I am not sure which night I attended the Bob Dylan and Van Morrison concert, but two legends together on the same night in New York City was a night to behold. I am pretty certain that on the same night that I attended Dylan and Morrison at The Theatre, the Rolling Stones were performing in the MSG arena above our heads; amazing stuff.
Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!
Rock on!
GQ
Following my month employed at the U.S.Tennis Open in Queens when I was too tired to catch either night of the Charlie Watts Tribute at the Blue Note or the Dirty Knobs sr the Paramount in Huntington (I hate eating tickets), I went to see Roxy Music at Madison Square Garden on my last of 29 straight days working. I am not really a big fan of the band but the show was interesting in a progressive rock sort of way, The promoters apparently overreached with the pricing and venue ultimately and unexpectedly relocating everyone from the rafters down to the first level of the venue. Upon our arrival, my cheapest seat in the house nosebleed seats became what were initially for sale at $300+ face; those who sat in the vicinity who paid full price ought to have been rightfully pissed.
I went to both nights of Slowhand at MSG and it was a fine concert. At this point in his career, I figured it may be the last chance for me to catch Mr. Clapton perform and he did not disappoint Eric Clapton not only plays the blues, he now also looks like one of the old blues guys he has always admired and aspired to become.
I Shot the Sheriff
Rock on!
GQ
My favorite annual event on the concert schedule is the three days at the Newport Folk Festival which this year took place over the weekend of July 22-July 24, 2022 during a heat wave. “Hydrate” and “ Sun Screen” were the operative words as we watched a multitude of acts perform from 11:00 AM to 7:30 PM and beyond. The great thing about the festival and it’s three stages is that you will undoubtedly discover some new acts, or veteran acts that you had not investigated as of yet, and the odds are you will discover music and accumulate experiences that you will carry with you beyond the extraordinary event. The Newport Folk Festival is a place where special moments still happen, where spontaneous musical collaboration occurs, and where once in a a lifetime concert experiences happen and “surprise” appearances are not only expected but actually occur. This year, on day two, Nathaniel Ratliff and the Night Sweats “presented” a set of Paul Simon songs that ended with Simon joining the band on stage for a few tunes. On the third and last night, Brandi Carlisle, a folk festival regular, interrupted her closing set after a few songs to present the “Joni Jam” with Joni Mitchell enthralling the jubilant festival crowd with her first live performance in many years. “Both Sides Now” was epic during a set of historic Mitchell moments. This festival is such a sensory overload that even though though we had to leave in the middle of Ratliff’s set before Paul Simon appeared, it was OK as my kids, with son in law and girlfriend, were going to the Marcus Mumford after party in town. Mumford is another artist who has become “folk family” snd has appeared in the past, one time as an previously unannounced artist with Mumford and Sons.
We are now recovering from doing another three days at Fort Adams State Park for the late great George Wein’s Newport Jazz Festival. I am by no means a jazz aficionado, but I love all types of music and took it all in with varying degrees of success. We have attended the Jazz Festival a couple of times through the years and the full three days is a marathon. The weather was phenomenal and the jazz music encompassed a wide variety of styles, my favorite of which was the “Remain in Light” Project reimagining the iconic Talking Heads album of the same name.
Love Potion No. 9
Folk on!
GQ
Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Poison, and Joan Jett will be at Citifield tonight but instead my wife and I will be going to the formerly Westbury Music Fair to see Paul Anka perform. Paul Anka comes around this area very regularly, sometimes twice a year, but he may have finally hit a wall with his fan base because while Mr. Anka has always sold out his dates at Westbury, this time around there are still tickets available; Live Nation has even lowered prices on some seats for this particular concert. The tickets I purchased a couple of months ago were $50 total for the pair on some sort of “no fee” sale- a real bargain to see a Las Vegas worthy show. Paul Anka is a great old school entertainer who has written some of the greatest songs of this generation; he is a throwback, who always puts on an energetic show and leaves his audience smiling by the end of the evening.
Dr. Feelgood
Rock on!
GQ
I have attended so many Yes concerts through the years that they tend to blend together a bit, but this show at the Beacon Theatre stands out for a couple of reasons. I am pretty sure that I attended this one solo; the band has changed players numerous times, for a variety of reasons, over time and, as I recall, this was the Yes tour with the Russian keyboard player Igor Khoroshev. Most memorable for me this time out was that after the concert ended. I slid along in front of the first tow toward center stage and as Jon Anderson was saying his farewells. I looked up, locked eyes, stuck my hand up and shook hands with one of my tock and roll heroes. I had a pretty good grip going during that handshake, and as I briefly had his undivided attention the thought crossed my mind that Anderson likely wondered for a second when, or if, I would “Release, Release” my grip. My thought then, as it is now, was that for a mystic harpist poet Jon had some pretty big mitts; it kind of threw me off a bit because one might think of Jon as maybe a sort of delicate man, but my immediate impression at the time was that his hands might seem to have been better built for boxing.
I first saw Yes at Madison Square Garden during the “ Going for the One” tour, and then for the many arena tours that followed. The Beacon Theatre is one of the best venues to catch anyone but to see one of my favorite bands, going back to high school, in the more intimate theatre setting was a blast.
Relayer
Rock on!
GQ
I am not sure which night I went to Giants Stadium to see The Rolling Stones on this tour in October, 1997, and I am also unsure if it was this particular show, but I have seen the Stones at Giants Stadium to the extreme left of the stage with a runway right in front of us. It was a great view for a stadium concert, snd the Stones are the premier large venue artists ever leaving everyone from the first row to the last feeling like they got their money’s worth and having had a joyous rock and roll time. The Rolling Stones documentary “Shine a Light”,is currently being shown on Prime. The doc was directed by Martin Scorsese, filmed at the Beacon Theatre, and it is phenomenal; check it out, it is must see rock and roll TV.
Flip the Switch
Rock on!
GQ
The Doobie Brothers, with Michael McDonald in tow, play the Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theatre tonight. I purchased these tickets pre-pandemic December 2, 2019 and at that time I believe it was supposed to be a 50th anniversary tour somehow coinciding with their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. It has been awhile holding onto these seats but barring something unforeseen, and in these crazy times you never know for sure, the band will hit the Jones Beach stage this evening.
I have seen the Doobie Brothers many times and it is always a rollicking good time. There is a chance of rain, but who cares? We will be outdoors rolling down the highway with the Doobie Brothers once again- FINALLY!
What a Fool Believes
Rock on!
GQ
While we were on a summertime family vacation to Lake George and our favorite resort on the lake in Bolton Landing, the now defunct Bonnie View, we took the kids to what I think was their first rock concert at nearby Saratoga Springs and SPAC. From what I remember, Eric Johnson was a guitar wizard at the time, Steve Miller did his Steve Miller Band thing, and at least one of the kids was sound asleep early on during the evening’s festivities. I know that we had orchestra seats, which I assume were reasonably priced at the time, and allowed us to avoid the expansive general admission lawn seats at the venue.
The Joker
Rock on!
GQ
In between the two 1997 H.O.R.D.E. Festival shows headlined by Neil Young & Crazy Horse was a Saturday night concert with Jethro Tull at the Jones Beach Theatre. Tull has been a favorite of mine since I was a freshman at Holy Cross High School in Queens when I bought the “ Warchild” album (likely from Korvettes). The last time I got to see Ian Anderson and the band in concert was for their 50th anniversary tour that landed at Forest Hills Stadium on the evening when my daughter told us at a nearby restaurant that she was pregnant with out first grandchild. The Tull concert that night was a good one, with interview snippets of musicians shown congratulating the band on the milestone and citing Jethro Tull as an influence in their own careers. It was a memorable day on many levels to include the possibly last time I would see one of my favorite bands perform live in concert.
Bungle in the Jungle
Rock on!
GQ
Neil Young @ Crazy Horse headlined the 1997 H.O.R.D.E. Festival with Beck, Primus, Soul Coughing, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Leftover Salmon and Toad the Wet Sprocket. Since Young & Crazy were headlining I caught the show twice in August, 1997; first at the Jones Beach Theatre then took a bit of a road trip the following week to the PNC Arts Center in New Jersey.
Year of the Horse
Rock on!
GQ