Tickets for the Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band concert at Madison Square Garden in June, 2000 were a tough get so I went to work trying to obtain a pair as my wife really wanted to go. Around the same time, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young were to be on their 2000 U.S. Tour. I had purchased seats on the side of the stage for CSNY at MSG and somehow found someone online, who conveniently turned out to be located near where I worked, who wanted to swap decent Springsteen seats midway up to the right of the MSG stage, for my CSNY tickets (the ultimate sacrifice as I was, and am, a huge CSNY fan). My wife was thrilled to be going to the Springsteen show (I like Bruce but have issues with him at times, as you will see). “American Skin” was a song written by Bruce Springsteen inspired by a police shooting in New York City that was a tragedy, to be sure. It was around this time that I started to feel Mr. Springsteen began to abandon his working class fan base, and law enforcement in particular, for a more “liberal” philosophy, which is certainly his right to pursue whether some of us agree with him or not. On this night, Springsteen & the E Street Band broke into “American Skin” with the audience eerily quiet during the playing of the song. My opinion of the song has fluctuated through the years and at the time I took the tune to be an attack on our law enforcement community, so as Springsteen repeatedly sang “41 Shots”, I yelled toward the stage “Bruce you suck!” between each refrain. This went on for awhile, my wife was mortified, and at some point someone in the section below us turned around and yelled back at me “No YOU suck”. There we’re two young guys standing to my left as this went on for awhile, and when I briefly explained to them that I was a cop, they shrugged their shoulders as if to say they got it. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band have begun their 2023 tour following the ticket price controversy (unbelievably I have to agree with the artist on this one, that if they lower ticket prices only the brokers and sidegiggers would reap the profits; the shows are obviously not going unsold at the seemingly exorbitant pricing but the market is what it is). Bruce got me for about a grand this tour as I managed to obtain really good seats on the right side of the stage at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and a pair of nosebleeds behind the stage at the UBS Arena at Belmont Park. I just saw that Pink tickets at MSG are being sold, for me, crazy prices; it has gotten that a half way decent pair for a popular act can cost you over $700 bucks to start. Where it ends is anybody’s guess but the bubble may burst at some point considering how few tours are selling out immediately these days (just look at the upcoming summer concert schedule). I will go to one of the Springsteen concerts, I am sure it will be great, but whether you got your money’s worth might depend on if you managed to pay your mortgage that month.

Badlands

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GQ

I have seen Los Lobos at least a couple of times; at City Winery and a festival in Pasadena, California pre- Covid to name two. I have been to the Patchogue Theatre once before to see Chicago tribute band Leonid and Friends. The theatre is a pretty cool older venue that could probably use an upgrade but does not have a bad seat in the place. I won these tickets on a WFUV giveaway and, while going out on the town on a Tuesday night is getting tougher, my wife snd I will endeavor to persevere and rock out on a “school night”. I just checked and there are plenty of tickets available (with minimal surcharges), so go out and support live music performed by a legendary band.

How Will the Wolf Survive?

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GQ

I have not attended a lot of arena concerts at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, but in April, 2000 I made the trip to the then Continental Arena to see Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. I have gone to ninety plus (and hopefully counting) Neil Young shows through the years, starting with Rust Never Sleeps, but this CSNY New Jersey gig is not producing any particular memory. The Continental Arena is more notable (for me) as being where I was caught on film in the orchestra, full screen rocking’, during Young and Crazy’s “F!#*in Up”

Stephen Stills and Young will be performing at a Stills benefit event in April, and Neil will be at Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday bash in May (both shows happening in California).

Sadly, David Crosby is no longer with us but Graham Nash is doing a solo tour which will hit New York’s City Winery and upstate Bethel Woods soon.

Following these return to the stage Neil Young performances, I am hopeful that Neil and the Promise of the Real are inspired to go on tour, as Nils Lofgren will be unavailable and on the Springsteen tour until the end of the year (at least).

Long May You Run

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GQ

Ray Davies solo at the Westbury Music Fair in October, 1997 was an epic evening. I picked up three tickets, for what I think was $45 bucks each, to see an all time tock and roll legend in concert, with two legends in their own right, my good pals Sandy and Steve. Ray Davies sang, chatted between songs, and we provided the tequila fueled background vocals; a rollicking good time was had by all.

Victoria

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GQ

My first concert in the 2000’s was a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young show at Madison Square Garden on a Monday night in April. These four legends have been feuding for a variety of reasons for years now and it is unlikely that they will perform together in any configuration ever again. Currently, only Graham Nash has any scheduled dates this year, including three nights at the NYC City Winery. Davis Crosby is still putting out music, Stephen Stills may be retired at this point, and Neil Young is still working on the Archives while trying to avoid long Covid. With Nils Lofgren about to embark on a lengthy tour with Bruce Springsteen this year making a Crazy Horse reunion unlikely, if I ventured a guess, perhaps Neil may hit the stage again at Farm Aid in October, but obviously a lot can change in the next ten months.

Everybody I Love You

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GQ

If memory serves me correctly, I went solo to this Yes concert at the iconic Beacon Theatre and the band was featuring the Russian keyboardist during this 1999 tour. What is truly memorable about this December Tuesday evening, though, was that after the concert was finished, I managed to slide in front of the first row as the band took their bows and made their farewells. I looked up and staring down at me was one of my musical heroes, Mr. Jon Anderson, himself. I reached up, shook his hand and was immediately surprised that the lead singer of Yes had a massive mitt of a hand. As we shook hands, I realized that I had a pretty good grip going on and the look in Jon’s eyes told me that the handshake had lasted a bit too long. It now reminds me that before the most recent Bob Dylan show I attended at the Beacon, I saw Steve Earle and his band in the audience; I went over to say hello and tell Steve that I was a fan. I might have squeezed that handshake a little too hard as I saw Steve looking at his hand and shaking it as I returned to my seat. We briefly discussed my having seen him at City Winery where he was a regular and his getting Bruce Springsteen to perform at Earle’s benefit concert at Town Hall, a big “get” indeed.

It Will Be a Good Day (The River)

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GQ

Wilco is still one of my favorite bands and this November, 1999 concert at New York City’s Town Hall was a much anticipated first time, for me, seeing the band. I had been listening to, and loving, Wilco’s music for awhile before Mr. Nut and I traveled into midtown Manhattan to see them perform at this beautiful intimate venue. As I recall, we had pretty good orchestra seats to the left of the stage. I believe that the original guitarist was still in the band at the time and I remember the show being excellent. I have seen Wilco play many times since and it is always a treat seeing the band; Jeff Tweedy is one of those artists that has managed to maintain his artistic integrity for what has now been a long and successful career. The album “Summerteeth” is an awesome dive into the bands music and was in constant rotation in my life when it came out in 1999.

Via Chicago

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GQ

Mr. Nut AKA Mr. Vegas is a huge Ozzy and Black Sabbath fan so when Ozzfest made a stop at New Jersey’s PNC Arts Center in June, 1999, Jimmy Nut picked up a pair of tickets for us to sit dead center in the first 20 rows with the theory that security would be beefed up to protect us from unruly, and possibly intoxicated metalheads of all shapes and sizes, rushing and crushing the stage. His concerns seemed to be well founded as a young man was swimming in a puddle in the parking lot when we arrived. My best memory of this New Jersey Ozzy road trip was seeing Slipknot on stage for the very first time in full masked regalia and moving back a few rows as when they hit the stage they scared me; specifically the one Slipknot band member perched on the spring loaded drum. Ozzfest was an awesome rock and roll traveling circus with something for every music lover to enjoy in a variety of metal maniac flavors.

Toxicity

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GQ

I used to buy all sorts of music gifts for Christmas but compact discs are close to being obsolete and the concert outlook for me is quiet. I picked up tickets for John Mellencamp at the Beacon Theatre in June, and Judy Collins on what will surely be a cold Saturday night in February, as gifts for my wife. Neil Young keeps pumping out box sets and product at an astonishing rate, which is great, and I expect to find some under the tree this morning, but I continue to wish for a tour at some point. The summer shed schedule is light so far, with Foreigner’s “Farewell Tour” and few more shows on tap; I am mostly looking forward to the slow release of the 2023 Newport Folk Festival lineup in the new year where there are always more than a few surprises.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and

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GQ

In April, 1999, Neil Young played a multi-night solo acoustic stand at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden supporting the “ Silver and Gold” collection. In celebrated Neil Young fashion, the “ Silver and Gold” album was released a year later in 2000.

The Theatre at MSG has never been one of my favorite venues although nicely renovated with good acoustics, however it is visually a bit sterile tucked n the basement of the The World’s Most Famous Arena. I have seen Van Morrison with Bob Dylan perform together there (on the same night The Rolling Stones rocked the arena above our heads). Years later I caught Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy at the same MSG venue when the seating situation near the rear of the venue left us feeling far away from the action. For The Theatre at MSG, I would suggest spending the extra money for a closer vantage point (a recommendation I never make but maneuvering at this venue is problematic) where a better seat location definitely improves your enjoyment of the show at this particular music hall.

Buffalo Springfield Again

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GQ