I know there has been threads on this topic but, hey, I wasn't around then. lol I am interested in taking fresh look at this topic and hearing your tales of the good, bad, and ugly. Who are a few of the big acts that you've seen live? Here are a few questions that I would enjoy hearing your thoughts on. Feel free to comment on one or more of these:
1. Who are a few of the big acts you've seen live?
2. What were your favorite live concerts that you attended? Where and when?
3. Who were you super excited to see but left you disappointed?
4. Were there act(s) or shows that you had little expectations for but you left super impressed?
5. What acts do you wish you had gotten to see but didn't ?
6. Did you ever get to meet a performer at a show? Who was the nicest? Who was the biggest jerk off?
7. What's the most you ever paid for a ticket to a big name concert? What is the least you ever paid for a big name concert ticket?
8. Anything weird or interesting happen at a live show you attended?
9. What one concert (and at what point in time) would you like to see if you could go back in time?
I will add comments as the thread progresses. I will say I have seen a number of live concerts. I've been able to see most of the handful of acts that I really, really wanted to see. There are a few , however, that I regret missing. Boston(with Brad Delp) , the Bee Gees, ELO , TOTO, Heart, Queen(with Mercury) , Journey(with Perry) Bad Company(with Rodgers) would all fall into that latter category.
One show that I really, really wish I could have experienced would be Jefferson Starship(with Slick and Balin in the mid seventies). I've seen Starship w/ Mickey Thomas several times.
A few of the bigger acts I've seen:
*Elton John - many times ( always great)
*Fleetwood Mac- many times (always great , won't see without Buckingham- he's the key to the Chain)
*Starship w/ Mickey Thomas ( Mick still has the pipes)
*Chicago(one of Cetera's final shows)
*REO Speedwagon( at the Red Mile) - Cronin & Co. were great but many concertgoers were passed out drunk in the mud. lol
*Kansas
*Eddie Money(RIParadise)
*Styx
*Joan Jett
*38 Special
*The Spinners
*Rick Springfield
*John Waite( still has great pipes)
*Three Dog Night(I'm old)
*The Grass Roots( I'm older than dirt) Btw, those who haven't heard of them, look them up. They were a terrific in their day.
I've seen a few country acts including: Garth(stepdad gave me a ticket), Blake Shelton(free)
What can you share with me and other music lovers about the live concerts you've attended? I can't wait to hear!!!!
A few years ago, I saw a couple of bands that I was not super excited about going in. I expected a washed up bunch of old guys who patheticlly lingered on with more canes than microphones. I was surprised that these guys still kicked ass and sounded absolutely TERRIFIC! The bands were Restless Heart and Exile. The RH show was about ten years ago and Exile bout three or four years ago. Exile even did some Fleetwood Mac. Both bands are A+ harmonizers.
As far as a band I was disappointed in. LRB , the Little River Band. Only one member from the old days of LRB. Some of the arrangements just didn't work . The original LRB was an Australian band and didn't have a drummer from Winchester, KY. LRB meet Clays Ferry. There's no Help on the Way for that band.
Restless Heart was always one of my favorite country bands, I saw them at Renfro Valley just a few years ago with all the original members. They still sounded like a band that was right on top of their game, they are vastly underrated in the annals of country. Play "Dancy's Dream", what a great song.
Here's my favorite weird story. Went with some buddies to the Louisville Palace (great venue) to see Sammy Hagar probably 15 years ago. Before the show the fans were all mingling outside, and this guy who said he was a Desert Storm vet was talking with everyone. Great guy, we talked to him for a little while and noticed he had a prosthetic leg. Fast forward to the show. We were on like the second or third row, and Sammy would sign a lot of the stuff people tossed onstage and throw it back out. Well, guess what all of a sudden came crowd surfing to the front to go onstage? You guessed it--an unattached prosthetic leg!!! We helped toss it on up, and Sammy lost his mind, thought it was the greatest thing ever, held it over it his head and danced around for a while before he signed it, and I mean he covered the whole thigh, then sent it back out. We couldn't find the guy after the show, but I guess he's had a Sammy Hagar model prosthetic leg ever since.
I'm a bit of a cheapskate when it comes to paying high ticket prices. Concert ticket prices have skyrocketed over the last decade or so. I simply won't pay three or four hundred dollars for a ticket. I think the most I have ever paid was $40 for great seats to see Fleetwood Mac in Nashville back in the late '90's . I took a few hundred with me because I really wanted to see Buckingham's return to to the band for The Dance tour. I got lucky and ran into a guy from Louisville and he and I made friends with a scalper and we got a couple of great seats for $40 each. We waited until just a few minutes before the show started and made the deal with the ticket seller. Got great Elton John ticket at Knoxville for $25 using the same method.
(02-02-2021, 12:30 PM)Van Hagar Wrote: [ -> ]Restless Heart was always one of my favorite country bands, I saw them at Renfro Valley just a few years ago with all the original members. They still sounded like a band that was right on top of their game, they are vastly underrated in the annals of country. Play "Dancy's Dream", what a great song.
Here's my favorite weird story. Went with some buddies to the Louisville Palace (great venue) to see Sammy Hagar probably 15 years ago. Before the show the fans were all mingling outside, and this guy who said he was a Desert Storm vet was talking with everyone. Great guy, we talked to him for a little while and noticed he had a prosthetic leg. Fast forward to the show. We were on like the second or third row, and Sammy would sign a lot of the stuff people tossed onstage and throw it back out. Well, guess what all of a sudden came crowd surfing to the front to go onstage? You guessed it--an unattached prosthetic leg!!! We helped toss it on up, and Sammy lost his mind, thought it was the greatest thing ever, held it over it his head and danced around for a while before he signed it, and I mean he covered the whole thigh, then sent it back out. We couldn't find the guy after the show, but I guess he's had a Sammy Hagar model prosthetic leg ever since.
Great story! Yes, after the show I saw, I became a big Restless Heart fan. They were amazing! They hadn't lost anything from 25 years ago. Exile still had most of the original guys too- London, Richmond, Lexington guys.
The best deal, by far, I ever got on a concert was Don Henley came to Rupp for a solo show, early 90s I think, and it was sponsored by the Ky Lottery. You could buy a ticket for $5 along with a losing lottery ticket. I’m not a lottery player, but I immediately went out and bought a ticket hoping for a loser! And Henley was great, did all of his solo hits, plus Eagles songs that he sang.
(02-02-2021, 01:57 PM)Van Hagar Wrote: [ -> ]The best deal, by far, I ever got on a concert was Don Henley came to Rupp for a solo show, early 90s I think, and it was sponsored by the Ky Lottery. You could buy a ticket for $5 along with a losing lottery ticket. I’m not a lottery player, but I immediately went out and bought a ticket hoping for a loser! And Henley was great, did all of his solo hits, plus Eagles songs that he sang.
That's funny .
Btw, anytime I've ever been to a Fleetwood Mac show, you see people(usually first-time Mac concert-goers) before the show anticipating getting to see who, in their minds, will be the star of the show- Stevie Nicks. Wrong. On the way out, all the talk is about Buckingham. One of the best and most underrated talents ever. A real showman. Incredible guitarist. I will never pay for a ticket to see the Mac without Buckingham. Both times he has left the band, they hired two guys to replace him . Both times it fell way short. Immense talent. Very unique style of playing.
Hey, I’m with you. Buckingham may be the most underrated super-talent ever. If you get a chance, watch his solo concert that AXS TV runs every month or so. A mix of his solo and Mac songs and just sensational.
As a 14 year-old lad, one act that I wanted to see was ABBA. Can you ever imagine why ???
Take a look at the dresses. Hey Kitty , Kitty !!!
Acts I regret not seeing (I'm only counting from mid-70s on when I could have, so no Beatles or Woodstock).
AC/DC with Bon Scott.
Skynyrd with Ronnie Van Zant
Queen with Freddie
Rolling Stones when they were younger
Acts I'm very glad I got to see once
Prince
ZZ TOP before MTV sellout
Van Halen when they were young and the world's greatest party band
Tina Turner on her farewell tour (one of the few acts who did a farewell tour then actually stayed retired.)
Dixie Chicks before Nashville blackballed them
There's a bunch of my absolute favorites, like AC/DC, Travis Tritt, Guns and Roses, etc. that I've seen multiple times, just listing here acts I only saw once.
Another group that I wouldn't have minded seeing live(especially in the early 80's) were these guys. I never really listened to their music back in the day but I LOVED their biggest hit. Saw it on MTV a thousand times. Fee Waybill is a terrific frontman . Great voice, great showman. From what I've heard they were one of the very best live bands out there in the eighties. Check out this live performance from '83 of them doing their hit song and see if you don't think one of their shows would have been a hellava blast and a lot of fun. Their live acts included costume changes, set designs, and a lot of between-song patter. Check out the live performance I will post below.
Waybill says the song was originally inspired when he passed a booth on a San Francisco street outside a peep show, the booth being marked with a sign reading "Pay A Dollar, Talk to a Naked Girl," and the frustrating conversation that ensued between him and the woman inside the booth. It was her job to entice him into paying for further "actvities." He told the girl she was too pretty to be doing what she was doing and invited her to come and dance in his band. She paid no attention to what he said. Waybill had to change the original lyric "Talk to a Naked Girl" to "Talk to a Pretty Girl." Otherwise, we may have never heard this terrific tune on the radio.
Btw, a little trivia about this song that I bet you didn't know. The song was produced by the great David Foster, who produced a lot of Chicago's stuff and worked with tons of artists. Steve Lukather of TOTO co-wrote the song along with Waybill . "Luke" also played guitar on the track. Fellow TOTO bandmate Bobby Kimboll sang backup(he does the chorus) and Chicago's Billy Champlin also sings backup(the quieter parts).
Also, you remember in the original video , there is a young kid that is riding the amusement ride. That was Alexis Arquette(then Robert Arquette). He was the 12 year-old brother of Rosanna Arquette, the actress and namesake of TOTO's 1982 hit "Rosanna." Also, in the original video, there is a mermaid. Waybill wanted the mermaid to be topless. David Foster rightly said no way to that. lol They were able to get some breast imagery in the video, though. Check out the drum set. Also the amusement ride car crashes through a paper boobie. And now you know... the rest...of the story.
Here's The Tubes live from '83 . Tell me this wouldn't have been fun in the early eighties :
Here's the original MTV video . Bet you never noticed the boobs on the drum set or on the paper they crash through. lol
I saw Paul McCartney in Cincinnati in 2011. I also saw Miranda Lambert that same year. I would have loved to have watched The Beatles in concert but alas, they broke up 13 years before I was born. I attended a lot of concerts with my Mom to see some of her favorite artists. The Oak Ridge Boys at Paramount Arts Center and Marty Stuart at the Mountain Arts Center are two of my favorite memories with her. She passed away last year so those memories are even more special to me.
She never really hit it big after appearing on "The Voice" but I saw Kelsie May open for Pam Tillis a few years ago. Mom went to see Pam Tillis but I was there to see Kelsie. After the show I got to meet her and she was really nice. She actually recognized me from commenting on some of her music posts on her Facebook fan page. That was my all time favorite personal memory.
I would have loved to also saw The Association in concert as well.
(02-03-2021, 04:56 PM)clipperw Wrote: [ -> ]I saw Paul McCartney in Cincinnati in 2011. I also saw Miranda Lambert that same year. I would have loved to have watched The Beatles in concert but alas, they broke up 13 years before I was born. I attended a lot of concerts with my Mom to see some of her favorite artists. The Oak Ridge Boys at Paramount Arts Center and Marty Stuart at the Mountain Arts Center are two of my favorite memories with her. She passed away last year so those memories are even more special to me.
She never really hit it big after appearing on "The Voice" but I saw Kelsie May open for Pam Tillis a few years ago. Mom went to see Pam Tillis but I was there to see Kelsie. After the show I got to meet her and she was really nice. She actually recognized me from commenting on some of her music posts on her Facebook fan page. That was my all time favorite personal memory.
I would have loved to also saw The Association in concert as well.
clipperw, thanks for your comment. Feel free to join our music threads any time. My sis saw Paul McCartney last year. I wish I could have seen Paul and Linda's band,
Wings , in the seventies. I loved their music(better than the Beatles ).
My very concert was Elton John in Rupp Arena . My mom attended that concert with me. We sat near a speaker and mom couldn't anything for about an hour after the concert ended. lol
I always loved Pam Tillis. She has that classic country sound. ( She must have had a big influence in her family, huh? lol)
Music is one thing that binds us all together. No matter what our backgrounds, our politics, our religious beliefs, we all share a love of music. Music creates memories. When we hear a favorite song from the past, we are taken back to that time in our lives. While we may lose the physical touch of someone we love, that love lives on in the memories we made with that person. I'm glad that you have those memories of attending concerts with your mom. I'm sure when you hear some of those songs today you think of your mom and the good times you had listening to that music together.
I'm sending out this one in memory of your mom. Have a blessed day.
Thank you very much for the kind words and song! You are right, I hear songs that Mom loved or from those artists that we saw together and it's a special feeling, you know? Mom loved Elton John but never got a chance to see him in concert. I love a lot of older music and I enjoy threads like these. Thank you again for the kind words and starting a great thread!
(02-03-2021, 10:14 PM)clipperw Wrote: [ -> ]Thank you very much for the kind words and song! You are right, I hear songs that Mom loved or from those artists that we saw together and it's a special feeling, you know? Mom loved Elton John but never got a chance to see him in concert. I love a lot of older music and I enjoy threads like these. Thank you again for the kind words and starting a great thread!
That's so interesting you say that. Elton has always been my favorite. I've seen him in concert more than any other artist. I'll leave you with an Elton tune that I absolutely LOVE! Very powerful lyrics. Always makes me reflect upon the life I've lived and the inevitable reality that my time will one day come "to leave upon the wind, never to return." In fact, I've already decided I want this song played at my celebration of life service when I pass from this world. This one's for your mom as well ...
I used to know this old scarecrow
He was my song
My joy and sorrow
Cast alone between the furrows
Of a field no longer sown by anyone
I held a dandelion
That said the time had come
To leave upon the wind
Not to return
When summer burned the earth again
Oh
Oh
Cultivate the freshest flower
This garden ever grew
Beneath these branches
I once wrote
Such childish words for you
But that's okay
There's treasure children always seek to find
And just like us
You must have had
A once-a-upon-a-time
I watched the movie "Rocketman" last year and really liked it. I also saw his autobiography at Books a Million last year and almost bought it, but figured I'd pick it up at a later date when I had a little more money on me. Whenever I hear his song "Crocodile Rock" I always think of Mom because it was such a favorite of hers. I think its interesting you mention having a celebration of life when you pass. That's exactly how I phrased Mom's services as. We did a slide show for her that played during the last day when my brother and I gave eulogies for her. After that we played the Green Day song "Time of Your Life" and gave people a chance to listen and watch the slide show.
Thanks again!!
(02-04-2021, 04:09 PM)clipperw Wrote: [ -> ]I watched the movie "Rocketman" last year and really liked it. I also saw his autobiography at Books a Million last year and almost bought it, but figured I'd pick it up at a later date when I had a little more money on me. Whenever I hear his song "Crocodile Rock" I always think of Mom because it was such a favorite of hers. I think its interesting you mention having a celebration of life when you pass. That's exactly how I phrased Mom's services as. We did a slide show for her that played during the last day when my brother and I gave eulogies for her. After that we played the Green Day song "Time of Your Life" and gave people a chance to listen and watch the slide show.
Thanks again!!
You're very welcome. I'm sure you made your mom proud. When I was about eleven or so, I can remember going to a popular local diner and hearing "Crocodile Rock" on the jukebox about every time I went in there. It was a very poplar tune at that time.
I saw Elton John twice when he was touring with Billy Joel. I actually went to the first concert to see Billy Joel because I was a fan of his. I walked away liking Elton more.
(02-04-2021, 10:53 PM)Westside Wrote: [ -> ]I saw Elton John twice when he was touring with Billy Joel. I actually went to the first concert to see Billy Joel because I was a fan of his. I walked away liking Elton more.
I hear that. I have never been disappointed in an Elton show.