Sirius XM personality (and former host of VH1\u2019s \u201cThat Metal Show\u201d) Eddie Trunk recently posted online that he didn\u2019t understand why established artists with deep song catalogs would perform cover versions of other musicians\u2019 tunes at their concerts.\u00a0 Trunk\u2019s argument is that, by playing a cover, the artist wastes an opportunity to play on of their own hits, thus shortchanging fans.<\/p>\n
I must part company with Mr. Trunk on this issue, because I love covers.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it cool to hear a classic song interpreted by another artist that you know?\u00a0 The memory of the Stones performing \u201cLove Train\u201d in New York is one that I will always treasure, particularly since Mick Jagger emerged from the wings in a pimp-daddy ensemble featuring a white fur coat and a snazzy fedora.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Or the time I saw Tom Petty in Kansas City around 1980, when he began the encore by saying \u201cThis is the last show on this leg of the tour, so we might play a little bit long tonight.\u201d\u00a0 Reverting to the Heartbreakers\u2019 bar band roots, the guys slammed through a 45-minute set of \u201860s covers that was nothing short of spectacular.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hell, I even enjoy a bootleg recording of Van Halen performing ZZ Top, KC and the Sunshine Band, Aerosmith and Bad Company shortly before the band signed its first record deal.\u00a0 It\u2019s fun hearing how Eddie Van Halen put his own spin on songs we have listened to hundreds of times, even if David Lee Roth couldn\u2019t be bothered to learn some (most?) of the lyrics.\u00a0 When it comes to covers, put me down in the \u201cyes\u201d column.<\/p>\n
Ticket Alert<\/p>\n
If you are just now thinking, \u201cYeah, maybe I do want to go see Bruno Mars,\u201d you\u2019re a bit late.\u00a0 The show on Wednesday, April 22, at NRG Stadium<\/a> is sold out, but \u201cVerified Resale Tickets\u201d are available through the Ticketmaster website.\u00a0 However, as they say in Australia, \u201cBrace yourself, Sheila,\u201d because the tab will be rather steep.\u00a0 We\u2019re talking around $400 for \u201climited view\u201d seats, all the way up to $2000 right down front.<\/p>\n \u201cSunny came home with a vengeance\u201d is one of the all-time great lyrics, so it was really no surprise when Shawn Colvin\u2019s composition \u201cSunny Came Home\u201d won Grammys for Song of the Year and Record of the Year in 1998.\u00a0 Tickets are on sale now for Colvin\u2019s show on Friday, June 5, at the Heights Theater<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Aussie rockers Jet had quite a run in the early noughts, notching a hit with \u201cAre You Gonna Be My Girl?\u201d\u00a0 Though the band remained popular in its native Australia, international interest waned, and Jet called it quits in 2012.\u00a0 An invitation to open some shows for Bruce Springsteen in Australia and New Zealand brought the guys back together in 2017, and they have been at it ever since.\u00a0 Tickets are on sale now for the band\u2019s show on Saturday, September 12, at the House of Blues<\/a>.<\/p>\n The fleet-fingered Billy Strings set the bluegrass world on its ear a few years ago, but he has always been a searcher, incorporating a variety of influences into his music.\u00a0 He has even been playing some electric guitar as of late, joining Dead and Co. onstage last year in San Francisco.\u00a0 Strings will perform on Wednesday, December 9, at the Smart Financial Centre<\/a>, and tickets are going fast.<\/p>\n Concerts This Week<\/p>\n Gary Allan has been keeping the Bakersfield sound created by Merle Haggard and Buck Owens alive for three decades.\u00a0 If you\u2019re looking for some pure, unadulterated country music, check out Allan on Thursday at the 713 Music Hall<\/a>.<\/p>\n What\u2019s in a name?\u00a0 When a band is called something like \u201cCradle of Filth,\u201d you pretty much know what you are in for.\u00a0 And so it is with Air Supply, the inoffensive light rock duo who lit up the charts during the \u201870s and \u201880s with singles like \u201cAll Out of Love\u201d and \u201cThe One That You Love,\u201d not to mention \u201cLost in Love\u201d and \u201cMaking Love Out of Nothing at All.\u201d\u00a0 (See what they did there?).\u00a0 Catch Air Supply on Friday at the Smart Financial Centre<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jimmy Webb was one of the hottest songwriters out there during the mid-\u201860s.\u00a0 \u201cUp, Up and Away,\u201d \u201cWichita Lineman\u201d and \u201cMacArthur Park\u201d were just some of the hits he wrote for acts like the 5th Dimension, Glen Campbell and the Supremes.\u00a0 Webb performs on Sunday at the Dosey Doe<\/a>, and you just might get a story or two thrown in with some classic tunes.<\/p>\n The heavy metal band Lamb of God started out with the name Burn the Priest, which meant (among other things) that they couldn\u2019t rent out any KOC halls for their gigs.\u00a0 The current name has caused confusion, however.\u00a0 During last year\u2019s Christmas season, StubHub mistakenly advertised that a religious pageant in South Carolina called Behold the Lamb of God was actually a Lamb of God concert.\u00a0 Awk-ward.\u00a0 Apologies were made, and refunds were given.\u00a0 The band performs on Sunday (!) at the 713 Music Hall<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sirius XM personality (and former host of VH1\u2019s \u201cThat Metal Show\u201d) Eddie Trunk recently posted online that 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