Reviews For You: Charli XCX, The Rolling Stones, Rush, Taylor Swift & More

Charli XCX at Turner Field in Atlanta, Ga., June 10, 2015 – “Opening her 11-song set with “London Queen,” from her recent album Sucker, Charli XCX and her three-piece female band captivated the cluster of fans who purchased field passes to be superclose to the stage.” – Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Melissa Ruggieri

Rush at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, June 8, 2015 – “The Canadian power trio – Lee (vocals, bass, keyboards), Alex Lifeson (guitar, backing vocals) and Neil Peart (immense drum kit) – rocked out in grand style, going through parts of their catalog in a completely logical format over the course of three hours.” – The Columbus Dispatch/Gary Budzak

Vince Gill at Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheatre, Okla., 6/6/2015 – “Opening his two-hour concert with the raucous ‘One More Last Chance,’ Gill quickly proved he didn’t need fancy pyrotechnics or special effects to show why he’s already in the Country Music Hall of Fame. The only flash he needed was the flash of his fleet fingers as he pulled off one amazing guitar solo after another.” – The Oklahoman/NewsOK.com/Brandy McDonell

Elvis Costello at Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, Scotland. 6/11/2015 – “Family provided the spine of the show. Footage of his father, Ross MacManus, singing ‘If I Had A Hammer’ with the Joe Loss Band, was followed by Costello appearing where the screen had been, playing ‘Alison’ and ‘Pump It Up’ on his familiar Fender Jazzmaster.” – The Herald/Keith Bruce

Taylor Swift at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa., 6/6/2015 – “The night was filled with stunning visuals, as fans were given free plastic bracelets that magically flashed all shades of the rainbow in sync with Swift’s songs. Those 55,000 bracelets, blinking in unison, heightened the emotional intensity to ‘I Knew You Were Trouble,’ another of the remixed oldies that started slow but grew epic.” – Herald-Standard/Scott Tady

The Rolling Stones at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, 6/6/2015 – “There were some surprises on Saturday. ‘Rocks Off,’ the revved up rocker that opens their 1972 masterpiece Exile on Main St., won the nightly online song vote, and kicked what had been a hit-and-miss first half of the show up a notch, bolstered by Keith Richards’ and Ron Woods’ churning guitars, a punchy dual saxophone arrangement by Karl Denson and Tim Ries, and Mick Jagger’s energized vocals. The infrequently performed Sticky Fingers ballad ‘Moonlight Mile’ started sluggishly, but gained strength as it moved along.” – El Paso Times/Doug Pullen

Blur at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales, 6/11/2015 – “Regularly dousing the crowd with water, Albarn appeared to be having a great time, leaping about the stage with the same enthusiasm as 20 years ago and climbing onto the security barrier several times to get closer to the audience.” WalesOnLine/Eryl Crump

John Mellencamp at Riverside Theater in Milwaukee, Wis., 6/5/2015 – “He stayed James Dean-cool Friday with his squinty eyes and mellow swagger, chewing his gum and slyly brushing his hand through his floppy mane of hair. Fans, though, acted like giddy teenagers, trying to ‘hold on to 16’ as long as they could, as Mellencamp famously suggested on ‘Jack & Diane.’” – Journal Sentinel/Piet Levy

The Moody Blues at Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth, England, 6/11/2015 – “The concert-ender was ‘Ride my See-Saw’ from In Search of The Lost Chord album when sixties psychedelic pop was respectable. By this time audience participation had reached frenzy level, was I at one big party?!” – The Echo/Diane Durham