The Rolling Stones invasion of New York has begun! With their show at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center last Saturday, the British rockers fired the first salvo across the bow of the Big Apple, and it was rocked! It continues this week with their just announced appearance at the 12-12-12 Concert, and two shows at The Prudential Center in Newark on Thursday and Saturday. One can only hope that there will be more to their 50^th anniversary tour than 3 shows in New York and 2 in London!

In other Stones’ news, their new documentary, “Crossfire Hurricane”, which has been shown on HBO and in limited theatrical release, is set to be released on DVD in January. The film covers the entire 50 years, and has footage of all former and current members, much of it previously unseen! All reports say it is amazing! Quite a few of my friends watched it 3 times in one day!

And, the other Bad Boys of Rock, Led Zeppelin, have apparently moved into proper society, with their recent Kennedy Center Honors! Go take a look at the picture of Jimmy, Robert, and John Paul, sitting next to The President and First Lady in their tuxes and ribbons and read the story. It’s really cool! Also honored were Buddy Guy, Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, and ballerina Natalia Makarova.

Finally, Fleetwood Mac have announced plans for a Spring tour. Shows scheduled for this area are Madison Square Garden on April 8, Mohegan Sun on April 20, and Prudential Center on April 24.

Now to the live music picks!

Wednesday, December 12 – Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the biggest concert of the century (so far) is taking place at Madison Square Garden tonight! The 12-12-12 CONCERT FOR HURRICANE SANDY RELIEF with SPRINGSTEEN, MCCARTNEY, THE WHO, DAVE GROHL, EDDIE VEDDER, ROGER WATERS, BILLIE JOEL, JON BON JOVI, ALICIA KEYS, KANYE WEST, and the just added ROLLING STONES, is one of the most impressive rosters of any one day show ever! The Stones rarely do these kinds of benefits as a group! In the past, even if Mick and Keith were both doing it, they’d be more likely to do it separately, as they did at Live Aid. This dwarfs everything, and thus, it is my first Pick of the Week!
If you haven’t taken out a second mortgage on your house to pay for tickets to 12-12-12, and you still wanna do something tonight, try the really cool Rap/Reggae/ RnB concert at The Barclay Center that I told you about last week, with UB40, MAXI PRIEST, and SHAGGY!
Thursday, December 13 – There’s a few things going on tonight BESIDES my second Pick of the Week, THE ROLLING STONES at The Prudential Center in Newark! Some of these things are also Picks of the Week, like THE RASCALS reunion at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, which starts tonight and continues Friday and Saturday! Some of them were Picks of the Week last week, but with so much going on this week, only got an honorable mention this week, like LUCKY PETERSON’S TWO DAY TEXAS BARBECUE BIRTHDAY BASH at The Falcon in Marlboro, but this should be an awesome show! And if you come hungry, an even better show! Lucky Peterson is an extremely important major artist who should be much better known, and THE JONNY MONSTER BAND is the opening act tonight, so you know the house will be rockin’! Peterson has won a French Grammy and been nominated for a WC Handy award! His mindblowing resume can, and should, be read. Wrapping up the night in a more low key manner, BILL KIRCHEN, Master of the Telecaster, and former guitar player and writer of many of the best songs for one of the most underrated bands ever, Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen, will be at The Rodeo Bar in Manhattan, where admission is almost always free!
Friday, December 14 – The music continues with the second night of THE RASCALS and the second night of LUCKY PETERSON, tonight with MOJO MYLES MANCUSO opening, but also tonight, BOBBY KEYS AND THE LONG SUFFERING BASTARDS are at The Brooklyn Bowl, RONNIE SPECTOR’S BEST CHRISTMAS PARTY EVER is at BB King’s, the hilarious and rockin’ JACK GRACE BAND is at Club Helsinki in Hudson, and WINTER SOLSTICE 2012 WITH HAPPY TRAUM AND FRIENDS will be at The Bearsville Theater in Woodstock. This year, Happy’s friends are JOHN SEBASTIAN, LARRY CAMPBELL, TERESA WILLIAMS, AMY HELM, and BYRON ISAACS! Basically, most of The Levon Helm Band, with Sebastian and Happy! Should be a barn burner! This is a benefit for The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild. BTW, Bobby Keys is the sax player for The Rolling Stones! He’s been on every album and tour since 1972, and he’s on the current tour! He’s played every legendary sax solo on every Stone’s track since that time, with the exception of “Waiting on a Friend”! He also played the sax solo on Dion’s “The Wanderer” and toured with Buddy Holly, amongst a long list of accomplishments! Oh yeah, and The Stones ARE in town. I wonder…
Saturday, December 15 – Well, THE STONES will be wrapping it up, for now, at The Pru Center in Newark. Of course, a Pick of the Week! RASCALS also wrap up their run at The Capitol Theatre, also a Pick of the Week. And up in Woodstock, the PRE CHRISTMAS PARTY DOWN NIGHT with BLUE CHICKEN IS AT The Bearsville Theater. Blue Chicken is led by JIM WEIDER, another Master of the Telecaster, and the band is again made up of Levon Helm Band members, of which Weider is also a member! SID MAGINNIS, guitar player from The Late Show Band, is billed as a second guitarist, and I heard a rumor that JIMMY VIVINO will also be in attendance! I don’t know if that means there will be 3 guitarists, or that Maginnis canceled, but either way, this’ll be a good un! So good we might even make it a Pick of the Week! I said might!
Sunday, December 16 – I don’t often recommend Rap or Hip Hop shows, but this guy, RICK ROSS, has a lifestyle that is so over the top, that he bears checking out! Rolling Stone did a crazy article on him a few months ago, that you can probably still read on Rolling Stone dot com. At Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan.
Tuesday, December 18 – The Master of whatever it is he does, LEONARD COHEN, will probably sell out Madison Square Garden tonight! This guy has a lot of very intense fans! Almost a huge cult following, and not undeserved! Some of his stuff is just unreal, and it’s all good, if you’re in the mood for it.
Thursday, December 20 – It’s the end of the world as we know it, it’s the end of the world as we know it, it’s THE END OF THE WORLD PARTY at The Bearsville Theater with the Hudson Valley’s leading Reggae band, THE BIG TAKEOVER. You gotta go to this! Who wants to be alone at the end of the world?

Have a great week, and if the world really does end on December 21, next week’s column will still be online at www.reservoirmusiccenter.com, www.brooklyncowboys.com, and www.hvmusic.com, if, I said if, there’s still an internet! LOL.

And if the world doesn’t end, don’t forget to listen to me on the radio, every other Monday night at approximately 8:30PM, on 91.1, WIOX FM, and www.wioxradio.org. Next show will be December 24. I think. It’s Christmas Eve and I don’t know if the show will be on, but it might be, and if not, the next one after that will be January 7, 2013.

Adios amigos!

Fred Perry is the owner of Reservoir Music Center on Route 28 in Kingston, and founding member of Alt-Country supergroup, The Brooklyn Cowboys, is from a 3rd generation musical family and lives in the Hudson Valley, where he does what he can to promote live music.