By Steve Newton As far as rock concerts go, I’ve been a very lucky mofo. My 30-some-odd years as a music journalist have provided me with scores of awesome memories. […]
By Steve Newton I normally try to avoid songs like Sam Smith’s Grammy-nominated hit, “Stay With Me”. It’s not that I’m a hard-hearted wretch who can’t stand a bit of […]
By Steve Newton Along with the obligatory old hits, and tunes from his new number-one album, Tom Petty has been including some choice covers on his current tour. As well […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 9, 1999 I’ve seen Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers perform in Vancouver four times now. The first time—one of the most memorable concert […]
I’ve seen Tom Petty in concert a bunch of times, and two of those gigs are worthy of my Top 10 Concerts of All Time. Or they would be if […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 26, 1999 By Steve Newton Mike Campell is the curly-haired guitarist who has been knocking off tasty solos alongside Tom Petty for nearly […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 4, 1996 By Steve Newton I went to see the 9:15 showing of Dead Man Walking at the Park last Saturday night (March […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 11, 1995 Some rock bands have a magical way of winning over a crowd straightaway, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are a […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 27, 1995 By Steve Newton Here’s a tip for new bands trying to get ahead in today’s music biz: make sure that when […]
One of my all-time favourite rock bands, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, will play Vancouver this summer. Maybe they’re one of your all-time faves too! I mean, who doesn’t like “Refugee”? […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 21, 1991 By Steve Newton “Oh, those fabulous ’70s,” intoned Tom Petty halfway through his Monday-night (November 18) show at the Coliseum. The […]
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, AUG. 10, 2010 When Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played Vancouver in June they only played one song off their breakthrough Damn the Torpedoes album, which was quite a surprise […]
Back in October of ’92 a mindblowing array of the world’s top recording artists performed at New York’s Madison Square Garden for Bob Dylan’s 30th anniversary concert celebration, and this […]
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JUNE 9, 2010 Man, I gotta quit living in the past, because my expectations are just too damn high. Two of the greatest concerts I’ve ever […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 5, 1994 By Steve Newton When I was in my early 20s, I made what for me was a major investment. I bought […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 17, 1993 By Steve Newton When I first heard the title of the debut Bash & Pop release, Friday Night Is Killing Me, […]
By Steve Newton The day before Susan Tedeschi called me to chat about the Tedeschi Trucks Band, her husband and bandmate Derek Trucks celebrated his 37th birthday. Since Trucks is […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, APRIL 25, 1986 By Steve Newton He calls himself Little Bastard on his album productions credits, and after meeting John Cougar Mellencamp backstage before […]
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, DEC. 10, 2008 By Steve Newton I still like the sound of guitars the best. Martone Clean Local rock-guitar instrumentalist Dave Martone aims for the stratosphere with […]
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, DEC. 15, 2010 By Steve Newton Drive-By Truckers The Big To-Do “Birthday Boy” has to be the greatest rock song of the year, and it’s no surprise it […]
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, DEC. 10, 2014 By Steve Newton One of the biggest music stories of 2014 concerned the trials and tribulations of AC/DC, which had one original member […]
By Steve Newton The more I see pictures of headphone-wearing DJs alone on-stage, dickin’ around with laptops and turntables, the more I think: fvck off. Bottle Rockets South Broadway Athletic Club […]
rebecca blissett photo By Steve Newton See that wicked concert shot by ace Vancouver photographer Rebecca Blissett of the Darkness guitarist Dan Hawkins standing at the edge of the stage, […]
By Steve Newton Ever since the Bottle Rockets came out with The Brooklyn Side back in ’94 I’ve been telling people how great they are–but nobody seemed to pay much attention. And […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 29, 2003 By Steve Newton L.A. soul-rock quintet Maroon 5 named its debut CD Songs About Jane because that’s exactly what the album […]
By Steve Newton You had to be there. Abraxas: Santana (“Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen”, “Oye Coma Va”, “Samba Pa Ti”) 1970 A Day at the Races: Queen (“Tie Your Mother Down”, “Somebody […]
AC/DC Rock or Bust With the help of Langley’s Mike Fraser as engineer and mixer, the Australian hard-rock icons create a fitting follow-up to 2008’s hugely successful Black Ice album. Its first-ever […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 1989 By Steve Newton What’s the most important element in a new band as far as making it in rock goes? Some […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 22, 1999 By Steve Newton “Kick him in the throat!” isn’t quite the phrase you expect to hear from a guy who’s just […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 3, 1998 A lot of today’s rockers love to go on at length about how their latest album is a huge departure from […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, OCT. 9, 1997 If there’s one thing that can lift my spirits on a sombre Sunday night, it’s the driving instrumental theme song of […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, SEPT. 12, 1996 When you think Seattle rock, you picture plaid shirts, baggy shorts, vein-bulging vocals, and propulsive guitar noise comin’ at you in […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, AUG. 26, 1993 It was the clash of the American rock titans last Sunday (August 22) at the Coliseum, and after Big Bad Bobby […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MAY 13, 1993 By Steve Newton Usually when I picture the Jeff Healey Band in concert, I visualize Healey seated at centre stage, his […]
By Steve Newton FULL DISCLOSURE: I fuckin’ love J.J. Cale. Universal Music Canada has announced that Eric Clapton will release a star-studded album honouring J.J. Cale’s legacy this summer. Titled The […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, NOV. 14, 1991 By Steve Newton Certain albums hold sacred places in people’s hearts. They know every chorus, verse, and bridge of one particular […]
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JULY 25, 1991 Balding and bespectacled, Marshall Crenshaw looks more like a mild-mannered librarian (and a couple of rock critics I know) than the […]
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, JUNE 15, 2010 Several years ago I was combing the CD stacks at Zulu Records—back when they were located on the other side of Fourth and […]
“Sound and Vision” was a pretty cool tune from a David Bowie album that made my Top 30 Rock Albums of 1977. It’s also a pretty cool name for this […]
By Steve Newton Twenty-five years ago tomorrow–on February 26, 1989–Jeff Healey kicked off a three-night stand at Vancouver’s historic Commodore Ballroom. In advance of the gig I chatted on the […]
Ah, 1979. According to my calculations, that was the last year of the ’70s, which was the greatest decade for guitar-based rock music ever. I’d like to thank Fender, Gibson, […]
I’ll always remember 1978 as the year I saw Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, when they were touring behind You’re Gonna Get It. I’ll […]
The spirit of ’76 will never falter because that’s the year Thin Lizzy put out two LPs instead of just one. Albums listed in alphabetical order according to title, otherwise Jailbreak would be […]
Dave Wyndorf (above) “probably would have made more money.” I interviewed quite a few rockers last year. Here’s some of the things they said. “To me stoner rock is just […]
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MAY 26, 2005 By Steve Newton When Toronto roots-pop sensation Kathleen Edwards calls the Straight from a Tennessee tour stop, she’s strolling the streets of Nashville […]
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, OCT. 27, 2005 By Steve Newton There’s a foldout poster that comes with the self-titled Matt Mays & El Torpedo CD, but it’s not your typical […]
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, APRIL 13, 2006 WHEN MANVILS FRONTMAN Mike Manville and lead guitarist Mark Parry show up for an interview at the Georgia Straight, only one of them looks […]
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, NOV. 23, 2010 JEREMY ALLINGHAM AND Ben Henthorne like to rock. One listen to As Long As You Don’t Get Caught, the new album by the 28-year-old cousins’ […]
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MARCH 9, 2011 By Steve Newton Last year the Drive-By Truckers released The Big To-Do, a raucous collection of southern-fried alt-country tunes highlighted by the exuberant single […]
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON STRAIGHT.COM, MARCH 29, 2011 “SUN WIZARD ARE your favourite band from when you were in high school,” begins the bio accompanying local guitar-rock quartet Sun Wizard’s full-length debut […]
