In April, 1999, Neil Young played a multi-night solo acoustic stand at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden supporting the “ Silver and Gold” collection. In celebrated Neil Young fashion, the “ Silver and Gold” album was released a year later in 2000.

The Theatre at MSG has never been one of my favorite venues although nicely renovated with good acoustics, however it is visually a bit sterile tucked n the basement of the The World’s Most Famous Arena. I have seen Van Morrison with Bob Dylan perform together there (on the same night The Rolling Stones rocked the arena above our heads). Years later I caught Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy at the same MSG venue when the seating situation near the rear of the venue left us feeling far away from the action. For The Theatre at MSG, I would suggest spending the extra money for a closer vantage point (a recommendation I never make but maneuvering at this venue is problematic) where a better seat location definitely improves your enjoyment of the show at this particular music hall.

Buffalo Springfield Again

Rock on!

GQ

Hopefully I have got this date right as it was missing from the archive calendar, but as I recall, Mr.Nut and I went to the Nassau Coliseum to see Metallica on this Friday night in February; the stage took up the center of the orchestra with general admission standing room around it. We were sitting midway up opposite to where the stage would have been set up under ordinary circumstances. At that time, Nassau Coliseum was the home of the New York Islanders hockey team and the short wall of the rink surrounding the orchestra floor, and a few security guards, were all there was in place to keep the seated fans from joining the general admission crowd on the floor up against the rectangular stage. Metallica was LOUD and throughout the show fired up fans were leaping over the wall and running passed mostly disinterested security guards standing there to ostensibly catch and release the interlopers. One of the two guards in front of us stood there stoically making no attempt to intervene; the second younger guard repeatedly, physically, and overzealously, tried to knock over the uninvited like bowling pins. Those who took the running start and stormed passed the guards toward the stage mostly made it and upgraded their experience by joining the faithful on the floor. It was not quite a mosh pit but there was a lot of testosterone in the air. At one point someone near the stage got in the face of former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted who, without missing a beat, punched the young man, nailing him squarely in the face; Newsted then spun around returning to the stage mid-song almost as if this had all been choreographed somehow. The band seemed to have a stadium sized volume in an arena setting making for an ear-splitting cacophony of sound and it was relentless. At the end of the concert when Mr. Nut, who is a big Ozzy fan and no stranger to the heavy metal music, said that Metallica scared him, it confirmed for me that we had witnessed an epic show.

Death Magnetic

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GQ

Another Allman Brothers Band concert, this time at the Beacon Theatre on a Sunday night in March, 1998. Thankfully Tedeschi Trucks Band and Warren Haynes remain on the boards to carry on the Allman Brothers Band legacy, both musically and spiritually. My wife and I saw The Brothers at Madison Square Garden right before the world shut down for the pandemic and the music stopped for a time.
I just went to see Arcade Fire with my daughter at the new MGM Fenway venue that was very cool and that reminded me a little of Terminal 5 in NYC, but other than that show, the winter live music schedule for me has been light thus far. My guess is the bigger established acts are going to gear up for the summer shed scene; Foreigner’s Farewell tour and Pink’s stadium shows have just gone on sale. I should not fail to mention Taylor Swift, who undoubtedly is the biggest music star on the planet at the moment (Marcus Mumford played one of her tunes as an encore at the Beacon Theatre); Swift’s stadium presale crashed the Ticketmaster site this week. Ticketmaster crashing is a sure sign that live music is still alive and well, but maybe just not quite as we remember it.

Done Somebody Wrong

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GQ

Marcus Mumford, on hiatus from Mumford & Sons, performs with his solo tour at the Beacon Theatre tonight with opener, straight from their Newport Folk Festival appearance this past summer, the eclectic duo The A’s.

(self-titled)

Rock on!

GQ