Joan Jett and the Blackhearts + Cheap Trick

Nick and I went to the concert tonight featuring Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Cheap Trick.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

She can still sing and play. The sound came through very clean and clear. And boy is she intimidating. She looked buff and like she could beat the crap out of most people :-p Although I reviewed the songs I had of her this morning, basically her greatest hits CD, most of them were still a bit unfamiliar. The crowd also seemed uncertain for a good bit of the show, but warmed up towards the end. I thought some of the songs from her new album "Sinner" were interesting. ^_^ I always knew her lyrics were provocative, but didn't realize how much... To me Joan Jett is one of those guilty pleasures. :-p

Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick rules. Nielsen went through 16 guitars and 21 necks for 16 songs. There was even a Rockford guitar, which was a yellow square with the album cover on it. Peterson had 1 bass. LOL :-D I definite agree w/ Nick in that the Assembly Hall's acoustics is screwy when the volume is turned up. The vocals were all too screechy. :-( One of the amps was also buzzing really loudly, and Robin Zander's mike wasn't working properly for the first 2-3 songs. Nielsen rolled w/ it and made fun and kept the show entertaining though. He also took digs at Kevin Cronin (REO Speedwagon), who apparently was on Don't Forget the Lyrics last night, and complained that his replacement guitar tuner sucked because he played for Bon Jovi. ^_^ His mike stand was filled w/ picks which he kept throwing out into the crowd. He even threw out handfuls of picks towards the end. All in all, a great show.

Oh, and Nick, despite what he said at the show, Rick Nielsen is from Rockford, IL, not Urbana. ^_~