Streaming Music

The reality of depression and suicide has inspired artists to take part in the PICK UP THE PHONE TOUR, a music tour committed to reducing the stigma associated with mental health as well as making the access to help and hope for all safe and without fear.

Houston-based art rockers Blue October will headline the inaugural PICK UP THE PHONE TOUR–where impassioned artists join together to raise awareness and funds for depression and suicide prevention–and Atlanta-based hip-hop artist and producer B.o.B will open on the trek.

The PICK UP THE PHONE TOUR marks the first-ever tour solely benefiting suicide prevention in history. The month-long trek will launch Thursday, October 22nd at the Music Farm in Charleston, SC and wrap up with a two-night stand at Stubbs in Austin, TX November 20 and 21. See the full PUTP tour itinerary below; tickets are on sale now. To purchase, visit: http://www.putp.org and http://www.blueoctoberfan.com/pickupthephone/.

The PICK UP THE PHONE TOUR will launch with a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC Wednesday, October 21 at 10:00 AM. Justin Furstenfeld, the lead singer of Blue October, will be on hand to speak and perform an acoustic set before members of Congress as well as supporters of the tour partners 1-800 SUICIDE, PostSecret and TWLOHA.

Justin–who has struggled with bi-polar disorder most of his life–will be calling on Congress to fund both creative writing and art therapy programs as alternative options for mental health. The press conference will also urge Congress to fully fund the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act which provides the funding behind the majority of the suicide prevention programs in the United States today. The press conference is open to all on a first-come first-served basis, to RSVP, email TWLOHA: PUTP@TWLOHA.com.

The PICK UP THE PHONE TOUR is created through a partnership between the non-profit organization To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA), the largest charity on MySpace and Facebook: Postsecret.com; Synclive.com; and 1-800 SUICIDE The National Hopeline Network.

Through 1-800 SUICIDE–which provides a life-saving service that is private and confidential for people in need–callers are routed directly to the closest crisis center in their immediate area so that quick referrals to behavioral health services and other supports can be offered. Since 1998, 1-800-SUICIDE has received over 3.6 million calls and rescued more than 4,000 individuals who had already initiated suicide plans.

The spokesperson for the PICK UP THE PHONE TOUR 2009, Justin Furstenfeld personally understands the struggles those who are affected by mental health issues face on a daily basis. “It has taken 20 years to have the chance to do a tour focusing on mental health issues which have been a daily battle for me for most of my life,” explains Justin.

“It’s great to finally be a part of a positive, progressive-thinking tour for an important cause which will make a direct impact and help people in desperate situations that need it the most.” In a strange turn of events in his own life, Justin worked at a mental hospital one day and, after suffering a breakdown, became a patient in a hospital the next.

Justin–who has taken medication for the condition since he was a teenager–now teaches creative writing at a mental hospital to young adults affected by mental health issues, self-abuse issues and sexual abuse. Through personal experiences and music, Justin challenges young minds to channel their emotions and anger into creative writing and art versus taking their frustrations out on themselves or the world around them.

He performs his art around the world, sending a message of hope to thousands who know and trust his message because he fights the same battles they fight every day. Justin is living proof that if you reach out and allow yourself to be helped you can lead a beautiful life filled with love, family and career.

“In moments of bravery and confusion and honesty, people turn to 1-800-SUICIDE–over three million of them,” points out Jamie Tworkowski, founder of To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA).

“The folks at the Hopeline Centers have been answering those calls for ten years, picking up the phone when it’s mattered most. Now to help those who will not pick up the phone, together with 1-800-SUICIDE we are launching the first 24×7 online emotional support network called AliveIM!, which will soon be available at www.suicide.net.”

To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA)–a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide–exists to encourage, inform and inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

Since 2006, TWLOHA has responded to over 100,000 messages from people in over 40 different countries and have invested over half a million dollars directly into treatment and recovery, including $50,000 to help fund the AliveIM! support network.

In another innovative move, the tour has partnered with Synclive.com to air live performances from the artists via the Internet as well as provide an immediate online confidential connection for fans in need. Synclive.com will create an essential connection for concertgoers in crisis who are unable to approach a booth at the show in-person either for direct help or to volunteer for the online counseling program.

Formed in Houston in 1995, the rock five–piece Blue October have released five studio albums and sold over 2 million albums. The group released their fifth studio album Approaching Normal (Universal Motown), the follow-up to their 1.3 million-selling Foiled album; it spawned the hit “Hate Me,” which reached #2 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, followed by “Into the Ocean,” a # 1 video on VH1 about a the metaphorical contemplation of suicide itself.

Approaching Normal debuted at # 13 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart in March 2009 and produced two top singles: “Dirt Room,” which rocketed to #6 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart marking the group’s third Top Ten singl, and “Say It.”

Blue October is Justin Furstenfeld (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Jeremy Furstenfeld (drums, percussion), Ryan Delahoussaye (violin/viola, mandolin, piano, backing vocals), C.B. Hudson (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Matt Noveskey (bass guitar, backing vocals). Due to their hard-won and loyal fanbase, the group now tours all over the world. Check out www.blueoctober.com and www.myspace.com/blueoctober.

Hailing from Atlanta, B.o.B. also known as Bobby Ray is a hotly-tipped hip-hop artist and producer who will release his debut album The Adventures of Bobby Ray via T.I.’s label Grand Hustle (Atlantic Records) in 2009. B.o.B. appeared on the covers of XXL and Vibe magazines as was hailed as part of “Hip-Hop’s class of ‘09” (XXL, 12/08). B.o.B describes his music as a fusion of influences ranging from 80’s, techno, rock, funk and du-wop. Check out www.bobatl.com and www.myspace.com/bobatl.

Recently, acclaimed actor James Earl Jones recorded a Public Service announcement for the PICK UP THE PHONE TOUR; click here to view: http://www.preventsuicide.us/hopeline-new/index.html.

Following are the confirmed dates for the PICK UP THE PHONE TOUR 2009:

DATE CITY VENUE

10/21 Washington, DC Capitol Hill – PUTP Press Conference

10/22 Charleston, SC Music Farm (no B.o.B.)

10/23 Charlotte, NC Fillmore

10/24 Hilton Head, SC Shoreline Ballroom

10/25 Atlanta, GA 99X (Blue October radio show)

10/27 Jacksonville, FL Freebird Live

10/28 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Revolution

10/30 Orlando, FL House of Blues

10/31 Tampa, FL The Ritz (Ybor City)

11/01 Columbia, SC Headliners

11/02 WASHINGTON, DC 9:30 Club

11/05 Rochester, NY Water Street

11/06 Boston , MA Reason to Live Tenth Anniversary Concert

11/07 Napa, CA Hot AC (Blue October radio show)

11/10 Columbus, OH LC Pavilion

11/12 Chicago, IL House of Blues

11/13 Detroit, MI Royal Oak

11/14 Kalamazoo, MI State Theater

11/15 Cleveland, OH House of Blues

11/17 COLUMBIA, MO Blue Note

11/18 Tulsa, OK Cain’s

11/20 Austin, TX Stubb’s

11/21 Austin, TX Stubb’s

Partners for the first-ever PICK UP THE PHONE TOUR 2009 include:

1-800-SUICIDE – National Hopeline Network

About the National Hopeline Network 1-800 SUICIDE (784-2433) and the Kristin Brooks Hope Center (KBHC):
After losing his wife, Kristin Brooks to suicide in 1998, Reese Butler founded the Kristin Brooks Hope Center (KBHC), which created the National Hopeline Network 1-800 SUICIDE.

In 2000, Reese gained the support of the late Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN), Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) and obtained more than seven million dollars to expand and support the National Hopeline Network which is comprised of 200 community crisis centers in 48 states.

Callers in crisis to 1800-SUICIDE are routed to the closest crisis center in their immediate area so that quick referrals to behavioral health services and other supports can be offered. Since 1998, 1-800-SUICIDE has received more than 3 million calls and rescued more than 4,000 individuals who had already initiated suicide plans. www.hopeline.com

About To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA):

In 2006, Jamie Tworkowski wrote a story, a glimpse into a friend’s life and her first steps to recovery from drug addiction, self-injury, and depression. The story, titled To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA), and t-shirts Tworkowski printed to help pay for his friend’s recovery, started a movement, not only within his local Orlando, FL community, but one that was swiftly embraced by people everywhere.

Realizing a strong need to bring these mental health issues to light, Jamie created TWLOHA–a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide–and enlisted bands such as Paramore, Thrice, Anberlin, Switchfoot, Bayside, The Almost to spread TWLOHA’s message.

Jamie and TWLOHA joined national and international touring bands spreading their message of hope before bands took the stage each night. In August 2007, MySpace awarded TWLOHA the winner of their “Impact Award” for “Community Building,” TWLOHA garnered the most votes in the history of the Impact Awards.

To Write Love on Her Arms began with one broken girl, one painful night; addiction, depression, self-injury. It is the realization of what life can be when people commit to meeting a need. “A friend of mine told me there is no such thing as suicide prevention. This is an attempt to prove him wrong, to say that love can change a life. We can hold back the darkness. Rescue is possible,” says Tworkowski. www.twloha.com

About Synclive.Com:

Synclive.com is a highly interactive music and entertainment Internet community that allows users to broadcast their live performances, as they happen, over the Internet to a worldwide audience. Synclive.com is currently reaching 127 countries with over 1 million video views a month. Shows can be broadcast from anywhere, at anytime. Synclive.com offers artists a tremendous promotional platform for worldwide exposure.

It is a great way to promote new music, a new tour, new merchandise, and stay intimately connected with your fans. Shows are streamed live, recorded and stored at the artist’s discretion for future on demand viewing. Our most used tool is the embedded player which allows an artist’s live and on demand shows to be placed on all of their websites so fans can watch the show in the artist’s environment. Synclive.com is free for artists, fans, and venues to use and is open to all genres of music and live entertainment. www.synclive.com

About PostSecret.com:

Called “the most trusted stranger in America,” Frank Warren is the sole founder and curator of the PostSecret Project: A collection of nearly 500,000 highly personal and artfully decorated postcards mailed anonymously from around the world, displaying the soulful secrets we never voice.

The PostSecret.com site now receives more than 1,000,000 visitors every week. In 2005, the All-American Rejects approached Warren about using images of actual PostSecret images in their “Dirty Little Secret” music video. They offered Warren $1,000, but Warren instead asked them to donate $2,000 to 1800-SUICIDE where Warren is a volunteer.

The donation was made and the music video became one of the most requested on MTV. The National Mental Health Association presented Warren with an award for his work in raising public awareness of Suicide. The PostSecret project has now raised over $210,000 for 1800-SUICIDE. PostSecret was awarded the December 2008 “Myspace Impact Award” and donated 100% of the proceeds to 1-800 SUICIDE. Look for the new PostScret book titled Confessions on Life, Death and God due out October 6. www.postsecret.com

For more information about the PUTP tour, visit:

• www.putp.org
• www.hopeline.com
• ww.twloha.com
• www.synclive.com
• www.postsecret.com

In this article we’re going to review one of the most famous concerts in rock and roll history, The Beatles performance at Shea Stadium.

The Beatles are arguably the most famous band in rock and roll history. They certainly were the start of the British revolution that spawned many bands with that Brit sound, but none of them sounded quite like the Fab Four.

The Beatles first concert at Shea Stadium in New York set records for the time. The attendance was 55,600 people and the money made was over 57,000 pounds. Not too bad for August 15, 1965. The noise factor at the stadium that day was so loud that John Lennon said it was “louder than God.” Lennon had a habit of comparing the Beatles to the almighty, which ultimately got him and the group into a lot of trouble in their early days.

Most people know about the concert date and what was played there, but what few people know is what happened to the Beatles on the way to Shea Stadium. While it was nothing traumatic, it is important to note that in spite of their enormous popularity, they were in total awe of what they were walking into.

On the drive to the stadium, George Harrison was totally in awe of the amount of traffic headed that way. The freeway was a total disaster area. Cars were hardly moving and for a while it looked like the Beatles themselves would be late for their own concert had it not been for the helicopter that took them from Wall Street to the stadium. The view from up above was as if people were trying to escape some sort of national disaster.

They wouldn’t allow the Beatles to land in the stadium so they had to land on top of the roof at the World’s Fair. From there, it was one hundred yards to the stadium in a Wells Fargo armored truck. Talk about security. On the drive in the truck, which had no windows, to the stadium, insane kids were banging on the outside of the truck and rocking it back and forth. At one point George thought the truck was going to be turned over and they were all going to be torn to pieces. All of this in spite of weeks drawing up plans for how they would get the group to the stadium.

Ironically, the concert, compared to modern times, was very low budget. The amps were Vox Ac-30s. The group was offered to have anything they wanted made for them, but they turned down all offers. They wanted to play with the equipment that they had always used. Consequently, the sound quality was not great. But the experience was one that will probably never be felt by anyone ever again.

For those interested in the music, the highlights of the concert were “A Hard Day’s Night”, “Help”, “I’m Down”, “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “Ticket To Ride”, “I Feel Fine”, and “Twist And Shout”.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Concerts

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

Michael Russell – EzineArticles Expert Author

In this article we’re going to review one of the most controversial concerts in pop rock history, the Renaissance Concert At Carnegie Hall.

One may wonder why this would be such a controversial concert. After all, Renaissance was not some drug induced band with a reputation for trashing venues. There was nothing offensive about their lyrics.

And yet, there were many people at the time who felt that Andrew Carnegie would be turning over in his grave if he knew that the art rock band Renaissance was going to be playing at the hall named after him. After all, Carnegie Hall was a place where only the greatest classical musicians got to play. This is where we heard the works of Chopin, Bach, Mozart and a number of other well known classical composers. This is where we heard the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. This is not where you hear the likes of Jon Camp, John Tout, Michael Dunford and Annie Haslam.

But here they were, in the summer of 1975 along with select members of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra playing at Carnegie Hall. Many die hard classical music fans wondered if the New York Philharmonic had nothing better to do that day. What they didn’t realize is that they were about to be treated to something the likes of which would never be heard in those hallowed halls again.

Renaissance was, in every true sense of the word, the poor man’s classical music group. Their songs were very much styled after the classical composers of earlier times. But their sound was unmistakably rock. They combined guitars, drums, synthesizers and orchestral instruments to product a very unique sound that made them one of the most popular art rock groups of the time.

Unfortunately, at the concert itself Renaissance played it safe. They didn’t stray much from the original arrangements of their finely crafted tunes. Then when they did stray it was with a ridiculous five minute bass solo during “Ashes Are Burning” which surely had their die hard fans cringing. And the New York Philharmonic members who where there were pretty much just window dressing.

The concert wasn’t all bad though. It did introduce curiosity seekers to some of the great songs such as “Ocean Gypsy”, “Can You Understand”, their big hit “Carpet Of The Sun”, “Mother Russia”, “Ashes Are Burning”, and the epic masterpiece “Scheherazade.”

There isn’t much in this concert that you’re not going to hear on their studio albums. There is a short spoken introduction to Scheherazade, but it adds very little to the song itself other than to tell a little of the story.

The critics’ main problem with the concert was that a live performance is supposed to be a window in the soul of an artist. In this case all we were treated to was a regurgitation of what could have easily been found by simply buying one of their records.

On a positive note, those who never heard of Renaissance before were treated to some music that most definitely had every right to be performed at Carnegie Hall. They just could have done a better job of performing it.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Concerts

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

Michael Russell – EzineArticles Expert Author

In this article we’re going to tell the true behind the scenes story of one of the most famous songs in rock history that was actually the result of an incident at a concert.

Everyone knows the song “Smoke On The Water“. Every kid who ever picked up a guitar for the first time plunked out that four chord blues riff. For many kids, it’s the only thing they were ever able to play. And many of these kids think they know the story of how that song was recorded. Yes, there was a fire, a bad one. But what most, if not all of them, don’t realize is that the fire that broke out that day was during a Frank Zappa and the Mothers Of Invention concert.

The date was December 7, 1971. It was thirty years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Maybe that should have been an omen. Certainly this was not an insignificant date in history.

Anyway, Deep Purple, the band who recorded “Smoke On The Water” was setting up their camp in Montreux, Switzerland to record their next album. They were going to use a mobile recording studio to do this which they rented from The Rolling Stones, known as their Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. They set up at the Montreux Entertainment Complex which was part of their casino. This is referred to as the “gambling house” in the lyrics of the song.

Well, on the eve of their recording session Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention were performing live in concert at the casino’s theater. They were to perform a number of their popular songs including the epic “The Nancy & Mary Music”, “Sharleena”, “Duke Of Prunes”, and “Hungry Freaks Daddy”. Frank Zappa was strange to say the least. However, before they could really get into the meat of their performance a fire broke out during the concert. It was said to have been caused by a Swiss fan shooting a flare gun at the ceiling, as was stated in the “some stupid with a flare gun” line that ultimately destroyed the entire casino complex, along with all of Frank Zappa and The Mother’s equipment.

The smoke on the water that was talked about in the song was the smoke from the fire that spread over all of Lake Geneva. From their hotel across the way from the casino, the members of Deep Purple watched the fire burn and the smoke cover the lake. In the lyrics they mention a “funky Claude” running in and out. This was actually the director of the Montreux Jazz Festival running in and out of the casino trying to get people to safety.

The aftermath of all this was that Deep Purple had no place to record and Frank Zappa and the Mothers were part of the most famous concert in history to get cancelled mid way through.

Deep Purple eventually found another place to record, using a near empty Montreux Grand Hotel. They converted its hallways into a makeshift recording studio.

As for Frank Zappa, the concert was cancelled and never rescheduled. But he had become a part of history that little kids with electric guitars will be thankful for, for a very long time.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Concerts

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

Michael Russell – EzineArticles Expert Author

In this article we’re going to review another very popular benefit concert, the one they call Live Aid.

Most people probably had very little clue that The Concert For Bangladesh would start a trend that would continue for many years. Live Aid is another example of some of the world’s greatest musical acts coming together in a common cause to help people in need.

What made Live Aid different from Bangladesh and many other concerts was that this concert was not held in just one place. The concert, held on July 13, 1985 was broadcast live from a number of places, including Wembley Stadium in London, JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, and a few acts performing from Sydney, Australia and Moscow, Russia.

The concert itself was put on in order to try to help raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. The concert was billed as sort of a “global jukebox.” The number of people in attendance at just two of the sites totalled over 150,000 people. Live Aid was the largest scale satellite link-up and TV broadcast of all time. It was estimated that about 1.5 billion people saw the broadcast live.

The concert was conceived by master mind Bob Geldorf who had previously put together another gala called “Do They Know It’s Christmas” which was known as Band Aid. That concert went off the previous winter featuring a number of British and Irish acts also for the purpose of raising funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. This is the first time that two concerts had been put on so close together to raise money for the same relief effort.

The initial goals of this concert was to raise about $1.5 million. But as the concert grew in scope and the number of acts increased the final number was estimated at a staggering $254 million earned. Nobody could have ever seen this coming. Because of Geldorf’s efforts and the success of Live Aid, he received an honorary knighthood.

Because there were so many venues and so many performing artists it would be impossible to list every artist who performed and every song done. But there were a few memorable highlights that deserve to be mentioned.

One of the most memorable moments at JFK Stadium was when Bob Dylan was playing and broke a guitar string. Ron Wood then took off his guitar and gave it to Dylan. Wood was then left standing on stage without a guitar. What does he do? He shrugs to the audience and proceeds to play air guitar even imitating Pete Townsend’s windmill motion until a stagehand brought Wood a new guitar.

Over at Wembley Stadium the highlight of the concert there was when Freddie Mercury and Queen got the entire audience in attendance to clap and sing to “Radio Ga-Ga,” “We Will Rock You,” and “We Are The Champions.” It was reported that the sound at that point was almost deafening with over 70,000 people singing and clapping.

Live Aid was an amazing event. It raised millions of dollars and helped feed starving people. No, this wasn’t just a concert.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Concerts

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

Michael Russell – EzineArticles Expert Author

Air Supply in Coney Island, NY 7/19/07 – Headlines Seaside Summer Concert Series with Billy Ocean
Coney Island, NY: Air Supply Headlines Seaside Summer Concert Series. Billy Ocean Performs First U.S. Concert in 18 Years

I was having a bit of déjà vu on Thursday as we stood in line waiting to be seated for the Air Supply/Billy Ocean concert at Asser Levy Park in Coney Island. Dark grey clouds loomed overhead, the forecast was bleak, and scattered thunderstorms were expected to arrive late in the afternoon and last into the night. Every half hour that passed brought more threatening storm clouds and news of downpours just a few miles away. Armed with our umbrellas (a lesson learned from the recent Endicott, NY concert in the rain), we hoped for the best but expected the worse.

Arriving at the park earlier in the afternoon, the weather was gorgeous. It was hot and sunny and the local and Billy Ocean and Air Supply crews were working hard setting up and preparing for the night’s concerts. We arrived as Brett, Nate and Mark were doing sound checks and we were able to watch and listen as we walked around the park. Soon after, Air Supply came out and began their sound check. I haven’t ever had the opportunity to see one before, so this was a real treat. Standing about 150 feet back from the stage, we watched as Air Supply sang Even The Nights Are Better. The acoustics were phenomenal in this wide, open area and it was pretty cool to see Air Supply perform this song, but not to a crowd. They performed it as well as they do during a show, but it was a bit more casual. The other spectators standing around were having a great time too, and some even asked who ‘those guys’ were, and then remarked, “Oh…Air Supply! I remember them!”

Billy Ocean’s group came onstage after Air Supply exited. And while Air Supply’s sound check lasted about 30 minutes, Billy Ocean’s lasted a good two and a half hours, maybe three. After his band and back-up singers worked things out for about two hours, Billy Ocean came out and performed three songs for his sound check. It was a lot of fun and it was a great preview for the show to come.

Taking our seats around 7:30, we sat and talked with locals who come to the summer shows each Thursday night. We talked about where we were from, and were invited back multiple times to come to the next week’s show! If I lived in New York, I think I’d love to go to these shows every week. The concerts are free to the public and for a $5.00 donation you can get preferred seating that includes a chair. You have to line up early if you want a great seat, but being a concert in the park, everyone has a good enough seat to enjoy the show! What a great gift to the Brooklyn residents to see such incredible performers.

About 15 minutes before show time, the rain came in. People donned ponchos and we opened our umbrellas and sat in the rain for about 10 minutes. Luckily, it was just a small shower and once over, we never had to pull them out again! So much for the dreary forecast!

Billy Ocean came out a few minutes later and the evening began. Like Air Supply, if you haven’t seen what he looks like in a number of years, it is surprising to see how age creeps up and makes some performers visually unrecognizable to you. Billy Ocean had long, grey dreads, but like Russell Hitchcock, there was no mistaking his crystal clear voice and infectious smile.

Surprisingly, this concert was Billy Ocean’s first U.S. concert in 18 years. We were told he took time off during the pinnacle of his career to be with and raise his family, but I am unsure if he performed outside of the U.S. during this time as it was not announced. However, what was announced, twice, by host Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz was that Billy Ocean and Air Supply would be touring together this year. News to me, I later asked two of the band members about this and they both laughed and said it was news to them as well!

Billy Ocean sang more hits than I could recall him having, and I was having a fantastic time as he sang Mystery Lady, Color of Love, (There’ll Be) Sad Songs, Suddenly, Lover Boy, Get Outta My Dreams (Get Into My Car), When The Goin’ Gets Tough, and his closer Caribbean Queen.

Billy Ocean’s performance was nothing short of spectacular. To say he had charisma wouldn’t quite be complimentary enough. He had incredible interaction with the audience, twice going into the crowd and having people sing parts of the songs. He had us singing a lot with him and the crowd was really digging it! He has a great band, including 3 back-up singers, one of whom was his daughter, a drummer, a percussionist, a keyboardist, a bass player, and a guitar player. They put on a great show, and that might be an understatement.

This being Billy’s first performance in the U.S. in 18 years, there was understandably a large crowd of photographers (see link below for more photos) and fans and Billy did not disappoint anyone. He never stopped smiling and moving and dancing, and I just wanted to get up on stage and dance with him! Billy Ocean and his band far exceeded my expectations and I hope I get to see his show again!

After Billy Ocean, Air Supply came out. Although a “Special Performance by Graham Russell” was advertised, Graham did not sing songs from The Future and Air Supply opened with Even The Nights Are Better. Everyone was on their feet and it was a great way to start the show!

Just As I Am was followed by A Little Bit Of Everything and it’s always interesting to see how the crowd reacts to a relatively unknown Air Supply song. Air Supply always makes this song fun for the audience, and the band, and it always has great personality.

Here I Am and Chances were next and Jed Moss performed a new piece before Faith In Love. When I later asked him what it was, he told me something that was about 10 words long, so I didn’t quite get it. It was a great piece and, again, a treat to hear. The Power of Love was next and Air Supply received yet another standing ovation. The man next to me stood up and applauded after each song, so we did the same. It started a bit of a trend and more and more people started standing after each song.

During The One That You Love, Russell did go out into the audience as much as he could, but there were gates and fences that prevented him from getting out into the audience. That said, he made his way around the barricades as best he could and the fans were screaming for more! Graham quietly made his way down the pathways and by the time he and Russell returned to the stage, the audience was on its feet already singing along. Air Supply continued with The One That You Love, Lost In Love, and Making Love Out Of Nothing At All, closing with All Out Of Love.

Air Supply was simply superb. The energy from the band and audience was high and everyone had a fantastic time.

Thanks go out to Sparky, Brett, Moe, Nate and Mark, and I’ll extend a special thank you to Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz for bringing Air Supply and Billy Ocean together for one fabulous evening. A wonderful time was had by all!

Betsy Hijazi attends Air Supply concerts and writes reviews and posts video clips on her blog at http://www.AirSupplyBlog.com http://www.MySpace.com/ASFanBetsy and http://www.YouTube.com/ASFanForLife

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Betsy_Hijazi

If you want to enjoy having a good time with your mate, family or friends, then there are many different types of activities you can choose from. Many people love to travel in groups if they can get a hold of cheap airline tickets. Others love to take in all of the latest top box office movies. But, for many people, there is nothing better than attending live concerts.

Just about anyone who gets a great deal of enjoyment from listening to music or watching music videos will also enjoy attending live concerts put on by their favorite band, group or solo musical artist. Any time a group or an individual performs live, it is called a concert and in most cases the concert events are related to musical performances, and these performances are held in front of an audience of fans of the band or performer that is on stage.

There are also many informal terms often used to refer to concerts. Some of the most common terms which also refer to live musical performances are “gigs” and “shows.” A live concert is a great way for musicians to interact with their fans and to develop a following, if they are trying to make a name for themselves.

Concerts can be held in a number of different types of settings and venues, ranging from very small and cozy places like pubs and coffee houses, to moderately sized nightclubs, private homes and concert halls, to enormous stadiums, arenas and amphitheaters. There are even some instances when live performances are held in barns or on open land, such as farms. The famous Woodstock event was held on a farm.

Many times, a performer prefers to hold their concert in older venues, such as historic theaters that have been renovated and transformed into wonderful stages for hosting live events. These older concert venues can add an additional sense of history and significance to their performance, as well as a touch of flair and showmanship that is not always evident in the concert halls and auditoriums that are new.

Many people look forward to having the large festival concerts in their areas. A festival concert is great because they feature a number of different groups and acts that typically perform a similar type of music. In some cases, these festival events include other types of entertainment as well and they can often run for several days, as opposed to a traditional concert which will only last a few hours.

There are several methods of learning about the concerts that are scheduled to come to your city. One of the ways to get the schedule is to simply check with the box office of the venue where most live performances are held. At the same time, you can always get on the internet these days and check for upcoming performances on the specialty websites that sell concert tickets that usually have comprehensive schedules.

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In this article we’re going to review one of the greatest concerts in the history of modern music, the Concert For Bangladesh.

The Concert For Bangladesh was held on August 1, 1971, at Madison Square Garden in the greatest city in the world, New York. To the youth of the time it was just another concert. But as history goes, it may very well go down as one of the greatest events in mankind’s.

The brains behind the concert was ex Beatle, George Harrison, who had become very much into causes after the group split up. In this case, the cause was the people of Bangladesh, who were literally starving to death. The concert was put on in the hopes of bringing some hope to a dying region of the world.

Bangladesh had a troubled history. The events leading up to this concert are as follows.

In 1969 General Yahya Khan assumed power in Pakistan. His goal was to put an end to end the dictatorship and start a democracy. In December of the following year the League of Bangladesh won a huge victory. It became the largest party in Pakistan. But Kahn was unwilling to allow a power shift to Bangladesh. So the results of the election were ignored and a reign of terror was unleashed in Bangladesh to eliminate the opposition to Kahn. It is estimated that over 1 million people were murdered. This was the greatest atrocity since Hitler and the Jews. The ones who escaped to India suffered terrible starvation, among other things. Thus, the reason for the concert.

It all started with a call that George Harrison made to Ringo Starr, another ex Beatle. He then made another call to Leon Russell. Both agreed to come to the East Coast for the concert. After those calls, others were made to business managers, the Garden itself and everyone and anyone Harrison could think of to be of assistance.

The list of performers were as long as King Kong’s right arm. At the top of the list was Eric Clapton, who had played with George Harrison while with the Beatles on tunes like “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” which was played at the concert itself.

Another friend of Harrison’s, Billy Preston, who played on the Beatle’s big hit “Get Back” was also there. At the concert itself Preston played “That’s The Way God Planned It.”

A group that was up and coming at the time, Badfinger, was also in attendance. They were supposed to be the next Beatles, actually founded by the Beatles and also on Apple Records. At the concert Badfinger served as a backing band and didn’t play any of their original material.

Rounding out the all star cast was the great Bob Dylan, who sang many tunes including his signature tune “Blowin’ In The Wind.”

The Concert for Bangladesh was not just a concert. It was an event. One that will never be forgotten and one that hopefully will never come again.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Concerts

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Michael Russell – EzineArticles Expert Author