BRUCE - MetLife Stadium 9/22-23 Happy Birthday Boss

Images and article by Bill Kelly
 
 63 years old.
 When most of us think of this milestone, images of quiet family dinners,  maybe a round of golf and, if lucky enough, pop a little blue pill and try your luck with the Mrs.  But not Bruce Springsteen - Playing before a sold out crowd that had waited through a 2+ hour rain delay, Bruce took the stage at home state New Jersey’s MetLife stadium and powered through a 33 song set, hitting the last note at 2:00am.

Citizen Cope at The House of Blues in San Diego

Images by Doug Siegel

Matisyahu at Humphrey's By The Bay in San Diego

Matisyahu played at Humphrey's By the Bay in San Diego on September 19, 2012. I have not seen Matisyahu since he changed his look and I didn't recognize him until I heard the same Matisyahu voice and realized he has chopped his hair and his beard. Matis played for a large crowd by the bay and played all the classics and several songs off his newest album Spark Seeker.

Images by Doug Siegel

The Red Hot Chili Peppers Return to San Diego

The Red Hot Chili Peppers perform in San Diego for another sold out performance at The Valley View Casino Center. The band was up to their usual antics of jumping around the stage and getting great crowd interaction. I got to interview Flea pre-show and I must say his brand of sarcasm is right up my alley. It turns out we were both surfing the same beach before the show. This show was re-scheduled from several months ago as Anthony Kiedis broke his leg. The setlist was great as they played a little bit off every one of their albums including the songs "Otherside, Under the Bridge, Around the World, Sir Psycho Sexy, By the Way." The sound quality was very good for an arena show and their stage setup was impeccable with several large monitors playing real time band videos.

Images by Doug Siegel
www.dougsiegelphotography.carbonmade.com

My Morning Jacket Three Night Run in Los Angeles

My Morning Jacket played three nights in a row in Los Angeles, CA at The Wiltern Theater. They played no repeats and rocked almost every song in their catalog plus covers such as "Rocket Man" and "Rock the Casbah." After photographing over 300 bands this year (mostly at Festivals), MMJ is one of my top 5 live bands. They only seem to be getting better and more dynamic with their live performances. I met people from all over the country who came to this three night run for some live MMJ. Good times were had by all.

Images by Doug Siegel

Farm Aid 2012

The 27th annual Farm Aid took place in Hershey Pa. this year. A full day of music that started around 2:30 pm and went till close to midnight. Scaled back some from the first Farm Aid that had 54 bands and 78,000 fans. The Hershey show had 12 bands, 30,000 fans (sold out). Still they have brought in just  over 40 million dollars over the years to help the small farmer.

Elton John: Greatest Hits Tour

Elton John returned to perform at Johnson City's Freedom Hall on September 16th after a 12 year hiatus. Freedom Hall has had its share of big acts (Aerosmith, The Eagles, Elvis Presley) but Elton John was the biggest act to perform there in quite some time. Needless to say the show sold out in a matter of hours.  The crowd was certainly appreciative of having a performer of that magnitude come to their small town and they showed it!