Robert Cray Brings The Blues Back To Buffalo's Asbury Hall
10/13/2023 - Buffalo, New York - Today, we were back on the road again heading West down NYS Thruway to 33 into the heart of downtown Buffalo, New York to see one of our favorite blues artists on the planet, the Robert Cray Band, perform at Asbury Hall. We were back to see the bands return to Asbury Hall after seeing them perform here in 2019. We made it into town early enough to grab a decent dinner at TGIFridays on Main Street. We headed to Asbury Hall only a short walk from the restaurant and found a couple dozen people already in line for this General Admission seated show. We managed to get second row dead center stage and saved a seat for Mike who would be a late arrival. The show appeared to be pretty close to a sellout and Robert Cray would be the only band performing, no opener. The band hit the stage promptly at 8PM and played another excellent ninety minute plus blues set. They opened with Anything You Want and played some tasty tunes including I Shiver, Bad Influence and Right Next Door. The band was as tight as usual with shoeless bass man Richard Cousins leading the way, Dover Weinberg was great on the keys and Les Falconer provided the great drum beat. Young Robert was good as ever with excellent solos and fantastic vocals. The near sellout crowd was pleased with the set that ended with You Must Believe In Yourself. The band came out for a two song encore that included Phone Booth and closing with the usual Time Makes Two. We all managed to snag guitar picks and fully enjoyed the band's return to Asbury Hall. We will be back again when and if the band returns to Asbury Hall. I will see the band again tomorrow at the lovely State Theatre of Ithaca !Slideshow[]
Sir Paul McCartney Got Back To Syracuse's JMA Wireless Dome
6/4/2022 - Syracuse, New York - Today, we headed East down the NYS Thruway to Syracuse, New York, to the newly named JMA Wireless Dome (formerly the Carrier Dome) to see the return of Sir Paul McCartney to the stage. We last saw Paul here at the Carrier Dome in 2017. The Dome was packed for todays show and Paul came out for a 3 hour, 36 song, jam packed set of Beatles, Wings and McCartney songs. He opened with Can't Buy Me Love and played tunes like Let Me Roll It, Getting Better, Maybe I'm Amazed and Lady Madonna to name a few. He played the tribute to George playing the ukelele for a nice jam on Something. The laser light fireball explosion filled Live And Let Die rocked the house as usual and the closing of the set with the crowd singing along to Hey Jude was a nice end to another great Paul show. Paul has showed his age a bit in his voice but his energy for 79 years old is amazing. The encore consisted of six songs, I've Got A Feeling accompanied by John Lennon on tape, Birthday and Helter Skelter. He closed out the show with Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and The End. Again, Paul put on a great show and at seventy-nine shows no signs of slowing down.Slideshow[]
Florida Trip Takes Us On Adventures All Around The State
Jeff Beck & Ann Wilson Rock Artpark Tuesday In The Park
9/17/2021 - Fort Lauderdale, Florida - Today, we started our Florida adventure driving from home west down the NYS Thruway to Buffalo Niagara International Airport to catch a direct flight from Buffalo down to our first stop on the Florida tour. Tampa Bay. We arrived mid afternoon and the Frontier flight was very good and I picked up my discounted rental car from Enterprise without issue. We stayed for the night at Nicole's place in rainy Pinellas Park having a nice dinner at Mr & Mrs Crabs. Next day, we drove South down I75 onto 595E taking us to our tremendous suite at Lago Mar Resort on the private beach in Fort Lauderdale. The resort was just fabulous and pretty empty. We enjoyed this as our home base for the week and the private beach and facilities were excellent. We next headed to Hollywood Beach for dinner at our namesake restaurant Florio's of Little Italy right on the beach and caught a nice rainbow! We enjoyed the Bills beating the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium and also went to Hard Rock Live for Hall & Oates. We journeyed north up Route 1 beach hopping to Delray Beach, Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton. the very nice Pompano Beach and we even stopped for breakfast one day at Lauderdale By The Sea. We took part of a day and headed to Miami having a late breakfast on South Beach and then got caught in torrential downpour, luckily discovering a discarded lunch umbrella helped us survive the storm. The time at Lago Mar in Lauderdale was very nice enjoying the two pools, watching the sunrise and the ships on the private beach and tons of activities. We found several good spots for food including a New England joint called Kelly's Landing, breakfast at Joe's Cafe or pizza at Manhattan NY Pizza. We finished the week at Lauderdale and drove back to Tampa stopping at Naples to walk one of my favorite Florida beaches Lowdermilk Park. We made it back to Nicole's place and headed to St Pete Pier to enjoy dinner with family at Frescos Waterfront Bistro, the bacon wrapped scallops were delicious. We caught Clapton at Amalie Arena and finished the week watching the Bills pound Washington at a Bill's Backer bar in St Pete called Buffalo City Bar & Grille. A fun place with many Western New Yorkers in attendance eating Roast Beef on Weck, wings, drinking Labbats Blue and watching the Bills! Up very early the last day to catch a direct flight from Tampa back to Buffalo, a great trip.Slideshow[]
8/7/2018 - Lewiston, New York - On this first Tuesday in August, we headed west down Route 18 to Lewiston, New York to see the legendary classic rock guitarist Jeff Beck perform along with Ann Wilson from Heart at Artpark's Tuesday in the Park Concert series. We arrived early an had a nice lunch of delicious roast beefs at Jonfries in downtown Niagara Falls. We then headed to Artpark and found small crowds in line on this perfect day. We entered on time and got a great spot. Ann Wilson and her band hit the stage playing many covers in their set including some Who tunes like The Real Me and Won't Get Fooled Again. They came out for a two song encore that concluded with another Who tune Love Reign O'er Me. Ann still has a great voice an excellent opening act. Soon after Jeff Beck and his band hit the stage and played a fantastic set. He played many classics including Stratus, Big Block and Superstition. He played a nice cover of Hendrix's Little Wing. He finished his set with the Beatle's A Day In The Life. The band was pretty tight and Jimmy Hall was excellent on lead vocals and Tal Wilkenfeld rocked on bass guitar. The final encore was the classic Don Nix blues tune Going Down. Beck proved once again he can still jam and this was another great Artpark Tuesday In The Park show.Slideshow[]
Randy Bachman Rocks Artpark After Delay Due To Bomb Scare
6/20/2017 - Lewiston, New York - Today I took a half day off work to head west to my first Artpark Tuesday In The Park concert of 2017, today's artist the legendary Randy Bachman. This concert almost didn't happen. I got to Artpark pretty early and got a good spot in the small line. Several hundred people entered the venue as normal and found their spots, then Arpark personnel told everyone to leave as it turns out a bomb sniffing dog found a scent in one of the speakers under the stage. After an almost two hour delay and more police and bomb squad personnel coming in the issue was resolved a false alarm. We were allowed back to our seats and the thousands of people still waiting to enter were allowed in. The village lifted the curfew and allowed both 54-40 and Randy Bachman to do full sets. 54-40 hit the stage and did an okay set. Soon after Bachman and his band hit the stage and did as many classic Guess Who and BTO songs they could fit into the set. He played classics like American Woman, Roll On Down The Highway and You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet. Unfortunately due to the delay the weather moved in and it rained for the majority of his set, but he and his band still sounded pretty good and the majority of the fans stayed til the bitter end. He finished with and encore of Takin' Care Of Business. A good show that almost did not happen, Bachman is truly a legend of classic rock.Slideshow[]
Roadtrip To The Big Apple For Slowhand Jams at The Garden
3/19/2017 - New York, New York - The day started early today leaving the house being chauffeured to Rochester's Amtrak station downtown to catch the semi-early train to New York City to see the master guitar player, Eric Clapton perform at Madison Square Garden. The train departed on-time from Rochester but due to delays arrived an hour late into Penn Station in NYC. On the way I was able to pickup an excellent ticket for Clapton's show tonight. We arrived to a cool sunshiny day in the Big Apple and headed to our hotel the Holiday Inn Express at Chelsea literally a block from MSG. Time was tight so we had a quick dinner at Brother Jimmy's BBQ who had excellent burgers and was right across the street from MSG. After dinner I headed right to MSG for night one of Clapton. My seat was excellent right of the stage eleven rows up. The show started promptly at 7:30 with Jimmie Vaughan opening playing a short half hour set that including a Vaughan Brothers cover of White Boots. After a brief intermission, Gary Clark Jr and his band hit the stage. They played a little longer set that included some nice blues covers opening with Elmore Jame's Can't Stop Loving You and Albert Collin's If Trouble Was Money. An excellent set with some nice guitar work by Gary Clark Jr. After another short intermission it was Clapton making his entrance to the stage greeting the crowd and jumping into a two hour jam session opening with Key To The Highway. He played as many classics as he could fit into the set including Badge, I Shot The Sheriff and Wonderful Tonight to name a few. He played a solo acoustic set that included Tears In Heaven and Layla. He closed the set with Cocaine. He came out for a two song encore, first Sunshine Of Your Love and then was joined by Jimmie Vaughan and Gary Clark Jr for the finale of Before You Accuse Me. Another excellent Clapton show and tomorrow I get to do it all over again.Slideshow[]
Linkin Park And 30 Seconds To Mars Invade Darien Lake
Chilling Out Our Last Day On The Big Island - Part III
8/21/2014 - Corfu, New York - The concert summer continued today with another free show, again compliments of Deb, todays artist Linkin Park and 30 Seconds To Mars performing at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center. It was calling for rain but turned out to be a nice evening for a show. We only had lawn seats for this show and found a decent spot close to center stage right by the fence. We arrived just in time to see the opening band AFI. They played an okay set that was well received by the small but growing crowd. The next act was 30 Seconds to Mars. They put on an excellent show with lead singer Jared Leto getting the crowd pumped up anyway possible. The raucous set included confetti machines, huge balloons and bringing the entire front row on the stage the crowd really loved it. They jammed on songs like This Is War, City Of Angels and closed the set with End All Days. The encore included a Zeppelin cover of Whole Lotta Love and Closer To The Edge. Again the crowd really enjoyed there set. Soon after Linkin Park hit the stage and took over the crowd and their LPU, Linkin Park Union, members and played a good set. They played some of their classics like One Step Closer, Numb and In The End. They pretty much owned the crowd and came out for an extended encore that included Crawling, What I've Done and finishing with Bleed It Out. This turned out to be an entertaining show and well worth the trip. Thanks for the freebie.Slideshow[]
4/14/2014 - Big Island, Hawaii - The last day on the Big Island started with the early morning beach walk around Anaehoomalu Bay. We drove to Kailua Kona for a final breakfast at the Big Island Grill with excellent food. We shopped in Kailua Kona where Deb successfully completed her Hawaii wide search for the infamous Donkey Balls. Dom also completed his search and found a nice Ukelele at Just Ukes Hawaii. We headed back to Waikaloa Beach Marriot Resprt & Spa to chill on the beach and poolside. Dom got in some snorkeling in Anaehoomalu Bay. We went for a nice dinner at Romanos Macroni Grill at the Queens Shop plaza. After dinner we headed back to the resort to view a nice sunset on the scenic resort lobby area. We were entertained with some good blues tunes from a local musician RJ Kaneao. He played some tasty blues licks and Dom and I had a nice time discussing music with him in between sets a really good guy and great guitarist. After the sunset we had a perfect viewing spot to take some spectacular views of the full lunar eclipse. We managed to get some really good shots. A nice final day spent chilling on the Big Island. On to Maui the next day as the adventure continues. 124567Slideshow[]
Sabres Provide Birthday Present With Win Over Hurricanes
Nicole Completes First Season Of Cadets Lacrosse
2/25/2014 - Buffalo, New York - Today marked my 49th birthday which included gifts with family, gambling at the casino and finished off with attending the Buffalo Sabres taking on the Carolina Hurricanes at First Niagara Center. We had pizza and wings from my favorite pizza place Pontillos along with a delicious birthday cake prepared by Dom the baker. The birthday day included taking the day off work and heading to Seneca Niagara Casino to play in the No Limit Holdem poker tournament that with a little birthday luck and some skill I WON ! After poker it was back home to pickup Dominic and head to the Sabres game. Dominic bought me some excellent tickets for my birthday, center ice fourteen rows up. We hit the road stopping for a quick dinner at Dom's favorite burger joint in the world Reids. The Sabres game was the only one in the NHL this day as the Sochi Olympic break just completed. The Sabres played tough and won the game 3-2 on a third period last minute goal by Christian Ehrhoff. This also turned out to be goalie Ryan Millers last game as a Sabre as he stopped 36 of 38 shots and also contributed 2 assists in the win. This was a MOST EXCELLENT birthday celebration!!!!!Slideshow[]
5/26/2009 - Hilton, New York - Nicole completed her first season of Hilton Cadets Modified Lacrosse today. The Cadets finished the season with a final record of eight wins and only three losses. They completed the season beating Brockport in their final game at home by a score of twelve to six. Nicole added a goal in the victory over Brockport. The girls had an excellent season with every player contributing to the team's success. Nicole completed the season with five goals and many assists. The Cadets are building a great program for girls lacrosse. Congratulations to the Cadets Girls Modified Lacrosse team on an excellent season. Link to 2009 Cadets Modified Lacrosse PicturesSlideshow[]
Aloha Rochester HELLO MAUI Again - Part I
A Fast Ferry Getaway To Toronto
4/17/2009 - Maui, Hawaii - The return journey to our favorite vacation spot in the world, Maui, started early Friday morning at Rochester International Airport. The long trip started in Rochester, then to Chicago, then on to San Francisco and finally arriving in Maui Hawaii some thirteen hours later. Fortunately all the flights were ahead of schedule making the trip somewhat smooth. Maui was all we have come to know, beautiful weather, great beaches, gorgeous sunsets, and just the most relaxing place on the earth in my opinion. We arrived late day at our two bedroom oceanview condo at Kaanapali Shores which offered a nice view of the Pacific Ocean we have come to love. We eased into are first day eating a much needed dinner at the Beach Club, taking in a tremendous sunset, and finally we enjoyed a late night swim in the pool and hot tub. The next morning off to breakfast at Moose McGillicuddys in Lahaina. We then wasted no time exploring the south west coast including hanging in the town of Lahaina. We went all the way to Kahakuloa Head and drove past where the regular road ran out, then back to Nakalele Point to climb down the mountain side to get and up close view of Nakalele Blowhole. We stopped at a couple of beaches along the way with the DT Fleming Beach Park being the nicest in the area. Finally back to the condo for swimming and drinks at Kaanapali Shore's ocean front pool then down to Lahaina for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, then hanging in Lahaina and taking in another awesome sunset. Nice start to the vacation, much more to come. Part 2345Slideshow[]
