Some Favorite Concert Memories

With the recent anniversary of the 12/12/12 concert, I began to think about some other concert memories for which I am very thankful, but perhaps did not post on "The Charbor Chronicles".

So, I wanted to take a few moments to not only list them, but why, precisely, I enjoyed them so much:



Metallica/Guns 'N Roses, Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, July 29, 1992 - I consider this my very first concert, even though, technically, it was not the first concert that I had attended. There had been a free classical concert in (Central Park?) when I was very young, as well as a number of French artists (remember, my father is French), such as Yves Montand, Jean Jacques Goldman, and some others that I am not remembering as well.

But this was the first concert that I chose to go to on my own. I don't remember who's idea it was, but my brother and I had discussed getting tickets to the show, because we were both huge Metallica fans at the time! Getting a chance to finally see them would really be awesome!

Everything was brand new to me at the time. We got to the Giants Stadium parking lot, and it was hot and sunny, I remember. There was a guy walking around the parking lot who was a dead ringer for Kirk Hammett, and he gained a lot of attention.

We went in, and the excitement just continued to grow. Faith No More was the opening act, and most of the people game them little to no respect, even though they had been huge within the last couple of years with their "The Real Thing" album. Mike Patton, the lead singer, joked around a bit, sarcastically getting the crowd to "Welcome Home Bruce", because their was a huge banner on the then Brendan Byrne Arena across the highway from Giants Stadium. Also, I remember he was joking with the audience, asking them if they knew about Jimmy Hoffa being buried in the end zone of the stadium. The audience was relatively indifferent there as well, but he was not having it. He wanted a reaction, one way or another. So he said, something to the effect of, "Well, did you know that I dug him up and fucked him up the ass?" But the audience remained impassive throughout the setlist, until the final song, "Epic", which was the band's biggest hit. Everyone suddenly got to their feet, and the place came alive.

Then, the time for Metallica to take the stage drew near. There were strings or ropes that were lit on fire from two or three different directions, and headed towards one another towards a meeting point. When they finally met, Metallica seemed almost literally to explode into action with the very fast paced "Creeping Death", with such a degree of intensity that it was electrifying! If Giants Stadium had been relatively subdued for Faith no More, the same could definitely not be said for Metallica.

One GNR fan, I remember, pretended to sleep through the whole Metallica set. But I am pretty sure that he must have been faking it. The thing about it was this: Guns 'N Roses had come in assuming that they were the headliners, and that they were the hardest rocking sound out there. But Metallica's shows sapped the energy out of the audience, and that even included GNR fans. Simply stated, there was no way to ignore it. You felt the music literally vibrating through you, so loud and intense was it. So, Guns 'N Roses would come out, usually at some crazy hour (I think they came out well after one, maybe even two in the morning for that show), and they would not get the audience reaction that they hoped for or expected.

Metallica remained on stage, if memory serves correctly, for about three hours. At the time, I expected that to be the norm. Obviously, in time, I would learn otherwise.

My brother and I were there mostly for Metallica, but we certainly wanted to stock around to see Guns 'N Roses, who may or may not have still been the hottest band in the world at the time. They were huge, but there star was slowly sinking at that point. In fact, it may just have been that tour that did them in, since they were more or less upstaged by Metallica, truth be told. I remember they felt upset.

Sure enough, Guns 'N Roses finally did take the stage with "Night Train". They got a reaction from the audience, of course. But it had been a long, hot day, and again, Metallica basically drained everyone of their energy with their intensity. So, the reaction was nowhere near what the band, and in particular, Axl Rose, had been hoping for. Maybe a little after an hour into the set, somebody apparently threw something at Axl, and he was really pissed off. He said something to the effect of "It takes one asshole in the audience to ruin it for everybody", and then stormed angrily off stage. Frankly, I thought the asshole that ruined the set was not so much in the audience, but on stage. Namely, Axl Rose himself. What a damn Prima Donna!

In any case, it was a great show! I was very happy to have gone to what I considered (and still consider, on many levels) my first real concert. There have been plenty since, but you always, always remember that first one, don't ou (yes, I'm talking about concerts here).




Pink Floyd, June 11, 1994 Bronx, New York - This was only the second concert that I chose to go to, and so the excitement was even stronger than it normally would have been as a result.

And, it goes without saying, this is a legendary band. They did not come around often. So, when my brother told me that he and my father were interested in going, and asked me if I would like to go, as well, of course I immediately said yes! I was familiar with Dark Side of the Moon (who isn't?), since both my brother and father had played it for years, as well as many of their other works. Personally, I became completely obsessed with "The Wall"for a couple of years or so following Roger Water's concert in Berlin in 1990. Although I was bummed out that Waters was no longer a part of Pink Floyd, I nonetheless felt very privileged to be going to such an amazing show!

It was New York City. Yankees Stadium, specifically, and my first trip there. The city felt almost jovial, because the New York Rangers either had just won, or were about to win, the Stanley Cup, breaking their 54 year drought. I am not a Rangers fan, but I was happy for those who are, and enjoyed the festive atmosphere. Also, the Knicks were doing very well, in the NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets, although that would not turn out as well for them. But at the time, it felt like anything was possible. The city was a great place to be, and we were there on that day. It was to see a great and legendary band. I had my first independent job ever, and was making money (not much, but it was a salary, and I was proud at the time).

In short, this was a good time in my life. For whatever reason, despite some of the problems (like no girlfriend) that I was having at the time, I remember 1994, and specifically, the first eight months or so of 1994, very fondly. And the day of the Pink Floyd concert was one of the highlights. I went with my brother and my father, and even though the seats were not exactly great, the price was not so outrageously expensive back then as they have become since. What makes this memory extra special to me was that it was not just about the concert, although it was truly an incredible, and very memorable, concert! We made a day of it, and the weather could not have been more accommodating.

Of course, Yankee Stadium is in the Bronx, and the Bronx is where I was born, and where my family used to live. So, we visited the old neighborhoods, including Jerome Avenue. There was an element of exoticism in this, funny as it may sound, because we hardly ever go to New York City together as a family, and trips to the Bronx are even rarer (for instance, I do not remember a trip back since this day). But we enjoyed it on that day. We then went to the Bronx Botanical Gardens, which are very beautiful, and which my family did used to visit during my childhood, even though we had not been back there in years (and have not been back since).

And then, of course, the concert. Everything felt perfect. I loved the new album, "The Division Bell", and the sound was crisp and clear-  more so than almost any concert I can remember to date. There was the laser show, of course. And there was the pleasant feel of being in New York City on a warm, summer evening, in the open air, listening to some great music. It was a long concert, and at the time, I got the mistaken impression that three hour concerts was the norm. Later that year, I would get a bootleg of the show, which I still have somewhere. I remember feeling just great as we headed home afterward, happy to have gone, and happy for the day, and when I think back to that day, and that concert, there is that kind of fuzzy warmth that comes with pleasant memories. I am especially grateful since this was apparently the last real opportunity to have seen Pink Floyd! They would not officially disband or anything, but they would not come back around to the United States after that tour, and never released another actual album.




Pearl Jam, Randall's Island, New York City, NY, September 29, 1996 - This actually fell on the first anniversary of my then girlfriend, and future (now ex) wife. It was the most serious relationship I had ever been in. But I was not missing this concert (no, she did not go, in case you were wondering).

I had really been wanting to see Pearl Jam in a bad way for years. They appealed to me musically, as well as lyrically and politically. I also liked their activism in general, and obviously hoped to see them. But it always seemed I just missed them. I had camped out on the street one time in 1994 to get stand-by tickets for Saturday Night Live, and finally, was rewarded with one. But not a single stand-by ticket was used for that show. Everybody showed up. I wanted to see the show at the Paramount, a day or so before or after the SNL appearance. But I did not get tickets. Hell, I even entertained going to Boston, as some friends evidently could get tickets. That fell through, too.

And at the time, Pearl Jam hardly ever seemed to come around. They were not doing a major tour proper, or anything. This was right around the time of their battle with Ticketmaster, if you recall. It was beginning to feel like I would never see them.

But then, in 1996, they released No Code. And their was a tour scheduled, although it was through some secondary ticket agency. I hoped for tickets, and had a friend who seemed confident that he could score some. He had a way of getting rare tickets like that, but still, although i was hopeful, a part of me half expected it not to work our way. When he called and told me, maybe about a month before the show, that he had landed tickets, I was thrilled!

I could not wait until the day, and still, a part of me expected something to go wrong, somehow. But, as it turns out, everything went just right for that day.

It was a beautiful day, an early autumn day with a touch of the summer just past in it. It had rained the previous day, and Pearl Jam had done a concert that night at Randall's Island as well. But as it turned out, that was considered by many the lesser of the two concerts, and by far. The show that evening, on Sunday the 29th, was simply amazing!

Ben Harper, who was not very well known at the time, was the second of two opening acts. The Fastbacks were the first. The Fastbacks were more direct, hard rocking punk, while I remember being quite impressed with Harper's guitar playing, which really was quite phenomenal.

Then, darkness descended, and the time for the main act neared. Anticipation built. Finally, with candles lit up, Pearl Jam finally took the stage. Eddie Vedder started the concert by talking, acknowledging that it had been a very long time since the band had been here, but that he was expecting the best and clearest sound that the band had ever put on, as well as probably the longest show the band had ever done. Obviously, that met with the audience's approval.

Then, they played "Sometimes", the rather subdued opener to their then latest album, which I thought an odd choice at the time. It did not take too long for them to rip into some of their more hard rocking material.

And yeah, in all, they played for three hours or so, which was indeed the longest show that they had played at that point in their career. I remember feeling very fortunate to have gone to that show, and finally feeling like I had seen the band that I wanted to see the most at that point. It was a feeling of gratification, a sigh of relief.

When the show ended, there was a long wait to get out of Randall's Island. Again, remember that this was kind of an out of the way event at an unconventional venue, since Pearl Jam was trying to tour via an alternative route to Ticketmaster. So, this concert venue did not quite have the resources of some of the more established places, and if you have ever been to Randall's Island for a concert (pretty much any concert), you will already know to expect a nightmare scenario after the concert finishes. We were there for well over an hour. But even that, I remember, was fun. There were three of us there, and all I remember was that we were cracking up, almost completely out of control with laughter. We also got some bootleg t-shirts, which I still have to this day.

Needless to say, I went home happy!




"Vote for Change" Finale, Washington, DC - October 11, 2004 - I was really into this concert tour! I had seen a couple of earlier shows, specifically to see Pearl Jam, with Death Cab for Cutie as the opener. But when i first heard that the headliners would all get together in the nation's capital for a grand finale, I really, really wanted to go, although I was unsure if I would actually get the opportunity.

When I got the tickets (surprisingly easily, much to my amazement), I just could not wait until the day of the show! This concert had an amazing lineup - it was maybe a notch or so below 12.12.12 concert, but it was right there behind it. I mean, this was Pearl Jam, REM, John Fogerty, John Mellencamp, James Taylor, DMB, the Dixie Chicks, and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, all in one night! Plus, it was for a great cause (even if Bush ultimately won the election, much to the detriment of the country, and perhaps even the world). I kind of sensed all along that Bush was going to win (actually, I first got that sense at some point either on September 11th or 12th, when the ramifications of the events began to sink in), but I was still happy to do everything that I could in the hopes that my prediction could still be wrong.

When the day finally came, I rented a car. There is something pleasant (at least for me) in renting a car. It has that new car feel, and often, that new car smell. It felt great to be driving on a warm and wonderful autumn day, and we really did make a great day of it! I took an alternative, indirect path to Washington, choosing to take a side trip to a destination that I had never been before: Harper's Ferry in West Virginia. Along the way, we stopped in the village of Gettysburg, although we did not actually get the chance to visit the battlefield, or anything like that. Still, it was cool to see the town that I had heard so much about. Then, we went to Harper's Ferry, which was also very cool to see, for very much the same reason, given the historical signficance of both of those sites.

The sun was shining, and at the time, I used to say to my then wife, "We're a young, attractive couple, driving on a sunny day, listening to some good music." What I meant by this was that this was a moment when we could truly appreciate life, whatever problems might face us. This was one of those days when we could be grateful for what we have, and it made the day just immensely enjoyable! I had taken the day off from work, as had she, and we indeed were listening to some good music, which of course included some of the great artists that we were about to see!

I remember that day specifically for one song, as well. That would be Bruce Springsteen's "The River". It was the first time I had really listened to that song. Oh, I had heard it before, don't get me wrong. But I listened to the lyrics on that day, really for the first time, and suddenly, I could not get enough of the song. It was fitting, given what the concert meant, what it was trying to say about the state of our country. To this day, on many levels, when I think back to that day, i think of "The River", and conversely, when I think of that song, I remember that day, and the pleasant feel that it had.

Then, of course, the concert itself, which was amazing! I still have it on DVD, although the quality has deteriorated since. I want to make copies, but might have to see if I can pick up another copy somehow, someway. But still, watching a video of a concert, or other event, that you went to is not the same as living it. That day, like the Pink Floyd concert more than ten years earlier, felt magical, and transcended being merely a concert. It was a whole day, one of those truly rare ones where I felt like smiling from beginning to end, and which I still can recall very fondly.

On the way home, the magic feeling, that lingering buzz, kind of dropped away a bit. I was rushing to get home because, rather foolishly, I had every intention of making it to work the next day, and was hoping for some sleep (not much, just enough to get me by). But there was an accident on the NJ Turnpike, and I mean, a very serious one. It must have just happened moments before we arrived, because we could see the flames, which were very prominent. All lanes were closed on the northbound side, and we were far away from any exit, and any hopes of being able to do anything but sit and wait. Before long, we both fell asleep. If memory served correctly, it was about 2:30am.

We woke up suddenly, to the sound of cars around us starting. I put the seat upright, and started the rental as well. It was so unusual to have actually slept on such a major highway. Not off of it, in some rest area, but on it, and behind the wheel, to boot!





Paul McCartney, Quebec City, July 20, 2008 - A free concert given by Sir Paul McCartney from the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City, in honor of that city's 400th anniversary that year. I only found out about this one a couple of weeks or so before it took place. My father and brother let me know, excitedly, and we tentatively made plans to all go together.

But as it turned out, those plans never panned out. My father, if memory serves correctly, could not arrange things. My own schedule was not flexible enough for my brother, who wanted to make a longer trip out of it.

So, it wound up being my then wife, and myself, as well as our little baby boy. That, of course, was a source of some concern. What if it was too loud? But, it is Paul McCartney, a former Beatle, and he will attract a large crowd. Surely, there would be noise restrictions.

One source of concern, also, was the money involved. I just did not have much money, and was worried about how much the trip would cost. Somewhat miraculously, though, I found a very affordable campsite charging $19 a night, about ten or so minutes outside of Quebec City.

We could only stay for a few days. I remember we drove up on a Friday or Saturday, and the concert itself, if memory serves correctly, was scheduled for a Sunday. We were able to get a decent day in Quebec out of it, and we got to go to the concert, watching from the top of the wall overlooking the Plains of Abraham, with a view of the old part of the city. It was beautiful surroundings, and I still remember the sunset as being one of the most spectacular that I had ever seen. My concerns for our son? Well, it was no big deal, as it turned out. He fell asleep maybe three or four songs in, and did not wake up again, even when there were very loud fireworks at the end of the show.

As for the show itself, it was amazing! We went up to the top of that part of the wall early, before everyone else was admitted onto the field in general, and that proved to have an added perk: we got to see the entirety of his warm-up session. It was long - around forty or so minutes on it's own, almost a decent length set, and we saw the musicians, including Sir Paul, while everyone else was waiting and listening outside of the gates, unable to see.

That night, we drove out of the city, towards the campground. There were a lot of people on the streets, and everyone, including us, seemed in a genuinely jovial mood. We were listening to the radio, and every station seemed to be playing Paul McCartney. We listened to some parts of the concert that we had just attended!

The next day was much the same, as far as the radio went. There was still that feel of some huge event just passed, and everyone was still glowing from it. Remember, Quebec City is actually a rather small city, so things like that do not happen every day! We were listening to parts of that concert until about midway back to Montreal, when the reception finally died.

But I still leaf through the newspapers that I got on that weekend, both before and after the concert. And I remember that memory of listening to the concert on the radio, of watching it, then peering down on my sleeping son, and it still rather warms my heart. Great, great concert memories! It felt like, and recalling it, still feels like, one of those weekends where either everything more or less goes right, or at the very least, that those things that did go wrong hardly mattered.

One of the most pleasant concert experiences that I ever got the privilege to enjoy!




Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band, Radio City Music Hall, July 7, 2010 - I knew that this would be a big show, so I was trying very hard to land tickets earlier in the year. Then, around February, I finally managed to get them, and was very excited!

Why? Because this was a concert that happened to fall on Ringo's 70th birthday. That likely meant special guests would appear, I figured. So did a lot of other people, as well, because I was just one of many people who were trying very hard to get tickets to this particular show.

I put it out of my mind after getting them, and went on with my life, although the anticipation continued.

Finally, the date arrived. The concert was here, and my brother and I went. I think that we drove into the city, and we may have enjoyed a dinner or so before, although my memory for this day before the actual concert is a little fuzzier than the others (which makes no sense, since it was quite a bit more recent than any of the rest of them were).

Ringo came on, and the crowd seemed very excited throughout. There was an air of expectation. I had seen earlier shows with Ringo, and they were doing pretty much the same setlist, even the same stories and jokes. Yet, somehow, there seemed to be a renewed energy about it all, and you could tell that the artists on stage felt something extra about that day, as well.

Finally, the last couple of songs of the setlist, and the special guests began to appear. Just one or two at first, but by the time of Ringo's traditional closer, "With a Little Help From my Friends" came on, the stage just filled with a hell of lot of people. There was Mick Jones from Foreigner, Spike Lee, Olivia Harrison, Zac Starkey, Joe Walsh, Steve Van Zandt (Little Steven), Brian Johnson, Jeff Lynne, Jim Keltner, Nils Lofgren, Dave Stewart, and Max Weinberg. And in front of them all, singing along with Ringo, was John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono (I'll have to admit, her voice was horrible, although maybe it's an acquired taste - who knows?).

Then, the stage mostly emptied, and it seemed, surprisingly, that the concert might just end on that note. Until, that is, a guy brought out Paul McCartney's signature left-handed bass, and the audience then started going wild. Sir Paul McCartney of course came out, and Ringo did, too. Funny thing, but Ringo went on drums, and with McCartney on base, it was half of a Beatles reunion. And the crowd responded very enthusiastically. There was even shrill screaming, reminiscent of the days when the Beatles were just emerging with their mop top haircuts. They performed "Birthday", fittingly enough, and the audience participated appropriately, as well.

After the song, McCartney and Ringo embraced on stage, and walked off stage arm and arm.

The concert was over, and I felt very pleased, being a huge Beatles fan. I have been fortunate over the years to have seen George Martin, Pete Best, and other prominent figures in Beatles history and lore. I have seen both Ringo and McCartney numerous times each. But this night was the closest I will ever get to actually seeing "The Beatles", and it felt, indeed, very special. We walked away very happy, and for days, even weeks, I kept watching the clips of those last two songs, in particular, on Youtube. I still sometimes get goose bumps when 'Birthday" comes on, and I remember that one instance where two Beatles got together on the stage before me and for one night, in the words of McCartney, I could say on that evening "one sweet dream came true today."