Heard Any Good Live Music Lately?

 

Rochester War Memorial, a hockey rink, held about 8000 people. The first concert I attended, in 1966, was The Mamas and the Papas, with an opening act: Dino, Desi, and Billy. It was also the venue where I saw Three Dog Night, Led Zeppelin (September 1971 before the fourth album was released), Steppenwolf, Elton John (after Tumbleweed Connection), Humble Pie, Procol Harum, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Aerosmith performed in the student union of my college in Upstate New York in 1973. Come to think of it, I was operating the only spotlight! Bob Dylan and The Band (at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, 1974) was the first time I attended a concert when fifteen thousand people were silent and attentive during a solo performance. I first saw Bruce Springsteen in 1975 among the cow fields at Kutztown State. 

 

Well I could go on and on: lots of great memories of countless shows over the years in bars, clubs, gyms, theaters, arenas, stadiums. But at a certain point, it seemed like getting a ticket to a BIG show was like hitting the lottery. They sold out in an hour, the prices were out of sight and it was a big production to get in and out of the venue. My favorite gigs are more intimate affairs. In 1990, in Chicago, one of my local friends and I went to Buddy Guy’s Legends. His sister lived in the same building as Buddy’s manager who sat us in the VIP section:  old kitchen tables to the right of the band. Junior Wells was nodding off at another table and the BBC was in there filming that night. 

 

The Sellersville Theater was an old small-town movie house in a building originally built in 1894. Renovated for a live music theater, with fabric treatments on brick walls and only three hundred seats, the sound was great! There wasn’t anything like it in Philadelphia or New York.  They were looking for volunteers so I signed up.

 

 For the last six years I’ve attended well over a hundred shows.   Many of them were classic rock veterans like Roger McGuinn, John Sebastian, Leon Russell, Richie Furay, Chris Hillman, Poco, Peter & Gordon, Peter Noone, Wishbone Ash, and the members of Jefferson Airplane/Starship. Listening to these musicians, still creative after doing it for thirty or forty years, still in fine voice, perform for a intimate group of appreciative fans has been about as much fun as an old music guy like me can have! 

 

In the age of listening to music over tiny ear buds, you’ll be amazed at how much the shared experience of a concert enhances your enjoyment. The enthusiasm and respect for the music from the audience is appreciated by the performers and helps get them to another level. So, regardless of what you’re into, go out and support live music! 

 

The above was written by Dave Gullo, resident music savant. at Hi-Fi Sales......ed