Author: wamdines

Jerry Cantrell kicked off his 2025 I Want Blood tour in Niagara Falls Friday night with a 17-song set largely devoted to his solo career.

The Alice in Chains star is supporting his recent solo album of the same name, and played  five I Want Blood songs during the show, including the singles “Vilified” and “Afterglow.”

You can see the full set list and fan-shot video from the show below.

In addition to performing at least two songs from each of his previous three solo albums – 1998’s Boggy Depot, 2002’s Degradation Trip and 2021’s Brighten – Cantrell also played five Alice in Chains songs including “Them Bones,” “Would?” and a set-closing “Rooster.” He performed “Hate to Feel,” from 1992’s Dirt, for the first time in over 30 years.

Read More: How Alice in Chains Reached Stardom With ‘Dirt’

Watch Jerry Cantrell Perform ‘Psychotic Break’

The I Want Blood tour continues Saturday night at Sayreville, New Jersey’s Starland Ballroom and is currently scheduled to conclude on March 9 in Seattle. You can see the complete itinerary below.

Watch Jerry Cantrell Perform ‘Down in a Hole’

Jerry Cantrell Jan 31, 2025 Niagara Falls Set List

“Psychotic Break”
“Them Bones”
“Vilified”
“Afterglow”
“Atone”
“Off the Rails”
“Cut You In”
“My Song”
“I Want Blood”
“Had to Know”
“Down in a Hole”
“Angel Eyes”
“Hate to Feel”
“Would?”
“Brighten”
“Hold Your Tongue”
“Rooster”

Jerry Cantrell, ‘I Want Blood’ 2025 North American Tour
Feb. 1 – Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
Feb. 2 – Portland, ME @ Aura
Feb. 4 – Boston, MA @ Citizens House of Blues Boston
Feb. 5 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
Feb. 7 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore – Silver Spring
Feb. 8 – Bensalem, PA @ Parx Xcite Center
Feb. 11 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount
Feb. 12 – Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
Feb. 14 – Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
Feb. 15 – Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
Feb. 16 – Louisville, KY @ Mercury Ballroom
Feb. 18 – Columbus, OH @ The Bluestone
Feb. 19 – Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Egyptian Room at Old National Centre
Feb. 22 – St. Louis, MO @ The Hawthorn
Feb. 23 – Chicago, IL @ The Vic Theatre
Feb. 25 – Tulsa, OK @ Tulsa Theater
Feb. 26 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues Houston
Feb. 27 – San Antonio, TX @ The Aztec Theatre
March 1 – Mesa, AZ @ The Nile Theater
March 2 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues Las Vegas
March 4 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco
March 5 – Ventura, CA @ The Majestic Ventura Theater
March 7 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory – Spokane
March 8 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
March 9 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre

In the years since Richie Sambora left Bon Jovi unexpectedly in 2013, it’s been guitarist Phil X, his replacement, who has had the duty of replicating some of the band’s most famous riffs.

After more than a decade, the philosophy to his approach remains a simple one. “There isn’t anything that’s really technically difficult as far as the guitar playing, but there’s an intended emotion that could be a challenge to capture,” he shares in an upcoming episode of the UCR Podcast. “A perfect example is the beginning of ‘Bed of Roses.’ Anybody can play those notes, but to play those notes right before Jon [Bon Jovi’s] voice [comes in with] that lyric, to capture that emotion [is important].”

“I knew I had to do it [that way]. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I can just learn it and play it.’ I thought, ‘No, I can’t just learn and play this part,” he explains. “This part means so much. It’s just the piano and a soaring guitar and it’s got to be the right tone and it’s got to be the right feel, kind of laid back in the beat. That kind of thing is a challenge sometimes, for sure. Some of the parts, singing and playing at the same time, that could be a little difficult.”

The guitarist says it’s important to be in the right zone. “You have to get into the music and you have to become a part of it. I always say that if Richie is on this side of the scope and Phil X is on the other side of the scope, there’s a guy in the middle that shows up and delivers every night,” he says. “Because I can’t do exactly what Richie does — and there’s an element [also] of too much Phil X. So they’re that way and this guy, he’s the one.”

Now that he’s spent so many years in the group, he’s very comfortable with the route he chose. “I think I made the correct decision and it’s all about respect,” he notes. “You have to respect the band. I respected Richie [with my choices]. You have to respect the songs — and the fans, man, of course! You can’t do a different solo in ‘Livin on a Prayer‘ or ‘Wanted Dead or Alive.’ You can’t change that. I do what the record did. Even later on, I’d listen to live versions and studio versions, the solo in ‘Born to Be My Baby‘ is amazing. Somehow, playing it for 30 years, when Richie was still around, he was changing the solo and he can do that, because he’s the original guy. But I was like, I’m not doing that, I’m doing the record! Because the record just spoke to me.”

Watch Bon Jovi Perform ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’

“I do get to spread my wings with songs like ‘Keep the Faith‘ live. There’s newer stuff like ‘This House is Not for Sale,’ we do a coda on stage and that’s a moment for me to just do what I do and be Phil X, which is really exciting,” he adds.” I get a lot of comments about it. You know, it’s really cool. They’re like, ‘Hey, it’s really cool to hear you stretch out.’ But still, when it’s time to do the job, you do the job.”

READ MORE: All 359 Bon Jovi Songs Ranked

He’s celebrating the pending arrival of POW! Right in the Kisser, the latest album from Phil X and the Drills, which will be released on March 28. The explosive set of songs will be pleasing to fans who love hard rock, but there’s also material with more of a power pop vibe. The 11 tracks feature contributions from a variety of guest drummers, including legendary former Billy Joel drummer Liberty DeVitto, who came in to play on “Broken Arrow,” a song that the guitarist wrote while processing the news of the death of his friend, Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell. Longtime collaborator and friend Tommy Lee of Motley Crue also makes an appearance on the new album and Phil is quick to praise his cohort, calling him “underrated.”

“The songs kept coming,” he says. “There are so many songs on this record that I wrote a long time ago that never got recorded. Then, I just kept writing.” His frequent travel and touring commitments with Bon Jovi, found him tapping different drummers to play on the songs as time progressed — including his bandmate, Tico Torres, who added his signature sound to “Find a Way” during an off day in Las Vegas.

Bon Jovi Tour Plans Will Affect His Solo Show Schedule

Time will reveal what his prospective touring plans might look like. Currently, Phil X and the Drills are set to play some dates in Texas once the record is released — and he hints that any possible commitments to Bon Jovi in 2025 will dictate the way the rest of his year unfolds. “I’m waiting for the the ‘other schedule’ to be [confirmed] anytime soon. Then, I’ll totally fill the gaps.”

Listen to Phil X & the Drills’ ‘Moving to California’

Def Leppard have released a cover version of Stand By Me, the soul classic that was originally a hit for Ben E. King in 1961. Proceeds from sales of the song will be donated to FireAid, the charity dedicated to rebuilding communities devastated by the Californian wildfires.

“Los Angeles and its surrounding area has always played a central role in Def Leppard’s career,” says frontman Joe Elliott, “from it being where some of us are based and it being our US hub for rehearsals, to being the city where we played our first-ever American gig.

“We feel blessed to be able to dedicate this song and give all the royalties to the amazing heroes in LA helping those affected by the fires. No better song.”

The release of the song comes a day after the much-heralded FireAid concerts in Inglewood, California, which included a four-song set from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, pop star Pink nailing a version of a Led Zeppelin classic, and a surprise reunion of the surviving members of Nirvana.

The concert also featured performances from a reunited No Doubt, Stevie Nicks, Green Day, Olivia Rodrigo, Sting, Lady Gaga and more.

The worst of the ongoing wildfires is the Palisades fire, which broke out on January 7 west of downtown Los Angeles, and is the third most destructive in Californian history. It has burned more than 23,400 acres but is now 98% contained. Overall, the fires are known to have killed 29 people and forced more than 200,000 to evacuate.

Adrian Belew’s all-star touring celebration of his ’80s work with King Crimson was a runaway success from the moment it was announced last April. Now, guitarist Steve Vai says that Beat, the collective which also features Tool drummer Danny Carey and bassist Tony Levin, may end up working on new music together.

“We touch on it, of course,” he told the UCR Podcast during a recent interview. “Right now, the goal is to honor this King Crimson music the best we can and play anywhere that’ll take us. But that has a shelf life, obviously. Because once you’ve toured the world with it, I wouldn’t want to go back out and tour the whole world again doing the same thing. Because there’s way too many things to do.”

Vai’s schedule alone speaks to just how much there is on their collective plate. Beat will reconvene in May for a short run of dates in Argentina, Chile and Brazil. As we spoke with him, he was reviewing video of the livestream the group did in Los Angeles this past October. “I’m listening through and working on [that] right now,” he shares. “We’re working to make [it] a video [for future release].”

He’s also celebrating the arrival of G3 Reunion Live, the new concert recordings that commemorate the 2024 tour dates which brought him back together with his longtime friends Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson to replicate the original lineup of G3 that first toured in 1996. The most recent live dates segued into further road work for Satriani and Vai, who revealed a new single last year, “The Sea of Emotion, Pt. 1” and plans for their first-ever collaborative album (a milestone, considering they had worked together for 50 years without ever teaming up in the studio).

But he was openly enthusiastic, talking about the perspective he’d gained looking at the livestream footage of the Los Angeles performance. “Adrian Belew is a totally unique artist,” Vai explains. “He has really great ears and intonation, but his ability to create unique sounds from a guitar and make them musical and appropriately fit them into a piece of music is quite amazing. I’d just marvel at him every night, you know, because he’s so different than anybody or anything I’ve ever co-created or worked with. Nobody’s like anybody else, really. But there’s nobody even in Adrian Belew’s playground. There’s nobody even trying.”

READ MORE: How Adrian Belew Put Together His ’80s King Crimson Celebration

He has kudos for his other bandmates as well. “Tony, you’ve got to hear those parts. You have to listen to them in solo in order to realize that he’s playing what he’s playing. It’s just fantastic,” he says. “There’s so much personality [the way he plays the Chapman] Stick. All of the phrases, they have an attitude to them. And what a wonderful man, my goodness.  It’s the same thing with Danny. I knew Tool and I was aware. I loved the music. There’s something very rich and deep in it. But Danny is a marvel. I mean, he can play all of the complex stuff. But the most remarkable things I would see him do was when he would solo. This is a guy that he just never repeated himself.”

The Challenges of Creating New Music as Beat

Vai is looking forward to what the future might hold, even if it takes a few moments to play out. “Going out there and playing this music was an evolution for us in the first place. So if we do it again, it would be nice to do something additional. So we talk about it. The challenge in my mind is the foundation of the band is a King Crimson kind of attitude,” he explains. “There’s all these accouterments that go into a King Crimson song. Now we’re not King Crimson because, you know, I’m not Robert Fripp and my musical mind works very differently. But I’m a fan. I understand and I know certain parameters of what might work in something that could work for Beat, but also not be too far removed from King Crimson.”

“So it’s a fun challenge. You know, way back years ago when Adrian first asked me [about joining the band], it created an idea in my head. It created an overview of the kind of music I might contribute to something like Beat,” he continues. “I immediately just started playing this riff, grabbed my iPhone and recorded it. It just sat on the shelf until Adrian got here, years later. I picked up my guitar and started playing it and he goes, “Alright, that’s it. Let’s keep that on the shelf.” So things like that work best when they happen organically. We’re hoping that will organically develop — and that’s just one riff that I’m talking about. You know, once you open the can of worms, everything’s going to start flowing. But right now, it’s just flowing in a different direction.”

Listen to Steve Vai on the ‘UCR Podcast’

King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp and his Police compatriot Andy Summers are to have their complete recorded works released as The Complete Recordings 1981-1984 through DGM/Panegyric on March 28. You can listen to the previously unreleased track Skyline below.

The three CD and one Blu-ray set will feature both studio albums the pair recorded, 1982’s I Advance Masked and 1984’s Bewitched, along with a third album Mother Hold the Candle Steady which has been compiled from previously unreleased or unheard material, newly mixed and assembled by David Singleton which includes an alternative take of Maquillage and an early slower version of Parade.

Both studio albums and the new disc have been newly mixed in 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround and 24/96 hi-res stereo, and both original albums also feature the original stereo mixes, newly mastered in 24/96 hi-res stereo.

Also included is a ‘fly on the wall’ audio documentary – Can We Record Tony? – taken from Robert Fripp’s own archive cassettes of the two guitarists’ original improvisations and conversations, also in 24/96 hi-res.

The Complete Recordings 1981-1984 is presented in a 10-panel book-sized digi-sleeve with 16-page booklet including photos and sleevenotes from new interviews with Andy Summers and Robert Fripp by King Crimson biographer Sid Smith, as well as a ‘Tale of the Tapes’ page by David Singleton on how/where the previously unreleased material was recently discovered/sourced.

At the same time, I Advance Masked will be released on 200g audiophile vinyl, featuring Singleton’s new 2024 stereo mix and including two previously unreleased tracks Skyline and Entropy Pulse.

Skyline you can listen to below. Entropy Pulse will be available as a digital single on all DSPs from February 28.7

Pre-order The Complete Recordings 1981-1984.

Pre-order I Advance Masked.