October 23, 2010: Hit Men All-Stars and NLCS Game 6

Lake Tahoe, NV
Harrah's South Shore Room

Saturday was a long day. It was fabulous, it was exciting, it was very memorable, but it was a long day.

Getting ready Friday night to head up to Tahoe and see Steve Augeri perform with a group of veteran session musicians, I discovered I had left my cell phone at work. Great. That meant getting up at 6:15 so I could leave the house by 7, drive to work, get my phone, and bring my car in for an oil change by 8. The 45-minute oil-change, turned into a three and a half hour brake job, thus wiping out any chance of taking care of a couple of errands before heading to a birthday party for one of my closest and oldest friend's 5-year old daughter not to mention not being able to make an appearance at the party at all. Guilt trip galore.

Once the car is ready to go, I have just enough time to fill the gas tank and grab some water and trail mix at the gas station so I have SOME kind of food in me before making the 4 hour drive to South Shore. I picked up Leslie around 12:30 and we were on the road. I had expected that on the drive up we'd be listening to my beloved Giants playing the Phillies in the National League Championship Series. The game was supposed to be at 12:30 local time, but because there was no American League game the start got pushed back to 5:00. Great. Won't be able to listen to it, won't be able to watch much of it. Sigh.

Leslie and I made pretty decent time up to Tahoe, only hitting traffic in Davis, and arrived shortly before first pitch... uh about a quarter to five. We quickly checked in, freshened up and headed up to Darryl and Jenny's room to meet up with folks and some pre-dinner cocktails. It was fantastic to see Lorraine in from KC with her sister Karyn along with some of the local Nor Cal gang. It was also fantastic to see the TV was on and I could catch the first couple of innings. I warned the Journey buddies that I was not the greatest of company when my Giants are in the playoffs, so my frequent distraction and minor panic attacks weren't going to alarm anyone during the course of the night. (Conversely, it turns out, hanging with the Journey buddies prevented me from having the several major panic attacks, two strokes, and heart attack I would have had if I'd watched the game as I normally would have.)

Teresa and Jenn joined us and we all headed down to Cabo Wabo for dinner. We were met by Matt and his girlfriend, but unfortunately we weren't able to reach Debbie, Krystal, and Renee before dinner so had to wait until show time to see them. We were waiting to be seated at Cabo Wabo long enough for me to catch another half inning of the game and see the Jonathan Sanchez meltdown and subsequent tough-guy posturing by both teams. Not long enough though for me to see how the inning turned out (from all reports, it was epic!) You see, our group was too large for the main restaurant area where the TVs were clearly visible, so we were seated in the larger group area where there were NO TVs. Argh. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one at the table who was interested in the game (though I suspect I was the most crazed about it) and by peeking through the glass wall I could at least see some of what was happening on one of the TVs. Couldn't tell the score, couldn't tell the inning, but got a sense of who was up and, since the whole casino was packed with Giants fans, could tell if anything critical happened by the response coming from the bars. It also helped that Chris's husband Charles went out once and a while and got updates and that Matt had his iPhone and could check updates. The game was tied at 2-2 when we arrived for dinner, and remained so throughout.

Showtime was 7:30, so we headed up to the showroom around 7. Everyone got separated a bit as some folks had to go grab their tickets or freshen up, and I found myself alone at the big projection screen TV outside the South Shore Room with enough time to watch the bottom of the 6th inning. Minor panic attack, but my Giants got through it, game still tied.

Inside the venue, the whole gang was seated in the first 6 rows on the same side of the stage, and it was like you would expect at any Journey show pre-2006. Hugs and laughs and picture taking and just a grand ole time. When we asked a fellow sitting near by to take the group picture he asked "What is this, a family reunion?" We said yes. I turned my mind off baseball (mostly) and focused on the gig.

Now, when the line up of the show was finally posted, I looked at it and thought "who?" Aside from Steve, the only guy on the bill whose name I recognized was Mark Slaughter, but the resumes of each member was impressive. Between the 7 or 8 guys they had played with almost everyone in rock and roll. I had no idea what the show was going to be like other than a bunch of guys covering classic songs -- should be fun, and I get to see Steve perform for the first time in 5 years (something that shocked me when I realized it.)

The band came out and everyone but Steve was on stage as they launched in to Dire Straits' "Money For Nothing." The Journey gang was up on their feet with applause while the other 250 or so people sat quietly. Yeah, looked like we were going to be the rowdy part of the crowd. As the band went into "Walk This Way," it was clear that each guy would be the featured singer covering songs from bands they had played with. Our little group was up and down singing and dancing along. As there were some vacant seats near the stage, people shifted around and just started having a grand ole time. We could see Steve sitting on a stool off to the right side of the stage waiting patiently for his turn to come out. Jenn, Teresa and Leslie, being in the front row could see the set list and gave those of us a few rows back a heads up when Steve was due out. Just before he was due out, Matt turned around and showed me his iPhone. Giants lead 3-2 in the 8th inning, Tim Lincecum on to pitch. Oh. My. God!

Steve came out about half way through the show and the Journey gang not already in the front row headed up to the stage screaming wildly. Matt showed me his phone again. Bottom of the 9th. One out. Giants still lead 3-2. AIEEEE! Steve and the guys launched in to "Separate Ways" and I started my series of concert calls to friends who couldn't make it. It was great to hear him sing again and our little group was joined by people further back in the crowd and we got the joint rocking. They followed up with "Lights" (good pick since Tahoe this time of year is filled with mostly folks from Nor Cal getting away for the weekend) and then finished his 3-song set with "Don't Stop Believin'." I made my way back to my seat in the 4th row and as "Sultans of Swing" began a guy in the front row and Matt both turned around and said "Giants win!" I responded by screaming wildly and completely out of context with what was happening on stage. Who cares -- joy and enthusiasm are great any time any where!

I did have to smile to myself at how fitting that DSB was the song I heard right before the Giants win. For those of you who haven't seen or heard, DSB has become a little of an anthem for the Giants. True, the White Sox used it first in 2005. True, the dreaded Dodgers play it in the 8th inning of every home game. But Journey is a San Francisco band and Steve Perry is a Giants fan and has led the crowd in DSB a few times in the last couple of weeks. Which has led to a GREAT DSB parody. It was great to hear it at such an appropriate moment.

The band rocked on, as did we, and more excellent covers were performed. These guys aren't big money rock stars, but they were rock solid musicians and did an amazing job covering everything. Steve came out again for the finale ("Any Way You Want It") which had everyone going nuts. A quick one song encore, and the show was over a little after 9. An early night to be sure. One of the guys (Mark Slaughter maybe?) said the band would be at Cabo Wabo after the show, so our little gang gathered together and headed back downstairs to the Cabo Wabo bar where we were periodically greeted with people randomly starting a "Let's Go GI-ANTS" chant. I made the appropriate hand clapping response every time.

We hung around the bar for a couple of hours and listened to the house band -- a fairly adequate group of guys and fine for what it was. One by one the "All Stars" made their way to the bar where they were greeted by a handful of folks (mostly our little group) for quick autographs and photos. The only fellow who didn't have a lead vocal during their show arrived just as the house band was starting a Tom Petty tune. He walked over to where we were sitting by a half wall behind the band, leaned over and said to the band "Lemme show you how it's done" and took on the first verse of the song. Steve took forever to arrive, but he finally did and most of our group got at least a quick hello. When the house band took a break, some of the "All Stars" took the stage and played a few songs. It was loud and goofy, but lots of fun.

When the house band came back, it was close to midnight, so we all headed back up to Darryl and Jenny's room for some more conversation. The party broke up around 2 and we made plans to meet for breakfast at 8:30 as Leslie and I had to hit the road by 10. Sunday morning came all too fast and it was nice to relive the night before heading for home. It was a wet ride and Leslie and I were pooped, but it was worth the trip. Steve Augeri and the Giants win the pennant all in one night. Yup, well worth it.

Set List:

Money for Nothing
Walk This Way
More Than a Feeling
Go Your Own Way
Amanda
Don't Tell Me You Love Me
Sister Christian
Separate Ways
Lights
Don't Stop Believin' (The Giants win the pennant!)
Sultans of Swing
Fly to the Angels
Tear It Up
Don't Stop
Sweet Emotion
Love in an Elevator
Any Way You Want It

Encore:
Smokin'

August 15, 2010: Amazing Acoustic Show!

Saratoga, CA
Mountain Winery

Okay, so I'm a week behind, but it's been a crazy week and finally have some relaxing downtime. Last Sunday I headed out to Saratoga and the beautiful venue that is the Mountain Winery. It's a bit of a hassle to get to nestled as it is in the hills, but it's a gorgeous venue with a view that's worth the drive. I met up with Leslie and Emerson for dinner and we carpooled up to the show.

I've seen Matchbox 20 a couple of times and this would be my third Rob Thomas solo show, so I thought I had a pretty good idea what to expect. Neither Leslie nor Emerson had seen him (and, weirdly, informed me they didn't like Matchbox 20 but liked the solo stuff) so they were a little surprised when the first thing I did was head to the merch booth to purchase a USB wristband. You see, all of Rob Thomas's and MB20s shows are available on a flash drive immediately after the concert. Having passed on this opportunity last time, when Carlos Santana showed up for the encore, well, let's just say I wasn't going to miss out again.

It was the first time either Leslie or Emerson had been to the Mountain Winery since the remodel in 2008, so they were impressed with the changes. It was always a fairly intimate venue, but the sight lines and the bowl seating left something to be desired. The wholesale remodel improved the sight lines and the capacity while still maintaining the intimacy. Pretty neat trick. Thus even our seats mid-way up the General Admission bleachers didn't feel too far removed from the stage.

When we got to our seats and saw the stage we were a bit puzzled. There were a couple of chairs, a couple of guitars, and a grand piano. Huh? Where's the rest of the gear? There's usually a huge band, what's going on? Maybe they'll bring more stuff out after the opener?

Well, after suffering through a mildly humorous comedian, Rob took the stage with just two backing musicians. Turns out the whole tour is a stripped down (mostly) acoustic show! WOW! The songs just at their bare bones with Rob singing. Since my favorite songs of his are mostly the ballads, this was going to be a dream gig for me. And it was pretty magical.

The set list was a mixture of solo and Matchbox tunes with a handful of covers thrown in. He hit all my favorite tunes including "Now Comes the Night" which he hasn't done in previous solo shows and did a fantastic job on "Crazy" -- a timeless classic. That alone was worth the price of admission, but hearing some of the rockier songs slowed down and made quieter was fantastic. Sometimes keeping things simple just makes it all that much better. Combine it with the feel of the Mountain Winery and it was just a soothing and joyful show.

Rob's voice was just amazing through out the show and his on stage anecdotes were told with a great sense of humor and humanity. Going to as many shows as I do, I'm sure much of the patter is the same night to night, but there is a huge difference between telling stories that feel rehearsed and repetitive (hello, Kevin Cronin) and ones that feel genuine and Rob's tales felt like it was the first time they were being told. It's a skill.

The show lasted about 2 hours but with no surprise special guests (and in this type of show it would have been really weird to all of the sudden plug in with Carlos Santana anyway.) And best of all, is I've been enjoying all of it over and over again every day this week which has been great keeping my stress level under control this past week.

On to the easiest set list ever compiled!:

Mockingbird
Sleep Til the War Is Over
When the Heartache Ends
Ever the Same
Bent
Dear Joan
3 A.M.
Crazy
Getting Late
Streetcorner Symphony
Now Comes the Night
Lonely No More
Her Diamonds
Someday
Disease
Unwell
You Won't Be Mine
Time After Time
Smooth
This Is How a Heart Breaks
Bright Lights

July 10, 2010: Sir Paul in San Francisco!

San Francisco, CA
AT&T Park

I've been trying to recall just how many times I've seen Sir Paul over the last 20 years. I know the first show was 20 years ago at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley and that was the one and only time in my life I camped out for tickets. All I can say now is thank god for the internet and credit card pre-sales!

In any case, this was at least the 5th time I've seen the former Beatle. And this time it was in San Francisco proper -- the first time he's played inside the city limits since the last Beatles concert at dear old dreary Candlestick. (AT&T was a cold and a bit foggy, but still a far cry from the 'Stick!) The combination of a stadium show and seriously expensive tickets meant I was headed to the show by myself this time. I'm not a huge fan of stadium shows, but there are definite exceptions. This was one and to heck with the cost!

Granted, that meant paying way too much for a seat too far back to see the stage over the heads of the folks in front of me, but it also meant a seat on the lawn in front of the sound board. Couldn't see the stage much, but the sound was GREAT!

I got to the park a bit early, but got in easily since I didn't have to go in through the Willie Mays gate, but through the Marina gate -- no lines! Alas, not so lucky grabbing some food -- slowest moving lines I've ever encountered at the park. Quite obviously I was in line behind people who'd never ordered a hot dog before! Sigh. I did get a kick out of the two girls behind me in line who were so excited to be at the show. One was wearing the t-shirt from that Memorial Stadium show and I said "hey I have that shirt!" She replied -- "Yeah it's my mom's. I was born two years after this show." Ouch. Still, there's hope for the next generation.

I settled in and waited for the show to start and visited with folks sitting around me including a 60-ish couple who were seeing Paul for the first time. A "bucket list" item the husband told me. He was a bit surprised that I had seen so many shows.

We watched the stadium fill and by the stated start time of 7:30 it looked like everyone was in their seats. I didn't expect the show to start at 7:30 (really, who does?) so when 8:00 hit and the video screens on each side of the stage came on I figured here we go. Well, no. 25 minutes of scrolling video to remixes of various Beatles/Wings/solo material. Not particularly stimulating, but hey you just go with it. Paul will take the stage when he's ready to take the stage and not a second earlier.

8:30 the lights on the stage start going, people are on their feet, and Paul and the band finally take the stage. ROAR. And the show opens up with "Venus and Mars/Rockshow" a pretty decent opening, but I've seen him open better. "Jet" came next and got a better response.

The opening few tunes were a mix of very old, old, obscure, and new. A little tepid I thought. Not that the crowd didn't eat them up, but you could feel people wanting to really sing along and the choppy mix made it hard to sustain the energy.

But still, this is a Beatle. Solid musicianship and excellent production are a requirement and as always I was not disappointed. Macca's band is fantastic -- he's been touring with the same 5 guys for a while now and they can nail the harmonies and are just fabulous musicians.

The show really got rolling about 10 songs in with a solid set of known tunes. As he did the last time I saw him, he played "Here Today" - his tribute to John. That song made me cry the first time I heard it in 1982 and every single time I've heard it since. Saturday night was no exception especially as the older I get the more I understand the feeling behind it. One of three teary-eyed moments of the night -- the others being "The Long and Winding Road" (the first song I ever burst into tears upon hearing live back in 1990 shocking myself even more than my cousin Denise) and "Something" (Paul's tribute to George of course.)

From time to time, Paul would stop and talk to the crowd and strut on stage and every time I couldn't help but think "Wow, it's like my dad trying to be cool." It was unintentionally humorous to me. Of course then I thought "Well, he's just an old hippie and doing things that were cool when hippies were cool." Still at 68, he may be almost as old as my dad, but definitely way cooler! (Sorry Dad!)

The show went on for three hours with no intermission and not a lot of down time between songs. THREE HOURS! He's SIXTY EIGHT!

Amazing.

One of the neat things about having my seat somewhere in the vicinity of second base meant that there were thousands of people sitting behind me and when people started singing along you could feel the wave of voices coming from behind. It was pretty incredible. People were singing along all night though some tunes were more vocal than others. When he spun from "A Day in the Life" to "Give Peace a Chance" the crowd was incredible. And of course the closing song "Hey Jude" and 40,000 voices singing along. Fantastic.

An upside of a stadium show -- more fireworks! Paul always sets off fireworks for "Live and Let Die," but of the indoor variety -- great, but tame. Outdoors -- a whole different show! Fireworks on the stage (which I could barely see.) Fireworks off the top of the rigging (which all of San Francisco could see!) And the added bonus of that fireworks smell.

Two encores and 11:30 arrived and the show came to an end. Walking back to my car (yes, I drove -- train takes too long to get home!) everyone was humming a different tune and commenting on what a great show it was. If anyone left disappointed it wasn't because of the performance.

Who knows if/when Paul will come through town again, but he's always on my "don't miss" list.

Set list*
(courtesy of PaulMcCartney.com)

1. Venus and Mars/Rockshow
2. Jet
3. All My Loving
4. Letting Go
5. Got To Get You Into My Life
6. Highway
7. Let Me Roll It
8. The Long And Winding Road
9. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five
10. Let ‘Em In
11. My Love
12. I’m Looking Through You
13. Two Of Us
14. Blackbird
15. Here Today
16. Dance Tonight
17. Mrs Vandebilt
18. Eleanor Rigby
19. Something
20. Sing The Changes
21. Band On The Run
22. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
23. Back In The USSR
24. I’ve Got A Feeling
25. Paperback Writer
26. A Day In The Life / Give Peace A Chance
27. Let It Be
28. Live And Let Die
29. Hey Jude

Encore:
30. Day Tripper
31. Lady Madonna
32. Get Back

Second Encore:
33. Yesterday
34. Helter Skelter
35. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / The End

*Set List addendum: San Francisco Bay Blues was played somewhere early on, but not included in the official set list posted. Paul's comment was "we had to throw that one in." Pretty nifty while sitting on the shores of McCovey Cove.

June 18 2010: I'm a Screamng Thirteen Year Old

San Mateo, CA
San Mateo County Event Center

June, 1982 -- Flush with cash from my eighth grade graduation, I make my mom take me to the mall so I can hit Musicland. I have enough cash so that I can buy not one, not two, but THREE new records. Woo hoo was I loaded! I pick up Paul McCartney's Tug of War, Journey's Escape, and Rick Springfield's Success Hasn't Spoiled Me Yet. Thus begins the foundation of my music collection....

June, 2010 -- Time just flies by and by now I've seen Paul McCartney at least a half dozen times, Journey too many times to count, but ah.. Rick Springfield... nary a once. But, lookie here, he's playing the San Mateo County Fair on a Friday night. Ten bucks for a flashback to the early 1980s and junior high -- why not?!

Now, I have no problem going to shows by myself, but this one... this one just screamed "girls night out." And after a bevy of emails and text messages and varied changing plans, I wound up going to the show with my good friend Mary who picks me up after work and off to the fair. Being a GA show, we got in about an hour before show time and grabbed a couple of seats as close to the front as we could (probably about 20 rows back) and camp out -- taking turns going for food. Looking around, as expected, there were lots of groups of women in their 40s out for a fun, light hearted night.

Show starts right on time at 7:30 and out comes Rick and his band and the crowd gets up on their feet. My first thought... "Wow, does he look good or what?!" Let's get serious for a minute here... back in '82 I bought McCartney because he was a legend, Journey for the songs, and Rick 'cause he was eye candy! Sure, I loved the music and "Jessie's Girl" was one of my favorite tunes, but oh the ever so dreamy Dr. Noah Drake... siiiiiigggghhhh.... So the music, obviously, was secondary to my 13-year old hormones. 28 years later... well, he's older to be sure, but has aged very VERY well... (another siiiigggggghhhh....)

The set list was filled with the old hits, some new tunes, and a sprinkling of covers. My personal highlight from the set was "Love Is Alright Tonite" -- which was probably my favorite of his hits and the song that always got me dancing in the living room when I played Working Class Dog (a gift from my dear cousin Laura who couldn't join us at the last minute!) All these years later, I was dancing and singing like I was 13 all over again. I did fairly well at remembering the lyrics to the old songs, some of which I hadn't heard in 25 years (having listened to the two albums I own earlier in the week, I was covered on some tunes), but had to hum along at a couple of points because they weren't all coming back to me. At a couple of points in the show, he climbed out into the crowd and stood on the seats and sang and played guitar. I must say he's a pretty decent guitarist. Most of the time he's handling the rhythm duties, but he pulled off a couple of nice solos and a pretty decent cover of "Crossroads." The handful of "newish" tunes were pretty good too and worked well in the set, but of course, everyone was really there to hear the old '80s hits.

As the show was winding down, he came out into the audience again during "Human Touch" and worked his way down the center section and wound up two rows behind me and across the aisle. Well, to head back up to the stage, he crossed the aisle, hopped up on a chair in the row behind me and started climbing forward. ZOINKS! I was about 3 chairs away as he climbed over into my aisle. My inner 13 year old dropped in a dead faint!

The main set closed out, naturally, with "Jessie's Girl" which he teased by saying "We don't play that any more." (Yeah, right, like anyone would believe that!) After he headed off stage, Mary asked me "Are there usually encores at these shows?" I told her the ones I'd seen always had them, but I couldn't think of what the encore might be this time. Rick and the band appear once again and do a cover of "Wild Thing" and close out with "Kristina."

All in all, a fun night out, and a good way to start my summer concert season (albeit a couple of days late since the U2 show I was supposed to see on Wednesday has been postponed for a year!)

March 27, 2010: Another Night Out with Neal

San Francisco, CA
Fillmore Auditorium

Birthday Weekend Number Two! Last week it was off to Modesto for Darryl's birthday and a concert. This week it was up to San Francisco for Emerson's birthday and a concert. Awfully repetitive wouldn't you say??

Last night started with a dinner for 17 at Benihana at the Japan Center just up the street from the Fillmore Auditorium. It was great having friends from near and far join up for a birthday/pre-show dinner before Neal's show at the Fillmore. We weren't as loud or raucous as we were last week, but that was more due to the nature of Benihana than the crowd. It was great, however, to get a little while to catch up with Jenn and Valerie P. -- I hadn't seen either in several years which is simply MUCH too long. As a bonus, we got to sit in the room that was visible to all passersby and we had quite a few people peeking in looking at us having dinner!

We walked back down the street to get in line for the show and, naturally, ran in to more people we knew. As we filed in, the crowd was a bit sparse and I was thinking that it would look like the Soul Sirkus crowd -- maybe a quarter full theater. Most of the group made their way to the stage to be front and center for the show and were pleasantly surprised when Miles and the keyboard kid came out 15 minutes early for their opening set. It was the same set as in Modesto, opening with Miles playing a ukulele. This time, however, there were some fans of the Miles Schon Band in the audience who were hooting and hollering and singing along. I was asked straight off by a couple of people standing behind me who was playing. When I said "Miles Schon" I got a puzzled look. "Neal's son." More looks of confusion. After some explaining it turned out they are fans of Arnel's who'd come to check out the show. (At least that's my best guess, it was a bit hard to converse, but I did get a bit about Arnel and Journey.)

After Miles's set, the crowd started squeezing in and I was getting claustrophobic up front, so I bailed and went over to sit by the bar and watch from the side. Had a good view and could visit some with Karyn and Joe, Charles, and Darryl, and anyone else in the group who decided to stay out of the throng. By the time Neal took the stage, the place was looking pretty full. Not packed sell out by any means, but a pretty decent crowd overall. The set was much the same as Modesto, but there was at least one different song (no clue what the name of it was) when Neal brought out a double necked guitar. Hadn't seen that in Modesto. Forgot to mention last time that one of the covers was Led Zep's "Immigrant Song" and again confirming for me a preference for Zep with out Robert Plant singing. Yes, I know, sacrilegious, but his voice always sounds like screeching cats dragging their claws on a chalkboard for me. Add in that I can't hear "Immigrant Song" with out thinking of the Viking Kittens* and well, I was laughing to myself a bit.

Cameras were scattered around the theater recording the show for posterity. Whether or not it sees the light of day, who knows, but at least there was a good crowd and good sound (MUCH better than in Modesto -- could actually hear the vocals!) Saw Ross on our way out too, which was fun.

All in all, a fun evening out with friends and I really do miss the "ole days" of groups of people gathering before shows. Will have to find a way to do this again soon!

*It's getting harder to find this online as it's been blocked on YouTube for copyright issues. Too bad, it's one of the best and earliest viral internet items I can remember.

March 20, 2010: Night Out with Neal

Modesto, CA
State Theater

At some point Saturday night while sitting in the State Theater it dawned on me -- it had been EXACTLY 12 years since the very first time I saw Neal Schon perform. That night, I dragged my poor friend Mary with me. This night, I was in the second row with almost a dozen other Journey buddies. My how time has flown.

It was kind of the theme for the day -- how fast time goes by when you're having fun. My day started with picking up Cheryl and meeting Leslie for Telysa's shower. How is this kid I've known since she was 16 suddenly old enough to be a mom and get married? Where'd the time go.

After the shower, we made a quick stop at Leslie's for a change of clothes and a little down time. Cheryl checked in with Jenn to get a report on the previous night's show in Vegas. The end of the conversation I heard sounded like it was good, not great. Hmmm. Well now it was time to head out to Modesto and environs to meet up with Darryl and Jenny, Chris C. and her husband, Chris W. in from Connecticut, and Emerson for some pre-show dinner and laughs. On the way we talked about how we've all kind of grown beyond the crazy passions we had from 1998-2005 (or thereabouts) and tried to figure out what we might be hearing that night. All the while listening to Neal's Piranha Blues CD with me remembering liking it more when it first came out than I was in the car and wracking my brains who came with me to see the Piranha Blues band perform. (I think that was another show I dragged poor Mary to if only because I remember following Ross to the parking lot and Mary commenting on the fact he was carrying his guitar case to his car. I'm pretty sure that was the gig.) I was also laughing to myself that we particular three were less than enthusiastic about this upcoming show. We were looking forward to seeing friends and hearing what we were confident would be good music, but there wasn't that jazz of excitement that there once was.

We met up with the rest of the gang and headed for a dinner full of stories and laughs and just general good times with friends. Being that it was Darryl's birthday, he got a balloon hat in the shape of a guitar. We were loud and laughing and all in all having a great time. This is the thing I miss the most about not going to as many shows as I once did.

Over to the State Theater where the show was scheduled to start at 8. As I mentioned above, our little group took up most of the second row. We found Hope sitting in front of us (me specifically) in the front row. I had calculated that if the show started on time and Neal and company played for two hours as promised, I'd be back on the road by 10:30 and home a little after midnight. Whoops, so much for making assumptions!

At 8:00 Miles and the kid on keyboards (forgotten his name, but I believe he's a regular in Miles's band) came out for a 30 minute opening set. It's incredible how good Miles is -- and he keeps getting better. He came out playing what appeared to be a ukulele (my best guess as it was a small, 4-stringed, guitar-like instrument) and completely blew my mind. Being that close I could really see his finger work and it's impressive. A couple songs in he switched over to guitars and even sang a bit. All in all, he did papa proud.

Thus it was closer to 9:00 when Neal and company hit the stage. In addition to Miles and the kid on keyboards he was joined by Marco Mendoza on bass and Prairie Prince on drums and launched in to "Kohoutek." Well, okay, a song I recognize. (My big fear heading into the show was that though I have nearly all of Neal's solo work, I have a really tough time distinguishing his original solo material apart.) The band was then joined by a singer and I've completely spaced on his name (help! Leslie!) who was absolutely adorable. Pretty decent singer too, though the vocals were hard to hear most of the night. Not sure if that was a problem with being in the second row or just a wholesale problem with the sound.

The sold-out house (my guess about 500 people) was loud and enthusiastic through out the evening as the band went through obscure Journey tracks ("I'm Gonna Leave You" and "The Time"), covers ("Whiter Shade of Pale", "Gypsy Queen") and a variety of solo material. It was really fun watching Neal and Miles play off each other -- with Miles getting a few solos out front. Though I must say the blond doppelganger effect was weird -- Miles looks sooooooo like his dad it's scary.

The crowd generally stayed seated all night long (much, I suspect, to Hope's disappointment) but they weren't sedate. It's probably a little hard to get up and dance to stuff you don't really know all that well.

The show lasted about 2 hours as promised, and didn't disappoint. I don't have a set list, though Hope took a picture of it so maybe she can fill us all in. Leslie, Cheryl, and I said our hasty goodbyes and piled back into my car for the drive back to the Bay Area (uh, thanks Darryl for coming to lead us to the freeway -- I was too brain locked to do reverse directions!) I finally made it back home around 1:30 and crashed into bed after an exhausting but thoroughly fabulous day.

Get to repeat all over again this Saturday, though with only about a 40 minute drive into San Francisco. So, who's coming to the Fillmore?

February 22, 2010: Bombastic Bon Jovi

San Jose, CA
HP Pavilion

Guess concert season has officially begun... 2nd show in 7 days!

For someone who wasn't a huge Bon Jovi fan "back in the day", I sure have made up for lost time -- this has got to be the 5th or 6th time I've seen them in the last 10 years or so. They put on such a great show and really get the whole "arena rock" thing. Big. Bombastic.

So last night I headed out to San Jose to meet Leslie (woo hoo! my concert buddy is back in town!!! YAY!) and Emerson for a quick dinner before heading over to the arena for the show. We got to our seats in section 116 (pondering why we always wind up on the left side of the stage) which were right to the side of the stage. Pretty good. The opening act, Dashboard Confessional, hit the stage right at 7:30 -- just as we had finished getting settled in our seats. I know of Dashboard Confessional, but couldn't say I know any of their songs. That said, they were pretty entertaining and had a good opening 40 minute set. I may go pick up some of their stuff.

As we waited in anticipation of the show, the three women sitting in front of us turned around and warned "we might get a little nuts and will probably stand up all night." Works for me. While we waited I studied the stage -- a circle stage with a circle catwalk that brought to mind the U2 stage. Biggest difference between Bon Jovi stage and U2 stage... the seats inside the circle for U2 are General Admission and some of the least expensive tickets, Bon Jovi -- not so much. (We think they cost in the neighborhood of $500!)

But in the tradition of great bombast the band took the stage following an impressive video sequence on the big screens. They kicked off with "Blood on Blood" from New Jersey which was a nice change, then launched straight into "We Weren't Born to Follow" from the new CD. And here I had my second Bon Jovi as U2 moment (yeah, I know -- a little weird, stick with me.) The video screens for this song flashed images of various leaders and icons -- from Gandhi and JFK to Jimi Hendrix and Elvis. The whole "pioneer" leader set, and more socio-political types than rock pioneers. I know Jon Bon Jovi was particularly involved in President Obama's campaign, and there's a quasi-political theme to the song, but it's a little hard to put political consciousness and Bon Jovi together. Lingering bias from the '80s I guess.

The set list was a good mix of old and new (or perhaps old, recent, and new) and not having that life-long connection to the tunes I really enjoy some of the newer stuff that life-long fans aren't as enthusiastic about. I look at it this way -- these guys are in their late 40s/early 50s now, not their 20s, they're not going to have the same world view (hell, do YOU?) Throw in the difference between being rising/dominating stars in the '80s to an older/established band in 2010 and it's just a different vibe over all. I like the grown-up songs I guess. (Yes, I realize this is in contrast to the comments in the previous paragraph.)

So, the set included about half of the new album and it was intermixed well with older tunes. I've said it before, but Bon Jovi is one of the very few "classic" bands I've seen that really SELLS their new material. They go out and perform it with as much energy as the older stuff and EXPECT the crowd to sing along. There's just a cocky confidence about it.

The look of this show was pretty amazing as well. The video screens are REALLY sophisticated -- splitting, flipping, rotating. (Guess that's why there are $500 tickets! Those things can't be cheap!) And gave impressive images. The only weird bit I found was a screen that for most of the show sat behind and BELOW the stage -- I could see it from my seats above and to the side of the stage, but I have no idea how anyone on the floor or looking straight on at the stage could see it. Maybe it's supposed to be raised and couldn't for some reason, but seeing as there were seats behind the stage and that screen would have blocked those seats completely if it were raised, I don't think it was meant to go above the stage. A particularly excellent highlight was the lighting on "When We Were Beautiful" -- it looked like Jon was standing in a sunset. Simply gorgeous.

Other performance highlights included Richie taking the lead on "Homebound Train" and making it really bluesy -- just fabulous. That was followed by Jon coming out on the catwalk for the first time and just backed by David Bryan on keys performing a GREAT cover of the Leonard Cohen classic "Hallelujah". Absolutely beautiful. Shortly afterwards, Jon is joined by the rest of the band out on the catwalk for acoustic versions of "Something for the Pain" and "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night."

And, as always, there was the encore of "Wanted Dead or Alive" and "Livin' on a Prayer" -- they never fail.

Oh, and of course there were Jon's black leather pants. :-D

Set List:

Blood on Blood
We Weren't Born to Follow
You Give Love a Bad Name
Born to Be My Baby
Lost Highway
When We Were Beautiful
Superman Tonight
Keep the Faith
We Got It Goin' On
It's My Life
Homebound Train (Richie on vocals)
Hallelujah
Bed of Roses
Something for the Pain
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night
Work for the Working Man
Bad Medicine/Bad Case of Lovin' You
Who Says You Can't Go Home
Love's the Only Rule

Encore:
Thorn in My Side
Wanted Dead or Alive
Livin' on a Prayer

February 16, 2010: One Night, Two Piano Men

San Jose, CA
HP Pavilion

Sing us a song you're the Piano Man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feeling all right.

Is everyone singing along? As loud as you can? Good... Now to the report....

Way back in 2009 -- around March or so -- I bought a couple of tickets for the Elton John/Billy Joel concert in November. Veteran concert goer that I am, buying tickets seven months early is no big deal, but it DOES create excessive anticipation. So, naturally, you can imagine my disappointment when the show was postponed due to illness! Well damn!

So, here we are, nearly a year after buying the tickets and it's FINALLY time for the show. It occurred to me over the weekend that I hadn't heard any Billy Joel in a while, so I went to my iTunes and realized I hadn't loaded most of my Billy Joel CDs! OOPS. That mistake rectified, I bopped around the house listening to old friends.

Now, I've seen both Elton and Billy solo, but I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen either of them. My best guess was the LAST time they came through together about 10 years ago. That is far too long, but my memory of that show was not diminished by last night's show. Last night, as then, I wished the show could have lasted another 3 hours as they only skimmed the surface of a life time of hits.

And a life time of hits indeed it was. As we left the show, I said to Emerson and Cheryl "that just covered the first twenty years of my life!" And it was true! Nearly every song brought back a memory of some point in my life -- and not those vague general feeling types of memories, but a memory of a specific place, time, and/or event.

We got to the venue a little later than intended, but the line outside was long enough to assure us the show wouldn't start exactly on time. We made our way through the "Jesus freaks out in the street handing tickets out for God" (literally -- the usual crowd of people telling us we would burn in hell for going to a rock concert were handing out tickets to hell! We agreed we'd only take them if we could get front row seats!) and got inside and to our respective seats with relative ease.

In our seats, Emerson turns to me and says "where are the pianos?" Within a minute the pianos rise out from under the stage and the show kicks off with Billy and Elton entering for the opening set. The crowd goes nuts with the opening notes of "Your Song" on which our two piano men trade vocals. This is followed by "Just the Way You Are" which I don't think I've ever heard Billy perform before. Granted it's been a while since I've seen him, so I could be forgetting.

The opening set ends with the first flashback to my childhood. "My Life" -- the song that sent me on my way to perdition. Waaaay back in 1978 when that song came out and I was still very impressionable, my 5th grade CCD teacher, whom I adored, informed us that "My Life" was in violation of the Fifth Commandment (honor thy mother and father) and as such we shouldn't listen to it. This was my first encounter with such censorship and as this was coming from an adult I admired I was very much confused. You see, I REALLY LIKED the song. Would I go to hell for listening to it? Thus came my first act of rebellion -- I'd listen to it, but just not tell anyone! Now, 30-some years later, I still can't quite figure out how the Fifth Commandment got broken on that one. Sorry Mrs. St. John.

So, after we've started down the paved road to hell, Billy and his band left the stage and Elton took over for his set. Opening with "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" was just to die for (uh, no pun intended!) The crowd was more sedate during Elton's set -- sitting more than standing, though frequently standing at the end of songs to applaud. Some songs, like "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting," got people up and moving.

The lighting and effects were amazing while Elton played and compensated for his lack of interaction with the audience. Not that he wasn't putting on an amazing performance, but he seldom addressed the crowd and when he did is was in the form of brief references to the upcoming songs (e.g. "these next few songs are from Madman Across the Water.") Of course, less talking meant more singing. "Tiny Dancer" got a huge roar (and reminded me I need to replace my copy of Almost Famous), and "Daniel" put me in mind of my younger brother who was named Daniel after my father's older brother who was killed in a car accident at 21. That song completely takes me back to my childhood as it's the only Elton John album my parents owned because my father can so closely relate to that song -- I heard it a lot. As the set was drawing to a close, it dawned on me he hadn't played anything that had been released after 1980! Wow! That's when it hit me that I LITERALLY grew up listening to these two men. Of course, then Elton pulled out "I'm Still Standing" and brought us into the '80s.

Elton's set closed out with "Crocodile Rock" and the crowd was on their feet. The stage went dark briefly while Elton's piano went down, Billy's came up, and the bands swapped out. And now it was Billy Joel's turn to perform his counterpoint. Opening with "Prelude/Angry Young Man" was perfect! The crowd was more on it's feet for Billy than Elton -- which is probably to be expected as it's the difference between New York attitude and English refinement (for lack of a better term.)

Billy's set was less visually stimulating, but his personality shone through more and there was more interaction with the audience -- including a valiant attempt at the classic "Do You Know the Way to San Jose." Not an original maneuver by any means, but fun any way. Too bad most of the people in San Jose are from someplace else and kinda missed the joke.

Billy's set encompassed a wider timeline -- everything from the '70s to his last studio album in 1993 (yikes!) and included the album track "Zanzibar" from 52nd Street. But, once again, I got transported back to specific times and places. "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" -- BAM. Summer 1980. I'm sitting outside on the lawn with a new friend from the neighborhood I've been living in for less than a year and we're singing along to the radio. "Only the Good Die Young" -- it's 1985, my 17th birthday party, and someone has given me Billy Joel's Greatest Hits I & II. My girlfriends and I immediately put it on the stereo and crank it up as loud as my mom would let us and sing along as only girls in their senior year of an all-girls Catholic high school can. One of the unifying moments in what was otherwise a very odd birthday for me since half of my friends weren't talking to the other half so I spent most of the party shuffling between people in different parts of the house. But we had Billy Joel and my disastrously memorable home made cake! (Trust me, all in all, it's a fond memory.)

"We Didn't Start the Fire" slapped me in the face when I realized it was over 20 years old. Has time really gone by that fast?

After Billy closed out his set, it was time for Elton and his band to return for the encore. Back and forth between the two again on classics "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues", "Uptown Girl", "The Bitch is Back", "You May Be Right", and "Bennie and the Jets."

Then the bands leave, and it's just two pianos.

"Candle in the Wind."

"Piano Man."

Can't get much better than that (though I will say the sold out audience was WOEFUL on the chorus -- it's always one of the best parts of "Piano Man" and the crowd wasn't quite as strong as I've heard in every other occurrence!)

Walked out with a smile on my face and again wishing the show could have gone on for another 3 hours so more of my favorites could have been heard. All in all a magical evening.

Set Lists:

Elton/Billy
-- Your Song
-- Just the Way You Are
-- Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
-- Ode to Joy (Beethoven's 9th)
-- My Life

Elton
-- Funeral For a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
-- Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
-- Levon
-- Madman Across the Water
-- Tiny Dancer
-- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
-- Daniel
-- Rocket Man
-- Philadelphia Freedom
-- I'm Still Standing
-- Crocodile Rock

Billy
-- Prelude/Angry Young Man
-- Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
-- Do You Know the Way to San Jose (sorta)
-- Allentown
-- Zanzibar
-- Don't Ask Me Why
-- She's Always a Woman
-- Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
-- River of Dreams
-- We Didn't Start the Fire
-- It's Still Rock and Roll to Me
-- Only the Good Die Young

Encore (Billy/Elton)
-- I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues
-- Uptown Girl
-- The Bitch Is Back
-- You May Be Right
-- Bennie & the Jets

(bands sink into the stage)

-- Candle in the Wind
-- Piano Man