At first blush, Lynyrd Skynyrd co-headlining with Ted Nugent would seem to be an odd match but the two acts together could do what neither could do alone at the time- sell out arenas, and both artists were breaking big in 1977.

Ted Nugent first achieved success with the Amboy Dukes with “Journey to the Center of the Mind” but with “Stranglehold” and the great “Free for All” album he was now wildly popular with our hard rock neighborhood community. 

Lynyrd Skynyrd was more successfully the time  but broke out big nationwide with the double live album “One More From the Road”. 

“Sweet Home Alabama”, the band’s response to Neil Young’s “Alabama” on his mega-hit “Harvest” album, was a huge radio hit and”Freebird” was one of the great dual guitar rock anthems of all time.

Although Nassau County was right next door to Queens, it may have been a thousand miles away. Once you crossed the county line for us it seemed that you had entered a different world but irregardless we endeavored to travel to Nassau Coliseum to see the solid double bill.

We sat up to the left of the stage and a large white piano dominated the scene during Lynyrd Skynyrd’s set.

It would be the only time I would see the original line up with the great Ronnie Van Zant leading the southern rock legends.

Sometime later on, Lynyrd Skynyrd was supposed to headline Madison Square Garden with Ted Nugent but tragically Skynyrd’s plane crashed killing members of the band, including Ronnie, and Ted Nugent played the MSG show himself headlining The World’s Most Famous Arena” and propelling his career to greater heights.

On a side note, during a separate expedition driving through the side streets of Nassau County one night coming from who knows where, long before GPS was even dreamed of, we found ourselves lost somewhere in Valley Stream. While trying to get our bearings and figure out how to get back home to Queens, I looked up to see white sign with black lettering on a silver pole. Nugent Street! We stopped the car, I stood on the hood and unscrewed the top of the sign just as a resident began yelling at us from up the block. We scrambled back into the car with street sign in tow and raced away with our prize. I still have the Nugent St. sigb in my attic to this day- a testament to and reminder of our Long Island adventure.

Just What the Doctor Ordered

Rock on!

GQ

The legendary Led Zeppelin played six nights at Madison Square Garden in 1977 and it was covered in all the local newspapers as the big event that it was. Rock and Roll royalty had taken over New York City and it was the hottest ticket in town. I’m not sure exactly how but we managed to buy tickets to the Friday night show. We eagerly anticipated our night to see the mighty Led Zep as one of the older kids on the next block was seen night after night leaving toward the 7 Line subway in Flushing with his expensive camera in hand as he somehow had good seats for each show and apparently the vantage point for great photos. 

Scott W. was a couple of years older than the rest of us, was done with school and always seemed to have money and the best audio equipment. He was an “entrepreanor” who would be in his room smoking cigarettes and curling dumbells anytime we went up to see his brother. Scott was cool and it did not surprise anyone that he would attend all the Led Zeppelin shows at Madison Square Garden as they were his favorite band. A few years later when Led Zeppelin released the mysterious  “In Through the Out Door” in its brown paper wrapping, the crew on the next block were the first ones at Jimmy’s Music World on Roosevelt Avenue to buy it and by the end of the day they pronounced that Zeppelin was finished. That day Van Hslen took the mantle as the greatest hard rock band as “In Through the Oot Foor” was deemed a disappointment by many in the neighborhood.

Our seats at the Garden on this night in 1977 were midway up to the left of the stage and amongst many highlights for me was Jimmy Page working with a then state of the art laser show during “Dazed and Confused” and the encore “Tock and Roll” which blew the roof off the joint as everyone was jumping and dancing to an all time rock anthem.

It was only my second concert and, although I have seen Robert Plant and Jimmy Page in a variety of incarnations throughout the years, I could not know at the time that it would be the one time I would witness the great Led Zeppelin in concert as the band broke up after the untimely death of John Bonham. The great Scott Muni broke the news on WNEW-FM during his regular afternoon shift while I was listening in a stock room at Gertz Department Store and it was over.

What Is and What Should Never Be

Happy New Year

Rock On

GQ

in about five weeks it will be the 30th anniversary of the first rock concert that I attended at 17 years of age. By way of a New Year’s resolution I will attempt to reboot my concert going chronology and start again at the beginning.

While the first band I ever saw was Thin Lizzy opening with “Jailbreak” and low tech, by today’s standards, revolving red lights on either side of the stage, had I not skipped school and got caught my first concert would have been Lynyrd Skynyrd with opener Bebop Deluxe at the Paladium.

Thin Lizzy owned the radio airwaves the summer of 1976, along with Frampton Comes Alive, so the band was a great opening act for the immensely popular Queen at the iconic arena.

We were midway up directly opposite the Madison Square Garden stage. While the renovated MSG is still a great venue it is now upscale with long aisles protected by ushers and security to keep patrons from wandering. The 1977 Garden had walkways that encircled the arena enabling its young rockers to walk completely around, mingle, get as close to the stage and get varying vantage points as the more laid back 1970’s security would tolerate.

The band Queen was a big act and tailor made for the big venues. Freddie Mercury was the ultimate showman and the ringleader to a kick ass rock band led by Brian May’s electric guitar. “Now I’m Here” was particularly mesmerizing as the spotlights would make it seem as though Mercury was being teleported to different spots of the stage as though by otherworldly magic.

There has never been another act quite like Queen as evidenced by their continued popularity on classic rock radio. They were true originals with great songs and a big sound.

Since it is New Year’s Eve, a quick story about when I realized it was probably a good idea to stay off the roads on the annual celebration. On December 31, 1981 I attended the Allman Brothers Band with Molly Hatchet show at Nassau Coliseum. After the concert traveling westbound back to Queens on the Northern State Parkway a young reveller wearing a cardboard Happy New Year hat was seen walking on the white line in the middle of the roadway with cars whizzing by him in both lanes.

Keep Yourself Alive

Happy New Year, stay safe, and Rock On!

GQ

Richard Thompson pulled strips of paper containing audience requests last night at City Winery in New York.

It was a mostly entertaining night of solo acoustic music as Thompson played tunes on the fly with the help of computer generated lyric sheets at times. Richard Thompson classics were sprinkled between  the Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter”, a couple from his Fairport Convention days and Beatles songs that he muddled through (Richard appeared to be not a huge fan of the Fab Four which is hard to believe but true)  The between song banter was refreshing and the guitar playing was exquisite. He did not play the song I am currently fixated on “The Way Thst It Shows” off of the Mirror Blue collection but he did play the Gull’s  selection “Razor” as the finale.

I first saw Mr. Thompson play at City Winery with his Family band which was entertaining but light on Richard Thompson compositions. 

Richard Thompson performs again Friday night at a sold out City Winery and is well worth seeing if you can get in to catch a legend in an intimate setting.

Shoot Out the Lights

Rock on!

GQ

Leon Russell was one of the great under appreciated rock and roll artists of our time. I have always been a fan of his solo work and I first saw him live in concert at BB King’s Blues Club in Times Sqaure. He was no longer the rock and roll wild man who played with George Harrison and the Rolling Stones. Slightly resembling Colonial Sanders, Leon Russell sauntered carefully on stage with the help of a walking stick but when he sat down behind his piano he was clearly at home. 

The times I was able to attend his shows Leon played for about an hour and a quarter and left you wanting more. The word was he was down on his luck, appearing to be not in the greatest health, and touring because he needed the money. 

Elton John rejuvenated Russell’s  career with The Union project and tour while also being the impetus for Leon’s well deserved Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction. 

I last saw Mr. Russell open for Hot Tuna at the NYCB at Westbury theatre with a band of twenty something year old players who hopefully appreciated the legend they shared the stage with. Unfortunately I had decided that night  not to see Leon Russell again as his portion of the bill was heavy on his playing piano at breakneck speed with less emphasis on his extraordinarily deep song catalog. 

Leon Russell will be missed but remembered for all time as one of the great rock and roll side men and for beautiful soulful musical compositions that will stand the test of time.

A Song for You

Rock on

GQ

WTF? The king of rock and roll is going to Madison Square Garden to see the country queen of American Idol fame, Carrie Underwood?

Yes kids it is true! My bride got us some free ducats to the Underwood show tonight, and I do like to be entertained, so we will trek into New York City to enjoy what modern country music has to offer.

I do enjoy all types of music but on the country side it is more Neil Young, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson to my liking so this will be a new arena experience for me. 

I did see Kenny Chesney at the Highline Ballroom a couple of years ago at a Sirius event and I honestly did not realize what a big deal it was as he played MetLife Stadium the following summer.

When it comes to music I’m up for most anything. I’ve seen Josh Groban, Frank Sinatra, N’Sync, Ozzy Osborne and the Grateful Dead (not together of course although it would be quite an event to be sure).

Saturday night I had the pleasure to attend the Anderson, Rabin & Wakeman concert at The Paramount in Huntigton and it was a phenomenal night of Yes music played by the truest Yes formation currently touring with or without the Yes brand name (sorry Steve Howe).

Last Tuesday 10/18/16 I went to Town Hall in midtown Manhattan to attend the Lampedusa Concert for Refugees with Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, The Milk Carton Kids, and special guest Robert Plant. All the players remained seated on stage and traded off songs playing together with a communal vibe. I missed the early part of the show due to ridiculous traffic but what I did catch was quite impressive on many levels and inspirational as to the cause being promoted.

Let the Music Do the Talking

Rock On

GQ

Ian Hunter & the Rant Band return to City  Winery in New York City and this time for an album release “Fingers Crossed”.

The legendary Mr. Hunter is always a “must see” as he and the (almost) legendary Rant Band perform a full out old time rock and roll show at the intimate NYC venue.

Cleveland Rocks

GQ

Moreland & Arbucle open for George Thorgood & the Destroyers tonight at The Paramount in Huntington. 

My good friend Mr. Nut AKA Mr. Vega once gave Thorogood the highest praise possible when he told me that the band was a must see as every song was like an encore. 

The last time I saw Thorogood and band was at The Paramount and he did not disappoint providing a rollicking good time in the perfect venue for his fast paced rock and roll show.

I once heard that George Thorogood scheduled the tours around his softball schedule.

Play Ball!!

Still Bad to the Bone

Rock on

GQ

its been an interesting week. First Axel Rose fronts AC/DC at Madison Square Garden, then a trip to Scranton, Pennsylvania to catch Neil Young and the Promise of the Real at the inaugural Outlaw Festival, and now the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens Telling stories and singing songs including Carole King’s “Up on the Roof” and the Beatles “Love Me Do” at a sold out Beacon Theatre. 

All are quite different and great concerts.

More to come.

Keep on Rockin’ in the Cat’s Attic

GQ

To be honest, I went to the Don McLean concert at City Winery last night with low expectations. I knew the song “Vincent” from back in 1972 when I was twelve and collecting singles on vinyl. As s matter of fact, I remember trading my 45 of “Vincent” to a kid around the block named Vincent, for I do not know what, and he dropped and broke it while climbing a fence to head home.

Obviously the iconic song “American Pie” is the primary reason anyone first goes to a Don McLean concert but this show was surprisingly much more than that. With a first class band of Nashville session men in tow, McLean mixed in his hits like “Crying” with deep tracks like “Crossroads” from the American Pie album, country tunes, new tunes that heartened to pop songs of the 1950’s, up tempo rockers like “Tulsa Time”, and stories of his youth growing up in New Rochelle, New York. 

Mr. McLean, who turns seventy one this year, looked and sounded great. The legendary singer-songwriter has gone Bob Dylan on us by reinventing his style to a bygone era of standards and pop songs but, unlike Dylan, staying true to the original versions of his best known songs that many first time McLean show fans, like myself, appreciated hearing as we remembered them growing up.

Every once in awhile you rediscover a gifted artist who never really went away, as McLean has traveled the world several times over, but has been  somewhat forgotten in our memory banks.

Don McLean did also give the crowd what they originally came for with a rousing version of the all time classic “American Pie” which had the usually seated City Winery audience dancing and singing along in the aisles. This show was just an unexpected, for me, joyous event and I would highly recommend catching Don McLean when you can as I do not believe you will be disappointed.

And I Love You So

Rock on

GQ