News - Silicon Valley Talk

Mariah Carey #1 To Infinity Tour

Hello Everyone, On a recent business trip to Las Vegas, I decided this time to stay at Caesars Palace … I wanted to catch a show, however not much was going on this Tuesday night. While checking out Vegas.com ticket site I saw; “Performing all 18 of her timeless No. 1 hits together for the first time, Mariah Carey brings her Vegas-tailored residency to The Colosseum for an extravagant limited-time engagement.” Even though I’m not a big fan of Carey’s, I ..

Steve Martin & Martin Short An Evening You Will Forget The Rest Of Your Life With The Steep Canyon Rangers

A few years ago, my wife and I took a half day off to make the drive to Thunder Valley Resort Casino to see Grand Funk Railroad and Foreigner in concert. We had dinner reservations at their “High Steaks” restaurant. However, traffic was so bad; it took us over 5 hours to make the drive. Of course we had to cancel our dinner reservation and showed up 10 minutes prior to the concert. I said I’d never do that on a Friday again. As they say, never say neve..

Hollywood Vampires Raise The Dead Tour

Nearly forty years later, Alice Cooper revived the name Hollywood Vampires when he hooked up with Joe Perry and Johnny Depp. This warm July summer evening was the perfect setting at the Mountain Winery. Security was extremely tight … more so than any other time I’ve seen it. I imagine with Johnny Depp in the house it had to be.To all of those who appreciate classic rock, the Mountain Winery in Saratoga was certainly the place to be. This concert was high-..

Carrie Underwood The Storyteller Tour Stories In The Round

On Saturday September 10, Carrie Underwood brought her Storyteller Tour to the SAP Center in San Jose. We made the decision to go the day before. At the end of the concert, my wife and I both agreed that Carrie Underwood is one heck of a singer and one heck of a superstar. Underwood opened her show with her hit, “Renegade Runaway”, then moving into “Last Name” and Something’ Bad” followed by “Undo It.” “Good Girl” then her latest hit “Church Bells.” ..

Maroon 5 On the Road

The wait was finally over. I’ve been looking forward to seeing Maroon 5 perform for some time now. The setting was a jam-packed Oracle Arena in Oakland.It’s hard to believe that these guys started out as an alternative-rock band with the name of “Kara’s Flowers in the mid-nineties, when front man Adam Levine and the guys were in high-school. Soon after the turn of the century, Maroon 5 was formed, releasing their album “Songs About Jane.” When these guy..

Part II: The Robots Are Coming!

Hello Everyone,This article is Part II of my series covering Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the robotic future that’s headed our way. As I mentioned in my prior article, by no means do I assert to be an expert in the field. I’m just someone who took interest in the subject many years ago. I’ve read most articles written by high-profile originators, such as the Brookings Institute, McKinsey Global Institute, World Economic Forum, along with many other t..

Culture Club: Great 80’s Pop!

Hello Everyone,If you missed Boy George and his Culture Club band at the Mountain Winery this year, then I can honestly, say you missed one heck of a show. Drummer Jon Moss took to the stage to get the evening started at the Mountain Winery. Sitting behind a plexiglass wall on drums he got the crowd on their feet with the Club’s trademark beat of “Church of the Poison Mind” … I don’t think anyone in the venue sat down the entire evening. As the beat got ..

The Cure

The Cure Shoreline Amphitheatre May 26, 2016 It was a long time coming ... in May of this year one of my all-time favorite bands rolled into town ... The Cure. A pretty cool Punk Rock Group called Twilight Sad from Scotland opened for them. They put on a good set. Front man James Graham put on a heck of a performance. That night however was all about The Cure as they came on stage around 8:30 and didn’t finish until almost 11:30. Lead vocalist Robert S..

Meghan Will Make You Smile!

I had the opportunity to catch the high-energy of Meghan Trainor as she brought her 2016 Untouchable Tour to the San Jose State University Events Center. Trainor’s show was full of energy. She has a very sassy charm about her along with an outstanding voice. Her girl power and love of life is felt from the very start of her performance as she connects with her fan base. There were two opening acts … the first one we completely missed. We did catch Hail..

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Getaway Tour

My long wait was over, one of my favorite bands of all time rocked their way into the Oracle Arena recently. The Red Hot Chili Peppers with their lead man and bassist Flea (Michael Balzary), vocalist Anthony Kiedis, drummer Chad Smith and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. The Arena was nearly filled to capacity on a Sunday night … Flea opened the show with a few words to the audience “Thank you for having us the last 35 (expletive) years,” Flea said. “We didn’t..

Spend The Night With Billy Crystal Tour

Actor and comedian Billy Crystal brought his show “Spend the Night With Billy Crystal,” to San Jose’s Center For Preforming Arts Theater recently. It was a nice blend of standup and storytelling along with film clips you may not have seen before. Crystal was joined by comedian/actress Bonnie Hunt who facilitated the interview portion of the show. You can tell a lot of what they did was simply improvised on the spot which gave him freedom to tell a lot of ..

Brad Garrett: Offending America One City at a Time

My wife and I recently went to Thunder Valley Resort Casino to see one of favorite comedians. Best known for his role on the Emmy award-winning sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, Brad Garrett performed at Thunder Valley’s Pano Concert Hall. With a 2,000-seat concert capacity, Pano Hall is the perfect venue for mainline entertainment with a more intimate setting. Located inside the casino, seating is comfortable, aisles are spacious, and with a raised platfor..

Barenaked Ladies 2016 Last Summer on Earth Tour

Since their early days in the 1990s, BNL has been pretty much known for their hilarious humor and fun songs. Even though their founding member Steven Page is no longer with them, you would never know the difference. Co-Founder and singer Ed Robertson is one heck of a front man. BNL really knows how to have fun on stage as the Mountain Winery audience was amazed. Even before BNL took the stage at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga this warm summer evening, t..

Morton’s The Steakhouse

Good Food … Not So Good Service! Before I get into my recent dining experience at Morton’s Steakhouse … I want to let you know of a couple of articles I’ll be writing in the near future about two incredible trips. First, my recent trip to Cuba along with my upcoming trip to Russia. You will be able to find them both in the “Trips Tips” section of Silicon Valley Local Magazine at http://svlocalmag.com/ so keep checking back! Despite having dined at Morto..

Funny & Funnier

Recently my wife and I had the opportunity to see Jason Alexander, better known as George Costanza of the hit TV series Seinfeld … followed by Arsenio Hall the next night. Alexander portrayed the much-loved character George Costanza from the hit show Seinfeld, universally and ironically referred to as "the show about nothing," a series that continues to entertain audiences every day. Alexander has starred on Broadway, in hit films like Pretty Woman and S..

Is Your Job Next?

Let’s go back in time a bit when I first started writing this article. About a year ago, I was in line at Starbucks and struck up a great conversation with a first-year college student. He was attending San Jose City College taking general courses. He shared with me some of the pain his family went through during the Great Recession. He told me he didn’t want to be in the same position as his parents when future recessions come around, struggling at an ..