By 1981, New Wave” had made major inroads into the rock and roll mainstream and Elvis Costello & the Attractions became one of my favorite bands. Costello is a super intelligent songwriter, and the Attractions rock, so seeing them at the Palladium with Squeeze was a no-brainer. Reminiscing about this show brings back memories of spending late nights at Beefsteak Charlie cook John Mac’s place; John was all in on the “New Wave” acts, especially Elvis, and he would crank up the music until early morning in his apartment which was above a store in Douglaston, Queens so no one was disturbed by the relentless barrage of new rock and roll music being discovered nightly. Squeeze has so many great songs, and while they obviously headlined smaller gigs, they somehow fell into that groove of being the great opening act in larger venues a la Cheap Trick who are possibly the greatest opening act in the history of rock and roll. The Palladium was a great place to see anyone, so while I do not have any particular recollection of this concert, I am certain a fun time was had by all.

Oliver’s Army

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GQ

We attended the Joan Jett & the Blackhearts concert at the intimate Bottom Line and somehow sat a table in front of the stage on the right side looking straight up at Ms. Jett. What struck me first when the band hit the stage was how young was; she was a rock and roll powerhouse on stage but looked like a kid. As a matter of fact, we were so close I could see the blackheads on young Joannie’s face which was kind of endearing somehow. The other memory of this show (and I am pretty sure it was this particular Bottom Line concert), was when I looked back to my left, sitting at a table mid-audience was the unmistakable legendary Andy Warhol which made this show feel that much more special and “ important”. “Bad Reputation” is a great rock and roll song and Joan Jett commands the stage as a great front person for the Blackhearts. This was just an unforgettable night for a variety of reasons. Joan Jett was still touring right up until the pandemic shut everything down and was scheduled to do a stadium tour with Motley Crue and Poison last summer that was postponed to 2021 for obvious reasons.

Wooly Bully

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GQ

A bit of an oddball concert, Chicken Legs, that included the remaining members of Little Feat, and John Hall played at St. John’s University on a November Sunday night in 1980. If memory serves me right, the concert was held in the basketball auditorium and the music preformed by stellar musicians was outstanding. I am not sure why, but I have never heard anything about Chicken Legs before, or after, this show and I have never even met anyone who has ever heard of the band. Apparently the project never worked out for the long term, but for one night in Queens, an audience craving an evening of rock and roll was thoroughly entertained.

Dixie Chicken

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GQ

We had pretty good seats for the Talking Heads concert at Radio City Music Hall; up front in the orchestra to the far left just a few rows from the stage ( it may have even been first row as memory is failing me on this detail). I had seen the original four piece line up of the Talking Heads at Colden Auditorium at Queens College but this tour for the “Remain in Light” album would be different. The band would add players throughout the show; from minimalist to full out ensemble and, for me, this was a whole new concert experience. Add into the mix that the concert was being performed at the ornate legendary Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, home of the annual Christmas Spectacular starring the Radio City Rockettes, it was a perfect venue for the elaborate stage presentation. The Talking Heads had expanded from its punk roots to create something even greater and inclusive of a variety musicians and genres; it was not for everyone but I loved it. David Byrne is a true artist and continues to expand his, and our, musical horizons with groundbreaking ideas to this day. Byrne’s latest tour, which later evolved into a Broadway show, that I caught at Forest Hills Stadium a couple of summers ago, was extraordinary with infectious rhythms and the audience literally on their feet dancing in the aisles. Years prior to the Byrne concert, I had also seen the Talking Heads at the Forest Hills Stadium, which was memorable for a number of reasons but I will leave those stories for another time.
Talking Heads guitarist Jerry Harrison had planned a “Remain in Light” fortieth anniversary tour before Covid hit; hopefully this could still happen sometime in 2021.

Crosseyed and Painless

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GQ

While not a concert, David Bowie starring in the play “The Elephant Man” at the Booth Theatre qualified as a rock and roll event and I scored tickets to take my future bride for a night out on Broadway. David Bowie was obviously a Renaissance man and he pulled off this demanding role to an unqualified success. He contorted his body and changed his vocal delivery to such an extent that he was no longer Bowie the rock star but became John Merrick “The Elephant Man”. I have gone to the occasional Broadway show throughout the golden years but this one qualifies as my favorite and most noteworthy.

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

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GQ

The Ronnie James Dio lineup of Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult co-headlined an arena tour in 1980 with a stop at Nassau Coliseum on Nassau County. I was pumped for the concert as Black Sabbath was touring off of the great album and song “Heaven and Hell” (the equally great “Mob Rules” album was released in 1981) and Blue Oyster Cult would be a great “opening act”. Right off the bat we were a bit thrown off when the warm a up act for both finished their set and we were anticipating BOC to hit the stage when the lights went down and Sabbath came on. Blue Oyster Cult was a “Long Island” band so I assume since this was a co-headline “ Black and Blue”tour that Sabbath did the right thing and let them close the show in BOC’s backyard. The Dio version of Sabbath kicks ass and would be a tough act for anyone to follow; I know I was there primarily for Black Sabbath. The late 1970’s and early 1980’s was a great era for live double albums and interesting arena double bills and this show was obviously one of those.

Neon Knights

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GQ

I am sure the Adam Lambert line up of Queen is pretty entertaining but, for me, having had witnessed the original band led by Freddie Mercury, I just cannot bring myself to accept the latest version of the band (and I did like when Paul Rodgers joined the band for a time). Queen remains as one of the most original groups ever, with production values that might even rival the Beatles. The Queen catalog should still be performed on the road for those who are too young to have experienced Freddie Mercury’s Queen, and for the hardcore Queen fanatics who will go to any lengths to see any version of their favorite band. This Madison Square Garden concert in 1980 does not bring back any particular recollection, however I was fortunate enough to have seen the band in their prime on several occasions making it all a bit of a blur at this point. I am sure one and all had an enjoyable experience when the Queen spectacle came to town; there was truly nothing else quite like it in the annals of rock and roll.

Tie Your Mother Down

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GQ

I am kind of surprised that my first concert experience at The Ritz (which is now Webster Hall) in New York City was this Pretenders show with Chrissie Hynde and the original lineup before tragedy touched the band and two members unexpectedly passed. The Ritz was a great club that showcased many up and coming rock and roll acts before they hit the big time (I caught U2 there on Saint Patrick Day in 1982 to name one such act). The most memorable part of the show, and I should have asked him if my memory serves me right when I ran into him at a Winnipeg airport following a couple of Neil Young & Crazy Horse shows a couple of years ago, was Nils Lofgren joining the Pretenders onstage and playing with them that evening. I have seen the Pretenders many times through the years and they always rock hard, the last time at the 2018 Arroyo Seco Weekend festival in Pasadena, California.

Brass in Pocket

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Yes’ 1980 tour showcased the infamous Buggles lineup with Geoff Downes on keyboards and Trevor Horn on vocals, and the concert utilized the same “in the round” stage setup as the prior couple of tours with the iconic lineup that had included Rick Wakeman and Jon Anderson. We could not know it then, but there were to be many more configurations and line up changes for the band in the years to come. While I did not hate the tour, seeing Trevor Horn in the center of the revolving stage instead of Jon Anderson was a bit jarring at first but Yes was still chock full of great musicians and of course the songs were still great. I do not know if Yes fans would have continued to follow the band with the fervor that many have for decades had this particular line up continued forward, but this sonic and artistic detour did not harm them in the long haul.

Video Killed the Radio Star

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GQ

I wish I could say that I saw the Ramones play at CBGB or some other small club back in the day but I discovered the punk scene a little late in the game. Once again, I cannot tell you where or how in Central Park we caught the Ramones this particular evening. By 1980, the New York City legends were gaining popularity and trying to figure out how to further expand their audience while maintaining their hardcore punk fans.

I did have a conversation with Joey Ramone at a Plasmatics concert at Bonds NYC which will be forever etched in my memory but I will save that story for another day.

Too Tough to Die

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GQ