Admit it. You're still in sweatpants eating Entenmann's crumb coffee cake straight from the box with your hands between zoom meetings. It's ok. You are all of us. As we take our first tentative steps back into a changing world, here is a smattering of upcoming big-ticket and small venue events that might help bridge the gap between your quarantine couch sitting and the full-tilt social blowout you aren't quite ready for yet.
Uncle Hank is at it once again. Everyone's favorite punk godfather is on tour after being temporarily sidelined by the entertainment venue apocalypse that befell nearly all showmen and the stages that they performed on. Now he's back at the tip of the spear headlining dates in Europe starting after the new year and in the US this spring. As avid fans, we advise you to catch one of his hard-hitting stream of consciousness monologues live and up close. You won't be disappointed. For more on dates and times and to buy tickets go to https://www.henryrollins.com/tour
Did you know that Duran Duran released a new album? Did you also know that it's pretty damn good? Future Past is the band's fifteenth studio album, coming nearly forty years after their debut. It doesn't matter if you were an out of control screaming Duranie in 1983 clutching your newly purchased albums and dreaming of running away with Simon or if you were one of the Johnny-come-lately fans from the 90s, you will enjoy this new release AND you should jump on the opportunity to see them on their mini-tour of Europe. I had the distinct pleasure of seeing this band at the height of their popularity in New York a total of four times and it was spectacular. And although I'll never be fourteen again, I can try to recapture my youth screaming along with all the other die-hard Duran lovers. Keep an eye out for possible future dates in the US. https://duranduran.com/tour/
Sowing the seeds of love. I've never understood why Tears for Fears isn't included on the "best of" rotating playlist inside of everyone's head. In 2004 they released Everybody Loves a Happy Ending and I thought for sure that was the last we'd see of Smith and Orzabal. Even the album title sounded like a swan song. Come to find out, after all the hiatuses and unfulfilled wishes the band is releasing The Tipping Point on February 25th, 2022 and they are going to tour in support of it. Music to our ears. http://tearsforfears.com
Think back to a time when we were sure we were coming out of pandemic mode but jumped the gun prematurely and started scheduling all sorts of events and concerts only to have our new plans canceled because wave after wave of new sinister variants, each with whimsical greek names, put us back in our hazmat suits and bunkers. In that brief moment of early hope, the Cruel World festival was born, and then true to its name, it ended up on the trash heap of events that never happened. Well, guess what? Cruel World has risen from the ashes with most of its original lineup intact (only Gary Numan and Marc Almond are gone from the bill). So if you want your dose of Blondie, Bauhaus, Devo, Morrissey, Psychedelic Furs, Violent Femmes, Echo & the Bunnymen, English Beat, Public Image Limited.. etc, etc, etc, then get yourself to Pasadena, California's rescheduled festival. http://cruelworldfest.com
Not ready yet? That's ok too. Netflix & Amazon prime video will be cranking out content until the end of time and we'll be here waiting for you.
