John Fogerty: 9/25/2021

I had seen John Fogerty about 35 years ago, and I confess it was not my finest hour. What I do remember I would rather forget. Which is why I decided to catch him on this tour, especially since I had heard he was playing mostly Creedence Clearwater Revival material (completely absent in the 1980s).

My wife and I arrived at the Mountain Winery with enough time to check out the merchandise before the show. I will only buy something if it is really cool and not exorbitant. I did find a cool tie-dye, which I picked up.

Our seats were kind of crappy. The section we were in was straight back, which was fine, but they were reserved bleacher seats, so it was a little too packed for my comfort. But I donned my mask and sat on the bench like I was in high school or something.

Fogerty came out and kicked right into “Up Around the Bend,” a good choice for an opener. After that, it was lots of CCR, with only four solo tunes. The band was really high-energy and featured two of Fogerty’s sons, who were solid musicians and not just riding dad’s coattails.

While Fogerty’s vocals were great, what really impressed me was his guitar work. His solos were really really hot. For a guy in his 70s, he could still tear up a guitar solo.

The only down-side about this concert was the crowd. No one was standing and rockin’. I kept wanting to get up and dance, but literally everyone was in their seats. It wasn’t until the last two songs that I finally got to stand up and jam. But other than that, it was a kick-ass show.

Anyway, here is the setlist and a couple pictures. Keep on Chooglin’!

Setlist:

• Up Around the Bend
• Green River
• Susie Q
• Born on the Bayou
• Who’ll Stop the Rain
• Lookin’ Out My Back Door
• Lodi
• Run Through the Jungle
• Hot Rod Heart
• Weeping in the Promised Land
• I Heard It Through the Grapevine
• Good Golly Miss Molly
• Keep On Chooglin’
• Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
• Down on the Corner
• Centerfield
• The Old Man Down the Road
• Fortunate Son
• Bad Moon Rising
• Proud Mary

Gary Clark Jr.: 9/14/2021

Gary Clark Jr. has been on my short list of acts I have been wanting to see live. So when I was he was coming to the Mountain Winery, getting tickets was a no-brainer for me. As a guitarist, I am compelled to see as many of the greats as possible, and Gary Clark Jr. is one of the hottest blues guitarists out there right now, in my humble opinion.

We arrived at the venue and there was a good crowd. I checked out the merchandise, thinking I might grab a shirt, but they were pretty drab. Gary may be a great guitarist, but he needs to get a better graphic designer working for him. Just sayin’.

We got our seats, which were kind of on the side of he stage, but they afforded a great view. After a bit, the opening act came out, a rap/hip hop act called Blackillac. While not really my musical genre, they were pretty good. Their forte was their ability to perform freestyle rap, where they basically make it up on the spot. I have to say, I found that impressive. I could not pull of something like that. And the crowd was very supportive of them, which I liked. I know it must be tough being a rap group opening for a blues artist at an upscale venue. I applaud them for pulling it off.

After a brief intermission, Gary took the stage with his band. They sounded great, although personally, I feel that Gary’s guitar could have been a bit louder, especially during his solos. But that is the fault of the person working the soundboard. Still, the show was excellent and Gary’s guitar work did not disappoint in the slightest. He lived up to my expectations, which I confess were fairly high.

Blackillac came out and joined Gary Clark Jr. for one of the encore songs, which was ok. I guess since Gary produced Blackillac, he wanted to help promote them. The evening ending with a killer version of “When My Train Pulls In,” probably my favorite Gary Clark Jr. song. Some great versions of it out on YouTube, if you are unfamiliar.

Anyway, glad I was able to check him off the bucket list. Here is the setlist and a couple pictures.

Setlist:

• Bright Lights
• Feed the Babies
• Next Door Neighbor Blues
• I Walk Alone
• Hold On
• Our Love
• When I’m Gone
• You Saved Me
• Feelin’ Like a Million
• Low Down Rolling Stone
• Gotta Get Into Something
• Pearl Cadillac

Encore:

• The Guitar Man (with Blackillac)
• I Got My Eyes on You (Locked & Loaded)
• When My Train Pulls In

Warren Haynes’ 22nd Christmas Jam: 12/11/2010

First off, I’d like to apologize for the long hiatus. With COVID putting concerts on hold, I just could not bring myself around to posting about past shows. It felt like rubbing salt in a wound. But as vaccines are rolling out and concerts are getting booked again, I feel OK starting to share stories once more.

For this one, we go back to 2010 for the annual Warren Haynes Christmas Jam. For those who need a refresher, the Christmas Jam is a benefit concert in Asheville, NC where all the proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity. This show had a great lineup, with the following headliners:

• Steve Miller Band
• The Warren Haynes Band
• Gregg Allman
• John Bell (from Widespread Panic)
• Umphrey’s McGee
• Dirty Dozen Brass Band
• Missing Cats

In addition to the headliners, there was also a slew of special guests, including: Mike Barnes, Cody Dickinson, Fred Eltringham, Sherman Ewing, Ruthie Foster, Audley Freed, John “JoJo” Hermann, Terence Higgins, Ron Holloway, Ron Johnson, Robert Kearns, Kevn Kinney, Ivan Neville, and Artimus Pyle.

Because this was a general admission show, my friend Terry and her date got there early and secured seats for us. We were straight back, which was OK, but I would have preferred being closer and on the side. Still, the sound was good, and at least I didn’t have to stand outside in the cold for hours, which was a plus.

Not surprising, the high points for me were Steve Miller and Gregg Allman (who even jammed together, which was way cool). Warren’s band was great, as were Umphrey’ McGee and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Not a big John Bell fan, but he did perform “Walk on Guilded Splinters” with Gregg Allman, and that was excellent. The only disappointment was that Steve Miller did not play “The Joker,” but everything else made up for that one minor disappointment.

As is always the case with a Christmas Jam, the music went on until the wee hours of the morning. But it was a great time, and thinking about it now, I can say I am itching to see some live music again.

Here are the setlists.

Missing Cats:

• Smiling Assassin
• The Slaughter
• Step On Over Me
• Highwire
• Over Lubbuck

Umphrey’s McGee:

• Conduit
• 1348
• Ain’t No Sunshine w/ John Bell
• Miss Tinkles Overture
• All In Time

The Warren Haynes Band (featuring Warren Haynes, Ivan Neville, Ron Johnson, Terrance Higgins, Ron Holloway, and Ruthie Foster):

• Man In Motion (w/ Andy Farag and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band)
• Rivers Gonna Rise (w/ Andy Farag and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band)
• Everyday Will Be Like A Holiday
• I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (w/ The Dirty Dozen Brass Band)
• Sick Of My Shadow (w/ Andy Farag and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band)

Steve Miller Band:

• Jet Airliner
• Take the Money and Run
• Mercury Blues
• Further On Up The Road (w/ Warren Haynes)
• Just Got Back From Texas
• Ooo Poo Pah Do (w/ Carlos Reyes)
• Shubada (w/ Carlos Reyes)
• Nature Boy (w/ Carlos Reyes)
• Wild Mountain Honey (w/ Carlos Reyes)
• Dance Dance Dance (w/ Carlos Reyes)
• The Stake
• Abracadabra
• Livin’ In The USA
• Fly Like An Eagle (w/ Warren Haynes and Carlos Reyes)

John Bell:

• Dobro Christmas Medley
• Papa’s Home
• May Your Glass Be Filled

Gregg Allman:

• Midnight Rider
• Just Another Rider (w/ Dirty Dozen Band and Ron Holloway)
• Dreams (w/ Ron Holloway)
• Just Like A Woman (w/ John Bell)
• Walk on Guilded Splinters (w/ Dirty Dozen Band and John Bell)
• Melissa (w/ Warren Haynes)
• Lost Highway (w/ Steve Miller)

Dirty Dozen Brass Band:

• Ain’t Nothing By A Part
• Papa Was A Rolling Stone (w/ Warren Haynes)
• Thats What Love Will Make You Do (w/ Ron Johnson and Warren Haynes)
• Spanish Moon (w/ Warren Haynes, Ron Johnson, Ivan Neville, and Artimus Pyle)
• Superstitious (w/ John Bell and Ron Holloway)
• Use Me (w/ Warren Haynes, John Bell, and Ron Holloway)

Neil Young and the International Harvesters: 9/15/1985

I remember this performance clearly; the only thing I don’t remember about this concert was who I went with. Obviously, I was focused on Neil.

The International Harvesters were a country band backing up Neil on this tour, which was cool because they played a lot of acoustic tunes that went over really well, such as “Heart of Gold,” “Old Man” and “Helpless.” And even the more intense Crazy Horse tunes, like “Down by the River” and “Powderfinger” actually sounded really good with the country flavor.

I am a huge Neil Young fan and would see him multiple times after this with Crazy Horse, but I have to confess that it was very cool seeing him with this configuration. There is something about Neil’s country-style music that just soothes my soul.

Here is the setlist. Long may Mr. Young keep playing music for us.

Setlist:

• Country Home
• Comes a Time
• Lookin’ for a Love
• Heart of Gold
• This Old House
• Southern Pacific
• Interstate
• Sugar Mountain
• Helpless
• California Sunset
• Nothing Is Perfect
• Field of Opportunity
• Down by the River
• Old Man
• Powderfinger

Encore:

• Get Back to the Country
• Grey Riders

Alice Cooper and Vinnie Vincent Invasion: 12/31/1986

I had basically seen this exact same show three days earlier at the West Palm Beach Auditorium, but I could not pass up a chance to see the Coop again, especially on New Year’s Eve.

I went with a woman I was dating at the time, Christine, and I painted my face up as Alice. Figured I would get my full fan-boy on. I knew a lot of people who were going this night, including my brother and our friend Jon.

Vinnie Vincent was kind of a joke the second time around. I literally burst out laughing at one point when he did his best Karate Kid kick and knocked over the same dummy amp from the other night. Oh well, at least he tried.

During intermission, Christine and I went and met up with my brother and Jon in the lobby area. Now there was this one section in the lobby where some stairs were above, and the headroom as not that high. A basketball player would have to duck, for sure. Well, we were hanging out there, and Jon decided to have a little fun with some inebriated headbangers. “Hey,” Jon said, “I bet you can’t jump high enough to touch the ceiling there with your head.” They would not walk away from a dare, and proceeded to jump up and down, clonking their heads on the cement above them. It was humorous, and I suspect they woke with a splitting headache the following morning.

After a long intermission, Alice took the stage. The show was exactly the same as the WPB show, which, if I am being honest, I had hoped he would have at least thrown one or two treats in there for NYE, but still, it was a great show, even if it was the same.

Here is the setlist, in case you missed it from my last post. Rock on!

Setlist:

• Welcome to My Nightmare
• Billion Dollar Babies
• No More Mr. Nice Guy
• Be My Lover
• I’m Eighteen
• The World Needs Guts
• Give It Up
• Cold Ethyl
• Only Women Bleed
• Go to Hell
• Ballad of Dwight Fry
• Teenage Frankenstein
• Sick Things
• I Love the Dead
• School’s Out

Encore:

• Elected
• Under My Wheels

Alice Cooper and Vinnie Vincent Invasion: 12/28/1986

This stub is from Alice’s “The Nightmare Returns” tour. My memory of this show is a little spotty, mainly because I would see the same show again a few days afterwards on New Year’s Eve (that stub and memory to come soon). I can’t remember with whom I went to this show, but I have some recollections about the performances.

The Vinnie Vincent Invasion opened the show. Vincent was the guitarist for KISS prior to striking out on this solo venture. They were very much an embodiment of 80’s glam metal, and mildly entertaining. But I had to chuckle to myself, because at the end of the set, Vincent kicked over one of his amplifiers, but since I was close to the stage I noticed there were no cords or wires connected to it, and it did not seem to have speakers inside the cabinet, so I deduced it was a dummy amp (my assumption was confirmed on NYE when he kicked over the same “amp”). Anyway, not the best opening act I had seen, but not the worst either.

After a break, the Coop took the stage, opening with “Welcome to My Nightmare,” a great opener and right up there with “Hello Hurray,” which in my humble opinion is the best opening song ever.

Anyway, the rest of the show was all killer and no filler, as is evident from the setlist below. Rock on, and be sure to check back soon for my memories of the New Year’s show.

Setlist:

• Welcome to My Nightmare
• Billion Dollar Babies
• No More Mr. Nice Guy
• Be My Lover
• I’m Eighteen
• The World Needs Guts
• Give It Up
• Cold Ethyl
• Only Women Bleed
• Go to Hell
• Ballad of Dwight Fry
• Teenage Frankenstein
• Sick Things
• I Love the Dead
• School’s Out

Encore:

• Elected
• Under My Wheels

Cheap Trick: 10/28/1984

It’s been a long time since I posted. Life has gotten in the way. It happens. But here we go.

I think this was the first time that I saw Cheap Trick in concert. I know the first time I saw them was at the Sunrise Musical Theatre, and I am pretty sure I only saw them there once, but memories get foggier the father back you go.

Anyway, if this is indeed the concert I was thinking about, I went with my friend Jim who was a big Cheap Trick fan. He was telling me about the plethora of guitar picks that Rick Nielsen would toss into the crowd, and some of the other rock and roll antics. And they did not disappoint in this area. I was amazed at how far Nielsen could flick a pick. And yes, when they played “Surrender” as an encore, they sailed a KISS record out into the crowd too!

I looked online and the following is an average setlist from 1984. It seems to be about right from what I remember. Rock on!

• Hello There
• California Man
• Reach Out
• I Want You to Want Me
• I Want Be Man
• The Ballad of T.V. Violence (I’m Not the Only Boy)
• If You Want My Love
• Baby Loves to Rock
• Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
• I Can’t Take It
• Up the Creek
• Dream Police
• She’s Tight
• Stop This Game
• Surrender

Jethro Tull: 11/17/1993

So I have to confess that this concert was a little disappointing. I am a big Jethro Tull fan, and the first time I saw them they were AWESOME. For this reason, I had very high expectations, especially seeing them in a smaller venue like the Sunrise Musical Theatre, as opposed to an arena like when I first saw Tull.

My wife and I went to this show with my friend Stewart and his girlfriend. We had fairly good seats, although there were no bad seats in the Sunrise.

I was pumped when Tull took the stage, but my excitement waned, and then I found myself thinking that I should be enjoying the show much more than I was, and finally realizing that they were just dragging through the performance. The contrast to seeing Jethro Tull in the 70’s was stark. As I watched them plod through their songs, I was forced to remember a scathing review I had read about the band in a rock magazine, where the writer referred to them as “Jethro Dull.” Sadly, that about summed up this concert for me.

Stewart seemed to have enjoyed the show, so I played along and said I thought it was good. I didn’t want to spoil someone else’s musical experience. And honestly, there were a couple songs that got me pumped, particularly “Living in the Past” and “The Whistler.” But mostly, it was weak. Even “Locomotive Breath” lacked steam.

Anyway, that’s the thing with a live performance—sometimes it’s great, and sometimes not so much. Here’s the setlist…

Setlist:

• My Sunday Feeling
• For a Thousand Mothers
• Living in the Past
• Bourrée in E minor
• So Much Trouble
• With You There to Help Me
• The Whistler
• Farm on the Freeway
• Thick as a Brick
• Sossity; You’re a Woman / Reasons for Waiting
• Songs From the Wood / Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll, Too Young to Die / Heavy Horses / Songs From the Wood
• Later, That Same Evening
• Budapest
• Andy Gidding’s Parrot
• Passion Jig / Seal Driver
• A New Day Yesterday
• Aqualung
• Locomotive Breath

Encore:

• Cross-Eyed Mary
• Dharma for One

Warren Haynes 18th Christmas Jam: 12/16/2006

This Christmas Jam was a strange one, with some highs and some lows. Also, things on a personal level were very unsettled at the time, so that affected the overall experience.

The lineup was pretty solid:

• Dave Matthews
• Gov’t Mule
• The John Popper Project Featuring DJ Logic
• Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives
• New Orleans Social Club (featuring Henry Butler, Leo Nocentelli, Ivan Neville, George Porter & Raymond Weber)
• Taj Mahal Trio
• Special Guests: Mike Barnes, Brendan Bayliss, Randall Bramblett, Audley Freed, Col. Bruce Hampton, Taylor Hicks, Kevn Kinney, Branford Marsalis, Mickey Raphael, Dave Schools

I was really psyched to see Branford Marsalis. He is a virtuoso on the saxophone, and I had really high expectations of him jamming with various groups.

I guess I should address the low points first. John Popper’s group was pretty boring. He is a great harmonica player, but something about him as a frontman just doesn’t spark excitement for me. The other weakness in this show was Dave Matthews. Although I like Matthews, he was totally sick at this show, obviously fighting the flu. He was struggling to sing, and actually had to stop midsong once to get a drink and catch his breath. I give him a lot of credit for getting up there in such condition, but it did not make for a great performance.

As far as the high points, Branford and Taylor Hicks jamming with New Orleans Social Club was mind-blowing. Hicks, the American Idol winner, played harmonica alongside Marsalis, and the look of admiration and awe on Taylor’s face of getting to jam with Branford was priceless. Branford also performed a killer sax solo on “Low Spark of High Heeled Boys.”

The last thing I want to say is that Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives were awesome. I had seen Marty solo at the Christmas Jam, just sitting in on mandolin, but to see him with his full band was really great. They were really top notch musicians and their entire set was flawless.

I was only able to locate the setlists for Dave Matthews and Gov’t Mule, so here they are. If anyone has any other setlists from this show, feel free to post them in the comments section.

Dave Matthews:

• Bartender
• Grace Is Gone
• #40
• Save Me
• So Damn Lucky
• Smooth Rider (aborted)
• Gravedigger
• Crush
• Long Black Veil

 

Gov’t Mule:

Set I

• Cortez the Killer (w Dave Matthews)
• All Along the Watchtower (w Dave Matthews)
• Reggae Soulshine
• Brand New Angel
• Unring the Bell
• Leaving Trunk

Set II

• Sco-Mule
• Mule
• Sugaree
• I Shall Be Released
• Time to Confess
• 3 String George
• Child of the Earth
• Devil Likes It Slow
• The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
• I Shall Be Released

The Allman Brothers Band and Phil Lesh & Friends: 10/4/2008

This show was a jam-band fan’s dream. The Allmans and Phil Lesh. I was pretty psyched for this one. I made the drive from Asheville to Charlotte with my friend Greg, which took us a little over two hours. We had scored lawn tickets, which was fine. I felt no desire to be up close. Plus, the lawn tickets were only $16.50++, which was very reasonable for two great bands in 2008.

We staked out our little patch of grass at the Verizon Amphiteatre and waited for Phil. He came out and opened with “Cumberland Blues,” which was great. But the band didn’t seem able to sustain the energy for this particular show. There were a few high points, like “Golden Road” and “Cosmic Charlie,” but overall I was left with the impression that this was probably the weakest Phil & Friends show I had seen. It happens. As a musician, I know that you can’t be 100% all the time, and that any number of factors can affect a performance. Still, it was great seeing Phil, as always.

Then came the Allmans, and in comparison, they were stellar. Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes together on guitar were phenomenal. You could tell that they were feeding off of each other’s energy, seamlessly shifting between solos and augmenting and supporting each other like the seasoned veteran musicians they are. And Gregg Allman was in great form, belting out the tunes and making the hairs stand up on the back of the neck. By the time the last note of “Whipping Post” faded, I was completely rocked out.

My friend Greg and I wandered back to the car, only to discover to our dismay that the car would not start. One of the wires had come loose from the battery terminal. I tried not to panic, but the thought of spending the night in a parking lot in Charlotte was, shall we say, less than appealing. Thankfully, a friendly concert goer offered to help. We got the wire reattached, got the car started, and made it home without further incident.

Here are the setlists from the respective acts. Rock on!

Phil Lesh Setlist:

• Cumberland Blues
• Gone Wanderin’
• Rock-n-Roll Blues
• Minglewood Blues
• Row Jimmy
• The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)
• Uncle John’s Band
• Dark Star
• So Many Roads
• Dark Star
• In the Midnight Hour

Encore:

• Cosmic Charlie

Allman Brothers Setlist:

• Done Somebody Wrong
• Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’
• The Same Thing
• Gambler’s Roll
• Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More
• Manic Depression
• Come and Go Blues
• Come On in My Kitchen
• Into the Mystic
• Dreams
• Black Hearted Woman
• Southbound

Encore:

• Whipping Post