Yes: 4/21/1984

Since Yes is about to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I was inspired to dig through my mess of ticket stubs and locate the stub from the first time I saw Yes, which was on the 9012Live tour. They played at the infamous Hollywood Sportatorium, notorious for its crappy acoustics; but in spite of being in a proverbial barn, the band sounded amazing.

I remember the stage being sparsely populated. The amps seemed to be hidden somewhere. There was just a futuristic series or ramps that allowed the musicians to move about in an unfettered manner. Trevor Rabin was the guitarist on this tour, and though I love Steve Howe’s guitar work, Trevor did an outstanding job. They featured the 90125 album prominently, but included some choice classic pieces, such as “And You and I” (one of my favorite Yes songs) and “Soon” from the Relayer album.

The band closed the main set with “Starship Trooper,” and as they played the outro, the lights above the stage began folding down like the landing gear of a spacecraft. Smoke billowed as multicolored lights flashed and exploded. It was really mind-blowing! After that, they came back and played “Roundabout” for the encore. In my humble opinion, a spectacular show!

I would see Yes several more times in my life, and each show was unique and special in its own way, but this one holds a special place in my heart. Here is the full setlist.

• Cinema
• Leave It
• Yours Is No Disgrace
• Hold On
• Hearts
• I’ve Seen All Good People
• Keyboard Solo
• Solly’s Beard
• Changes
• And You and I
• Soon
• Make It Easy
• Owner of a Lonely Heart
• It Can Happen
• Long Distance Runaround
• Whitefish / Amazing Grace
• City of Love
• Starship Trooper

Encore:

• Roundabout

STS9: 11/5/2016

I bought tickets to this concert intending to take my daughter. I had seen STS9 (short for Sound Tribe Sector 9) some years back at MoogFest, and they were pretty cool. They had a great light show, so I figured it would be a fun father/daughter thing to go to see them together.

Alas, my daughter got sick and was not up for going to the show. I called around to see if anyone wanted the extra ticket, and my friend Arwen jumped on the opportunity, saying she was planning to buy a ticket at the box office anyway. This made me happy, because Arwen is a good friend who I enjoy going to concerts with, and she had given me a free ticket to a concert not too long ago, so I felt good about being able to reciprocate the favor.

I met Arwen outside the US Cellular Center, along with two of her friends, Rich and Laurie. Since it was a general admission show, we were able to go in and get seats together. We were right up front and center, so we were pretty psyched about it.

The show started late, after 9:00, and the first thing that struck me was the overwhelmingly loud bass. It felt like I was getting punched in the chest. The rest of the band sounded great, and the light show was phenomenal, but that damn bass! I’m not one who is prone to complain about music being too loud, but this was one of those instances where it was just too much.

During the first set, someone inflated a few balloons and sent them into the air to be tapped around. I like balloons. They add to a festive feeling at a concert, and they don’t hurt if one hits you in the head, unlike a Frisbee. Anyway, one of the balloons reached a person in the row behind me, and he angrily grabbed the balloon and popped it. I then heard him ranting to his friend about how the band has a multi-million-dollar light show and these fucking balloons are ruining it. I was kind of taken aback by this comment,  and when I shared it with Arwen, she astutely said that if the light show is a multi-million-dollar show, then a couple balloons should not affect it.

It was around midnight when the second set started, and by that time, we were all feeling a tired. I for one felt like I had my fill. There is only so much instrumental electronic music that I can handle. So when the group said they were ready to go, I happily accompanied them out early. I couldn’t imagine that there was anything else that I would be missing, just more lights and loud bass.

Glad I went to see them as a headliner, but don’t think I will be seeing them again.

Johnny Winter: 6/29/1991

I love Johnny Winter. As a guitarist, I am still in awe of his playing. That said, this concert was a bummer.

I went to this show with my friend Jim. We drove up from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale. Summers on the Beach was a club located right on Atlantic Blvd facing the beach and the ocean. Generally, it was a pretty fun place to hang out.

This concert was in late June, and if you have ever been to South Florida in late June, you know the heat is brutally oppressive. There is no way to comfortably exist without air conditioning. This sets the stage for the scene which was to unfold at this particular show.

We all know that club owners are notoriously sketchy, but they were particularly so in South Florida. Anyway, it seems that the owner had a brilliant idea on how to boost sales at the bar—turn off the air conditioning. The packed club turned into a sweatbox. Jim and I stood there, dripping sweat, waiting for Johnny to take the stage.

When he finally took the stage, it was a disaster. Johnny was kind of tall, so his head was right near the low-hanging stage lights, which also give off a lot of heat. He immediately began sweating profusely and cursing, yelling at people about the intolerable conditions. He played a little, stopped, yelled at some more people, then played another song. Finally, in a fit of disgust after playing about three or four songs, he stepped to the microphone and said: “This is bullshit! I’m playing one more song and then I am out of here.” And that’s what he did. It was very disappointing. Thankfully, I would get to see the legend perform another time before he died, but that is a story for another time.

Rock and Roll!

Grateful Dead: 9/11/1982

I’ve accumulated quite a few Grateful Dead ticket stubs over the years. This one is from the second time I saw them, back in 1982 at the West Palm Beach Auditorium in South Florida.

There was a large group of friends with whom I went to this show. I seem to recall we had maybe two cars crammed with people. I cannot remember the names everyone who came along for the ride, but I am certain there were a lot of us. We pulled in to the parking lot and were greeted by the colorful intrepid carnivalesque caravan of the Deadheads. We found a place to park and immersed ourselves in the parking lot festivities.

When the band took the stage, I was ecstatic. They opened the show with “New Minglewood Blues,” which I thought was a great opener. My friend Cindy became instantly enamored with Bob Weir. Throughout the whole show, she kept reiterating how hot he was.

At the start of the second set, my friend Mike and I decided to go up front. The rest of the crew remained in the seats. There was an open floor and we managed to get pretty close to the stage, right in front of Jerry Garcia. What I recall most vividly about being up near the front was when the band segued into “Fire on the Mountain.” The stage was bathed in rich red light that gave the impression that there were actual flames emanating from the stage. This combined with the heat from the pulsating crowd caused me to begin sweating most uncomfortably. It was not long before I couldn’t stand the heat any more. We returned to the comfort of our seats and our friends.

The other thing that made this concert special for me was it was the first time I saw the Dead play “Terrapin Station,” which is still one of my favorite Grateful Dead songs. It was also the first time I heard them perform “Truckin’.” Another treat.

Thanks to the obsessive need for Deadheads to document the details of every concert, along with the wonders of the internet, I am able to include the complete setlist from this concert. “What a long strange trip it’s been.”

---

 

Set 1

New Minglewood Blues
They Love Each Other
Me and My Uncle
Big River
Dupree’s Diamond Blues
C.C. Rider
Loser
Looks Like Rain
Tennessee Jed
Let it Grow

Set 2

Scarlet Begonias
Fire on the Mountain
Lost Sailor
Saint of Circumstance
Terrapin Station
drums > space
Truckin’
Stella Blue
Around and Around
One More Saturday Night

Encore

It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue