The day after attending Foreigner and Billy Squier at Madison Square Garden, my future bride and I drove to Roslyn to see Jorma Kaukonen at the intimate My Father’s Place where there was table seating. My wife has never been a Hot Tuna, or even Jefferson Airplane, fan so in retrospect this was probably a pretty excruciating concert for her (but perhaps it was a quid pro quo for the Foreigner concert the night before). In any event, I have no particular recollection of this Jorma concert and, as I have seen Kaukonen so many times through the years, much of it has become s blur.

Good Shepherd

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GQ

Last week the first big arena tour in the hopefully post-pandemic era went on sale. Genesis has apparently been rejuvenated and are touring the United States after a European trek this fall. Ticket prices are obscene, but I get that these long dormant acts are going to try and cash in, and that a starved for live music fan base are willing to purchase tickets for said now geriatric bands.

I prefer Peter Gabriel but I do like the Phil Collins version of Genesis (by the way, I listened to Collins “Hits” cd recently and it is not holding up well). I attempted to obtain tickets for the concert at the new UBS arena being built for the Islanders at Belmont Park. I found a somewhat reasonable pair, in comparison to what was being offered, in the rear orchestra for $240 a piece. I decided to pull the trigger and then noticed that there was a 94 dollar Ticketmaster surcharge for each ticket. Add on a couple of other miscellaneous charges and the $480 pair totaled almost $700 bucks. Sorry, not doing it. I understand Ticketmaster took a hit during the pandemic but these charges are obscene. Another first in my ticket search was that while I was about to order a different pair of Genesis tickets a warning popped up to check ticket price before placing order as prices could change. Sure enough, in the time it took to select the tickets and place the order the price had gone up! CANCEL ORDER- the “dynamic pricing on these shows was out of control and changing by the minute and day. I was going to give up on these shows but just now found $131 dollar seats at Madison Square Garden with somewhat more reasonable surcharges bring the total to $326.70. The return of live music is going to be a bumpy and expensive ride.

A Wonderful Day in a One-Way World

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After the humongous Simon and Garfunkel free concert in Central Park, next up for me was to see Twisted Sister at the Queens College Student Union; talk about your extreme dichotomies on just about every level. Twisted Sister was our favorite band on the Long Island club circuit and were on the cusp of breaking through to the big time and a mass audience. The 4th floor of the Student Union was not ideal for a headlining gig as it was just a big empty space and not ordinarily utilized for musical acts (the college’s Colden Auditorium was the venue for more established mainstream acts). Many years later, while working in the police department, I met a gentleman with the New York State Police who looked vaguely familiar but with an interesting goatee, definitely not your ordinary law enforcement dude. I had heard or read somewhere that Mark “The Animal” Mendoza worked for the State Police under his given name in order to keep a low profile, and here he was sitting in front of me. I called Mark into my office and asked him to close the door. He looked slightly uncomfortable as if he thought he may have done something wrong during the training he was providing our officers. I asked him if he was, in fact, the bass player for Twisted Sister as I suspected; he took a deep breath and laughed. I told him that my S.M.F. Friend of Twisted Sister card that I had kept in my wallet for years had been removed when the wallet was lost on Queens Boulevard and returned by mail. A little bit of cash and my prized possession cracked plastic S.M.F. card were all that was missing. A couple of days later I missed a text from my buddy Sandy who was going with his son to catch Twisted Sister perform their holiday concert at The Paramount in Huntington with backstage access. I missed his text, and the show, thereby also missing an opportunity to reconnect with my law enforcement colleague at his side gig as rock star!

I Wanna Rock (on)

GQ

The free Perfofmances that took place in Central Park’s Sheep Meadow were epic and the Simon & Garfunkel concert memorialized with a live album was legendary. As I recall it was a last minute decision to trek onto the subway and head in for the show. When we arrived in Manhattan the crowd was huge but it did not deter us to try and get to the front. We did the “excuse me, excuse me” routine through the jam packed park for quite awhile before we reached barricades that had us penned in. It was then that we finally saw where the stage was situated which seemed like a mile away with the band looking like ants on a tiny stage. There would be no moving up any further as it was the biggest audience I had ever encountered up until that Saturday in September 1981. I can say that I was there however I actually really saw the show best on DVD.

The 59th Street Bridge Song

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GQ

On September 11, 1981 two iconic acts performed together at the Dr. Pepper Concert Series at Pier 84 on the west side of Manhattan where the great guitarist of Mountain, Leslie West, opened with Corky Laing for the legendary Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople. Ian Hunter is an extraordinary singer, songwriter, musician and front man who I would go to see at City Winery in New York City every time he played there, which was quite regularly. I was supposed to finally go see Mott the Hoople at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester a couple of years ago on the same Monday night that Tom Brady and the Patriots were to play the Jets at MetLife Stadium but unfortunately the concert was canceled due to Mr. Hunter suffering from tinnitus at the time. Ian Hunter should have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a long time ago, and the fact that he has not been yet is s disgraceful oversight on their part. While I am at it, where are Peter Wolf and Jethro Tull for that matter? Little Steven? Hello? Let’s straighten this out please! This night at Pier 84 was a great double bill of rock and roll music; if only I had any recollection……..

Bastard

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GQ

Adam & the Ants returned to New York City and performed for the Dr. Pepper Concert Series at Pier 84 on the west side of. Manhattan in September of 1981. Mr. Ant was never particularly my cup of tea but he was good for a New Wave night out under the stars. I had last seen the band play at The Ritz but Antmusic had graduated to the larger outdoor venue this time around.

Jolly Roger

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GQ

One night after seeing The Specials at The Ritz, it was back to the blues with Johnny Winter and the Danny Shea Band at Roslyn’s My Father’s Place. While The Ritz was a New York City club that was primarily a general admission venue with some seating up top, My Father’s Place was all about the table seating and the Long Island neighborhood vibe. I had the good fortune to see performances by Gregg Allman during the Allman Brothers Band hiatus, Joe Perry Project during the Aerosmith hiatus, Iggy Pop and other notable acts at My Father’s Place while it was in business. It was an interesting time for rock and roll as there was pretty much something for everyone and a venue suitable for just about every musical taste. I have not yet gone to the “new” My Father’s Place in Roslyn but hope to check it out once live music returns post-pandemic hopefully sometime soon.

Captured Live

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GQ

A night at New York City’s The Ritz was always a great club night out on the town to see up and coming acts or to check out new bands and music that was not necessarily mainstream. The Specials were one of those acts that were part of the burgeoning New Wave scene in the early 1980’s that was decidedly anti-Styx. I saw The Pretenders, with the original lineup, Adam & the Ants, and U2 touring with the “ October” album on Saint Patrick Day at The Ritz so it became an important venue where special performances could be experienced and where spontaneity and surprise guests were possible on stage and in the crowd.

A Message to You, Rudy

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Styx was never one of my favorite bands but in 1981 they played Madison Square Garden while dominating the classic rock airwaves with huge hits and catchy pop tunes making them arena rock headliners for many years. Dennis DeYoung left the band at some point, touring solo playing Styx songs, and Tommy Shaw did a stint with Ted Nugent and Damn Yankees before he hit the road again with a revamped Styx lineup performing everywhere and anywhere including Citifield after a Mets game and the NYCB Theatre at Westbury as a regular stop.

The Best of Times

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GQ

In August of 1981, blues legends Johnny Winter and opener The Fabulous Thunderbirds performed at the Dr. Pepper Concert Series at Pier 84 on the West Side of Manhattan. While no longer held in the beautiful setting where it once was at Central Park, it was a blessing that the summer series under the New York City stars had found a new home where live rock and roll music could be enjoyed at a reasonable price.

Wrap It Up

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GQ