Old Farts Best Concert Thread

[xrayzebra]

I just spent 30 minutes typing up the story of my best rock concert, only to lose it when I submitted.

So, I'll write it off line in the next day or so, and resubmit. In the meanwhile, I'd like to hear some stories of the best rock concert you ever attended. And, it doesn't have to be the best concert, so much as the best STORY of a concert... the craziest shit that happened or coolest results, etc.

In my case it was hitchhiking to Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon, alone buying a ticket at the door as the doors opened, and scoring an 11th row, dead center seat, between two groups of stoners who included me in their party, and then running into friends who drove me home.

[BennytheBlade]

My very first (real) rock concert was in 1982. I was 14 and going to the concert w/ my 17 year old brother as my "chaperon" (this is what my parents thought his role would be, boy were they wrong)

The band was Judas Priest, the Screaming for Vengeance tour.

My "chaperon" found 2 joints laying on the ground/grass while walking towards the arena (The Summit in Houston) and stated "Holy Shit!" ( i remember this quite clearly as this was the first time my brother and I got high together, but certainly not the last:firedevil ).

We got to our seats (good ones but not great ones on the lower deck) and my bro and his friends lit up.

Right there in the arena.

I know now that this is not unusual behavior at some concerts, but at the time, being a concert noob, I was like "WTF you idiot, we shoulda done this before we got in here!!!". My chaperon :lol: told me to take a hit and chill the fuck out. There were 5 of us and we were passing 2 joints back and forth doing our best Cheech and Chong impressions, and we of course offered to the people next to us. This being a Priest concert, there were many takers and one of the joints made it quite a ways down our row.

I had started out being freaked by smoking in public, then as I got high got more paranoid (I think the smokers know what Im talking about) but had finally started to enjoy the pre show laser lights when a security guard/policeman slapped the joint out of the hand of a guy 3 seats down from us who we were sharing w/ and arrested him, right there. Talk about a buzzkill.

As far as the show went- it was great- Rob Halford screamed his (fruity) lungs out and Preist became one of my all time favorite bands. My ears rang the whole next day and I was a metalhead til I hit my 30s and started listening to blues and blues/rock alot more.

Brings back a ton of great memories.

[xrayzebra]

MOST excellent! Party on, Dude. ( I suspect this will turn into more of a teenage depravity thread than a concert thread. I know that's my story.)

My younger bro saw Priest, I never did. It was his first concert, and he was tripping. He was maybe 16 and already 6' 2" and 180 pounds with a beard and long hair. He passed as 21 a couple times when he was like 14.

(This is our other brother's account of things...)

The little bro was always a freak magnet. Every place we ever went, some pathetic loser was picking a fight or wanting to be best friends. So, there was this weird crazy looking, stinky sweaty little dude that kept pounding on his back because he could not see the stage around my bro. He tried to ignore the guy, but eventually told him to stop it, probably with a threat. The guy disappeared and came back with a security guy and starts yelling some shit my bro didn't understand. He shrugs and yells an explanation to the security guard.

The little guy rips his own shirt, and SCOOPS OUT HIS GLASS EYE and HIS TOP FRONT TEETH which are a bridge or someting, and jumps into a boxer's stance, and gives my bro a sign that he wants a fight. He's standing there gape jawed, seeing patterns and shit, and the security guy cold cocks the little weird fuck and grabs him by the collar and drags him away.

After the concert, this freak comes up to the bro and says "Hey, man, I really kicked your ass, you pussy!" and my bros just started laughing their asses off. All the way to the car, this guy is following them, yelling epithets until they look at each other, and without discussing it, they turn around and chase the guy, who is laughing at the top of his lungs. They said he stepped on the gas, and sprinted away from them like he was on rails. Just dusted away like a shot, and disappeared into a crowd of people so quick they were both convinced he was some kinda alien or something.

One of them will tell that story every single time it comes to talking about "the old days," and it gets sillier every time. They can't agree on a lot of the details, and they both play up different angles, but this is the part they agree on.

[Danbo]

As far as the show went- it was great- Rob Halford screamed his (fruity) lungs out

Ya know, maybe I'm wrong for even thinking this, but the visual image of Rob Halford screaming his lungs out, at least to me, has changed(in a more disturbing visual imager kinda way), ever since he came out and announced he was gay.

My best concert was Bob Seger, since I was also stoned out of my brain, and sitting about 6 feet from the stage, right in the center. :wolfgang:

[xrayzebra]

I always thought of Halford as freakier before he came out. Once he came out, the entire Judas Priest thing all made more sense to me. :)

Half the guys in rock bands in those days were gay. Statisically way more than the general public. Get over it. Many of the bad asses of rock and roll that some of us wanted to BE when we were little rockers were gay. Most of the people in the industry who had the power to make a band go to the top were gay, and they promoted the guys that they "partied" with (sorry to ruin that phrase for the rest of us.) Especially in England. And if they weren't gay they were bi. (Much more true of British bands due to the way the industry worked than in America.)

Then, of course you had that Glam Rock era when everybody who was straight pretended to be gay or started cross dressing to fit in with the trend. Anybody who had a big selling album on the FM rock stations in those days has at least one album cover with make-up and rhinestones or some shit.

There's probably a couple of very unfortunate photographs of me floating around somewhere from those days. (Groan) Decked out in platform shows, hip hugger bell bottoms, and one of those short waisted shirts that shows your belly button and hairy belly, with hair about down to my tits and as wide as my shoulders and a goatee, looking like somebody out of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. (standard disclaimer: never gay or bi, not that I'd give a shit if someone thought I was, many people did in those days as we lived in a small town where there were maybe 10 kids who pushed the envelope as tragically hip rock'n'rollers.)

Saw Seger back in 1970, outdoors, and his drummer had this huge kit that included two L shaped tomtoms mounted to either side above his head. That was when his first (methinks) national hit, "Rambling Man" was still somewhat getting airplay. They rocked. Same festival as GFunk, Mountain, Ten Years After, Alice Cooper, and a bunch of since unheard of bands as well as future headliners. "Lost" bands included Damnation of Adam Blessing and Savage Grace. Last concert at Crosley Field in Cincy before they tore it down. Iggy Pop dove off the stage and busted up his teeth... mighta been fake, I have heard he knocked his teeth out at too many other shows people have told me about. He was crowd surfing before that, standing up (!), with people passing him around, and someone handed up a huge tub of peanut butter which he proceeded to rub all over his chest. :)

There was a small riot outside after the show. I saw some wannabe Weathermen siphoning gas out of cars to make molotov cocktails, and hightailed it outa there. Luckily, I somehow ran right into my Dad in his old station wagon, who was driving around looking for us. (I was about 15.)

[SinCity]

Hey X-Ray,
You been goin to concerts since the early 70's? How'd Ya miss The Nam? College?
I missed the draft by a year in 74'. They pulled numbers in 74' but did'ent draft anyone.

What do you want to know, the craziest, best, most fucked up, longest hitchiked to,concert?????

To start off they were all pretty crazy.

I went to a UFO & Jethro Tull concert in 75? Ha, I found the stub 10/8/75.....
I hitchiked there early and was about one of the first 100 people at the gate. Ya know bring an ounce of weed hang out and wait for the gate to open. Well the gate was on the top of the hill looking over the fieldhouse where the concert was to be held. (Kirby Fieldhouse Lafayette college Easton, PA), there was a 10' fence and a building that just funneled you into the gate which was meant for a one-dude-at-a-time, a disaster in the makin. Well, when you get a couple thousand asses behind you and the cocksuckers start pushing into the funnel, your fucked! It was so tight that I picked my feet up off the ground and did not drop an inch. It was fucked up big time. If the fence went over there would have been deaths way before the WHO.

Back to the story.....We were gettin crushed, and I was dealin'with it. There was this little kid crawling around by are legs where there was plenty of room ,but at your upper body there was shit and to my left there was this chick that was freaking out real bad. I still had a good spot by the gate to be one of the first ones in and get a good seat. (dance concert) no assigned seats. I said fuck it and worked over to the chick that was freaking, lost my spot, got her against the fence, put her between my legs and hands, and pushed against the cylcone fence so she could have room breathe. She calmed down some and they opend the gate. I'm like fuck, here all day, up front, now fucked.
Once the gate was opened, there was a relieve to the pressure. I weaseled the chick to the gate, got her out and looked at about a thousand of these pricks ahead of me. It was funny because there was a elevation change down to the fieldhouse with all these concrete steps. I looked at all these fuckers that got ahead of me trampling down these concrete steps as fast as they could move.
Besides the steps there was this steep bank, I hit the bank at full stride and passed most of them.

I ended up front center about ten rows back & happy. I'm sittin there and its kinda dark. There is this young chick in the row in front of me JERKIN' THIS KID OFF, next to her. So, I'm just sittin' there enjoyin the pre show with these two dudes sittin next to me not realizing whats going on. This broad was going to town and the dude gettin serviced was kinda nervous.
Finally one of the dudes sittin next to me noticed what was going on, tapped his buddy next to him on the shoulder and directed him to the action in front of him.
This dude put his hand on the shoulder of the chick & dude in front of him and looked......I mean if the kid blew his load right than and there he would have took that clowns eye out, fuckin funny.

The Concert was cool for it's time, Ya know UFO, Tull. When the encore happend I made my move to the stage. I'm right in front of the bass player, He's in a Zebra costume, with a Zebra striped bass Guitar.

Well I kinda figured it was the end of the tour because the bass players toes were sticking out of his worn out Zebra shoes . And to top it off he had a hole in the crotch of his Zebra coutume with no underwear. Let me tell you, It's the last thing you want to see is the bass players nuts at a concert.

I would rather see some crazy bitch like Wendy-O or Janus where you know up front is the place to be.

[DONK]

My first concert, was Herman's Hermits, when they were big!!! LOL! You did say old farts thread!!

My favorite concert: Anyone that I am running lights!!:wolfgang:

[Danbo]

Well I kinda figured it was the end of the tour because the bass players toes were sticking out of his worn out Zebra shoes . And to top it off he had a hole in the crotch of his Zebra coutume with no underwear. Let me tell you, It's the last thing you want to see is the bass players nuts at a concert.


Bwahahaha! I believe I've just found myself a new signature line.

[xrayzebra]

I lucked out on the nam. I was in the oil business, and my Dad was in politics, so I went into the Guard, but then, I went awol and my politically connected associates covered me.

No, that's a lie. Nobody could get away with that kind of chicken shit behavior.

The year I was 18, my lottery number was like 283, or something like that, low probability. Then, Nixon closed the draft as the guys of my lottery began to be drafted anyway. So, I was in the first year of eligible guys who ended up not facing the draft.

UFO? There's one not many people remember. Too Hot to Handle. Saw Tull at least once, maybe twice - it all gets foggy.

Excellent stories.

I'll get the Floyd story posted today.

[xrayzebra]

Okay - here's the re-creation of the story I lost before posting the other day:

The year Dark Side of the Moon came out, I had already been a Floyd fan since Umma Gumma. I had gone for the Meddle concert, which was in a small hall, but it was sold out when I got there and NOBODY was selling tix. As hard as it might be for anybody who only saw them after that tour, they were playing in a moderate sized venue for Dark Side, it was before they gained the mass appeal to sell a huge stadium. Everybody probably knows how big that album was – for 25 years or so – and after that they mainly played really big arenas, and had incredible props and effects.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p> </o:p>
Anyway, the day of the concert, I got all kindsa shit from my buds at school, cuz I hadn’t come up with the cash for tix. Everybody was going except me. I came home from school and my Dad says, “You really wanted to go to that concert tonight, didn’t you.” I have no idea how he knew. I don’t think I even mentioned it. Maybe one of my slightly older buddies who had already graduated and worked in the same factory had been talking about it at work? Who knows? One day I’ll have to ask him.
<o:p> </o:p>
Anyway, he says, “If I give you the money for a ticket, can you get there?’ I say, “WHOA, THANKS!” SURE I CAN!”
<o:p> </o:p>
He lays about 15 bucks on me – yeah, Floyd tix were $11, so I had some change left over – and I head out to the highway on foot, empty handed except for ticket money. I get a quick ride to the interstate and I’m walking up the ramp. Before I get to the top of the ramp or put my thumb out, the tires squeal on this powder blue Ford Maverick that is flying past.
<o:p> </o:p>
The Maverick swerves, crosses the grass median, does a u turn, back the other way, crosses the median again, does a third u turn back down the exit the wrong way, passes me, does a 4<SUP>th</SUP> U-ie, and stops beside me. This dude is hanging out of the shotgun window with his hair hanging down to the door handle, and he yells, “Hey, man, you goin’ to FLOYD?” as the smoke rolls out of the window like the van in Fast Times as Ridgemont High.
<o:p> </o:p>
In those days, you could tell just by looking at somebody that you were gonna party together. I remember many times walking down the street and making eye contact with somebody I didn’t know who just had the vibe, and just smiling at each other and starting up a conversation and we’d be hanging out right then. People would give you a ride, buy you something to eat if you were broke, take you home with them if you needed a place to stay, whatever. And, you could do the same for people without much thought. More than once I even had chicks do that kinda stuff for me or accept the same kind of hospitality without being snooty. It was just different times.
<o:p> </o:p>
So, I’m saying “Yeah,” as the guy in the back already has the door open and I hop in. The car is moving before I got both feet in, and the door slams by itself as I’m getting clear of it. The guy in the back hands me his gallon jug of Spanada wine, and I take a big old moonshiner’s finger-thru-the-handle-jug-over-the-arm slug of that crap and the 3 guys in the car are cracking up. All 3 of them have a doobie going, and they hand me one of my own. The guys up front are sharing a gallon jug of Bali Hai, and hand it back to see which I like better. They’ve been arguing the merits of Bali Hai versus Spanada, and want me to give a final authoritative opinion which is “best.” (gag.)
<o:p> </o:p>
I get to the show – there is HUGE crowd. The doors open in about 15 minutes, but it is reserved seating and there is no big push. I get to the ticket counter pretty easily as everybody in line is in groups of 4 or 5 people buying tix in blocks together. I’m thinking they’ll sell out before I get mine. I hand the lady my cash and she is surprised I only want one ticket. She looks at the ticket she pulls out for me and smiles, and hands it to me with wink.
<o:p> </o:p>
I get inside and I never been to this venue, I’m looking at the coded letters and numbers with no idea where my seat is. An usher points to the floor seats and I smile, “Wow, a floor seat.” I keep showing my ticket to security people and they wave me forward down the left of center row. Finally an usher says “right here,” and I squeeze down the aisle, not realizing until I get to my seat, I am in the 11<SUP>th</SUP> row, dead center, with my eyes at dead level with the stage surface.
<o:p> </o:p>
I talk to the guy on my right and he marvels at my luck, saying ”Dude, you have good karma? Wanna party?” He is with 3 other guys and they have scored a POUND in the parking lot, and the guy next to him is busily breaking it up into quarters with a postal scale. While the guy on that side tells his buddies my story, I talk to the guy on the left. “Man, you’re lucky, that’s cool. Wanna party?” And he pulls out a chunk of dark green hash as big as his fist and a swiss army knife. I can smell it as he slices off a couple slabs and passes them to his buddy on the other side.
<o:p> </o:p>
Soon, I am getting a joint from the right, followed by a pipe from the left, staggered just enough that it works out. But, then inevitiably, I get both at the same time. I’m getting a pipe laid in my upturned left hand and a joint in my right simultaneously and I just look at them, unable to handle the craziness of it all. The two guys lean forward and look across at each other, jump up, and start high fiving. They are old school buds who haven’t seen each other in like 4 years, and all their crews know each other. The 7 guys are taking turns leaning across in front of me yelling their hellos and shaking hands, and then things calm down, the whole group starts sharing and we have this 8 person party with the various smokes going back and forth, with me in the middle.
<o:p> </o:p>
Finally, the lights go down even more, the prerecorded tape stops, and applause grows. Smoke starts to fill the stage, and colored lights go through their sequences slowly. The lights go down to almost pitch black, and a tightly focused spotlight from the rear pierces the darkness, and hits this mirrored disk that throws rays of light thru the smoky air, and bright “stars” of light across every surface in the arena. Just as the crowd is grokking the rays of light, the disk revolves, and the “stars” begin to revolve as well. I feel the air pressure drop as every person in the place gasps in awe, simultaneously.
<o:p> </o:p>
Then, it was the Dark Side album, start to finish I believe, with enhanced sections added, some pyrotechnics, etc. It was the quadraphonic PA system I ever witnessed., and it was like the music was inside your head, absolutely clear. The audio effects swirled around the place like crazy. Most excellent.
<o:p> </o:p>
When it was all over, I was totally wrecked. The lights came up, and I shuffled out with the crowd. Just as I am wondering how the hell I am going to get home 45 miles this screwed up, I faintly hear somebody screaming my name. I think it’s my imagination, but I look up toward the top of the arena, and my school buddies who had given me such shit that afternoon are up there in like the last row, waving their arms at me.
<o:p> </o:p>
I passed out in the car, and the next thing I know, they are dropping me off and I am sneaking in the basement door so as to not encounter my Mom as I slide in so wasted I cannot talk.
<o:p> </o:p>
Ah... memories… Thank you for indulging me in my tale. That was fun.

[JackBlades]

Great story for 4/20!! :wolfgang:

[xrayzebra]

I love that DONK saw Herman's Hermits.

My ex wife had a story... she was asked out on a date, and the guy told her where they were going, but she had never been to a concert, and didn't recognize the name of the band. They were some new English rock band. At the time, it coulda been the Beatles and she wouldn't ahve known who they were.

It was in the little Civic Center dome in Virginia Beach, which seats about 6000 and I don't believe it was even sold out.

The Rolling Stones first American tour. Only tour here where they were ever "some unknown band." Still not knowing who they were, or who they would become, she apparently almost pissed herself when they started playing. She said all the girls in the auditorium let out this simultaneous scream when Jagger started strutting around the stage, and she was a Stones fan from then on.

EDIT: I just "got it" on the "420" reference. Never heard that one until it showed up today in my Urban Dictionary junk mail. "420" basically = "let's go get stoned"

[SinCity]

I lived in Houston, Tx. for a while in 76' There were concerts every weekend. I have some of the ticket stubs.

One of the concerts was Joe Cocker Apr. 3, 1976 at the Sam Houston Coliseum. When you went to a concert there they always had 2 back up bands and you had no clue who they were. The back up band would be playing and you were asking people around you "who's this group" and they also had no clue. Well later after the Cocker concert I found out the one backup band was REO Speedwagon.

By the time Joe Cocker was on stage my cousin and I made it up to the front row center. Joe was singing with this giant cup of beer in his hand, swaying, jerking around the way only Joe knows how to do. I was like man fucking Joe is gonna' spill his beer or puke on us. He did'ent spill a drop and had this cup though the whole set. To are right is this chick maybe in her mid 20's with this little kid about 3 years old. I was like what the fuck is she doin' with that little child here in this super loud spot no less?
About half way through his set she gets up, steps to the stage holding the kid up to Joe reaching up to him like "look, Joe Look at him". There's Joe still with the cup of beer in his hand swaying, jerking doin' his thing.
Now I'm thinking what the fuck was that all about. The only thing I could figure out was that maybe she was a groupie a few years back and that was Joe's kid??? Weird

Here's some scans of a few ticket stubs. Check out the prices.....

[Dtex]

My very first (real) rock concert was in 1982. I was 14 and going to the concert w/ my 17 year old brother as my "chaperon" (this is what my parents thought his role would be, boy were they wrong)

The band was Judas Priest, the Screaming for Vengeance tour.

My "chaperon" found 2 joints laying on the ground/grass while walking towards the arena (The Summit in Houston) and stated "Holy Shit!" ( i remember this quite clearly as this was the first time my brother and I got high together, but certainly not the last:firedevil ).

We got to our seats (good ones but not great ones on the lower deck) and my bro and his friends lit up.

Right there in the arena.

I know now that this is not unusual behavior at some concerts, but at the time, being a concert noob, I was like "WTF you idiot, we shoulda done this before we got in here!!!". My chaperon :lol: told me to take a hit and chill the fuck out. There were 5 of us and we were passing 2 joints back and forth doing our best Cheech and Chong impressions, and we of course offered to the people next to us. This being a Priest concert, there were many takers and one of the joints made it quite a ways down our row.

I had started out being freaked by smoking in public, then as I got high got more paranoid (I think the smokers know what Im talking about) but had finally started to enjoy the pre show laser lights when a security guard/policeman slapped the joint out of the hand of a guy 3 seats down from us who we were sharing w/ and arrested him, right there. Talk about a buzzkill.

As far as the show went- it was great- Rob Halford screamed his (fruity) lungs out and Preist became one of my all time favorite bands. My ears rang the whole next day and I was a metalhead til I hit my 30s and started listening to blues and blues/rock alot more.

Brings back a ton of great memories.

It wouldn't have been Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and Girlschool would it?

[Umberto]

Herman's Hermits WOW

[BigJim]

I saw Crosby Stills and Nash in 1980 at the Hilton Colosseum In Ames Iowa.

Perfect sound....fantasic show. My ticket was free because I got taken to the show the by the MOM of one of the girls that hung out in our crowd. And yes.... I did nail her. I was 18 and she was 36. GLORIOUS.

Set a new standard for sex that no woman has lived up to since.

[ded i]

One of my favorites was seeing Bruce Springsteen at the Stone Balloon, a small bar in Newark, Del., right before his first album was released (so it must have been, what, '73?) My girlfriend (very straight, who was, in fact, a parole office for the fourth judicial district) and I were sitting on the bar just a few feet from the stage and big tall guys would come and stand right in front of us. One after one I tapped the guys on the shoulder and whispered, "If you move over just a tiny bit so we can see, the redhead sitting next to me will give you a blow job after the concert." Then I'd smile and he would move. After this happened a few times and seeing we had a completely clear view of the stage Vickie leaned over and asked, "WHAT are you telling these guys ... ?"
I told her I was just asking them really nicely to move over.
The show was just fucking amazing, of course, but as it was ending I put my arm around Vickie and made eye contact and said, "We probably should leave now ..."
She wouldn't, of course. Hahaha!


:spin: :devilzide :devilzeek :devilzide :spin:

[tubtar]

This is a tough one. The Who with Keith Moon in 75....but I was in about row 20 and could not move. Devo in a small theater in like 79.....The first of 4 or 5 times I'd seen them.
Stray Cats from the front of the stage in a 200 person club on their first American tour.
Smokin dope and drinkin Wild Turkey back stage with Magic Slim....of the "Magic Slim and his Tear Drops " fame. A Chicago blues man who was always entertaining.
A previously mentioned Johnny Winter gig. 73 ish....when he was in his picking prime.
Chuck Berry .....with The Fabulous thunderbirds. Back stage at the Mn. state fair. Jimmy Vaughn was cooler than ice. Chuck Berry was a fucking prick , but is still a legend.
The Stones...Bridges to Babylon tour. Back stage here too. The Stones were the Stones.....but walking around with a back stage lam and not having to blow a roadie to get it.....priceless.
Actually , I flew to Vegas and drove one of their equipment trucks to Minneapolis , so part of my compensation was two passes.
I can't pick a favorite , but it would probably be a small venue show.
The reverend Horton Heat at 7th. street entry in Mpls. It is a club attached to a club , and holds 150 people tops. The Reverend ( Jim Heath ) was sober enough to rock and though they usually played the main room here , they burned the fucking house down with their set.
Not in a White Snake kind of way......but they were fast , furious , violent and humorous. Everything a good rock and roll show should be.
Andther good one springs to mind......The Paladins at Wilebski's Blues Saloon in St. Paul. They were partying with some local musicians the day before and looked in rough shape. The bass player was the worst of the bunch from a physical standpoint. He played the stand up " dog house ' bass , and the guitar player and drummer conspired to torture the poor bastard by ripping one tune after another. He was sweating is ass off and looked like he was ready to die. After the first set , he got some vile looking blue cocktail and a little dog hair was just what the doctor ordered. But for the first set , the guitar player and drummer were laughing at him and and he would just give them that old " I know....I know..." kind of shit eating grin. He hung with them and everyone had a blast.
J.S.

[Wolverton]

Not so old but...

I think I have decided on small venue Tool, Aenima tour. We're talking like 30 feet from the stage. In fact I have been dissapointed with them ever since because I cannot seem to get into the small venue shows just the arena ones, they sell out in seconds.

Roger Waters was almost shockingly impressive.

Rush is impressive EVERY time.

Black Flag circa 1986 was frickin WILD, great show in a little dump they could barely fit all that equipement into. Just my level of loud. Same goes for a couple of early Floater shows, very very loud, lots of equipement in a small bar, sounds good.

Seen lots and lots of others, those are just the ones that really stand out.

[Matches]

I saw Springsteen three or four times and each concert was great. My first concert was when I was 16 and living 20 miles outside of Boston. Three Dog Night was playing at the Boston Garden and my friend had four tickets. We each found a date and made arrangements to take the bus into Boston. This was a pretty big deal considering we were only kids.

About halfway into Boston, our bus started smelling real bad and as we looked out the back window we could see that we were leaving a trail of black smoke. The smoke started filling the bus and the driver pulled over and we all sat on a hill along the Massachusetts Turnpike. This girl I was with started smoking a joint right there!

A second bus was dispatched and we made it to the concert in the nick of time. It wasn't the best concert I ever went to but the burning bus was a riot.:wes:

[Umberto]

Cream Farewell Tour concert in 1969 from second row.

It was a unique show because time stopped and suddenly the crowd and the band became one and I was thinking the same thought as everyone at the same time and an energy surge was oscillating back and forth between the audience and the band whose auras were pumped up and shimmering in
rainbow colors...

[ded i]

... Bob Dylan, 1965, Baltimore Arena but it was called the "Civics Center" then. I was still in high school. I remember this concert pretty well because it occurred before I started getting high, in fact I think I wsa still a double virgin at the time. Bringing it All Back Home & Highway 61 were both released that year. Dylan started out accoustic, took a break, and when the curtains opened again The Band was on stage and Dylan walked out with an electric guitar and couldn't start playing because the audience booed him for at least 10 minutes - it just went on and on and on. One guy kept it up a full minute or two after everyone else finally stopped. Dylan, dressed completely in black, stepped up to the edge of the stage, shaded his eyes, looked right at the guy and snorted "Whadda YOU know ..." It became very quiet in there. They tuned some guitars and then they got it up. "Ballad of a Thin Man" was so new the audience didn't recognize the intro ... but it was obvious that Dylan's electric fans were there, just outnumbered. Did My Back Pages, Like a Rolling Stone, Tom Thumbs Blues, Chimes of Freedom, etc., and just kicked butt. I was a changed human bean after that concert.


"Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder..."

[Umberto]

Dylan in 1965?
Holy Moly.

[Mr.LaBella]

Dylan in 1965?
Holy Moly.


"double virgin"

holy moly!:jdwink2:

[Brian]

... Bob Dylan, 1965, Baltimore Arena but it was called the "Civics Center" then. I was still in high school. I remember this concert pretty well because it occurred before I started getting high, in fact I think I wsa still a double virgin at the time. Bringing it All Back Home & Highway 61 were both released that year. Dylan started out accoustic, took a break, and when the curtains opened again The Band was on stage and Dylan walked out with an electric guitar and couldn't start playing because the audience booed him for at least 10 minutes - it just went on and on and on. One guy kept it up a full minute or two after everyone else finally stopped. Dylan, dressed completely in black, stepped up to the edge of the stage, shaded his eyes, looked right at the guy and snorted "Whadda YOU know ..." It became very quiet in there. They tuned some guitars and then they got it up. "Ballad of a Thin Man" was so new the audience didn't recognize the intro ... but it was obvious that Dylan's electric fans were there, just outnumbered. Did My Back Pages, Like a Rolling Stone, Tom Thumbs Blues, Chimes of Freedom, etc., and just kicked butt. I was a changed human bean after that concert.


"Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder..."

Yup, Baltimore Civic Center. That was back when Baltimore used to have lots of good concerts. Not that I was there is 65, but saw many shows at the civic center in the late 70's and 80's.

[ded i]

"double virgin"

holy moly!:jdwink2:

:roflmao: (sex and drugs ... !)

I stopped going to shows at the Civics Center after getting almost lethally squished at a Jefferson Airplane show ('69) I weighted 90 lbs soaking wet, 5'2" and was in the 8th row in the front section of the concert which had wooden folding chairs. They did "Volunteers..." and people started rushing the stage and we were pressed like sardines. I managed to balance on the edge of a folded chair but the mass made that position impossible to maintain. I was squeezed so hard between people that my feet weren't on the floor, and I couldn't get my face high enough to breathe. An immense guy on my left saw what was happening and just picked me up and balanced me in one huge hand & sort of threw me in the direction of a security guy on the edge of the stage. (!) People were getting trampled and the guards were trying to get Grace Slick to stop singing. She was enjoying the excitement and maybe didn't realize how desperate people were getting and didn't want to stop the music. They took the mike away and "explained" things to her - that took a while because Grace was obviously high on Amerika - pretty fucked up ... I stayed at the back edge of the stage for a while. Things didn't get much better and the show ended soon afterwards. I wanted to find the guy and thank him but security made me use a different exit and, although I waited and watched outside, I never saw him. So thank you Mr. Big Guy, wherever you are! . )

[Umberto]

I bet I saw a concert on that tour.
Vanilla Fudge opening?

[bhamster06]

I went to the first Woodstock & thats what I remember. Saw Hendrix at the Cherry Hill NJ ice house. Temps, Tops, Supremes at the Latin Casino. Atlantic City pop Joplin.... Iron Butterfly at Electric Factory in Philly. Oh yea Miami
Pop I think Procol Harim. Pink Floyd civic center I think. Katira new age at the
Academy of Music in Philly now that was something got buzzed just from the
music it was all percussion.

[ded i]

I bet I saw a concert on that tour.
Vanilla Fudge opening?

I believe you're right - Fudge opened that show. How could I forget that!
"Set me free why doncha babe ..."

I didn't go to Woodstock because I knew it was going to be a mess. Even as a little hippie girl I had standards. My boyfriend went without me and was pissed, but there was no way I would go. I was never a communal love and peace type hippie when it came to sharing my person or personal space. I was an art hippie. I wanted my "inspiration" and a clean place to trip out, and a clean bathroom and private sleeping area and a place to paint. I didn't get passed around and I was careful not to put myself in a situation where I had no choice in the matter. I didn't go camping with 3 million people. - Let's face it ... it's hard to be a little hippie chick and get that fucked up on drugs and still have control over who you slept with. There had to be locks somewhere - or else you had to be married or have the protection of a man you could trust. I didn't want to get married. I didn't marry until I was 32 years old. I decided who I wanted to sleep with before I got fucked up. woot!

I'd already seen just about everyone playing at Woodstock. I went to Europe that week - by myself-and I ended up staying there for 6 months. This is a bit off topic but the 60's was really a different era than the '70's, happier, more freedom oriented. When I first took acid it was still legal - and I could smoke pot almost anywhere without getting hassled or arrested. I copped hash in Istanbul that summer and brought it thru something like 6 or 7 international borders, and back into the USA. I wouldn't have even tried that in the 70's. And, actually, I was very stoopid to do it when I did .... Hahaha!

:bot:

Bhamster - what was your experience at Woodstock?

Any other devils do Woodstock?
- There was only one woodstock, really! . ) . )

[Umberto]

Friend of mine came by one day in 69, said he was going to get Hendrix tickets and did I want one? How much? $18.00.

$18.00??!! That was the highest price we had seen on tickets thus far.

I said I couldn't afford it and would have to catch Jimi the next time.

Oh well...........................

[xrayzebra]

Tubtar and Umberto... In the immortal words of Edgar Winter*, "I wanna party with you."

(* from "We All Had a Real Good Time")

Between drinking backstage with Magic Slim and the pulsating auras of Cream, those sound like my kinds of shows.

I remember watching Blue Oyster Cult from the nosebleed seats when the audience was transformed into a throbbing mold culture, and momentarily being inside the head of the singer, looking back up into the stands at myself. That was right after his face changed into my face and he had switched the lyrics of "Career of Evil" so that he was using name in the chorus, saying "(my name) you are reeeee-al evil..." That was the ONLY time that ever I indulged in those particular spiritual condiments at a concert... it was all too abstract.

Then there was the time when Deadeye and I were drinking Crown Royal backstage with Buckwheat Zydeco.

And, the time that a bunch of the younger kids that Judy was going to school with saw us as we were going backstage at the Doobies, and they yelled hello to us. We stopped to talk to them, and they asked if we knew the Doobies, and rather than tell them that a friend had given us the passes, we lied and said, "Oh, yeah... we go way back to the old days with these guys," and embellished it a little to blow their minds. We actually only got to like nod hello to them as they went on stage. no big deal.

We did meet Hubert Sumlin in Baltimore when he was playing a little gig there - he had just come back from playing at Keith Richards' birthday party.

Umberto - I never got back to the thread where I asked you about the Fugs sig line you were using. I wish I had seen those guys!!!

[bhamster06]

Hi Deadeye Dick
Well it started out nobody new what it was going to turn into. Went up in
1960 Olds 88 pulled in a gas station to let the car cool down traffic was solid.
For a $1 you could get a shortcut map. We did it put us about 1/8 mi. from the back fence. There was a small deli where we were lucky enough to get some bad lunch meat which we found out after we left. We were in the first bunch to go over the fence because we didn't have any tickets. It hadn't started raining yet. We wandered all over the place inside. I don't really remember any of the groups. Yes people were everywhere but to be honest I
didn't see anybody being forced to do anything they didn't want to or really doing anything wrong. That first night we tyed tarps to the car to sleep under. There were people sleeping there that I did't know but everyone was cool. One guy said he was from Time mag. but who knew or cared we were there for the party. I do remember a toll taker on the Parkway asking for a joint instead of money. I do recall all the rain & mud but that didn't stop the party.I admire you for going to Europe that must have been really cool that to me took some nerve. But the times were better then or so I remember.......

[Umberto]

.... the audience was transformed into a throbbing mold culture, and momentarily being inside the head of the singer, looking back up into the stands at myself. That was right after his face changed into my face.......


Umberto - I never got back to the thread where I asked you about the Fugs sig line you were using. I wish I had seen those guys!!!


Glad to know that kinda stuff happened to other people too. :bwah:

Yeah you were dead on the Fugs, you remember more of it than me.

[Larry B.]

I had two tickets to see Elvis Presley at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island N.Y. A few days before the show he died. I never cashed in the tickets and I still have them.

[ded i]

Hi Deadeye Dick
Well it started out nobody new what it was going to turn into. Went up in
1960 Olds 88 pulled in a gas station to let the car cool down traffic was solid.
For a $1 you could get a shortcut map. We did it put us about 1/8 mi. from the back fence. There was a small deli where we were lucky enough to get some bad lunch meat which we found out after we left. We were in the first bunch to go over the fence because we didn't have any tickets. It hadn't started raining yet. We wandered all over the place inside. I don't really remember any of the groups. Yes people were everywhere but to be honest I
didn't see anybody being forced to do anything they didn't want to or really doing anything wrong. That first night we tyed tarps to the car to sleep under. There were people sleeping there that I did't know but everyone was cool. One guy said he was from Time mag. but who knew or cared we were there for the party. I do remember a toll taker on the Parkway asking for a joint instead of money. I do recall all the rain & mud but that didn't stop the party.I admire you for going to Europe that must have been really cool that to me took some nerve. But the times were better then or so I remember.......

I luv it! It's great to hear an individual account from someone who was really there. I luv the toll taker asking for a joint. So many peoples today SAY they were there but can't communicate any of those little details you wrote. I know human beans got along amazingly well considering the muddy conditions and that everyone was wasted for the duration. Every head case and dealer I knew went - I can only imagine the altitude maintained. In retrospect, I guess I was chicken - Crowds were an issue for me. I'd also had a ugly encounter with an animal which probably coloured my thinking. Not that I did much thinking at the time.

:spin:

I went to Europe for a blue collar version of the "Grand Tour." It was exceptional. I'd just finished art school and I wanted to see the real enchilada. I got high and went to museums and oh'ed and awed and cried over all my favorite old art stars. I stayed and stayed because I knew I wouldn't be able to afford to get back there for 25 years and I was right about that. I also wanted to go to a communist country to see what was what with my own eyes. I was tired of being a dumb american. I heard the Czech border opened periodically so I waited three days to get a chance to cross. It never opened but I got into Yugoslavia but that's another thread. It was beautiful then, before the war. I met fabulous kids who risked their lives to listen to Led Zepplin. Outstanding beans everywhere - I cried for them as I watched the horrors of Bosnia.

[tubtar]

Glad to know that kinda stuff happened to other people too. :bwah:

Yeah you were dead on the Fugs, you remember more of it than me.

A member of The Fugs , Dirty Ed Brown had a solo effort that is still in my rotation. Look for " The Ballad of Johnny Pissoff "
I'm not so sure about that whole amoeba deal......but I saw a lot of shit that no one else was seeing.......but then , my first concert was in 1973.
An era of platform shoes and satin pants was just over the horizon for many , and the peace and love vibe was losing steam. Damn shame.....from the perspective of a hormone engorged 14 year old.
I thought I was on the cusp of a communal sharing of space and time once or twice.....but not everybody was on the same page.
Too bad.
J.S.

[ded i]

Hendrix tickets ...

Actin funny, but I dont know why
scuse me while I kiss this guy .

:bwah: :bwah: :bwah: :jdevil:

[Big John aka Mod 12]

I went to the Denver Rock Festival, a few weeks before Woodstock. I saw so many groups, but Johnny Winter, 3 dog Night, Aorta, Poco, and Iron Butterfly stood out. There were moreI just can't remeber. I know there is a link to that festival someplace. We missed Hendrix as we had to go home the last day. In 1969 Grand Funk Railroad with back up band Black Oak Arkansas was a good time, at least what I remember. I've seen the Who in D.C. in 99. Gordon Lightfoot at the Kennedy Center.

The Animals
Paul and Paula
The Fendermen
Mitch Ryder and His New Band
Joey Dee and the Highlighters
The Supreames
doug clark and his Hot Nuts
Koner, Glover and Ray
Peter, Paul and Mary (twice)

all in no particular order

[Umberto]

I went to the Denver Rock Festival, a few weeks before Woodstock.


Hey my best friend's wife and my exgirlfriend who was also his ex girlfriend went to that festival, and rolled a VW on the way back to texas.
She got to psychedelically experience glass being pulled from her scalp at the hospital.


and Paul and Paula, wow.

[tubtar]

Dave Ray and Tony Glover were gigging around Minneapolis together in the late 80's and were still great. Did an awesome version of " Walkin the dog "
J.S.

[ded i]

We haven't mentioned Little Feat. How could I forget Little Feat! I love Little Feat - best when Lloyd George was stil alive. I saw peter paul and mary in Hyannis, Mass. Mamma's & the Papas. One of the original Lovin' Spoonful gave me a clock and his woman just hated me ... they lived in Baltimore at the time - late '60's
Canned Heat a few times
THE BEACH BOYS! (At the Navel Academy, Annapolis)
Allman Brothers (Boulder Colorado, summer '71, Duane was still alive. They came -afterhours- to the Boulder methadone program where I worked to get their poison.)
good grief ...

:bwah: :spin: :devilzeek :spin: :bwah:

[Umberto]

Little Feat were such a superb band. Dancing cactus and Lowell's shoes sailing across the stage. Anybody that ever saw them raved and raved.

I snuck into a Canned Heat show once. Can't remember where I saw the Beach Boys. Pretty sure i did though.

[inkster]

I love Jethro Tull :gramps:

[tubtar]

Lowell George was once described to me as " the funkiest white man that ever lived."
Pretty close.
J.S.

[Umberto]

Friend of mine moved to Austin 71 or 72, brought his super duper Marantz stereo and hooked it up to another buddie's performance amplified speakers.
We were BLASTING Little Feat's first album at noon, when the cops pull up in the driveway. So this cop is standing politely knocking at the front screen door with smoke wafting out the door past his head, and everyone is hiding behind the sofa or in the kitchen.
Finally one guy goes to the door and the cop just tells him to (cough, cough) turn it down please.

Austin police were always the best.

[ded i]

I love Jethro Tull :gramps:

Didja know Jethro Tull invented the "seed drill?" I imagine that figures in the origin of the name .... :madaddy:

[Big John aka Mod 12]

tubar-: The winter of 69 I lived across the street from the Triangle Bar, on the west bank. It was good times, you bet, but damn cold. I used to bus tables at Mama Rosa's for beer money and a free meal.

I saw Paul and Paula at the ballroom and skate rink in Harmony, MN.

I almost forgot. We also saw the Bryd's at the Inwood Ballroom in Spillville, Iowa when "Hey Mr. Tamborine Man" went to the top of the charts. They signed a contract, had to play, and honored it. Dave Crsby was dancing across the floor like a wild man and was the first time I ever saw anything like that. I also saw the Rascal's at the Inwood, around 70-71. we were the older people there and they hung out at the bar with us between sets. They wanted us to bring our girl friends to their motel. I told one of them to fuck off.

In 68, when I was on a weekend pass from Ft. Dix I went into NYC and heard Buddy Rich at the Copa. He was fantastic. I'm hoping to see Smokey Robinson this summer.

BJ

[xrayzebra]

Here's a couple of All Access Passes saved by Deadeye from more recent concerts. I don't think either of us would put these two cocerts up there with stuff like the early Dylan or PF Dark Side tour, but it was cool to have backstage access during the shows...


http://www.jerzeedevil.com/gallery/files/5/5/2/santana.jpg


http://www.jerzeedevil.com/gallery/files/5/5/2/doobies.jpg

[Umberto]

Ah experience brings wisdom and all access passes.

[xrayzebra]

I don't think it is so much experience or wisdom as it is just being so fucking old that you know a few people who have the jobs you dreamt about having as a kid (concert promoter, Santana's road manager, etc.) and they don't know many people their own age who would still go to the concerts, so they toss you a few bones when the band passes thru town.

We hardly go to any concert where there are more than 400 people there unless we have access to the free beer and less stressful atmosphere of back stage. It's great, when the dumbfuck in the seat in front of you starts to get so drunk he takes off his shirt, increasing the air exchange thru his stinky armpits, and he is turning around to yell at the audience behind him, and is pumping his fist in the air, further increasing his stink-spew... and you just get up, make your way back, and watch the rest of the show from the back or side of the stage.

But, the experience was much more intense when you had to hitch hike, and when you weren't absolutely certain if you'd get out of the arena alive, or where you'd crash tonight.

[ded i]

Ah experience brings wisdom and all access passes.

Mostly we've just been lucky. For instance, a friend of ours does a really nice outdoor blues show every year so we get to meet a lot of great blues musicians - my favorite was Frank "Son" Seals, sadly he's gone now, but what a fabulous man. We've met and/or partied with Taj Mahal, Larry Johnson, Shemekia Copeland, Lea Gilmore, Delbert, Bobby Rush, John Mooney (excellent!) Kim Wilson, Chris Thomas King (Oh Brother Where Art Thou) Lil' Brian, and a bunch of others.

Dave Mathews was a guest musician at the Santana concert, but we didn't meet him.

[Clydetz]

Only concert I remember going to was CREAM back in '68-'69. I think they appeared at Villanova College. 'White Room' and 'Sunshine of Your Love' stick in my mind. After the concert, my date & I got back to my car to find that it was broken into! A piece of shit '62 Chevy and somebody smashed the vent window & pryed the glove box open! Always wondered how many other cars were broken into that night. Then I was drafted.

[Umberto]

Just FYI, I think the Scorcese Dylan film No Direction Home is on PBS tonight.

[ded i]

Just FYI, I think the Scorcese Dylan film No Direction Home is on PBS tonight.

Oh yeah! I liked that. I wouldn't mind seeing it again. I actually saw Dylan in concert three times, but the '65 was the best.

[Umberto]

yeah rub it in......

I did see Dylan once though, in the more recent period, w/ Tom Petty.
It wasn't 65, but the ticket was free.

[xrayzebra]

umberto - I think I speak for Deadeye as well as myself when I say "mi casa es su casa"

[Umberto]

Well that's very kind and thank you.

[ded i]

:bump: for Nathan and the James Gang - and old fart noobies :ssmile:

[zzjake]

Well, in the late 70's, I worked security for Beaver and Stone city Productions out of Dallas. Did a bunch of concerts, Kiss, Molly Hatchet, Blackfoot (one of my faves) 999, Heart, Luther Jackson, ZZ Top (kicked ass!) too many groups from Texas Jam to remember, the tail end of Guess Who's run (without Bachman and Turner) and what had to be my favorite, a small club gig with the Grass roots. The one I remember most was Three Dog Night, B.B. King and Bobby Bland, all together at the Longhorn Ballroom, great night of music. Damn it, I miss my long hair

[MarieLaveau]

Damn, sooooooo many names here that bring back awesome memories!

Paul and Paula....my mom had 45's that I listened to with her. "Hey, hey, Paula...I wanna marry you....Hey, hey, Paul...I wanna marry you too....I've waited so long for school to be through, and Paula I can wait no more for you....my love..."
Gonna have that one stuck in my head all day now.:bwah:

I dunno if I qualify for old fart status or not, but I'm gonna jump in here and add my story anyway.

My first "real" concert was ZZ Top, in 1981. Jackson, MS coliseum. I was 13 or 14. I think it was the El Loco tour, can't remember for sure, but I do still have the tickets and a bumper sticker somewhere.
Anyway, I was all excited about going, and asked my aunt and uncle if I could ride with them. My aunt got this funny look on her face, and said that their car was full and there'd be no room for me. Ok, no big deal, I'd ask some other friends if I could ride with them. (I always hung out with older people, for as long as I could remember...these folks were all in their 20's)
Turned out later on, my aunt didn't want me riding with them because they all intended on getting high on the way to the coliseum, and were afraid I wouldn't be cool. HAH! I rode with the other people, and was stoned before we crossed the county line.:bwah:

Anyway, we get to the concert, and Grand Funk was opening. I'd heard their stuff on the radio, and from albums my aunt and older cousins had, so I was stoked about seeing them in person. Freaked out one older guy who saw me, this scrawny little girl, dancing and singing along. He laughed his ass off, and gave me a drink of his beer.:madaddy:

At one point, I had to go to the bathroom, and fought my way through the crowd for 20 minutes to get there. Some chick in the bathroom had some hash, which I had no idea what it was at the time, and shared with me. I got lost on the way back to find the people I came with. Ended up opening a wrong door, and there was some HUGE creepy guy, who smiled and tried to pull me inside. I kicked him in the shins, and called him a big ugly fucker.

FINALLY made my way back to the arena, and by then everything was totally surreal. Walked in just as ZZ Top was blasting into "Tube Snake Boogie". I went apeshit...that was one of my favorite songs....danced all over the place while trying to find the people I came with.
At one point, when I was at the peak of my buzz, there were these green laser lights sweeping the crowd. One of the bands of light hit me right across my eyes, just as the guy next to me turned to face me. Must have looked pretty trippy....he went, "Faaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr fuckinnnnnn ouuuuuuuuttttttt!" and dropped his beer.:bwah:

Anyway, that's my story, or as much of it as I have time to tell this morning. I was hooked on live music thereafter.

[Boogerball]

grateful dead - 85+ shows (twice backstage)
phish 45+ (3x backstage)
JGB 25+shows
Janes Addiction 5x
Primus 7x
too many to list; lots of punk, druggie shows

weirdest show was GD @ Giants Stadium, East Rutherford,NJ; not really the show was weird, just the guy dying in our van (OD)... we had picked up this guy hitching, Carl... long story short... go into the city.. cop some junk... get high.... wake up, and Carl doesn't... cops come... i had nothing on me, so i don't go to jail, stuck at this chicks house in east rutherford... all my buds are in jail w/Biggie Smalls for three days....that was the tour from hell '95 that led to the demise of GD(other than Jerry dying) actually, that whole tour was fucked up... kids were dying everywhere... three got struck by lightning while sitting in a tree( saw it ) WEIRD TOUR

[Boogerball]

not even all of em

[Nathan S]

:bump: for Nathan and the James Gang - and old fart noobies :ssmile:

LOL, that was another thread. I just stumbled onto this one. Yeah, the James Gang concert (my first) was, well, was that 1969 or 1970? It was right after "Rides Again" came out. I'd never heard anything so freakin' loud in my whole life. My friends and I were in the front row of the local college gym where the concert was being held. Joe Walsh was just a couple feet away. A couple years ago I found out that I have hearing loss in my left ear. I figure it must have been from that concert, though Lord knows I've been to some incredibly loud concerts after that, too. Plus, as a guitar player, I've been known to play at ungodly volume, too. :jdevil:

[txkaratedude]

Man!! Reading all the stories brings back some old memories. I wish I could tell a story like X-Ray, but I'll try my best. Sin City- I'd almost forgot the old Sam Houston Coluseum. I saw Foghat there, and Ted Nugent, Lenard Skynard, many others.....Peter Frampton, Styxx in the Summit
The one that always comes to my mind first is Deep Purple, Narareth and 2 other bands in the Astrodome. 1973 I think. My best bud John had tix and I had never been to a concert before. I didn't think my dad would let me go, but somehow my mom talked him into it. John's mom dropped us off and picked us up in her old VW bug. She was a cool old gal.
Now the Astrodome is not the best accoustic venue and our seats were behind the first base dugout. John had gotten tickets with some friends at school, so we sat together and partied, cautiously cause the cops roamed the aisles. I remember a guy ate a roach because a cop walked by 1 ailse over.
After the lights went down for Deep Purple we went over the dugout and sprinted for the stage. It seemed like the whole stadium ended up on the floor. We worked our way to the 9th or 10th row center stage just as the band came on and played Smoke on the Water. Some dude in the next row ahead had a bag of pre-rolled J's and would light one and pass it back. I can't believe how much we smoked that night. The music was so loud you couldn't hear youself speak. My ears rang for the next day or so. Might be why I'm going deaf now. LOL
Thanx Ded i for dragging up this thread.

[silenthunterstudios]

My friends and I were planning on going to a Grateful Dead concert, but then Jerry kicked it, and that was that. I've never been to a real concert, but have seen a lot of bands in hole in the wall dives to fancy night clubs from PA, to DE to MD. I am a fan of the Kelly Bell Band, and the lead singer, Kelly Bell, is a big dude. He has at least a hundred pounds on me, and is at least 6'8" tall. He is fat, but a strong guy, he used to be a wrestler. Anyway, his style of music is a mix of rock, funk, blues and a little soul. I saw his band at Seacrets (place is gone, no big loss though, charged an arm and a leg for a drink) in Ocean Shitty. The opening band was called Brickfoot, and they did some good covers of Duran Duran songs. Getting tipsy and hollering at every chick that came our way, my friends and I were not a nuisance, but were having a very good time. Kelly Bell went up on stage, and did a couple songs. All the women went nuts, and at his first break, he walked past me. I said "Hey man, I like your music, big fan." He just laughed, said "Cool man, I gotta go get high", and that was the extent of our conversation. :devilzide

[Dr Mabuse]

concert stories...

cool stuff...

i've seen more than some... less than others...

The Allman Brothers was real cool...

i had a real cool time at a massive outdoor show with none other than Earth, Wind, & Fire... the original lineup of the band... there were 130,000 people at that show and it was cool... i wouldn't have thought EWF would have made an impression on me like that... i've been a fan ever since that show... i saw them years and years later at Ceasar's in vegas... a great show too... but not like that first one...

saw Crosby Stills & Nash at another massive outdoor show... real cool stuff...

i saw this band we hadn't heard of... no one had... called Guns 'n Roses... they were wicked cool... what a rocking show... hell of a good show... around a 10 minute 'Night Train'... "loaded like a freight train... higher than an aeroplane..." rockin'... 'My Michelle'... some covers...about a month later i saw this new video called 'Welcome to the Jungle' on MTV and none of us could believe the squirmy guy with the hairspray was the same thing we had seen live... that band went fast like a comet but that first tour was incredible stuff...

i went to a show with another warm-up band i hadn't heard of... none of us had... as i was trying to make my way down the deadly stairs in the arena to the floor, the lights were off, and i was having a very hard time navigating them for several reasons... this band was playing a song about 'She Talks to Angels' seemed like that whole 'stair' episode took me half a lifetime to complete but it was cool soundtrack to that 'movie'... they were awesome... The Black Crowes... 'Shake Your Money Maker'... they were all over the place in like 2 months...

saw Diamond Dave on the 'Eat 'em and Smile' tour... he's a great showman but with Steve Vai and Billy 'The Bassman' Sheehan it was really incredible... Steve did his 'talking' guitar thing... too cool...

Johnny Winters was cool...

Joe Walsh show was really cool...

saw the original Van Halen... possibly the coolest rock show ever put on... that was THE genetically engineered rock and roll band there... Eddie was in his shaman state before the sobriety... Diamond Dave hopping down the catwalk with a liter of Jack as his dick splooging it on the audience... wild...

Cirque De Soliel's 'Mystere' was one of the most amazing shows i've ever seen... i think that was at Treasure Island?... incredible... a thing called 'O' was too... that was at... The Venetian?... or Bellagio's... i always mix those two up...

50 Cent was a cool show...

Jay Z...

oh yeah Bob Seger was just excellent... hit after hit...

Foreigner in the original lineup...

Cheap Trick more than once... great band...

[tmik]

I was at this Zappa concert at a lake resort up Nort'. Some idiot shot a flare gun off and it toasted the place.

[Dr Mabuse]

I was at this Zappa concert at a lake resort up Nort'. Some idiot shot a flare gun off and it toasted the place.

classic....

[SinCity]

Man!! Reading all the stories brings back some old memories. I wish I could tell a story like X-Ray, but I'll try my best. Sin City- I'd almost forgot the old Sam Houston Coluseum. I saw Foghat .

Did you see Foghat in 76' with J Geils? I was there.

[txkaratedude]

Yeah that was the one!! The day after my birthday. I was trying to remember who was with Foghat. Fresh outta hs, we had a flask of JD for refreshment. Legal drinking age was 18 then. I haven't been to a concert in years, but I doubt it's the same these days. I don't care much for the new music. We had it good. Kids these days aren't as lucky.

[mack1]

I was stationed at Camp LeJeune and saw Boston, Van Halen, Poco & The Outlaws at Raleigh/Duram Stadium in '79. Wound up with my next door neighbor's wife on my lap, and things just got better from that point. God she was HOTT!!!
Best time I ever had!:spin: :spin: :spin:
Concert was great, too!:bwah: :bwah: :bwah:
I'll never forget, Renee!!! What the hell, her hub had taken off to fuckin' Montana for some shit, and she was "lonely".

Of course, I was only 19 at the time, and I've grown up since then. You know, young and dumb...

[bigmark408]

just caught this thread.....there were so many....... skynyrd,hatchet,outlaws,j geils, reo speedwagon, ect......

most instruments REO........most tits Van Halen.....tons of chicks would rip there shit off when david lee roth would do back flips of the marshal stacks

aerosmith wasnt to far behind for tits either

[Umberto]

i had a real cool time at a massive outdoor show with none other than Earth, Wind, & Fire... i wouldn't have thought EWF would have made an impression on me like that... i've been a fan ever since that show...

yup me too.
late 70's, indoor show, they had that big pyramid thing.
Made me a fan.

[tmik]

I've been to a bunch but I don't remember them all that well. One of the biggest suprizes was Elton John a 8 years or so ago. He's got a bunch of tunes and I even like several of them but I had NO desire to go see him - AT ALL....But my wife wanted to so I went and I thought it was one of the very best concerts I have seen -- ever... course I don't remember many of them all that well... A couple years later Elton and Billy Joel came back around with dueling pianos. Very cool.

[Bobert]

I've been to a few shows. One of my all time favorites was getting to see Papa John Creach jam with Jefferson Airplane. When that Dude played a fiddle, he was huge!

The Grateful Dead were "it" for me, though. Nothing beats them, or even comes close really. They were in a league of the own. When they had it goin' on, spirits would gather 'round to hear it! It was bigger than life! No way could I pick a favorite Dead show, after a while, it all rolls into one.....

[SinCity]

Yeah that was the one!! The day after my birthday. I was trying to remember who was with Foghat. Fresh outta hs, we had a flask of JD for refreshment. Legal drinking age was 18 then. I haven't been to a concert in years, but I doubt it's the same these days. I don't care much for the new music. We had it good. Kids these days aren't as lucky.

Fuckin' A, Thats cool. I lived off the Kirkwood exit of rt. 10. We had a dirt bike track between Dairy Ashford and Kirlwood. Got lots of stories in the short time I lived there.
I worked in the shipyards of Pasadena Tx.

Go here for some tx pics.
Picking mushrooms off the Kirkwood exit
http://www.jerzeedevil.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12252&page=8&highlight=photos

[MVP KNIVES]

This thread got me thinking.
Van Halen1984- first
Yes 90125
Triumph 3x
David Lee Roth eat em and smile
Cult
Aerosmith
Lalapalooza-Ice T body count, Janes Addiction, Henry Rollins
Testament,Megadeth,Judas Priest
Metllica 2x
AC/DC 2x
Dire Straights
Lalapalooza-Beastie Boys,Smashing Pumpkins, George Clinton
SLAYER 2x
R.A.T.M.
TOOL 3x
Chilli Peppers -In Hungary
G&R
Pink Floyd 98
Pantera /White Zombie
Korn
System of a Down 2x

A story to go w/each one...............

[Umberto]

I used to see Jesse Colin Young every chance I got, he really put on a good show.

The later incarnation of King Crimson, with Adrian Belew & Tony Levin, they were amazing.

Donovan twice.

Saw a cool show in a club around '84, The Zoo, it was Mick Fleetwood's band, shook hands with Mick.

Also saw, around the same time, Mick Taylor's version of The Bluesbreakers, in a little dance club.

[MVP KNIVES]

[QUOTE=Umberto;244232]

The later incarnation of King Crimson, with Adrian Belew & Tony Levin, they were amazing.



That would have been cool! They are both virtuoso's.

[xrayzebra]

I'll just mention some album titles without artist names for the benefit of old fucks like me who will cream their jeans at the thought of all the good music that came out in 1968. (Later edited to include artist names and some album covers)

It was the year Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated and Richard Nixon was elected over both Hubert Humphrey and third party candidate George Wallace - who, for the sake of political balance, was later the victim of an assassination attempt that left him paralyzed from the waist down.

A personal favorite, and very pertinent today: Crown of Creation by Jefferson Airplane

Others - I've edited this list DOWN to just albums I give a shit about for one reason or another, and even left out a few I might have thought significant. I've only included pop and rock albums, leaving out jazz greats such as those by Keith Jarrett, significant country albums, and stuff like Ravi Shankar's early western albums. I've even left out a dozen or more soul/R&B greats from the Temps, the Supremes and Otis Redding.

Images are scammed from Wikipedia.

Anthem of the Sun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthem_of_the_Sun) - Grateful Dead 2nd album

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/31/AnthemOfTheSun.jpg/200px-AnthemOfTheSun.jpg

Any Day Now - Joan Baez

Ars Longa Vita Brevis - The Nice (Keith Emerson before Emerson Lake and Palmer) 2nd album

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/Ars_Longa_Vita_Brevis.jpg

Astral Weeks - Van Morrison

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f7/VanMorrisonAstralWeeks.jpg

At Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bf/Johnny_Cash_At_Folsom_Prison.jpg/200px-Johnny_Cash_At_Folsom_Prison.jpg

(White Album)

The Beat Goes On - Vanilla Fudge 2nd album

Beggars Banquet - The Stones

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8b/BeggarsBanquetLP.jpg

Blues from Laurel Canyon - John Mayall

Boogie with Canned Heat

Book of Taliesyn - Deep Purple 2nd album

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/76/Taliesyn.jpg

Bookends - Simon and Garfunkel

Caravan - Caravan

Cheap Thrills - Big Brother and the Holding Company, featuring Janis Joplin 2nd album

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9e/Cheapthrills.jpeg/200px-Cheapthrills.jpeg

Child is Father to the Man - debut of Blood Sweat and Tears (with founder Al Kooper at helm)

Children of the Future - debut of Steve Miller Band

The Circle Game - Tom Rush

Cruising with Ruben and the Jets - Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention

Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Arthur Brown

Dance to the Music - Sly and the Family Stone

Electric Lady Land - Jimi Hendrix

Electric Mud - Muddy Waters

Fairport Convention - debut of Fairport Convention

The Family that Plays Together - Spirit 2nd album

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e9/Spirit1.JPG

Fleetwood Mac - debut album

For Once in My Life - Stevie Wonder

For the Sake of the Song - Towns Van Zandt's first album

Friends - Beach Boys

Genesis - debut album

Getting to the Point - Savoy Brown

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/91/Gettingtothepoint_500X500.jpg/200px-Gettingtothepoint_500X500.jpg

God Bless Tiny Tim - Tiny Tim

The Graduate (Soundtrack)

Gris Gris - Debut album of Dr. John !!!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8b/Drjohngrisgris.jpg

Green Tambourine - The Lemon Pipers

The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter - Incredible String Band

Happy Trails - Quicksilver Messenger Service 2nd album

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/58/Quicksilver_Messenger_Service-Happy_Trails_&#37;28album_cover%29.jpg

Head - The Monkees

Heavy (and) In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida - Debut and 2nd Iron Butterfly Albums

The Hurdy Gurdy Man - Donavan

I Heard it Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye

I Stand Alone - Al Kooper (he was a busy man, this is his solo album after founding and then leaving Blood Sweat and Tears)

Idea - The Bee Gees

In Person at the Whiskey A Go Go - Otis Redding

In Search of the Lost Chord - The Moody Blues 2nd album

It's All About - Debut of Spooky Tooth

James Taylor - Debut album

Village Preservation Society - The Kinks

Lady Soul - Aretha Franklin 2nd album

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/17/ArethaFranklinLadySoul.jpg

Last Time Around - 4th and final album of Buffalo Springfield (Steven Stills and Neil Young)

Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper - Al Kooper again!)

Live Wire/Blues Power - Albert King, 1st LIVE album

Living the Blues - Another Canned Heat album, notable as one of the fisrt commercially successful "double albums"

Long Time Coming - Electric Flag (Mike Bloomfield again with Buddy Miles)

Look Inside the Asylum Choir - Asylum Choir, with Leon Russel and Marc Benno

Love Is - The Animals

Lumpy Gravy - Frank Zappa solo AND We're Only in it for the Money

Magic Bus - The Who on Tour

The Move - Debut album

Music From Big Pink - The Band 1st album

My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... etc. - debut of Tyrannosaurus Rex (later known as T Rex)

NBC TV Special (Elvis's "comeback")

The Nazz - debut of Todd Rundgren's band Nazz

Neil Young - Solo debut after break up of Buffalo Springfield

Odyssey and Oracle - The Bee Gees again

Ogden's Nut Gone Flake - The Small Faces with soon to be Humble Pie leader Steve Marriott, later Stones' guitarist Ronnie Wood

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/77/Ogden%27s.jpg/200px-Ogden%27s.jpg

Once Upon a Dream - The Rascals

Os Mutantes - Debut album of Os Mutantes, a significant Brazilian psychedelic band

Outside Inside (and Vincebus Eruptum) - Blue Cheer 1st and 2nd albums

Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo - Status Quo

Power of Love - Final album of Hourglass, before they became the Allman Brothers

Quicksilver Messenger Service - Debut album

Release of an Oath - Electric Prunes

Renaissance - Debut album

SF Sorrow - The Pretty Things

Safe at Home - International Submarine Band (Gram Parsons)

Santana Live at the Filmore - Santana

Saucerful of Secrets - Pink Floyd 2nd album

Shades of Deep Purple - Debut of Deep Purple

Shine on Brightly - Procol Harum

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7c/Procol_Harum-Shine_on_Brightly_%28album_cover%29.jpg

Steppenwolf (and Steppenwolf 2)

Spirit - Debut

Supersession - Al Kooper AND Mike Bloomfield AGAIN

Switched on Bach (while he was still Walter Carlos)

Taj Mahal (and Natch'l Blues) - 1st and 2nd Taj Mahal albums

Tape from California - Phil Ochs

Tell Mama - Etta James

The Pentangle - Debut album

This Was - Jethro Tull 1st album

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1d/Jethro_Tull_-_This_Was_fron_cover.jpg/200px-Jethro_Tull_-_This_Was_fron_cover.jpg

Tons of Sobs - Debut of The Free

Traffic - 2nd album

Undead - Ten Years After 2nd album, recorded live

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/bc/Tenyears_undead.jpg/200px-Tenyears_undead.jpg

Waiting for the Sun - The Doors

Wheels of Fire - The Cream

White Light White Heat - 2nd Velvet Underground album


There are a few more, but I'm gonna leave it here.

Wow. Just fucking Wow.

[knifepuppet]

It's said later of 1960's the golden gate of Rock & Roll was shutting. And the Rolling Stone band had been wildly attacked by the Angel of Hell in a vocal concert??? I always think that people in STOCKWOOD would have been in heaven for twice. :cheesydevil::devilinheaven:

[xrayzebra]

I forgot:

Tenderness Junction
It Crawled Into My Hand, Honest

both by The Fugs


KP: Perhaps you are speaking purely in gest, but the Hells Angels didn't attack the Stones, they killed a guy in the audience who pulled a knife on one of their members. The Angels were hired as "security" for the concert, which was apparently a poor choice in retrospect. Unfortunately, Blackwater didn't exist at the time. Or, would that maybe be fortunately? I can't see an armored Humvee riding through Altamont policing the crowd. There might have been a higher body count, one never knows, does one?

[Joe Whalen]

:hippy::hippie: smilies for all occasions.

I grew up listening to the doors, the who, beatles... I don't know many of the albums you listed.

[shakie]

UM 68 yea I remember that one, just kiddin!

[xrayzebra]

I was hoping others would add their comments to albums they knew.

Not many comments, so, I've added some more information to the album names. If you look now, you'll see who some of the albums are by.

[G3]

Obviously I wasn't alive but my folks were into all that generation of music and I recognize quite a few albums. Their record collections are monstrous. The Big Brother and Holding Company album cover brings back memories.

[Sean H]

It's said later of 1960's the golden gate of Rock & Roll was shutting. And the Rolling Stone band had been wildly attacked by the Angel of Hell in a vocal concert??? I always think that people in STOCKWOOD would have been in heaven for twice. :cheesydevil::devilinheaven:





I love the way you vocalise sometimes KP, seriously-I know that English isn't your first language, what you've typed looks like a quote from the Bible.
It made me laugh, thank you.

[ded i]

I love the way you vocalise sometimes KP, seriously-I know that English isn't your first language, what you've typed looks like a quote from the Bible.
It made me laugh, thank you.

That made me smile, too.

I greened KP for that :yesman:

[Clydetz]

Now you did it, xray! See if you recognize these oldies... (I even found some of my older sister's albums... Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole)


http://www.jerzeedevil.com/gallery/files/2/5/dscn7572.jpg

http://www.jerzeedevil.com/gallery/files/2/5/dscn7573.jpg

http://www.jerzeedevil.com/gallery/files/2/5/dscn7575.jpg

http://www.jerzeedevil.com/gallery/files/2/5/dscn7577.jpg

http://www.jerzeedevil.com/gallery/files/2/5/dscn7576.jpg


I found some of the old 45's too...


http://www.jerzeedevil.com/gallery/files/2/5/dscn7583.jpg

[xrayzebra]

Wow, Gary, you've got some vintage stuff there, some pre-dating 68 and some later. One thing especially caught my eye - that one with the flying elephants. I believe that's a Roger Dean cover, same guy who did most of Yes' albums, and I think the band is Osibisa. That's a bit different, from around 1971. African/Caribbean rhythms in jazz/rock fusion. You should give that one a listen and tell me what you think - I totally forget what it sounded like otherwise, just loved the album cover.

By the way, I think I became such a music friend because when we would got to my grandparents' house, their MANY kids, my aunts and uncles ranged in age from my Dad's age to mine. I always had at least a couple aunts and/or uncles who were teenagers ahead of me from the time I was born until I got to be 19. When we would go to their house, they would entertain me by playing, or letting me play their records. So, I got a steady string of the newest rock n roll as a kid, from Dion and the Belmonts through Sgt Pepper before I was old enough to start picking my own tuneage and buying my own records with money from my paper route.

I was HEAVILY into the Doors at about 12 years old. I rode my bike about 20 miles to get the first edition of Tommy (the Who of course, not the Doors.) I probably had a collection of 800 albums by the time I was 18. Having turned 13 in 68, and already reading Rolling Stone regularly, I remember music from those years very well.

I am almost totally out of touch with what's happening in music today. I probably dropped out of new music about the same time as MTV went mostly Rap and Hip Hop. What did our parents say? "That's not music, that's just noise!" They bemoaned the death of melody and meaningful lyrics. They'd shit themselves if they tried to listen to the pop music of today.

[Clydetz]

Album cover...

http://www.jerzeedevil.com/gallery/files/2/5/dscn7588.jpg

Album back...

http://www.jerzeedevil.com/gallery/files/2/5/dscn7590.jpg


Inside album...

http://www.jerzeedevil.com/gallery/files/2/5/dscn7592.jpg


You are good, xray! And I can tell by the $2.50 sticker on the cover that I bought that album in Germany at the PX while I was in the Army (1970-72).

I used to listen to all those albums all the time... my listening days are over with my hearing loss though.

My best friend's older brother had the largest collection of 45's I ever saw. I think somehow he got the records when the diners used to change out the selections on the jukeboxes. :bwah:

[xrayzebra]

I didn't realize you had that much hearing loss. I keep worrying that I'll have that problem, too, one of these days. Hearing loss to me, is as almost as scary as some of the other old-guy problems I am facing.

So, you bought that album in Germany - I gotta ask, did you buy it just because the cover was so cool, the album had to be cool, too? I bought a bunch of them based on cover art alone that ended up kinda sucking. That's why I never bought that one. Seems like I heard it at a friend's house (who bought it on album art alone) and decided he got suckered.

Kinda like anybody who bought Screaming Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends (1970 - today listed in two "worst albums evar" compilations) because it had a Rolls Royce with a Union Jack on the hood and Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Jeff Beck, Noel Redding, and Nicky Hopkins' names prominently displayed.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/28/LordSutchAndHeavyFriendscover.jpg

We could tell, now-a-days that this album would suck by looking at the cover, but when I was 14, I kinda wondered if I should buy it.

In interest of full disclosure, I recognized it was Osibisa immediately, but I had to Google them to remember exactly what is was. I knew it was African rhythm based, but that's about it.

Damn - I can't believe nobody else is as excited as I am to look over this list of albums. I've always bored the hell out of everybody. :( Going to the garden to eat worms. Wait - isn't that a song?

[xrayzebra]

Oh, by the way, speaking of albums that sucked but had "interesting" album covers

Unfinished Music 1: Two Virgins *

also, you guessed it, released in 1968.


(* the first John and Yoko album, with them butt-naked on the back cover, sausage naked on the front. Talk about times and controversies - this on the heels of his famous "more popular than Jesus" gaff.)

[Clydetz]

I didn't realize you had that much hearing loss. I keep worrying that I'll have that problem, too, one of these days. Hearing loss to me, is as almost as scary as some of the other old-guy problems I am facing.

So, you bought that album in Germany - I gotta ask, did you buy it just because the cover was so cool, the album had to be cool, too? I bought a bunch of them based on cover art alone that ended up kinda sucking. That's why I never bought that one. Seems like I heard it at a friend's house (who bought it on album art alone) and decided he got suckered...

Yeah... the hearing is shot. Nerves are gone. The ear doctor used the tuning fork thing on me and I couldn't hear or feel a thing. Even with 2 hearing aids I have trouble understanding people's speech. Get your hearing checked out on a regular basis before it's gone. My hearing loss was sudden and unexpected.

I have no idea why I bought that specific album. I was probably tired of listening to the country & western albums of the rebels in the barracks all night long. :bwah:

[MiG Angel]

Man you guys are old school. Back when music was good and porn was bad, or as my philosophy teacher would sometimes say, "back then cars were dangerous and sex was safe, now it's the other way around." Ha! old cook cracked me up.

[G3]

Some of my favorite classic album covers...

http://www.jerzeedevil.com/gallery/files/1/1/4/1/santana_self_titled_10.jpg

http://www.jerzeedevil.com/gallery/files/1/1/4/1/b000002vjh_01__sclzzzzzzz.jpg

http://www.jerzeedevil.com/gallery/files/1/1/4/1/gratefuldeadshakedownstreet.gif

http://www.jerzeedevil.com/gallery/files/1/1/4/1/electric_ladyland.jpg

[xrayzebra]

G3, do you mind if I split the album covers off into another thread? I'd like to let that topic roll on its own, as I could certainly do another huge post on that one.

Insanevodka - your abbreviated name is forthwith IV, which would be a good way to deliver vodka. We know we're old farts. I could use some advice on what music today is worth listening to, as long as you keep in mind my obvious limitations as an old fart.

[MiG Angel]

None. I listen to the old stuff almost exclusively. But you might like the Black Keys and there's always the classic Chili Peppers.

[xrayzebra]

Yeah, I like the Black Keys. The singer reminds me a little of Paul Rodgers, and the tunes have a nice raw edge. Never cared much for the Chili Peppers though.

By the way - the topic was "40 years ago." I do have a lot of 80s and 90s music. Almost anything I've bought from 2000 on was by an old artist.

[JMForge]

'68 was probably the year when it became apparent that "psychedelic" music would be a passing fad and it began to be replaced with the good old fashioned ass kicking blues based "dirt rock" and other such fine genres as "art rock" and "country rock" It is still mind boggling how rapidly rock music developed as an art form in the period of say 1963-1973 once the musicians like the Beatles, Stones, Yardbirds, Beach Boys, etc, started take it back from the record companies who had "stolen" it circa 1958-59 or so., particulalry in light of what it has done in the subsequent 40 years and how many people still listen to the music from the 60's and 70's.

[Nathan S]

Damn, 1968 was a great year for music. Too much stuff there to single things out. Except for Electric Ladyland, which is still one of my favorite records. :) 'Cause I'm a voodoo child...Lord knows I'm a voodoo child!

[xrayzebra]

Good observation JMF. There's a fairly well established principle that works in many areas - a pendulum swing - there will be a fashionable period of extreme innovation, experimentation, and stripping away of traditions followed by a period of returning to solid traditions with a new respect and interest in exploring them, which will also result in novel expansion on those traditions. When it all settles down into a rut, traditions get stripped away again, and there is new innovation.

Witness how after the psychedelic period many American rock artists turned to blues, folk, and even country music. The Grateful Dead did Working Man's Dead for example. The Byrds did Sweetheart of the Rodeo. In Europe, many of them turned to Classical music. Emerson Lake and Palmer emerged, as did Yes and others.

If you look at the list of debut albums in 68, many of them were already out of the psychedelic scene, and not concerned with the prolonging "the summer of love." Fleetwood Mac, Savoy Brown, Humble Pie, etc.

Fleetwood Mac did not start out as most of the younger folk here know them. They were an all male blues based band. Although most people think of progressive rock as being virtuoso exploration into less traditional music, Savoy Brown jumped on the "progressive rock" bandwagon and declared themselves a "progressive blues and boogie band" who would take the blues and boogie "a step further" with each album. I recall this manifesto was part of the liner notes for one of their early albums, most likely A Step Further.

A quick look down through album covers - Quicksilver had that cowboy cover, and the album featured their version of Roy Rogers' "Happy Trails To You." The Nice were already progressing into experimentation with classical music. Yep, "psychedelic music" was already well on its way out. It blossomed very quickly and wilted away just as quickly, though it left its influence which an old fart like me can still hear in new music.

None of these "eras" or genres are completely and cleanly separated or isolated, but the general idea is true. There's a move away from traditions and back again.

As we move through time, the pendulum swings back and forth as in politics and other arenas, just as the needle swings back and forth in the groove as the record turns.

[FOG]

I just wanna say ....... ROBIN TROWER. Ive seen him live lotsa times..


My band does a few of his songs TOO ROLLING STONED being a FAV. of most folks.And MINE

[MiG Angel]

I do enjoy Caledonia. Somebody give zebra a pulitzer!

[xrayzebra]

In 68, Trower was still in Procol Harum. I always loved Whiskey Train, one of the few PH songs that Trower really dominated.

Trower did some great stuff, but I ignored his early solo work because it was so derivative of Hendrix. At least he didn't claim to BE Hendrix reincarnated, as did Frank Marino of Mahogany Rush.

Later, of course, Trower also teamed up with Jack Bruce, formerly of Cream. There were a bunch of short lived "power trio" bands in the 70s and 80s. Trower had BLT. Jeff Beck had Beck Bogart and Appice, with Tim Bogart and Carmine Appice of Vanilla Fudge. That might be another topic to go off on a tangent - power trios made up of members from earlier famous bands.

[Umberto]

I am a major Procol Harum fan, and of Trower, he was god to me in those days, and was I suprised to find that on a CD compilation of PH, there is a version of Gates of Cerdes by the guitarist that Trower later replaced, (one of my favorite Trower solos), and it is note for note, tone for tone identical to Trower's solo. In other words, Trower's solo is actually a copy of the previous guy's solo.


Last time I heard about Arthur Brown btw, some years back, he was living in Austin and working as a carpenter.

Further, I have a recent cd release of John Mayall's, autographed, that a friend of mine bought from Mayall about 3 years ago, in an alley in Longview Texas, where Mayall pulled the cd out of a box in the back of his old station wagon.

[MiG Angel]

Any thoughts on Cpt. Beefheart? I've been listening to Trout Mask Replica, but haven't "gotten" it yet. I'm not hearing it yet, someone enlighten me. ZEBRA where you at? Help expedite the process!

[MiG Angel]

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f273/iNSaNeVodka/500px-The_White_Albumsvg.png
'68

[xrayzebra]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e1/Captainbeefheart.jpg/220px-Captainbeefheart.jpg

Don Van Vliet, the man known as Captain Beefhart, remains an enigma to me, too. I've never really TRIED to get him. I just figured he was a very creative guy and a sort of unorthodox trickster with a whole weird cosmology of his own.

The dude was a legend in his own mind - most of the early claims that brought him underground fame have never been verified in any way. When he appeared on the rock music scene he claimed to have been declared a child prodigy in sculpture, and that he had turned down scholarships to study art in Europe. Today he is primarily a painter, and I don't see much in his painting either.

I find some of his work almost unlistenable, but a few of his lighter, more whimsical tunes like Abba Zabba are fun. There's a lot of blues and Bo Diddley influence. The members of band were quite good musicians, and his compositions were difficult to play. His stuff was very experimental and he certainly prefigured a lot of later developments.

He and Zappa both put out a lot of stuff with ambiguous meanings and dared everyone to think that they understood it when there really was no authorial meaning except to trick poseurs into giving it meaning.

Zappa put a verse in "The Idiot Bastard Son" on We're Only in it for the Money which I think is very telling:

The child will thrive & grow
And enter the world
Of liars & cheaters & people like you
Who smile & think you know
What this is about
you think you know everything... maybe so
The song we sing, do you know?
We're listening...

He's saying, "So, you're so smart - you get the secret meaning that nobody else gets? Explain it."

To me, this was the first clue that much of what Zappa did was calculated to allow the listener to mistake ambiguity for profound meaning - and he was laughing at the listener for doing so. Beefhart was doing the same thing. Putting everybody on.

[MiG Angel]

Ah, that is exactly how I felt! Even when reading the comments on a youtube interview with Beefheart the fan base seemed to like him just to be different. Claims that hear the album and know its lyrics by heart seemed unfathomable. What also caught me off guard was the claim that he and his band lived together and practiced up to 14 hourse a day in a room with the windows covered. To my surprise it's #58 in Rolling Stone magazine's top 500 albums of all time and many bands list him as one of their main influence. I mostly wanted to listen to them because I heard a version of one his songs sung by the Black Keys when I saw them in 'Frisco, but so far it has been a disappointing experience.

[xrayzebra]

I do like some of his stuff, but I long ago stopped believing that just because I didn't understand what somebody was saying (or that because I agreed with them) that they were necessarily some kind of genius.

Speaking as a "critic," I do have "book learnin" in that area, I'd say that critics often mistakenly endorse things that mystify themselves and others in order to make a statement about themselves, more than about the thing they critique.

My guess is that Trout Mask Replica made the Top 500 on that principle rather than on real merit. It certainly didn't make it on sales - although we "critics" also tend to believe that popularity proves that something is mundane and mediocre; if a lot of people like it, it must be crap.

Every critic is a narcissist who draws some self esteem from his or her professed knowledge of his/her area of "expertise." I was far more guilty of this as a youngster than now, but I'm still guilty of it. This thread is evidence of that, lest I be too hypocritical.

But, the good Captain is an acquired taste. Not one of mine. I did buy at least one of his albums in the day, and forced myself to listen to it enough to try to like it, so I could mention it to other people "in the know," in the smug way that aficionados do. I suppose it was like admiring the emperor's new clothes.

That said, the Magic Band were good musicians, and played difficult material with skill. The material was just too difficult for listeners - even many dedicated listeners.

I still "cling bitterly" to certain artists who fall into the same category, but I've been going back lately and listening to some of the old stuff I liked, or convinced myself I liked many years ago. A lot of it sounds like crap now. Some of it is still fun, anyway. Some of it is still interesting because of everyone who came after, and cited it as influential.

Some of the stuff I rejected for one reason or another, including "being too popular," sounds great in retrospect. The Ozark Mountain Daredevils' "Jackie Blue" would be one of those. I would have never admitted even to myself back then that I liked it. It was way too simple, and way too corny. I listened to it a few years ago after not hearing it for ages, and it was completely different - almost jewel-like in its perfection.

On the other hand, I'm probably just getting old.

[Nathan S]

Some of the stuff I rejected for one reason or another, including "being too popular," sounds great in retrospect. The Ozark Mountain Daredevils' "Jackie Blue" would be one of those. I would have never admitted even to myself back then that I liked it.



That is such a good song. It takes me right back to 1975 when I hear it. I liked it then and I still like it, though it's way outside my usual taste parameters.

I was such a music snob when I was younger. Kinda still am, though I'm not as much an asshole about it as I used to be.

[MiG Angel]

Don't sell yourself short Nathan, you're a huge asshole!:jdsmokin:


I had no idea that the Ozark Mountain Daredevils were "big" back then, I hadn't run across them until a couple of years ago. They seem to have a bit of a southern rock band flavor, which I like.

I like the laid back sound of this Bay Area band. "Fresh Air" and their version of "Who Do You Love" stand out to me the most.

[Umberto]

I was sitting in the restuarant in a Holiday Inn in downtown Houston , late 70's, and looked over at the next table and thought "Gosh that guy looks like David Freiberg."
Walked outside, and there was the big tour truck for the Jefferson Starship.

[FOG]

THIS IS A TEST...
Does this lyric sound familar ? Do you know the name of the band ? or the song ? or more of the lyrics ?

I DONE THE RANCHERS DAUGHTER,,
AND I SURE DID HURT HIS PRIDE


HUH HUH HUH ??

[MiG Angel]

I'll answer your question with more lyrics:
I was only seventeen
I fell in love with a gypsy queen
She told me: hold on
Her father was the leading man
Said: youre not welcome on our land
And then as a foe, he told me to go

[FOG]

A chiiled shot of vodka for Vodka ! Good work bud

I always dug that song ! Never understood the name of the band tho.
Not that it matters much i suppose

[Raindog]

If you guys are going to talk about the Ozark Mountain Dare Devils then we need to hear........

DSZSxyCtF1M

[Nathan S]

Don't sell yourself short Nathan, you're a huge asshole!:jdsmokin:


Well, jeez, I hope you mean that in a nice way. Though I'd rather be a huge asshole than have one. ;)

[SugarSkull]

Uriah Heep. Seen them live with Blue Oyster Cult.

The name comes from a Charles Dickens character I do believe.

[FOG]

YEP,TIS URIAH HEEP

[xrayzebra]

I had no idea that the Ozark Mountain Daredevils were "big" back then, I hadn't run across them until a couple of years ago. They seem to have a bit of a southern rock band flavor, which I like.

I like the laid back sound of this Bay Area band. "Fresh Air" and their version of "Who Do You Love" stand out to me the most.

Arkansas IS in the south. :) I would make a distinction tho, between the Alabama south and the Ozark mountains south. Kind of a rednecks vs. literal hillbillies difference. I wouldn't say the Ozarks were ever "big," though they did have one or two minor hits. "If you wanna get to heaven, you gotta raise a little hell" and Jackie Blue were probably their biggest.

Is this a quiz, or are you confusing the Ozarks with Quicksilver? :) Another big difference.

[MiG Angel]

The quiz was to see if you though I got confused...you failed. No it was "guess who?" but you got the name of the band right away I bet.