Colin Jones
A friend once told me: Try to meet someone new and do something different every day.
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Marc Cohn at the Cal Poly PAC
By COLIN JONES For singer/songwriters, live performances must be a dicey proposition. After all it’s just you and the audience with no booming drum solos, light shows or other fancy pyrotechnics to distract the masses. And concertgoers are usually there to engage and listen unlike many shows where P-A-R-T-Y is the operative word. Now, that […]... (Continue Reading)
Billy Idol is money at the Chumash
By COLIN JONES If there was anyone born to be a rock star, it’s gotta be Billy Idol. I mean this guy’s DNA from persona to attitude to music spells it out completely. But the lifestyle can be a bit rocky and Idol has had his share of ups and downs, including a horrific motorcycle […]... (Continue Reading)
Incubus glows in the dark at Avila Beach
By COLIN JONES It’s rare when everything comes together perfectly, but the world is certainly a beautiful place when it does. In the live music realm, such perfection is largely unattainable however alt-rock veterans Incubus came pretty close at their recent show in Avila Beach. What’s the recipe? A balmy, almost surreal night in one […]... (Continue Reading)
Tears for Fears deliver the goods at the Chumash
By COLIN JONES When you think of specific decades for anything whether it’s music, sports or movies, certain names immediately come to mind. For the big hair, synth-pop, techno-beat post-punk, post-new wave 1980s, it would be difficult to find a more quintessential decade-defining band than Tears for Fears. And last week at the Chumash Casino, […]... (Continue Reading)
STP hits hard at Avila Beach
By COLIN JONES I recently wondered whether there was a better Central Coast concert experience than the Mid-State Fair in July. Well, Avila Beach in August is not too shabby either. On a cool, dry, windless summer Sunday evening that overheated Texans would probably turn socialist for, veteran grunge rockers Stone Temple Pilots put in […]... (Continue Reading)
Incubus coming to Avila Beach in October
By COLIN JONES Alt-rock icons Incubus are coming to the the Avila Beach Golf Resort for a weeknight concert on Thursday, October 13, CalCoastNews.com has learned. Times, tickets and guests have yet to be announced. The Calabasas-based quintet play regularly in Santa Barbara but this is their first show in San Luis Obispo County since […]... (Continue Reading)
Kid Rock shows musical chops at fair gig
By COLIN JONES If someone said I could be any rock star I wanted, I would probably take Sammy Hagar. After attending Wednesday’s Kid Rock concert at the California Mid-State Fair, I may have to reconsider. The Kidster, born Robert James Ritchie, put on a powerhouse 110-minute performance in front of over 10,000 hard-partying fans […]... (Continue Reading)
Steve Miller gets fair off to rocking good start
By COLIN JONES For Central Coast music fans, does it get any better than late July at the California Mid-State Fair? Where else except maybe the Chumash Casino do we regularly get headliner entertainment year after year…with plenty of corn dogs and funnel cakes to boot. Opening night in balmy Paso Robles brought out classic […]... (Continue Reading)
Monkees get high and dry on sixties nostalgia
By COLIN JONES We all live in the past to an extent but some groups like the 1960s TV band sensation the Monkees take it to the extreme. Their recent gig at the Chumash Casino proved that baby boomer nostalgia is alive and well, but we kind of knew that already. The Monkees were in […]... (Continue Reading)
Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt charm Chumash crowd
By COLIN JONES Why do some people seem to get all the talent and ability? Most of us are lucky if we can do one or two things really well. Well, both Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt demonstrated that such good fortune comes in bunches. Well known as quintessential American songwriters, Lovett and Hiatt can […]... (Continue Reading)
