yes and Procol Harum Show Short At Artpark
4/30/2017 - Rochester, New York - Today we headed to downtown Rochester, New York to one of my favorite local venues the Eastman Theatre to see the 2017 Rochester Music Hall Of Fame Induction ceremony. Deb won us two tickets to the show that included the induction of several great local artists and some really excellent performances. The ceremony opened with local blues legend Joe Beard, who came out with his red Gibson E335 guitar and performed some nice jams with his son and the Prime Time Funk band. The next inductee was famous musician and Eastman School teacher Samuel Adler who had a string quartet perform one of his pieces. The son of Jerry Lewis and long time resident of Rochester Gary Lewis the leader of the famous Gary Lewis and the Playboys was the next inductee. He and his revamped Playboys band played classics like Count Me In, Diamond Ring and closed with She's Just My Style. The next inductee was jazz trumpeter Lew Soloff, formerly an original member of the band Blood, Sweat and Tears. He was inducted by his friend and former band mate Paul Shaffer who played a great piano tribute of Hendrix's Little Wing in his memory. Shaffer was then joined by Soloff's longtime friend and band mate David Clayton-Thomas who along with Shaffer and the Prime Time Funk band played some excellent Blood, Sweat and Tears tunes. This included Spinning Wheel, God Bless The Child and You Made Me So Very Happy. Clayton-Thomas was excellent and the Prime Time Funk band did a good job with the covers. A great free night of entertainment.Slideshow[]
7/17/2012 - Lewiston, New York - Today the Tuesday In The Park concert series continued at Artpark in Lewiston, New York with the classic rock bands YES and Procol Harum performing. The weather was definitely a factor for this one which included rain and hail prior to the show beginning. Then Procol Harum came on stage and played a great set which concluded with there classic hits Whiter Shade of Pale and Conquistador. A very good performance for the old band. Yes then took the stage and played a great set. Their new singer Jon Davidson whose vocals were dead on and Steve Howe who put on another guitar clinic made for a great show. The set opened with Yours Is No Disgrace and other classics like I've Seen All Good People and finished with Heart Of The Sunrise. Steve Howe came out and played an excellent acoustic solo number but unfortunately the weather won out when the concert was cut short as a massive awesome electrical storm ended the show. A great weather shortened show that was completed with a great lightning show during the entire drive home.Slideshow[]
Rik Emmett Jams In Downtown Lockport
Trek To Toronto For Clapton Beck Jamfest Includes Sites
7/30/2010 - Lockport, New York - Today at the Ulrich City Centre in downtown Lockport the Molson Canal Concert Series continued, hosting the awesome guitar talents of Rik Emmett. Dom and Dad were lucky enough to meet Rik before the show, thanks to Jack,and got some autographed photos and got a preview of the setlist for the show. Dom impressed him with his long time admiration of Rik's fretboard work, we all had a chuckle! Rik put on an excellent show, playing many of his Triumph hits and a few awesome solo tunes. Rik opened the show with Lay It on The Line and played other Triumph hits such as Allied Forces, Somebody's Out There, Rocky Mountain Way, Hold On, Fight the Good Fight and finished with an encore of Magic Power. A great show once again.Slideshow[]
2/21/2010 - Toronto, Canada - Today Dom and Dad journeyed up to Toronto for an early birthday present to see Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck in concert. An excellent day for a drive up north of the border. We arrived early and took a ride on the subway stopping at the Royal Ontario Museum taking in some excellent works including an awesome dinosaur exhibit. We then walked thru downtown Toronto encountering a black squirell and stopping at Gretzkys Restaurant wearing our Sabres gear entering into a sea of red and white team Canada jerseys, just prior to the Olympic game between team USA vs Canada. After that a quick Pizza Pizza dinner with an excellent view of the CN Tower and finally off to Air Canada Centre to take in the Clapton Beck show. The show did not disappoint as they played for almost 3 hours, including full solo sets and culminating with a set together. A tremendous show an another excellent Toronto adventure for Dom and Dad, will be back again !Slideshow[]
Nicole Celebrates Her 13th Birthday
Relaxing Time On The Beach At Cape May
3/1/2008 - Hilton, New York - Nicole officially became a teenager today celebrating her 13th birthday. The day included a morning of gifts and a day and evening sleepover party with some of Nicole's pals. Plenty of gifts were to be had including clothes, Nicole's favorite, a trampoline, gift cards to Nicole's favorite stores, and cash for more clothes. Nicole also had a party with the extended family sharing the spotlight with Dominic who turns 9 later this month. A very happy birthday to our little big girl..Slideshow[]
7/28/2006 - Cape May, New Jersey - The roadtrip continued today, leaving from Hershey for a quick stop in Atlantic City's Boardwalk then onto our final destination Cape May, NJ. We met up with the Stafford family for a brief walk on the boardwalk in Atlantic City then headed to the Grand Hotel in Cape May. The view of the Atlantic ocean from the room was excellent, it included watching many dolphins popping up in the water. The kids enjoyed playing in the ocean, building sand castles, surfing with boogie boards, and kite flying. The hotel pools were tremendous the kids were almost a permanent fixture in the two pools. Good time was had by all.Slideshow[]
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