I imagine many of us have been to a music show before. But the fact is, some shows are a lot better than others. Being a guitar player and loving music as I do , I have been to several performances in my years. Some massive. Some little. Some with well-known rock stars. And some with new groups on their way up.
Here's some of the finest concerts I have seen and some things I learned about seeing a performance on the way.
Bigger Is Not Always Better
I've been to some huge shows, including the mother of all concerts Woodstock. Although that show was excellent, the incontrovertible fact that it was very big was not the explanation why I loved it. It's probably the fact that Woodstock was out of control that made it fascinating and fun. The chaos surrounding the over-crowded, food-less, no-place-to-go-to-the-bathroom scene, was what made it amazing. We all made the very best of a bad situation. We all subliminally agreed to make is something none of us would ever forget. I believe that is a very important lesson.
As far as surprising smaller shows, one of the very finest concerts I saw was Little Feat at my varsity, University of Massachusetts, back around 1974. The band wasn't yet popular and the performance was attended only by about a hundred folks, but it was plain this was a great band on the way up. The performance was held in the Student Union Ballroom. It might possibly hold less than 500-600 folks when full.
And this room held many shows while I was at school there in the 60's and 70's. I also saw Jonathan Edwards, Bo Diddley, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Hound Dog Taylor in this hall, among many others.
Another little concert that was memorable for me was seeing The Nazz at The Tea Party in Boston. The Nazz was Todd Rundgren's first band and, like many bands I loved, weren't super well-liked but had some great songs. They had Hello It's Me which later would be re-done by Todd Rundgren as a solo artist and be a big hit for him. At the time, Nazz was dynamic and that show was attended by less than 20 folk. I suspect the band was a bit bummed, but still put on a great performance.
My First Concert
If you love music you always remember your first massive concert. Mine was seeing The Kingsmen at The Surf in Nantasket Beach slightly to the south of Boston in around 1965. The Kingsmen had the giant garage rock hit, Louie Louie, so definitely seeing them was a thrill. But even this show was comparatively tiny. The Surf only held around 1000 folk. Today a band with a smash like that'd be playing to 30-40,000 folks at a concert.
But almost all of my live shows back then were in little clubs seeing local or regional bands. Still those shows were always noteworthy to me and a very sizeable part of why I wanted to be a musician.
So over time I saw many performances. Here's a couple of the highlights I remember...
- The Allman Brothers at Orpheum in Boston around 1971.
- Boz Scaggs, Curtis Mayfield and Brewer and Shipley at an exterior UMass concert in 1970.
- Allman Brothers and Bonnie Raitt at UMass Alumni Stadium in about 1980. What was special about this day was both The Allman's and Bonnie Raitt showed up and jammed with NRBQ later that night at a small club called The Rusty Nail in Hadley Mass.
- Any NRBQ show at The Rusty Nail.
- B.B. King Live at the NAMM show playing to about 20 folk in a back room. (Don't get me started about the shows I saw at the National Association of Music Merchant's conventions)
OK I could go on for a long time, I have seen so many great shows. Hope that impresses you to make your own list of your favourite concerts.
Here's some of the finest concerts I have seen and some things I learned about seeing a performance on the way.
Bigger Is Not Always Better
I've been to some huge shows, including the mother of all concerts Woodstock. Although that show was excellent, the incontrovertible fact that it was very big was not the explanation why I loved it. It's probably the fact that Woodstock was out of control that made it fascinating and fun. The chaos surrounding the over-crowded, food-less, no-place-to-go-to-the-bathroom scene, was what made it amazing. We all made the very best of a bad situation. We all subliminally agreed to make is something none of us would ever forget. I believe that is a very important lesson.
As far as surprising smaller shows, one of the very finest concerts I saw was Little Feat at my varsity, University of Massachusetts, back around 1974. The band wasn't yet popular and the performance was attended only by about a hundred folks, but it was plain this was a great band on the way up. The performance was held in the Student Union Ballroom. It might possibly hold less than 500-600 folks when full.
And this room held many shows while I was at school there in the 60's and 70's. I also saw Jonathan Edwards, Bo Diddley, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Hound Dog Taylor in this hall, among many others.
Another little concert that was memorable for me was seeing The Nazz at The Tea Party in Boston. The Nazz was Todd Rundgren's first band and, like many bands I loved, weren't super well-liked but had some great songs. They had Hello It's Me which later would be re-done by Todd Rundgren as a solo artist and be a big hit for him. At the time, Nazz was dynamic and that show was attended by less than 20 folk. I suspect the band was a bit bummed, but still put on a great performance.
My First Concert
If you love music you always remember your first massive concert. Mine was seeing The Kingsmen at The Surf in Nantasket Beach slightly to the south of Boston in around 1965. The Kingsmen had the giant garage rock hit, Louie Louie, so definitely seeing them was a thrill. But even this show was comparatively tiny. The Surf only held around 1000 folk. Today a band with a smash like that'd be playing to 30-40,000 folks at a concert.
But almost all of my live shows back then were in little clubs seeing local or regional bands. Still those shows were always noteworthy to me and a very sizeable part of why I wanted to be a musician.
So over time I saw many performances. Here's a couple of the highlights I remember...
- The Allman Brothers at Orpheum in Boston around 1971.
- Boz Scaggs, Curtis Mayfield and Brewer and Shipley at an exterior UMass concert in 1970.
- Allman Brothers and Bonnie Raitt at UMass Alumni Stadium in about 1980. What was special about this day was both The Allman's and Bonnie Raitt showed up and jammed with NRBQ later that night at a small club called The Rusty Nail in Hadley Mass.
- Any NRBQ show at The Rusty Nail.
- B.B. King Live at the NAMM show playing to about 20 folk in a back room. (Don't get me started about the shows I saw at the National Association of Music Merchant's conventions)
OK I could go on for a long time, I have seen so many great shows. Hope that impresses you to make your own list of your favourite concerts.
About the Author:
Rick Honeyboy Hart is a long-time blues guitar player. He teaches blues guitar on his website and writes about live performances like seeing B.B. King live.
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