With Valentine’s Day coming up on Friday, my thoughts turn to classic love songs. Not that sentimental crap, but tunes that convey sincere emotion without getting all sappy. Here, then, is my top ten list of love songs, in relatively chronological order. Feel free to use these in your Valentine’s Day mix tape.
1. “Always” by Ella Fitzgerald
2. “My Funny Valentine” by Frank Sinatra (or Chet Baker, take your pick)
3. “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers
4. “My Girl” by the Temptations
5. “God Only Knows” by the Beach Boys
6. “Try a Little Tenderness” by Otis Redding
7. “Something” by the Beatles
8. “Wild Horses” by the Rolling Stones
9. “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green
10.“Heroes” by David Bowie
As a footnote, Irving Berlin wrote “Always” in 1925 as a wedding present for his wife Ellin. Pretty impressive, but get this: he assigned all of the song’s royalties to her. Now that’s a gift!
Ticket Alert
Studies have warned of the significant dangers involved in headbanging, but a true metal fan won’t let that get in the way of a complete concert experience. The White Oak Music Hall will be the place to be for area metal heads Thursday, March 20, through Saturday, March 22. It’s the seventh edition of the Hell’s Heroes festival, featuring performances by Saxon and Abbath. Tickets are on sale now, and you can buy ducats for individual days or a three-day pass for the whole metallic enchilada.
My Morning Jacket has a new album, is Summer Sky (Really, guys, why the lower-case “i”? That’s going to drive copy editors nuts.),coming out in mid-March, and the band will visit Houston shortly thereafter, performing at the 713 Music Hall on Sunday, April 14. Presales are in progress, with the general sale on Friday.
Pat Benatar and her guitarist husband Neil Giraldo will hit us with their best shot on Saturday, April 19, at the Smart Financial Centre. The presales are up, and the general ticket sale is set for Friday.
As reported in this space last week, The Weeknd has the distinction of racking up the most streams on Spotify, now at 4.7 billion for “Blinding Lights,” significantly ahead of Ed Sheeran at 4.2 billion for “Shape of You.” So it’s no wonder that a second show has been added for his “After Hours Til Dawn” tour’s stop in Houston. The Weeknd will perform at NRG Stadium on Saturday, August 30, and Sunday, August 31. The second show was added due to “overwhelming demand” (or words to that effect), but it appears that a good number of tickets remain in all sections for August 31.
Alabama Shakes will be touring for the first time in eight years, after a break for lead vocalist Brittany Howard and guitarist Heath Fogg to release solo albums. The band will perform at the 713 Music Hall on Friday, September 26, with presales up now and the general sale set for Friday. VIP packages are also available, and these include seats up front, a commemorative poster, a badge and lanyard, plus the opportunity to be first in line to buy merch.
Concerts This Week
Prog / metal band Dream Theater is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year with a tour that will touch down on Friday at the 713 Music Hall. To the group’s credit, they have new music to promote, in the form of the just-released Parasomnia. Also, this tour will mark the first time that original drummer Mike Portnoy has played with the band since 2010.
If the blues is more you speed, catch guitarist Tommy Castro and pianist Marcia Ball on Friday at the Heights Theater. Ball will open with a solo set and then join Castro and his band the Painkillers for a few songs at the end of the night. You can find out more by taking a look at the Houston Press interview with Castro from earlier this week.
Houston music stalwart Rock Romano will celebrate his 80th birthday and the release of a new album, Seasons Change, with a show on Friday at Dan Electro’s. From the Baroque Brothers to The Fun and Games to Smokin’ Fitz to Dr. Rockit and the Sisters of Mercy, Romano has been part of some of the city’s best bands during his distinguished career. Not to mention the fact that he is a successful producer and engineer, with several award-winning albums recorded at his Red Shack Studio. And on top of that, he’s one hell of a good guy. For more details, refer to Gladys Fuentes’ Houston Press interview with Mr. (or is it “Dr.”?) Romano.
After taking a few years off to concentrate on their families and recharge the batteries, the Garza brothers have regrouped, and Los Lonely Boys are back on the road, appearing on Saturday at the House of Blues in support of their latest album, Resurrection. For more on Los Lonely Boys, check out this week’s story in the Houston Press.
The generation that grew up on MTV now has discretionary income, so many of the acts that populated the channel during the ‘80s are back on the road. To wit: Howard Jones (“No One is to Blame”) and ABC (“The Look of Love”) will perform at the House of Blues on Monday. For more on what ABC has been up to as of late, take a look at Bob Ruggiero’s interview with band leader Martin Fry in the Press.
The latest release from Mary J. Blige, the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul” is called Gratitude, so it makes sense that her current tour has been christened “For My Fans.” Blige will perform on Tuesday at Toyota Center, with Ne-Yo and Mario opening. As of this writing, a good selection of tickets is still available, along with VIP packages from all three artists on the bill.
