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

Hopefully I have got this date right as it was missing from the archive calendar, but as I recall, Mr.Nut and I went to the Nassau Coliseum to see Metallica on this Friday night in February; the stage took up the center of the orchestra with general admission standing room around it. We were sitting midway up opposite to where the stage would have been set up under ordinary circumstances. At that time, Nassau Coliseum was the home of the New York Islanders hockey team and the short wall of the rink surrounding the orchestra floor, and a few security guards, were all there was in place to keep the seated fans from joining the general admission crowd on the floor up against the rectangular stage. Metallica was LOUD and throughout the show fired up fans were leaping over the wall and running passed mostly disinterested security guards standing there to ostensibly catch and release the interlopers. One of the two guards in front of us stood there stoically making no attempt to intervene; the second younger guard repeatedly, physically, and overzealously, tried to knock over the uninvited like bowling pins. Those who took the running start and stormed passed the guards toward the stage mostly made it and upgraded their experience by joining the faithful on the floor. It was not quite a mosh pit but there was a lot of testosterone in the air. At one point someone near the stage got in the face of former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted who, without missing a beat, punched the young man, nailing him squarely in the face; Newsted then spun around returning to the stage mid-song almost as if this had all been choreographed somehow. The band seemed to have a stadium sized volume in an arena setting making for an ear-splitting cacophony of sound and it was relentless. At the end of the concert when Mr. Nut, who is a big Ozzy fan and no stranger to the heavy metal music, said that Metallica scared him, it confirmed for me that we had witnessed an epic show.

Death Magnetic

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GQ

Another Allman Brothers Band concert, this time at the Beacon Theatre on a Sunday night in March, 1998. Thankfully Tedeschi Trucks Band and Warren Haynes remain on the boards to carry on the Allman Brothers Band legacy, both musically and spiritually. My wife and I saw The Brothers at Madison Square Garden right before the world shut down for the pandemic and the music stopped for a time.
I just went to see Arcade Fire with my daughter at the new MGM Fenway venue that was very cool and that reminded me a little of Terminal 5 in NYC, but other than that show, the winter live music schedule for me has been light thus far. My guess is the bigger established acts are going to gear up for the summer shed scene; Foreigner’s Farewell tour and Pink’s stadium shows have just gone on sale. I should not fail to mention Taylor Swift, who undoubtedly is the biggest music star on the planet at the moment (Marcus Mumford played one of her tunes as an encore at the Beacon Theatre); Swift’s stadium presale crashed the Ticketmaster site this week. Ticketmaster crashing is a sure sign that live music is still alive and well, but maybe just not quite as we remember it.

Done Somebody Wrong

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GQ

Marcus Mumford, on hiatus from Mumford & Sons, performs with his solo tour at the Beacon Theatre tonight with opener, straight from their Newport Folk Festival appearance this past summer, the eclectic duo The A’s.

(self-titled)

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GQ

Following the kings and I, Bob Dylan and Van Morrison at The Theatre at Madison Square, there was a Sunday night in March, 1998 on Broadway to see The King and I.

Real Real Gone

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GQ