Ro's Rock Show Review - Acoustic 4A Cure 5/15/15

I have the bestest best friend in the whole world! When I saw this show pop up in my email, I sighed and said, "no way. I'm over my concert allotment for 2015." Then I get a call from her and BLAM! We're going to San Francisco to see this amazing show. I love it when the celebrities I admire give back, and giving to Children's Cancer Research and Treatment is always a great option.

Bestie is a huge Sammy Hagar fan, and I've loved James Hetfield for a very long time. I love his brain. He comes up with such amazing lyrics. I love his musical sense. Hetfield is responsible for some of the most amazing riffs and songs. Metallica is now, and will always be, my favorite band. I was anxious to see what he would do in this setting.

The show was great from start to finish. Hagar's rendition of "The Thrill is Gone" raised goosebumps on my arms that never quite went away as the night wore on, especially when Linda Perry belted out the last few lines of "Creep."

I've admired her since her short-lived band 4Non Blondes was a smash and I've followed her career to see that she's done producing for Pink, Courtney Love, Adam Lambert and Weezer among others. The woman has the most amazing set of pipes... And she is like a female Oscar the Grouch... I call her Grouchetta. She invited someone "who can really sing" up onto the stage and proceeded to give a warning that would have had me quaking in my boots about the quality this person better bring. The girl who took her up on her had some talent, but she was waaaaaay more confident than I would have been next to Perry!

Hagar and friends played, then Pat Monahan from Train (dude filled the auditorium with his voice... sans microphone!), and then special guest ADAM SANDLER! Who knew Sandler could go from his goofy and wonderfully silly tunes to "Dream On" and "Ramble On?" I will forever think of his "Text That Shit" when I am sending random crap to my friends.

Things got real for me when Jerry Cantrell hit the stage. I'd seen him solo before back with Metallica in the 90's and I've been a huge Alice in Chains fan forever. I loved the cover of "Tuesday's Gone" Metallica did with friends like Jerry on their Garage, Inc. album so I was anxious for them to get on with it. Cantrell performed songs accompanied by a steel guitar player I was unfamiliar with but seemed to be a crowd favorite. I love his voice. I really do. And I loved his version of "Dead Flowers." Then James came out and the two of them blew me away with their version of "Don't Fear the Reaper." It was the first time I'd really listened to the words of the song and the haunting harmonies from these two incredible musicians stayed with me long after the last strings were strummed.

The closing performance of the night featured James and his 17-year old daughter. It was just perfect. Talk about a proud papa. Am I the only one who finds a man smiling proudly at his daughter incredibly sexy? Yeah, it was pretty amazing to get to share in that moment. My own husband teared up with pride when we watched our daughter in her first horse show and I'm sure it won't be the last time. This moment resonated with me, too, because it really made me think about Danny Black in my Teacher novels and his daughter Jane. Their relationship is one of my favorite parts of this story. Maybe it's because I never had that closeness with either of my fathers, I don't know, but making these two grow a relationship from a very fractured state is maybe a way for the little girl in me to get that fatherly approval. I know my father and stepdad were proud of me, but they certainly never showed it quite like this picture above. But I digress... This is Rock n' Roll, dammit, not time for tears.... Which leads me to my next blog post...

In the meantime, check out Teacher and Teacher: Act Two. I'm hard at work finishing the third and Final Act, which I hope to release late summer or early fall. Links are posted on the Books page. As always, Stay Tuned for more Rock n' Romance!