Stars, I've been to so many over the years it'd be almost impossible to pick just one. I saw Journey at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, which was quite an experience. It was an all-day event which included John Cougar and Bryan Adams among the performers. By the time Journey hit the stage the sun was going down, and the rain was coming down, too. Turned into a downpour. Steve Perry gets to the microphone and calls out to the crowd, "We're not gonna let a little rain stop us, are we?" Yeah, easy for you to say, Steve, you've got a roof over your head. Still a dang good time, though.
Another group I saw in Philadelphia was Styx, at the Spectrum. Memorable in a lot of ways, all good, not the least of which was that it was the first concert I ever attended. Good seats, too, not too far from the stage, and I learned that "floor seating" means if you want to actually
see the band you'll spend a significant amount of time standing on your seat.
I had very good seats for ZZ Top and Heart as well, two more good shows I attended. Much of ZZ Top's material was new to me; I wasn't very familiar with them at the time but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Heart was another matter; I knew half of their songs by heart and I was expecting a great show. They did not disappoint. And
nobody kicks higher, or looks better doing so, than Nancy Wilson.
AC/DC... Gotta love these guys. Most other bands spend a couple of hours before a show getting into costumes and make-up. Angus Young dresses as a British schoolboy, the rest of the band throws on whatever T-shirts and jeans happen to be lying around. Who needs costumes when the music is that good? Besides, no one pays any attention to the outfits of a band who's stage show includes cannons.
Yes likes to dress up. What really sets their shows apart is the length of some of their songs. Other groups might drag one out for up to ten minutes or so but Yes can run some of their classics for nearly a half an hour. Worth every second, too. It was a very long show that night, kind of fatiguing, but absolutely worth the price of admission. Berlin had originally been slated as the opening act but Yes scoffed at the idea, scornfully saying they'd rather have a Bugs Bunny cartoon. That's what they got, and ol' Bugs got more applause than any other opening act I've ever seen.
Boston was so good I saw them twice, up in Springfield, MA, at the start and end of the tour. Both times they played their entire third album from start to finish, as well as all the classics from their first two albums. Tom Scholz's guitar solo in the first show was amazing, an almost spiritual experience, but you really had to be there to understand what I'm talking about. It was one hell of a show.
I've seen many, many other shows as well, but topping them all, if I had to pick just one, would be Foreigner. Few bands have written so many songs that have moved me in some way as Lou Gramm and Mick Jones have, and the ones that aren't moving are just plain good listening. No opening act that night; none were good enough, none were needed. Like most bands they sound a little different live than they do on a disc or a tape, which only adds to the enjoyment, and enjoy myself I did, through more wondrous classics than I care to list. Hours of hits, both great and small, hard rock, ballads, and that shining moment I'd been dreaming of when I stood on my seat with my arm outstretched, lighter in hand, surrounded by ten thousand other flickering points of butane light, and listened, enraptured, as they played
Waiting For A Girl Like You. For me, that was the greatest concert moment ever, and a truly unforgettable night. I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
