12th Annual Flight to Mars Benefit at the Showbox, Mike McCready, The Young Evils
For those of you who don’t know, Flight to Mars is a UFO tribute band put together by Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready. They play one show per year and donate all proceeds to Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America’s Camp Oasis and The Jennifer Jaff Center (formerly Advocacy for Patients).
Good Cause.
And also for those of you who don’t know, UFO was an English hard rock band best known for songs like “Rock Bottom” and “Doctor Doctor,” but rather than checking out their music online before the show, I recommend just taking it in live. Flight to Mars will not disappoint, and it’s cool to see McCready up there paying tribute to a band he loved in his youth. It isn’t something you see much from rock stars, but McCready isn’t your usual rock star. He even still plays from time to time with his old 80’s band, Shadow. They’re good. If you have the chance to see them, you should, and again, you’ll see McCready playing songs from KISS and Angel City, more bands he loved in his youth.
But back to the point, here’s a video of the highlights from 2011’s Flight to Mars Benefit:
Opening this year’s show will be the Young Evils, so don’t show up late. When I first saw them shortly after the release of their first CD, I liked the jangly openness of the unclean guitars and the melodies done in octaves rather than harmonies. They were upbeat and fun, a little bit of doo-wop in the melodies. These days, they’re a little heavier and a little darker, so as I once wrote about them, the phrase still applies, “more evil, less young.” Don’t miss ’em.
And always with these shows, there will be a variety of special guests who will kick things off with some sort of jam session. I’m not sure who this year’s special guests will be, but in the past, they have included the likes of Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Star Anna, and Kim Virant.
See you at the show. Good Cause. Great Music.
Photo and video by Jason Leung of Infinitum Productions
– EVENT INFO –
Day: Friday, May 16, 2014
VIP Preparty: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
General Admission Doors open: 8:00 PM
Showtime: 9:00 PM
Ages: 21 & Over
– GENERAL ADMISSION –
On sale: Friday, Mar 21, 2014 12:00 PM PDT
Advanced Ticket Prices*: $20.00
Day of Show*: $25.00
http://www.showboxpresents.com/events/detail/249200
– VIP PREPARTY ADMISSION –
There will a limited number of VIP Preparty packages available for auction via the Wishlist Foundation. VIP Preparty info can be found here: http://bit.ly/vipftm starting Monday, March 24, 2014.
#2014FTM
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Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/flighttomars
Facebook Event RSVP: http://www.facebook.com/events/290548931102745