Hot on the heals of seeing Van Halen at the Nassau Coliseum, a heavy metal band of a different stripe came to town. I wish I could say I have any recollection of Iron Maiden opening for Judas Priest this night in 1981 but I do not. I have seen Judas Priest perform enough times that the shows tend to blend together in my mind at this point. I believe this may have been the Priest concert that my future bride had it in her head that she wanted to drink a Sloe Gin Fizz from a neighborhood bar more suited to serving bottled beer and small tap beers with a shot. The cocktail was presented blood red in color and, with neither of us quite sure what it should have looked like in a perfect world, she drank it like a pro resulting in her feeling not so great for the rest of the evening’s festivities. A rookie mistake but everyone survived and the heavy metal music played on.

Diamonds and Rust

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GQ

When dating my wife while we were both attending Queens College, I somehow managed to purchase two really good tickets for Van Halen at the Nassau Coliseum; facing the right side of the stage, just a few rows off the floor on Eddie Van Halen’s side. The mighty Van Halen was at the height of their powers. Eddie Van Halen exuded pure joy while shredding the guitar, and David Lee Roth performed at his rock star best, working the crowd into a frenzy, part front man, part circus ringmaster. I may as well have been invisible as my future bride stood on top of her seat screaming at every DLR gyration. It was rock and roll at its best performed by one of the great al time bands.

Unchained

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GQ

The Dr. Pepper Concert Series moved to Pier 84 on the west side of Manhattan in 1981 after neighbors’ noise complaints resonating from the super expensive residences in midtown finally won the day. While it was good that the concert series continued, but the venue itself did not compare losing a lot of its luster compared to the backdrop that was Central Park. Before Bruce Springsteen took Gary U.S. Bonds under his wing and resurrected his career with a hit album and tour that followed, Mr. Bonds career was hanging by a thread. The first time that I saw Gary U.S. Bonds perform was at a Jamaica, Queens club called Beggars Opera where bands like Twisted Sister, Good Rats, Zebra and others played during the heyday of Long Island rock and roll. There could not have been more than fifteen or twenty people in the bar on the night Bonds and his band took the stage, almost all seated in the booths behind the general admission floor which was empty. The man was huge act at one time and now found himself playing his set to a just about empty house, none of whom really cared about his past successes and were just looking at it primarily as a night out with some live music. After one too many beers I made a move I still regret to this day. I picked up a chair, walked across the empty floor, placed the chair in front and put my feet up on the stage. Gary gave me a look, and during what must have been one of several lowlights during his career, and possibly with his life flashing before his eyes, the band continued to play through this insult despite the complete indifference of the small audience in attendance. Thankfully, Gary had the last laugh as sometime soon after this low point, Bruce resurrected Bonds’ career and he was headlining 5000 plus seat venues for a couple of years following a couple of well received albums.

Quarter to Three

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GQ

The Clash were a great rock and roll “punk” band, with the “London Calling” album firmly placing them on the map and the sprawling masterwork “Sandinista” being their “Physical Graffiti”. My then girlfriend, now wife of 35 years (as of yesterday’s anniversary), skipped classes at Queens College to stand on a long line in midtown Manhattan outside of the former casino then clothing store Bond’s to purchase tickets for The Clash’s residency slated for New York City in June, 1981. The Clash, with Joe Strummer and Mick Jones leading the charge, were explosive, in your face, with a few catchy pop songs thrown into the mix for good measure. Bond’s turned out to be a moment in time as the vast venue was ultimately shut down supposedly due to a lack of adequate fire exits. A show at Bonds was more than just a concert;, it was an event, a “happening” and a place that you wanted to experience at least once. I believe the only other musical “group”, for lack of a better term, that I saw perform there was Plasmatics where I briefly met Joey Ramone just before Wendy O. Williams hit the stage, chain saw and all. Rock and Roll still had a degree of danger and spontaneity in 1981 and almost anything was possible. Long live rock and roll!

Clampdown

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GQ

The great Dave Mason performed at the Colden Auditorium at Queens College, where I was finishing up my third year of studies, in May, 1981 with opener Loudon Wainwright III. Mr. Mason has had an incredible career with two of his solo albums, “Alone Together” and “Certified Live”, being two of my favorites. In addition to his solo work, he has had extraordinary successes with Traffic and an assortment of incredible collaborations with a laundry list of iconic musicians. Dave Mason was still on the road when the pandemic hit and I last saw him at the NYCB Music Fair in Westbury. You might get the feeling Dave is still on the road primarily to pay the bills at this point but maybe not, as the internet has his net worth at 10 million dollars. In any event, I will go see Dave Mason anytime anywhere; while he no longer sports the flowing locks of his younger days, he still as the great voice and iconic songs that make for a great evening of entertainment.

Bell Bottom Blues

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GQ

Ozzy Osborne brought his Blizzard of Oz tour to New York City’s Palladium in May, 1981 with the legendary Motorhead opening. Unbelievably, Ozzy might have eclipsed his former Black Sabbath band mates with his heavy metal mayhem despite Sabbath bringing Ronnie James Dio into the fold to keep the band going with a new twist. Somehow, each project worked and heavy metal fans got to enjoy the best of both worlds in the early 80’s. The bizarre untimely passing of Randy Rhodes derailed Ozzy’s momentum for a time afterward, and a live tribute album to the deceased lead guitar legend followed, but Osborne continued to persevere through the years while Ronnie James would eventually put together his self titled band Dio which had successes of its own.

Over the Mountain

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GQ

The Billy Cobham Glass Menagerie concert at the Bottom Line is an example of looking to return to the venue and Cobham’s reputation as a great drummer was the excuse to attend, even not being familiar with any of his music.
I have always been willing to roll the dice on unknown acts and mew musical explorations so seeing Mr. Cobham in concert would not be that unusual an event for me. I have no particular recollection of this show but the Bottom Line was such an iconic Manhattan destination for music that I am certain a good time was had by all.

Mr. Cobham is still on the road and will be touring Europe in the coming months.

Modern Standards Supergroup

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GQ

Adam & the Ants was an odd act, to say the least, and they seemed to be as much about a New Wave fashion statement as the catchy tunes that were popular for a time. It was a night out and Adam Ant had an interesting angle for his fifteen minutes of fame, but without some sort of evolution the gimmick could not have lasted forever. “Ant Music for Ant People”?; not exactly the “Diamond Dogs” but if Adam was going for Bowie, he turned out to be a one trick pony. The Ritz was a cool venue to see any act; and sometimes you could catch lightening in a bottle with acts such as The Pretenders with surprise guest Nils Lofgren, B52s or U2 on Saint Patrick Day. There was nice crowd and a buzz in the air for this concert as there were some recognizable radio friendly and club hits to be heard, but unfortunately the most memorable part of the evening was after the show was over my buddy, who will remain nameless, without warning, ducked into an alleyway for what turned out to be some special time with a lady of the night. The thought of his disappearing act is disturbing to this day; however he apparently survived the brief encounter unscathed. After all, sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants even if, in retrospect, it does not make much sense and is potentially hazardous to one’s health.

Kings of the Wild Frontier

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GQ

The Plasmatics were a train wreck; you watched primarily because you could not believe what you were seeing on stage. Supposed former porn actress Wendy O. Williams was the front person for this punk rock band, with very little or no apparent musical ability, that I had seen at The Ritz once or twice and that had a guitarist in a fairy princess outfit spitting beer on folks in the front of the stage who would be hoisted up to the ceiling at the end of the show. A highlight of The Ritz concert was Williams taking out a chainsaw and using it on a small television that was, I think, sitting on top of a ladder. The Bonds show was bigger with the larger venue showcasing a car sitting onstage to be the object of Wendy’s chainsaw fixation. I was standing opposite the stage near the bar before Plasmatics hit the stage when walking toward me was one Joey Ramone who was in the company of a young lady. At the time, I believe I knew of a Ramones concert happening on Long Island earlier that evening and I decided at that moment to talk to Joey as if we had already met. We had a nice conversation; Ramone was feeling no pain, and I am sure he had no idea that we had never encountered before. The conversation went on long enough that at some point I saw a look of realization on the face of his lady friend that it was time to move on; she grabbed Joey Ramone by the wrist and pulled him away where they disappeared into the crowd.

New Hope for the Wretched

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GQ