I Love it Live, Part 2

Watching the Doobie Brothers live for the fifth time last weekend got me thinking about how much happiness live music has brought to me. The Doobies were my first rock concert - 7th grade at the Mississippi River Festival, and I was so hooked. I cried at the end of my first Sammy Hagar concert because it was so good and I didn't want it to end. BTW, shoutout to Night Ranger for only doing four songs to open - we were all there for Sam.

Bands I’ve Seen the Most – You may have read my post about singing with Chicago (did I mention that I sang with Chicago?).  I have seen them 26 times, making them the number one most viewed live band on my list. Every show was great, including the very first, which was at The Fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis. I’ve seen Bruce Hornsby, one of my very favorites, 12 times, and Journey 10 times. All were fantastic.

Wildest Show – By far, seeing The Outlaws (Willie, Waylon, Jessi Coulter, and Tompall Glaser) at the Illinois State Fair when I was 13 wins this trophy. My parents, my grandparents, and I innocently attended this concert in Springfield because my Mom loved the Outlaws, particularly Waylon Jennings.  Tompall Glaser opened the show, and within a few minutes, the rival biker gangs that were sitting on either side of the bleachers in front of us broke into a full-on war.  Somewhere among beer bottles and fists flying, an Illinois State Trooper emerged and took my grandma’s arm and somehow shielded us from the melee and down the bleacher steps. As we took those last steps, we heard gunshots, and suddenly we were in a full trot. My Dad, who was the tightest human I ever knew (except where it pertained to my Mom and me), went straight to the ticket window and demanded a refund, and happily took the cash as we stood inside a structure waiting for him.  Good times.

Most Exciting Concert Moment – This was actually a pre-concert moment, but it was wicked exciting.  I had entered a contest on DC101 FM to win tickets to see Bruce Springsteen on the Tunnel of Love tour.  My workmate Claudia Stepp and I were crazy about him, and we both entered.  I was lying on my couch one Tuesday night (my husband was deployed – a common theme), reading and listening to the radio, when they announced my name for tickets.  I had 10 minutes to call and claim them.  As has happened SO many times in my life, they didn’t pronounce my first name correctly, so I was afraid if I got through, it wouldn’t be my entry, but I did, and it was, and the rest is history.  The Boss puts on one helluva show.  He leaves all of it on the stage.  Great concert, and I adore the Tunnel of Love album.

Best Week Ever – In 1988, we were living in Fairfax, VA, while my husband was stationed on Nebraska Avenue in Washington, DC.  We didn’t have kids yet. Rob was deployed (stop me if you’ve heard this before), and while he was away on this particular trip, I secured tickets for three concerts in 1 week.  He returned home to find that we would spend Monday night in Baltimore seeing AC/DC and Cinderella (two of his very favorites), Tuesday night at Capital Center in Landover, MD, seeing Robert Plant and Joan Jett, and Friday night at Scope in Norfolk, VA, seeing Van Halen. We were 10 rows from the stage at AC/DC.  What a fantastic week!

Most Memorable Moment – Seeing Paul McCartney, for me, was a dream come true.  Seeing him twice was amazing.  The first time, I was with my good friend Susan, who has since passed.  She was a “Paul” when she was growing up, since all girls were one of the Fab Four.  Her dad had taken her to see the Beatles in Washington, DC, when she was little, but seeing Paul at this show was one of the highlights of her life. I loved watching her watching him.  The second show, I went with my husband and kids. At one point, I looked down the row, and my kids were singing  “Hey Jude” with the rest of the audience, and I felt like Mom of the Year. My kids were singing with a Beatle.

Most Energy – I’m well aware of the whole sex, drugs, and rock and roll lore, but I can’t believe the three people that win this category were high when I saw them perform. These three men made the Energizer bunny look sedated.  I don’t know where they got it, but whatever they were doing, it worked.

-            Angus Young of AC/DC – Angus, in full schoolboy uniform regalia, did not stop until the entire AC/DC was on stage. The stage had ramps on each side that looked like a road, and he marched up and down that ramp, doing his guitar schtick, for 90 minutes. I was exhausted when we left.

-            Steven Tyler of Aerosmith – I probably don’t have to say much about Steven Tyler because he’s famous for being an incredible stage presence.  He’s another performer who never stops moving. We saw Aerosmith at an outdoor venue, and they all walked up the aisle to the lawn to do a set on a stage set up there, which we thought was super cool.  When they walked back onto the main stage, Steven said, “There are some ass-grabbin’ motherfuckers out there.” He’s a fantastic performer.

-            Sammy Hagar – We saw Van Halen with Sammy Hagar early in their 5150 tour.  It was literally one of their first shows together. “5150” is one of my favorite all-time albums, and Sammy was all over the place that night, singing those fantastic songs, along with some classic VH and some of his own stuff, and he was having a blast. At some point, we realized he wasn’t on stage with the rest of the band.  Someone yelled, and we looked up to see him running the catwalk at the top of Hampton Coliseum, singing and being crazy. He never stopped the whole show.

Loudest Show – I have a couple of winners for this one. My son and I saw Def Leppard at Jiffy Lube Live in Manassas many years ago (an outdoor amphitheater). Journey opened for them, and their setup was a few small Marshall amps that were quickly moved to make room for Def Leppard’s many large ones.  We were in the center of the amphitheater in the section behind the pit, and it was easily the loudest show I’ve ever heard.  However, in 1988, I saw Richard Marx and REO Speedwagon at Wolf Trap Farm Park in Vienna, VA. A co-worker and I talked about it all day and decided to call and get tickets (hey, it was a long time ago) the afternoon of the show.  We were thrilled when we arrived to find we were TWO rows from the stage, stage left. I had brought in a single rose for REO bassist Bruce Hall (again, it was a long time ago) and was allowed to walk up to the stage and give it to him.  The downside – we were in front of 12 monster amps.  My ears rang to the point of not being able to hear for five days, but I got to give Bruce Hall a rose!

Hardest Workers – My husband, son, and I got free tickets to see Kiss at what is now the Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, about 12 years ago.  The guys were in full makeup and costume.  Our seats were on the side of the stage, offering a view at an angle off stage.  The members of the band took turns walking backstage and taking oxygen throughout the show. Considering the makeup, the weight of their costumes, and the height of their boots, I would’ve needed more than that.

Worst Show  - This is easy.  We saw Duran Duran in 1983. I have a lot of respect for them now, but at the time, they were definitely built for music videos.  They were late to the show, making everyone wait. The sound from their team was poor, and Simon LeBon was seriously out of tune. They were literally booed off the stage.

Best in Show – This is like asking The Happy Meemaw to name her favorite grandchild.  It’s impossible.  It was terrific seeing Queen with Freddie Mercury; they were as good as you’d imagine.  Bruce Springsteen played non-stop for 3 hours, then did an almost hour encore. U2 had a belly dancer come out for “Mysterious Ways”, and gave us the most fantastic version of “Bad.” Billy Joel is always the most fun sing-along (apologies to the people sitting by me). But I think it’s impossible to choose just one show; the first time I saw Paul McCartney was unforgettable. At some point, you have to pinch yourself because you’re SEEING A BEATLE. Everyone in the building sang every word of every song. It was pure magic.

Thanks for wandering down Memory Lane with me. I would love to hear about your concert experiences!

Thanks for reading!