Your last concert was to see who and when?

@slaw : It is weird. At one venue there was an additional $1 fee for $20 tickets to the Struts. In Charlotte that fee was more like $10 then in Charleston it was like $5. All for the same band in equally small venues.

I can live with a fee or two but when the 'fee' starts to get close to the cost of the ticket I'm like you and ready to tell them to go......

@toddnkaya : In the three small venues I've been in lately it hasn't made a whole lot of difference where you stood. The joint we're going to see JD McPherson in is so small and has low ceilings so it seems like a place where the 'intimacy' of the show is more important than the sound. We'll see. If it isn't overly packed we can move around.

Saw JD McPherson Saturday night. The Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC is a dive....which was perfect. Small concert hall. Maybe 300 people and packed pretty tight. There was a taqueria and a large outdoor patio area where you could go if you wanted to. We hung out in the patio area before the show and had a beer.

The show was great. We were about 5 rows back. Standing room only. The stage was only about 2 feet high so we were right there with the band. JD's Fender is about the coolest looking guitar I've ever seen:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f9/f0/1b/f9f01b1558ea00b77a445d8d59cdca15.jpg

JD's bass player plays both electric and standup bass. It was loads of fun watching him play the standup in those fast paced songs.

The band played well and interacted with the audience. We had a blast. Only criticism is that the show was a little short, not quite an hour and a half. There were two or three other songs that I (and the audience) kind of expected him to do but he didn't. Not a big deal but it would have made for a 'five star' show if they had.

It does not seem like this band tours a whole lot. At least not as relentlessly as some. But they are older than some young bands. JD is 42 and has a family. Anyway, I was impressed and would see them again in a heartbeat. If he comes anywhere close to you, do yourself a favor and go.

Just got back from enjoying John Legend at the Hollywood Bowl this evening. I was impressed with the way the venue was melded into the specific topography of its site. And the sound system was more than up to the task of filling the small valley with loudness.

What a consummate performer! John delivered 23 songs perfectly, many that I knew and a few that were new to me.  I particularly liked his polished delivery of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Goin’ On, followed by a deeply heartfelt Ordinary People. Later, a very sentimental version of All of Me brought back poignant memories.

The concert ended with a fabulous fireworks display that capped a delightful evening.

Nora Jones last evening...superb!!!

Thinking about it will respond ASAP!!!