Category: Legends

WSND DJ set list: Deep Dive of Christine McVie and Fleetwood Mac

Thanks to all who tuned in for my Deep Dive of Christine McVie and Fleetwood Mac on WSND. Here’s the set list:

  1. Christine McVie – Got a Hold on Me
  2. Fats Domino – I Hear You Knocking
  3. The Everly Brothers – Bye Bye Love
  4. The Spencer Davis Group – Gimme Some Lovin’
  5. Jimmy Smith – Back at the Chicken Shack
  6. Chicken Shack – It’s Okay with Me Baby
  7. John Lee Hooker – King of the World
  8. Chicken Shack – Get Like You Used to Be
  9. Chicken Shack – Pony and Trap
  10. Chicken Shack – I’d Rather Go Blind
  11. Fleetwood Mac – Stop Messin’ Round
  12. Christine Perfect – When You Say
  13. Christine Perfect – Let Me Go (Leave Me Alone)
  14. Fleetwood Mac – Station Man
  15. Fleetwood Mac – Tell Me All the Things You Do
  16. Bob Welch – Hypnotized
  17. Fleetwood Mac – What a Shame
  18. Fleetwood Mac – Morning Rain
  19. Fleetwood Mac – Come a Little Bit Closer
  20. Fleetwood Mac – Prove Your Love
  21. Fritz – Special Care (live)
  22. Buckingham Nicks – Frozen Love
  23. Fleetwood Mac – Monday Morning
  24. Fleetwood Mac – Over My Head (live)
  25. Fleetwood Mac – Say You Love Me
  26. Zeke – Rhiannon
  27. Fleetwood Mac – Don’t Stop
  28. Fleetwood Mac – You Make Lovin’ Fun (outtake version)
  29. The Beach Boys – Come Go with Me
  30. Fleetwood Mac – Think About Me
  31. Fleetwood Mac – Hold Me
  32. Fleetwood Mac – That’s Alright (alternate take)
  33. Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs – Trouble
  34. Christine McVie – Love Will Show Us How (live)
  35. Fleetwood Mac – Little Lies
  36. Fleetwood Mac – I Do
  37. Fleetwood Mac – Steal Your Heart Away
  38. Fleetwood Mac – Songbird (live)

Come back next week for another Deep Dive!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

WSND DJ set list: Deep Dive of The Allman Brothers Band

Thanks to all who tuned in and offered requests for my Deep Dive of The Allman Brothers Band on WSND. Here’s the set list:

  1. The Allman Brothers Band – Ramblin’ Man
  2. B.B. King – Mr. Pawnbroker
  3. Otis Redding – Pain in My Heart
  4. Patty LaBelle and The Bluebells – All or Nothing
  5. The Allman Joys – Spoonful
  6. Hour Glass – Southbound
  7. The 31st of February – Morning Dew
  8. Wilson Pickett – Hey Jude
  9. The 2nd Coming – Evaluation
  10. Muddy Waters – Trouble No More
  11. The Velvet Underground – Some Kinda Love
  12. Blind Wille McTell – Statesboro Blues
  13. The Allman Brothers Band – Black Hearted Woman
  14. The Allman Brothers Band – Whipping Post (1973 Beginnings mix)
  15. The Allman Brothers Band – Dreams (live)
  16. The Allman Brothers Band – Midnight Rider
  17. The Allman Brothers Band – In Memory of Elizabeth Reed
  18. Boz Scaggs – Lowdown
  19. Derek and The Dominos – Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out
  20. The Allman Brothers Band – Stormy Monday (live) (request)
  21. The Allman Brothers Band – Melissa (live acoustic version)
  22. The Allman Brothers Band – Blue Sky
  23. Cher & Gregg Allman – Don’t Mess Up a Good Thing (live)
  24. The Allman Brothers Band – Jessica (live)
  25. Dickey Betts – Highway Call
  26. The Allman Brothers Band – Can’t Lose What You Never Had
  27. Chuck Berry – Too Much Monkey Business
  28. Sea Level – Just a Good Feeling
  29. The Allman Brothers Band – Straight from the Heart
  30. The Allman Brothers Band – Firing Line

Come back next week for another Deep Dive!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe.]

Live: The Human League, Soft Cell, Alison Moyet – Chicago Theatre – Chicago, IL – June 23, 2026

It was a sold out night at the Chicago Theatre for this triple bill of 1980s music giants. The crowd was full of Gen Xers and Boomers who were buzzing outside the theatre and giddy once they got inside the place. I saw two people in their twenties there. I’m sure there were more, but they were vastly outnumbered…which is a shame because synthwave is hot stuff right now among the younger crowd. Go watch Stranger Things if you don’t believe me.

Alison Moyet started the night sounding and looking fabulous. Her backing band was sharp, especially her guitarist who subtly put down some slick riffs for those paying attention. Moyet was all smiles throughout her set, telling stories and expressing her thanks to the crowd. She played a good mix of stuff from her solo albums and Yazoo (known as Yaz in the U.S. for some weird reason) records. “Changeling” and “Only You” were lovely, and ending your set with “Don’t Go” is always a power move.

The modern version of Soft Cell was up next. Marc Almond is still on lead vocals and personality. David Ball died last year but not before they finished a lot of new material for their upcoming record, Danceteria. The new lineup came out right away with “Memorabilia,” the B-side to their first single, “A Man Could Get Lost,” which they also played. It was a weird new wave switch from Moyet’s sultry disco set, and I loved both. “Nostalgia Machine” (a clever takedown in 2022 and now) and “Out Come the Freaks” were other standouts, and, of course, they ended with “Tainted Love” to get everyone on their feet. They mentioned they’d be back in the spring to do a full show.

The Human League came out in full synthwave force with “The Sound of the Crowd” and “Mirror Man” with lead singer Philip Oakley quieting any curiosity about the strength of his voice right away.

Here comes The Human League…and the Mirror Man.

“The Lebanon” was a good highlight, and even stronger in 2026. An interesting moment was when I spotted a couple slow-dancing to “Human”…a song about infidelity. There’s a story there, I thought.

The League is only human.

“Love Action (I Believe in Love)” is already a great song, and it’s even better life. The same goes for their mega-hit “(Keep Feeling) Fascination.” Their encore included “Being Boiled” (their first single) and “Electric Dreams,” a collaboration Oakley did with Giorgio Moroder.

They had a fun energy for the whole show, including multiple costume changes for Oakley, Susan Sulley, and Joanne Catherall, good visual effects, and Oakley prowling around the stage like some mysterious wizard. They’ve said they plan to keep touring as long as people want to see them and they’re healthy enough to do it, so get to a show while you still can.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

[Thanks to Brian!]

WSND DJ set list: Deep Dive of Lalo Schifrin

Thanks to all who helped me celebrate the birthday of the great film and TV composer and jazz musician – Lalo Schifrin. Here’s the set list:

  1. Lalo Schifrin – Mission: Impossible theme
  2. Olivier Messine – Prelude for Piano
  3. Charles Koechlin – Epitaph for Jean Harlow
  4. Dizzy Gillespie – Panamericana
  5. Duke Ellington & Johnny Hodges – Weary Blues
  6. Lalo Schifrin – Rhino theme
  7. Lalo Schifrin – My Shawl
  8. Lalo Schifrin – An Evening in São Paulo
  9. Lalo Schifrin – Chora Tua Tristeza
  10. Lalo Schifrin – Lalo’s Bossa Nova
  11. Henry Mancini – Days of Wine and Roses
  12. Shirley Bassey – The Liquidator theme
  13. Lalo Schifrin – The Big Valley theme
  14. Lalo Schifrin – T.H.E. Cat theme
  15. Dean Martin – I’m Not the Marrying Kind
  16. Lalo Schifrin – Troubador
  17. Lalo Schifrin – Mannix theme
  18. Gary Lewis & The Playboys – Way Way Out
  19. Lalo Schifrin – Tar Sequence from Cool Hand Luke
  20. Sally Stevens – That Night
  21. Bullitt radio spot
  22. Lalo Schifrin – Bullitt main theme
  23. Lalo Schifrin – Coogan’s Bluff main theme
  24. Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart – Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows
  25. Lalo Schifrin – Medical Center theme
  26. The Mike Curb Congregation – Burning Bridges
  27. Lalo Schifrin – Offertory Verse
  28. Lalo Schifrin – Dirty Harry theme
  29. Lalo Schifrin – THX 1138 main title and St. Matthew’s Passion
  30. Enter the Dragon radio spot
  31. Lalo Schifrin – Enter the Dragon theme
  32. Magnum Force radio spot
  33. Lalo Schifrin – Magnum Force theme
  34. Lalo Schifrin – Ape Shuffle from the Planet of the Apes TV show
  35. Lalo Schifrin – Golden Needles main title
  36. Lalo Schifrin – Milady’s theme from The Four Musketeers
  37. Lalo Schifrin – Flamingo
  38. Lalo Schifrin – Jaws (Roger Groove remix)
  39. Lalo Schifrin & Dizzy Gillespie – Unicorn
  40. Lalo Schifrin – Rollercoaster
  41. Lalo Schifrin – Return from Witch Mountain theme
  42. Lalo Schifrin – Middle of the Night
  43. The Amityville Horror radio spot
  44. Lalo Schifrin – The Amityville Horror main theme
  45. Lalo Schifrin – The Big Brawl main theme
  46. Devo – Doctor Detroit
  47. Lalo Schifrin – Tango main title

Come back next week for another Deep Dive!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

Top 25 concerts of 2021 – 2025: #’s 5 – 1

The final five on this list were, believe it or not, fairly easy to determine. This is probably because they were so good and also because they all hit some emotional note for me because I didn’t think I’d see any of them ever again (or, in one case, even once).

#5: Nine Inch Nails – United Center – Chicago – August 20, 2025

This surprise tour sold out in rapid time, but luckily Nine Inch Nails added a second Chicago show due to popular demand. I had tickets for my fiancé and I, and then learned that my future stepdaughter was a NIN fan. I managed to get a third ticket to what turned out to be a stunning show with three stages, excellent remixes, and an enthusiastic crowd who were roaring for every song.

#4: Underworld – Radius – Chicago – May 17, 2025

Here’s the band I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see. Underworld playing two full sets at this intimate venue was an immediate purchase. It was a brilliant time, and stunning to see these two gents who can fill stadiums play such a small show with full energy to keep us dancing until the late hours.

#3: Midnight Oil – Riviera / Chicago – June 10, 2022

Midnight Oil was one of my late wife’s favorite bands. We’d seen them two during college, then on their reunion tour in the 2010s, and then we were supposed to see this show, but she died barely eight months earlier. I felt the need to go to honor her and see friends. It was the right decision. The show helped lift some of the weight off me. Midnight Oil sounded great, and it was their final tour. They belted out classics and left us all ready to resist tyranny and love each other.

#2: Love and Rockets – Riviera – Chicago – June 06, 2023

Here is the band I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see. I missed them in their heyday, and the closest I’d come until this show was seeing David J play an acoustic set at Levitaiton Music Festival. Love and Rockets flattened the place, sounding as strong as ever and reminding all of us that they were and still are rock stars. I was on cloud nine for the whole show.

#1: Failure – Bottom Lounge / Chicago – July 01, 2022

Failure are one of my favorite bands of all time. I don’t joke when I tell people that their Fantastic Planet album can be life-changing. This reunion tour caught me off-guard. I stumbled upon the announcement and then word that they had a VIP package that included a meet-and-greet and attendance at their sound check. It was another emotional show for me, as I was still reeling from my wife’s death and hearing “Another Space Song” live brought me to tears. The show was powerful for a lot of us. I saw a lot of people beaming throughout it, and the band were all happy to chat with us, sign anything, and talk with us about everything from music to films, and, in my case, grief. Again, I don’t joke when I say this show was instrumental in my healing. I’ll always thank Failure for it.

There have been plenty of good shows already in 2026, so come back in early 2027 to see which of those make the list for the best of the year.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

Top 25 concerts of 2021 – 2025: #’s 10 – 6

We’ve reached the top ten of concerts I saw over the last five years, and it includes more bands I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see. Starting with…

#10: Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade – Kemba Live!, Columbus, OH – May 31st, 2022

Les Claypool’s side project, The Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, put out one album and a cool double-live album many years ago. I didn’t think he’d revive the project and knew I had to see this tour as soon as it was announced. Sure enough, it was a cool show full of weird psychedelic rock, Sean Lennon on lead guitar, and them covering Pink Floyd’s Animals in its entirety in the middle of the show.

#9: Viagra Boys – Salt Shed – Chicago – February 24, 2023

This was bonkers. It was, according to Viagra Boys’ lead singer Sebastian Murphy, their biggest show in the U.S. so far. It was packed, sweaty, loud, and crazy. The entire indoor stage at the Salt Shed felt like it was shaking and that a drug-fueled orgy might break out at any moment.

#8: TV on the Radio – September 27, 2025 – Levitation Austin – Austin, TX

Here’s the next band I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see. TVOTR didn’t have a new album to promote, but they were touring and headlining one night of the Levitation Music Festival. I would have gone to the festival just to see them, and they didn’t disappoint. They brought everything I wanted: Energy, fury, power, and joy.

#7: Orbital – Radius – Chicago – March 23, 2024

Here’s the third band in this part of the list I wasn’t sure I’d ever see. Orbital’s tour was another surprise and it was great to see them in a reasonably small venue. They sounded excellent, and the show felt like being transported back in time to a 1993 rave. I hadn’t danced that much in a long while.

#6: Elton John – Soldier Field – Chicago – August 05, 2022

It was a hot and humid night at Soldier Field when Sir Elton John played his final Chicago show on his final tour. It was a big, fun, and emotional show, and he and his band sounded great. In terms of sound quality, this probably is the best show I heard of the last five years. Every note was clear.

Up next, the top five, and they’re all bands I wasn’t sure I’d ever see.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

Live: Devo – Old National Centre – Indianapolis, IN – June 02, 2026

The area around the Old National Centre in Indianapolis was full of people in energy dome hats in anticipation for Devo’s first concert in the city for decades. One of the best parts was seeing the wide age range of fans. My friend, Bill, brought his two young boys, Lexington and Phoenix, with him and they were as hyped for the show as old timers who’d been catching Devo shows since the 1970s.

They came out with energy that men twenty years younger than them wish they had, opening with “Don’t Shoot” and “Peek a Boo.” The crowd barely stopped jumping and dancing the entire time.

Peek-a-Boo, Devo can see you.

“Going Under” was a nice surprise, and Mark Mothersbaugh almost lost his voice by the time they got to “Girl U Want” and “Whip It,” but he had time to recover during “Planet Earth” – a song I didn’t expect but was delighted to hear.

“Blockhead” was another fun deep cut, and “Jocko Homo” shredded the stage. My friend said, “It sounds even more punk live.”

Are we not men?!

“Smart Patrol / Mr. DNA” was another bonkers track (Bob Mothersbaugh breaking all of his guitar strings at one point), with the triple whammy of “Freedom of Choice” (“Use it or lose it, spuds. It’s going fast,” said Bob Casale), “Gut Feeling,” and then “Beautiful World” (sang by Booji Boy) to wrap up the show. It left everyone out of breath by the end.

They’re the Smart Patrol.

Devo have still got it, and they were right all along. They saw all of everything you see today coming decades ago. They warned us. They still are.

Keep your mind open.

Thanks to the pro-photographer who let me snap a photo of this set list!

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

[Thanks to Bill Wilkison.]

Top 25 concerts of 2021 – 2025: #’s 15 – 10

Ranking the shows I attended for the last five years into just twenty-give top concerts was difficult, and it was especially so for the middle of the list. Who’s in the top fifteen? Let’s find out.

#15: Moon Duo – Levitation Austin / Feels So Good Records – October 30, 2022

Moon Duo closed the 2022 Levitation Music Festival with one of their special “light ship” shows. They play inside a projection screen box with the psychedelic light show being projected from behind them onto the screens. They end up silhouetted and the visuals emerge from their music rather than being cast onto it. No joke, I went into a trance at one point during this show and it was a perfect ending to a great festival.

#14: Castle Rat – September 26, 2025 – Levitation Austin – Austin, TX 

Castle Rat set a massively high bar to begin the 2025 Levitation Music Festival, combining stoner metal with a live-action Dungeons & Dragons campaign that included a battle with a death goddess, a druid playing drums, and all of us helping protect a book containing wayward souls. Their merch line after this show lasted twenty minutes per person for hours.

#13: Osees – Old National Centre – Indianapolis – October 22, 2025

This list would be incomplete without at least one Osees show, as they are perhaps the best touring rock band in the country. This show was in a small performance space no bigger than a wedding reception hall and had minimal air conditioning. I knew it was going to be loud and sweaty as soon as I walked into the place, and I was proven right. The mosh pit was surrounded by four stone pillars, one on each corner, and somehow I avoided being slammed into one of them. Osees blasted the place, leaving a lot of people who’d never seen them before in shock.

#12: Slift – Levitation Austin / Elysium – October 27, 2022

Speaking of blasting a place, Slift wrapped up their first U.S. tour at the 2022 Levitation Music Festival and left nothing in the tank. I don’t know how the stage didn’t collapse during their set, nor how any of us weren’t launched into orbit. Everyone knew we’d just seen, heard, and felt something transformative.

#11: Weird Al Yankovic – Lerner Theatre / Elkhart – July 26, 2022

This tour showcased Weird Al’s “non-parody” songs because he wanted to highlight his amazing band. It’s easy to forget how good they are. They can play multiple genres, sometimes in the same song, with ease. This was part-comedy show (with the great Emo Phillips opening), part-musical showcase. They didn’t play a single parody until the encore, and those were in a medley, and it was still one of the best shows I saw in all of 2022.

The top ten is looming! Come back tomorrow to see who made the list!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe.]

Top 25 concerts of 2021 – 2025: #’s 20 – 16

The numbers get smaller, the concerts get bigger. Here are more of the best shows I attended in the last five years.

#20: Frankie and the Witch Fingers – The Brass Rail – October 08, 2021

FATW always brings the fire, and the small stage in Ft. Wayne, Indiana (a little over an hour drive from my house) could barely contain it. They were still somewhat unknown back then and are rocking major festivals and releasing double-albums by now.

#19: Deap Vally – Thalia Hall – Chicago – February 10, 2024

How could I not see Deap Vally’s final tour, let alone at one of my favorite venues? The duo unleashed a roaring set that left everyone wanting and hoping for more at some future date. Will it happen? No one but Deap Vally knows, but they left us with a great gift if that was the final curtain.

#18: LCD Soundsystem – Aragon Ballroom – Chicago – May 26, 2024

This wasn’t the first time I’d seen LCD Soundsystem, but it was the first time I’d seen them with my fiancé, who’d become a fan of them early in our dating life. Seeing them after a few years of absence and seeing her joyful reaction to their fun, danc beat-filled show was a lovely moment.

#17: Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Sleeping Village – Chicago – March 28, 2023

Holy crap. This was the first time Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs played in Chicago and I almost didn’t go to this show. I didn’t decide until a day before it, as I felt like I needed to be there. I’m glad I listened to my gut because this was such a strong set that I was surprised the back wall was still standing by the end. They were a bit surprised by how many showed up to see them and I became a big fan that night.

#16: The Damned – Concord Music Hall, Chicago, IL, June 02, 2024

Here’s another band I wasn’t sure I’d get to see live…enough though I’d seen them before this show. Confused? That’s because The Damned reunited their 1980s lineup that included Paul Gray and Rat Scabies for this tour. This lineup, with Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible, was the lineup of The Damned I’d heard when I discovered them back in high school. They put on a great set that had me smiling and moshing the entire time, and Rat Scabies’ heartfelt reaction to the crowd cheering for him was lovely.

We’re almost halfway through the list? Who lies ahead? Come back tomorrow!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]

Top 25 concerts of 2021 – 2025: #’s 25 – 21

Just like my list of the top 25 albums I reviewed over the last five years, I decided to create a list of the top 25 concerts I attended in the same time. It was a harder list to make, although the top five were fairly easy to choose. Who put on the best shows? Let’s find out.

#25: The The – Salt Shed, Chicago, IL, October 25, 2024

There are many bands on this list that I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to see live. The The is one of them. This show included two sets. The first had them playing their newest album, Ensoulment, in its entirety. The second was a “time traveler” set that included all older material, starting with “Infected” and ending with “This Is the Day.”

#24: Yin-Yin – September 27, 2025 – Levitation Austin – Austin, TX

This was Yin-Yin’s first show ever in the United States, and they won over the entire crowd at Levitation last year. Their blend of funk, Euro-disco, and psych-rock was an instant hit. Everyone on and off the stage had a great time.

#23: Jon Spencer – Stockroom East, South Bend, IN, July 11, 2024

Jon Spencer and his backing band featuring two members of The Bobby Lees played about forty minutes from my house in a tiny venue and in front of maybe fifty people. They completely shredded the place, hitting it as hard as they would a big theatre and leaving many who’d never seen his live show slack-jawed by the end of it.

#22: A Place to Bury Strangers – Empty Bottle – Chicago – May 30, 2022

Any APTBS show is an experience, and this one in my favorite Chicago dive bar was especially wild. They were feeding off the crowd’s energy and crushing everyone and everything in sight. A friend of mine, a bassist for a Chicago death metal band (Aphixiator), was impressed by the power they generated. I think the walls shook for hours afterwards.

#21: Gang of Four – Far Out Lounge – Levitation Austin, November 01, 2024

Here’s another band I wasn’t sure I’d ever see live. Gang of Four showed that they were still powerful, relevant, and sharp. Seeing so many other GOF fans going bonkers with me was a highlight of the Levitation Music Festival that year.

Whew. It’s already heavy and loud. Who makes the top twenty? Come back tomorrow to find out!

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe!]