Eugene, Oregon definitely was blessed with a wonderful night of music when moe. came to town on 1/29/12 to play my favorite local venue, the McDonald Theatre. This was my second consecutive night of getting the pleasure of being at a moe. concert and after the previous show in Portland, I was oozing with eagerness to see the band throw down another bitchin’ night of great tunes. I showed up early in hopes of snagging the best seat in the house to ... Read More

As promised, I am trying to get my 2012 reviews out in a more timely fashion, so here is the latest addition to my 2012 hellride. This adventure begins in the wonderful city of Potland, OR. The rain let up once I arrived down town, which is always a rarity during Portland’s winter months. I found a parking garage with ease that was close to the venue with plenty of cheap late night parking available, a definite blessing as well. After a ... Read More

O.A.R. (w/ Parachute) 01/27/12 House of Blues - West Hollywood, CA Words/Photos by Reverend Justito I have talked a lot of shit about O.A.R. By a lot of shit, I mean trolled the message boards known as O.A.R. fans for years. Most of my shit talking took place in off topic forums, but I made my distaste for the group’s music well known. So when I say I talked a lot of shit about O.A.R., I am talking years of trolling.  In an odd yet ... Read More

The next show to be covered on my 2011 “The Lost Reviews” extravaganza is The Devil Makes Three and Brown Bird, coming to Eugene and selling out their first show at McDonald Theatre on 11/18/11. To be honest folks, this was the first time I have witnessed The Devil Makes Three play live. I had heard from numerous people that they put on a show that is not to be missed. When in Eugene prior to this show, the band used to ... Read More

WAKARUSA 2012 May 31 - June 3, 2012 Mulberry Mountain - Ozark, AR (About 1 Hr from Fayetteville and Fort Smith) Updated: 1/19/12 with complete lineup Only 2 / 3 of the Wakarusa Festival lineup has been released so far, and you should make it a priority to snag your tickets and premium camping passes now because they won't last! This year the Waka gods have decided to release the lineup in "3 equally weighted parts." The first announcement was made last week and featured eletronic producer ... Read More

King's X Announce "First Church of Rock & Roll" 2012 West Coast Tour If you were to ask our pal Reverend Justito who the most underrated band in the history of rock and roll is he would respond with King’s X. For over 30 years, the trio of Dug Pinnick, Ty Tabor and Jerry Gaskill have been cranking out their unique blend of highly melodic funkified bone crushing rock and roll. For the first time since 2009 (where we caught them at the ... Read More

12.29/12.30/12.31 - Umphreys McGee at The Pageant - St. Louis, MO Words and Pictures By: Bradley Darby I sure as hell hope The Pageant’s insurance is up to date..... because following the three night-seven set weekend to close out 2011 and ring in 2012, there is no doubt that Umphreys McGee blew the roof off the place! If you have never seen Umphreys McGee, you should do yourself a favor and make it a point to catch a show. The band can’t be ... Read More

Tis the season for giving, and if you're this writer, receiving. When given the opportunity to be bought into Phish tonight for their first of a 4 night New Years Eve at Madison Square Garden, how could I pass it up? Before anything goes further we must slurp the Revered Justito, who gifts me with this ticket to the show tonight (and note that his holiday gift is to be mailed shortly), gifts me with the chance to see Phish. I've heard ... Read More

Well folks, it is that time of year, when all the crew at Concert Confessions take our best concert memories of 2011 and sum them up into the 10 best shows of the year. I must say, I have been dragging my feet on this one, even more than my tardiness of the 20 plus reviews I still must write. 2011 has been a year of many ups and downs for me and can be considered a fucking hellride ... Read More

Ring in 2012 with Umphreys McGee in St. Louis Words by Bradley Darby For the first time in their 13 plus year existence, Chicago progressive rockers Umphreys McGee take their end of the year party on the road and bring their annual New Years shindig to St. Louis to close out 2011 and ring in 2012 with a 3 night run at The Pageant. Last Halloween the boys spent two nights at The Pageant for their Monster Mashup, and many consider those shows (especially ... Read More

String Cheese Incident’s Roots Run Deep Tour at The Pageant - 12/7/2011 Words and Pictures by Bradley Darby The String Cheese Incident has been doing their thing for almost 20 years (with a break here or there) in the jam community, blending Colorado progressive bluegrass with psychedelic rock, funk, and jam music. They have accumulated quite a large following of loyal fans which makes it difficult to get tickets to many shows, especially when the show in question is one of the more ... Read More

SK6ers & Jon McLaughlin at The Duck Room (Blueberry Hill) St. Louis, MO - 11/29/11 Words and pictures by Bradley Darby   For the past 9 years, Stephen Kellogg has been touring the country with his blend of country-glazed alt rock... usually as Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers, where he wreks havoc on cities with 3 of his friends in tow, and sometimes just flying solo. One thing remains the same though, no matter which form of Kellogg you are seeing.... the energy of the ... Read More

Words and Photos by Bradley Darby After a show scheduled for February was cancelled just days after being announced, Split Lip Rayfield vowed they would be coming back to St. Louis later this year. Their last trip through the Gateway to the West was in May of 2010 opening for Reverend Horton Heat, also at the Old Rock House. I was a little disappointed to have to wait another 9 months to see these guys in STL again. I must say, the wait ... Read More

Phish 08/05 & 06/11 The Gorge - George, WA Words/Photos by Phishbeard On the 5th and 6th of August 2011, the Gorge was once again blessed with the presence of Phish. Phans from all over America congregated for one of the most magical weekends in recent Phishtory. The weather was superb and the campgrounds were packed by the time my crew arrived at the Gorge to set up camp and prefunk for the Friday night show. We had numerous cars of people as part of ... Read More

Quixotic Fusion will be performing with MarchFourth Marching Band for a few special Halloween Balls across the midwest. The three city trek will hit Lawrence, KS at Liberty Hall on Oct 28,  St. Louis, MO at The Pageant on Oct 29 and Springfield, MO at Gillioz Theatre on Halloween night. These two groups define the term “performance art” and both bands feature some damn talented musicians as well, this will be a spectacle NOT to be missed! http://vimeo.com/28218061 For the past five years, Kansas City’s ... Read More

Yonder Mountain String Band Get By With A Little Help From Their Friends at the Harvest Music Festival Words and pictures by Bradley Darby [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Jeff Austin - Yonder Mountain String Band"][/caption] In a world flooded by music festivals priding themselves on having a diverse lineup that will attract fans of all genres, Yonder Mountain String Bands Harvest Music Festival stands apart. Entering its second year with the Yonder Mountain taking over the main billing, the Harvest Festival features some of the ... Read More

The eponymous 7 Walkers album has been in constant rotation in my car stereo this summer (my iPod recently took a suicide dive at the gym, unfortunately for me... and my iPod).  The album has the perfect summertime down-South kind of feel.  Not only does it make me feel like I could be driving down to the bayou in Louisiana instead of the beach in New England, but I find every song to be endlessly interesting.  There's always something more subtle to ... Read More

Furthur Announce Fall 2011 Tour Dates Furthur – the band featuring former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Phil Lesh have added additional dates to their US Fall Tour. The trek which is set to kick off September 23rd in Eugene, Oregon will now wrap a few days before Thanksgiving in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mail order will run through October 7th. General public tickets will go on sale via the regular corporate outlets beginning September 16th. Dates For Furthur as of 09/09/11: Fri, Sep 23rd, Cuthbert ... Read More

Phish Set For Hurricane Irene Benefit In Vermont   Phish  is scheduled to perform a special show at Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, VT next Wednesday, September 14th. The concert will benefit Vermont flood recovery efforts. In the wake of Hurricane Irene, Vermont experienced its worst flooding in a century, which devastated communities throughout the state. "It's been heartbreaking to see all the loss and destruction that came from the storm," said Phish keyboardist Page McConnell. "Vermont is very much a part of who ... Read More

Words & Pictures by Brad Darby For the fourth consecutive year I made the trek to the Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival to enjoy four days of music and camping in a setting that they call “Where Music Meets Mother Nature.” With acts ranging from My Morning Jacket and Ben Harper to the Budos Band and Dark Star Orchestra to STS9 and Bassnectar, a total of over 100 bands spread out across six stages, with on-site camping, showers, and even a grocery store ... Read More

Words, Pictures, Live Videos by Bradley Darby When it was announced in May that My Morning Jacket would be playing at The Pageant, the feeling that immediately came to me was jubilation. This is a band that I had been dying to see since I first watched the Okonokos DVD and caught a glimpse of what a MMJ show was like. Only problem was, tickets went on sale while I was away at Wakarusa seeing My Morning Jacket. Luckily a friend that is ... Read More