Mr. Nut AKA Mr. Vegas is a huge Ozzy and Black Sabbath fan so when Ozzfest made a stop at New Jersey’s PNC Arts Center in June, 1999, Jimmy Nut picked up a pair of tickets for us to sit dead center in the first 20 rows with the theory that security would be beefed up to protect us from unruly, and possibly intoxicated metalheads of all shapes and sizes, rushing and crushing the stage. His concerns seemed to be well founded as a young man was swimming in a puddle in the parking lot when we arrived. My best memory of this New Jersey Ozzy road trip was seeing Slipknot on stage for the very first time in full masked regalia and moving back a few rows as when they hit the stage they scared me; specifically the one Slipknot band member perched on the spring loaded drum. Ozzfest was an awesome rock and roll traveling circus with something for every music lover to enjoy in a variety of metal maniac flavors.

Toxicity

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GQ

I used to buy all sorts of music gifts for Christmas but compact discs are close to being obsolete and the concert outlook for me is quiet. I picked up tickets for John Mellencamp at the Beacon Theatre in June, and Judy Collins on what will surely be a cold Saturday night in February, as gifts for my wife. Neil Young keeps pumping out box sets and product at an astonishing rate, which is great, and I expect to find some under the tree this morning, but I continue to wish for a tour at some point. The summer shed schedule is light so far, with Foreigner’s “Farewell Tour” and few more shows on tap; I am mostly looking forward to the slow release of the 2023 Newport Folk Festival lineup in the new year where there are always more than a few surprises.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and

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GQ

In April, 1999, Neil Young played a multi-night solo acoustic stand at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden supporting the “ Silver and Gold” collection. In celebrated Neil Young fashion, the “ Silver and Gold” album was released a year later in 2000.

The Theatre at MSG has never been one of my favorite venues although nicely renovated with good acoustics, however it is visually a bit sterile tucked n the basement of the The World’s Most Famous Arena. I have seen Van Morrison with Bob Dylan perform together there (on the same night The Rolling Stones rocked the arena above our heads). Years later I caught Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy at the same MSG venue when the seating situation near the rear of the venue left us feeling far away from the action. For The Theatre at MSG, I would suggest spending the extra money for a closer vantage point (a recommendation I never make but maneuvering at this venue is problematic) where a better seat location definitely improves your enjoyment of the show at this particular music hall.

Buffalo Springfield Again

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GQ

Hopefully I have got this date right as it was missing from the archive calendar, but as I recall, Mr.Nut and I went to the Nassau Coliseum to see Metallica on this Friday night in February; the stage took up the center of the orchestra with general admission standing room around it. We were sitting midway up opposite to where the stage would have been set up under ordinary circumstances. At that time, Nassau Coliseum was the home of the New York Islanders hockey team and the short wall of the rink surrounding the orchestra floor, and a few security guards, were all there was in place to keep the seated fans from joining the general admission crowd on the floor up against the rectangular stage. Metallica was LOUD and throughout the show fired up fans were leaping over the wall and running passed mostly disinterested security guards standing there to ostensibly catch and release the interlopers. One of the two guards in front of us stood there stoically making no attempt to intervene; the second younger guard repeatedly, physically, and overzealously, tried to knock over the uninvited like bowling pins. Those who took the running start and stormed passed the guards toward the stage mostly made it and upgraded their experience by joining the faithful on the floor. It was not quite a mosh pit but there was a lot of testosterone in the air. At one point someone near the stage got in the face of former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted who, without missing a beat, punched the young man, nailing him squarely in the face; Newsted then spun around returning to the stage mid-song almost as if this had all been choreographed somehow. The band seemed to have a stadium sized volume in an arena setting making for an ear-splitting cacophony of sound and it was relentless. At the end of the concert when Mr. Nut, who is a big Ozzy fan and no stranger to the heavy metal music, said that Metallica scared him, it confirmed for me that we had witnessed an epic show.

Death Magnetic

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GQ

Another Allman Brothers Band concert, this time at the Beacon Theatre on a Sunday night in March, 1998. Thankfully Tedeschi Trucks Band and Warren Haynes remain on the boards to carry on the Allman Brothers Band legacy, both musically and spiritually. My wife and I saw The Brothers at Madison Square Garden right before the world shut down for the pandemic and the music stopped for a time.
I just went to see Arcade Fire with my daughter at the new MGM Fenway venue that was very cool and that reminded me a little of Terminal 5 in NYC, but other than that show, the winter live music schedule for me has been light thus far. My guess is the bigger established acts are going to gear up for the summer shed scene; Foreigner’s Farewell tour and Pink’s stadium shows have just gone on sale. I should not fail to mention Taylor Swift, who undoubtedly is the biggest music star on the planet at the moment (Marcus Mumford played one of her tunes as an encore at the Beacon Theatre); Swift’s stadium presale crashed the Ticketmaster site this week. Ticketmaster crashing is a sure sign that live music is still alive and well, but maybe just not quite as we remember it.

Done Somebody Wrong

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GQ

Marcus Mumford, on hiatus from Mumford & Sons, performs with his solo tour at the Beacon Theatre tonight with opener, straight from their Newport Folk Festival appearance this past summer, the eclectic duo The A’s.

(self-titled)

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GQ

Following the kings and I, Bob Dylan and Van Morrison at The Theatre at Madison Square, there was a Sunday night in March, 1998 on Broadway to see The King and I.

Real Real Gone

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GQ

I am not sure which night I attended the Bob Dylan and Van Morrison concert, but two legends together on the same night in New York City was a night to behold. I am pretty certain that on the same night that I attended Dylan and Morrison at The Theatre, the Rolling Stones were performing in the MSG arena above our heads; amazing stuff.

Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!

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GQ

Following my month employed at the U.S.Tennis Open in Queens when I was too tired to catch either night of the Charlie Watts Tribute at the Blue Note or the Dirty Knobs sr the Paramount in Huntington (I hate eating tickets), I went to see Roxy Music at Madison Square Garden on my last of 29 straight days working. I am not really a big fan of the band but the show was interesting in a progressive rock sort of way, The promoters apparently overreached with the pricing and venue ultimately and unexpectedly relocating everyone from the rafters down to the first level of the venue. Upon our arrival, my cheapest seat in the house nosebleed seats became what were initially for sale at $300+ face; those who sat in the vicinity who paid full price ought to have been rightfully pissed.

I went to both nights of Slowhand at MSG and it was a fine concert. At this point in his career, I figured it may be the last chance for me to catch Mr. Clapton perform and he did not disappoint Eric Clapton not only plays the blues, he now also looks like one of the old blues guys he has always admired and aspired to become.

I Shot the Sheriff

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GQ

My favorite annual event on the concert schedule is the three days at the Newport Folk Festival which this year took place over the weekend of July 22-July 24, 2022 during a heat wave. “Hydrate” and “ Sun Screen” were the operative words as we watched a multitude of acts perform from 11:00 AM to 7:30 PM and beyond. The great thing about the festival and it’s three stages is that you will undoubtedly discover some new acts, or veteran acts that you had not investigated as of yet, and the odds are you will discover music and accumulate experiences that you will carry with you beyond the extraordinary event. The Newport Folk Festival is a place where special moments still happen, where spontaneous musical collaboration occurs, and where once in a a lifetime concert experiences happen and “surprise” appearances are not only expected but actually occur. This year, on day two, Nathaniel Ratliff and the Night Sweats “presented” a set of Paul Simon songs that ended with Simon joining the band on stage for a few tunes. On the third and last night, Brandi Carlisle, a folk festival regular, interrupted her closing set after a few songs to present the “Joni Jam” with Joni Mitchell enthralling the jubilant festival crowd with her first live performance in many years. “Both Sides Now” was epic during a set of historic Mitchell moments. This festival is such a sensory overload that even though though we had to leave in the middle of Ratliff’s set before Paul Simon appeared, it was OK as my kids, with son in law and girlfriend, were going to the Marcus Mumford after party in town. Mumford is another artist who has become “folk family” snd has appeared in the past, one time as an previously unannounced artist with Mumford and Sons.

We are now recovering from doing another three days at Fort Adams State Park for the late great George Wein’s Newport Jazz Festival. I am by no means a jazz aficionado, but I love all types of music and took it all in with varying degrees of success. We have attended the Jazz Festival a couple of times through the years and the full three days is a marathon. The weather was phenomenal and the jazz music encompassed a wide variety of styles, my favorite of which was the “Remain in Light” Project reimagining the iconic Talking Heads album of the same name.

Love Potion No. 9

Folk on!

GQ