Monday, March 20, 2017

Your Fantasy Concert

DEBORAH CROMBIE: We just scored tickets to see James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt, here in Dallas (Frisco, actually) on July 31st. JT!!! 

The theater is new to us, and looks fairly intimate. I hope so, because no way could we afford front of house seats. Yikes!! We are talking thousands!


But we are huge James Taylor fans, especially Rick, who I think can play every single JT song on the guitar, but we've never seen him play live, so this was a must! We've seen a lot of rock-n-roll legends. My first-ever concert was the Beatles in Dallas in 1964. Not that you could hear them, mind you, but it was an experience (as in mass hysteria...) But a few years ago, I got to see Paul McCartney on tour in Dallas. It was the last stop of his tour, and when he walked out on the stage you could tell he was exhausted. But then he seemed to just suck up the energy from the audience and he played full on for THREE hours. Amazing.

We've seen the Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young reunion tour. We've seen the Police on their reunion tour. (Man, I wish I had seen them in the day. I have a huge crush on Andy Summers.) We've seen Sting with Annie Lenox.

I did see Led Zeppelin in the day (maybe 1970?) It was a stadium concert, and I don't remember much other than the sweltering heat and the sound of Jimmy Page's guitar.

There is one more long-time idol I would really really really love to see in person, and that's Paul Simon. I think he is the singer/songwriter/genius of my generation, at least.
How about you, REDS? Memorable rock concerts? And who would you want to see that you've missed over the years? (I want to see Green Day, and they are going on tour but not coming to Dallas:-( Not that I know who I could drag with me...)

JENN: Concert lover here! Like you, Debs, I’m married to a musician and the Hooligans have gone musical, too, so we are big time concert goers. Guns n Roses was last year’s big concert for us, this year it’s Dead and Company (formerly the Grateful Dead) but I’ve heard grumblings that we’re going to see Metallica, too. My first concert was my junior year of high school and it was Rush at the New Haven Coliseum. In college, I was a bartender at Toad’s Place, also in New Haven, which is a live music venue, so I got to watch and meet everyone from the Allman Brothers to Cyndi Lauper to the Stray Cats, oh, and my fave band was the Ramones because they played there all the time since they lived in the area and were friends with the owner. Those were definitely some of the most fun years of my life! Hub went on to be the music editor for our local paper so I got to be his plus one for years and was giddy to see so many great shows like Aerosmith, George Strait, Madonna, Bob Dylan and Merle Haggard. Wow, this really makes me realize how important music is in my life. Here’s a question, I tend to use music to help my writing, especially when I’m stuck. Does anyone else do that or do you need silence?



INGRID
: I loved going to concerts when I was growing up, and I saw some amazing artists.  One of my sisters was an avid concert-goer, and that’s how I got started. No joke, I think Prince may have sweat on me when I had second row seats to his show.  I also saw Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, George Michael, Elton John, Duran Duran (yes, I was a tween in the 80’s), James Taylor, Billy Idol, Tears for Fears, Erasure, Squeeze, Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd,) and Howard Jones.  I haven’t been to any concerts lately, but I would love to see Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, and Bruno Mars, although huge stadium concerts seem too big unless you’re right in the front, spitting (or sweating) distance from the stage.  As much as I love listening to upbeat pop music, I can’t listen to it when I work.  Anything with lyrics is too distracting for writing, but it’s just the ticket when it’s time to unload the dishwasher!

RHYS BOWEN: When I was growing up it was really the Golden Age of rock and roll. I saw the Stones when they were brand new and so amateurish. I saw the Beatles before they went to America and became super stars. In my staid and boring adulthood I have opted for people like Harry Connick Jr, who is an amazing performer. I've never seen Billy Joel, but I would have liked to. Frankly I don't think I would want to be involved in that seething mass of humanity at a concert. But I've a good concert story. I was in Australia visiting my mother. My daughter Jane was visiting people in South Dakota for whom she used to babysit. She was about fifteen at the time. John called me and said that Jane had asked permission to go to a concert and he had said yes. When I got home I found out it was Def Leopard and she had gone alone! And John couldn't understand why I freaked out. Jane said everyone was very nice to her and lifted her over their heads to get a good view.

HALLIE EPHRON: It's so embarrassing to admit, but rock music and concerts isn't my thing. Ask me about dance or art and I can offer up opinions. So... most memorable concert for me was WAAAAAY back -- Joan Baez on tour, and her warm-up act was an unheard of singer, Bob Dylan. I thought he was awful. I also saw Big Brother and the Holding Company and Janis Joplin at the Filmore West and thought she was... inscrutable. Like I say, I've got no sense at all when it comes to popular music.

LUCY BURDETTE: Oh Debs, I love love love Bonnie Raitt. Have seen her several times and would go again in a heartbeat. Also Emmylou Harris and many bluegrass bands back in my Tennessee days. Jenn, Toad's Place!! I wonder if we overlapped in New Haven? I moved there in 1984...

Did you see that Paul Simon just announced a tour? We did see Art Garfunkle a couple of years ago, but he'd lost his voice and it was embarrassing. Also saw James Taylor and Carole King--wonderful. Oh, and Traffic in NYC, back in my wild college days:). And a little bit of Kenny Chesney right here in Key West. But I'm with Rhys, the great big crowds put me off so we don't do too much of it these days. I'd rather go to a Broadway show!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Oh, you KNOW I will go to Paul Simon..any time any place. We saw the Beatles in the 1964, I'm sure no one could hear a word over the screaming.  In college, we sneaked away form class and drove to Chicago to hear Crosby Stills and Nash (maybe 1968?) and after a few songs, they said--"we're thinking about adding someone else to our group, let's bring him out and see what you think." And then out came Neil Young! And if that wasn't amazing enough, the out came Judy Blue Eyes herself.  Jonathan and I went to a Judy Collins concert a year ago--wow, forty-five years later?--and she was still amazing.
I went to a Linda Ronstadt concert in maybe--1999? And sat in the front row. She was amazing. AMAZING!  I've been to several James Taylor concerts at Tanglewood--he's a local boy--and I am always so happy afterward. (I'd adore to hear Carly Simon, too, but never have in person.)
And Bruce Springsteen at Fenway Park. Blew the roof off the place. Well, there's no roof, but he would have. LOVE The Boss.
Now--I'd love to hear Bruno Mars or Justin Timberlake or Adele. But Jonathan would never go. Agreed--I'm not a fan of HUGE concert events.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Ross and I went to a concert for the first time in years this past summer  we saw Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band. We had a great time. The audience was multi-generational, and we talked and sang along with the folks seated around us. Buffett played for over two hours, which at his age I think constitutes good value for the money. We saw Three Doors Down a few years ago after winning four tickets - the most memorable thing about that was the beautiful location on a pier in Portland. We could watch the ships coming and going and the sun setting while drinking beer and occasionally tuning in to the music.

When I was young? First concert was Barry Manilow when I was a junior in high school. My best friend and I went and we both had SUCH a crush on him. The most memorable thing about the Grateful Dead concert I saw was discovering AFTER I had gotten inside that my boyfriend had stashed his weed in my purse! I saw the Who during their farewell tour in England, after a mad dash from London to Birmingham to reach the venue.

On the smaller live band front, we've seen Robert Earl Keen several times. If he and his band come to your town - and they might, they're a touring band - I highly recommend them.  I'd drop dough for Harry Connick Jr. in a New York minute, but overall, I'm much more likely to pay for seats at the symphony than at a rock concert. 


DEBS: Well, you have all put me to shame, and I have an embarrassing confession to make. When we've been to rock concerts the last few years, I've had to wear ear plugs. How lame is that? But I have a bad ear (nerve damage) so that much noise is really painful. But, as much as I love classical concerts (and I was a season ticket holder for the Dallas Opera for more than twenty years) and Broadway or West End shows, there is nothing like the energy and experience of a rock concert. I was too young for Woodstock--now that must have been something.


I'm adding to my fantasy concert list. Having just recently become a huge Bruce Springstein fan (I know, totally dopey, but I listened to ENGLISH bands...) I would love to see him. 

And I'd love to see Bruno Mars. There is just a huge amount of joy in his performances.

So, readers, what about you? What's the fantasy concert you've always wanted to see? (And, yes, we will accept non-rock:-))

PS: Jenn, I cannot listen to music when I'm writing. Unless I'm in a coffee shop, and then it's fine. Isn't that weird?

52 comments:

  1. I’m not much on rock concerts; we never had the opportunity to go to a concert when we were young.
    As for my fantasy concert list, I’d love to see Jackie Evancho . . . .

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  2. Hmmmm . . . let's see . . . First rock concert was Three Dog Night at the Shrine Mosque Auditorium in Springfield, Missouri, and it was huge fun. Back in my college days I saw Willie Nelson, Dan Fogelburg, Barry Manilow, and Olivia Newton John. My boyfriend dragged me to that one, because he had a crush. After I moved to Texas I got more local in focus, seeing Jerry Jeff Walker, Delbert McClinton, Guy Clark, Lyle Lovett, and the Flatlanders, and then I started working for the Dallas Symphony, so I got to hear them for about six years. I also picked up an occasional job working house concerts, so I got to meet and hear folks like Jimmy LaFave, Kevin Welch, and Guy Forsyth. I've seen Mark Knopfler twice--once from the second row!

    But my all-time fantasy concert? My current job is Director of Concert Operations for the Dallas Winds, and the concert I'd really love to hear is a collaboration between my band, and my favorite slide guitar virtuoso, Sonny Landreth. Sonny has a classical background on trumpet, and writes wonderfully complex theme-and-variation style instrumentals. I'd love it if one of our arrangers would weave some of those instrumentals into a Concerto for Slide Guitar and Wind Ensemble. We could blow the roof off any concert hall in America!

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    1. we want to hear more about your band Gigi--this is fascinating!

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    2. There's tons to tell about my band, but the short version is that the Dallas Winds is one of the top professional classical wind ensembles in the world. No joke. We have band instrumentation: woodwinds, brass, and percussion. We play everything from video game music and film scores to Gershwin, but mostly we play contemporary classical compositions by American composers like David Maslanka, John Mackey, Steven Bryant, and Adam Schoenburg. I hesitate to post a link on your blog, but Google Dallas Winds or Dallas Wind Symphony and see what comes up. It's an interesting group to work for when you're a kid who was raised on classical music.

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    3. I'll post the link! http://www.dws.org/ And I can tell you that they are absolutely fabulous.

      Maybe one day Gigi will tell us about her job on the blog!

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  3. Like some of you, I saw the Beatles in 1964 - in Dodger Stadium. My two older sisters and I each brought a friend, and my sainted father drove us, then sat in the parking lot reading during the concert. I won't fork over the money for Springsteen or the Stones these days, but we did catch Emmy Lou Harris in Portsmouth a couple of years ago. Fabulous, stunning, and so energetic still, playing guitar and hopping around the stage. I also saw Baez many years ago - in the Hollywood Bowl, no less - then caught her again a few summers ago at Lowell Boardinghouse Park (an outside venue for summer concerts). Sigh.

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  4. Wow, tell us more Gigi!
    Yes, Joan Baez. And in a combination rock concert and Broadway shows, we saw Sting in his play The Lost Ship on Broadway. He was incredibly cool, and that voice is unmistakable.

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    1. Oh, Hank, I saw him do The Last Ship on PBS, and of course have the recording. So jealous!!

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  5. First concert (and most memorable because of that) was Joan Baez performing at Public Hall in Cleveland, the summer before my senior year of high school. Boy, the times they were changing then! And to listen live to JT? Oh. wow. But I like small venues, local bands, too. There's just so much incredible talent out there--even if much of it never makes it to the big-time stage. Listening to music while I write? Sometimes--but if I'm in the zone, I don't hear it anyway.

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  6. Concerts. Oh my, how I love them and always have. And as much as I am not a crowd person, concert crowds don't bother me. I guess it's because I'm not expected to make small talk with anyone, just fall into the music and stay there. My concert going started early when I was a teenager and my parents loved going to see shows on The Steel Pier in Atlantic City where we saw Paul Anka, Fabian, Frankie Avalon. And then in college near Philadelphia I saw a lot of MoTown greats - The Temptations, The Four Tops, Otis Redding, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson. Bruce Springsteen (a few times), The Beach Boys, Janice Joplin, Liza Minelli, Frank Sinatra, Sammy David, Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Stepenwolf, Stephen Stills (he was drunk and fell off his chair - NOT impressive), Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Bonnie Raitt, The Rolling Stones (3 times), Don Williams, Kenney Chesney, George Strait, The Dixie Chicks, The Allman Bros. (many times), Fleetwood Mac, Alison Krauss, The Village People, Gloria Gaynor, Simon & Garfunkle, Willie Nelson more times than I can count and attended the Country Music Award Show in Nashville a few years back. One of my most loved possessions is a memory quilt my sister-in-law made for me from concert Tshirts.

    Now you've got me in the mood to go to a live show!

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    1. Kaye, you totally rock. And Alison Krauss is on my fantasy list, too. I LOVE her. We'd also really like to see Jewel and Sarah McLachlan perform together.

      And would love to see Norah Jones.

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    2. I should take my husband to see Alison Krauss. She's his fantasy girlfriend!

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  7. Fantasy concert? Springsteen, absolutely. On the bucket list. I've not been to a big show in many years, which is fine by me. I love it when big names come to small venues and we are blessed to have a wonderful one an hour or so from where I live, over near the NH border. Stone Mountain Arts Center is a gorgeous barn that seats maybe 250 people. I saw Roseanne Cash there, and Mavis Staples and her entire band, which was amazing in such an intimate space.

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    1. Oh, I forgot the Stone Mountain Arts Center! I saw Mary-Chapin Carpenter there, which was the perfect venue - almost like a cabaret.

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    2. I saw Springsteen last year. It cost about a million dollars (I have repressed the actual figure) and it was worth every penny! He was like the Energizer Bunny -- he just went on and on, his energy never dropping. Amazing!!!!

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  8. Fantasy concert? The Beatles, hands down. While Deb was seeing them in Dallas, I was watching their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, but never live.

    I am the wrong generation for most rock concerts although I've seen Bette Midler, Ella Fitzgerald, Cleo Lane and a charity concert in SF with an all star cast whom can't remember except for Luci Arnez and Tyne Daley.

    However, I got caught in a complete gridlock between LA and San Diego maybe thirty years ago when the Grateful Dead were doing a concert in Orange County. It was a vast parking lot, with young things going from can to car seeking beer or grass. They'd look inside at me, shrug and keep on going. Little did they know. Heh Does that count?

    Ann, the former Hippy, in Rochester

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  9. My fantasy concerts? Or unfulfilled concert desires? Harry Connick, Jr and Santana (Yes,I have diverse musical tastes)But I saw James Taylor/Carol King a few years ago- wonderful. And Simon & Garfunkel a couple of times in my youth, when dinosaurs still roamed Central Park, where one of the concerts was. Saw the Who about 10 years ago - and those guys could still rock! We went to see Bob Seger a few years ago and he does a terrific, high-energy concert. And he began with "An old friend dropped by to do a song with me. Please welcome Bruce Sp." (!) I was never a fan girl of anyone,even in my teens, but. Wow.
    Deborah, thanks for this fun post today.

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    1. I did mean to write Springsteen, of course. No idea how it got abbreviated.

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  10. I wish I had seen Billy Joel. A bunch of friends went in college and they didn't ask me (and it embarrasses them to no end when I bring it up).

    I've seen Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, and Rascal Flatts - all good shows although Kenny/Keith were in a stadium and yeah, couldn't really see much.

    I took The Girl to see Paramore with Fall Out Boy. Anyway, it was an outdoor amphitheater and at one point she wanted to get closer. I was watching her (she had dyed the ends of her hair blue, so she was easy to spot) and then all of a sudden she was gone. I almost had a heart attack. She eventually wandered back and had no idea why I was so upset. I expected to endure the music, but I actually found Fall Out Boy enjoyable.

    Nowadays, yeah, the crowds don't really appeal to me. I like it when acts come to one of the more intimate theaters in Pittsburgh, like the Byham, where it isn't so huge. I want to see Straight No Chaser the next time they come.

    Mary/Liz

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  11. I love rock music and, back in the day, I loved going to concerts. Living between Dallas and Fort Worth, I had a lot of choices. My first concert was Creedence Clearwater Revival--one of my all-time favorites. I've also seen The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin 4 times (my other fave), The Who, Traffic, Lenard Skynard, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, James Taylor, Crosby Stills & Nash, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, the Eagles twice, ZZ Too, Jackson Brrown. I don't go to concerts much anymore. Ticket prices are too high.

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    1. Tickets are expensive for sure. When buying tickets, I usually go to one show a year. Then I get in on press passes and band's guest lists.

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  12. We like small venues, too, and our favorite the last couple of years has been the Kessler Theater in Oak Cliff (that's west Dallas for those non-DFW folks.) It's an old movie house revamped as a concert venue and it's huge fun. We saw British folk singer Laura Marling there--I couldn't believe she was playing in Dallas, and at such a small venue! And we've seen our most favorite band to see in concert there--The Wild Feathers! (Our nephew is in the band, and they are terrific.)

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  13. I have not been a huge concert person, and most of the ones I have been to are more a reflection of there being people I knew who were organizing it than they are of my taste. My first concert ever was Aerosmith when I was in high school, and I didn't even know who they were at the time! Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and Transiberian Orchestra are probably the three I remember most fondly.

    I wanted to pick up on Deb's remark about Paul McCartney seeming to draw on the energy of the crowd. I've seen things like that twice. The most dramatic was at a Stevie Wonder concert. He came on stage and apologized right up front, explaining he was battling a flu bug but he was going to try to give us a set, if his body cooperated. He looked ashen. But as he began to perform, you could just see the performance adrenaline kick in, and he played a full concert. It was dramatic to watch.

    The other, slightly less dramatic example was just a couple years ago. Barry Manilow was touring and a group of my friends thought it would be a stitch to go see him after all these years. It was a surprisingly enjoyable concert anyway, but at one point he started a song and someone let out a schoolgirl squeal. It kind of set others off and a flurry of screams made its way around the arena, and Barry was visibly moved by it. He stopped his song and looked out into the audience and said, "Really? Still? After all these years?" From that moment on, it was like his performance energy ratcheted up a notch and the final part of the concert was even better than the first.

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  14. We just got home this morning from a 2,600-mile car trip, on which we listened to Johnny Depp narrating Keith Richards' LIFE, Rhys! Maybe you were one of the "birds" he wrote about who came to their gigs!

    My first concert was Chicago, which I did not quite appreciate. I was with my first husband, a cop, and all around us people were lighting up joints. I was a nervous wreck. My second concert was way better, with my next beau after the divorce. We went to see Procol Harum, and the warm up bands (!) were Golden Earring and this then-unknown guy named Billy Joel, who completely blew us away.

    Even though we live two miles from the premier outdoor concert venue in Cincinnati (where Jimmy Buffett usually performs two to four times a year, Roberta--Cincinnati is hugely into Margaritaville), we have only gone to a handful of concerts in the last thirty years there. A gal pal and I saw Willie Nelson and John Cougar Mehlenkamp give a rollocking performance, but my husband doesn't "do" concerts, especially the really loud ones. However, we can often hear the tail ends of the concerts, when they crank up the speakers, all the way up the hill to our house in the summertime.

    A couple of years ago Pink Martini was in town, playing at Music Hall, which was sold out. I took a chance there might be a single ticket available, and there was. If you ever get the opportunity to see them, they are fantastic. They were just here in town again, but we had plans to leave on vacation the day before their concert, drat it.

    Debs, you must have been in kindergarten for that Beatles concert!

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  15. The first concert I saw was when a friend's father took us to see Little Stevie Wonder in Baltimore. This was a l-o-n-g time ago. I would love to see him again now! Other long-ago favorites were Linda Ronstadt, the Doobie Brothers, and Gaelic Storm (the steerage band from Titanic). We saw Solas on the lawn at DBAP, didn't even know who they were, but became fans instantly. One of my favorite concerts ever was Manhattan Transfer. I would have loved to see Al Jarreau, but I waited too long. At this point I think I would choose Van Morrison, Sonny Rollins, Wynton Marsalis, or Incognito. But as others have mentioned, it can be hard to justify the cost.

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  16. Karen, how fun! I read LIFE, but I'll bet it's terrific narrated. And thank you, but I wasn't quite in kindergarten for the Beatles, I was in 6th grade. One of the dads took a whole bunch of us to the Dallas Convention Center and waited patiently in the car. For a first rock concert, that was pretty hard to beat!

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    1. Bonnie Raitt and James Taylor are practically music royalty! Please give us a report, okay?

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  17. Concerts! So much fun. I am dating myself by admitting this, but my very first concert was to see The New Christy Minstrels for my 14th birthday. "Green, Green" was a huge hit that summer. I saw Judy Collins at Red Rocks in Denver for my 25th birthday. Then I got married and had kids and couldn't afford concerts for years. Since our girls are all grown up now, my husband and I have had a great time. We saw Bonnie Raitt at a small venue in Denver and she was terrific! We've seen Eric Clapton with Steve Winwood, then Sting with Peter Gabriel at a huge venue, sitting up in the rafters, but they were still great. We got to see the great Elton John in Laramie, Wyoming. One of our really great times was John Sebastian. He is a terrific storyteller, as well as a great musician, so that was one of our all time best experiences at a concert. We are seeing Judy Collins tomorrow night, right here in Cheyenne, Wyoming and we are both super excited. And our lovely daughters got us tickets to see Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary) in Loveland, Colorado this Friday. I always wanted to see Peter, Paul and Mary in concert as they are my all time favorite group. But it never happened. This will be as close as it gets, I guess. I deeply envy all of you who have gotten to see James Taylor and Carole King in concert. Oh my, that would be my fantasy concert, for sure.

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    1. I just counted how many times I said "great" in my post. SORRY! I should have paid more attention.

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    2. Beverly, Judy Collins!! Come back and tell us how it was. Lucky you!

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  18. I haven't been to a lot of concerts, but have seen The Moody Blues, Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band, Al Jarreau, Bonnie Raitt (in London at the Royal Albert Theater -- that was just WOW!), 10,000 Maniacs, R.E.M., the Dixie Chicks in their early days when they still played fiddles. I would love to see Billy Joel. My sister was lucky enough to see the Beatles in Dallas in 1964. Not concerts, but Vegas shows that were awesome, were LOVE (all about the Beatles) and one on Elvis ~

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    1. Actually, The Moody Blues might be one of my dream concerts.

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    2. I've seen them three times -- always amazing!

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    3. Dixie Chicks are still playing their fiddles, Celia. And it's a highlight of their show (we saw them last summer).

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  19. I saw more classical musicians than rock stars growing up. Saw Jack Benny and Benny Goodman when the performed with the Seattle Symphony. Showing my age, my first rodk concert was Rick Nelson, when he was still known as Ricky. The last concerts before the hearing went were Joan Baez and Sweet Honey in the Rock. Fantasy concert would be Melissa Eltheridge and Annie Lenox singing with Elvis' back up singers.

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    1. Well, I've seen Melissa Etheridge in concert 4 times so I can appreciate your desire to see her live.

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  20. I'm trying to figure out what my first concert was. Maybe The Association in college. The student blanket tax covered the cost. When I was living at home and attending college in New Orleans I talked my dad into going with me to see Sergio Mendes and Brasil 66. Got free tickets to see The Carpenters when we were living in Austin. I've seen Elton John (got rained on), the Beach Boys (got rained on), Billy Joel. The Chieftans a couple of times. Junior Brown a couple of times. Asleep at the Wheel. Merle Haggard just a couple of years ago at a county fair. Jerry Jeff Walker. Tom Jones up in Cleveland, Ohio. That concert was a hoot! That man can sing. I don't go to concerts much anymore. I can't take the traffic and big crowds and bigger ticket prices. We still go to small venues on occasion. I would love to see Willie Nelson but see previous comment. He was just at the rodeo but his night sold out fast. We did see ZZ Top at the rodeo a few years ago. I would LOVE to see Cyndi Lauper. I'm sure I've seen a few more concerts but can't bring them to mind at the moment. Dream concerts would have been Big Brother and Holding Co., Elvis, Rod Stewart, the Who, the Stones.

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    1. One of the Jesuit priests who taught at my Ohio high school somehow had a connection to The Association, and he got them to come and perform for us at an assembly. No idea how he managed it, but they were fantastic. Of course they sang " Never My Love"! Highlight of my entire childhood.

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  21. I've never been a huge concert goer, but there was a time when I want to see the Grateful Dead, just once, before Jerry Garcia finally retired (or passed away). They're a smidge before my time, but still, I got to experience the Dead Head thing (mellow folks smoking pot, on X, wearing tie-die, smiling at everyone, SUPER friendly and inclusive -- made me wonder what it must have been like in the late sixties!

    I saw The Police on their Synchronicity tour--wow, did I have a crush on Sting. :-) And a The Who concert, which was wild. Let's see, Prince (a blast!). My first concert starred The Osmonds, hah!

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    1. I loved the Osmonds, when I was young, Lisa! Every Friday night my sisters and I would watch "Donny and Marie"! And seeing Prince in concert was a blast. Too bad it was so long ago I barely remember it!

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  22. Oh, Julia, I had a crush on Barry Manilow, too, and saw him in concert twice. I was in college when I saw him. I also saw Joni Mitchell while I was in college. I wish I'd gone to more concerts when I was young like that. I got married at 22, so I didn't go to concerts again until I got older. About six years ago, I saw James Taylor and loved it. Seeing him with Bonnie Rait would be awesome. At about the same time period, I saw Gordon Lightfoot. I so wish I'd seen the Eagles when Glenn Fry was alive, and I can't believe I haven't seen Paul McCartney. The Rolling Stones is another group I'd still love to see. They're not a rock group of a sensational act, but I took my teenage granddaughter to see The Piano Guys two years ago, and we both loved every minute of it.

    I'll be traveling to Hawaii tomorrow, so it may be a couple of days before I'm back here. I always feel a little lost without my daily dose of Jungle Reds.

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  23. Saw a lot of concerts in my high school and college and soon after days, almost all in southern California, since that's where I lived. In high school it was surf music, there were "battle of the surf bands" almost every weekend in summer, including Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, The Beach Boys, The Surfaris, Chantays, too many others to name )or remember). Later, Buffalo Springfield, POCO, The Hollies, Crosby, Stills and Nash (before Young), The Moody Blues, Big Brother and the Holding Company (Janis Joplin lead singer), The Doors, Linda Ronstadt (with The Stone Ponys the first time in Tucson), Chicago and Love at a concert at the Shrine Auditorium in LA, one of the best I have ever seen. Chicago was a new band at the time and they called themselves the Chicago Transit Authority then.

    Later I stopped going to rock concerts and went to jazz concerts instead. The Playboy Jazz Festival every year for a decade, and concerts by George Benson, Weather Report, Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Modern Jazz Quartet, many others. One of the best of those I remember was Manhattan Transfer.

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  24. I did love both Barry Manilow and ABBA as a teenager but neither of them came to Toronto. I regretted not seeing the 2 Duets concert with Billy Joel and Elton John. I would love to see Springsteen even now. He has so many energy in his performances and he has been so nice letting young people come up to sign/play with him.

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  25. Jay here, registered on Google so hopefully I did this right.

    I'm mostly a rock and metal fan but I've seen some other genres of bands in concert. Yes, I know that makes me an outlier with most of what people have listed here but them's the breaks I guess.

    01. The Statler Brothers / Helen Cornelius
    02. Survivor / Steve Mullen
    03. Robert Plant / Cheap Trick
    04. Aerosmith / Guns N' Roses
    05. Bad Company / Winger
    06. Poison / Tesla
    06. Anthrax / Helloween / Exodus
    07. Metallica / Queensryche
    08. W.A.S.P. / Accept / Metal Church
    09. Metallica / The Cult
    10. Tesla / Great White / Badlands
    11. Don Henley / Edie Brickell and New Bohemians
    12. XCalibur
    13. Badlands / D.A.D.
    14. Whitesnake / Kix
    15. Savatage / Emissary
    16. Aerosmith / The Black Crowes
    17. Heart / Giant
    18. Melissa Etheridge / del Amitri
    19. Nelson / House of Lords
    20. Queensryche / Suicidal Tendencies
    21. Damn Yankees / Bad Company / Tattoo Rodeo
    22. Queensryche / Warrior Soul
    23. Def Leppard / Ugly Kid Joe
    24. Melissa Etheridge / Billy Pilgrim
    25. Mary Chapin Carpenter / John Gorka
    26 and 27. Melissa Etheridge / Paula Cole
    28. Queensryche / Type O Negative
    29. Blues Traveler
    30. Ozzy Osbourne / Prong / Filter
    31. Mary Chapin Carpenter / Trisha Yearwood / Kim Richey
    32. Melissa Etheridge
    33. Dokken / Maraya / Uncle Jack
    34. U2 / Fun Lovin' Criminals
    35. Queensryche / Dirty Larry
    36. Mary Chapin Carpenter / Joe Ely
    37. Savatage / Joe Stump
    38. Queensryche / Caroline's Spine
    39. Trisha Yearwood / Kim Richey
    40. Def Leppard / The Unband
    41. Iron Maiden / Queensryche / Rob Halford
    42. Savatage / Fates Warning / Silent Shadows / Weapon X
    43. Trisha Yearwood
    44. Shawn Colvin / Kim Richey
    45. Trisha Yearwood
    46. Mary Chapin Carpenter / Eliza Gilkyson
    47. Trans-Siberian Orchestra
    48. Locofest which had about 14 bands including Godhead, Shadows Fall plus headliners Queensryche / Alice Cooper / Heaven & Hell
    49. Iron Maiden
    50. Iron Maiden / Alice Cooper
    51. Black Sabbath
    52. Night Ranger
    53. Black Sabbath / Rival Sons
    54. Kiss / The Dead Daisies
    55. Lita Ford / Flight of Fire
    56. Beth Hart / Rachael Sage

    The best concerts were probably Savatage / Iron Maiden / Heaven & Hell / Black Sabbath and Beth Hart who I saw on February 23rd and it was one of the best things I've ever heard and seen. Been a fan of hers since June 15th, 1996 and this was first time I got to see her live.

    I get into some shows on press passes or being on the band's guest list and I write concert reviews.

    Two bands on my concert bucket list would be AC/DC and Judas Priest

    This summer I'll be seeing Iron Maiden again, as well as Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, The Edgar Winter Band, Michael Sweet, Y&T and Black N' Blue.

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    Replies
    1. Holy cow, Jay!! How's your hearing? This is quite a list. I think you win for "most concerts attended"!

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    2. Eh? What was that? No, my hearing is fine (unless I practice selective hearing).

      And the funny thing is that it isn't really that many concerts. I know people who have seen ONE band as many times as I've been to shows. You should read my Beth Hart review, decent write up of a magnificent show.

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  26. Oh my gosh, Jay, that is an amazing list!! Kudos to you, and our JRW concert-goer award! I am an all-genre lover, and there are a lot of bands on your list that I'd love to have seen. Or see!

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    Replies
    1. Deborah Crombie, you should've seen the list that I had with all the notes about each show and the links to the ones I did reviews for the events.

      Is there a trophy to go with the award? LOL

      Sadly some of the shows I've seen were gawdawful. Robert Plant was too loud so you couldn't hear anything he was saying. The frontman for Suicidal Tendencies was so drunk and high that the show was awful. Warrior Soul's frontman was such a jerk that they got booed off the stage. Poison was just AWFUL.

      Thankfully they are balanced out by the great shows I've seen.

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