Tag Archives: the who

SUCKING IN THE ’70s

Whisky A Go-Go and Hal Sparks set to host a night of classic rock from one of the greatest eras for music.

If you weren’t fortunate enough to have lived through at least part of the ’70s, you’re in luck because the Whisky A Go-Go is going to take rock fans back in time to the good old days when Zeppelin ruled and nobody even knew what twerking was yet. 

Tuesday Night Music Club: Chuck Wright (l.) & Hal Sparks

On January 17, actor, rocker, and Nerd Halen frontman Hal Sparks is once again hosting Ultimate Jam Night Hollywood, which is themed “That ’70s Jam.” The set will include two hours of stellar rock covers of Me Decade masterpieces delivered by world-class working musicians that you probably have seen before performing in some of your favorite classic and modern rock bands, from Quiet Riot to Duran Duran.

Beasts of Burden: Rolling Stones circa 1970s

Plus, Sparks is a very entertaining and funny emcee that makes the segway between numbers go very smoothly, so the entire evening just feels like one big party.

Down at the Whisky: Hal Sparks at Ultimate Jam Night

Sparks is a musician and diehard rock fan who truly knows his rock history even when he’s not reading from the clipboard. He will often riff on interesting factoids about the bands and songs throughout the evening, which is also a fun part of the Tuesday night events.

Kings of Teenage Wasteland: The Who

During the “That ’70s Jam” tribute concert, you can expect the Seventies aura–and likely the aroma–to be spot-on during the Whisky’s homage to the hard rock hits and ballsy ballads of one of the best eras for music that gave us everlasting classics by KISS, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, The Sweet, and so much more.

Shout It Out Loud: KISS pretty much owned the Seventies

And when it comes to recreating classic songs, nobody does it like the band from the Whisky A Go-Go’s famous “Ultimate Jam Night Hollywood” event. In fact, a while back when they covered the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” with Leif Garrett on vocals, they had at least a dozen musicians on stage to make sure they replicated every nuance of that classic song. (Props to Leif Garrett, too, for completely delivering on that rock ‘n’ roll masterpiece.)

He Was Made for Rockin’: Leif Garrett at Whisky

So, if they dare to cover “Stairway to Heaven” at “That ’70s Jam,” you can bet it’s going to be the next best thing to sitting on a grassy knoll in Golden Gate Park stoned out of your mind watching Led Zeppelin do it at Kezar Stadium in 1973.

Rock and Roll: Led Zeppelin looking effortlessly cool backstage in the ’70s

The cool thing about watching the band cover Zeppelin at the Whisky is that you’ll be standing in the same room where Led Zeppelin performed on January 5, 1969. Like, that’s sure to give the stoners a super-cool high, man.

The Whisky A Go-Go is located at 8901 Sunset Blvd., at Sunset and Clark St. An opening band starts the evening off at 8 p.m. “That ’70s Jam” kicks off at 10 p.m. Free to those 21 and over. Yes, this night of world-class live music is free!

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HOLLYWOOD ROCKS

Step aside, Batman! The Who, Pink Floyd, Elvis Presley, and other music icons have rocked their way into W/B’s legendary Hollywood history.

Living in SoCal, it’s easy to get jaded when it comes to being starstruck. After all, when you randomly spot Smokey Robinson at the supermarket and Steven Tyler at Coffee Bean—which I have—you tend to get used to seeing superstars as much as you see smog and palm trees.

However, a recent tour of Warner Bros. studios had us feeling excited about the magic of Hollywood once again. And that reinvigorated awe had everything to do with the rock and roll history that lies within the eclectic tour that covers every iconic entertainment offering from Rebel Without a Cause and East of Eden to Friends and the DC universe’s current crop of superhero hits like Batman and Wonder Woman.

Along with all of the movie history, the studio’s backlot has a rich music history, too, including as the location of the iconic cover photo of Pink Floyd‘s 1975 album, Wish You Were Here.

Equally cool was spotting one of the rockin’ motor scooters from The Who’s 1979 classic film Quadraphonia.

The Lambretta and Vespa Italian motor scooters make a memorable appearance in the British drama as the ride of choice for Sting and his Mods as well as their rivals the Rockers.

Many classic Hollywood musicals and music-oriented movies have also been filmed on the lot, from The Music Man and A Star Is Born (two of them, the 1976 and 2018 versions) to Elvis and Selena.

The other king, the King of Pop also has an unforgettable attachment to W/B’s history. Michael Jackson and The Jacksons filmed one of their famous Eighties-era Pepsi commercials on the Warner Bros. backlot. This one was filmed on the backlot’s all-American “Hennessy Street” and co-starred a very young Alfonso Ribeiro.

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s guitar picks and guitar strap are on display alongside costumes and rock paraphernalia from 2018’s A Star Is Born.

Some of the other rockin’ relics that we came across include the original piano from the 1943 classic film Casablanca. The piano is the one Humphrey Bogart was referring to when he famously said, “Play it again, Sam.”

The studio’s rock and roll holy grail may be the old jukebox used in the 1957 Elvis Presley film Loving You, which featured The King using this jukebox to supply the music as he sang “Loving You” in the technicolor movie musical.

Phoebe Buffay’s (Lisa Kudrow) acoustic Gibson guitar has a place amongst pop culture and entertainment history, too, and is behind glass as part of the W/B tour. It’s virtually impossible to walk past the six-string without “Smelly Cat” popping into your cabeza.

Another, ahem, thrilling moment was seeing legendary record producer Quincy Jones represented for his work with Steven Spielberg on the two-time Oscar nominated soundtrack to the 1975 film The Color Purple.

Warner Bros. Studios’ Props Department houses enough cool music instruments to rival any branch of Guitar Center.

Random acoustic and electric guitars, violins, cellos, bajos, congas, and dozens of other instruments line the walls of the airplane hanger-sized prop room.

The instruments have been used and reused in countless W/B movies and TV shows.

Let’s see, Pink Floyd…Elvis Presley…The Who…Michael Jackson…James Dean…when a studio’s history includes this much badass talent, we can almost forgive the W/B for The Gilmore Girls.

FEELING RANDY

Randy Rhoads

The O.C. Hosts Three Nights of All-Star Tribute Concerts to Rock Gods Randy Rhoads, Bonzo, John Entwistle & Keith Moon, Jan. 22-24

BonhamTimeless hard rockin’ hits by Led Zeppelin, Ozzy Osbourne and The Who will be shaking up The O.C. from January 22 to 24, when California Music Fest hosts three nights of classic cover tunes by superstar performers from the world of metal paying tribute to late, great legends John Bonham (right), Randy Rhoads (main photo, top), John Entwistle and Keith Moon!

Randy RhoadsThe all-star Bonzo Bash concert event is taking place on Jan. 22; the heavy metal spectacle Randy Rhoads Remembered is happening Jan. 23; and on Jan. 24, The Who icons get a rockin’ and raucous tribute at Entwistle/Moon: The Ox & The Loon.

Past performances at the annual concert events included legendary guest artists like Skidrow rocker Sebastian Bach; Quiet Riot, Ozzy and Whitesnake bassist Rudy Sarzo and Metallica’s Robert Trujillo.

All three concerts are set to rock the roof off of Santa Ana’s The Observatory Orange County, located at 3503 S. Harbor Blvd. Get ticket details on the full concert series here.