Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Poison, and Joan Jett will be at Citifield tonight but instead my wife and I will be going to the formerly Westbury Music Fair to see Paul Anka perform. Paul Anka comes around this area very regularly, sometimes twice a year, but he may have finally hit a wall with his fan base because while Mr. Anka has always sold out his dates at Westbury, this time around there are still tickets available; Live Nation has even lowered prices on some seats for this particular concert. The tickets I purchased a couple of months ago were $50 total for the pair on some sort of “no fee” sale- a real bargain to see a Las Vegas worthy show. Paul Anka is a great old school entertainer who has written some of the greatest songs of this generation; he is a throwback, who always puts on an energetic show and leaves his audience smiling by the end of the evening.

Dr. Feelgood

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GQ

I have attended so many Yes concerts through the years that they tend to blend together a bit, but this show at the Beacon Theatre stands out for a couple of reasons. I am pretty sure that I attended this one solo; the band has changed players numerous times, for a variety of reasons, over time and, as I recall, this was the Yes tour with the Russian keyboard player Igor Khoroshev. Most memorable for me this time out was that after the concert ended. I slid along in front of the first tow toward center stage and as Jon Anderson was saying his farewells. I looked up, locked eyes, stuck my hand up and shook hands with one of my tock and roll heroes. I had a pretty good grip going during that handshake, and as I briefly had his undivided attention the thought crossed my mind that Anderson likely wondered for a second when, or if, I would “Release, Release” my grip. My thought then, as it is now, was that for a mystic harpist poet Jon had some pretty big mitts; it kind of threw me off a bit because one might think of Jon as maybe a sort of delicate man, but my immediate impression at the time was that his hands might seem to have been better built for boxing.
I first saw Yes at Madison Square Garden during the “ Going for the One” tour, and then for the many arena tours that followed. The Beacon Theatre is one of the best venues to catch anyone but to see one of my favorite bands, going back to high school, in the more intimate theatre setting was a blast.

Relayer

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GQ

I am not sure which night I went to Giants Stadium to see The Rolling Stones on this tour in October, 1997, and I am also unsure if it was this particular show, but I have seen the Stones at Giants Stadium to the extreme left of the stage with a runway right in front of us. It was a great view for a stadium concert, snd the Stones are the premier large venue artists ever leaving everyone from the first row to the last feeling like they got their money’s worth and having had a joyous rock and roll time. The Rolling Stones documentary “Shine a Light”,is currently being shown on Prime. The doc was directed by Martin Scorsese, filmed at the Beacon Theatre, and it is phenomenal; check it out, it is must see rock and roll TV.

Flip the Switch

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GQ

The Doobie Brothers, with Michael McDonald in tow, play the Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theatre tonight. I purchased these tickets pre-pandemic December 2, 2019 and at that time I believe it was supposed to be a 50th anniversary tour somehow coinciding with their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. It has been awhile holding onto these seats but barring something unforeseen, and in these crazy times you never know for sure, the band will hit the Jones Beach stage this evening.
I have seen the Doobie Brothers many times and it is always a rollicking good time. There is a chance of rain, but who cares? We will be outdoors rolling down the highway with the Doobie Brothers once again- FINALLY!

What a Fool Believes

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GQ

While we were on a summertime family vacation to Lake George and our favorite resort on the lake in Bolton Landing, the now defunct Bonnie View, we took the kids to what I think was their first rock concert at nearby Saratoga Springs and SPAC. From what I remember, Eric Johnson was a guitar wizard at the time, Steve Miller did his Steve Miller Band thing, and at least one of the kids was sound asleep early on during the evening’s festivities. I know that we had orchestra seats, which I assume were reasonably priced at the time, and allowed us to avoid the expansive general admission lawn seats at the venue.

The Joker

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GQ

In between the two 1997 H.O.R.D.E. Festival shows headlined by Neil Young & Crazy Horse was a Saturday night concert with Jethro Tull at the Jones Beach Theatre. Tull has been a favorite of mine since I was a freshman at Holy Cross High School in Queens when I bought the “ Warchild” album (likely from Korvettes). The last time I got to see Ian Anderson and the band in concert was for their 50th anniversary tour that landed at Forest Hills Stadium on the evening when my daughter told us at a nearby restaurant that she was pregnant with out first grandchild. The Tull concert that night was a good one, with interview snippets of musicians shown congratulating the band on the milestone and citing Jethro Tull as an influence in their own careers. It was a memorable day on many levels to include the possibly last time I would see one of my favorite bands perform live in concert.

Bungle in the Jungle

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GQ

Neil Young @ Crazy Horse headlined the 1997 H.O.R.D.E. Festival with Beck, Primus, Soul Coughing, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Leftover Salmon and Toad the Wet Sprocket. Since Young & Crazy were headlining I caught the show twice in August, 1997; first at the Jones Beach Theatre then took a bit of a road trip the following week to the PNC Arts Center in New Jersey.

Year of the Horse

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GQ

Another summer, another Chicago shed tour with a stop at the Jones Beach Theatre in Wantagh, New York, this time supporting a new album Chicago XXXVIII “ Born For This Moment”.

My wife and I recently saw the band at the legendary Capitol Theatre in Port Chester and Chicago’s never ending tour, with the occasional replacement player on board, continues this summer with Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys opening. Brian Wilson follows Paul McCartney by a few days and turns 80 today so “ Happy Birthday Brian!”

Wouldn’t It Be Nice

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GQ

I was never a huge fan of Rush; I liked “ All the World’s a Stage” and “A Farewell to Kings”, and I can appreciate the stellar musicianship of the band, but I now find them to be damn near unlistenable. On a Friday night in June, 1997, Barney Fife and I ventured to the Jones Beach Theatre to see his favorite band from Canada. Fife spent his formative years playing air guitar and air drums alone in his room instead of hitting the weights thereby morphing into a thirty year old man in a 50 year old body. We were mid way up on the mezzanine level at Jones Beach Theatre and he began to get annoying, his usually whiny self, so I decided to wander. I made my way into the orchestra, excused myself in front of the first row seats, and found myself leaning on the stage with Alex Lifeson above me and a great view of the amazing Neil Peart on drums. I felt a little bad for bailing on Barney so I decided to try and bring him down; I told each usher on the return trip out of the orchestra section to remember me, as I obviously did not have a ticket for the front row. When I got back to my real seat, I told Fife to come with me back down to the orchestra, and I would put him on the stage in front of his heroes. We made our way down the aisle and I told each usher “He is with me”, but at some point we were stopped and told that only I could continue to the stage. I shrugged my shoulders and said “ See ya Fife” and went back to railhugging the stage with my newfound friends in front. It was a great concert from my vantage point, and I really did not mind hoofing it back to Merrick Road to find my way home, but somehow Mr. Fife pulled up alongside me in his jalopy, I hopped in, and was quickly dropped off at my front door.

Crossroads

The Stars Look Down

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GQ

While it was not a rock and roll show, the Tokyo Shock Boys had a punk rock attitude and a “Jackass” like vibe which I believe preceded Knoxville and the gang exploding onto public consciousness. This Off-Broadway event was an interesting night out with some of the guys from work that culminated with one of the Shock Boys shooting a Roman Candle across the stage from out of his rear end.

Last Call

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GQ