Last night was over the top cool. I'm in Laughlin Nevada for the Laughlin River Run. I've been here since Wednesday working with a Joe Klein, a partner working to rebrand his new media business. I'm also here with Michael Butler of the Rock and Roll Geek Show.

Last night we interviewed the Blackhearts of Joan Jett and the Black Hearts. We talked with Dougie Nails the lead guitarist and Thommy Price on drums, who has played with Joan since the mid 80's after playing with Billy Idol on the Rebel Yell album/tour.

Michael Butler ran a great interview with the band, and I worked as the cameraman.



Then we had a chance to casually meet and talk to Joan Jett and her keyboardist Kenny Laguna, who like Joan Jett was famously part of some great music out of the New York music scene over the last 30 years as a producer, songwriter and musician. Together they founded Blackheart records.

Joan and Kenny were extremely engaging, and it was almost the highlight of the night to get a chance to shake hands and talk with them before they went on stage later that night.

The concert was definitely the highlight. They played a great mix of new stuff and older music. The new music fit into the set very well and it was also very good.

This was my first Joan Jett concert and following the Black Crowes the night before there was a distinct contrast and some similarities. The major difference is that Joan performed very much to please the crowd. The sets weaved in and out of new and old music and got the crowd engaged and going from early on in the set. Unlike the Black Crowes (not knocking them just a different style), Joan talked to the audience throughout the set, commenting on the 'Rock n Roll Moths' that lightly swarmed the stage and the spotlights a bit to a helicopter that kept shining the spotlight outside the concert area in the hills just north of the parking lot. Probably some fight or police bust of people getting carried away.

The similarity between the two bands came in their playing ability. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts were rock solid performers playing basic rock and roll with no apologies and playing it extremely well. They weren't the groovsters that the Black Crowes were in playing resonating 20 and thirty minute songs, but what they didn't have in general hippy trippyness, they more than made up for with a rocking attitude and hint of in your face punk bravado, especially as they went through "Fetish", "Androngynous" and "Do you want to Touch Me".

As soon as the video and interview are up on Rock and Roll Geek, I'll drop everyone a link so that you can see my camera work and the interview with the band.

Michael just arrived this morning and is likely to get to work editing the video from the interview and I'm off to get to work on some projects before we go back into town tonight to cover Foreigner and some other insaneness in Laughlin.



On a side note, I lost my Black Crowes t-shirt somewhere. :) Bummer $30 down the drain, but makes the rolling papers that I bought from them at the same time for $8 even funnier. Those are now $38 rolling papers.

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