On a steamy St. Paul evening in July 1994 (just down the road from where the Xcel Energy Center would open six years later), I saw my first Smashing Pumpkins show. They were headlining that year’s Lollapalooza tour, with a lineup that included the Beastie Boys, the Breeders, and a Tribe Called Quest, among others.…
The first time Metallica performed in the Twin Cities was Feb. 6, 1985. They performed at First Ave (or, according to a t-shirt listing every Twin Cities show they’ve done, “The First Avenue”) in support of the Ride the Lightning album. Thirty-one years later, the metal monsters rolled into town for a show just down the road from…
On July 21, 1987, Guns N’ Roses’ groundbreaking debut album, Appetite for Destruction, was released on Geffen Records. It went on to become the best-selling debut album in history, but sales really didn’t start picking up until the following year, thanks in part to regular airplay on MTV (back when it played music videos). That’s when Appetite connected with…
“So ya, thought ya, might like to… go to the show…” Several years ago, a rumor began to circulate regarding an unusual connection between Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album and the classic film The Wizard of Oz. This phenomenon, often referred to as “The Dark Side of the Rainbow,” involves the synchronization of…