Concert attendance

Squiddy, there are still concerts/festivals like that for that money. i just went to 2 concerts last weekend: 1 was Robert Cray and guest, the next night we saw Acoustic Alchemy and the yellowjackets. both concerts were very good, excellent sound, and setting. each concert was $35 for reserved seating. we just had 4 days of the waterfront blues festival (in portland) and it cost $5 and 2 cans of food to see 10 different artists each day. in 2 weeks, we have another festival for 3 days with the doobie brothers, america, and curtis salgado for $10 admission each day.

Jpfl39, I don't think there's much of an analogy between a band that changes their line-up before their career really begins in earnest (Beatles), or bands that lose members along the way (Stones, Dead), or evolve through different lineups over the course of their continuous history (Byrds), and a band that is 'reformed' with a substantially different lineup 30-odd years after their original demise. But having said that, I think it's clear I blew it big-time, as both a Yardbirds and Dr. Feelgood fan, by not making this gig...

Speaking of reincarnated bands of the 60's, I'm wondering, if you live in or around NYC, if you attended any of the Cavestomp shows there (I don't live there, but traveled to see them - all five years)? And if you know that ? & The Mysterians (all original lineup) will be playing Warsaw in Brooklyn (with The Lyres supporting, a reprise of the first Cavestomp main attraction) on June 17 - I've seen this reunited band three times now over the last few years, and they still kill.

Both I & my buddy who attended the Yardbirds NYC gig & go back to the beginning with them agreed that this was a real Yardbirds show, not a tribute band or an oldies act. They played with fire & spirit and sounded great. No, not the "original" Yardbirds perhaps, but a real Yardbirds nonetheless.
In the literal sense I can't think of a single 1960's "original" act that has toured for a number of years, and even back in the day personnel & sound changed constantly. Pete Best & Stu Sutcliffe with the Beatles, Brian Jones with the Stones, Pigpen from the Dead.... Was the Graham Parsons version of the Byrds inauthentic? How about a few months later when they dumped him but kept his songs and arrangements? I'm probably going to get the new Yardbirds CD. Who'd a thunk it?

Sean, you definitely made a big, big mistake. The LOVE concert was one of the top highlights of my concertgoing experience, & I've been going since before the original band. Unless it was some kind of family emergency you experienced, I would urge you in the future not to read into temporal events some sort of "superstitious" uber-plan. Hey, Arthur Lee's "message" before the US tour was to apparently break his ankle just before the first show putting him in chronic pain and unable to walk without a cane or help. He did put the cane down and carried on on adreline for close to 2 hours and KILLED for most of that time. And then he had to be helped offstage. Absolutely the best show I've seen in years by anyone (altho I heard the LA show was mediocre). Unfortunately you truly missed a major event my friend. They may return in the fall for another tour.
Although this probably isn't the forum to get into this, since you brought it up I would urge you, inasmuch as it is possible, not to let your life be guided by external events or opinions but rather by your owns dreams & goals.
"Good luck is the residue of design." - Branch Rickey
Respectfully,

Shubie, are familiar with Gypie's work with roots pub-rockers Dr. Feelgood (not a band on par with the YB's, but not many were/are)? Unfortunately, he was also filling someone else's shoes there - original guitarist Wilko Johnson, who's style he seemed to be copying to a large extent...

You screwed up royally!! Gipie Mayo is a fine guitarist, who plays the Yardbird's songs with great elan. The band members Chris and Jim (who were very polite to the crowd
afterwards) absolutely love playing with them. Alan Glenn the blues harpest was much better than Keith and John Iban was very good as a bass player and singer. Actually I think the newer members have total reverence for what the band stood for. They had a great 10 minute "raveup" of Smokestack Lightning, that was as good as I heard. However, THE highlight of the show was their version of Dazed and Confused, their last recorded song, just before the band split up( of course you know who made it famous). Absolutely awesome!!! As far as I am concerned, these new members are Yardbirds. They had fun, the audience had fun. Would it have been more enjoyable if Jeff Beck or Paul Samwell-Smith had been playing, really I am not sure nor do I care. As far as the Ramshead Tavern is concerned, real nice, great pub food, nice selection of beer on tap. The acoustics/PA system was excellent. Again, I had a blast!!!

Shubertmaniac: Glad you enjoyed the show, but I tend to take exception to the billing that McCarty + Dreja = The Yardbirds (What was Box of Frogs?). That's less than 50% of the proper lineup - even less if you include all three (actually four, but who remembers the guy before Clapton?) lead guitarists who came and went - and could be argued to consist of the two least crucial members (though I personally don't view it that way - I love both their playing, and they were founding members). But if the band did a good job on the old songs, that's what matters most. I might've met you at the Ramshead under different circumstances, but as things were, I couldn't get myself motivated about this one...maybe I screwed up! :-)

Saw Alex Skolnick Trio last night. It was a great performance. He will be in Rochester NY next week, I am planning on being there. That will probably be it for now. Check out his website or new thread.

Last night I went to the Yardbirds concert in Annapolis,MD.
Excellent concert and fun for all who attended. The Yardbirds were truly a great club band. They played great tunes and they were enjoying themselves tremendously and were very gracious aferwards with autographs, questions, etc. If you are interested, go to their website:www.theyardbirds.com for their concert dates. The
tickets were only $25.00 and worth every penny.

I go to mostly blues shows, which tend to be small, semi-local and cheap. There are several good "festival" type shows, with 4 or 5 good acts, $25 for the day admission, beer, stogies, and BBQ not included-- so far this calendar year probably 24+ shows. Have a big 4th weekend blues festival here in Portland, have a couple other festivals later in the summer to go to, and many odd weekday night shows to see.

Portland is a pretty good town to be a blues fan in.

Sean...

Thanks for your response. My wife and I see PG on his "Us" tour (mid 90's --- where does the time go?). We were floored at the production. An amazing experience. We're really looking forward to this show; doubly now since your post!

Cheers.

I'm always going to shows, at least one or two a month, and it would be much more if there were more bands I liked anymore. Geez Louise, Sean, I don't believe in superstition, but that's a hell of a show not to have attended when you had tix! I didn't realize Arthur was gigging this way now - I hope I can catch one...

my wife and i are attending the concerts at he2003 this weekend. in three weeks, we are going to jacksonville, oregon for 2 nights of concerts: first is the robert cray band and guest, the next night is yellow jackets and acoustic alchemy. we already saw trans siberian orchestra last christmas (best concert for clean sound and dynamite music). in portland during the summer, we have concerts (festivals) going on each weekend. some of the past performers have been robert cray, curtis selgado, loverboy, average white band, tower of power, john scofield, etc... also, each wednesday, my company (along with other companies) put on a concert in the park each wednesday at noon (blues, jazz, dance, acoustic, etc...) some of the best bands in the portland area. we also have tickets to see the dave matthews band in august. steely dan is coming soon, and more. if you are near the town of jacksonville, oregon in the summer, look up this url ( http://www.brittfest.org/schedule.aspx ) to see all the britt festival concerts going on in the area.
nothing beats going to live concerts!!!

I just scored a single ticket for Steely Dan at Universal Amphitheater in the 6th row center. I shelled out some bucks for it, but this has the potential as the best show I have ever seen.

Z

Ticket prices are tooo expensive these days to go to all the shows I would like to see. It’s really sad! What happened to 25$ tickets?

Just Saw James Brown for FREE in NYC last week! Check out my in-depth review.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.plrmusi&1054157638&openfrom&18&4#18


Have tickets to see Neil Young and Crazy Horse @ MSG. I hope to score Steely Dan Tickets for Roseland in NYC. Derrick Trucks Band is playing for free at Prospect for free this summer (among other free shows there throughout this summer)

I have created another forum ..in which I listed all the shows I can ‘remember’ having seen! Post your list there!!!

I saw the " Funk Brothers " at the Wiltern ( Los Angeles ) so glad I did. I bought the cheap tickets but at intermission moved up to the stage GREAT GREAT concert. Have tickets for Neil Young/Lucindia Williams & Bob Dylan this summer. If i had the cash & time I would fly to Boston to see Van Morrison/Salomon Burke

Wdhsvbgod: I saw Peter on what was the very first show of this tour at the tale end of last year. My girlfriend is a big fan of his and we ended up with front row seats. The show was very good. According to a local radio station that polled their audience, the show that we were at was voted best concert of 2002 !!! While i don't know if i would go that far, it was a very good show and far more entertaining than i thought it would be. Have a good time !!! Sean
>

Marakanetz...

My wife and I are going to see Peter Gabriel in a new (and quite small venue) in our area this summer. I was stunned at this choice of venue. Usually an act like his would fill a large arena. Perhaps he's scaling down... Anyway, tickets were quite reasonable for excellent seats...can't recall the cost (can't find the tickets, either....hope my wife has them!). This is a Canadian date. How much were the tickets in your area? (If you don't mind me asking...)

I went to see Arthur Lee of the band "Love" backed by a 15 piece orchestra last night. On the way there, i ran into three separate but very distinct problems. While none of these were major, i took it as "someone" trying to tell me that i wasn't supposed to see this show. I followed my "superstitious intuition" and went back home. I'm sure that i missed a once in a lifetime show, but that's not all i might have been involved with if i had continued on. I'm one of those people that thinks "everything happens for a reason".

Hopefully, my future outings will be a little more enjoyable : ) Sean
>

Viridian, I just saw Robert Earl Keene in a small neighborhood theater here in Charlotte. He was great! His warm-up "band", Matt King, was also very, very good. If he's there, you might want to buy his cd since the quality is quite good. Enjoy.

Khokugo,
Living in NY City is now realy sucks and for some folks even impossible, except large possibility of concert attendance.
Will probably go accross the Hudson River soon.
Ozfly, I believe you loose nothing by not going to Eagles! No great talent there to find indeed.
I also figured that Pete Gabriel's last album simply sucks and the old songs will only be half-concert that I would pay at least $90.

Im going to Ozzfest Aug.11th
I thought there were only going to be 3 bands,Oz,KoRn and Disturbed.
Come to find out,there are 12 bands and 14 hours of pounding metal! Including Marilyn Manson!!
I read he is banned from the Buffalo area so maybe he wont show.
Time to break out the black robe and white face paint!
This may be my last concert.....ever!

I am seeing a good number of concerts this year:

John Mayer opening for the Counting Crows @ Irvine Meadows
Steely Dan @ the Orange County Fairgrounds
Jethro Tull @ the Orange County Fairgrounds
James Taylor @ The Greek
Joan Osborne @ The Canyon Dinner Theater

I am hoping Nickel Creek will visit SoCal in the fall sometime...they were AWESOME the first time I saw them.

I may add a show or two later in the summer. I was REALLY looking forward to Mark Knopfler, but since his motorbiking accident, he cancelled the tour. Bummer. I am hoping the Dan show will highlight my summer.

Z

More, more, more. I've finally settled into my new house so I'm looking forward to more small club/theatre concerts and more symphonies/classical concerts. Plus, some of the dance troupes here perform to live music. Large music festivals will also continue to attract my interest. What is rapidly fading away from my list of concerts are large, expensive rock/pop events -- e.g., I elected not to attend the Eagles concerts. IMO, why go through the cost and push through the crowds to attend a mega concert when there is so much great talent playing at smaller venues? Great question. Enjoy live music !!!

Certainly. That's how I (try or intend to) maintain the "reference" sound in my brain. I am 98% acoustic music listener, and I don't know how else I should judge the sound of my system.
Easy access to such opportunites (Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center or many others) is one of VERY few good things about living in NY city.

I plan on attending MORE this year. I live in Jackson, WY, where we have the pleasure of enjoying the Teton Music Festival, at Teton Village. Full orchestral symphonies, small chamber ensembles, awarded guest artists, etc, all summer long. There are five events per week. This year I scored a season's pass to these events!

Happy listening.....Erik

Nrchy, I certainly intend to. It is educative, possibly masochistic, because it keeps reminding you of your system's shortcomings. All the same it is the experience of a musical event which counts after all, be it at home or in a concert. Cheers,

Nice issue, Nrchy!
I was about to visit Pete Gabriel in PNC bank arena in NJ but was realy repulsed by prices on descent listening areas.
Mostly I'm an "underground" listener and prefer see and feel musicians standing next to me and always leand towards small venues.
I plan to do two visits this month to the Knittingfactory NY on Jah Wobble(extra ordinary bass player) concert 6/18 $15 and Magma(french prog rock) 7/1. If you'll be arround NY area, you will never regret if you visit both of these performances.
I almost never miss King Crimson concerts(they've been always in great venues such as Beacon Theatre, Town Hall just only Irwin Plaza sucks) that are in $50 range.
One of my most beloved venues is Bottom Line where tickets are maximum $35 but standard admission price is $22 where I visited a number of the greatest performers: California Guitar Trio, Tony Levin, Pete Hammill(Van Der Graaf Generator), Trilok Gurtu having a seat next to the table with bottle of Pilsner, great sound and athmosphere. Smoking ehem was by the preference of musicians for ones OK for another not OK.