100 Concerts / Concert #19

Headline Act: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Touring Album: Full Moon Fever

Opening Act: The Replacements

Date: July 5, 1989

Venue: Miami Arena, Miami, FL
Ticket price: $18.75

I had a diploma with a new-car smell, a B.S. in TV & Radio Production.  But I was not qualified for many jobs when I graduated from the University of Florida in the spring of 1989.  Diploma included, the only possession that mattered when I left Gainesville was my audio resumé, a box of cassette tapes with clips from my gig as overnight DJ on Rock 104, WRUF-FM. See my previous entry about The Cars for more on that experience.

WSHE, my first job. I was no Venus Flytrap.

After much persistence, I landed my first post-college job in the summer of '89. Using a stage name, Dave Andrews, I convinced a Program Director to hire me as an overnight DJ (12 to 6am) on South Florida's legendary rock station, WSHE-FM, "She's Only Rock n Roll". Though my two DJ experiences were quite different, one of the common threads was the strong presence of Tom Petty's music. 

Petty and the Heartbreakers' album "Let Me Up (I've Had Enough)" was released in May, 1987, right as I began my college radio career.  I played several cuts off that album over several months, most notably "Jammin' Me" (co-written by Bob Dylan by the way). 

The Traveling Wilburys: Lucky, Otis, Charlie, Nelson, & Lefty

Tom's distinct voice and strong catalog of songs were carving deep grooves in my consciousness. I was beginning to feel like an honorary Heartbreaker, thanks to his host of FM staples: "Refugee", "Don't Do Me Like That", "Stop Dragging My Heart Around", "American Girl", "Breakdown", "Here Comes My Girl", and so many more. Petty's role as the youngest member of the Traveling Wilburys ("Handle With Care") added to his stature. Playing and singing alongside legends like Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne certainly doesn't hurt a man's reputation.

I got a fever! And the only prescription is...

Riding a wave of great momentum, Petty collaborated with Lynne (the genius behind the Electric Light Orchestra) as his producer on "Full Moon Fever".  Petty's first solo record dropped in May, 1989, the same month I graduated college. As I hit the South Florida airwaves, "Free Fallin'" and "Runnin' Down A Dream" were played in heavy rotation.  As a DJ, I enjoyed playing a (very) minor role in the popularity of this album. It was the tipping point that launched Petty into the commercial peak of his career.

I was eagerly anticipating my first Petty show in July, 1989.  A longtime performer with moderate pop success, Petty began the "Strange Behavior" tour as a bona fide member of rock royalty.  He had arrived and he had gotten there the right way. Tom built his legacy through solid songwriting, acerbic lyrics, a bluesy, Dylanesque nasal delivery, a Byrds-inspired affection for catchy hooks, and a take-no-shit attitude.

Look! A record store! I miss them so much.

Even with a string of MTV hit videos ("Don't Come Around Here No More" et al.) Petty's commercial success did not indicate a sell-out of style or credibility. Instead, it was simply the right time and right place that allowed a classic rock-inspired artist to cut through the '80s noise (hair metal and bubble gum) to deliver solid rock songs that would endure.

Opening their tour in Miami, Petty & The 'Breakers delivered an excellent performance. Check out this cool link from "Rolling Stone" which details the days leading up to the launch of the tour. Timing is everything, we were not lucky enough to catch Tom with his guest and musical hero Roger McGuinn (The Byrds) when he joined the band for their second show in Tampa.  But my first Petty show was still quite a memorable experience. 

As a musician and performer, Petty seemed humble and comfortable in his new mantle as one of rock's leading voices. It was Tom, after all, who once sang, "Baby, even the losers get lucky sometimes."

Unofficial setlist: I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better, American Girl, Listen To Her Heart, Free Fallin', The Waiting, Breakdown, I Won't Back Down, Don't Come Around Here No More, Even The Losers, Southern Accents, Yer So Bad, You Got Lucky, Rebels, I Need To Know, Refugee, Runnin' Down A Dream, (Encore) Don't Bring Me Down, Jammin' Me, How Many More Days

100 Concerts / Concert #18

Headline Act: The Grateful Dead

Touring Album: In The Dark

Opening Act: none

Date: October 14, 1988

Venue: Miami Arena, Miami, FL
Ticket price: $18.50

 

 

"Blues For Allah"

When I was a kid, my first impression of The Grateful Dead was a "Blues For Allah" sticker on a guitar case. Based on their name and the creepy image of a skeleton playing a violin (while wearing sunglasses and a robe),  I figured the Dead were a Satan-worshipping heavy metal band. I later learned that Jerry and company were friends of the Devil, with a mellow vibe.

The late '80s was a weird era for the Dead. Twenty years removed from Haight-Ashbury and the hippie culture they helped foster, The Dead were now part nostalgia act, part radio hit-makers. Their original hippie-youth fan base had mutated into a carnival of bikers, aging hippies, wealthy yuppies, college kids, and (sadly) teenage runaways.

In 1988, my friend Paul and I fit into the "college kids" category. We went down the road feeling happy, (from Gainesville to Miami) and arrived just in time for the show. We had a few minutes to check out the scene in the parking lot.

 

Deadheads in the '70s. Smell at your own risk.

The true Deadheads, those who followed the band from show to show were a vital part of the fabric and mythology of the band. Some paid for their next concert ticket or next tank of gas by selling grilled cheese sandwiches, vegan burritos, pipes, bongs, and various drugs. Many Deadheads appeared to be days removed from a shower.  The women wore long tie-dyed skirts and were often barefoot. Inside the venue, some Deadheads neglected their seats for the arena halls where they could twirl and groove maniacally to the music. They were a colorful, smelly collective.

In an era when multi-platinum albums made artists popular and wealthy, The Dead earned their keep and built their fanbase as a workingman's (Dead) touring band.

I'm Uncle Sam, that's who I am.

Over the years, they played approximately 2,350 shows. If you estimate 2.5 hours per show, that equates to around 245 straight days of playing concerts, 24/7. What a long, strange trip, indeed!

In 1988, Jerry Garcia was just 46 years old but his grandfatherly Santa look made him appear much older. The Dead's appropriately titled hit single, "Touch Of Grey", peaked at #9 on the charts. It also introduced them to a new MTV and radio audience and provided an unprecedented level of commercial success thanks to "In The Dark", their first new album in six years.

I won't compare the '88 Dead to the '68 or '73 versions, but for weathered, middle-aged musicians they were holding up well. Not bad, considering more than 20 years on the road, thousands of miles, and lots of drugs.

Taken in the '90s, RIP Jerry.

It's worth noting that most of my setlists on this blog have been unofficial, best-guess estimates based on available info found online.  However, the setlist below is OFFICIAL, for which the devoted Deadheads are responsible. The mystery and magnitude of the setlists became part of the shared experience and debates among Deadheads. Which version of "Ripple" was the best one? Why did they open a show with "New Minglewood Blues" for the first time ever? Why did they wait four years to play "Box Of Rain"? What will they open with tomorrow night? Which Dylan song was that? During which song were you tripping the hardest?

Bootlegging Dead shows wasn't just condoned, it was encouraged, with a special tapers section located near the soundboard.   According to Wikipedia,  "Of the approximately 2,350 shows the Grateful Dead played, almost 2,200 were taped, and most of these are available online."

In a pre-MTV, pre-Internet era, tapes provided word-of-mouth advertising for a band not looking to crank out radio hits. The tapes (and later CD's) were traded among fans for the fun of sharing the music, though I imagine tapes were even traded for sex and drugs once or twice. Well, definitely for the drugs.

Paul and I enjoyed the show, the first of several concerts we've seen together. It was the first of my three Dead shows and it was also the first of my many concert experiences at the newly built Miami Arena.  Constructed in 1988 for the Miami Heat (and later home to the Florida Panthers), it was demolished after just 20 years. Not many rock bands outlast the lifespan of a building, but the Dead were no ordinary band.  The late rock promoter Bill Graham once described the Dead, "They're not the best at what they do, they're the only ones that do what they do".  Amen, Bill. 

Miami Arena, 1988-2008

Official setlist: Touch of Grey, New Minglewood Blues, Row Jimmy, It's All Over Now, Brown Eyed Women, Masterpiece, Bird Song, Promised Land, China Cat Sunflower, I Know You, Rider, Saint of Circumstance, He's Gone, drums, Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad, I Need a Miracle, Dear Mr. Fantasy,Hey Jude Reprise, Black Muddy River

100 Concerts / Concert #17

Headline Act: Bob Dylan

Touring Album: Down In The Groove

Opening Act: Sweethearts Of The Rodeo

Date: September 24, 1988

Venue: O'Connell Center, Gainesville, FL
Ticket price: $17.50

How many roads can a singer travel down

Before he doesn’t care anymore?

Yes, 'n' how many tours can a legend perform

Before he turns into a bore?

Yes, 'n' how many lyrics can one man mumble

Before the crowd starts to snore?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind.

The answer is blowin' in the wind

I was so much older then,  I'm younger than that now.

I worship Bob Dylan, the lyricist, songwriter, and musician.

I hate Bob Dylan, the performer, specifically the one who showed up (in body only) for this 1988 show.

His impact on modern music is immeasurable. From The Beatles to Jimi Hendrix to Bruce Springsteen to U2, uncountable numbers of singer-songwriters in the past 50 years have been influenced by his songwriting. But unlike Springsteen and U2, Dylan’s creative longevity has not translated into long-term commitment as a dynamic performer.

By the time he rambled into Gainesville in 1988, he had lived a million lives, broken a million hearts, and thrown away more great songs than most artists could ever hope to write. He had evolved quickly from obscure coffeehouse folk singer to rock icon in just a few years in the early ‘60s. He was labeled the voice of his generation, though he never wanted to fill those shoes.

There was a formula for musicians to be successful, they were supposed to listen to their agents and record company execs. But Dylan was a trailblazer. He had the balls to alienate his early fans when he went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. This was a radical move. Teen idols were expected to remain teen idols, crooners were expected to remain crooners, and folks singers were not supposed to play electric guitar. As he evolved personally and professionally, he embraced gospel, soul, country, and multiple religious identities. His prolific career has been unrivaled, with 35 studio albums (and many live recordings etc.) on his discography. Now in his seventies(!), Bob is still writing and recording music with great critical acclaim. It's been a remarkable, legendary, unparalleled career.

In 2004, he authored a book, “Chronicles Vol. I", a book much like Dylan himself. Part of the time entertaining, inspiring, fascinating and part of the time disorganized, unmotivated, and just damn confusing. The book touches on several phases of his life and career, including candid confessions about his diminished passion for performing.

"The public had been fed a steady diet of my complete recordings on disc for years, but my live performances never seemed to capture the inner spirit of the songs - had failed to put the spin on them."

To say Dylan mumbled through his lyrics would be unfair to mumblers. I’d call it more of a semi-conscious slurring, like your drunken friend on his way to passing out on your couch after a few too many pints at the pub.

"Too many distractions had turned my musical path into a jungle of vines."

I wanted my money back. I wanted to sue for damages. What is the compensatory value of feeling cheated by a concert? The man who wrote dozens of the greatest songs of the 20th century perpetrated the worst crime a performing artist can commit, apathy. He appeared completely unmotivated to perform, uninterested in his own music and lyrics.

Like A Rolling Stone

"My performances were an act, and the rituals were boring me."

Some artists can’t quit performing, even when they don’t really need the money.  Even if they lack the vocal range and dexterity of their youth, they spill their heart and soul all over the stage.  They find a way to connect emotionally and spiritually with their audience even as shadows of their former selves.

"The intimacy, among a lot of other things, was gone. For the listeners, it must have been like going through deserted orchards and dead grass." 

In 1988, Dylan was 47. He may have had a billion miles on his tires, but he was young enough that he should have had something in the tank. When I buy a concert ticket, I expect the musician to sing and perform like he gives a shit.  Dylan did not. "Deserted orchards and dead grass", Dylan the writer perfectly captured Dylan the anti-performer.

Read the set list below, this should have been a fantastic concert. But Dylan is not Springsteen. The Boss gives his audience every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears every night. He demands the same from his band and from the crowd itself. A Bruce show makes you feel spent. This show made me feel ripped off.

Unofficial setlist: Subterranean Homesick Blues, Just Like A Woman, Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again, Shelter From The Storm, Ballad Of A Thin Man, Highway 61 Revisited, One Too Many Mornings, The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll, Girl From The North Country, Silvio, I Shall Be Released, Like A Rolling Stone, Barbara Allen, Knockin' On Heaven's Door, All Along The Watchtower, Maggie's Farm

100 Concerts / Concert #16

Headline Act: Ronnie Montrose with Allan Holdsworth

Touring Album: The Speed Of Sound (Montrose)

Date: August 23, 1988

Venue: Rion Ballroom, Gainesville, FL

Ticket price: $4

 

'70s guitar god, Ronnie Montrose

Of all the shows I've been to, this was one of them.

Held in the University of Florida's Rion Ballroom inside the Student Union, this concert, "The Ultimate Axe Alliance", served as a way to kill a couple hours on a weeknight in the early days of my senior year in Gainesville. Along with my buddies Dave and Mike and our new friend/roommate Paul, we stumbled on to campus from our nearby House Of Hollywood. 

Montrose (2nd from right) with Sammy Hagar (far right)

The lower-case headliner for this show was Ronnie Montrose, a talented musician and warhorse of the rock scene. As a young session guitarist, he played on Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey". Later, he was part of The Edgar Winter Group when they recorded the legendary "Frankensten". In '73 he formed his namesake band, Montrose, which included Sammy Hagar.  Little known fact: as a young man, Hagar was quite capable of driving 55.

The '70s: shirtless albums covers.

Compared to thousands of garage bands doomed to playing a local circuit of dive bars and taverns, Montrose was a hugely successful rock band. But compared to the great (and lucky) bands who carved out their place in the Hall Of Fame, Montrose is barely a footnote to rock history. They logged thousands of miles on the road, opening for The Rolling Stones, Kiss, Peter Frampton, Yes, Rush, The Eagles, Journey, and Aerosmith. Some band are destined for greatness and some are Montrose. Their popularity peaked in the late '70s, their most successful charting album in the U.S. reached #65.

Another guitar veteran, Allan Holdsworth, joined Montrose for this show. Holdsworth's career has involved various jazz/rock/fusion collaborations. The late Frank Zappa and the legendary Eddie Van Halen were among his biggest fans.

Ronnie Montrose toured on and off from 2002 until his death in March 2012.  Tragically, he took his own life with a gun after succumbing to depression and alcohol. Montrose never gained fame like Jimmy Page or Eric Clapton, but he had a helluva career.

Rest in peace, Ronnie.

100 Concerts / Concert #15

Headline Act: 3

Touring Album: To The Power Of Three

Opening Act: none

Date: May 21, 1988

Venue: City Limits, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Ticket price: $15.00

"Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. 

We're so glad you could attend. Come inside! Come inside!"

"Karn Evil 9" by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP) were one of the discoveries of my college years. I was familiar with FM radio staples like "Lucky Man", "From The Beginning" and "Karn Evil 9", but together with my buddies Dave and Mike, we discovered the entire catalog of ELP's music through albums like "Brain Salad Surgery" and "Pictures At An Exhibition". These became frequent rotations for our late-night dorm room hangouts. ELP's musicianship and inventiveness burst out of the cassette player's speakers.

"Brain Salad Surgery", one of the best album covers ever

Like their fellow progressive rock peers (Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, The Moody Blues, et al.), ELP was considered pretentious by rock critics while simultaneously building a loyal audience. Unlike some of those groups, they didn't stick around long enough for us to see the original trio perform in concert.  After a string of 7 original albums, ELP disbanded in 1978. In 1985, Keith Emerson (keyboards) and Greg Lake (bass/guitar) formed a new ELP trio (Emerson, Lake, and Powell) with former Rainbow drummer Cozy Powell. He replaced Carl Palmer who had become a member of the band Asia. The new E-L-Powell scored a minor hit with "Touch And Go" which drew heavily on their distinctive '70s prog-rock sounds.

"Come inside, the show's about to start. Guaranteed to blow your head apart. Rest assured you'll get your money's worth, The greatest show in Heaven, Hell or Earth. You've got to see the show, it's a dynamo. You've got to see the show, it's rock and roll."

The musical chairs continued a couple years later. In 1988, Palmer returned to replace Powell, while Lake was replaced by Robert Berry. Instead of calling the new trio Emerson, Berry & Palmer, they simply went with "3".

"Performing on a stool we've a sight to make you drool. Seven virgins and a mule, keep it cool, keep it cool."

Years earlier, the dynamic Keith Emerson was playing keyboards in front of sold-out arena crowds around the world. But on this Saturday night in 1988, he entertained a modest gathering of a couple hundred fans in Ft. Lauderdale. The venue was City Limits, a night club best known as a meat market / discotheque. It wasn't exactly the Royal Albert Hall.

"We would like it to be known the exhibits that were shown were exclusively our own,
All our own. All our own."

As concerts go, 3 was not a 10. To be honest, it was enjoyable but not particularly memorable. Given a chance to see some great musicians from one of my favorite underrated bands, I just couldn't say no. As Meat Loaf once sang, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

"Come and see the show! Come and see the show! Come and see the show! See the show!"

The original ELP has since reunited for an album and several concerts. In 2010, they performed a 40th anniversary show in London where they were the headline act of the High Voltage Festival. I'm guessing there were more slightly more people there than the capacity of City Limits.

Welcome back, my friends.

Unofficial setlist: Fanfare For The Common Man, Deste La Vita, Lover To Lover, Hoedown, You Do Or You Don't, Talkin' About, Creole Dance, On My Way Home, Runaway, Standing In The Shadows, America, Rondo, Tocatta / Drum Solo, Flight Of The Bumblebee, Encore: Eight Miles High

100 Concerts / Concert #14

Headline Act: U2
Touring Album: The Joshua Tree

Opening Act: Buckwheat Zydeco, Los Lobos

Date: December 5, 1987 
Venue: Tampa Stadium, Tampa, FL
Ticket price: $18.50

I went on my first date with U2 in '83. Things got a hot and heavy on our second date in '85.  By the time our third date rolled around in '87, it was time to consummate. We've been in a long-term relationship ever since.

For the third show in a row, I experienced a stadium concert. For the second consecutive occasion it was in Tampa Stadium. But was this just another concert? Hell no.

In 1988, the U2 film and album each called "Rattle And Hum" attempted to capture the band's breakout 1987 American tour in support of their landmark album, "The Joshua Tree". U2 made the difficult leap from up-and-comer to mega-stardom. Cover of "Time", anyone? "The Joshua Tree" yielded a smash single ("With Or Without You") and several more hits that cemented the band's standing as major-league rock stars. Beyond the radio hits, the album was deep in quality songs, one of my personal favorites is "Running To Stand Still". From "Where The Streets Have No Name" to "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" to "Bullet The Blue Sky", U2 stirred up spirituality, politics, and passion in a blend that put them in the company of The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and the like.

I road-tripped to Tampa with my friend and fraternity brother Mark (the same guy who helped me become a radio DJ). We arrived early, hung out his twin sisters' apartment on the USF campus, watched a little of the Army-Navy game, then headed over to Tampa Stadium for an incredible evening.

Patches O'Houlihan

Our tickets were General Admission, which gave us free reign of the tarp-covered football field. We arrived early and sat in a wide-open area, roughly 40 yards from the stage.  As the crowd filled in, the anxiousness and the alcohol began to influence the energy of the stadium. It's the only concert experience in my life where I had to escape an "Animal House" inspired food fight. People just needed to kill time, I guess.Cups of soda and beer flew through the air. Half-eaten hot dogs, open mustard packets, baskets of french fries, buckets of pop corn, they were all all fair game. Long before I knew of "Dodgeball" legend Patches O'Houlihan, we managed to dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge the flying food.

Buckwheat Zydeco. Where's Alfalfa?

Los Lobos: Hungry like the wolves.

The legendary Cajun band Buckwheat Zydeco opened the concert as the stadium filled and we were forced to stand. They were an unusual choice, but they helped create a party atmosphere. Next up was Los Lobos, at the time best known for their Richie Valens cover,"La Bamba", from the movie of the same name. They delivered a solid set and have gone on to have a very successful under-the-mainstream-radar career, releasing close to 20 albums from 1976-2010.

The anticipation for U2 was building. As the sun set, thousands of us on stadium floor were packed in like sardines, but not quite as oily. After an hour or so, U2 was ready to take the stage. The stadium lights went out. The crowd screamed as one. The opening notes of "Where The Streets Have No Name" filled the cold December air. And then, a moment I will never forget.

Thousands of fans on the stadium floor surged toward the stage in a chaotic, collective effort to get closer to the band. The power of the crowd's surge was so strong that my feet (and Mark's) left the ground. We were swept away with the tide of humanity. We were carried 10 to 15 yards toward the stage before being unceremoniously dropped back on to the tarp. Fortunately, there was no room to fall, we landed on our feet. It was a feeling of utter helplessness and to be honest, fear.  But there was no time to panic, it happened too quickly. As the excitement passed of U2 taking the stage, I soon thought of the tragic Cincinnati incident in 1979 when 11 fans were killed and dozens injured before a concert by The Who. The circumstances were different, but it was festival seating that led to the Cincinnati tragedy. I could now relate to the odd, frightening sensation of losing control of my body in the throngs of concertgoers. Scary stuff. The Who performed that night, unaware of the tragic events prior the show. When they learned the news after the concert, Pete Townshend and the band were devastated.

The fortunate part of this far-less-tragic moment was that we were now pretty close to the stage, at least for a stadium show.  Bono was decked out in a vest and a cowboy hat while The Edge donned a western-style brimmed hat. The Irishmen were soaking up America and we did the same with their music. The next couple hours were a blur, like an incredible night of passion.Afterward, you can't remember all the details but you just knew every moment felt exactly right.

One of the lasting, eery memories of this fantastic show was a combination of the crowd and the weather. It was an unusually cold Florida night, with temperatures in the low '40s.  Despite the near-frigid air, I saw steam rising off the heads of the fans at the front of the crowd.  The combined body heat of the crowd created a cloud of steam in the cool air. For those unfortunate folks in front of the stage, the force of the crowd pushed them into unmovable barricades with nowhere to go. The crowd's warmth and the push of the masses led to many of fans being pulled over the barricades by security people in order to get medical attention.  I was truly scared for those fans. My earlier feelings of fear and helplessness lasted only 10 to 15 seconds. These folks had to endure an hour or more of getting squished into a barricade with little relief. Front row seats aren't all they're cracked up to be.

If you've seen "Rattle And Hum", you can sense what it was like to see U2 on "The Joshua Tree" tour. But no recording or concert film can ever approach the intangible energy and experience of a U2 concert with 60,000 people. Their music is large enough to fill a cavernous football stadium, but Bono's charisma and stage presence transform a massive, chaotic concert to a collective experience that feels intimate, one that resonates long after the last note is played. Without question, this was one of the most memorable and satisfying concerts of my life. I think the Earth moved.

Not long after this concert, Mark was in a New York City art museum. By sheer luck, he spotted Bono walking around. Mark approached Bono and wanted to tell him how much he enjoyed the U2 concert in Tampa. Not wanting to draw attention from other folks, Bono put his index finger to his own mouth, "Shhh", he told Mark. "Please."

Bono walked away, walked away, walked away, walked away.

Mark did not follow.

Setlist: Where The Streets Have No Name, I Will Follow, Trip Through Your Wires, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looing For / Exodus (snippet), One Tree Hill, Gloria, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Exit / Riders On The Storm (snippet) / Gloria (Van Morrison snippet), In God's Country, People Get Ready, Bad / Ruby Tuesday (snippet) / Sympathy For The Devil (snippet), October, New Year's Day, Pride (In The Name Of Love) Encore: Bullet The Sky, Running To Stand Still, With Or Without You / Shine Like Stars (snippet) / Love Will Tear Us Apart (snippet), We'll Meet Again (snippet) / Spanish Eyes, 40 / Do They Know It's Christmas (snippet)

100 Concerts / Concert #13

Headline Act: Pink Floyd

Touring Album: A Momentary Lapse Of Reason

Opening Act: none

Date: October 30, 1987

Venue: Tampa Stadium, Tampa, FL
Ticket price:  $20.00

Just 8 days after a disappointing concert from The Cars, I was eager to leave that memory in my rear-view mirror. It was time for a major palette cleansing. Along with 4 of my fraternity brothers, we packed into one small car and made the 2-hour road trip to Tampa Stadium to see the legendary Pink Floyd.  In a previous post I wrote about the disappointing Genesis show. Phil Collins just didn't have the presence to fill a football stadium. The Floyd didn't need a Freddie Mercury-type frontman to charm the crowd. Stocked with an historic catalog , their larger-than-life music was enough to mesmerize the masses.

As I detailed in my Roger Waters 1985 concert post, 1987 marked the first foray for Pink Floyd without their original member, chief songwriter and bassist (aka Pink). The band was now composed of guitarist David Gilmour and drummer Nick Mason. Original keyboardist Rick Wright was now considered a hired hand, no longer an official member of the group. Gilmour was now filling the shoes of chief songwriter and lead singer and he did so quite well. Together with a host of session musicians, Floyd recorded "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" a solid, well-received album, featuring "Learning To Fly" and the beautiful "On The Turning Away". While "Lapse" doesn't compare with Floyd's legendary albums, it contains many of the spacy, beautiful, haunting sounds that defined the band's style in the post-Syd Barrett era. Waters, now a solo artist, was not complementary of his former mates' new music. He even fought them in the courts to prevent them from using the Pink Floyd name. Ultimately a deal was reached but the fences were never truly mended.Waters and Gilmour have made a handful of public appearances together in the years since, though they have continued to snipe at each other through the media.

GQ men? Rick Wright, David Gilmour, Nick Mason

Tampa Stadium aka "The Big Sombrero"

We arrived at Tampa Stadium (aka "The Big Sombrero") in the proper state of mind for our first Floyd experience, but then things got really confusing. As we entered the building, the lights went out and the music began to play. We heard the opening strains of the Syd Barrett-inspired "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V)". How's that for an opener? We hustled our way on to the tarp-covered field where our seats were located. Weaving our way through "a sea of faces", we spotted our section, #106. Since the seats were temporary, the section numbers were painted on to large pieces of plywood. We settled into our seats but discovered we were not in the right place. As we tried to scout out our proper seats, we spied one mischievous concertgoer pick up one of the section signs and switch it with a sign for a different section, just to create confusion. Chaos! I mean like, down was up and up was down, man! We were through the looking glass! A momentary lapse of reason, that's what we experienced. As we wandered around for a few moments, dazed and confused, my eyes were glued to the large circular video screen behind the band.  We were listening to "Signs Of Life", the opening song from the new album, an atmospheric Floydian mood-setter. The video showed a man in a rowboat, paddling faster and faster across a calm lake. As the pace of the rowing increased, the camera made a sudden move below the water's surface to reveal a murky universe, teeming with activity. This was a suddenly mind-blowing visual, symbolic of the things we don't know and can't see. For every calm, rational moment there is an equal and opposite underlying, inevitable chaos. Yin and Yang. For a fleeting moment, I felt alone among 60,000 fans, frozen, transfixed by a video on a giant screen while the legendary Pink Floyd performed. This snapshot has been stuck in my head for 25 years.

We eventually found our flimsy plastic folding-chair seats and stood upon them for the remainder of the show, somehow keeping our balance. The Floyd played the bulk of the new album, accompanied by more high-budget videos and a top-notch light show. The crowd got off on the recognizable FM-radio staples from "The Dark Side Of The Moon" and "The Wall". I was thrilled to hear a hidden gem from their early career, "One Of These Days" (see video above). It's a spooky piece with a dark psychedelic feel, an instrumental that is interrupted by one creepy spoken-word line, "One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces." The voice belongs to drummer Nick Mason, one of the only vocal contributions of his Floyd career. A couple of years later, it was one of the highlights of my radio career when I sneaked it on the air one Saturday night when I worked as a DJ for WSHE (more on that gig in future posts).

With all of the show's bells and whistles, the videos and lights and even their trademark "Animals"-inspired flying pig, it was ultimately their amazing catalog that allowed Pink Floyd 3.0 to deliver a memorable stadium show. During "Comfortably Numb", Gilmour's epic guitar solo pushed the crowd over the edge, into a frenzy of air guitars and musical bliss. Wish you were there.

Unofficial setlist: Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I-V), Signs Of Life, Learning To Fly, Yet Another Movie, Round And Round, A New Machine (Part 1), Terminal Frost, A New Machine (Part 2), Sorrow, The Dogs Of War, On The Turning Away, One Of These Days, Time, On The Run, Wish You Were Here, Us And Them, Money, Another Brick In The Wall Part 2, Comfortably Numb (Encore) One Slip, Run Like Hell

100 Concerts / Concert #12

Headline Act: The Cars

Touring Album: Door To Door

Opening Act: none

Date: October 22, 1987

Venue: O'Connell Center, Gainesville, FL
Ticket price:  COMPLIMENTARY

Late in my sophomore year at the University of Florida, I was killing time between classes one day with my friend and fraternity brother, Mark. We stumbled into the offices of the on-campus radio stations and through pure luck discovered that we could audition to become on-air talent. We read a few lines into a tape recorder and within days were each offered a chance to work as DJ's. Mark worked for a time spinning symphonies on Classic 89 while I got a gig with the rock station, Rock 104. Mark had to learn about Shostakovich, I had Aerosmith.. He got Rachmaninoff, I got Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The O'Dome (O'Connell Center), home of Gator basketball

This isn't me, but a typical '80s radio station control room.

To complete my training, I was given a one-hour audition late one weeknight. The first time the microphone went hot and the "ON AIR" sign was illuminated, I could hardly speak. Have you ever heard someone hyperventilate on the radio? Fortunately, my nerves settled quickly; I was soon awarded (or sentenced to) the overnight shift for the summer. I worked from 2 to 6 am several nights per week, with some occasional weekend shifts thrown in. It was exhausting and lonely but exciting as hell.

Razor blades and reel-to-reel editing

Compared to today's technology, it  now seems as if we were carving tablets like Fred Flintstone. We recorded commercials and news updates on reel-to-reel machines, marked the audio tape with a white grease pencil, cut it with a razor blade and completed the edit with special adhesive. If you messed up there was no "Undo" button. All our commercials (and some of the older songs) aired via carts, similar to 8-track cassettes. It was at this time that radio started to go digital. Thousands of LPs in the control room were starting to give way to the brand new Compact Disc format.

Rock 104 was not a typical low-powered college radio station. It was a big, booming 100,000-watt monster that broadcast all over North Central Florida. I honed my skills that summer and was rewarded with a more humane shift for the Fall semester, Monday through Friday nights, 11 pm to 2 am. This was a fantastic step for me but proved to be socially challenging. I had to leave parties early or completely miss social get-togethers to make my radio shift on-time and (mostly) sober. As a junior living in a fraternity house, this was a bummer at times. I wasn't a celebrity, I wasn't getting rich, and I wasn't getting lucky with the ladies. But in October I received one of the few perks of the job, free concert tickets. If you look carefully at the ticket stub shown above,  the wonderful word "COMPLIMENTARY" is stamped across the middle. Since The Cars were going to perform in the O'Connell Center on campus, I didn't have to go far for the concert. The building was home to UF's basketball, gymnastics, and swimming teams among others. Later, it was also the site of my college graduation in May 1989.

Heartbeat, it's a lovebeat.

Paulina & Ric = Beauty & The Beast?

The Cars were one of the New Wave bands of the late '70s who had hit the big time commercially, along with Blondie and Talking Heads. They had gone from respected FM radio staples ("My Best Friend's Girl", "Just What I Needed", "Let's Go") to megastars with a platinum-selling album, "Heartbeat City". The album spawned a pair of #1 singles,"You Might Think" and "Magic". They also had a big hit with "Drive", its video featured supermodel Paulina Porzikova. Lead singer Ric Ocasek's ensuing romance and long-term marriage to Paulina is still a prime example of how an awkward gangly guy can get one of the most beautiful women in the world. Of course he never would have had a chance if he weren't a rock star. Still, he gave us all hope!

I landed a date for the show, a rare occurrence for me in college. Debbie was one of the coolest girls I knew. We had no romantic past but I thought maybe a concert could change that. I mean, what college girl could resist a rock concert with a radio DJ who scored comp tickets?

The Country Bear Jamboree. Now that was a band!

As for The Cars, it was hard to tell if we were watching a live performance by a successful rock band or a Disney Audio-Animatronic show. I've seen more stage presence and personality from the Country Bear Jamboree than from Ric Ocasek and the band that night.  Without question, this was one of the least interesting shows I've ever seen. The O'Dome (as the building was nicknamed) wasn't filled anywhere close to capacity that night. One of the biggest groups in the world just three years earlier had run out of  gas. A year later, they broke up. In 2000, original member Benjamin Orr passed away. The Cars remained in the garage for more than a decade before the surviving members reunited and released a new album in 2011.

The Cars created no sparks on the stage and it was the same for our date. When the forgettable show ended, Debbie and I left quickly. She dropped me off just down the road at the radio station for my shift. I had to go spin some records for the good people of North Central Florida. I had a job to do. I was a DJ, damn it. Within a year, Debbie began dating Mike, my friend, fraternity brother and former roommate. Now, more than 20 years later, they have been married for a long time and have three kids. 

 

Sometimes when you get free concert tickets, you get exactly what you pay for. On this night, The Cars were nothing but lemons.

Unofficial setlist: Tonight She Comes, Touch And Go, Double Trouble, My Best Friend's Girl, Everything You Say, Since You're Gone, Fine Line, Let's Go, Strap Me In, Candy-O, Moving In Stereo, The Dangerous Type, Drive, You Are The Girl, Good Times Roll, You Might Think (Encore) Hello Again, Just What I Needed, Magic

100 Concerts / Concert #11

Headline Act: Genesis

Touring Album: Invisible Touch

Opening Act: The Bangles

Date: March 1, 1987

Venue: Orange Bowl, Miami, FL
Ticket price:  $17.75

"Tonight Tonight Tonight", the 1986 single from Genesis, became synonymous with a beer commercial that aired ad nauseum. So which came first, the song or the commercial? I wonder if a TV jingle was turned into a 9-minute album track by an aging band, well past its creative peak. When I think of Genesis' 1987 "Invisible Touch" tour I think of its sponsor, Michelob. The tour and the beer had a lot in common. Both were watered down, flavorless, and unmemorable.

This isn't an indictment on Genesis, a group with a long history and many excellent albums.Along with omnipresent singer/drummer Phil Collins (part-time "Miami Vice" actor and solo video star), the '80s version of the band was composed of keyboardist Tony Banks and bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford. The non-Collinses were part of the genesis of Genesis, original members way back in '67 ( the year of my birth). Collins became the frontman after founding member Peter Gabriel quit the group in the mid '70s.

1973 Mod Squad: Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford, Steve Hackett, Phil Collins

In their early days, they were an ambitious progressive rock band with beautiful albums such as "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" (1974) and "A Trick Of The Tail" (1976). Their music evolved into the early '80s with a more commercially viable sound while still maintaining interesting arrangements. "Abacab" (1981) is one of my all-time favorite '80s records, thanks to songs like "No Reply At All", "Man On The Corner" and the hypnotic title track. In our early high school years, as we learned how to drink beer on Hollywood beach, "Abacab" was one of those cassettes that we played over and over on our boom boxes.

Thanks to their frequently played MTV videos, the band reached new heights of fame with their eponymous album, "Genesis" (1983). Songs like "Mama", "Illegal Alien" and "Just A Job To Do" were solid standouts, but "That's All" was overly poppy, a little too Phil Collins' easy-listening light-FM-at-the-dentist-office-kind-of-thing. To me, "That's All" was the beginning of the end (the Exodus?) of Genesis. The band had eaten the forbidden fruit of pop mediocrity and decided it was delicious. And profitable.

 

Bangles Babe: The fetching Susanna Hoffs.

Regrettably, I missed their '84 "Mama" tour, so I had to settle for the '87 stadium show in the Orange Bowl, my second and final concert in the old rust bucket. The opening act was The Bangles, fronted by the gorgeous Susanna Hoffs. The group had a huge breakout hit in '86 with "Walk Like An Egyptian". They also scored hits with "Manic Monday" (written by Prince) and "Hazy Shade Of Winter" (Simon & Garfunkel). The "Egyptian" song/video was a guilty-pleasure hit that still pops up on '80s compilations without being too annoying, unlike some other staples of the decade ("Walking On Sunshine" for example). I must admit it was fun to hear tens of thousands of fans sing along to the meaningless chorus: "Way-o, way-o, way-o, way-o. Walk like an Egyptian." An all-female pop band playing their goofy single to a stadium crowd, truly an Eighties moment.

The Bangles recorded a total of four albums before breaking up in 1990. They've since reunited with a pair of albums in  2003 and 2011. Susanna Hoffs has also enjoyed a solo career and together with the talented singer/songwriter Matthew Sweet ("Girlfriend", etc.) she recorded a couple of excellent albums under the pseudonyms Sid & Susie. Their "Under The Cover" Volumes I & II include excellent harmonies and fresh-sounding arrangements of classics by The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young and other greats. Susanna Hoffs, sigh.

As for Collins and Co., I enjoyed the show. But if it weren't for my ticket stub, I'm not sure I'd remember it at all. Their musicianship was fine, they played some good songs, but there is just something missing from most stadium concerts. As I mentioned in a previous post (The Police concert in the OB, 1983), stadium shows can be like musical voyeurism. Unless you are sitting in a prime spot, you are more spectator than audience participant. Very few artists make the stadium experience satisfying. Genesis was not one of those.

Along with some friends, we sat in the lower level of the Orange Bowl, in the northeast corner of the stadium, near where the visitors' bench used to be at Dolphins games. "Invisible Touch" was the point in Genesis' career where declining originality and relevance met opportunity to cash in on a large scale. Collins was in the midst of a successful solo career that produced some memorable songs like "In The Air Tonight" and "Against All Odds". There were also several songs that don't hold up so well ("Sussudio", "Easy Lover", etc.). It's a tough task to be a frontman/songwriter for a band and have a successful solo career at the same time. There are only so many good songs to go around. Genesis was running out of them. 

Do you remember "Land Of Confusion" for the song itself or because of the video with the Spitting Image puppets? The legendary actor/comedian W.C. Fields once said “If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.” Substitute "high-budget music videos with puppetry" for bullshit and you have the state of Genesis in 1987. The group released two more albums, one with Collins ("We Can't Dance", 1991) and one without him in 1997.

In 2010, Genesis was deservedly inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.Their influence on the rock world was recognized by Trey Anastasio of Phish. In his speech, Anastasio said of Genesis, “Every musical rule and boundary was questioned and broken.” 

The book of Genesis is complete.They had a great run, sold a zillion albums, and created a lot of memorable music. Now, who wants a Michelob?

Unofficial setlist: Mama, Abacab, Domino, That's All, The Brazilian, In The Cage, ...In That Quiet Earth, Afterglow, Land Of Confusion, Tonight Tonight Tonight, Throwing It All Away, Home By The Sea, Second Home By The Sea, Invisible Touch , Drum Duet, Los Endos, Turn It On Again