Rocktober is so big this year, the WHM KC field office is busting of out their normal space and hitting the road to catch some very special shows that are not hitting out market, and some one-of-a-kind experiences. Here’s what we’re packing our bags for, to catch live.
(ticket hyperlinks are embedded in each show's headline, in case you'd like to attend as well):
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The National
The National dropped their 6th album last month titled Trouble Will Find Me. The album (featuring such talents as St Vincent, Sharon Van Etten and Richard Reed Perry of Arcade Fire), took nearly three years to cultivate...
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OCT 3 The National / The War on Drugs / Lucius- Moda Center, Portland, OR
Two leading alternative and Grammy-award winning rock bands The National and The War On Drugs have combined forces along with special guests Lucius for a 19-date fall outing dubbed the Zen Diagram Tour, marking the first time any of these bands have toured together in this way. Produced by Live Nation, the tour kicked off last month in Gilford, NH and wraps in Mexico City in just over a week.
We’re fans of each and feel it’s money well spent to see any one of them, much less all three- we traveled to San Diego last year to see The National live, can’t wait for finally see The War on Drugs live, and took in the blissful harmonies of Lucius most recently in 2019 in St. Paul.
“I’m excited! These are gonna be short shows for both of our bands, I think. We’ve been doing two-and-a-half-hour shows lately a lot,” says The National’s Matt Berninger. “And that’s amazing, but I’m looking forward to being able to conserve energy and give a much tighter, shorter performance.”
The War on Drugs’ singer/guitarist Adam Granduciel adds. “It’s three great bands, it’s shorter sets than normal, but I feel like that’s just going to reach a greater level of being present with our set, you know? And it’s just about going out and playing great music for people that want to see some great rock and roll music.”
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SAGA
For nearly 50 years, this iconic band has been pioneering music innovation and thrilling audiences globally. Join us for an unforgettable night as they perform hits like "Wind Him Up", "On The Loose", "Humble Stance", and "Don’t Be Late".
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OCT 17 Saga- Arcada Theater, St. Charles, IL
One of the best and longest tenured Canadian prog pop rock bands (that many have barely heard of), are returning to the Midwest, playing a rare date outside of Chicago, at the same venue they played five years ago, to the month. Prior to that show, they hadn’t played a Chicagoland concert since 1985, so these live appearances are special and treasured.
Saga formed in 1977 in Oakville, Ontario, releasing their self-titled debut album the following year. Since then, the band has sold over ten million albums and performed in over 20 countries to over 15 million people.
Their hits include "Don't Be Late", "Wind Him Up", "The Flyer", "Scratching The Surface", and their biggest US radio success, "On The Loose" and they were forward thinking enough to film early music videos that MTV played in regular rotation, in its early days.
The band’s recorded content is vast- with almost two dozen studio albums and the latest being the acoustic-leaning, "Symmetry", from 2021 via earMUSIC. Their biggest markets outside of Canada have been such diverse places as Germany, Puerto Rico, and the Nordic countries, but they’ve cultivated some kind of still-loyal core fan base in almost every country.
Approaching fifty years as a band, they’ve sounded refreshed and anew since the return of singer Michael Sadler, and additions of newer members, drummer Mike Thorne and bassist Dusty Chesterfield, giving added life to their classic songs.
Sadler recently had a cancerous growth successfully removed, and the one remaining “X-factor” is legendary guitarist Ian Crichton, who broke his foot/leg and was left unable to play a full live show. Chesterfield stepped into the guitar duties while friend Michael 'Mike' Borkosky joined on bass, but of course, we’re very much hoping Crichton will be healed enough to perform again (even if from a chair).
“We’ll be back, I promise.” Sadler said at the finish of their 2019 Arcada appearance, and five years later, he’s kept his word, and we couldn’t be more excited.
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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
One of the events we managed to attend was this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Concert at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, a true end-of-year music highlight.. …
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OCT 19- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony – Rocket Mortgage Arena, Cleveland, OH
A genre-spanning batch of legends will join the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2024. Expect appearances from Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, Ella Mai, James Taylor, Jelly Roll, Julia Roberts, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Lucky Daye, Mac McAnally, Method Man, Roger Daltrey, Sammy Hagar, Slash and The Roots will all be present at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland for the annual ceremony.
The Class of 2024 includes Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Ozzy Osbourne and A Tribe Called Quest in the performers category. In the musical influence category, Alexis Korner, John Mayall and “Big Mama” Thornton will be inducted; all three pioneers are deceased, with Mayall dying at the age of 90 this July, just three months after his induction was announced.
Additionally, Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield enter the Rock Hall in the musical excellence category. Suzanne de Passe will be given the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
Yes, the event will again stream live on Disney+ and be available to stream on-demand afterward, but there’s no substitute for actually being in the building. We loved going to last year’s ceremony at the Barclays Center. As previous, a broadcast special will also air on ABC on January 1 as well.
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Duran Duran
Multi-platinum superstars Duran Duran is currently on their “Paper Gods World Tour”... they’ll be stopping by the Xcel Energy Center in St Paul next Saturday
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OCT 31- Duran Duran Madison Square Garden, New York City
In a redux of a very special show they performed during their 2022 Las Vegas residency at the Wynn, Duran Duran are summoning all Halloween enthusiasts to show up, dress up, and celebrate at their Danse Macabre Halloween Party.
The band is out in support of the new Deluxe version of their 16th studio album, Danse Macabre, due out October 11, which adds their cover of ELO’s “Evil Woman”, a re-imagined “New Moon” and the spooky instrumental, “Masque of the Pink Death”. The record threads together new music, themed covers, and darkly re-imagined versions of the band’s classic tracks in a fresh and unique way.
“It will be no ordinary show,” the band shared on Instagram about their Halloween MSG concert. “A unique production featuring the hits alongside songs from the crypt on October 31st.” We were blessed to shoot the band live in 2016 during their Paper Gods Tour, and can’t wait to see them again, especially performing this unique Halloween concert.
We’re “moody and gray, mean, and restless” in the best possible way, to catch this very special setlist played live, after missing the previous themed show in Las Vegas.
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