Whatever the mood, there is music to suit. I like all kinds of music from classical, musical soundtracks (which used to drive the others in this house C-R-A-Z-Y!), Country Rock, ROCK & ROLL, Heavy Metal, FOLK (well, singer-songwriters, mostly), Soul, RHYTHYM&BLUES, Jazz & New Age and more... I'm not too crazy about Rap, sorry, I can appreciate the artistic creativity in the lyrics(?) but the repetition needles my nerves. Over the years I've seen some live performances & here I'll record 'em. No pun intended, We're in the I-Pod era, right?
The "atmosphere", stage show, & music,of course, make a concert! --The "live" performance. Often, one could enjoy a show of an artist they are not really crazy about because of the show & atmosphere. The energy in the air,the excitement, etc. make the event. A lot of times a show might be lousy because of lack of audience participation which is sad for the performer, So go with it and enjoy!!...
Recollecting my younger,carefree B.C. (BC=Before Children) days will be fun, I always enjoy a stroll back in time....Maybe you will too. Hey, I don't feel so old when these rockers are still rockin' Also, I've attended these rocker's concerts with my kids in the 90's--not too big of a generation gap here!
August 1999 Roger Waters of Pink Floyd at Montage Mountain, Scranton, Pa....anyone who followed the Roger Waters, "In the Flesh" tour knows this started out possibly the worse date and ending possibly the best! Friday the 13th as a matter of fact! I didn't have any expectations, just hopes of a few classic Floyd tunes and expected new material, the usual when there's a tour---Well, we heard the first four songs from "The Wall" and then the lightening & thunder began (Mother Nature's light show)--he got to "Another Brick in the Wall Part 1", what a bummer!, Roger announced they'd stay as long as we'd stay--well the lightening didn't let up---it downpoured--we were soaked & freezing---rowdies started trashing the beer stand so we opted to leave the mountain--In the parking lot, rumors were; if he didn't come out by 10:00PM he wasn't going to at all--so finally after much debate we left about 10:15-10:30. Well, sadly for us, Roger came out after 11:00 and played until well after 1:00AM---a tremendous show we were told....boo hoo.....No amount of money will replace my sadness in missing that performance---My son, Carl went to a sold out Hershey Show four days later and said it was great.(not fair! music from our generation first--not his!) Not only were the songs from "The Wall" performed but "Animals" and "Wish You Were Here"..He said "Dogs", which I love! was the most memorable---even without David Gilmore~~there is always one song stays with you for days~~~~!~All revues are praising that date at Montage as the most exciting performance of the tour..*sigh*.
Jethro Tull at Montage September 1999,...(the following taken from an e-mail reply to "how was the concert?....")" show was ok----my only problem is the certain songs/albums I really loved---he did little of---promoted a lot of new stuff that was pretty good but I longed to hear stuff from "AquaLung" (did Locomotive Breathe & Aqualung), "Passion Play", "Thick as a Brick", Skating away on the thin ice of a new day....from "War Child"--love that song!..but alas didn't hear any...also the band sounded good, and I am amazed at how Ian Anderson can still toot that flute and on one foot(!) at his age----healthy lungs!!----but his voice has changed abit, and many songs~~ his voice is the signature ~~so.... ...there is my review....In conclusion, I did enjoy it--we went on the bike too--always a plus----and I always enjoy a concert--live music!! Because my expectations were to hear certain songs that I didn't I was abit disappointed~~~but still a good show. no rain either...sorry that I didnt realize until I got home the souvenir t-shirt I got has some sort of "devil" satan type thing on it ---not appropriate for me to wear----Geez* I'll have to doctor it up.....I liked it because the concert dates were on--what I usually look for-- and then there's Satan as well..LOL! ...the breaks..
*The first live concert we attended was Bruce Springsteen! Wow! What a first!! 1980, at Phildelphia Spectrum Arena, in the height of his prime.["The River" Tour] We were long-time fans of his, prior to his pop success. I have to say I am still partial to his old, original stuff! Pre-Show we had a little scare in the parking lot when an Arena Security Guard threatened to detain us for misconduct by another in our group. Finally, after convincing us we weren't seeing the show he let us go. We ran in late, scrambling to find our seats,just as the lights were dimmed & the first electrifying chord of "Born to Run" rang through the arena! Awesome!! Everything promised about "the Boss" was true! You could feel the electricity & energy coming from the stage and throughout the audience!!.. Clarence Clemons on sax; Fabulous! My favorite Bruce tunes: "Backstreets" & "Jungleland" on Born To Run and "The Angel" & "Mary Queen of Arkansas" on Greetings from Asbury Park. Fabulous Concert!!!
I can't really say which concert was the best. It might be a toss up between Pink Floyd and the first time seeing Page & Plant but then I think of many others, and each has their own great memorable moments... Pink Floyd was in 1994, at Veteran's Stadium, Philadelphia, Pa. I feel so lucky that they toured and we had the chance to see them. FABULOUS SHOW! "Division Bell" Tour more later...
Alice Cooper puts on a great show. We saw him along with the Scorpions at Harvey's Lake, Pa. in 1996. Not only were the theatrics great but he did all the old, classic Cooper songs I hoped for!(not just the hits)"Black JuJu", "Hallowed Be My Name", "Street Fight" "Under My Wheels" and this list goes on & on! Anyone not familar with these should check'em out. Get over the Cooper stigma and enjoy some good classic Rock&Roll!! Highly recommended Cd's; "Love it to Death", "Killer", "School's Out" Scorpions seemed to have a problem with their sound set-up, they were much too loud, and it has to be pretty darn loud for Dave & I to mind! Amazing they came all the way from Germany to Scranton, Pa! Since it was a weeknight & we both had work in the morning,we decided to leave before they were done to avoid the traffic. We waited until after "Winds of Change" Great song! It helped in the morning! Loved Alice!!!
TIDBITS: John Prine was GREAT! at the Kirby Center in Scranton, his music & our family go way back.("Dear Abby, Dear Abby", Grandpa was a Carpenter", "Souvenirs", "Sam Stone",...) along with Arlo Guthrie however...I sort of liked Arlo before, but after his never ending performance of "Alice's Restaurant" I liked him less, Sorry, Arlo...it just wouldn't end!!! We were in agony! Honestly!
Doobie Brothers at Allentown Fairgrounds in 1980 was pretty good. They did all the classic hits. Lacked any type of stage show, I had a huge beam in my view, didn't help, bandstand seats. Also had a couple along on a first date & I was told to behave so it stifled my fun a little. Oh well.
Loudon Wainwright III: I "LOVE" alot of his songs, I "DON'T GET" alot of his songs, deep lyrics in many of his songs, His craziness shows in many of his songs!("Heaven & Mud";getting sober for fourteen BORING days..."The Doctor";fill this paper cup up & give it to the nurse--Don't spill it now!) I'm sure he has had many bad relationships & it shows in his songs...("A Father & A Son", "Hitting You", "Men"...)He is definitely OFFBEAT & ZANY! Saw him in Godfrey Daniels Coffeehouse, about 10 ft away. I didn't realize until then, that when he sings he does this peculiar thing with his tongue. Can't explain, but he kind of sticks it out really far in between lyrics, very strange & made me a little uncomfortable, still enjoyed his songs, & his dry, scorned humor. His best CD, I've heard is "History" Great!( ...the song "Men" is deep & revealing about his disposition...) and his claim to fame is "Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road" which was #1 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Hmmm, could it have been named "Bill"???? Although now we really love Bill.... Hey!I just found a link to a song--- he HAS written about Bill!!!
Steven Stills, at Marywood College, I believe, sometime in the early 80's, after sitting through a long, long "reggae" type act (conflicting music, I thought), Steven came out appearing obviously drunk, forgetting lyrics, chords, etc. Sorry, Steven! actually hoped he would introduce his good friend, Neil Young, but he didn't. Bummer! Anyway, I'd still like to see C,S,N,&Y., together. Dan Fogelburg at the Bloomsburg Fairgrounds in 1994, I like Dan's 1975 Captured Angel album, love it actually, nothing like today's pop; well he totally ignored that & did all the stuff I didn't really like, well some I did. Even though there was no smoking allowed, someone very near was smoking & it burned my nostils & the nearby pigs (it Was a Fair) smelled very,very bad, definitely a huge distraction! If Dan had done my songs I would have forgiven all of that, not to be. My most favorite songs of his, "The Last Nail" & "Old Tennessee." from of course, Captured Angel.
Jimmy Page & Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin,at the Spectrum, twice, Aerosmith,at Montage 1994 "Get a Grip Tour", Jefferson Starship & Thirty-Eight Special,@ Allentown Fairgrounds 1981 Heart, Atlantic City 2006, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Paul Rodgers of Bad Company,@ Montage Mt., Christine Lavin at Godfrey Daniels Coffeehouse in Bethlehem, of course! (I know, I know, not very well known, but should be!!!), Sally Fingerette (another Bitchin' Babe), TroutFishing in America, Cliff Eberhardt, all at Godfrey Daniels as well. Great Place!! Small coffeehouse, great atmosphere, where you can get up close & personal with the artists! We've got many autograph's & conversations there. Bruce Cockburn at Mann Music Center (Dar Williams & Mia Sharp were there too, went for Bruce, my "obscure" all-time favorite!!)...and we've seen him numerous times at the Keswick at Glenside. Jonatha Brooke is an all-time favorite and Patty Larkin at the Mauch Chunk Opera House and many more...So many I wish I had seen, oh well. Biggest regret is not seeing Michael Hedges, sadly he died in an automobile accident. His music is totally unique; can't fairly be classified.Do things while you can!!!Before it's too late!!!!!!!!!!!!
My wish list: to see Neil Young, David Bowie, Van Halen with Sammy Hagar, Heart, Bruce Cockburn again, Christine Lavin, anytime!, Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, & Page&Plant, again, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young together, Dan Fogelburg doing all my old favorites, not the new pop; minus the pig-shit smell at the fairgrounds. (more on that later)
Rock&Roll Heaven wishlist: to see the "Beatles" with John Lennon, Michael Hedges, (as aforementioned), Stevie Ray Vaughn, the Doors with Jim Morrison, the original Lynyrd Skynrd Band Members with Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines, Cassie Gaines & Allen Collins, Led Zeppelin with "Bonzo" John Bonham, Jim Croce, Harry Chapin, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Buddy Holly, & yes, Patsy Cline and many more...(a moment of silence in their memory, please....)