Dave Grohl

Playlist for a Pandemic, inspired live performances recorded on YouTube

Posted on by ginnandtopics

With the cancellation of Coachella and tours, we will be without concerts and live music for a while. Although Chris Martin and John Legend said they would do live performances online, which is cool, although I haven’t had a chance to see it yet. You think I would with all this free time.

So here’s a look at some of my favorite live performances I’ve found on YouTube. These all have something unique, like a special guest.

Landslide with Stevie Nicks and Dave Grohl

This song always brings out the feels. But what makes this performance so special is how Dave Grohl looks at her and really accents the emotions of this song.

End of the Innocence with Bruce Hornsby, Bon Iver and Jenny Lewis

Got a chance to witness this live during Bon Iver’s set at Coachella. There was no introduction, they just started playing and it took me a while to realize he brought out Bruce Hornsby and Jenny Lewis. It was a great moment.

This one keeps getting removed, so enjoy it while you can. There was a better version in the past. Hopefully it will pop up again.

Young Forever with Jay-Z and Beyonce

During Jay-Z’s headlining set at Coachella, he brought in Beyonce to cover the Alphaville’s “Forever Young,” for his song, “Young Forever.”

Never Gonna Give You Up, Rick Astley and Foo Fighters

Dave Grohl has some pretty inspired moments on stage and this is another one, with Rick Astley, giving a rock version of the Rickrolled song “Never Going to Give You Up.”

Shallow with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

As far as I can tell, this is the first time the two performed “Shallow” together since the release of “A Star is Born,” and it was definitely before their heavily buzzed Oscar performance.

Doppelganger 1: tennis player Jack Sock, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age

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3-15-17 Jack Sock

 

By Leighton Ginn

This blog is done as sort of a public service announcement for people attending the BNP Paribas Open. If you are out and about and think you see American tennis star Jack Sock, don’t assume it’s him.

He has a resemblance to Queens of the Stone Age lead guitarist and singer Josh Homme, who was also grew up in nearby Palm Desert.

I had covered Sock a little more closely the last few years, and only hit me at this year’s tournament his resemblance. So I was wondering if he ever got that.

“I don’t know who that is, and I hope that’s a compliment,” Sock joked.

Jack Sock continues his good vibes at BNP Paribas Open, this time in singles

So for the tennis fans who follow this blog, here’s a little background on Josh Homme:

He was originally in the band Kyuss before starting Queens of the Stone Age in 1997.

Their third album, 2002’s “Songs for the Deaf,” featured Foo Fighters front man and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. The album produced the hits “No One Knows” and “Go With The Flow.”

Their hit song “Little Sister,” from their fourth album, “Lullabies to Paralyze,” features a driving cow bell. It helped inspire a classic moment on Saturday Night Live in 2005 with Will Ferrell.

 

Six of their albums have been nominated for Grammys.

In 2009, Homme was part of the super band Them Crooked Vultures, that also featured John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin and Grohl. Their hit “New Fang” won a Grammy for best hard rock performance.

Homme also founded Eagles of Death Metal with high school friend Jesse Hughes. In 2015, Eagles of Death Metal were playing the Bataclan in Paris, France when terrorist came in and killed 89 people. Colin Hanks directed an HBO documentary “Eagles of Death Metal, Nos Amis (Our Friends)” that premiered in February.

The year Roger Federer is having, his preseason goals seem ridiculously low as a return to No. 1 seems possible

For more on Jack Sock, read my blog on his quarterfinal victory over Kei Nishikori at the BNP Paribas Open.

Jack Sock continues his good vibes at BNP Paribas Open, this time in singles

 

 

 

 

 

Predicting Coachella 2017 — The headliners

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By Leighton Ginn

We are about two months away from when Coachella will announce it’s lineup for the April 14-16 and April. 21-23 dates, so schedules are starting to formalize for many bands. So here’s a stab in the dark as to who make perform at the Empire Polo Grounds.

HEADLINERS

Green Day: All you have to do is look at their tour dates, and it’s very likely the Bay Area punk rockers will be a headliner.

Now Green Day will be playing the Forum on Dec. 11, and the spring portion of their U.S. Tour in Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Diego, but no other Southern California dates.

On April 30, Green Day will begin the Australian portion of their tour.

In 2014, front man Billie Joe Armstrong  appeared  during the Replacement’s set on Weekend 2 as Westerberg was struggling with his back.

Green Day has not played Coachella before. It just seems like a good fit.

 

Arcade Fire: A Coachella staple and two-time headliner, Arcade Fire announced it will release its first album since 2013’s “Reflektor.”

It would be a natural to bring back the Canadian superstars, who have been dynamic in both their headlining performances. They also have a deep history with Coachella.

U2: They’ve been rumored for a couple of years. One year, it appeared U2 might show up, but then Bono got into a bike accident.

The legendary band, who seems like a natural with Coachella being so close to the Joshua Tree National Park, has a new album due in 2017 and coming out to the polo grounds will give them exposure to a younger crowd.

The wrench to this thought is that if promoters Goldenvoice follows up its successful Desert Trip (aka Oldchella) then U2 might be a better fit for that.

Foo Fighters: Well, Dave Grohl’s throne was there in 2016, so maybe he’ll follow-up by actually showing up this time.

Grohl’s throne was used by Axl Rose for Guns N Roses’ set at Coachella.

The last time Foo Fighters played Coachella was 2002, and Grohl has said it helped rejuvenate the band that had contemplated breaking up.

Like U2, they could be asked to play the Oldchella follow-up, so it could prevent their Coachella return.

Daft Punk: This has been such a long-standing rumor. Fans want it, and I assume Coachella wants it. What’s the holdup?

There was the one Coachella where they had a video of the band between sets that got people to lose their mind that they might make a surprise appearance. And when Arcade Fire headlined in 2014, two people showed up at the start of the set dressed as Daft Punk, but really the audience was punked.

Maybe this is the year.

 

KT Tunstall charms and dazzles in “home” show at legendary Troubadour

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For a long time, KT Tunstall has been on my must-see list of performers, so when I found out she was playing Sept. 2 at the intimate Troubadour, there was no way I was going to miss it.

But there was some apprehension. My favorite song, “Suddenly I See” came out a decade ago, and I lost track of her a bit. And when Tunstall hit it big, she really hit it big.

“Suddenly I See,” was used in the opening of the hit movie “The Devil Wears Prada,” and Tunstall performed in several big festivals, as well as the Nobel Peace Prize concert in 2007.

But Tunstall, who recently moved to Los Angeles, was a one-woman tour de force.

It was just Tunstall and her loop pedal, with the exception of a duet with opening act Teitur in cover of “Boy of Summer.”

Having lost track of Tunstall was my own loss. She has a rich catalog of great songs that are very diverse.

But in between songs, Tunstall would tell stories about her life on tour and interactions with people such as Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters, or sharing stories of going from England to Los Angeles, and her fears about that gap in the doors to public toilets.

Tunstall also announced she would have a new album out next year.

Throughout the night, Tunstall talked about the show as being a first date, bringing on a bunch of “I love you” shouts and even a wedding proposal.

And she even wove in some other hits in her own songs, like The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” into “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree,” and even a little “Walk Like An Egyptian.” One of my favorite covers from her is the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back,” but she didn’t perform it that night.

But when I watch KT Tunstall, I think it’s best described in the opening of “Suddenly I See,” making the song seem a little autobiographical.

“Her face is a map of the world
Is a map of the world
You can see she’s a beautiful girl
She’s a beautiful girl
And everything around her is a silver pool of light
The people who surround her feel the benefit of it
It makes you calm
She holds you captivated in her palm”

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