Wow! Thought I’d never be typing these words so emphatically, but The Black Keys BLEW ME AWAY last night! Took the BF and a friend of his who is a huge fan, and I couldn’t believe how far this band has come. From production to live sound, amazing! And they played some songs (with added musicians on stage: bassist, guitarist/keyboardist, and at times another guitarist) that were more up my alley: harder, faster and LOUDER! One of the tunes, frontman Dan Auerbach told the crowd, they hadn’t played in 10 years (I need to get their set list so I know the titles.) But gee, I may have jumped on the band wagon! But ya know, comparing audiences to the typical hard rock show I go to, the Black Keys crowd looked they just came from work. The hard rock crowd look, well, a little HARDER! LOL…..The UN is in session here in NYC (this means GRIDLOCK) and over the weekend, there was a march for climate change. And now comes news Linkin Park singers Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda attended the Climate 2014 Summit on Monday and Tuesday (Sep 22nd and 23rd) to renew their continued support for sustainable energy. The two vocalists spoke with a number of world leaders at the meeting, which took place at the United Nations headquarters here in New York City. Although some still debate whether global warming and climate change are caused by human activity, Bennington told us a while back why he still supports things like renewable energy: “Let’s say the worst case scenario is that there’s no connection, and it’s just the way that the world is moving and we’re not contributing to it. Great. But at the same time, you know, what’s the worst thing that could happen? You know, we have cleaner air, we have less greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere, people are using less energy…there’s really not a downside. But, you know, if there is a connection and we keep going down the path that we’re going, that’s not an option that I’m willing to gamble on.” Linkin Park have been avid supporters of the Sustainable Energy for All initiative, launching their association with the “Power The World” campaign back in 2011. The band has supported the cause through their Music For Relief charitable organization. Both Bennington and Shinoda spoke about climate change at this week’s event during a global webcast called the “Social Good Summit,” while also posing for photos with former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.’s Kandeh Yumkella. I need them to come to speak with my upstate neighbors who cut down a huge tree and think it is perfectly fine to burn the entire thing, bit by bit, every weekend, all weekend long. It’s a huge amount of smoke and ash and it’s just not good for the air, needless to say, for me in my house. Ya know when you have all your windows open on a nice breezy day and all of a sudden, you think your house is on fire? Ugh! Hey, it’s one thing to have a campfire, it’s another to burn like you are a caveman!….Eddie Vedder and Jack White are among the artists who will salute Bob Dylan on Feb 06 in Los Angeles, at a benefit dinner honoring Dylan as 2015’s MusiCares Person of the Year. Also scheduled to perform are the Black Keys, Beck, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Tom Jones, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt,Norah Jones, Los Lobos and more still to be announced. Proceeds from the 25th annual gala dinner and concert will provide essential support for MusiCares, which ensures music people have a place to turn in times of financial, medical and personal need…More good-doings here: Pearl Jam and the Black Keys are among the musical acts who have participated in a new campaign to inspire millennials, first-time voters and young people of color to get registered and vote in this year’s midterm elections. As part of National Voter Registration Day, which took place yesterday (Sep 23rd), dozens of music artists were recruited by the Rock the Vote and HeadCount organizations to encourage new voters to sign up. Also involved in the campaign were Phish, OK Go, Jeff Tweedy, Dave Matthews, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Gregg Allman, Snoop Dogg, Skrillex and others. Each artist appears in a photo holding a sign that reads “Register to Vote Here.” Each photo is accompanied by a link to a voter registration form. Rock The Vote also promoted live events at college campuses around the country as part of its registration drive. The campaign was strong enough to make #CelebrateNVRD a trending topic on Twitter….Metallica today announced they would release a ten-year anniversary 2-disc Blu-Ray of their long out of print, groundbreaking movie, METALLICA: Some Kind of Monster on Nov 24. Originally released on July 9, 2004, METALLICA: Some Kind of Monster follows the band through three of the most turbulent years in their over three-decade long career, and gives viewers an incredibly raw and intimate look into the lives and psyches of the members of one of the most successful rock bands in music history as they battle their way through addiction, domestic life, backlash from their fans, and near-total disintegration during the making of their St. Anger album. The documentary, directed by the award-winning team of Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky (Brother’s Keeper, Paradise Lost 1-3), won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature. Nice!…Blabbermouth reports the legendary AC/DC will release their first new album in six years, an 11-track collection named Rock Or Bust, in Australia on Nov 28 and in North America on Dec 02. Starting Sep 27, Turner Sports will provide fans a sneak peek of the new song “Play Ball” as part of the 2014 Major League Baseball Postseason campaign. The content will run for several weeks across TBS, the exclusive home to this year’s American League Postseason coverage, as well as leading media brands within the Turner portfolio. AC/DC has also revealed that founding guitarist Malcolm Young will not be returning to the group due to ill health. “Unfortunately due to the nature of Malcolm’s illness, he will not be rejoining the band,” reads a statement issued by the AC/DC‘s label Alberts Music via Sony in Australia. AC/DC has confirmed it will embark on a world tour in to promote Rock Or Bust and celebrate the band’s 40th anniversary, with Angus and Malcolm Young‘s nephew Stevie stepping in for Malcolm on rhythm guitar. Stevie played on the new CD, which was recorded at the Warehouse Studio in Vancouver with producer Brendan O’Brien and mixer Mike Fraser. While promoting his debut solo album last month, AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd dismissed reports AC/DC had considered calling it quits after Malcolm’s illness was made public. “Angus Young will never retire. We were never going to retire. It’ll never happen. Angus will never retire and as long as Angus never retires, I won’t fucking retire either.“…Deftones & Crosses frontman Chino Moreno‘s side project Team Sleep will be recording the follow-up to its 2005 self-titled debut this fall and wants the band’s fans to be part of the process. The group has invited fans to Applehead Recording in Woodstock, NY on Oct 17th and 18th for a listening party of the new material, a Q&A session and meal with the band, a live performance and much more. Tickets are now available for purchase here. How cool is that?…See Road Rage for new dates for Alter Bridge and for Weezer….Finally today, I dunno if you are a True Detective fan, but how are you feeling about the announcement Vince Vaughn and Colin Farrell as the two new detectives this year? And that the series first two episodes will be directed by the dude that did The Fast & Furious? Jury’s out for me….Happy 45 to Shawn M. Crahan of Slipknot. Or HAPPY BIRTHDAY, you CLOWN! LOL