The Allman Brothers Band
Wiltern Theatre — 6/8/2002 — Loge - Row BB - Seat 112 - $61.50
Opening with Trouble No More set the tone. (How do I remember this stuff?) Gregg’s voice aching. I also remember a soulful Come And Go Blues, which I think they’ve played every time I’ve ever seen them. (8? 9 times? Something like that.)
A memorable moment was during the set break, Brenda ran into Randy Smith in the ladies room. For those of you who don’t know Randy, neither of us were surprised to find him in there. Pure Randy! We had a drink up in the balcony and then he evaporated into the crowd, elusive as always.
Toward the end of the second set we were treated to a full blown Mountain Jam. It was something else! I was amazed once again at Warren Haynes’s musical knowledge. Not for the least because ten days earlier Brenda and I saw him with Phil Lesh and Friends at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley and on that night he played a trippy and very psychedelic Dark Star. I need not add, flawlessly.
Gregg, as ever, was nothing less than brilliant. There has never been any doubt for me that when he sings the blues so seriously it’s because he has lived them. He understands the pain and anguish of those songs. And he was able to pass some of that feeling of heartbreak and lowdown sadness on to us. I’m glad I saw him as many times as I did and I know for me that something very unique is now gone forever. If I could explain it better I would. You had to be there.
John Denver
Saratoga Performing Arts Center - 8/2/1986 - Orchestra - Section 10 - Row HH - Seat 38 - $15.00
I was driving back from Bolton Landing where I dropped off Pat C, who had a summer job up there, and I got caught in a wonderful thunderstorm. Sheets of rain made Route 87 a river and my windshield wipers were useless. I pulled off in Saratoga, found a deli, ordered a sandwich and a beer and read the local paper while waiting out the squall. I was in no hurry. I saw in the arts and entertainment section that John Denver was that night at the Performing Arts Center. The rain let up and I drove over to the box office and lucked out and got a ticket. All that was left the girl told me were a few scattered single tickets. I went back downtown for another beer. In those days there were no concessions inside the grounds.
I will always have a soft spot in my heart for John Denver having sung all those songs around many a Boy Scout campfire over the years. So when he encouraged us to sing along I was well prepared. I sat next to two girls who were as enthusiastic as I was and they were generous enough to occasionally offer me their binoculars. It was a splendid evening listening to those heartfelt tunes with those two, slightly older, girls flirting with me.
Denver was on his game. He played all his classics with the joyful energy that he was famous for. He easily was having as much fun as we all were. Although I do remember a tear (mine) during Leaving On A Jet Plane. When I saw him again a few years later he performed an equally touching rendition. His songs really did come from his life. That’s is exactly what made him so authentic. Gone much too young, there is a loss there and I feel like he left a lot undone. So for me, he will be ever youthful and his songs still bring up some old memories of a piece of my own life that resonates, after all this time, with true fondness.
Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard
Arlington Theatre - 4/21/1989 - Section C - Row LL - Seat 11 - $27.00
Dan came up from Long Beach and we spent the day walking around town, eating and drinking. Merle opened. The CD Chill Factor had just come out and he played a generous selection of songs from it before ripping through some big hits. His band was incredibly tight and smooth, they made it look effortless. His voice, so unique, sometimes it seemed like he was carving out the words and, like Willie, his phrasing was impossible to imitate.
Willie opened with Whiskey River, just like always, a song I’ve always taken to heart. That and Night Life, anthems of a kind for an old bartender like me. (Although I wasn’t so old in 1989) Willie had us dancing in the aisles and singing along as if our lives depended on it. (Maybe they did) A Willie show is beautiful for its semi-predictability. There are songs that he simply has to play and he does so with joy and an unabashed love for the tunes. Every time I catch up with him it’s a treat and now with Merle gone every concert he plays is more and more remarkable for its history in the making.
And just a few weeks ago Willie’s sister Bobbie passed away so the sound of The Family Band will be forever changed. The great drummer Paul English has left the stage forever as well. Willie powers on though. He has several concerts already booked for the coming summer. Unfortunately, not near me. Oh, and of course, again like always, he closed the show with Whiskey River.
The Grateful Dead
Hartford Civic Center - 4/3/1987 - Section 106 - Row X - Seat 3 - $14.50
Well, Holy Shit! Jerry had been sick and they had to cancel the fall tour. But he was back, feeling better, looking trim. (Well, for him.) They played a few west coast shows but this was their first night back in New England. The Deadheads were sparked. There was a moment a couple of months earlier that we thought this thing might be all over. We were thrilled to be wrong. The energy in the room was cosmic.
They opened with a thunderous Midnight Hour! Other first set highlights; Row Jimmy, Desolation Row and Bird Song.
And then after the break they absolutely ripped. China > Rider > Looks Like Rain > He’s Gone, maybe the best second set opening I’ve ever heard. The bridge between China Cat and Rider had a few amazing powerful peaks. The music playing the band.
And later Jerry sang a very poignant, due to his recent illness, Black Peter. There were some tears. That “a little peace to die” line shook the stadium.
They sent us out into the night with a rollicking Mighty Quinn.
It’s time to find the CD of that show that I burned from a cassette. Or, better yet, look it up on Relisten.
Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano, Esperanza Spaulding & Leo Genovese
Lobero Theatre - 2/18/14 - Row L - Seat 9 - $50.00
Talk about a full stage! I wish there was a recording somewhere of this group. Man they were hot. There was so much pure playing that night that I didn’t know where to look. I could’ve danced to every song but sometimes The Lobero is a little too serious for my antics.
I really wanted to see Esperanza because her most recent CD was magnificent. I’d been playing it consistently for months. And everything she’s come out with since is equally remarkable. Pure art!
Lovano is simply a master of the horn. He makes every note, every phrase, look easy. Genovese plays with so much soul. I wasn’t familiar with most of his work, but I am now.
Jack Dejohnette is probably the best drummer I’ve ever seen perform. Any genre! I know it’s silly to compare him to guys like Peart, Hart, Kruetzman, you know, apples & cashews, but he is mesmerizing to watch. I’ve been lucky enough to see him several times and he always floors me.
Thinking back on that night’s energy, I wish Esperanza would tour more. She puts me in a mood and when I need a good jolt I play her loud and jump around the house. I’m not kidding!
Neil Young and The International Harvesters
R.P.I. Field House - 8/15/1985 - Section 6 - Row K - Seat 2 - $12.50
For the most part this was a very country and western tinged show. He was touring after releasing Old Ways, an album that featured Waylon & Willie on a few songs. Lots of steel guitar and fiddle. And as always, Neil pulled it off splendidly. The sound, for and old gym, was pretty good that night. I’ve seen all of Neil’s incarnations; solo, Shocking Pinks, Blue Notes, Crazy Horse, that Trans thing, Friends and Relatives, POTR, and portions of The Stray Gators. And oh yeah, CSN&Y. And Buffalo Springfield, too!
It’s a treat no matter what genre he’s working in because the quality of the music is always at such a high level. This show was no exception. I do remember a blazing version of Southern Pacific that achieved a welcome amount of psychedelia. (Neil is the only artist who gives me the closest thing to flashbacks I’ve ever had.) The next year I saw him with Crazy Horse, a completely different sort of trip, so to speak….
Keith Jarret, Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette
UCLA Royce Hall - 3/11/2009 - Section Right - Row- F - Seat 30 - $76.00
The Trio! When you say that in jazz conversations there is no doubt about whom you are speaking. They arguably have been the most important jazz interpreters of the great American songbook of the past forty or so years. Their performances are simply astounding. It’s instantly apparent from the first few notes of the concert that these three musicians feed off each other’s energy and what might be a nuance can turn into an improvisation that lasts twenty minutes. The ballads they play are so infused with passion that even slow passages burn with intensity. Their shows demand that you pay close attention. They are in no way background jazz. The same applies to their albums. You have to listen closely because no note is ever out of place. And when the band does start to extend a song with improvisation the mood in the room elevates to a place that makes you realize that this piece is a one-off never to be repeated and when the song is finished you can’t help (Or I can’t!) but feel that you witnessed something that is even more beautiful because now it is gone forever. From the collective mind of these three artists, to their fingers, to my ears and then a fade to silence reminds me of the swift passage of life’s most precious moments and our quick and mysterious attempts to make sense of our experiences. Yes, that is what great music does to me. I’ve seen The Trio three times (Jarrett solo three more) and they have never failed to jab my heart and bring on tears.
And as lessons in impermanence continue to manifest there is sadness that with the passing of Gary Peacock those moments of musical inspiration are no more. Yes, we have the albums, and they are wonderful documentations of certain nights, but the anticipation of something new, never before played, is now a part of the past. I am glad to say that a few times I was there for the magic.
