Category Classic Concerts
CLASSIC CONCERT: Dirty Angels @ Hurrah / New York, NY / December 22, 1978
Thanks to New York radio (WNEW-FM in the City and WLIR-FM out on the Island) I fell in love with two radio-friendly songs by Connecticut band, Dirty Angels: “Radio” and “Tell Me.” (That’s a different MusicMike in the video.) If you have never heard these power pop gems from their overlooked 1977 LP, Kiss Tomorrow […]
CLASSIC CONCERT: The Rolling Stones @ Cotton Bowl / Dallas, TX / November 1, 1981 @ 12:00 NOON
To this day, I regret skipping over The Rolling Stones’ U.S. tours that took place every three years from 1969 through 1978. Even if I tried, tickets for their New York area shows back them were tough to get. Living in Texas in 1981, it was easy though for me to be among the 100,000 […]
CLASSIC CONCERT: The Records @ The Bottom Line / New York, NY / September 7-8, 1979
If asked to get real specific about my favorite type of music, I guess I would say power pop: songs driven by distinctive guitar riffs with catchy hooks and harmonies, mostly sung by guys about girls. Some of the notable proponents of the genre were bands like The Raspberries, Big Star and Badfinger. Power pop […]
CLASSIC CONCERT: Rockpile and Moon Martin @ Armadillo World Headquarters / Austin, TX / December 5, 1980
Although this now marks the third time that I have covered Rockpile in this space, this entry is more about the venue than the band. I moved to the Lone Star state in early 1980, just in time to catch three shows at Austin’s legendary Armadillo Word Headquarters in its final days. This famous venue […]
CLASSIC CONCERT: T. Rex @ Joint in the Woods / Parsippany, NJ / October 2, 1974
The Joint in the Woods was just that: a plain shed-like building hidden in a North Central Jersey forest. It was one of the first music venues I recall visiting that had few seats requiring most everyone to standup general admission style. For a place out in the middle of nowhere (about 30 miles due […]
CLASSIC CONCERTS: Schaefer/Dr. Pepper Music Festival @ Wollman Rink in Central Park/ New York, NY / 1967-1980
Growing up in New York in the late 70s, I looked forward every summer to the outdoor concert series held at the ice skating rink in Central Park. Although the shows weren’t free, they were cheap. During my tenure, orchestra seats started out at a mere $2.50 and were eventually raised to a still unthreatening […]
CLASSIC CONCERT: The Pogues @ Liberty Lunch / Austin, TX / June 8, 1988
During my time living in Texas in the late 80s, I discovered new music from the pages of British weekly, New Musical Express. Most every Friday at lunchtime, I visited San Antonio’s Hogwild Records to pick up my NME, usually along with a generous selection of import singles that I discovered through its pages. I […]
CLASSIC CONCERT: Thin Lizzy with Graham Parker & the Rumour @ The Palladium / New York, NY / October 22, 1977
It was the beginning of a magical era. Disco was just about dead, and music was being reborn. Things started rocking again. Although people may have kept on dancing, they also started listening to the words. At this time, New Yorkers in the know were quite keen on three lively talented singer-songwriters who also knew […]
CLASSIC CONCERT: Mink DeVille @ Great Gildersleeves / New York, NY / November 11, 1977
The pattern of developing a new musical artist in late Seventies’ New York City was fairly predictable. In those days when the mighty record machine of the major labels still controlled things, I could see it coming. It started with radio exposure for a few songs from an artist’s debut record getting played by the […]
CLASSIC CONCERT: The Clash @ Aragon Ballroom / Chicago, IL / May 17, 1984
Business travel frequently took me around these United States of America in the 80’s. Many trips were short notice, and most of my evenings were free to go hear live music. In the pre-internet days, it wasn’t easy to find out in advance what concert opportunities might be awaiting me. Sometimes, I’d call ahead to […]
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