While concerts are being called off left and right in Florida due to Hurricane Irma, there are plenty of shows around the rest of the country. For your reading pleasure we have compiled reviews of performances from Depeche Mode in Montreal, Quebec; Foreigner in Morrison, Colo.; Matchbox Twenty / Counting Crows in Charlotte, N.C.; Taj Mahal / Keb Mo in Minneapolis.
Alexander Prautzch / dpa via AP – Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan has fun with the fans at Festweise in Leipzig, Germany, May 27.
Depeche Mode @ Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Sept. 5 – “Anyone who tends to dismiss Depeche Mode as a retro attraction would have likely been silenced before the halfway mark of the English synth-rock titans’ Bell Centre concert Tuesday… It was potent, it was pulse-quickening, and it didn’t betray its age. Depeche Mode in a nutshell.” – Jordan Zivitz / Montreal Gazette
Foreigner @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colo., Sept. 4 – “Having come out with two albums in the last 18 months, [Cheap Trick’s] newer material was certainly showcased and did not disappoint. … Unlike their predecessor, Foreigner came in hot with the classics. Or, perhaps, that is just all Foreigner has to offer.” – Denby Gardiner / 303 Magazine
AP Photo / Silvia Izquierdo – Rob Thomas of matchbox twenty
Rock In Rio, Rock City, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
matchbox twenty / Counting Crows @ PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, N.C., Aug. 20 – “When you are the lead vocalist, primary songwriter and frontman for an alternative-rock band, you have to bring it every night. Fortunately for fans of Matchbox Twenty and Counting Crows, that’s mostly what happened on a sweaty summer evening in Charlotte Sunday at the PNC Music Pavilion.” – Scott Fowler / Charlotte Observer
Taj Mahal / Keb’ Mo’ @ State Theatre in Minneapolis, Minn., Sept. 6 – “While the musicianship of both frontmen and their backup players was commendable, the music seemed too tame, too polite, maybe too democratic. Solos were concise. Rarely did an instrumentalist cut loose. Seldom did the band jam.” – Jon Bream / Star Tribune