Concert Memories
Below I share some personal reflections on several of the more memorable concerts I've attended over the years. Since some of these shows happened more than 40 years ago, I'm surprised that I could recall some of the specifics. It brought back some good memories.
Performer
Venue(s)
Comments
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Steppenwolf
Toledo Sports Arena (8/15/69)
My first "real" rock concert. Lots of fun. They opened with a slowed-down version of Born to Be Wild.
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Toledo Pop Festival (See the poster on Hey Music Lover page)
Raceway Park (9/14/69)
This was my Woodstock. Mostly Detroit-area bands. The Frost, Amboy Dukes (featuring Ted Nugent), Alice Cooper (just before they broke out nationally), the MC5 (my main reason for being there), and the Turtles (excellent performance, but hard to follow the explosive energy of the MC5).
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Blood, Sweat, and Tears
Toledo Sports Arena (Spring, 1971)
One of my most memorable concerts. They were absolutely great -- with three encores. When I saw David Clayton-Thomas and Steve Katz giving each other five behind the stage after an encore, I knew that they knew they it was a great night. My friend Gary and I still rave about this one.
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Manassas
University of Toledo (1973)
Stephen Stills, Chris Hillman and company gave a good show. One stoned fan shouted to Stills to play “Southern Man”; he passed, replying that "Neil Young wrote it, not me, and besides, I'm from the South".
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Steely Dan
University of Toledo (1974)
I'm one of the fortunate few who got to see the Dan live with most of the original members. This was around the time of Pretzel Logic. Their music brings back fond memories of my college days.
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Seals and Crofts
Ohio State Fairgrounds, Columbus (1974) and University of Toledo (1975)
When I saw them at the Fair, Seals and Crofts seemed to enjoy performing together. Great show. A year later, they just seemed to go through the motions and pretty much sucked. What a difference a year made.
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Dave Brubeck Quartet and Two Generations of Brubeck
Masonic Auditorium, Toledo, Spring, 1976
This was the the 25th Anniversary Reunion Tour, the last time Paul Desmond performed with Brubeck. Two Generations, with three of Brubeck's sons played first, followed by a few duets by Brubeck and Desmond. Then the Quartet. I got to meet Joe Morello after the show and found him to be very friendly and approachable.
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Harry Chapin
Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs (Summer, 1978) and Landmark Theatre, Syracuse (Spring, 1981)
These were probably the most fun shows I've ever been to. Harry was a great storyteller and really knew how to connect with the audience. After playing a long set, he would go to the back of the house and sign autographs to raise money for charity (mostly world hunger). He gave a large percentage of what he made to charitable causes. I cried when he was killed in July 1981, just a few months after I saw his last Syracuse concert.
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Rolling Stones
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, (11/81)
This was the "Still Life" tour and quite simply, the Stones were great. Forget all the hype and gimmicks (this was the tour where Mick swung over the stage in a cherry picker during “Jumpin’ Jack Flash), they rocked!
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The Police
Carrier Dome, Syracuse, (Spring, 1982)
From the first notes of "Message in a Bottle", they were on! Probably one of the loudest concerts I've ever been to. It took a couple of hours for my ears to stop ringing. [Huh! What'd you say?]
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The Who
Carrier Dome, Syracuse (12/82)
Live at Leeds is my all time favorite live rock album. There was no way the Who could live up to my expectations after years of listening to Leeds, but I was glad to see them just the same. They played smoking versions of Sister Disco and Naked Eye. A week later, they gave their "farewell" concert (the first of many) in Toronto.
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Neil Young
New York State Fair, Syracuse (9/83)
Neil played two hour-long solo sets, and then came back to do a half-hour of rockabilly with the Shocking Pinks. The lights, rides and attractions of the NY State Fair provided a great backdrop beyond the stage, especially when he sang "Its so noisy at the fair" during "Sugar Mountain". Great concert!
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The Association
Syracuse, Bozeman, Knoxville
I saw the Association three times. In Syracuse in the early eighties, all of the original surviving members were there. In Bozeman sometime around 1986, three of the original members were there, and in Knoxville sometime in the early 90s, Russ Giguere and Larry Ramos were the original members. Great vocals. I always loved the Association's music. Still do.
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Tony Williams Quintet
Knoxville (Spring, 1989)
Small club date in Knoxville with Mulgrew Miller (piano), Wallace Roney (trumpet), Bill Pierce (tenor), and Bob Hurst (bass). Powerful performance in an intimate setting. Tony Williams was a super drummer who died way too soon.
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Crosby, Stills, & Nash
Knoxville Civic Coliseum and Toledo Zoo (Summer, 1990)
Two shows, same tour. Both were great. After all they had been through over the years, they really seemed to still enjoy making music together. In Knoxville, CSN signed my concert t-shirt and I got to meet keyboard player Mike Finnegan. In Toledo, Crosby sang a beautiful version of "Guinnevere" and Nash commented, “Its a zoo out there!
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Eric Clapton
Thompson-Boling Arena, University of Tennessee (Falll, 1990)
This was the 3rd show they played following the helicopter crash that killed Stevie Ray Vaughn and three others. Stevie Ray had been buried earlier in the day. It must have been a very painful night for Clapton and the group, but they didn't let it show. I spent most of the night with my mouth hanging open at Clapton's incredible guitar playing.
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Freddie Hubbard
University of Tennessee (Fall, 1990)
This was supposed to be an Art Blakey concert, but Blakey was seriously ill and when we got to the auditorium, we learned that Freddie Hubbard had offered to fill in with his group on short notice. They played a very enjoyable show, with pianist and fellow Jazz Messengers alumnus Donald Brown sitting in for a few numbers. Sadly, Art Blakey passed away a few weeks later.
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Awadagin Pratt with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville (Fall, 1997)
Awadagin Pratt is a fine pianist with his own unique style. He performed Tchaikovsky's Concerto No. 1. I first heard this piece when I was about five years old; my dad bought the album for me in an A & P grocery store. Really! Guess you had to be there.
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John Hiatt
Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville (Winter, 2002)
Mary took me to this show for my birthday. Hiatt played a very fine solo show with many of his well-known songs plus material from his most recent album at the time. Not surprisingly, "Tennessee Plates" was a highlight of the show. My only regret: he didn't do my favorite of his songs, "Slow Turning".
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Eagles
Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville (January, 2009)
Mary and I had a great time. They played for nearly three hours and they were really good. A mix of Eagles classics, stuff from their new album, solo material, and a couple of James Gang numbers. I loved it when Joe Walsh played the opening chords of “Walk Away’’. He still rocks!
