Vegas Trip To Celebrate Dom's Wedding & Dead & Co At Sphere
5/15/2025 - Las Vegas, Nevada - The small getaway trip to Las Vegas started the day earlier, catching a flight from Buffalo Niagara Airport to Atlanta then onto Las Vegas. All flights were ontime getting me to Vegas just after midnight. I picked up my car and headed to the house Dom & his buddies rented for the Dom Bachelor party which was just 10 minutes from the strip. The house was excellent with inground pool and hottub. Highlights of the trip included stopping at my favorite Vegas store Planet 13 to pickup some treats. We hung by the pool during the day and I hit the strip with the boys doing some gambling and site seeing in the evening. The first night included going to see Dead & Company at the Sphere during their Dead Forever - Live at Sphere residency. Dom & I had great seats for this show front row of the 400 level with several of his buds just a few rows behind us. Dead & Company came out a little late past the start time but the first set was just amazing. They opened with Good Times and played classics like Shakedown Street, Uncle John's Band, Friend of the Devil and a nice cover of Eric Clapton's Lay Down Sally. The sound was good but Bob Weir was a little off on this night and John Mayer carried a little more of the load I would say. After intermission they opened set two with Bertha and played a nice I Know You Rider. The sound was great and the graphics were awesome with some of the same as last year but some new ones also. More highlights from set two included a good Drums, Brown-Eyed Woman, Hell In A Bucket and closing the show with Turn On Your Love Light. Again, another great Sphere show, I know we will be back next year. I was able to visit my good friend Chilly Willy who recently moved to Las Vegas and checked out his awesome new home. A good trip and time was had with Dom and his buddies celebrating his up coming nuptials, they did it up right. I caught a red eye flight back witout issue, Vegas to Detroit to Buffalo. I will be back again soon Vegas....Slideshow[]
Robert Cray Brings Groovin' 50 Years Tour To Riviera Theatre
10/22/2024 - North Tonawanda, New York - What better way to spend a Tuesday night in October than heading to the newly restored Riviera Theatre in downtown North Tonawanda, New York to see the awesome blues jams of one of our favorite bands, the Robert Cray Band. The band was performing on their Groovin 50 Years tour. We arrived early enough to snag our excellent tickets from will call which were located 10 rows back dead center stage. We had a drink in the very nice newly renovated reception and bar area at the Riviera Theatre that featured a wall of autographed acoustic guitars from prior acts. It included the likes of Todd Rundgren, Rik Emmett and Dave Mason to name just a few. The wall of guitars was impressive and bar area was nice also it is obvious this theatre is doing well. We grabbed drinks went to our great seats and were very much entertained by Robert Cray and his most excellent band. They came out with no opener and played a great two hour set of their classic blues. They played tunes like Bad Influence, I Shiver, You Can't Make Me Change and Sitting On Top Of The World. The band was tight and sounded good as always, with Dover Weinberg on keyboards, Les Falconer on the drums and of course Richard Cousins anchoring on bass. They closed the show with a two song encore of Phone Booth and finishing with Time Makes Two. Another great Cray show at a great venue that just never gets old no matter how many times we see them. See you soon, Young Bob.Slideshow[]
Crossroads Guitar Festival Day Two At The Crypto.com Arena
Perfect Sunday Memorial Weekend Balloon Launch At Letchworth
9/24/2023 - Los Angeles, California - It was another gorgeous sunny warm day in Los Angeles today and we were up early, grabbing breakfast and then off to the Crypto.com Arena for a marathon Day 2 of guitars at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival. We arrived around 10AM and cruised the many guitar vendors and sampled some very nice and expensive guitars and viewed the classic Clapton Blackie and Stevie Ray Vaughan's Lenny. We then headed to the outdoor Village Stage for the first 6 hours of today's jams. The list of artists performing outside was large and included good short sets by Daniel Santiago, Sonny Landreth, Samantha Fish & Eric Gales (Black Wind Howlin', Bulletproof), Nathan & Noah East, Jake Andrews, Hannah Wicklund & Grace Bowers and closing with Zac Schulze Gang. I entered the arena and went into the VIP section where my excellent seat was located right of the stage. Same as yesterday, Bill Murray and Eric Clapton opened the show with I'm So Glad which would begin what would be a 9 hour show! Robert Randolph started the large sets being joined by Joe Bonamassa for a nice cover of Jeff Beck's Freeway Jam. Large sets continued with Keb Mo and Taj Mahal, Marcus King, Sheryl Crow joined by John Mayer on My Favorite Mistake and H.E.R. with Mayer joining for a jam on Hold On. The jams continued with sets from Los Lobos joined by Jimmie Vaughan and Gary Clark Jr. Clapton and his band finally came out and played a star studded set literally. He opened with a tribute to Robbie Robertson with the Band's The Shape I'm In and It Makes No Difference. He played a cover of Willie Dixon's I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man and jammed I Shot The Sheriff. He went into an acoustic set with Layla and Tears In Heaven. For the next electric set he was joined by Stephen Stills for a jam on Love The One You're With and for his final song he was joined by Stevie Wonder on Cross Road Blues. An excellent set, but we still were not done as Santana came out and did a full set into the early morning. It included being joined by Clapton for several numbers including a jam on Black Magic Woman. The show concluded at just after 1AM to a exhausted crowd. Another epic Crossroads Festival in the books, will it be the last?Slideshow[]
9/14/2019 - Lake Como, Italy - After going nonstop for the past week traveling all around Lake Como, Switzerland and Venice, we planned today as a relaxation day. The day started sleeping in a little bit but we were up early enough to eat our daily delicious breakfast at The Hotel Du Lac. After breakfast, we walked down to Porticciolo della Punta and took in gorgeous views of Lake Como and the Swiss Alps. We decided to rent a boat for the day from the hotel recommended Lake By Boat rentals. It was a nice calm day a little cooler than past days but still almost perfect for a boat tour. The boat was excellent and we literally cruised the lake all day. We cruised up and down both legs of the lake and also headed up the North portion of the lake taking in the sites of the many gorgeous villas, towns, villages and surrounding mountains. Lake Como is just an amazingly beautiful area and this was great way to see it ! We completed our private boat tour of the lake late in the afternoon and spent the remainder of the day walking the streets of Bellagio. We headed to the other side of Bellagio on the water to Bellagio Porticciolo Di Pescallo and also stopped along way at the nice Parco Martiri Della Libertà. It was a fantastic relaxation day on Lake Como !
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8/23/2018 - Syracuse, New York - I decided at the last minute to take off work today and head East down the NYS Thruway to see a double dose of classic rock tunage from Dave Mason & Steve Cropper and the Tedeschi Trucks Band at the NYS Fair. It was a perfect day weather wise. I arrived just in time for the first show featuring Dave Mason and Steve Cropper teaming up on the Chevy Court stage. They played a good set that included classics like Green Onions and We Just Disagree. They played about and hour and a half and also did some covers of Blind Faith and Traffic tunes. After the first show I cruised the Fairgrounds and grabbed an excellent steak sandwich, then got a decent spot for the second show at Chevy Court stage the awesome Tedeschi Trucks Band. They came out and played a two plus hour set that was fantastic. It included great covers of classic blues including Bob Dylan's Lord Protect My Child, John Moore's Three Blazers' How Blue Can You Get? and a nice cover of Derek and the Dominoes' Tell The Truth being joined by guitarist Al Schnier for an extended jam. A couple of good shows that cost literally three dollars, thanks for something NYS.Slideshow[]
Lightfoot Rides The Carefree Highway To Auditorium Theatre
O'Reilly and Eichel Lead Sabres To Victory Over Flyers
4/21/2016 - Rochester, New York - Today we headed to downtown Rochester, New York to see the legendary performer Gordon Lightfoot perform at the Rochester Auditorium Theatre. This was a freebie courtesy of Deb the contest queen. The tickets were just okay far back in the center orchestra but again free. The 77 year old Lightfoot was performing on his 50 Years On The Carefree Highway Tour. The show started promptly at 8 PM and Lightfoot put on an excellent show. Although he showed his age a bit, he played two great what he called condensed sets cause that's all his audiences could handle. He played many of his classics such as Rainy Day People, Sundown, If You Could Read My Mind and Beautiful to name a few. He provided a great insightful introduction about the writing of his classic The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. He then went on to perform it beautifully. His band was pretty good and lead guitarist Carter Lancaster hit every classic lick on every classic tune. This was another great free concert watching the legendary Lightfoot perform, thanks again to Deb.Slideshow[]
10/30/2015 - Buffalo, New York - In a last minute decision, we decided to head west again today to watch the Buffalo Sabres take on the Philadelphia Flyers at First Niagara Center in downtown Buffalo. We snagged some nice seats on Stubhub at center ice seventeen rows up. This was our first chance to watch the new look Sabres skate with young star Jack Eichel. We did not wait long as Eichel made an excellent play near the end of the first opening the scoring on a nice wrister while eluding two Philly defenders. Ryan O'Reilly added one in the second to add to his three point night. Linus Ullmark played well but could not get the shutout in the 3-1 Sabre dominated win.Slideshow[]
Blood, Sweat & Tears Play Free Show At Rochester Jazz Fest
Long And Winding Road Leads To Pittsburgh For McCartney Show
6/20/2015 - Rochester, New York - Today we headed back to downtown Rochester, New York for the second night in a row to take part in the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival. Tonight's performer the horn filled classic sounds of the band Blood, Sweat and Tears. The band was joined by Bo Bice who sang lead vocals for the band. It was threatening rain but we were fortunate that the rains never came. We arrived early to get a good spot and enjoyed some delicious steak hogies from our favorite food vendor Bayou Billys. They performed a great set of their classic tunes and a few surprising covers. They opened the show with Lucretia MacEvil and played other classics like Go Down Gamblin, I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know and Hi De Ho. The band was fantastic and very tight. The horn section was great with several great solos added in. Bo Bice was adequate on vocals. They finished the show with encores of songs people thought were theirs but were not including Vehicle and Midnight Rider. This was another excellent show and it was free. Hopefully the jazz fest organizers will continue to bring great free acts like this.Slideshow[]
7/7/2014 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania - The wait for the highlight concert of the summer was over today as we hit the road to see the awesome talents of Sir Paul McCartney performing at the Consol Energy Center in lovely downtown Pittsburgh, PA. We left the house early at seven AM and drove for about four and half hours. We arrived at around noon time at our hotel the Hampton Inn and Suites which was located right in heart of the city. The penthouse room was clean and spacious with a decent view of downtown. We headed out to explore a bit of the city driving to Station Square. We had a brief stop at the Hard Rock Café to pickup a pin and then headed to the Monongahela Incline to ride up to the top of Mount Washington for some excellent panoramic views of the city of Pittsburgh. We stopped at RedBeards Bar and Grill for a late lunch. We then headed back to the hotel and relaxed in the hottub and pool for a little while. After swimming we headed to the concert walking the city streets of Pittsburgh taking in the skyline. We arrived at the Consol Energy Center early and the doors opened well after seven. We grabbed some shirts and found our seats all of them were good. We were buckled in ready for take off at eight but the show start was delayed. McCartney and his band hit the stage about a half hour late and played an unbelievable set of classics. He opened with the Beatles Eight Days A Week. His set contained a diverse set of Beatles, Wings, and other stuff. Paul threw in Yellow Submarine to pay homage to Ringo who's birthday was today and shared with Paul's dad also. The set had Paul playing all kinds of instruments and sounding great. He played such hits as Another Day, Blackbird, Something a tribute to George Harrison, and a explosive version of Live And Let Die. He finished his huge set with Hey Jude with crowd singing along. He came out for two extended encores. The first with Day Tripper, Hi Hi Hi, and finishing with a jam on Get Back. The second encore opened with Yesterday, then a lively jam on Helter Skelter. The closing included Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, and The End. This show was just fantastic, he played for three plus hours and did not miss a beat. A great roadtrip......Slideshow[]
Demi Lovato Cranks Up Neon Lights Tour At Air Canada Centre
Aloha To Oahu The Hawaiian Adventure Ends - Part VII
3/26/2014 - Toronto, Ontario - Today we took off for another road trip north of the border to Canada to see Nicole's favorite performer, Demi Lovato. Demi was performing at the Air Canada Centre in downtown Toronto as part of her Neon Lights tour. We started the trip with a stop just across the border to give a tax deductible donation to Casino Niagara. We then stopped at the Hard Rock Café where we had lunch and Nicole had her first legal drink. We hit the road and got to the Air Canada Centre early found a spot to park and picked up some Demi souveniers for the Lovatic. We had excellent seats for this show. I picked up a front row seat for Nicole from Stubhub and my seat was only about ten rows back from the stage. The Air Canada Centre was packed and the crowd was pretty loud. The first act was the group Fifth Harmony who I thought were pretty good and the crowd enjoyed them. In between acts the crowd was entertained by young magician Collins Key. The second act was performer Cher Lloyd, who I thought was not that great but again the crowd warmly received her performance and having all the phone lights on was a great effect. After a final magic trick Demi hit the stage. Demi put on a good show singing, dancing, and playing guitar. Her somewhat quick set included songs old and new including Fire Starter, Warrior, and Got Dynamite to name a few. She finished her set with the song Neon Lights from her new album with confetti being shot out into the crowd another nice effect. She finished the evening with two encore songs Skyscraper and Give Your Heart A Break. Even with the camera issues with security it was still a good show that Nicole enjoyed getting close enough to touch Demi.Slideshow[]
4/21/2008 - Oahu, Hawaii - Our final day on Oahu started early with a final walk on Waikiki Beach. We left our suite at Resortquest Waikiki Beach Hotel and explored the east coast stopping at Hanauma Bay. We then journeyed west into Honolulu for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe Honolulu. After lunch we took the drive up thru the rainforest up to Tantalus Lookout for spectacular views of Diamond Head, Punchbowl Cemetery and the city of Honolulu. We then headed northwest up to Nuuanu Pali Lookout for dramatic views of the northern coast. Finally a quick ride to the west coast of Oahu with a short stop at the Dole Plantation. Finally off to the airport where we were greated with a final rainbow on the way before the long plane ride from Oahu to Los Angeles, over the Rocky Mountains into Cincinati then finally back to Buffalo. A sad Aloha to Hawaii... Part 123456Slideshow[]
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