The Rolling Stones have a new album out on Friday. I didn’t think I would be typing that sentence in 2026. Many folks (including me) thought that 2023’s Hackney Diamonds represented a fond farewell from rock and roll’s favorite bad boys octogenerians. However, as political pundit John McLaughlin used to say, “Wrooooonnnggg!”
No, in just a few days we will get to hear Foreign Tongues (nyuk yuk yuk) in its entirety. It seems that some of the material was recorded during the Hackney sessions and spiffed up for release, which explains how the Stones were able to release two albums just a couple of years apart. For perspective, let’s keep in mind that there was a 18-year gap between A Bigger Bang and Hackney Diamonds.
The band has been releasing songs from the new record in dribs and drabs over the past few weeks, but I decided to wait until I could hear the album as a whole before rendering an opinion. Here’s hoping that my patience will be rewarded.
Ticket Alert
It has been said that there is safety in numbers. That adage has certainly been adopted by the concert business, which has taken to assembling shows with multiple acts and co-headliners as a hedge against blue dot fever. Case in point: two historic New Orleans hip hop labels, Cash Money and No Limit have put together a tour featuring many of the artists who have recorded for them over the years. On Friday, September 11, Birdman, Juvenile, Mannie Fresh, B.G., Master P, Silkk the Shocker, Mia X, Mac, Mercedes, Fiend, Choppa Style, and Mr. Serv-On will grace the Toyota Center stage. And if that weren’t enough, Boosie BadAzz has been thrown in as a “special guest.” Plenty of good seats are still available.
Beabadoobee has steadily built her career since the release of the 2018 EP Lice (ick). Raising her profile by opening for several major acts – The 1975, Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift among them – Beabadoobee has become a force to be reckoned with. She will perform at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in support of her forthcoming album Pylon on Friday, October 16.
British rockers Dragonforce bill themselves as an “extreme power metal” band, meaning there are plenty of crunchy guitars, lots of shreddy solos, double bass drums and sounds that replicate the noises produced by vintage video games. More succinctly, Dragonforce has been referred to as “Bon Jovi on speed.” Catch them at the House of Blues on Wednesday, November 18, celebrating the 20th anniversary of their album Inhuman Force.
If you are jonesing for some funk, don’t miss New Orleans band Tank and the Bangas on Saturday, November 21, at the Heights Theater. Actually, calling them a funk band is somewhat reductive, as Tank and the Bangas weave hip-hop, soul and even spoken word into the mix. Their latest album is called The Last Balloon, following on the heels of Green Balloon and Red Balloon. When asked why the band has decided that this record is the final “balloon,” lead singer Tarriona “Tank” Ball explained, “I called the album The Last Balloon because I didn’t want anyone asking us, ‘When’s Purple Balloon coming?’” she says. “It’s the end of the balloons; we’re moving into a new space now.”
Concerts This Week
In doing my research for this week’s Concert Watch (you think I just make this stuff up?), I came across the statement that Hatebreed has, over the years “played a major role in the Connecticut hardcore scene.” Who knew there was a hardcore scene in the land of preppies? But shame on me. That’s like some music writer from north of the Mason-Dixon line figuring that all Texas musicians wear cowboy hats and worship at the shrine of Willie Nelson. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Catch Hatebreed on Friday at the House of Blues.
Despite the fact that he is from Houston, I must confess that, until recently, I was not really familiar with singer-songwriter Mitch Jacobs, who will perform at the Mucky Duck on Saturday. But, after hearing him play, you know that he is a musician with the goods. Any guy who advertises his gigs with a photo of a car’s dashboard with a Robin Trower tape in the eight track player is OK by me.
The Flashback Funk Fest comes to the Smart Financial Centre on Saturday, boasting a bill that includes Morris Day and The Time (“Jungle Love”), the Zapp Band (“More Bounce to the Ounce”), Con Funk Shun (“Ffun”) and the S.O.S. Band (“Take Your Time (Do It Right)”). Now there’s a show that makes groovin’ behoovin’!
Lest you think that Kurt Vile is one of those musicians who selected a stage name reflecting his general unpleasantness (see Johnny Rotten), rest assured that Kurt Vile is, in fact, his legal name. Still, you have to wonder if his parents were familiar with Kurt Weill’s Threepenny Opera at the time. Then again, Vile is one of ten children, so maybe they were running out of names. In any case, Vile and his band, the Violators, will be rocking the joint on Tuesday at the Heights Theater.
