Florida born and Los Angeles based Tom Petty played the first of five shows last night at New York’s famed Beacon Theater. RollingStone.com reports they opened up with a cover of the Byrd’s 1967 single “So you want to be a rock ‘n’ roll star” and played a combination of classics, covers and new with the kind of performance that proves rock keeps us young.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers are essential sounds of summer and we’ve got their best videos, concert art and music playing every day at Rock&Brews.

Originally released in 1976, the ground breaking Wings Over America live album documented the band’s North American tour; the re-mastered version is slated for May 28th and includes remastered material, a concert DVD of live performances from “Rockshow” in 1975 and 76.

With each new location we expand on the Rock & Brews vision and PCH is no exception. Local partner John Mesko along with Founding Partners Dave Furano and Michael Zislis have raised the bar to new heights for the 5,400 square foot monument to Beer, Rock and Great Food set against the iconic Pacific Coast Highway.

Highlights include outdoor fire pits with seating for up to 18, an ipad enhanced tap system that allows patrons to pour their own beers. And a line up of beers that makes imitators look like a cover band!

Beginning at 12:00 Noon this Wednesday, May 8th the focus will be on honoring the community and returning military veterans with a private luncheon for the Wounded Warriors organization and an evening gala with a special appearance by Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley. Proceeds from the gala will benefit the local Torrance Education (tickets are available at torranceeducationfoundation.org/rock)

The wait for the public ends Thursday with a grand opening for the masses, don’t miss it!

Rock & Brews partners John Mesko & Dave Furano get ready for the Grand Opening

So was anyone else pleasantly surprised by the increased amount of Rock bands in the Grammys this year compared to the last several?  We’re not saying Mumford & Sons is the same as Van Halen, but they sure aren’t Justin Bieber either.

The Black Keys were all over the place last night which was nice to see.  There was a great rendition of “The Weight” in tribute to all of those who passed this last year, including the Band’s own Levon Helm.  It also included an over the top great performance by Mavis Staples who sang with the Band at their farewell concert the Last Waltz at Winterland arena in Sand Francisco.

Over all, it was a great night and some very deserving people won some awards despite #LLCoolJ #overusing #the #SocialMedia #hashtag #bit. Oh yeah, and Katy Perry wore a dress… Kinda.

Coming up in just a few days, our very own little city of Angels will be hosting the 55th annual Grammys.  If you can remember way the hell back to 2012, you might remember a bunch of good songs and albums (do albums still exist?) were released.

‘Somebody That i Used to Know’ took widespread popularity as one of the simplest songs that has come out in a while, followed up by an overdone remix.  Not mention a weird music video.  Now that i mention it, i think all the videos that came out…ever are really weird. Anyways, it was nice to get a song recently that didn’t overdo its shock value to get on the charts.

Speaking of simple music videos and under-produced songs, LMFAO’s Sexy and I Know It…. Not one of those.  Nothing gets sales like fat men dancing in glittery speedos.  Was that Ron Jeremy dancing on a bartop back there?  Why does he look so familiar??  We promise we won’t ever have Ron Jeremy dance in a speedo on our bartops…. today.

Then of course, who could forget the biggest thing to sweep the internet since cat videos.  ‘Gangnam Style’, an unsuspecting weird song from South Korea became the number 1 most viewed video online EVER.  Its probably a good thing considering what was in the #1 spot before.  A club hit about horses and the snobby people who ride them coupled with a horse dance (yeah, hes riding a horse) has become our second favorite song about horses (Thank you Patti Smith)  I wonder if anyone will remember Psy this year?

Oh and then there’s Dave Grohl… being Dave Grohl. Freaked out by Elvis Costello at last years Grammys.  Remember to watch on Feb. 10th and get all nostalgic over the songs you haven’t heard in well over… well, all these are still on the radio.