Cyndi Lauper opened last night’s Jones Beach Concert with a cowboy western theme wearing a purple wig and carrying a suitcase. While thoughts of this being a long evening crossed my mind, Ms. Lauper provided s mix of New And old with a professional band in tow slowly building to her crowd pleasing hits like Girls Just Want to Have Fun (damental Rights) and the old Kodak commercial dong “True Colors”. Cyndi aptly straddled the line politically without being overbearing and later came out to sing a song with the headliner; Lauper’s set was an entertaining prelude for what was to come.

The legendary Rod Stewart pulled out all the stops for this tour that left out the standards that dominated his set lists some years back and this time around he emphasized his numerous 1970’s and 80,s hits. 

The 72 year old singer, who is holding up a lot better than many who attended last night’s concert, was energetic and in goood voice through the night. Stewart opened with “Infatuation” and closed with “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” with dancing girls, violins and mandolins in between. The multi media extravaganza will play well in Las Vegas and those who stayed until the very end at the sold out venue saw Sir Rod slip out the side and into the night leaving the rest of us to struggle with the worst parking lot gridlock I have seen in some time.

Maggie May 

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GQ

It’s been a busy summer concert season on Long Island and New York City, particularly Queens. On the heels of Lady Antebellum at Jones Beach and a phenomenal show by My Morning Jacket with guitar slinger Gary Clark Jr. at Forest Hills Stadium, tonight the legendary Rod Stewart plays at Jones Beach with Cyndi Lauper opening. The weather is perfect (and the crowd is old) for this almost sold out (and expensive) ticket.

The show of the summer so far was the My Morning Jacket show in Queens on Saturday. If Led Zeppelin, The Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd at a laboratory conceived child it would be My Morning Jacket. Everything about this show blew away the ctowd on this night and the Gull, who is a huge MMJ fan, loved the set list. Gary Clark Jr. hit the stage and played an hour long set in the sunlight and Jim James and company started at 7:30 and roared for two and a half exhilarating hours. 

I’m sure that Rod and Cyndi will rock the house tonight but I think I need a Bowery Ballroom show soon after this one.

The First Cut is the Deepest

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GQ

A busy summer concert season continues when the Moody Blues play the Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater tonight. 

Last night I caught John Mellencamp touring behind an excellent  “Sad Clowns and Hillbillies” collection. In a somewhat strange twist, this show did not sell fast, or well even after a reduction in ticket price after the initial on sale and a lengthy stint on Groupon. Then a few days before the Tuesday night show was to happen, many tickets appeared for sale on stubhub for as low as the $10 to $15 dollar range before fees. Since there is a 10 PM curfew to appease the neighbors, there is a 6:30 start time for most shows making it difficult for some to make the eeekday gigs. Throw in the LIRR track repair summer of hell and ticket sales were sluggish. The Forest Hills Stadium was mostly full at show time as Mellencamp played a little more than an hour and a half with opening acts Valerie Carter and the great Emmylou Harris who both also helped out with John’s set. 

A highlight last night was Emmylou and her band playing a beautiful version of “Abraham, Martin and John” written by Dick Holler and first made famous by Dion.

Legendary chain smoker John Mellencamp’s was in good voice and an entertaining “Tuesday Afternoon” and evening in Queens seemed to be had by all.

Moody Blues tickets for Jones Beach were available for as low as $20 and were seen on Groupon for $15. The classic rock concert landscape is a mixed bag this year and there are bargains out there to be had to catch some great live rock and roll music this summer.

I’m Jusr a (Pop) Singer

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GQ

Two thirds of the Dukes of September play The Paramount in Huntington tonight.

Wye Oak is playing City Winery in New York City Friday, 10/6/17.

What a Fool Believes

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GQ

Jesse Paris Smith’s mom is Patti Smith of the Patti Smith Group. City Winery continues to reinvent the New York concert scene with cool acts and innovative events. Although when pressed at the Relix Music Conference at Brooklyn Bowl recently, owner Michael Dorf said that they catered to the “viagra and wine drinking” crowd (some offense taken, as I neither take viagra or drink wine), the venue is always a great place to see a show.

There are various guests tonight but the obvious draw is seeing the Patti Smith Group play in an intimate space that is not the Bowery Ballroom.

Patti and her children, Jackson and Jesse Paris, will play a show later this year at Central Park Summerstage (yet another great New York City concert venue)  in a tribute to her husband Fred “Sonic” Smith of the MC5 from Lincoln Park, Michigan.

Kick Out the Jams

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GQ

Elvis  Costello took the Central Park Summerstage last night with his Imperial Bedroom and other chambers tour for what   turned out to be a 2 and a half hour marathon that ran the gamut from hits, ballads, and a Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

The Imposters, as I learned from Rolling Stone magazine, are the Attractions with a different bass player/background vocalist and the addition of two female singers. 

Elvis was resplendent in a red hat that complemented longtime mainstay Steve Nieve’s grand piano.

It was a long show to be sure and the pacing was somewhat questionable at times that resulted in some of the crowd talking through some of the quieter moments, but it was an excellent retrospective of an artist with a vast catalogue of music.

The Summerstage is a uniquely New York City venue nestled in the park.

But I must digress. Tears for Fears at Forest Hills just killed if opening for Hall and Oates. Despite the cattle car-like crush to enter the old tennis stadium and missing a good part of the set, the joyous crowd danced and sang along to 90’s hits like “Shout”. 

Next up, Hall and Oates.

Private Eyes

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GQ

Jethro Tull was my favorite band in high school and the first album that I actually purchased myself was Tull’s “Warchild”.

I do not really recall seeing U.K. for either show and, to be honest, I do not believe they were even on my musical radar screen at the time.

As far as Jethro Tull is concerned, the only recollection I have from (hopefully) these shows is that I was quite impressed with Ian Anderson swinging the length of the stage with a rope in his best theatrical fashion.

I do have one Jethro Tull MSG story but I am not sure which show or tour that it actually occurred. As I was wandering through the Garden during the show,  I happened upon an unattended elevator and I got in  As luck would have it, the elevator took me right behind the stage, stage right, and I tucked myself behind a curtain for a bit and watched Ian Anderson perform on stage. I stayed in that spot for a few minutes when a security person finally saw me and asked me what exactly I was doing backstage. Without any realistic explanation at my disposal, I was then escorted from the area but was thankfully not removed from the building for my curiosity.

Wond’ring Aloud

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GQ

The “No Nukes” Rally in Battery Park was a free event in New York City. and a large crowd gathered, in part, to see some of the big names in rock and roll and protest music and primarily to be part of a political movement.

Crosby, Stills and Nash, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raite, John Hall, Carly Simon, Pete Seager, Jane Fonda, Tom Haydn and Ralph Nader were some of the most prominent names who took part in the rally. It is somewhat amazing that many of the participants have remained true to their beliefs and are still vital societal voices to this day.

Lives in the Balance

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GQ

It’s an overcast fall evening at Jones Beach Theatre tonight this June 6, 2017 but at least it’s not raining. I’ve seen Dave and Tim at a couple of Farm Aid Concerts where Mr. Matthews is a board member with Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp. Mellencamp will play Forest Hills Stadium next month behind his excellent new album and Willie Nelson returns to the beach with his second annual Outlaw Festival with, among others, Sheryl Crow and the Avett Brothers.

It looks like no opening act and the smoke is starting to envelop the stage.

The boys just hit the boards.

Under the Table and Dreaming.

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GQ

The Who’s “The Kids Are All Right” dfocumentary film was released in 1979 and on its heels the band played a multiple night stint at the World’s Most Famous Arena. My first reaction when The Who hit the stage was shock as the visual image that I had in my head was that of lead singer Roger Daltrey with his flowing locks but this was immediately forgotten as a close cropped short haired Dsltrey sporting a tight black t-shirt was seen. Once the initial shock of Mr. Daltry’s new look wore off, the Madison Square Garden gigs became a celebration of the band and the power of rock and roll. During one of the shows, Pete Townshend cut his hand on a guitar while performing his iconic windmill move. It was also the first tour by The Who with Kenney Jones from the Small Faces on the drums as Keith Moon had famously passed in 1978 following the “Who Are You” album with Moon ironically photographed sitting on the “Not To Be Taken Away” chair. 

The band was as great as was expected, John Entwhistle sang on “Boris the Spider” and “My Wife”, with Daltrey and Townshend in top form.

I remember that my father did not understand why I would spend the money to attend more than one night of The Who that week and he got mad enough that he skipped a Dick Haymes show at Westbury that I had gotten him and my mother tickets for as a gift. Duck Haymes was a favorite of my dad’s but as we both can be thick headed Irish he refused to go because of my multiple Who dates.

As bad luck would have it he’d never get to see Mr. Haymes in concert as Haymes passed the following year.

I would try to make it up to my father later on by taking him to see Frank Sinatra but that’s a story for another day.

The Who By Numbers

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GQ