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

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GQ

It is 2022 and Chicago is still on tour; my wife’s favorite band is playing the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester in May and sheds all summer long with Brian Wilson opening (how Wilson is still touring at this point is beyond me; the last time I saw him perform at Westbury opening for Jeff Beck, Brian Wilson could barely navigate the stage). I have no particular recollection of this Chicago performance but they always manage to play all of the iconic fan favorites. I actually liked when they performed Chicago II in its entirety a couple of tours ago. The casual Chicago fans were unhappy but I loved that they dug a little deeper into the catalogue for a change. Long time guitarist Keith Howland recently left the band under a cloud but, if Chicago has proven anything through the years, theses road warriors will continue on until there are no original members left, and quite probably beyond.

Beginnings

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GQ

I am a big Eric Clapton fan and I have seen him perform many times through the years; however, I have no particular recollection of this April, 1990 Slowhand concert at Madison Square Garden.

Bad Love

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GQ

The Rolling Stones brought their Steel Wheels tour to Shea Stadium in October of 1989; it was a larger than life production and a New York City Queens happening. I grew up in Flushing, walking distance from Shea Stadium, and for The Rolling Stones to play the home of the New York Mets was a huge deal. I had managed to purchase a handful of seats on the field toward the back of the infield and the massive stage was impressive. The concert itself is a bit of a blur and I witnessed the end of show fireworks blasting over the top of the stadium as I walked across the Roosevelt Avenue Bridge and over the usually odorous Flushing Bay. After a stop at the Clam Bar by the 7 train entrance at Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue, I called it a night and headed home to my apartment in Fresh Meadows. My daughter would be born one month and a day later.

Rock And a Hard Place

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Long before it was purchased by NYU for student housing, New York City’s Palladium located in downtown Manhattan was the rough and rowdy alter ego to what would become the Beacon Theatre as the preeminent 3000 plus seat concert hall venue. I attended two evenings with Maria McKee opening for Neil Young in September of 1989. I last saw Neil,with the Real, in Indianapolis before the pandemic hit which may have been his last headlining live performance for awhile (Young played Farm Aid after the Indy gig) as Neil has said he will not hit the road again until Covid is under control. As the new year approaches, and Covid once again surges, a Neil Young live performance does not seem likely at the moment, or any time soon, so in the meantime enjoy the NYA, “Barn” and the just dropped “Summer Songs” collection.

Hippie Dream

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GQ

Howe do you replace legendary Yes bass player and co-founder Chris Squier for this ABWH not-Yes tour? Tony Levin of King Crimson, Peter Gabriel and many other progressive rock bands and configurations played with Yes members on the self titled Collection of music then took his stick on the road with the band where I caught them at the Jones Beach Theatre in August, 1989. Yes was, and still is, one of my favorite bands of all time so to have them play the beach was an event for fans of progressive rock music. The talented group of musicians as constructed was a relatively short term project that lasted only from 1988 to 1990.

Brother of Mine

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GQ

A Friday night in July at the beach with the Allman Brothers Band; I have no particular recollection of this Allman Brothers Band concert but I am sure that it was a great night.

Eat a Peach

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I have absolutely no recollection of The Who at Giants Stadium on July 2nd, 1989; but I was there!

The Who Sell Out

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The Beach Boys opened for Chicago at the Jones Beach Theatre in June of 1989 and in one of the most brilliant moves I have ever witnessed, during (I believe) “Be True to Your School”, the USC cheerleading squad came on stage in uniform and “cheered” during the performance. At the time, I believed it to be a stroke of genius for the band to bring the cheerleaders on tour with them for obvious, and perhaps, not so obvious reasons. When my son was small we went to a March Madness basketball doubleheader at the Nassau Coliseum and USC was one of the four basketball teams playing that day. The USC cheerleaders looked like Las Vegas chorus girls compared to the young gals cheering for the other three teams. I remember telling my son, “That’s where you want to go to school”. The Beach Boys were not just musical geniuses; I assume they also somehow figured out how to keep themselves entertained while touring endlessly and tried to forestall the monotony on the road from getting stale.

I recall that my wife and I sat in the orchestra to the left of the stage and that Carl Wilson performed right in front of us. A version of the Beach Boys staring Mike Love are still on the road and, somewhat amazingly, Brian Wilson will open for Chicago on a 2022 summer tour, Covid permitting of course. Honestly, Brian Wilson looked pretty washed up when I saw him a few years ago at Westbury playing with Jeff Beck so I do not have high expectations for him on this upcoming tour. Chicago has been touring seemingly non-stop for decades and they usually have pretty good opening acts on the summer tours; Earth, Wind & Fire being the best, R.E.O. Speedwagon another, CSN, and this particular tour with The Beach Boys being amongst the most entertaining Chicago concert evenings through the years.

Fun, Fun, Fun

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GQ

Neil Young has come up with many interesting opening acts through the years. Even established acts, who normally consider themselves headliners only, will sometimes support a Neil Young tour. I had never seen an Indigo Girls performance until this tour and I believe they may have had a radio friendly hit or two around that time.
I vaguely remember the folk duo performing sn acoustic set on this Young tour

The Indigo Girls are still a touring act, and I believe they may have played a gig at The Paramount in Huntington in October after multiple Covid postponements, which is a testament to their resilience and longevity.

Light a Candle

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GQ