I specifically remember this Jones Beach Theatre show for a couple of reasons in particular.
First was I had initially purchased the tickets because I wanted to see the great Joe Cocker in concert; I had not appreciated yet at that time what an incredible talent Stevie Ray Vaughan was. When Joe Cocker hit the stage first I was a little shocked as I assumed he would be the headliner; this reminds me of when I saw Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult at the Nassau Coliseum during the “Black & Blue” tour and Sabbath came on first (BOC was considered a Long Island “local” act and they got to headline on their home turf).

The second thing I remember was that when Stevie Ray Vaughan came on stage and broke into his first tune it got loud, so loud it was noticeable where we were sitting in the mid level mezzanine to the left of the stage. It was as if someone had thrown a switch and the volume was turned up to 11. It sort of reminded me of when I saw Aerosmith at the Nassau Coliseum and I was nearly knocked off of the orchestra folding chair I was standing on when the decibel level all of a sudden went way, way up in the middle of a Joe Perry guitar solo. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Joe Cocker was a great summertime double bill; I am glad I can say my wife and I were there almost 8 months after the birth of our baby girl (for forever I thought my wife was pregnant at this show but the timeline does not lie). While I would get the opportunity to catch Joe Cocker perform again, I would not get to see Stevie Ray Vaughan a second time as he tragically died in a helicopter crash not too long after this Jones Beach concert.

Pride and Joy

Rock on!

GQ