Sonic Youth opened for Neil Young & Crazy Horse on this 1991 tour that I was fortunate to have attended on three nights. I am pumped as this morning I have ordered my “ Don’t Spook the Horse” T-shirt from the Greedy Hand store (a “Mirrorball” T-shirt was also purchased for good measure, and free shipping). The Neil Young bumper stickers intrigued me but not at $9.99 each, or $34.99 for four (love Neil but Greedy Hand indeed).
The Restless Consumer
Arc Weld
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GQ
This ZZ Top/ Black Crowes concert at the Nassau Coliseum on a Saturday night in January of 1991 is memorable for a number of reasons. The Black Crowes were coming off their hugely successful debut album and it was the first time I would see them perform. I have most recently seen the band at Jones Beach last summer ,and before that Chris and Rich Robinson performed an acoustic set at the Newport Folk Festival as Brothers of a Feather. The absolute greatest Black Crowes experience for me was catching them at the Jones Beach Theatre with Jimmy Page; this ranks up there as one of the best rock and roll shows I have ever seen. Mr. Nut and I were standing on our seats screaming, yelling and having a grand old time; that’s rock and roll!
ZZ Top’s headlining set that night was pretty cool; the stage was set up like an oversized junkyard, and at some point during an extended instrumental portion of a song, a giant claw came down over each of the individual members, picked them up one at a time, and dropped them into a giant compactor on stage (if you were paying attention you could see that a life size ZZ Top doll fell from the claw into the compacter and it was hysterical). The members were in the crusher but the music continued until the band returned in compacted cars that they drove around on the stage with only their heads sticking out (this is my memory so if I got some of this wrong, forgive me, but it was a blast). I have seen ZZ Top a number of times since then, and some blues purists may blush, but this was my favorite time seeing the band and such a fun night out.
Just Got Paid
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GQ
The first time I saw the Blues Traveler band, with John Popper on harp, was when they opened for the Allman Brothers Band at the Jones Beach Theatre in August of 1990. My wife and I had orchestra seats up front to the right of the stage and at the time I knew nothing of Blues Traveler. John Popper on that harmonica, that he played as if in place of a lead guitar, blew me away. The then heavy set John Popper had the coolest multiple harmonica accoutrement hanging around his neck (or was it a vest?) where he would pull out the appropriate harp for the occasion. Honestly, if you would have asked me back then who would have been the bigger act going forward, Blues Traveler or the Dave Matthews Band (who played together at a H.O.R.D.E. festival), I would have said that Blues Traveler was going to blow up big. Obviously DMB graduated to headline stadiums and Blues Traveler seemingly disappeared from the scene and became a footnote to 90’s jam band lore.
The legendary Allman Brothers Band were an amazing live act, one of my all-time favorites, and I never hesitated to try and make one of their shows anytime they came around. We went to see The Brothers 50th anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden right before the world shut down for the pandemic. Somewhat amazingly, we are vaccinated but in some sort of limbo waiting for the latest surge to subside.
Wasted Words
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GQ
I never miss a chance to catch the legendary Eric Clapton when he is in town. I have no particular recollection of this August, 1990 Slowhand concert; Mr. Clapton is now semi-retired and reportedly an anti-vaxxer, along with Van Morrison. Clapton’s documentary on Showtime is depressing but worth a watch.
Hello Old Friend
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GQ
Fleetwood Mac played the Jones Beach Theatre in July of 1990 with the lineup that included Rick Vito and Billy Burnette replacing Lindsay Buckingham on guitars. The “Behind the Mask” tour would not be the last time Fleetwood Mac and Buckingham would have their differences, and I did get to see the iconic lineup perform a couple of times, to include the Classic East two day fest at Citifield, before the band shut it down for the foreseeable future at this point. I actually emerged myself in a two disc Fleetwood Mac greatest hits collection recently and reminded myself of the incredible musicianship and voluminous classic songs the band pushed out during the height of their popularity. The amount of legitimate hits on this compilation was kind of mind blowing; Fleetwood Mac were never one of my favorite acts but their songs dominated the radio airwaves for so long you might take what they have accomplished for granted. Squeeze opened the show making for a great double bill. Squeeze is right up there with Cheap Trick as being one of the consistently great opening acts for arena headliners through the years.
Skies the Limit
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GQ
My wife and I were on the right side up front against the Jones Beach Theatre stage for the July, 1990 Robert Plant “Manic Nirvana” concert. Smoke filled the stage and when Robert Plant started with “Watching You” off the latest album, then broke into “Nobody’s Fault But Mine”, I turned to her and said ”Now THAT’s a rock star”.
Tall Cool One
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GQ
I specifically remember this Jones Beach Theatre show for a couple of reasons in particular.
First was I had initially purchased the tickets because I wanted to see the great Joe Cocker in concert; I had not appreciated yet at that time what an incredible talent Stevie Ray Vaughan was. When Joe Cocker hit the stage first I was a little shocked as I assumed he would be the headliner; this reminds me of when I saw Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult at the Nassau Coliseum during the “Black & Blue” tour and Sabbath came on first (BOC was considered a Long Island “local” act and they got to headline on their home turf).
The second thing I remember was that when Stevie Ray Vaughan came on stage and broke into his first tune it got loud, so loud it was noticeable where we were sitting in the mid level mezzanine to the left of the stage. It was as if someone had thrown a switch and the volume was turned up to 11. It sort of reminded me of when I saw Aerosmith at the Nassau Coliseum and I was nearly knocked off of the orchestra folding chair I was standing on when the decibel level all of a sudden went way, way up in the middle of a Joe Perry guitar solo. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Joe Cocker was a great summertime double bill; I am glad I can say my wife and I were there almost 8 months after the birth of our baby girl (for forever I thought my wife was pregnant at this show but the timeline does not lie). While I would get the opportunity to catch Joe Cocker perform again, I would not get to see Stevie Ray Vaughan a second time as he tragically died in a helicopter crash not too long after this Jones Beach concert.
Pride and Joy
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GQ
It is 2022 and Chicago is still on tour; my wife’s favorite band is playing the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester in May and sheds all summer long with Brian Wilson opening (how Wilson is still touring at this point is beyond me; the last time I saw him perform at Westbury opening for Jeff Beck, Brian Wilson could barely navigate the stage). I have no particular recollection of this Chicago performance but they always manage to play all of the iconic fan favorites. I actually liked when they performed Chicago II in its entirety a couple of tours ago. The casual Chicago fans were unhappy but I loved that they dug a little deeper into the catalogue for a change. Long time guitarist Keith Howland recently left the band under a cloud but, if Chicago has proven anything through the years, theses road warriors will continue on until there are no original members left, and quite probably beyond.
Beginnings
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GQ
I am a big Eric Clapton fan and I have seen him perform many times through the years; however, I have no particular recollection of this April, 1990 Slowhand concert at Madison Square Garden.
Bad Love
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GQ
The Rolling Stones brought their Steel Wheels tour to Shea Stadium in October of 1989; it was a larger than life production and a New York City Queens happening. I grew up in Flushing, walking distance from Shea Stadium, and for The Rolling Stones to play the home of the New York Mets was a huge deal. I had managed to purchase a handful of seats on the field toward the back of the infield and the massive stage was impressive. The concert itself is a bit of a blur and I witnessed the end of show fireworks blasting over the top of the stadium as I walked across the Roosevelt Avenue Bridge and over the usually odorous Flushing Bay. After a stop at the Clam Bar by the 7 train entrance at Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue, I called it a night and headed home to my apartment in Fresh Meadows. My daughter would be born one month and a day later.
Rock And a Hard Place
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GQ