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

Blue Oyster Cult, Foghat, and Whitford/St. Holmes: 10/9/1981

Here is why it was so cool growing up in the 70s and 80s. A great triple bill for a whopping $9.00! Even though I had seen Blue Oyster Cult earlier in 1981 with Heart, I could not pass up on this one.

First to play was Whitford/St. Holmes, a band comprised of Brad Whitford from Aerosmith and Derek St. Holmes from Ted Nugent’s band. This was one of those moments in rock history, where I had the chance to see a band that really was not around very long, but was very cool.

Next up was Foghat, and if memory serves me well, this was the first time I saw them. I admit I was into Foghat as a teenager, so seeing them live was a big deal for me (I would see them more times than I care to admit afterwards). They played a short, tight set that included all their hits, and the generally intolerant Sportatorium crowd was appreciative.

Then came BOC. As always, they were nothing short of excellent. This was the Fire of Unknown Origin tour, which was definitely a high point in the band’s career. I have some distinct memories from this performance, like the amazing version of “Godzilla” and “Roadhouse Blues” for the encore, at the end of which Buck Dharma systematically popped his guitar strings one by one during the closing solo, grasping and tearing the last string as the final note decayed. It was rock and roll at its finest.

So as I was researching this show online and I found the setlists for Foghat and BOC, I discovered something ultra-cool. It seems that “The Red &The Black”, “Joan Crawford”, “Burnin’ For You”, “Godzilla”, “Veterans of the Psychic Wars” and “E.T.I (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)” were all recorded at this show and released on the Extraterrestrial Live album (here is track list on Wikipedia). Once this Shelter-in-Place restriction is lifted, I will definitely be scouring the record stores to get a copy of this.

Anyway, here are the setlists. Rock on!

Foghat Setlist:

• Stone Blue
• My Babe
• Eight Days on the Road
• Wide Boy
• Fool for the City
• Third Time Lucky (First Time I Was a Fool)
• Honey Hush
• Live Now Pay Later
• Slow Ride
• I Just Want to Make Love to You

Blue Oyster Cult Setlist:

• The Red & the Black
• E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)
• Joan Crawford
• Burnin’ for You
• Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll
• Veteran of the Psychic Wars
• ME 262
• Godzilla
• Born to Be Wild

Encore:

• (Don’t Fear) The Reaper
• Roadhouse Blues

Alice Cooper: 7/6/2003

This is one of my favorite ticket stubs. I mean, Alice Cooper, in Liverpool England, the home of the Beatles. How cool is that?

I was in England visiting family at this time, which was a very difficult period in my life. I was working like crazy because I owned a small business, and let’s say that my business partner was the antithesis of helpful. My wife and I were struggling financially, I was physically and mentally exhausted, and things were pretty grim. But there was a huge family gathering happening in England and one of my uncles offered to buy me a ticket to fly there, so I packed my bags and flew across the pond.

I was staying with family not far from Liverpool, and discovered much to my surprise that Alice was playing there. My cousin P., who is one of the most awesome people in the world, knew how much I liked Alice Cooper and bought two tickets so that I could go with one of my uncles. So my Uncle B. and  I headed down to Kings Dock to see the Coop.

The venue was surreal. It was like a big tent set up on the dock, so it had that crazy carnival feel, which is apropos for a Cooper concert.

The lights went down, and the band took the stage, opening with “Hello Hooray,” arguably the best opening song ever. And then it was all classic Cooper.

He broke out some really cool tunes that were surprising, like “Desperado,” “Public Animal #9,” and “Long Way to Go,” a highly underrated song off the “Love It To Death” album. The tour was dubbed the “Bare Bones Tour,” so it was missing the elaborate stage props (no guillotine or snake), just Alice and the band playing a solid set of killer tunes.

Although I was teetering on the brink of depression, seeing Alice in England was a nice boost for me. And getting to go to a concert with my uncle is a memory that I will treasure for the rest of my days. Anyway, here’s the setlist. Rock on!

Setlist

• Hello Hooray
• No More Mr. Nice Guy
• Billion Dollar Babies
• Long Way to Go
• Public Animal #9
• Be My Lover
• Lost in America
• I’m Eighteen
• Serious
• Desperado
• Halo of Flies
• Welcome to My Nightmare
• Cold Ethyl
• Only Women Bleed
• Ballad of Dwight Fry
• Guilty
• School’s Out

Encore:

• Poison
• Elected
• Disgraceland
• Under My Wheels

Paul Simon: 2/7/1991

This show was part of Paul Simon’s “Born at the Right Time” tour. I was pretty psyched to see him, since his songs were definitely a part of the soundtrack of my early years. I even had “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” on 45 back in the day.

I went with my then girlfriend, and we had decent seats, even though they were upper level. The Miami Arena was not huge, which was probably why the Heat abandoned it and built a bigger arena, which resulted in the venue being demolished in 2008.

Anyway, back to the concert. Paul Simon was amazing. He sounded great and had a solid backing band comprised of really cool world musicians. He played a nice long show… but I had one complaint. He played “You Can Call Me Al” TWICE, one right after the other. So he played the song, everyone was dancing and singing along, and when they finished, Paul said “Wow! That was great! Let’s do it again.” And they did. OK, they played a shortened version, but still, I felt ever so slightly rooked. I mean, Paul Simon has a ton of great songs, a lot of which he did not play. He could have tossed in “Mrs. Robinson” or “Scarborough Fair” or “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” instead. Just sayin’.

Besides the repeat, it was a great show. Here’s the setlist. Rock on.

Setlist:

• The Obvious Child
• The Boy in the Bubble
• She Moves On
• Kodachrome
• Born at the Right Time
• Negotiations and Love Songs
• Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard
• Proof
• I Know What I Know
• Bridge Over Troubled Water
• The Cool, Cool River
• Further to Fly
• Cecilia
• Graceland
• You Can Call Me Al
• You Can Call Me Al
• Still Crazy After All These Years
• Late in the Evening
• Hearts and Bones
• Loves Me Like a Rock
• Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
• American Tune
• The Boxer
• The Sound of Silence

R.E.M.: 4/29/1989

The 80’s was a good time to see R.E.M. They were definitely riding the wave of success and were coming out with some great music. In fact, this tour was in support of the album “Green,” which is probably my favorite R.E.M. album

I went to this show with my long-time concert buddy Jim. Neither of us had seen the band before, so we were both pretty psyched. We went to downtown Miami, to the now-gone Miami Arena, and joined the fans.

I don’t have a whole lot to share about this concert, other than I thought the band was excellent. Nothing crazy happened, just had a fun night digging on some cool music.

Here’s the full setlist. (I had forgotten they did three encores.)

Setlist:

• Pop Song 89
• Exhuming McCarthy
• Welcome to the Occupation
• Turn You Inside-Out
• Sitting Still
• Orange Crush
• Fall on Me
• Feeling Gravity’s Pull
• Cuyahoga
• World Leader Pretend
• Begin the Begin
• Pretty Persuasion
• Rotary Ten
• I Believe
• I Remember California
• Get Up
• Auctioneer (Another Engine)
• It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

Encore:

• Stand
• Academy Fight Song
• You Are the Everything

Encore 2:

• Finest Worksong
• King of Birds
• Swan Swan H
• Life and How to Live It

Encore 3:

• Harpers
• Summertime
• Crazy
• Perfect Circle
• After Hours

AC/DC: 11/25/1983

Pretty sure I went to this show with my then girlfriend Enid, but I am not sure. This was the “Flick of the Switch” tour, and Fastway was the opening act (a most forgettable band; only when I saw the name online when looking up the setlist did I have a glimmer of recollection).

Anyway, not much I need to say about this show. It was AC/DC in the early 80’s. They were loud, high-energy, and totally kicked ass. I’ll let the setlist speak for itself.

Setlist:

• Guns for Hire
• Shoot to Thrill
• Sin City
• This House Is on Fire
• Back in Black
• Bad Boy Boogie
• Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution
• Flick of the Switch
• Hells Bells
• The Jack
• Highway to Hell
• Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
• Whole Lotta Rosie
• Let There Be Rock

Encore:

• T.N.T.
• For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)

Def Leppard and Ratt: 5/20/1983

I had seen Def Leppard open for Ozzy on the Blizzard of Ozz tour, which was cool. But “Pyromania” was the band’s mega-album, so this was a tour worth seeing.

My girlfriend at the time really wanted to go to the show, and I was totally down for it, especially for $10. I thought “Pyromania” was a great album, even though I could tell the band was going down the commercial pathway. And I was right, and to date, this would be my last time seeing them live.

I had no recollection of the opening act, but according to what I found online, Ratt was the opener. Hah! I went most of my life thinking I had avoided seeing Ratt in concert. I suppose it’s another band I can now check off the list.

Def Leppard definitely rocked. This show was a long time ago, so many of the details are gone, but I remember parts of it vividly, including the kick-ass version of Creedence’s “Travelin’ Band.” Glad I got to see them at their peak. Rock on!!

Setlist:

• Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)
• Rock Brigade
• High & Dry (Saturday Night)
• Another Hit and Run
• Billy’s Got a Gun
• Mirror, Mirror (Look Into My Eyes)
• Foolin’
• Photograph
• Rock of Ages
• Bringin’ on the Heartbreak
• Switch 625
• Guitar Solo
• Let It Go
• Guitar Solo
• Wasted
• Stagefright
• Travelin’ Band

Rush: 6/8/2011

I had seen Rush several times prior to this show, but my wife had never seen them so we decided to go and check them out. What was cool about this tour, dubbed the Time Machine Tour, was that they were performing the “Moving Pictures” album in its entirety. I had seen Rush on the “Moving Pictures” tour, but they did not play the entire album, so I was pretty psyched about seeing it performed.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that the ticket says Comp, with a cost of $0.00. No, we did not get freebies. We had bought the cheapest seats way in the back corner near the last row. But when we got there, they upgraded us to better seats. I suppose they figured it was easier to close the section and move everyone in that area in with the rest of the rock and roll mass. Fine with me. I had no complaint there.

The band opened with “The Spirit of Radio,” and it was just an audio and visual treat for the rest of the night. They played two solid sets (second set included all of Moving Pictures), and a rockin’ encore. By the time the last note of “Working Man” faded to silence, I was totally rocked out.

This would be my last time seeing Rush. Unless they decided to come back out of retirement (something bands NEVER do), I don’t think I will have another opportunity to see them again. Here’s the setlist. Rock on!

Set 1:

• The Spirit of Radio
• Time Stand Still
• Presto
• Stick It Out
• Workin’ Them Angels
• Leave That Thing Alone
• Faithless
• BU2B
• Freewill
• Marathon
• Subdivisions

Set 2 (Moving Pictures):

• Tom Sawyer
• Red Barchetta
• YYZ
• Limelight
• The Camera Eye
• Witch Hunt
• Vital Signs
• Caravan
• Closer to the Heart
• 2112 Part I: Overture
• 2112 Part II: The Temples of Syrinx
• Far Cry

Encore:

• La Villa Strangiato
• Working Man

Stevie Nicks and Joe Walsh: 11/5/1983

This was a pretty cool double bill, and it was during that period in the 80s when Stevie Nicks was enjoying a solid solo career. It was part of the Wild Heart tour.

We had seats behind the stage, but it was the Sportatorium in the 80s, so essentially you went and sat wherever you wanted (unless someone bigger than you with a ticket claimed the seat). We managed to secure some seats about halfway back on the side, which were decent.

Joe Walsh opened the show, and he was wasted. He slurred his words and was pretty sloppy. This would not be the only time I would see Walsh trashed on stage. He earned his reputation as a lush.

After a break, Stevie came out. She had a tent set up on stage, and I would soon discover what the tent was for. Frequently, between songs, she would go off into the tent, and after a while, come back out wearing a new dress. I don’t mind a couple costume changes, but she was definitely taking advantage. In addition, she would take what seemed like an unusually long time to change her outfit. I couldn’t help wondering if she was powdering her nose also while in there, so to speak.

In spite of the drunkenness and the interminable breaks between songs, it was still a good show. Here are the respective setlists.

Joe Walsh Setlist

• Rocky Mountain Way
• Ordinary Average Guy
• The Confessor
• Walk Away
• A Life of Illusion
• Life’s Been Good

Stevie Nicks Setlist

• Gold Dust Woman
• Outside the Rain
• Dreams
• I Need to Know
• Sara
• If Anyone Falls
• Leather and Lace
• Stand Back
• Beauty and the Beast
• Gypsy
• How Still My Love
• Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around
• Edge of Seventeen

Encore:

• Rhiannon