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Archive for the ‘PNC Bank Center’ Category

Muse (PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, July 23, 2026)

Posted in Muse, Ennio Morricone, Bloc Party, PNC Bank Center, Holmdel, NJ, The Temper Trap on July 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 23, 2026] Muse

I can’t believe that it has been seven years since I’ve seen Muse.  Mostly because I remember their two shows (the earlier one was ten years ago) so vividly because they were fantastic.

I blew off their last tour to the States in 2023 because the tickets were so expensive.  Then I read a review and realized that the price was worth it for the show.  This time around the tickets were once again WAY too expensive, but they were at the PNC Bank Arts Center.  Where you can get lawn seats for around $40.  And, if the pavilion seats aren’t sold out, you can upgrade for $25.  And that’s what my son and I did.  We got Row Q which was the best location I’ve had for a Muse show.  And holy cow was it amazing to see them so close.

I realize that I haven’t enjoyed Muse’s newer stuff as much as their older stuff (I know everyone says that) but it doesn’t mean I think the new stuff is bad.  I just need to listen more, I think.  But new music mostly means a new tour and new technology for them to play around with.  And that’s pretty awesome.

When I saw them last time, it involved gigantic creatures all around the stage.  This show was slightly more subdued, but no less technologically marvelous.  Although at the start, the stage was remarkably minimalist.  One amp behind Matt Bellamy–I assume it was not plugged in and was just a prop).  Dominic Howard on drums on a riser in the middle (later, the amp was replaced with a small standing kit that he used for a song or two while they were no doubt doing something interesting to his main kit.  In the back right was touring musician Dan Lancaster who plays keys and guitar and other things.  And then there was bassist Chris Wolstenholme with his red-light-on-frets bass guitar.  He and Bellamy walk all over the stage, untethered to anything.

I assumed that they would be playing most of the new album and would certainly start with a new song.  But, instead, after a Chvrches song played over the speakers, they came out (to thunderous applause) and launched into Interlude.  Which is an amusing title to star a show with but it segued into the outstanding Hysteria which go the crowd totally rowdy. (more…)

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Bloc Party (PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, July 22, 2026) [MUSE]

Posted in Bloc Party, Holmdel, NJ, Muse, PNC Bank Center, The Temper Trap on July 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 22, 2026] Bloc Party

For ages now I’ve felt like I should get into Bloc Party.  I mean, right from the start, I associated them with Art Brut and there’s no good reason why I didn’t jump on the Bloc Party party.  While not as “talkie” as Art Brut there is a similar vibe, with singer Kele Okereke kind of yell-speaking the lyrics.

Last year, Bloc Party played a show at the Met Philly.  I was going to go because Metric was opening.  Then they dropped out and I wound up not getting tickets–as I said, I didn’t know them all that well.  But I was really excited that they were opening for Muse on this tour, because it would finally give me a chance to check them out.

And they were fantastic.  The sound wasn’t perfect for them (too much bass drum, good heavens).  But what really impressed me about them was how great they sounded musically.  I’d always thought that the focus was on the lyrics/vocals.  And, yes, the lyrics are compelling, like on Coming on Strong

I was happy as a pig in
Happy as a pig in
Happy as a pig in spite of myself

But once I got past the words, I was blown away by guitarist Russell Lissack–he generated some weird and cool sounds effortlessly.  And there’s so much going on with the guitar work in Bloc Party songs.  I only wish I’d watched him from the start.  But, understandably, all eyes are on Kele–especially since he is a big muscular dude (I didn’t really know what he looked like back in the day, but he is big now!

I found myself liking their newer songs even more than their older ones.  The guitar progression of Rough Justice is great–cinematic and slightly scary at the same time.  Of course, the riff from 2012’s So He Begins to Lie is also great–heavy and lurching but really catchy as well.  And it was during this song that I really blown away by drummer Louise Bartle.  She played fast and heavy and played some really interesting drums patterns.  I realize that she didn’t play on the early albums (she joined ten years ago), but she was a force of nature live. (more…)

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The Temper Trap (PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, July 22, 2026) [MUSE]

Posted in Bloc Party, Holmdel, NJ, Muse, PNC Bank Center, The Temper Trap on July 22, 2026| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 22, 2026] The Temper Trap

I was really excited for this show. Muse is always a good show and I brought my son with me–he’s become a big fan.  I had purchased lawn seats and was hoping to upgrade them to pavilion seats when we arrived.  So I wanted to get there earlier enough to upgrade without having to hang out with nothing to do.  I knew that heading down to Holmdel around 6PM can really suck. but I was totally unprepared for how bad the traffic would be.  Holy cow, we were on 287 for half an hour easily (ten miles).  We pulled up to the venue just before 7. We still managed to upgrade our tickets and walked into the pvailion just as The Temper Trap came on.

I hadn’t heard of The Temper Trap, but when I looked them up I found out that they had a new album that being quite well received.

I also found out that they were from Melboure and I’ve been having a great deal of luck with Australian bands lately.  Well, I’ve found that they actually moved to London a while ago (and singer Dougy Mandagi doesn’t have much of Australian accent).

I enjoyed their set but I wasn’t really blown away by anything.  Indeed, when they were done I couldn’t even really remember what the sounded like (except that the bass was way too loud, which I know is not the band’s fault).

Listening to the songs now, Lucky Dimes is pretty cool with the sound effects getting generated–but which I didn’t really notice during the show.

Into the Wild slowed things down and Mandagi ‘s falsetto really came to the fore. (more…)

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Sessanta V.2: Primus, Puscifer, A Perfect Circle (PNC Bank Center, Holmdel, NJ, May 17, 2025)

Posted in A Perfect Circle, Holmdel, NJ, PNC Bank Center, Primus, Puscifer on May 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 17, 2025] Sessanta V.2: Primus, Puscifer, A Perfect Circle

II really liked Tool when they first came out.  Sober is one of my favorite songs of the 1990s.  I enjoyed the second Tool album and then was excited by A Perfect Circle, but I felt that the two bands were too similar. And I kind of lost interest in Maynard Keenan.  So I never knew anything about Puscifer.  When I heard the name I assumed they were like a hardcore/death metal band.  Which they are not.

My friend Doug is a huge fan, though, and he encouraged me to go to this show. I was mostly interested in Primus, but the more he talked about this show, the more I wanted to see the Maynard spectacle.  And it did not disappoint.

Before the show started, there was a video of Maynard in a hospital room.  He looked old and frail and was telling really dumb jokes trying to make a nurse laugh.

This tour package was designed to celebrate Maynard James Keenan’s 60-ish birthday celebration and it was designed to be a lot of fun.  The ad talked about all three bands being on stage and then being together as: Puscimus, Perfmus Circifer, and A Pripusper Circfermus.

The stage was designed in an industrial and very cool way.  Three drum sets sat on the top tier of the stage.  Stairs on either side led down to the stage level where guitars and vocals were.  It was very cool the way the bands could come and go from their gear at will.

Evidently, Maynard does not like recording devices at his shows.  Maynard opened the show with his earnest request that all phones and devices be put away in an effort to detach from distractions and fully immerse oneself into the musical experience. They also had videos showing that anyone who brought out a phone during the show would be ground into meat.  There was no evidence of people being ground up at our show.

The lights dimmed and the drummer for A Perfect Circle came out to his kit.  Then the rest of the band filled out below and they played three songs.  I only know the first album, and they played one from each of the other three.  But I really got into it. The bands sounded great and Maynard has a wonderful stage presence.  (more…)

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Tears for Fears / Garbage (PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, June 24, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Garbage, Holmdel, NJ, PNC Bank Center, Tears for Fears on June 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 24, 2022] Tears for Fears / Garbage

I’ve never been a huge fan of Tears for Fears, although I like more than just their big hits (I especially like the Sowing the Seeds of Love album).  With the release of their most recent album, there’s been a lot of discussion about their music with many people point out just how prog rock they are.

This seemed like a really interesting tour, but I wound up never getting tickets.  Sometimes those PNC Bank shows are really pricey, and if it doesn’t look like there’s going to be an seats to upgrade to, you’re stuck in the lawn.  Which is no fun at all.

Although a double bill with Garbage would be the best way to see them.

Reviews of the tour are overwhelmingly positive, so I guess I missed a good one.

I have seen Garbage a few times (most recently in 2018).  They are great live, even as an opening band.

Although I’d rather see them as a headliner.

 

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King Crimson (PNC Bank Center, Holmdel, NJ, September 4, 2021) [rescheduled from June 22, 2020, State Theatre]

Posted in Adrian Belew, Count Basie, Holmdel, NJ, King Crimson, New Brunswick, NJ, PNC Bank Center, Red Bank, NJ, State Theatre, The Zappa Band on September 5, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 4, 2021] King Crimson

This show was originally scheduled at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, which would have been an amazing place to see King Crimson.  The sound would have been incredible, and it’s only 30 minutes from my house.  When this was first rescheduled, it appeared that they’d be playing at the Count Basie in Red Bank, which would have been fine–great sound, but a further drive.  Then it wound up at PNC Bank Center, which has less great sound, but is a nice venue and is very easy to get to.

A few days before the show I heard an ad on the radio that said this was King Crimson’s final tour. I hadn’t heard that before.  And maybe if they had originally played in 2020, they might have done another stretch into 2021…who knows.  Anyhow, an article recently said that yes, this was probably the final tour, but they didn’t want to make a big deal about it.  So it’s possible that this will be my final King Crimson show (five times in eight years is pretty good–especially for King Crimson).

The last few times King Crimson has played two 90 minute sets.  But this time they had the Zappa Band opening for them.  Which meant that they’d do only one set.  Sadly, for the same amount of money.  But oh well.  What this meant was that they did a 90 minute set that almost felt like a greatest hits (of the last few tours) package.

I decided to splurge somewhat for this show–not paying for a VIP, sorry Robert–but I was reasonably close and more or less in the middle.

The back row has remained consistent throughout these tours: Tony Levin (bass, Stick, keyboards this time, too); Mel Collins (saxes, flutes); Jakko Jakszyk (guitar, vocals), and of course, Robert Fripp (guitar and more).  From this vantage point I could see everyone very clearly, which was ideal.  A very obnoxious couple sat down next to me but there were, thankfully, two empty seats on the other side of me so I slid over and was able to sit between the heads of the two people in front of me for an unobstructed view.  The obnoxious couple left mid set…huh. (more…)

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The Zappa Band (PNC Bank Center, Holmdel, NJ, September 4, 2021) [KING CRIMSON] [rescheduled from June 22, 2020, State Theatre]

Posted in Adrian Belew, Holmdel, NJ, King Crimson, PNC Bank Center, The Zappa Band on September 4, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 4, 2021] The Zappa Band

When this tour was announced, I was pretty pleased to see that The Zappa Band was opening for King Crimson.  I’ve been a fan of Frank Zappa’s music for years, but I never saw him while he was a live and I’ve never seen any of the various posthumuous offerings that have come around.

I’ve often thought about going to see Dweezil play his dad’s music but I haven’t (looking at the setlist, there’s quite a lot of good stuff there).

But this was an “official” Zappa project, and better yet they were going to be playing where I was planning to be.  Although this lineup isn’t exactly chock full of great Zappa names, everyone in the group has a connection of some merit.

The Zappa Band’s lineup features Zappa alumni Ray White (lead vocals, guitar), Mike Keneally (guitar, keys, vocals), Scott Thunes (bassist) and Robert Martin (keyboards, sax, vocals), and ZPZ alums Jamie Kime (guitar) and ZAPPA archivist Joe “Vaultmeister” Travers (drums, vocals).

I recognized Ray White’s voice immediately (he’s been on 20 plus records).  The other voices were actually quite close approximations to the original.  But really the most amazing thing was hearing  these really complicated and fast pieces done live (and perfectly).

I was pretty delighted to hear “Zomby Woof” a nonsensical song that I’ve always liked.  And I would have been thoroughly disappointed if they hadn’t played “Peaches en Regalia.”  It was somewhere during this song t hat I realized that none of the people on stage was Dweezil Zappa.  I was fairly certain this was his band, but it clearly was not.

I have listened to most of Zappa’s albums many times, (but he has about 1,000 releases).  So I was surprised when I didn’t recognize some songs.  I was even more surprised to find that “I Ain’t Got No Heart” was on Freak Out, and album I particularly like. (more…)

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Alanis Morissette / Garbage / Cat Power (PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, September 1, 2021) [rescheduled] [CANCELLED]

Posted in Alanis Morissette, Cancelled, Coronavirus, Garbage, Holmdel, NJ, Liz Phair, PNC Bank Center, Postponed, Quarantine, Tori Amos on September 1, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: September 1, 2021] Alanis Morissette / Garbage / Liz Phair Cat Power [rescheduled from July 1, 2020]

UPDATE: This show was actually cancelled because of the outrageous storm that was the remnants of Hurricane Ida.  Fortunately, they cancelled it long before anyone would have been heading there (I assume), because this rain storm was one of the worst I can remember–insane flooding and even tornados.

It will not be rescheduled because of previous commitments, so that stinks.

~~~

This show had been postponed once and since then, Liz Phair has been replaced by Cat Power, which seems like a VERY different dynamic to me.

I have two shows coming up this weekend, and it seemed like real folly to go out to a show on a Wednesday night as well.   But as I said, I did want to see Garbage again.  But now with the promise of serious rain and probably thunderstorms, it just seems silly to go out at all.

This was a show I wasn’t sure about.

I have seen Alanis Morissette a few times live way back in the 90s when she toured with Tori Amos.  I was there for Tori and I don’t really remember much about Alanis (which is sad, I know).

On this tour, I was more interested in seeing Garbage again (they put on a heck of a show) and for checking out Liz Phair who I once liked and now kinda don’t but who I’m curious about what she’s like live.

This was definitely a show I was going to get lawn seats and try to upgrade.

Concerts are now being postponed earlier.

On May 9, Alanis sent out this message

“Hi everyone.  My North American tour scheduled to begin in a few weeks is being rescheduled to Summer 2021 out of an abundance of caution. Please hold on to your tickets as they will be honored for the new dates which we hope to announce very soon.

So much going on inside and outside take care of yourselves and each other.  Thank you for understanding.  Can’t wait to see you when it is safe for us all to gather.  Hand on all hearts til then.”

Garbage wrote this message:

So the @Alanis tour that @garbage and @lizphairofficial were supposed to be tagging along on this summer got postponed yesterday. We are totally gutted and apologise for any heartache caused. We assure you that we have every intention of fulfilling our obligations to Alanis and to any garbage fans who bought tickets in support of us. We appreciate you so. Please head on over to the @Alanis socials in the days ahead for further info. Please note this is not our tour so we have no answers whatsoever about what happens next.
Looking forward to the days when we all get to hangout and play for you.

No official word from Liz Phair that I have seen.

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Korn / Faith No More / Helmet / Spotlights (PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, September 2, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Cancelled, Coronavirus, Deftones, Faith No More, Helmet, Holmdel, NJ, Korn, PNC Bank Center, Quarantine, Spotlights on September 2, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: September 2, 2020] Korn / Faith No More / Helmet / Spotlights

index

This is a show I only would have gone to if I could get lawn seats upgraded to seats near the front (for about $35).

Korn is one of the few nu-metal bands that I liked back in the day.  I thought they did some pretty interesting stuff with the genre.  And while I haven’t listened to a new song of theirs in probably a decade, I’m sure they would have played some of the early songs too.

I’m only vaguely interested in seeing Korn, so this would have been the way to do it.

Faith No More on the other hand is a fascinatingly interesting band that I would love to see live.  Mike Patton is a wonder in and of himself and I told myself I would see anything that he did if it was close enough.  But then there’s FNM themselves–weird, eclectic, oddball and sometimes catchy.  I don’t know how many shows they will do in the future, but i would definitely like to see them.

Helmet is one of the great heavy bands of the 90s.  I loved their debut album–nothing really sounded like it at the time.  I probably haven’t listened to them in twenty years, and I think there have been some fifteen people in the band over the years, but I’ll bet they are still heavy as anything.

I saw Spotlights open for Deftones a few years ago.  They were great. Heavy and doomy, making a huge sound.  And there were only two of them.  There are now three members, which might mean they are even bigger.  I’ve been meaning to see them again.  They play a lot of smaller clubs, but I never seem to be able to catch them.

The good seats were way too expensive for this show, but if I could have done it on the cheap, I would have really enjoyed it

Since this show is officially cancelled, I doubt they will be touring together again. But I do hope that faith No More can keep it together for a tour next year.

 

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Hall & Oates / Squeeze / KT Tunstall (PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ, August 27, 2020) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Coronavirus, Hall & Oates, Hall and Oates, Holmdel, NJ, KT Tunstall, PNC Bank Center, Postponed, Quarantine, Squeeze on August 27, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: August 27, 2020] Hall & Oates / Squeeze / KT Tunstall [moved to August 13, 2021]

indexI was not planning on going to this show at all. I have a funny history about Hall & Oates.  I really liked them when I was little (Private Eyes era), then when I found out a cousin of mine looooved them, and I didn’t like her, well, that changed my mind about them for years.

In the last dew years I’ve found out that they are not only good, but quite respected (especially in the Philly area).  I still don’t want to see them, but when I looked at the setlists of recent shows, I realized I’d know nearly all of their songs and would probably have a fun time with all the other old folks.

I saw Squeeze a couple years ago and they were fantastic live.  Their old songs sounded amazing and their new ones fit in perfectly.  I would absolutely see them again.  But I’d rather they were headlining.

KT Tunstall is actually the impetus for me writing this post.  I noticed that she was playing a lot of shows in the area and I was surprised because I didn’t know she was still active.  It was kind of a joke that I wanted to post every show she was going to play around here, whether I planned to go or not.  But when I listened to a live show of hers I realized she;d be a lot of fun to see live.

Maybe this would be a fun show to see after all.  We’ll see what 2021 brings.

hall

 

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