Concerto Conpendium

On the lighter side...a synopsis of concerts attended by yours truly...subject to my very faulty memory...

Later: my memory was far worse than I realized (by definition maybe?)...I had to return to the original concert tickets, conveniently stored in an old graduation beer stein, for bands, dates and prices. Some are out of order chronologically because I changed the dates after looking at the tickets. Price changes speak volumes about the changing business model of the industry.

Mark Knopfler - 04.17.10 - $127.50/ticket - 5th row/center section - Pantages Theatre (small venue) - Los Angeles - Fantastic concert!  Eight piece band, six of whom played over 40 different string instruments at least part of the time; also pipes, flutes, keyboards...very talented group of musicians.  Knopfler (formerly of Dire Straits) is one of the top ten greatest rock and blues guitarists ever.  He finger-picks and plays complex, crisp and beautiful riffs.  I love seeing great musicians and listening to great music!

U2 - 360 Tour - 10.12.09 - $98.19/ticket - Cowboy Stadium - Arlington, TX - Muse was back-up band - good band, poor accoustics (stadium closed due to weather); worried about U2 - ended up a fabulous concert in too large of a venue. The Edge is one of the top-5 rock-n-roll guitarists in the world...Bono was great...even the somewhat over-the-top politics was cool - every cause that Bono spoke of was righteous...not PC...and the music and the staging and the video was great...danced and drank and had a good time all night long! Nice surprise!

Neil Diamond - 01.04.09 - $139.65/ticket - Riverside County - my wife loves ND...so I had to get tickets. We had fun even though I was not expecting it.

Coldplay - 2008 & 2006; LA and Orange County, respectively - Orange County...outdoors...first time...awesome concert and venue; LA...indoors...accoustics a little disappointing...great band that puts on a great show.

Bright Eyes - 05.06.07 - $35.00/ticket - Walt Disney Hall/LA - unbelievable venue, ok concert.

Dogs Eye View -1998(?) - St. Louis - small venue, great band, great music...wish they had more staying power.

Mark McGwire's 62nd Home Run - 09.08.98 - $6.00 outfield seat purchased two months earlier - not a concert, but a great time.

Matchbox 20 - 08.22.98 - $22.50/ticket - St. Louis - back-up was Semisonic (I Know Who I Want To Take Me Home) - Matchbox was great - fun night.

B-52's and The Pretenders - 07.08.98 - Riverport/St. Louis - outdoor venue - I love Chrissie Hines even though she was somewhat past her prime. She did tell the audience to F-off and gave us the one finger wave...gotta love her!  I also still am a big B-52's fan.

Jim Stafford - 03.28.98 - Branson - I hate country!!!...oh the things we do for our kids - weekend trip with the boys after separation. Fun weekend. First, last and only time in Branson.

Live - 1997? - St. Louis - front row, center section - never made it!  I had to work on a big project for my boss (Thanks, Brandon!) and I gave my tickets away at the office to whoever was around at 6 pm.  I don't remember who I gave them to, but the next day they brought me two drum sticks the drummer had thrown off stage.  I didn't really have a very good sense of priorities as a younger man.

Alanis Morissette - 09.25.96 - $19.50/ticket - Riverport/St. Louis - good concert though I was pre-occupied - best birthday gift I ever received.

Hootie & The Blowfish - 07.09.96 - $22.50/ticket - Riverport/St. Louis - great concert - band did not have much staying power.

Chris Duarte Group - 01.16.94 & 03.17.94 - $10.50/ticket - Abilene - Ted Nugent was supposed to be a 'special' guest...did not happen. If you don't know CD, he is/was a great rockin guitarist, also legally blind. Fun night.

Jackson Browne and David Lindley - 08.15.89 - $22.85/ticket - Red Rocks/Denver - great concert - the very best venue - went rock climbing after the show with a friend and a bottle of Jack Daniels - had to get up two hours later and go to work - one of many great times with Mike A.

Grateful Dead - 10.20.88 - $17.50 - Houston - great concert...what Dead concert is not great...work night...I was good all night, until the end - we hung-out too long in Tent City. Management staff meeting the next morning (my Big Oil days)...suffice it to say that I was bright eyed.

Sam Kinison - 02.27.87 - $15.25/ticket - Iowa State/Ames - I know, not a rock concert, but Sam rocked. The funniest and most irreverent comedy ever...I will probably burn in Hell for liking it so much. Big loss when he died.

Mannheim Steamroller - 12.14.85 - $16.00/ticket - Des Moines - Christmas Show - nice.

Talking Heads - 10.25.83 - $12.50/ticket - Austin - Stop Making Sense Tour - fabulous - one of my top 5! David Byrne is a magnificent songwriter and performer! Danced all night!

Adam Ant and INXS - 05.17.83 - $10.00/ticket - Austin - very gay - ultimately was the genesis of my divorce in the late nineties (I was not yet married, but dating).

Jerry Garcia Band - 11.01.82 - $9.50/ticket - Austin Opera House - danced all night - great music - great guitarist - enchanted evening.

Stevie Ray Vaughn (with and without Double Trouble) - 1980 - 1983 - various small venues in Austin - 'Little Wing', 'Voodoo Chile'...the only guitarist who could play Jimi better than Jimi...saw Stevie several times in various bars...usually for less than a $5 -$10 cover...fabulous...what a loss...RIP...thanks!

Al Di Meola - 04.03.82 - $10.00/ticket - Austin Opera House - great performance - great musician.

The Rolling Stones - 10.31.81 - $18.50/ticket - The Cotton Bowl - Dallas - venue was too big...stormy weather...great band...'Sticky Fingers' is still one of the best.

Jaco Pastorius - 04.23.82 - Paramont/Austin - good concert...Pastorius' end in 1987 was tragic and a big loss to music.

Grateful Dead - summer, 1981 - Auditorium Shores - Austin - never made it!  My boss at the HEB (I was a bagger) asked me to work...it was a new job...I gave my tickets away...totally f'd-up priorities!

Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia - 04.26.81 - $8.75/ticket - Paramont/Austin) - acoustic concert...unbelievable and awesome.

Savoy Brown/Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - 11.24.80 - $6.50/ticket - Austin Opera House - Stevie rocked!  SB sucked - walked out.

Jeff Beck - 09.12.80 - $8.50/ticket - Austin - great, great guitarist...an idol...great show.

Triumph & UFO - 05.04.80 - $8.00/ticket - Austin - all buzzes and clicks?

Bob Seger - 04.11.80 - $9.00/ticket - Austin - he could still rock!

Allman Brothers Band - 1980 - $9.50/ticket - Austin - great band - good show.

Spyro Gyra and Midnight Angels (01.17.80) & Extreme Heat (04.21.80) - Armadillo World Headquarters/Austin - tight band - fusion jazz wave.

The Shake Russell Band - 02.18.80 - Free - Austin City Limits - good mellow band - good friends.

Arlo Guthrie and Shenandoah - 12.02.79 - $6.50/ticket - Armadillo World Headquarters/Austin - good show - I think one of the last show before they demolished Armadillo...big loss.

Stanley Clark - 09.21.79 - Austin - rockin bassist - good concert.

Charlie Daniels Band - 04.13.79 - Palladium/Dallas - met the parents...very uncool - went early and got drunk before they showed-up...very cool.

The New Barbarians - April/May.1979 - $10.00/ticket - Fort Worth - remember them...Ronnie Wood, Keith Richard, Stanley Clark, Ian McLagan, Bobby Keys and Joseph Zigaboo Modeliste. Good band.

Aerosmith (1979(?) - DFW) - Mark S. - we drove, we arrived, we discovered we had no money, no beer, no nothing...poor accoustics...rough and early night...live and learn.

Leslie West and Mountain - 1978(?) - some bar in Dallas - thus began my hearing loss...great rock n' roll though.

Johnny Winter - 11.25.78 - Palladium/Dallas - fun show - great venue.

REO Speedwagon - 07.14.78 - Dallas - ok band and concert - 10 years later to the day my first son was born.

The Outlaws - 1978 - $6.50/ticket - SMU/Dallas - whatever their most famous song was...the one with the three-lead-guitar-jam, took-up about half of the concert.

Leon and Mary Russell/Elvin Bishop - 02.03.78 - Dallas

Frank Zappa - 09.16.77 - Dallas - from KISS to Zappa in less than two weeks - Zappa was a virtuoso...traveled with a big band and had lots of new musicians with him. Very good concert and very excellent guitarist. R.I.P.

KISS - 09.04.77 -Fort Worth - 1st row/center - never was a big fan...but had some fun anyway. Much later enjoyed "Look Me in the Eyes" about the pyro-tech/Asbergian who worked for KISS...really good book.

Crosby, Stills and Nash...CSN - 1978(?) - $9.50/ticket - Fort Worth) - great band, great visuals...only concert I have ever been to where the band left the stage after the appropriate number of encores and came back after the lights had turned-up for 20 minutes...really unbelievable and a wonderful night of music.

The Who - 07.02.80 - $12.50/ticket - Dallas - Daltrey, Townsend...outstanding.

Pink Floyd - 05.01.77 - Fort Worth - Animals Tours - Top 5 - played everything from Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here (opening song) and Animals. At the time, PF had the largest mixing station I had ever seen. I expected that PF would not be able to replicate their album sound on live stage...was I wrong...tight band...tight show...Roger Waters...one of the greatest...memorable concert in a time when memories are hard to recall.

Yes - 1977 (Dallas - $7.50/ticket) - 10.01.78 (Fort Worth) - at least one concert-in-the-round - one time with Rick Wakeman and one time without - both times were great.

Santana - 1976 (?) - 03.21.78 (Fort Worth) - 02.13.79 (Fort Worth) - Top 5 - great guitarist...first show was the best. "Samba Pa Ti" still holds a special place in my heart.

Eddie Money - 03.21.78 - Fort Worth - back-up at one of the Santana concerts...not a big fan...good performer.

Leon Russell and Willie Nelson - 12.30.78 - $8.00/ticket - Fort Worth - Willie's pre-teen daughter belted out a song...really amazing. Leon was great. Good show.

Bob Dylan - 11.24.78 - Fort Worth - 'Hard Rain' - outstanding...my English teacher in HS, Ms. Sharon R, let me cut class to stand in line (overnite) for tickets, as long as I got her tickets...she was very cool and instilled a love of reading that remains today...and so was her yoga-teaching husband...great concert.

Led Zepplin - 03.04.77 - $9.50/ticket - Dallas - great concert...Robert Plant vocals were surprisingly authentic and the concert, from thje 13th row, floor section, was great. Funny story...getting ready to go to the concert with Chris C. (we were both 16) and a bottle of Chris' Dad's vodka...we got caught by Mr. C. - he was almost a total a..hole (even Chris C. admits this)...and he threatened to disallow concert attendance...and he confiscated the vodka...we did make it with vodka purchase post-Mr. C. (fake I.D. and lax liquor laws) as well as other accoutrements...a memorable evening and a great concert...oh by the way, our school buddy's Mom worked at Ticketmaster or some-such and we secured the entire 13th row, center section...very cool...very good viewing...Mark S. had a great ride home.

Jethro Tull - around 1976 - $8.00/ticket - Fort Worth - don't remember much- Ian Anderson entrance with cape and flute was classic. Big fan of "Thick as a Brick"...still today.

John Nitzinger - 1976(?) - The Electric Light Orchestra - Dallas - fake ids - lots of fun - good guitarist.

Head East - 1976(?) - The Electric Light Orchestra - Dallas - fake ids - 'Save My Life' (I'm Going Down for the Last Time)

ZZ Top - 11.27.76 - Fort Worth - great rock band - under-rated blues. Good show.

Ted Nugent - 1976 - $7.00/ticket - Fort Worth - my first encounter with the mind altering...Stranglehold Tour...WOW! I still love Ted! Here's to the Second Amendment!

Jerry Jeff Walker - 1975 - SMU - "Pissin in the Wind" - Jerry was so drunk he forgot a chorus or two.

The Babys - 11.11.77 - Dallas - kinda gay.

Black Oak Arkansas and various - 1975 - Texas State Fair - Dallas - first concert ever - outdoors - Mark S. - dropped-off and picked-up by Mom - blue jeans, no beer, 109 degrees F - live and learn.