Nasty Girl

John Lydon (nee Johnny Rotten a long time ago) and his tight-knit band tore up Culture Room November 5th ! Great song choices and Johnny was spot on for the whole show, giving a 110% like he always does. There is a great story here, from unwanted poor Irish sick kid, to transplanted Londoner to the most hated and feared man in the UK, if not the world, as the lead singer of the Sex Pistols. After the heroin overdose death of his friend Sid Viscious (thanks a lot Nancy), John removed himself from the punk scene and reinvented himself as the front man of Public Image Limited. Now, he's an American, quite successful and as brilliant, snarky and truthful as ever. Indeed, he is a true 'Warrior'. PIL played their new song, 'Betty Page' and while most poseurs and fratboys in the audience didn't get it, Betty really made her name posing for Bunny Yeager photos here in South Florida in the 60's. Made The Road Rise With You, John and PIL !

Mike and the Mechanics are most well known for a couple of hits in the 80s, but they released several great songs over the years and at this concert they mostly hit all the highlights. Some of the instruments sound a little different, but overall the sound is still there and Roachford and Howar both are great vocalists who are excellent and very animated on stage. Howar spent the entire concert jumping around stage and being very entertaining to watch and still laying out some excellent vocals. While the late Paul Young had a fantastic voice, Howar does a great job emulating his sound for a few of the songs and has a great sound of his own. The drummer Gary Wallis is also fantastically skilled, he played excellently. Luke Juby is multitalented and was also a joy to listen to. Of course Mike Rutherford is excellent as always. Great talent all around. If I wanted to get a bit nitpicky, Roachford did kind of mess up a bit on one of his solos on keyboard but personally I love to see this kind of stuff so you know they're actual people and not just machines that play the same songs city to city. Highly recommended, if you have the chance to see these guys perform do not miss it. As a huge Genesis fan and a decent fan of Mike and the Mechanics I had a blast and enjoyed this concert more than I thought I would. Class act!

Mr Big launched a small US tour before the release of their latest album, Defying Gravity, which was recorded in only six days. Playing crowd favorites and new songs, every moment was jaw dropping. Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan proved again why they are so copied and emulated as musicians. Drums were covered mostly by Matt Starr, who has been a welcomed addition to the band. Pat Torpey (the original drummer) was also on stage playing drums and singing. Despite suffering from Parkinson's disease, Pat still rocked all night with a smile on his face and the band showed how much the love, appreciate and still need him on stage with them. Eric's voice still cuts through the entire mix. Does this guy even age? Speaking of the mix... Wow! The tour crew had the best sound in house sound I've ever experienced at an indoor venue! I didn't have to wear my ear plugs and I could hear everything clearly with lots of low end. The only complaint I have is with the venue and lack of air conditioning. The portable units they have don't seem to be able to keep up with a packed house. On a minor note, you had to have a VIP sticker to see the band, who normally love to hang out after the show and talk with their fans (especially Billy Sheehan). The food and drinks were great. And the fans... I met several other Mr Big fans while I was there, thanks to posts on social media before and after the concert. Mr Big definitely found a way to defy gravity!!!

Jason D Williams was OK, but I really went to see the night hawks

ATR was loud. everything I'd remembered and more. Haven't seen them since about 1997 i think and it was better than before. ATR should be at a bigger venue. In a way Culture room is too small for such an act, but it was still great!

To start, a "starting lineup" or setlist would have been more helpful in accommodating for travel to the venue. There was no logical order to the performances. My SO and I missed JoJo, anticipating her to be at least 2nd or 3rd up (out of all 6 artists with presence on the radio and recent album releases) and we were only 15 minutes later than showtime start. To elaborate on this, it upset me that each artist performed for an average of 20~25 minutes. Most times, setup/breakdown of the stage for the next artist took about the same amount of time - if not longer! The venue was perfect, although seating on the floor is not even seating at all - next time I'm going to save my money and settle for the baseline/sideline seats with a guaranteed better view of the concert and all of the performance that is to be offered. Even with a 10th row seat from the stage, trying to see over 6 foot giants diminished our enjoyment of the concert. If it were not for the artists that performed (that hardly visit the Charlotte area), this concert would not have been attended. Such a strong performance set that was relegated due to the other poor aspects. :-(

Venue is great and intimate. Luscious Jackson was my favorite band in the 90's. One of the original members was in the audience the night we went and got up and did a couple songs with them. It was a great show. So happy they have a new CD out. I loved every song. Only disappointment was they didn't do "strongman" song.

Toto had the best sound in the best music this time out of the three shows I've attended. He demonstrated his genius and excellence. At previous shows he's made fun of his own music and I was relieved it didn't happen again. Unfortunately this audience was lame. They may as well of been in their own coffins or having a snooze in their rest homes. They came in late and they left early and the rightly didn't deserve an encore.

perfect concert enough said will see them again the santa barbara crowd was just like being in los angeles....somewhat snooty

So glad I made the trek down from Maine to see this show! The Del Fuegos still have the energy of their younger days! Infectious, no nonsense rock n' roll! Their opening act, The Nervous Eaters, where great too! I'll go see either band again if I ever get the chance. It was also my first time at The Paradise Rock Club and I can't wait to go back. An awesome venue for live shows. 2 thumbs up!