Blogcritics Author: Charlie Doherty

Bonds To Boston? No Way, No How

Charlie Doherty — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:13:07 EDT

Rumors of Barry Bonds playing in Boston have bared no fruit thus far. Here's several reasons why it likely won't ever happen.
It all started on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball during the Red Sox/Yankees game on July 6, when Hall of Fame reporter Peter Gammons informed the viewing audience that the Sox have had "internal discussions" about signing the once immortal Barry Bonds, should David Ortiz (on DL since May 31 for wrist injury) be lost for the remainder...

Music Review: Baskervilles - Twilight

Charlie Doherty — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:30:29 EDT

This still largely unknown NYC group has made one of the best and fun indie pop CDs you'll hear this summer.
One month ago, the long wait for the second album by up-and-coming New York City indie pop group Baskervilles, ended with the release of Twilight. More than the follow-up to the band's 2004 self-titled long player -- and 2005 Midnight EP -- it was the culmination of over a year-and-a-half's worth of creative publicity efforts, to promote...

Music Review: Filter - Anthems For The Damned

Charlie Doherty — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:43:24 EDT

For Richard Patrick and Filter, this new and fourth album is a mix of almost everything that made them great.
It's hard to believe that nine years have passed since Richard Patrick and Filter recorded the near-masterpiece Title Of Record, which, other than following up their excellent 1995 debut CD Short Bus spawned top hits like the dreamy "Take A Picture" and the heavy-hitting "Welcome To The Fold." Filter did release one album between then and now,...

Music Review: Umphrey's McGee - Live At The Murat 2-CD Set

Charlie Doherty — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:16:17 EDT

Umphrey's McGee, always a must-see live jam band, jams two nights of music into one compilation, for mostly yummy results.
Indiana-now-Chicago, Illinois jam band Umphrey’s McGee certainly knows its biggest strength: live performances. From its earliest days at South Bend at the campus of Notre Dame in the late '90s to breakthrough appearances at the Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee in the early 2000s, this sextet have made a name for themselves as a must-see...

Music Review: Tab The Band - Pulling Out Just Enough To Win

Charlie Doherty — Tue, 27 May 2008 08:56:42 EDT

This debut album from the sons of Aerosmith's Joe Perry will definitely make papa proud.
Adrian and Tony Perry’s dad (Aerosmith’s Joe Perry) may rave about the wonders of Pro Tools recording technology, but these well-schooled classic rock descendants who call themselves TAB The Band might as well come from the pre-Pro Tools era. Their debut album, Pulling Out Just Enough To Win, released this past January (North Street...

Music DVD Review: Deep Purple - ...Live At The Montreux 2006 (2-DVD)

Charlie Doherty — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:41:17 EDT

Perhaps overlooked among the notable 2007 DVD releases, you get two great DP shows in one package. Rock on, brother!
The annual Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland is well known as a two-week celebration of the world's best jazz music, but also for its roster of all stars from other genres, especially rock, pop, blues and soul. They've invited the likes of David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, and Marvin Gaye to the fest over the years.On its 40th anniversary,...

Music CD/DVD Review: Gigantour 2

Charlie Doherty — Fri, 2 May 2008 06:58:55 EDT

For those who like to rock hard, here's two live metal reviews to salute you.
Initially, I planned on doing two separate reviews for the recently released Gigantour 2 CD and separately sold DVD of the same name, via Image Entertainment. But like many metal fans are sure to attest, you can’t really have one of these releases without the other nearby. And the same theme applies for reviewing these items. And so I will...

Music Review: Heroes Original Soundtrack

Charlie Doherty — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:48:09 EDT

2007 was great for soundtracks, but you need a new one to fill that void in your life. Try this one on for size.
First of all, kudos to whoever was responsible for the overall track sequence of this mostly excellent and extremely diverse collection of music. The reason? There was really no need to skip past most of these tracks during my first couple of times through the disc, even though the 1-2-3 punch of My Morning Jacket, Death Cab For Cutie, and Imogen...

Music DVD Review: - Queen Rock Montreal

Charlie Doherty — Wed, 9 Apr 2008 21:47:38 EDT

Simply put, Queen is in rare form here...a must-have for all serious Queen fans.
The long-awaited DVD release of what was formerly known as the We Will Rock You concert video, now titled Queen Rock Montreal by Queen does justice to the classic hard rock band's image as ambitious, super-talented songwriters and stadium-conquering performers. In other words, it was totally worth the wait (and released late last year).The DVD...

Music Review: Kaki King - Dreaming Of Revenge

Charlie Doherty — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 08:45:27 EDT

This formerly instrumental-only indie rock guitar wizard creates another very good record with amazing songs, some with vocals.
Atlanta, Georgia native and instrumentalist extraordinaire Kaki King has the distinction of being named the first ever female "Guitar God" by Rolling Stone magazine. And for good reason: her trademark combination of finger-tapping, fret-slapping and percussive use of a heavily detuned acoustic guitar is regarded as original and has been...