A few weeks ago, at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert in London, the James Gang reunited for the first time since 2006. This coming November, the band will play together one final time, at the 6th annual VetsAid festival in Ohio. Earlier this week, it was revealed the event will be livestreamed globally.
Founded in 2017 by James Gang singer, guitarist and sometime Eagle Joe Walsh, VetsAid is an annual benefit concert which raises money for veterans’ charities. In addition to the reunion of Walsh’s pre-Eagles outfit, VetsAid 2022 will feature Foo Fighters Dave Grohl in a rare solo set, Nine Inch Nails, The Black Keys and The Breeders. For the third time, the show will be hosted by Cleveland native, comedian and game show host Drew Carey.
VetsAid will stream live at 6 p.m., Nov. 13, from Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Organizers partnered once again with direct access streaming service Veeps to facilitate the livestream as they have for the past two iterations of the online festival; however, this will be the first live arena concert streaming offering. The livestream will be available for restream for 48 hours following the live performance.
Veterans and their well-being have always been important to Walsh, a Gold Star son himself. His father was a flight instructor for the first US operational jet powered aircraft and died while stationed and on active duty on Okinawa when Walsh was just 20 months old. The musician now aims to use the VetsAid platform to raise funds and awareness for the still urgent and significant needs of our returning soldiers and their families. Having the James Gang reunite for this year’s iteration made a strong impact.
“The arena show sold so fast that we just had to find a way to share the James Gang reunion and this historic night of Ohio rock and roll with more fans across America and the world,” Walsh said in a statement.
Livestream passes are priced at $19.99 and can be purchased at vetsaid.veeps.com. There are also limited-edition merch bundles available on the site. All net proceeds will go directly to veterans’ services groups with ties to Ohio. Fans participating in the livestream can also donate directly to VetsAid from their screens during the broadcast and one lucky donor will be selected to receive a guitar signed by all the performing artists.
As every year, all net proceeds from the concert will go directly to the veterans’ services charities selected through a vetting process coordinated in tandem with the Combined Arms Institute. To date, VetsAid has disbursed $2,000,000 in grants.
VINYL OF THE WEEK
Keep an eye on this spot as each week we’ll be looking at new or soon-to-be-released vinyl from a variety of artists. It might be a re-pressing of a landmark recording, special edition or new collection from a legendary act. This week, it’s box set from a singer/songwriter where he did all the heavy lifting.
PAUL MCCARTNEY: “MCCARTNEY I II III” BOX SET
Arguably the most important times in Paul McCartney’s solo career are when he went it completely alone. Now, his three eponymous career-spanning solo albums – 1970’s “McCartney,” 1980’s “McCartney II” and 2020’s “McCartney III” – have been packaged together and are now available in one special box set for the first time.
Bookending 50 years of unparalleled work, each album demonstrates McCartney’s restless creativity and adventurous artistic spirit. “McCartney” was his first solo effort and featured “Every Night” and “Junk,” along with the classic “Maybe I’m Amazed.” The 1970 record went to No. 1, unique in that it saw a global music superstar pioneer a novel homespun approach to recording that would eventually become a sought-after sound and a highly influential precursor to the “lo-fi” alternative genre.
Just as “McCartney” marked the end of an era with Paul’s first release after leaving the Beatles, Macca did it again in 1980, this time signaling the end of ‘70s rock giants Wings. Taking a fresh approach to things, he wrote, performed, and produced the avant-garde masterpiece “McCartney II,” which reached the top of the charts in the UK, and No. 3 in the States, producing such hits as “Coming Up,” “Waterfalls,” and “Temporary Secretary.”
Come 2020, “McCartney III” saw Paul going back to basics again to create some of his most revealing work to date. Released during the height of the pandemic, it saw McCartney turn the unexpected time on his hands into an opportunity to get into the studio on his own, resulting in an intimate and loose record featuring “Find My Way” and the now-live-favorite “Women and Wives,” like its thematic predecessor, “McCartney III” charted at No. 1 in the UK and No. 3 in the States.
The “McCartney I II III” box set is available in three different formats. It comes in limited edition colored vinyl, a standard black vinyl and on compact disc. Both vinyl are on 180gram audiophile. Each includes three special photo prints with notes from McCartney about each album. The newly created box set cover art and typography for the slipcase are by pop artist Ed Ruscha.
Look for the “McCartney I II III” box online and from all respectable retailers who carry vinyl.
To contact music columnist Michael Christopher, send an email to rockmusicmenu@gmail.com. Also, check out his website at thechroniclesofmc.com.
Source: Berkshire mont
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