A nice tribute to my favorite living musician, the last man standing.

@mashif 

I saw The Band for the first time August 17,1969. It was a rather large venue in Bethel, NY.

Lucky you. I grew up 40 minutes from Bethel but was just a little too young to attend that "rather large venue".

Yes, it was a fantastic show. Buddy played an hour of his songs with Emmylou and Regina McCrary joining in. Just guitar, cello, and upright bass. 

Steve was in top form and did about an hour solo, before bringing Emmylou, his sister Stacy, Lucinda Williams, and Buddy back out. 

Just amazing how an acoustic guitar and vocal can fill the room with a huge sound. 

Nice!  @mashif  , I don't like to get out much anymore, but I think I might have made an exception for that one.

@stuartk 

I feel very fortunate to have been born in NY in 1950. I was 14 when the Beatles played Shea Stadium, 15 sneaking into clubs in Greenwich Village,18 at Woodstock, and now still able to appreciate music. And thanks to my signing up for Audiogon, my music sounds better than ever.

@immatthewj 

It was an exception for me too. Only my second show since 2020. Bonnie Raitt coming up in November. Life's too short to give into my physical ailments. I gotta hear music! 

@mashif: I too am grateful for having been born in 1950. But when I met and became acquainted with Billy Swan in the 1990’s (we both lived in Sherman Oaks, California, as did Johnny Ramone and Dave Edmunds), he told me about seeing Elvis, Scotty (Moore), and Bill (Black)---Elvis had not yet hired drummer D.J. Fontana---perform in Tennessee on the back of a flatbed truck in 1956, I wished it had been 1940 instead!

My first live show was The Beach Boys in the Summer of ’64, and by the time I saw The Beatles in ’65 I had already seen all the San Jose Garage bands that popped up in the wake the British Invasion (The Syndicate Of Sound, The Chocolate Watchband, People, Stained Glass, etc.). Younger guys I meet are envious at my having seen Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who, The Jeff Beck Group, and The Dead and Airplane in ’67 and ’68, but The Band and like-minded groups and artists made them obsolete to me.

And in my opinion, there is music being made now that’s as good as any I have ever heard. It’s a great time to be alive. It will be even better in a coupla months.

@bdp24 

We have lots of great memories and more to be made. Just have to hang in there with our favorites as we watch them disappear. If they can be out there touring, I can at least show up and listen.