Tool at US Bank Arena

Tool played another sold out show on the Fear Inoculum Tour at US Bank Arena on November 5th, 2019. The show was filled with Danny Carrey drum solos, great light production and back stage LEDs. The set list is as follows for the Cincinnati show: Fear Inoculum~Aenima~Parabol~Pnuema~Schism (long)~Jambi~Vicarious~Descending~46+2~Drums~CC Trip~Invincible~Stinkfist (long). The show lasted around two and a half hours and was pulsing the whole way through the set of mostly classics. Tool is on their Fear Inoculum Tour throughout 2019 and 2020. 

Doug Siegel Photography

www.dougsiegelphotography.carbonmade.com

Explosions In The Sky at Bogart's

Explosions In The Sky play an epic live show. They graced Bogart's on Tuesday night to a crowded house. This was EITS's first trip to Cincinnati and it is evident that they have a loyal fan base. I had only seen EITS once at a large festival in California, but they sounded amazing in a 1500 capacity size venue. Check these guys from Austin, Texas out if you get the chance. EITS are a live act not to be missed.

Images by Doug Siegel
www.dougsiegelphotography.carbonmade.com

The Lumineers World Tour at US Bank Arena with Andrew Bird and Margaret Glaspy

The Lumineers are on their "Cleopatra World Tour" that made a stop at US Bank Arena last night. The openers were Margaret Glaspy followed by Andrew Bird. Last night was sold out. All three bands put on quite a performance. I haven't seen Andrew Bird or The Lumineers in several years and I was completely blown away. The band had great energy from start to encore. The Lumineers went into the middle of the arena and played on a riser above the crowd which seemed more intimate than just playing on the front stage. I didn't know the Lumineers had such a following, until last evening as the crowd was into every song that was performed. The band leaves here to play a few shows at Madison Square Gardens. Check out the Lumineers and Andrew Bird Tour at www(dot)thelumineers(dot)com.

Images by Doug Siegel
www.dougsiegelphotography.carbonmade.com

The National--Perform a Surprise Show In Washington Park to Support Clinton

The National announced a surprise show Wednesday night in Cincinnati to help promote Clinton's campaign. Cincinnati and Ohio, in general, is where the election can be won or lost. So The National played a show in Washington Park to a big crowd of supporters. The show was opened by local politicians giving brief speeches and Justin Bartha (The Hangover, National Treasure) showing his support for the presidential nominee. The National played a great set of songs and finished with a very powerful Mr. November. Everyone get out and vote!!

Images by Doug Siegel

www.dougsiegelphotography.carbonmade.com

Chris Robinson at 20th Century Theater

Chris Robinson is on tour and made a stop to the 20th Century Theater last week. They played a long set to a very packed room in Cincinnati. CRB has a new album coming out next week entitled If You Lived Here, You Would Be Home Now. Chris Robinson Brotherhood is touring through the south right now and then on to the northeast and then the west coast to close out 2016. Included in this tour is a Fillmore run in San Francisco. CRB puts on an amazing live show, check them out if they come to a venue near you.

Images by Doug Siegel

Billy Joel at U.S. Bank Arena

Billy Joel played a long set of all his best songs last night at U.S. Bank Arena. The sold out crowd was singing and dancing with Billy as he rocked the arena with his Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame performance. Billy Joel is one of the most successful solo artists of all time and almost every song he played last night has either won a Grammy or some sort of accolade. Check out the article with my photos next week at The Examiner.

Images by Doug Siegel
www.dougsiegelphotography.carbonmade.com

Lotus at Bogarts

Lotus is on a national tour with Michael Menert and made a stop at Bogarts last night to a packed house. Michael Menert, founder of Super Best Records and old producer for Pretty Lights, opened the show with a great set. If you get to see this tour, do not miss Michael Menert.

Lotus played two long sets of music and had a great light show to accompany the music. The crowd was very active and its clear that Lotus is building its loyal fanbase around the country. I talked to several people that road tripped to be at the show. Catch Lotus' website at Lotusvibes.com to see where they are playing near you.

Images by Doug Siegel
www.dougsiegelphotography.carbonmade.com

 

Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds

Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds put on another great performance at The Taft Theater last Thursday night. This Brooklyn based band is super tight and blends a mix of soul, funk, rock and overall great music. Arleigh literally has one of the strongest voices on tour these days. Check them out on tour as this band is only getting better and better.

Images by Doug Siegel
www.dougsiegelphotography.carbonmade.com

 

Incubus & Deftones At Riverbend Music Center

I haven't seen Incubus in 15 years but they sounded as good as they did back in the day. Both bands played full sets of all of their classics. Brandon Boyd and Chino Moreno still have the energy that it takes to front a band and perform well in front of 10,000 people. Check their tour dates at Incubushq.com..

Images by Doug Siegel

Neil Young with The Band of Horses Down By The River

Neil Young played an amazing show at Riverbend Music Center with The Band of Horses. The Band of Horses opened the show with all of their hits, then Neil Young took stage. Young's farmer girls started planting pots and throwing corn all over the stage. While this was going on, Neil came out of the dark over to his piano and immediately went into "After the Gold Rush", "Heart of Gold" into "Old Man." He started out with an acoustic set and then started tearing the place to shreds with The Promise of the Real. They played just about every song the crowd wanted to hear. About mid-set he started into a story about the history of the event at Kent State and the song "Ohio" and then played a 17 minute version of the classic masterpiece. The crowd chanted "forgetting Ohio" at the end. He then looked back at the mighty Ohio River and went into a very rocking version of "Down by the River."

Neal made two things abundantly clear, he still has "it" and he really hates Monsanto/GMO's. Most of his new songs are about his protest to Monsanto and GMO's. I was backstage with a friend from the Band of Horses and he said,  "I haven't had too many conversations with Neil that weren't serious and meaningful about something that matters." I had a few minutes of Neil's time and he was very intense and basically was getting his back into his living with his thoughts and actions. He then directed me to all of his petitions of matters of the heart to him, I of course agreed with his causes and signed away. I have two shots going onto NeilYoung(dot)com this week, check out his site and see if he is coming to a venue near you...

Images by Doug Siegel
www.dougsiegelphotography.carbonmade.com

Wilco at the Taft Theater

Wilco played another great performance at The Taft Theater on Tuesday night. Jeff Tweedy and crew played songs off all of their albums with a very interactive crowd. Wilco is currently on a large United States tour and plays Shakey Knees Festival this weekend in Atlanta.

Images by Doug Siegel
www.dougsiegelphotography.carbonmade.com

Galactic with Erica Falls and The Record Company at 20th Century Theater

Galactic just keeps outdoing themselves in bringing the best New Orleans funk experience to the masses. Galactic is featuring Erica Falls as their current vocalist and this girl has "it." As a backup vocalist for Sting, John Fogerty, and several other international touring artists, it's great to hear her in the spotlight and out in front. When she is in New Orleans, she also fronts for the legendary Allen Toussaint. As a not so distant relative of Fats Domino, Erica has what is takes to do whatever she wants in the music industry. Galactic is of course the perfect band to back this rising talent as they played all their classics and some NOLA standards. Galactic is on tour all over the U.S. and will be performing several sets at Jazz Fest in a few weeks. Also check out The Record Company out of Los Angeles for some great garage filled blues.

Images by Doug Siegel

Umphrey's McGee Performs at The Taft Theater in Cincinnati with Tauk

Umphrey's McGee played for another sold out crowd at the Taft Theater with Tauk (Brooklyn). Tauk played an incredible opening set on Friday night at the sold out venue. Umphrey's went on and dazzled the crowd with a great set that concluded with Oceans Billy featuring Nick Blasky on Bass. The second set had several guest stars including Mad Dog's Filthy Litte Secret Horns for Umphrey's encore of Peg (Steely Dan Cover), Dump City, Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel Cover). Check Umphrey's on tour and be sure to see them at one of many festivals they are already confirmed for this summer, including their own Summer Camp.

Images by Doug Siegel

John Mellencamp Performs at Aronoff Center with Carlene Carter

John Mellencamp was in town with Carlene Carter (June Carter Cash's daughter) for a sold out show at Proctor & Gamble Hall last night. The band played all the classic Mellencamp songs and about half of their new album, Plain Spoken. Mellencamp sounded as good as when I saw him in the early 90's at a festival. Mellencamp is on an extended tour in the United States. Addition images and crowd photos will be posted this week in NBC's music section at NBC Music(dot)com.

Images by Doug Siegel (Soundboard Shoot)

Primus Rocks a Set of Originals and a set of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with Special Guests

Primus came to the Taft Theater and played a set of originals including an encore of "My Name is Mud" and then played their own rendition of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory music front to back. The show sold out a few weeks in advance and was a fun Friday night with Claypool and crew. Mike Dillon and other guests came out for the Wonka set. Tim Alexander (original drummer) is back on tour with Primus for the first time in years to complete the band!

Images by Doug Siegel
www.dougsiegelphotography.carbonmade.com

Gov't Mule Halloween Extravaganza with Neil Young Tribute

Mulaween took place on October 31, 2014 at The Taft Theater with special guest Jackie Greene (touring member of Black Crowes, Mark Knopfler, BB King, Ratdog, Buddy Guy, etc). The first set included Mule songs and the second set was all Neil Young. The band played for three and a half hours and played 37 songs. They played every classic Neil Young song including "Hey Hey My My, Down by the River, Southern Man, Ohio, Heart of Gold, Rockin in the Free World, " and many more. The encore of "Cortez the Killer" was a crowd and personal favorite. Check out the setlist at Mule Net.

Images by Doug Siegel

Pearl Jam Opens Tour at U.S. Bank Arena with a Marathon Performance

Pearl Jam opened their Lightning Bolt tour in Cincinnati at U.S. Bank Arena on October 1, 2014. They played a three and a half hour show with two separate sets as encores. Highlights included several references to Pete Rose and how he should be in the hall of fame, talking about their last few days in Cincinnati with references to the old days of playing small venues in this city, and 34 songs of constant stadium pounding music. They delivered mellow songs to fast songs covering freedom, politics, charity, surfing, nature, and standing up for what you believe in at all times. Pearl Jam violated their curfew by half an hour and took a fine of over $10,000 to deliver a solid night of music to loyal fans. Pearl Jam gave the entire floor and first level seats to their 10 Club fan base for a minimal price. This band gets their back into their living! Pearl Jam has done over 100 charitable shows giving back to the community and practicing what they preach. This band has proven time and time again that they won't sell out. Go check out Pearl Jam 20 by Cameron Crowe.

The crew talked to people from all over the world throughout the night and was sitting next to Bronson Arroyo and Bob Pollard of Guided By Voices once my work was done. Pearl Jam is heading to several other venues throughout this tour. They will headline Austin City Limits Festival the next two weekends. In the end of October they will play right after Tom Waits and before Neil Young at his Bridge School Benefit in San Francisco, California. I have shot over 350 bands this year and this show was definitely up there in rank. This band has truly become a Hall of Fame act. There were several covers including "The Real Me" by The Who, "Rockin in the Free World" by Neil Young, and "Waiting on a Friend" by The Rolling Stones. Matt Cameron (drums) still tours with Soundgarden. There is a reason why The Rolling Stones,  Tom Petty, Neil Young, and other legends have said this band is one of their favorite touring bands. Rolling Stone also named Pearl Jam a top 10 touring band this year.  (Several photos were withheld for Pearl Jam's website and fan club which will post this week)

Images and Words by Doug Siegel
 (click read more for more images)
www.dougsiegelphotography.carbonmade.com

Bunbury Music Festival 2014

Bunbury Music Festival had another successful year on the banks of the Ohio River. The festival featured five different stages, over 100 bands, a craft beer area with hundreds of great beers, fireworks, and great weather to round out a perfect weekend. Some of the performers included The Flaming Lips, Paramore, Fallout Boy, Heartless Bastards, The Orwells, Dead Sara, J Roddy Walston, Empire of the Sun, Fitz and the Tantrums, Young the Giant, Foxy Shazam, ZZ Ward, Andrew WK, Cage the Elephant and several others.  Several hundred more Bunbury moments including crowd shots at my flickr site under the Bunbury Album.

Images by Doug Siegel
www.dougsiegelphotography.carbonmade.com

Cage the Elephant

Ellie Goulding at The Shoe on May 8, 2014

Ellie Goulding played another sold out show at the shoe on May 8, 2014. Ellie is a multiple award-winning singer/songwriter from the U.K. who Adele helped to gain momentum early in her career. This was her last show in the U.S. for a while, as she left for Dubai late last night to go on tour with LMFAO. Ellie has a new album out entitled Halcyon. Check out EllieGoulding.com. More crowd shots at NBC's Music Section in Midwest Region.

Images by Doug Siegel

G Love & Special Sauce Open Tour at 20th Century Theater

G Love & Special Sauce are doing a reunion tour that kicked off this week at the 20th Century Theater in Cincinnati. Even a few inches of snow didn't hold off the near sold out crowd for this old triplet getting back together. In honor of the evening, they announced right away that they were going to play their first album in its entirety. G Love & Special Sauce have a new album coming out on April 22, 2014 entitled Sugar.

Images by Doug Siegel