The Calderone Concert Hall, which was located on Franklin Avenue, Hempstead, was an unusual venue for us to travel to from Queens but we made the trek for the Patti Smith Group in August, 1979. The Calderone Concert Hall was a theatre in Nassau County that was later converted to a church and, at the time, the neighborhood had a reputation as being rather tough with streetwalkers and drug dealers. Somewhere on the way to the show, we passed by a florist and, for some unknown reason, I spontaneously bought a white carnation with a long stem just in case we were close enough to hand it off to Patti Smith. Patti Smith rocked; she was like a female version of Keith Richards and Lou Reed combined and not much thought went into how she might react to such a gesture but off to Hempstead we went. We were sitting facing left side of orchestra and I was either on the aisle or pretty close. Patti Smith came walking down the aisle from behind us. As she passed, while singing, I held out the carnation and she dramatically forcibly grabbed it mid stride as she walked onto the stage using it as a prop for the rest of the song. As I recall, there was at least one video screen next to the stage and I remember thinking it was pretty cool that she was clutching the carnation next to her microphone as she sang. The next night we headed into Central Park to catch the band again but whether we actually went in or hung out on the boulders is anyone’s guess at this point.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees were announced yesterday. How is it that Tina Turner is not already in it? And I liked Devo enough but, c’mon, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Dancing Barefoot

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GQ

I wish I could say I that I witnessed the Ramones play in a downtown club in their heyday, but my first Ramones concert was at the Wollman Rink at Central Park during the Dr. Pepper Concert series. At the time I was more inclined toward Neil Young, Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin so when one of my classmates at Queens College, who was dressed in the punk rock style at the time in leather jacket, tried to convince me that the Ramones were the greatest band of all time I thought he was nuts. As it turns out, he was not far off as the Ramones turned out to be an iconic group of trailblazers who were trying to figure out how to expand its following heading into the 1980’s. I did meet Joey Ramine at Bonds NYC at a Plasmatics concert once. If I remember right, the Ramones had performed a show on Long Island that night and as I was hanging out in the bar area at Bonds, here comes Joey Ramine walking right towards me. I quickly determined that I would chat him up as if we already knew each other. My strategy worked until the young lady he was with realized that Joey had no idea who I was and she grabbed him by the wrist leading him away into the crowd. A quick encounter reminiscent of an even more brief encounter with John Belushi at a Madison Square Garden after party celebrating “For Those About to Rock” album sales. Belushi zoomed in on me, shook my hand and said “you don’t even want to know who I am” then he just as quickly disappeared back into the party.

Too Tough to Die

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GQ

It may be hard to believe now, but in 1979 AC/DC opened up for the Motor City Madman, Ted Nugent. Mr. Nugent had been co-headlining arena dates with Lynyrd Skynyrd before the horrific plane crash that has been well chronicled abruptly changed the formula and Ted was elevated to arena headliner. Nugent had great albums like “ Free for All”, stellar shows starring one of the greatest rock and roll guitarists of all time, and a rabid fan base. I had seen AC/DC open for Rainbow at the Palladium and the band was continuing its upward trajectory from theatre to arena act. Both bands still tour to this day; Ted Nugent mostly playing club dates like at the Paramount in Huntington (with the talented Greg Smith on bass) and AC/DC playing sold out arena and stadium dates.

It’s a Long Way to the Top if You Want to Rock and Roll

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GQ

The free concerts held at the Sheep Meadow in Central Park were always a happening. These concerts always drew tremendous crowds and a good view of the stage was sometimes hard to find. I arrived after the James Taylor concert had already begun and made my way near the front of the stage facing the left side. I was pumped up and started yelling “ Carolina in my Mind” as it was my favorite Taylor tune at the time only to find out from someone nearby he had actually opened with the song. WNEW-FM was New York’s preeminent rock and roll radio station and they hosted this particular event.

Shower The People

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GQ

Gato Barbieri? Yes, we took the 7 train from Flushing, Queens to Central Park and the Barbieri show was our excuse to make the trip. Wherever there was free live music to be had we were there. The Dr. Pepper Concert series was a gift that kept giving all summer long.

Let the Music Do the Talking

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GQ

Hot on the heels of a Johnny Winter concert the night before, the legendary B.B. King took the stage at Central Park’s Wollman Rink for the Dr. Pepper Concert Series. I am pretty sure that we just hung out on the boulders for this one and the next (Gato Barbieri) and this is yet another example of the great musical hang out in mid town Manhattan during the summer of 1979. It was an extraordinary set up and destination for a bunch of teenagers from Queens.

Riding With the King

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GQ

I do not have any particular recollection of this Johnny Winter Dr. Pepper concert at Central Park. However, I do recall seeing the great blues guitarist at a club called My Father’s Place in Roslyn, Long Island which had a Bottom Line type feel with table seating in front of the stage. While I do not remember the set list, I do recall seeing the somewhat frail looking Mr.Winter walking with the aid of a cain as he stepped on stage before shredding on his guitar for the evening. Once Johnny started playing, all thoughts of frailty went out the window. I saw some interesting concerts at My Father’s Place to include Gregg Allman, Iggy Pop and the Joe Perry Project. The table seating was a nice change of pace from the clubs that we were used to attending like Beggar’s Opera in Jamaica or the Ritz in New York City.

Johnny B. Goode

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GQ

The summer of 1979 was a flurry of rock and roll concert experiences that have become a blur at this point of my life. Southside Johnny has a lot of great tunes and I have seen the band several times through the years to include this show at Central Park’s Wollman Rink during the summer long Dr. Pepper Concert series.

Havin’ a Party

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GQ

The Allman Brothers Band has always been one of my favorites and I have attended the members’ concerts in their various configurations right up until March of 2020, also at Madison Square Garden, for The Brothers 50th anniversary show, which also happens to be the last concert of any kind that I have attended since the pandemic shut down live music as we once knew it. Since then I have discovered YouTube concerts to help keep my live music fix satisfied but I have been unable to get onboard the live-streaming situation thus far. I just read that Coachella, scheduled for April, 2021 in Southern California, has been canceled again due to the pandemic. I have rented a house in Newport, Rhode Island in hopes that the Newport Folk Festival which was canceled last year might still somehow take place in July, 2021. The New Orleans Jazz Fest has been postponed again from April of this year until October, 2021 so I have taken a leap of faith and booked an Airbnb in New Orleans as we were supposed to attend the canceled festival last April, 2020. I am also holding on to my Jones Beach Theatre concert tickets for the postponed concerts from last summer and I have tickets for New York Mets opening day which I seriously doubt that our embattled Governor Cuomo will authorize a full house for. Who knows what the future holds but in the meantime stay well and rock on!

Just Ain’t Easy

GQ

If you are missing Van Hagar, check out the band Chickenfoot with Sammy Hagar, original VH bassist Michael Anthony on backing vocals and Joe Satriami shredding on the lead guitar. The sound is very reminiscent of the Sammy Hagar Van Halen lineup and while Satriani is not Eddie Van Halen, he might be the next best thing.

Future in the Past

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GQ