They booked the biggest star in the world, and I was one of the lucky few who snagged a ticket to Super Bowl XXVII. Michael Jackson headlined the halftime show at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Twelve-year-old me, wedged between my dad and a man reeking of cigars in a Cowboys jersey, had no idea […]
In 1992, Sinéad O’Connor was one of the most famous singers on the planet. Her cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” went No. 1 around the world two years earlier, and you would be hard-pressed to find someone who hadn’t seen the iconic music video, with her shaved head and enormous eyes. Fierce and
Six months had passed since Three Mile Island, but the fear hadn’t. The partial meltdown in Pennsylvania had put a knot in everyone’s stomach that wouldn’t just go away. Word got around that concerts were being organized at Madison Square Garden by a group calling itself MUSE, Musicians United for Safe Energy. Jackson Browne, Bonnie
In 1985, Queen took the stage and gave what I would argue was the most impactful musical performance of the 20th century. It was July 13, 1985, at Wembley Stadium, and Queen had only 20 minutes. Bob Geldof’s Live Aid was a relay of short sets from the who’s who of music. The shows were
From Gene Krupa stretching a Benny Goodman arrangement across both sides of a 78 to John Bonham dropping the sticks and playing with his hands, ten performances where the band stopped and one person carried the record.
From Bon Scott to Brian Johnson to a roaring Buenos Aires stadium in 2009, AC/DC’s live “Thunderstruck” at River Plate is the blueprint for how a rock show should feel.
In 2020, Andrea Bocelli sang Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” with his 8-year-old daughter, Virginia, and the result rivals even Jeff Buckley’s famous version.
After the St. Anger years, Metallica took the Live Earth stage at Wembley in 2007 and turned “Nothing Else Matters” into a stadium-wide singalong that proved they still had it.
“Hotel California” may be the most overplayed song on classic rock radio, but the Eagles’ 1977 Capital Centre performance, with Henley singing from behind the kit and that dual guitar solo, is a different story.
A hand-rubbing, finger-snapping rainstorm opens Angel City Chorale’s take on Toto’s “Africa,” and once the full choir harmonizes on the chorus, the overplayed ’80s hit lands all over again.
Postmodern Jukebox and Puddles the sad clown flip the pop-punk cover formula, giving Blink-182’s “All the Small Things” a smooth, speakeasy-style makeover.
On the Howard Stern Show in 2021, Miley Cyrus fronted Metallica for “Nothing Else Matters,” and her raspy, powerful take, plus a bridge shared with James Hetfield, steals the show.