Ritchie Blackmore's Night / Wizard's Consort @ the Birchmere 5/20/2014

Finally I went to see Ritchie Blackmore ($52.85 after fees!!) and Blackmore's Night at the Birchmere.  I met up with Nina and Josh, Neil and Michelle, Tom, and Dorothy.

Disclaimer: I have never seen Ritchie Blackmore live, so this night was a special bucket list night, as I needed to see him live before one of us departs.

Blackmore's Night!

Ashes of Ares / A Sound of Thunder / Ghost of War / Martyrd @ Empire 5/17/2014

I Went to see Ashes of Ares ($10) with a solid set of openers. I saw a ton of people- Kris, Ariel, James, Nathan with a J, Sean, Lisa, Brian B and Samjhana, Maery and JASON, Bobbie + Nick, Nina and Willie, Dave, Dickie, Joel, Ethan, my boot brother TJ, Martin, Cascade, Allie,Greg n Sako, Mike and even met some new friends (Erika, Jorge).

Killswitch Engage/ Trivium/ Battlecross @ Rams Head Live 5/15/2014

I went to see Killswitch Engage up in Baltimore ($35 after fees WTF). I met up with Tony and saw Kris, Matt Rice n Witt Black (Yesterday's Saints... who let those chumps out of the studio?) Jose, Scott, and I am pretty sure the singer from Hydra Kyll and Jen P and Bridget were there too.  I was pumped to see Killswitch and hang with my buddy Tony, but I also was interested in the rest of the bill. Would Nothing More sound like an Octane band? Would Battlecross sound the same as last time? Would Trivium be underwhelming like last time?

VNV Nation / Whiteqube @ Empire 5/14/2014

Juliya and I went to see VNV Nation (Victory not Vengeance) ($25) at Empire. We met up with Kate, Jason, and DarKNess, and Lori (Chris Crazy-Wolf was also there, but he was hiding!).

Winery Dogs @ The Birchmere 5/7/2014

I went to see the Winery Dogs ($58.50 after ridiculous fees ugh)- (Mike Portnoy (ex-Dream Theater,ex-Adrenaline Mob, ex-Avenged Sevenfold, Transatlantic, etc. etc.) Billy Sheehan (ex- Mr. Big, ex-Talas, ex-David Lee Roth band), Ritchie Kotzen (ex- Mr. Big, ex-Poison)) at the Birchmere with Ariel.  We got there around 7, and I was curious as to how it would be, as I've never been to this venue before.

Fozzy / Raven @ Empire 5/5/2014

I went to see Fozzy w/ Raven  last night at Empire ($18).  I was excited to see Fozzy add Raven as a solid treat for this date!  I saw Jason, Tom, Neil and Michelle (and their brood), Brian B, Omar, and Kyler.  This was also Cinco de mayo, so I'm not sure if that affected attendance, OH and that it was Monday night RAW (Chris Jericho used to be a wrestler).

Black Label Society/ Down/ The Devil You Know/ Butcher Babies @ the Fillmore Silver Spring 5/4/2014

I went to see Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society ($35!) at the Fillmore, Silver Spring. BLS was one of my first concert experiences, and def one of my favourite. It's been a while since I've seen BLS, and the addition of Down was amazing!  Howard Jone's Devil You Know and the questionable Butcher Babies were just icing on the cake. I saw Tony, Tom, Sean, Scott, Nids, Jacinda n Heather, Johnny, Joe, Dale, Jen, Bridget, Kris, Patricia-lynne, Chris Crazy-Wolf and Lisa there.

Primal Fear/Arctic Flame/ Flag of the White Rose/ Mindmaze @ Baltimore Soundstage 4/29/2014

I went to see Primal Fear ($24-27) up in godforsaken Baltimore at the nice Baltimore Sound Stage.  After some initial parking difficulties and an almost altercation with some guy, I scampered thru the rain to the venue.  I saw Dave, Mike A, Milla, Bobbie, Nina, Tom, Avi, Brittany, Brian B and Renae there!

M3 Fest Day 2 Part II- Tesla/ Night Ranger/ Sabastian Bach/ Slaughter/ L.A. Guns/ Autograph/ Queensryche @ Merriweather Post Pavilion 4/26/2014

Part II of M3 Festival Day 2- the 2nd half  (Part I here)  We left as I was scampering over to see...

M3 Festival Day 2, Part I- Stryper/ Jake E Lee's Red Dragon Cartel/ Keel/ Jack Russell's Great White/Femme Fatale/ John Corabi/ Heaven's Edge @ Merriweather Post Pavilion 4/26/2014

Part I of M3 Festival, Day 2.  (Part II here!)
I didn't catch Day 1 of M3 (Paganfest 2014 instead), but my friend Neil did and has a much better written review  at his blog.

I went to M3, day 2 ($40 lawn) for 2014 with my buddy Tony.  I saw a bunch of people there, including Kris, Bobbie, Marysol y su hombre, Ariel y su mujer, Tom, Rod, Dwayne, James y su mujer, Rachl, Tony Dio, RUBY, Bob (Mr Rock and Roll Experience) and maybe someone else. whew! Break out your leather and hairspray, because we going to the BIGGEST (hair) metal (and hard rock) show of the year (in the US)! Whew.

As great as family bonding is, I think the skullet is not a great choice