On a night in New York City where Dave Matthews Band played Forest Hills Stadium, Bryan Adams played with Joan Jett at Madison Square Garden and Lizzo performed at the Governor’s Ball at Flushing Meadow Park, the bride and I went to see John Mellencamp wrap up a multi-night stand at the Beacon Theatre. I do not trek into Manhattan as much as I used to for a variety of reasons, societal, traffic and parking related, and the drive in was as as expected, although not abusive. I managed to get a parking spot on Columbus Avenue and we ate at an Italian restaurant located right there. No opening act but a half hour of Turner black and white movie clips was entertaining for awhile but went on just a little too long. At 8:30, Mellencamp and a band of mostly hired guns, except for his guitarist of 50 years, hit the stage and performed for two solid hours. The legendary chainsmoker used to grab those last few puffs behind the stage curtain but on this night smoked right on stage during the first number. Anyone who has seen Mellencamp perform the past couple of decades knows his voice is pretty shot now, but once you get used to the raspiness it becomes a non-factor quickly. John Mellencamp provided a performance of thoughtful and energetic entertainment; it is amazing just how many incredible songs he has written. John and the band were great and well worth navigating the June Friday evening traffic in New York City.

Neil Young announced his west coast solo tour for July and I am currently struggling with whether to hop on a plane to catch a show (or two).

Hurts So Good

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GQ

Now if memory serves me correctly, Mr. Nut AKA Mr. Vegas and I went to the Nassau Coliseum to see Rob Zombie open for Nut’s favorite, Ozzy Osborne. The concert took place four days before Christmas, and Osborne opened his portion of the show in an overhead sleigh which traveled from the back of the arena, over the orchestra, as Ozzy fired t-shirts down at the crowd. To further set the mood for the Christmas season, behind the stage, there was a drunken Santa hanging on a cross with a bottle in his hand. Ozzy had pulled out all the stops for this one and it was heavy metal mania. At the end of the evening when the lights came up, Mr. Nut found a ring on the floor which he wore for quite a few years, and may still have for all I know, referring to it as his “Ozzy” ring. These are the things that memories are made of!
The “Merry Mayhem” tour, also known as the “Black Christmas Tour” was a big success for those of us lucky enough to spend some quality time during the holiday season with Ozzy Osborne and friends.

Psycho Man

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GQ

Aerosmith’s “Just Push Play” tour arrived at New Jersey’s PNC Arts Center on a Sunday night in June, 2001. We happily, and enthusiastically, partied hard prior to the highly anticipated show and we were pumped up for a night of old time rock and roll. Unfortunately security at the gate recognized that my friend had over indulged while trying to enter with outside spirits and had us wait until some equilibrium ruled the day. There is no particular recollection of the performance itself, and the evening is a bit of a blur, but a good time was had by all!

Same Old Song and Dance

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GQ

Yes performed with a symphony at the PNC Arts Center on Thursday, September 6, 2001. I’ve attended many Yes concerts through the years, the first at Madison Square Garden during the “ Going for the One” tour and the return of Rick Wakeman (who happens to be on a solo tour this spring). The PNC concert is not particularly memorable, although I do remember making my way up the general admission grass hill on the way to the concession stands once or twice.

Magnification

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GQ

On Wednesday, August 23, 2000, Mr. Nut AKA Mr. Vegas and I went to see Pearl Jam at the Jones Beach Theatre in Wantagh, New York. Our seats were not the greatest but I found myself wandering until I ended up dead center just behind the first section of the orchestra. We are both Neil Young fans and Nut educated me on his theory that when Neil Young is no longer around some day, Eddie Vedder would be the guy to carry on the tock and roll torch down the line. That being said, Mr. Nut and I took a road trip to a theatre in Albany for an Eddie Veddder solo concert where Eddie sat in a giant hand chair, played music and told stories. Nut drove us through a rain storm and we had a great time. This reminds me of another road trip where we drive to see a Neil Young concert in Philadelphia that was being filmed for the yet to be released Trunk Show movie. After the concert, Nut insisted that we find a famous Philly Cheese steak place and we navigated the deserted Philadelphia streets based on his memory of where the food Mecca was located until we finally found it, and where he advised me to go with the Kraft cheese that exploded all over my steering wheel at first bite. The sandwiches were worth the extra effort and we left Philadelphia with our appetites and ears thoroughly satisfied.

No Hidden Path

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GQ

One of many Neil Young concerts that I have attended since the 1978 “Rust Never Sleeps” tour, this one at the PNC Arts Center in New Jersey. Ordinarily this would be a bit of a longer drive than I would want to make for this particular covered/outdoor shed venue, with the Jones Beach Theatre ten minutes away, but for Neil Young I will always make the trip. The general admission grass area is memorable because they have created quite the hill to navigate; I am not sure if it has gotten higher and steeper through the years but to me it certainly seems that way.

Mansion on the Hill

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GQ

Over $70.00 in Ticketmaster surcharges per ticket is obscene and abusive. The fan is getting hosed, paying, in some cases, over $400 bucks for what should have been a $300 and change ticket; $800 plus dollars for a pair? I guess if they are getting it you almost cannot blame them but it is insane. Then you have “dynamic pricing”, another scam, where I went to check out my $185 each pair for Peter Gabriel only to find that it went up to $201 before fees while navigating website; I bailed. The system is broke; F Ticketmaster!

Money

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GQ

John Lodge of the Moody Blues will perform “Days of Future Passed” in its entirety at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts tonight. I have seen the amazing Justin Hayward perform solo a few times but this will be my first time attending a John Lodge solo concert. This will be our third trip to the Patchogue venue with the first two being Leonid & Friends, a Chicago tribute band, then last week Los Lobos, those tickets compliments of WFUV. It is a slushy, rainy Tuesday on Long Island, but my wife and I will endeavor to get out of the house and enjoy some live music by a legendary member of one of the great bands in the history of rock and roll, the Moody Blues!
On a side note, after “Meet the Beatles” (a gift from my aunt), the next album that I owned was the Moody Blues’ “Every Good Boy Deserves Favour” as I loved the song “The Story in Your Eyes” at the time in 1971.

One More Time to Live

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GQ

The Story in Your Ryes

The concert that took place on Thursday, June 22, 2000 is one of my favorite Chicago shows more because of the venue than the performance itself. I think Caesars may have changed the place since, but back in 2000 the venue had table seating with waitress service, like the old time Vegas venues used to have. My wife snd I had so much fun on this trip, between seeing her favorite band, the casino, and not having to travel afterwards by staying overnight at the hotel. Thanks to her, I have seen Chicago many, many, many times and we will see them again soon at the Westbury Music Fair venue “in the round”. Only three original members remain, and the group still maintains a ridiculous touring schedule for a band at any age. There will be no Northwell at Jones Beach Theatre concert this year (what ‘s going on Jones Beach, only 14 shows on the schedule so far this summer?), but Chicago does have a Suffolk County concert scheduled around the time of the Westbury date, and other shows in the tri-state area on tap in April. One would think the merry go round has to stop for them at some point, and the cast of players seems to be turning over quicker and quicker these days, but the band continues to give its fans what they want on a nightly basis; a lot of hits and a lot of good memories.

Born for This Moment

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GQ

For just under two hours on Saturday, February 25, 2023, the legendary 83 year old Judy Collins performed for an adoring audience at New York City’s Town Hall. Ms. Collins performed; she sang, she joked, and told fascinating stories between songs while seemingly thoroughly enjoying herself. The last time my wife and I attended a Judy Collins performance was at the Newport Folk Festival after she had completed a tour with Stephen Stills of “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” fame. At Newport, we waited to meet Judy at the merch tent for an autograph signing she unfortunately never showed up for. I had wanted to tell her that we were at the Stills & Collins show at Westbury Music Fair when near the end she stepped backward and fell over some equipment onstage, landing on her derrière. Without missing a beat, and being the trouper that she is, Judy popped right up and gracefully finished the performance. After that concert, we went to the St. George Theatre to see them perform again, and quite unexpectedly, ran into Stephen Stills coming out of an alleyway making his way back to the tour bus while the warm up act was on.
On this night at Town Hall, a venue she first played in the early 1960,s, she performed her “Wildflowers” album in its entirety, and finished with Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns”.
Judy Collins was amazing; an iconic legend in the flesh. She is eight three years old but still performing at the highest level with a voice that is truly a freakish gift (David Crosby’s incredible pipes come to mind). Hopefully my wife and I can catch her one more time at this year’s Newport Folk Festival.

Both Sides Now

Folk on!

GQ