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Concert Reviews | TribLIVE.com

Concert Reviews

Progressive metal band Dream Theater brings heavy theatricality to the Benedum Center
A metal band may seem like an odd fit in a setting like Downtown Pittsburgh’s Benedum Center, typically home to musicals and ballets. But Dream Theater — shaped and honed by four decades of recording and performing — provided plenty of theatricality to match the stage at Thursday night’s concert....
Blink-182 rocks 1st day of Four Chord Music Festival 
In Blink-182’s song “Turpentine,” co-lead singers Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus join their voices together to belt out “What If I’m not like the others?” For any of the thousands of pop-punk/emo fans gathered Saturday at Four Chord Music Festival, they found plenty of kindred spirits as they sang, bounced...
The Pixies and Spoon bring no-frills night of rock to Pittsburgh
Are you the type of person who goes to a concert hoping to hear 50 songs in one night? Well, you should have been at Stage AE on Friday. In the course of about four hours, three acts jetted their way through dozens of tunes with the efficiency of an...
Rilo Kiley bring reunion tour to Pittsburgh after long hiatus 
Rilo Kiley opened up a time capsule that took a sold-out Pittsburgh crowd back to the early 2000s. The long-absent indie rock band is back on the road for the first time in 17 years, with their Sometimes When You’re On You’re Really (Expletive) On tour making a stop Thursday...
Alabama Shakes are back and keep on rocking at Stage AE
There was a palpable sense of joy throughout Stage AE’s packed outdoor venue on Tuesday night among fans seeing a favorite band back together after nearly a decade. Alabama Shakes rose onto the scene like a rocket in the early 2010s, a retro-styled band with a fresh sound and the...
Jerry Cantrell blends Alice in Chains past, solo present in Pittsburgh concert 
Jerry Cantrell offered a minor apology while toasting the crowd after Saturday night’s show at the Roxian Theatre in McKees Rocks. “We know it wasn’t perfect, but that’s (expletive) rock ‘n’ roll,” Cantrell said, while raising a non-alcoholic beer bottle. The flaws, if you want to call them that, were...
Jessica Simpson delivers soaring set at Women Who Rock benefit concert
On Friday night, a sold-out crowd assembled at Stage AE on the North Shore to raise money for women’s health — and to celebrate women in music. And Jessica Simpson’s return to music is certainly worth celebrating. The longtime pop star took an extended break from the studio and stage,...
Review: Gary Clark Jr. plays powerhouse guitar at Stage AE
It’s always great to hear some no-frills great music played live, and Gary Clark Jr. delivered just that on Tuesday night at Stage AE on the North Shore. Not only is Clark a terrific singer, songwriter and guitarist, he’s a Grammy Award winner in two different genres, showing a versatility...
Linkin Park enters new era with singer Emily Armstrong on From Zero tour stop in Pittsburgh 
If “the hardest part of ending is starting again” — a line from Linkin Park’s 2010 song “Waiting for the End” — then their most difficult moments may be in the past. The potential ending of the band came with the death of lead singer Chester Bennington by suicide in...
Modest Mouse and The Flaming Lips make an oddly perfect pair at Stage AE
Some weird combinations just make sense once you experience them. Like peanut butter and pickles. Or like indie rock bands Modest Mouse and The Flaming Lips. The two tried-and-true acts, along with opener Friko, proved to be a thrilling bill at Stage AE on Pittsburgh’s North Shore on Saturday night,...
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts deliver classic hits in Pittsburgh show; Winger features Pittsburgh native on guitar 
Joan Jett must have felt right at home Friday night on the Iron City Stage. The newish concert venue, nestled between the Allegheny River and Pittsburgh Brewing Co.’s Creighton facility, with railroad tracks running behind that, apparently sparked some childhood memories for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. “I...
Wilco delivers an electrifying double set at Heinz Hall
In some ways, Downtown Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall is the perfect venue for indie rock band Wilco. With 30 years of experimentation, evolution and inspiration under their belt, the band could be the modern popular equivalent of classical music, in many ways. Fronted by singer and guitarist Jeff Tweedy, the sextet...
Nas flexes his legend status with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Nas is a legendary rapper for a reason. The New York-born MC has been rocking the mic for more than 30 years, easily cementing his place as one of the best rappers of all time. His first album, “Illmatic,” earned its spot at No. 44 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest...
Review: Rock band Live thunders through decades of discography at Rivers Casino
The past month has given the Pittsburgh area a chance to rock out with a whole buffet of 1990s bands. Lucky us. The latest entry in this summer of late-20th-century rock was Live, a band from York, Pa., with a handful of enigmatic alternative radio hits, many from their 1994...
Toto, Christopher Cross, Men At Work supply the love at Star Lake
On one of the summer’s hottest evenings, three musical acts came together to heat up the Pavilion at Star Lake even more. Men at Work, Christopher Cross and Toto all lit up the stage with great music. All three had hits in the late 1970s or early 1980s, and all...
Breaking Benjamin and Flyleaf singers rock out acoustically at Roxian Theatre
How much fun it must be to front a platinum-selling rock band, make longtime friends with other rock vocalists and then go out on tour to play music and laugh together. Such are the current lives of Benjamin Burnley, the founding member and lead singer of Breaking Benjamin, and Lacey...
Wiz Khalifa brings good vibes only to hometown show at Star Lake
When it comes to rap, Pittsburgh may not be Los Angeles, New York or Atlanta, but we do pretty well for ourselves. That was evident on Saturday night, when hometown rapper Wiz Khalifa came through to play the Pavilion at Star Lake on his Good Vibes Only Tour. Along for...
Review: Guitarist Ace Frehley dives into Kiss history in Pittsburgh area show 
Ace Frehley didn’t rock and roll all night on Friday, with the former Kiss guitarist’s show at Jergel’s Rhythm Grille in Warrendale ending shortly before 11 p.m. But “The Spaceman” showed why countless guitar players derived inspiration from his Kiss heyday, as he and his band took a dive into...
Review: Pantera opens Heaviest Tour of the Summer in Pittsburgh 
Touted as the Heaviest Tour of the Summer, Tuesday night’s Pantera/Amon Amarth/SNAFU show at the Pavilion at Star Lake more than lived up to the billing. Pantera opened their tour at Star Lake, getting in several days of rehearsals at the venue after earlier opening shows for Metallica, festival appearances...
Spin Doctors, Gin Blossoms and Blues Traveler rock it old school at Pittsburgh Brewing Co.
On Sunday night, Pittsburgh Brewing Co. in Creighton got a lineup that would’ve completely packed Star Lake in 1995. You can just imagine a sea of tie-dye-clad hacky-sackers rocking out to three of the moment’s hottest bands. Considering it’s 30 years later, the bill of Spin Doctors, Gin Blossoms and...
Review: Pop-soul singer Teddy Swims' career keeps getting bigger, just like his Pittsburgh crowds 
The career of pop-soul singer Teddy Swims has come a long way in five years, going from posting YouTube covers in 2019 and 2020 to a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist this year. At Pittsburgh’s Stage AE, those achievements can be measured in feet. Swims played the Club at...
The Lumineers brighten up Star Lake with career-spanning set
In a field of flowing skirts and flower crowns, Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites, the two-man group that is The Lumineers, lit up the night sky at the Pavilion at Star Lake during their Automatic World Tour performance Wednesday night. As the sun set on the audience, The Lumineers started...
311 jams their way into July at Stage AE
Summer is here (whether we like the way it arrived or not), and that means more than just scorching temperatures. There are also pool parties, long drives with the windows down and lazy, sunny afternoons to look forward to. And, of course, summer jams to soundtrack it all. Few bands...
Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan dives deep into band's catalog in Pittsburgh show 
If Billy Corgan wants to go out and explore some lesser-known Smashing Pumpkins tracks, that’s fully his right. Corgan, after all, is the singer/guitarist as well as the primary songwriter for the psychedelic, fuzz-laden band that broke big with hits like “Cherub Rock,” “Disarm” and “Today” as alternative rock exploded...
Lisa Loeb, Suzanne Vega rock Three Rivers Arts Festival despite the weather
The longstanding Three Rivers Arts Festival always attracts top-tier musical talent, and another year is in the books after this weekend. That being said, next year’s festival organizers might consider some kind of prayer circle or ritual to appease whatever weather god cursed this event long ago. As is tradition,...
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