Clock Strikes Midnight.

Check the expiration date.  2015 is just about over and in an effort to wrap-up my year in live music, I wanted to once again offer my superlatives.  As with last year, each and every month was filled with staples of my music collection, but also the opportunity to usher in “new to me” bands.

•         Bucket List Show for 2015: 

Stevie Wonder at CONSOL Energy Center; Pittsburgh, PA on Monday, October 19, 2015

(What Could Have Been: The Replacements at Stage AE; Pittsburgh, PA on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 )

•         Best live show seen on a road trip: 

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones at Canalside; Buffalo, NY on Thursday, July 9, 2015

•         Best concert seen within 24 hours of my birthday: 

The Gaslight Anthem at Stage AE; Pittsburgh, PA on Sunday, July 19, 2015

•         Best kid friendly concert that still had an edge (Tied):

The Commonheart at Feastival; McKees Rocks, PA on Saturday, August 1, 2015

Runner Up: The Lone Bellow at Schenley Plaza; Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday, June 27, 2015

•         Best live event, but not a concert: 

WWE at CONSOL Energy Center; Pittsburgh, PA on Monday, March 9, 2015

Runner Up:  TAPPED at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY, Sunday, October 25, 2015

•         Best sound check: 

Vance Joy at Heinz Field; Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday, June 6, 2015

Runner Up:  A Thousand Horses at First Niagara Pavilion, Burgettstown, PA, Friday, May 15, 2015

•         Concert of the Year: 

Kaleo at Club Café; Pittsburgh, PA on Tuesday, May 19, 2015

(Runner Up:  City & Colour at Stage AE; Pittsburgh, PA on Wednesday, December 2, 2015)

•         Live Song of the Year: 

City & Colour’s “Lover Come Back” at Stage AE; Pittsburgh, PA on Wednesday, December 2, 2015

•         Top 5 “live” studio songs:

Ben Howard - "End of the Affair"

Hozier – “Jackie and Wilson”

Kaleo – “I Walk on Water”

Mumford & Sons – “The Wolf”

My Morning Jacket – “Believe (Nobody Knows)”

And in addition to looking back on 2015, I also want to offer some predictions for 2016 (in no particular order):  Brothers Osborne will pick up some momentum from the release of their single "Stay a Little Longer"; people other than GW alumni will know Jukebox the Ghost; nearly three years after the release of their debut ‘If You Leave’, the band Daughter’s new album, titled ‘Not To Disappear’ will get heavy rotation due to the first single, ‘Doing The Right Thing’, and Jess Glynne (of Clean Bandits fame) will finally stand on her two feet in the US after major success in the UK (check out her single ‘Hold My Hand’).  I also hope to continue to book and promote the occasional live music performances as well as continue to catch live music in places other than southwestern Pennsylvania.  Keep your eyes & ears open.

Thanks for reading, happy new year & for all of the readers of Heard But Not Seen - what are some of your "best of lists" for 2015?

I need a miracle every day.

A vibrant memory of my summers spent deep in the hills of New Hampshire between the years of 1984-1994 was watching my counselors and eventually my friends listen and trade Grateful Dead tapes.  I did not know much about the band at the time, but knew that I liked the rhythm of songs like “Franklin’s Tower” and the guitar soloing of “Going Down the Road and Feeling Bad”, but that I could also duck out of the cabin as soon as I heard “Drums -> Space” start.  My friends would go on to structure days off around tour-dates and eventually I would understand the thrill of seeing live music (thank you Barry & Jason Feldman for the magical afternoon/evening at Waterloo Village in Stanhope, NJ).  Although it was George Thorogood on lead guitar and not Jerry Garcia for my first show, I continued to find myself drawn to bands who played epic shows.

In concert, I have seen The Other Ones, Furthur, RatDog, the Mickey Hart Band and Bruce Hornsby.  I have booked a show with Vince Welnick & The Tubes, promoted shows with tribute bands like the JugglingSuns/Solar Circus, but I unfortunately never saw the Grateful Dead perform.  This motivated me in November to adventure to see Dark Start Orchestra’s first set at Stage AE.   Not a “cover band” but in their words a “spirit band” who for the past 18 years have embarked on a single mission: reincarnate exact setlists from the Grateful Dead's tour catalog.  Well for the 900+ in attendance, the band is doing what they set out to do and we were treated to November 12, 1989’s set from the Greek Theatre.

Highlight song of the evening for me was “Tennessee Jed”, but I was also completely blown away by keyboardist Rob Barraco.  I did not realize the extent of his resume – the man has played with Phil Lesh and Friends, Chris Robinson & New Earth Mud and The Dead to name a few.  And speaking of blowing me away, the oscillating fan that rhythm guitarist Rob Eaton had pointed directly at his hair was right out of the Maxell Tape Blown Away Ad.  Which segues right into the fact that I did not see any tapers last night.  A couple of 40-somethings using their smart-phones to record videos, but then again it is 2015.  It was not all roses since drummers Rob Koritz & Dino English were both extremely robotic in their playing and seemed to be going thru the motions behind their elaborate gear set-up.  Maybe it is on me for not sticking around for the second set.  Regardless, at the show, I feel I got another taste of what started in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1965 and what lives today.

For those who did not get a chance to wish a ‘Fare Thee Well’ this summer, I would recommend checking out this band, but then again there is also the option of seeing John Mayer fronting Dead & Company.  The music does not seem to stop.

Thank you for reading.