One of several Judas Priest concerts I have attended through the years, one week after playing the Palladium in downtown Manhattan, Priest returned to New York City to perform at the Dr. Pepper Concert Series which had been relocated from scenic Central Park to the West Side where the heavy metal thunder would not disturb the neighbors.
Breaking the Law
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GQ
My wife loves Al Pacino so when he starred in the play American Buffalo I bought a pair of tickets and we enjoyed a night Off-Broadway in Manhattan. I have always preferred dramatic plays as opposed to Broadway musicals, although the musical can be entertaining and you can party like a tourist in your own hometown.
Great White Buffalo
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GQ
I wish that I had a better memory of this John Cale concert at My Father’s Place in Roslyn than vaguely recalling him at a piano (on the left side of the stage?). John Cale is an iconic musical figure most famously known as a member of the Velvet Underground. John Cale’s music is eclectic, and not for everyone, but I am all about musical experimentation and sonic exploration. The Dead Boys opened for Cale at the intimate My Father’s Place venue with table seating much like the Bottom Line in New York City.
Songs for Drella
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GQ
Squeeze had a couple of great poppy new wave albums my favorite of which is “East Side Story”.
The band played with opener Fleshtones for the Dr. Pepper Concert Series at Pier 84 near the water on the west side of Manhattan in the summer of 1981.
Cool for Cats
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GQ
Hot on the heals of seeing Van Halen at the Nassau Coliseum, a heavy metal band of a different stripe came to town. I wish I could say I have any recollection of Iron Maiden opening for Judas Priest this night in 1981 but I do not. I have seen Judas Priest perform enough times that the shows tend to blend together in my mind at this point. I believe this may have been the Priest concert that my future bride had it in her head that she wanted to drink a Sloe Gin Fizz from a neighborhood bar more suited to serving bottled beer and small tap beers with a shot. The cocktail was presented blood red in color and, with neither of us quite sure what it should have looked like in a perfect world, she drank it like a pro resulting in her feeling not so great for the rest of the evening’s festivities. A rookie mistake but everyone survived and the heavy metal music played on.
Diamonds and Rust
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GQ
When dating my wife while we were both attending Queens College, I somehow managed to purchase two really good tickets for Van Halen at the Nassau Coliseum; facing the right side of the stage, just a few rows off the floor on Eddie Van Halen’s side. The mighty Van Halen was at the height of their powers. Eddie Van Halen exuded pure joy while shredding the guitar, and David Lee Roth performed at his rock star best, working the crowd into a frenzy, part front man, part circus ringmaster. I may as well have been invisible as my future bride stood on top of her seat screaming at every DLR gyration. It was rock and roll at its best performed by one of the great al time bands.
Unchained
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GQ
The Dr. Pepper Concert Series moved to Pier 84 on the west side of Manhattan in 1981 after neighbors’ noise complaints resonating from the super expensive residences in midtown finally won the day. While it was good that the concert series continued, but the venue itself did not compare losing a lot of its luster compared to the backdrop that was Central Park. Before Bruce Springsteen took Gary U.S. Bonds under his wing and resurrected his career with a hit album and tour that followed, Mr. Bonds career was hanging by a thread. The first time that I saw Gary U.S. Bonds perform was at a Jamaica, Queens club called Beggars Opera where bands like Twisted Sister, Good Rats, Zebra and others played during the heyday of Long Island rock and roll. There could not have been more than fifteen or twenty people in the bar on the night Bonds and his band took the stage, almost all seated in the booths behind the general admission floor which was empty. The man was huge act at one time and now found himself playing his set to a just about empty house, none of whom really cared about his past successes and were just looking at it primarily as a night out with some live music. After one too many beers I made a move I still regret to this day. I picked up a chair, walked across the empty floor, placed the chair in front and put my feet up on the stage. Gary gave me a look, and during what must have been one of several lowlights during his career, and possibly with his life flashing before his eyes, the band continued to play through this insult despite the complete indifference of the small audience in attendance. Thankfully, Gary had the last laugh as sometime soon after this low point, Bruce resurrected Bonds’ career and he was headlining 5000 plus seat venues for a couple of years following a couple of well received albums.
Quarter to Three
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GQ
The Clash were a great rock and roll “punk” band, with the “London Calling” album firmly placing them on the map and the sprawling masterwork “Sandinista” being their “Physical Graffiti”. My then girlfriend, now wife of 35 years (as of yesterday’s anniversary), skipped classes at Queens College to stand on a long line in midtown Manhattan outside of the former casino then clothing store Bond’s to purchase tickets for The Clash’s residency slated for New York City in June, 1981. The Clash, with Joe Strummer and Mick Jones leading the charge, were explosive, in your face, with a few catchy pop songs thrown into the mix for good measure. Bond’s turned out to be a moment in time as the vast venue was ultimately shut down supposedly due to a lack of adequate fire exits. A show at Bonds was more than just a concert;, it was an event, a “happening” and a place that you wanted to experience at least once. I believe the only other musical “group”, for lack of a better term, that I saw perform there was Plasmatics where I briefly met Joey Ramone just before Wendy O. Williams hit the stage, chain saw and all. Rock and Roll still had a degree of danger and spontaneity in 1981 and almost anything was possible. Long live rock and roll!
Clampdown
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GQ
The great Dave Mason performed at the Colden Auditorium at Queens College, where I was finishing up my third year of studies, in May, 1981 with opener Loudon Wainwright III. Mr. Mason has had an incredible career with two of his solo albums, “Alone Together” and “Certified Live”, being two of my favorites. In addition to his solo work, he has had extraordinary successes with Traffic and an assortment of incredible collaborations with a laundry list of iconic musicians. Dave Mason was still on the road when the pandemic hit and I last saw him at the NYCB Music Fair in Westbury. You might get the feeling Dave is still on the road primarily to pay the bills at this point but maybe not, as the internet has his net worth at 10 million dollars. In any event, I will go see Dave Mason anytime anywhere; while he no longer sports the flowing locks of his younger days, he still as the great voice and iconic songs that make for a great evening of entertainment.
Bell Bottom Blues
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GQ
Ozzy Osborne brought his Blizzard of Oz tour to New York City’s Palladium in May, 1981 with the legendary Motorhead opening. Unbelievably, Ozzy might have eclipsed his former Black Sabbath band mates with his heavy metal mayhem despite Sabbath bringing Ronnie James Dio into the fold to keep the band going with a new twist. Somehow, each project worked and heavy metal fans got to enjoy the best of both worlds in the early 80’s. The bizarre untimely passing of Randy Rhodes derailed Ozzy’s momentum for a time afterward, and a live tribute album to the deceased lead guitar legend followed, but Osborne continued to persevere through the years while Ronnie James would eventually put together his self titled band Dio which had successes of its own.
Over the Mountain
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GQ