June 22, 2025: Not Your Mother's Mosh Pit

Levi's Stadium
Santa Clara 

 

One of my regular job responsibilities is to work with the hiring managers on my teams when they hire interns -- make sure the intern has a desk and a computer and help get them get settled into their roles. Because my office is 5 miles from the main Bay Area campus, we are included in all their activities, but for the first couple of years we had interns back in person it was a challenge connecting with the site intern coordinators, so last year I volunteered to join the committee so I could be better informed of the planned activities and plan my teams' activities accordingly. I'm part of the committee again this year, and about two weeks ago, and the leader of the intern coordinating committee posted on our Slack channel -- "We've been offered tickets to the Metallica concert on June 22, is anyone available to host this event?" Well, you don't need to ask me twice -- I checked my calendar and it was clear, and the only concern was the intern orientation scheduled for Monday that I was co-leading. I'll survive, so I said yep, I can host.

There were only 20 tickets available, and after confirming I could bring a guest, that left 18 slots for our interns. After going through all the sign-ups and the waiting list, we only had 15 interns who were able/wanted to come which meant my co-worker Jennifer and her husband could also join. Jennifer and I are the two executive assistants in our office and do a lot to support the interns, so I was glad she could attend too. As it turned out, all 15 interns were part of our teams, so that was a nice treat (though it would have been good to have interns from the San Jose campus join us also.)

Since I could bring a guest, I invited my friend Ana Marie who has been a Metallica fan since the earliest years and is much more a fan of heavy metal music than I am. She was really excited because one of her favorite metal bands is one of the opening acts for the two-day concert schedule. Unfortunately, Ice Nine Kills was one of the openers for the Friday show, so she couldn't see them. We got Suicidal Tendencies and Pantera.

Since I was the host, I was responsible for distributing the tickets and parking passes. Three of the passes went to the interns, one to Jennifer, and I got to use the Gold VIP Lot 1 parking pass. Oh yes... did I mention our seats were in the company suite?! That meant that our food and beverages were included. I was sent a copy of the menu for the Friday show with the expectation that Sunday's menu would be similar. Along with your typical stadium fare (hot dogs, pretzels, nachos, etc.) there were things like sushi and grilled lobster tails. Oh this should be nice!

Player Parking Lot!

Ana drove down early Sunday afternoon as I wanted to be at the suite early to get my bearings and welcome the interns. We headed down to Santa Clara about 4:00, and after being directed to the wrong parking lot and having to detour around to get where we were supposed to be, we finally arrived at the Gold Lot right behind the stadium. We paused to check with the lot attendant to confirm we were in the right place, and he let us know that yes, we were in the Gold Lots, but we'd passed the entrance to Gold Lot 1. We turn around and head where he directed us and are confused by the barricaded gate. That's when it hit me -- OH MY GOD... we're parking in the Players' Lot! As a second generation 49er season ticket holder I was completely geeking out. Over a parking lot!

We pull up to the security gate and get issued yellow wrist bands by one security guard while the other walked around the car with a dog to inspect the car (including inside my trunk.) We passed through the gate and pulled in to the valet station and handed off my car. The attendant handed me the claim ticket and said I should text the number he'd written on it about 5 minutes before we planned to exit and he'd have the car ready.

We head towards the stadium and our entry gate. After passing through another security check, we head inside and show our tickets and are directed to an elevator where we're given an orange wrist band -- all we needed to show we were where we were supposed to be. We got off the elevator and got directions to the suite and wandered down the hallway passing a bunch of fantastic artwork celebrating the 49ers (another thrill for this lifetime fan.) Once we find the suite, we find it's set up with some popcorn, soft drinks, and some sweets. There's a grill for hot dogs, but it hadn't started going yet. We also meet Tony, our suite waiter. Yes, we also have a waiter.

There's time to kill before the show starts, so Ana and I head off to find some food. I wanted to see if it were true that there were grilled lobster tails and we found the sea food/sushi stand a few sections down. The lobster tails weren't ready yet, but we were able to grab some crab claws, jumbo shrimp, and a fancy shrimp cocktail. When we got back to the suite, Tony had stepped out, so Ana went back to the bar which was a few steps away and picked up a couple of cocktails for us. I had been told when the tickets were sent that only non-alcoholic drinks were provided, but nope, turned out the booze was included too! (I suspect that "non-alcoholic drinks only" was due to the guest list being "interns", but most of our interns are graduate students and thus over 21. I did confirm which of our undergrad interns were at least 21 when they arrived.)

The interns gradually arrived and most were in the suite by the time Suicidal Tendencies took the stage. All were very excited about the show and kept thanking me for arranging it. I kept saying "thank the Sales team -- they gave us the tickets, I just said I'd host!" (This week is our major company conference so most of the Sales team was headed to Las Vegas on Sunday, thus not available to host customers. So consolation prize to me being unable to attend the conference this year and missing Kenny Chesney at the Sphere.)

I'm going to skip over Suicidal Tendencies and Pantera since while I'm familiar with the band names and recognize the names of a few past/present members, I have zero knowledge of their catalog. Additionally, everything they played sounded exactly the same to me. (Apologies to any metal fan friends reading this, but metal has never been my scene.)

I will however, use this as an opportunity to describe the stage. I was surprised to find the stage was set up in the middle of the field and that it was more or less a ring with an open area in the middle. Not surprisingly, the entire field was general admission. While Suicidal Tendencies was playing, there were two drum kits on risers on opposite sides of the stage (roughly 3:00 and 9:00 from my vantage point) that were covered with drapes. Ana and I assumed one kit belonged to Pantera's drummer, and the other to Lars Ulrich. It turned out that both kits were for Pantera. More on Lars's kit shortly.

I should also take a moment to discuss the food and beverage scene. Between sets, Ana and I would go off to check out the different food stands. I eventually got my grilled lobster tails (small and chilled, fairly good considering they were a stadium concession.) Ana grabbed some nachos and pretzels. (Our German interns did not consider them actual pretzels largely because they were pretzel sticks.) We both went off to find the ice cream stand and got a couple scoops of ice cream that we could top with a variety of things of our choosing. Meanwhile, waiter Tony would pop in and out of the suite dropping of assorted treats -- a charcuterie board, some sushi, assorted sweets (including some yummy cream puffs!) -- and got the hot dog grill going. All while keeping the drink fridges filled and offering to refresh mine and Ana's drinks.

Metallica took the stage about 8:40 just as it was getting dark. All of the interns were in the outside seats, so Jennifer, her husband, and I stayed seated on the indoor stools behind the plexiglass. Ana stood behind the outside seats. As I've noted, I'm not a huge metal fan, but I do have a basic familiarity with their catalog. I joked with Ana that I totally understand why fans like her don't like the Black Album -- it's the one people like me are most familiar with! Even with that caveat, while I didn't recognize the opening song, I did know the second "For Whom the Bell Tolls." The set continued with more unfamiliar (to me) material, so I sat back and watched the interns who were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Nearly all the interns are foreign nationals most of whom are either from Germany or China. One of the German students mentioned to me that this was his first concert ever - not a bad way to start, but seriously spoiled with the suite and free food!

Ana decided to go in search of some merch during a couple of Metallica's newer songs, and while she did perhaps my favorite moment of the show occurred. James and Lars took a break while Kirk and Rob had a little jam session of their own. Rob stepped up to the microphone and let the crowd know they were going to play something by legendary Bay Area punk band the Dead Kennedys. Well cool. Then Kirk starts playing his guitar. I may not know the Dead Kennedys catalog either, but I'm fairly certain it does not contain "Do You Know the Way to San Jose!" I started cracking up and looked around me and shook my head -- I was the only one in the suite who knew what was going on. Twenty-something interns and my thirty-something colleague are not going to know the 1968 Dionne Warwick classic. 🤣

The second half of the set contained a few more songs I am familiar with so I popped out from behind my plexiglass protection for "Wherever I May Roam" and "The Unforgiven" (Ana laughed at me, but hey, what I can I say, those are the songs I know!) It was about this point in the show when I finally saw how Lars's drum kit was moving from one section of the stage to another as I saw the set nearest our section descend below the stage while another one appeared on the opposite side. I had figured that was what was happening as Lars moved from place to place on the stage, but it mostly happened in the dark so I never saw it. With the center of the stage being open and holding a several hundred people, I wasn't sure how much of it was a tunnel.

Towards the end of the show, James stopped at the beginning of a song ("Moth in the Flame" thanks to setlist.fm) because someone near the stage had fallen down so he alerted security to help get things sorted before starting the song again. The show closed out with two more songs I knew, "One" (I had to ask Ana to remind me of the title, because all I could remember was the video. I'm fairly sure it's the first Metallica song I ever heard) and "Enter Sandman."  Sandman, of course, got everyone going and giant black and yellow beach balls dropped on the fans on the field. I once again popped out of the suite to hear that classic live.

The show ended there, and I took a look at the clock -- 10:55. Levi's Stadium has a usual curfew of 10:00, but can have it extended to 11:00 a few times a year. Nope, no way there was enough time for Metallica to follow up with an encore. And given that there really wasn't anywhere for them to go as "off-stage" it made sense to end there.

We wrapped up the evening with the interns all being thrilled and amazed after a great time. I checked in with our German students to see if they were planning to attend the intern on-boarding session the following morning which they were invited to but were not required to attend having been employees for several months already and not needing much of the information provided. They looked confused, so I told them to come if they wanted, but don't worry about it if they didn't make it.

Before heading to the elevator, I texted the valet as instructed, and when Ana and I got downstairs (passing through a security check verifying our yellow wrist bands) to find my car ready and waiting for me to exit once I retrieved my keys from the valet.

As I've mentioned a few times, I'm not a huge metal fan, but I thoroughly enjoyed my first (and likely only) metal concert. Ana said it was one of the best Metallica shows she'd seen, so I'll take her word on that. It was definitely the LOUDEST concert I've ever attended and I was eternally grateful to both my ear plugs and the plexiglass of the suite. I only had one complaint about the show. Sitting in the suite put us further from the stage than I normally like to be, and thus most of the show was viewed on the screens. Ana countered that with "Yeah, but we had Tony to bring us drinks!"

 

Metallica Set List

Whiplash
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Ride the Lightning
The Memory Remains
Lux Æterna
Screaming Suicide
Kirk and Rob Doodle 
    --“Do You Know the Way to San Jose” (Dionne Warwick cover 🤣)
    --“California Über Alles” (Dead Kennedys cover)
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
Wherever I May Roam
The Call of Ktulu
The Unforgiven
Whiskey in the Jar (preceded by Lars & Rob jam)
Blackened
Moth Into Flame
One
Enter Sandman  

Postscript: Both I and the German students survived the intern on-boarding session Monday morning. 

July 17, 2024: You Just Might Find You Get What You Need

Levi's Stadium
Santa Clara, CA

According to legend, the first time I got on a plane to attend a concert was when I flew to Detroit to see Journey for the first time. That's not exactly true. About four months before that memorable night, I was in Germany seeing the Rolling Stones. The key difference between those two trips is that the trip to Michigan was solely to see the newly reformed Journey while the trip to Germany was a vacation with my friend Ana Gloria to visit our friend Barbara and her husband Chris who were stationed there while he was in the US Army. When we planned the trip, Barbara let us know that she and Chris had tickets to see the Rolling Stones in Nuremberg one of the days we'd be visiting. We said if you can get us tickets we'll pay you back when we see you, if not it's not a big deal -- you go to the show and we'll do something on our own that night. They were able to get us a pair of tickets which cost about 50 Deutsche Marks (this was pre-Euro days) and we were set. So a few days after arriving in Europe and visiting Paris (thus missing Journey's debut with Steve Augeri) and Munich, my friends and I were on the road to Nuremberg to see the Stones. It was a memorable show filled with classic Stones hits and thus a legendary band was checked off my list of acts to see.

I was never a huge Stones fan. As a kid born in the late 1960s, the Stones were just that ubiquitous band that had been around forever. I vividly recall people shocked -- absoulutely shocked -- that they were still touring in the early 1980s. These guys were in their forties for crying out loud! Much too old to be carrying on as rock stars! Still, they're the Rolling Stones and a major influence on 20th century music, so of course I paid attention to their music. However, having seen them in 1998, I didn't feel a burning need to see them again in the subsequent years as they continued to tour. Usually whenever a local show was announced, I thought about it for a second then thought "well, I saw them in Germany, I don't really need to see them again."

Flash-forward more years than I want to admit, and my high school friends and I have gathered for our annual Christmas party. After a spending a day and dinner in San Francisco, we gathered back at my friend Isabelle's house for dessert and still more conversation. Somewhere along the line the conversation turns to music and Keith Richards' upcoming eightieth birthday. Now, Isabelle is a big fan of the Rolling Stones and an even bigger fan of Keith Richards and retrieves a painting she made of him back in high school. I instantly remember it from that time and we all laugh and reminisce about our teen-aged selves. We then marvel at the fact that Keith Richards is still alive at eighty and Barbara and I recount the tale of seeing the Stones in Germany.

Once home from the party, I start thinking. Isabelle has never seen the Stones. Mick and Keith are eighty -- there aren't going to be a whole lot of more opportunities to see them and they'll be in the Bay Area in July. Tickets had been on sale for a while, and I knew they'd be pricey but I took a look to see what a decent seat would cost. As I thought, they were expensive, but not more than what I'd be willing to spend to see one of my favorite acts, so on December 18 I texted Isabelle: "In honor of Keith Richards' 80th birthday I would like to treat you to one (1) ticket to the Rolling Stones in July." She delightedly agreed and off I went to grab two seats for the show.

The show date finally rolls around, and Isabelle and I head out for dinner in Mountain View before catching the light rail to Levi's Stadium. We run a little late at dinner, but I didn't expect it to be a problem as there was no way the show was going to start at the ticketed time of 7:00 -- it was still light out for crying out loud! We arrived at the stadium and it took a little longer to get through security than usual -- something in my bag set off the alarm -- but we eventually got inside. I'd forgotten exactly where I had gotten the seats. My brother and I have season tickets for the 49ers, so I knew where to sit and knew I'd gotten seats near to where our season tickets are, but wasn't exactly sure where. It turns out they were in the club section that I'd only been able to see when we toured the stadium prior to the opening season. So our seats were about the 50-yard line if it'd been a football game. I was also pleasantly surprised to find the seats were wider than our seats and had padding. Very comfortable.

When we arrived, the opening act was performing. While there hadn't been an opening act advertised, I wasn't surprised. It was an all-girl band called The Beaches and they were quite good. I did keep laughing to myself though thinking "they're young enough to be the Stones' grandchildren!" Isabelle and I half listened and half chatted through their set while we waited for the main act.

As darkness fell, the stage lit up. Here we go. The first thing we hear is the opening riff to "Start Me Up" because of course that's what you open with! Mick and the boys take the stage like only the Rolling Stones can and my first thought is "Yeah, they've still got it." They've been around longer than I've been alive, but they still have that ultra-cool swagger that screams "We're the Rolling f-in' Stones and you're not!" The crowd was up on its feet and unlike crowds at other shows with acts of this vintage (ahem, old) they stayed on their feet almost the entire night.

The second song of the set was "Get Off of My Cloud" and my heart swelled. Nearly twenty years ago my aunt Diane was dying from cancer and a nurse had asked her what her favorite music was and she replied "rock." This got a laugh from the family who were there at the time especially my uncle Tom. Diane's idea of "rock" was Anne Murray and the Carpenters! She was definitely an easy-listening type person. After her funeral, the family gathered back at my parents' house for what can best be described as an old-fashioned Irish wake (with cosmos instead of old-fashioneds!) Late in the evening, my uncle Tom went out to his car and brought in a CD and re-told the story of Diane telling the nurse she liked rock music. He then put the CD on and cued it up and said "I'm sure this is what Diane is listening to now." He hit play and "Get Off of My Cloud" came blaring out of the speakers. We all laughed and cried and danced. Tom died ten years later, so hearing this song brought back happy and sad memories of them both.

As the set rolled along through classic hits, new tunes, and fan-favorites, I found myself watching Isabelle as much as the show. She was clearly really enjoying herself. She's had a rough few years and I was so happy to see her having so much fun. About half-way through the show, Mick went off stage for a bit of a break and Keith took over and sung a few tunes I didn't know. Isabelle loved it.

Throughout the show, I was amazed at just how much energy they had. Mick and Keith are eighty. Ron Woods is seventy-eight. They were going full-bore the whole show -- and this was the second to last show of the tour. Sure, they're doing stadium shows that pull in huge audiences and have multiple days off between shows which I'm sure helps them keep going full bore on show nights, but I kept thinking about how so many of my favorite performers are in their 70s and 80s and could only come to one conclusion -- music keeps you young.

A few highlights of the show for me included a cover of Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" (well, duh), "Sympathy for the Devil", and an amazing version of "Gimme Shelter." That last tune had one of the backing singers come front and center to sing a duet with Mick and all I kept thinking was "my god, she's channeling Tina Turner!" Turns out, she had been starring in the London version of the Tina Turner musical before joining the tour. She was absolutely fantastic!

The show closed out with "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" which was absolutely perfect. As I stood there and sang along I couldn't help but think about how glad I was that I had gone to see the Stones one more time. They're perhaps the greatest rock band of all time and can still bring it 60-plus years on.

Set list:

Start Me Up
Get Off of My Cloud
Tumbling Dice
Angry
Far Away Eyes
Like a Rolling Stone
Bite My Head Off
Mess It Up
You Can't Always Get What You Want
You Got the Silver (Keith Richards on vocals)
Little T&A (Keith Richards on vocals)
Before They Make Me Run Keith Richards on vocals)

Sympathy for the Devil
Honky Tonk Women
Midnight Rambler
Gimme Shelter
Paint It Black
Jumpin' Jack Flash

Encore:
Sweet Sounds of Heaven
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

May 17, 2017: Joshua Tree at 30!

Santa Clara, CA
Levi's Stadium

 

I can't believe the news today
I can't close my eyes and make it go away.
How long, how long must we sing this song?

...And that's how we began the 30th Anniversary of The Joshua Tree show. My first immediate thought was "my god, that's more true today than ever."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In 1987 when U2 released The Joshua Tree, I was already a fan of the band. In fact, U2 was one of just a handful of musicians my circle of friends all enjoyed. I'd been captivated by the video for "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and by the song "Pride (In the Name of Love)" a few years before the release of what would become U2s defining album. For a wide variety of reasons, I didn't see U2 in concert until 2005, but I do remember the first Joshua Tree tour. During that tour U2 did several spur of the moment free concerts and one of those shows was in Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco. I was in college at the time and knew about the concert in the city, but not having a drivers license at the time nor a way to get from CSM to downtown San Francisco in a timely manner (it would have required at least two buses and BART to make it from the hills of San Mateo to The Embarcadero) I wound up missing it completely. Well, not completely -- parts of it did show up a year or so later in the movie Rattle and Hum so I caught some of what I missed. Actually, watching Rattle and Hum was the closest I came to seeing U2 live in their prime and at least when the film was released I was working at a movie theater. That meant the staff could have one of our after hours showings playing the movie in a mostly empty theater with the volume turned up WAY louder than it could be for regular showings.

When the 30th Anniversary Tour was announced I was finally able to take advantage of being a Seat License Holder for the 49ers and Levi's Stadium -- early access to tickets for U2! Woo hoo! I picked up 3 tickets for me and a couple of friends and waited for the show. I will admit that this show did kind of sneak up on me. With all the excitement around the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony last month, this concert that I normally would have been on pins and needles for kind of slipped my mind.

Still, with a few quick messages out to high school friend Mary and Journey buddy Ana Marie, we were able to coordinate meeting in Mountain View to catch the light rail to Levi's Stadium. Being a season ticket holder for the 49ers, I knew public transit is the best way to get in/out of the stadium and that the NFL bag policy is enforced for all events at Levi's, so we were able to arrive shortly after the gates opened and get through security fairly quickly despite the clearly new hire working the security gate.

We had arrived in enough time to grab something to eat and visit with Matt and Wendy before the openers Mumford and Sons took the stage about 7:00 (half an hour after the stated start time.) I'm reasonably familiar with Mumford and Sons and was looking forward to seeing them perform -- though "seeing" is defined in this case as "watching a giant video screen of the performance of those thumb-sized people on stage" -- but I was surprised at how many songs I recognized. They put on a really good 45 minute set and I wouldn't mind going to see them on their own in a more reasonably sized venue.

After Mumford and Sons left, we had a bit of time to wait until it was dark enough for U2 to take the stage (which ultimately led to blowing past the official weeknight curfew for events at Levi's and has locals in a bit of an uproar) which meant a good opportunity to take in the stage setup from our vantage point in section 244. While we were pretty far from the stage, we actually had a good sight line and could take in the massive video screen that ran the width of the field and included a cutout/silhouette of a Joshua tree (I'm pretty sure it's the same image as on the back of the album) that rose a bit above the screen. There was a catwalk from the main stage out to a smaller, Joshua tree shaped stage where I could see the top of a drum kit at one side sunken below the stage. While we waited, the video screen had different poems and stories scrolling along one side that were somewhat bleak depictions of the greater American experience (though admittedly I didn't read all of any of them.)

By 9:00 it was finally full on dark and the lights went down as someone meandered from the main stage down to the secondary stage. While there was a bit of a cheer from the people standing near the stage, it wasn't until the first snap of the drums signalling the show opening with "Sunday Bloody Sunday" did I realize that it was Larry Mullen, Jr. and not a last minute roadie on stage. One by one the rest of the band walked down from the main stage and finally the song kicked in to full gear. As I said above, the opening words of the opening song hit me instantly. Beyond the actual news of the day, it spoke to how I've been feeling for a while now. Ana Marie and I just looked at each other and said "wow" -- both of us thinking and feeling the same thing.

The opening set continued and was entirely pre-Joshua Tree songs. These are the songs you would have heard back in 1987 when you went to a U2 concert. "New Year's Day", "A Sort of Homecoming", "Bad", and "Pride"... songs that you might hear in concert with newer material here in the 21st century, but saved for mid-set or later. To open with those classics -- each one bringing back a memory of a time and place that doesn't seem as long ago as it actually is -- was just what I wanted from this show. As "Pride" wound down, a scroll of a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. rolled on one side of the screen with key words pulled out and made larger on the rest of the screen. A potent reminder of the potential of America.

Then the video screen turned bright red with the Joshua tree outlined by red lights and the band made their way back to the main stage. It was time to play The Joshua Tree in full sequence. The video screen changed to a black and white film of a car driving down a desert road and "Where the Streets Have No Name" came up to resounding cheers. The images on the video screen were interesting through out the show and almost entirely in black and white and were thematically tied to the good and bad of the United States, much as the album is. There was a bit of a snafu during "With or Without You" which wound up causing Bono to skip singing the first verse and chorus and made the whole performance of that song a bit awkward. Other than that, it is really hard to pick a favorite moment from this part of the set. How do you choose a highlight when it's a performance of an album full of excellent songs? I'll probably go with "Running to Stand Still" as my favorite though -- I absolutely love that song and it's probably my favorite track from The Joshua Tree and Bono's performance was fantastic.

The band left the stage after "Mothers of the Disappeared" and it was time to speculate on what would be included in the encore. Beyond assuming "One" would appear it was hard to guess. Would they stay within the same general timeline or pull out more recent songs? Turned out to be a little bit of everything. The band came back out, walked back out to the secondary stage, and did a six-song encore which included two big highlights for me. The first was the dedication of "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" to the women of the world and had images of influential women and women's movements over time to highlight the impact women have on social, cultural, and political change. It was quite inspiring. This was followed by "One" and then a short video of a young Syrian girl in a refugee camp asked "If you could talk to a stadium full of people about America what would you say?" (rough paraphrase) She replied with what so many people have said about America -- or at least the dream of America and what it could be. A place of opportunity and beauty; the vision of America we all have but yet don't quite achieve. The video continued showing images of the refugee camp and following the girl around. Meanwhile on stage the band launched into "Miss Sarajevo" and a large banner with the face of the girl was unfurled and passed along the audience. It was really powerful and beautiful and sad all at the same time.

The encore closed out with a new song called "The Little Things That Give You Away" that was really good and fit well with the older songs of the Joshua Tree era. It was a bit weird to end the show on a new song, especially since it was the first time all night the crowd sat down. Ana Marie, Mary, and I kind of looked at each other for a minute and asked "Is that it?" The lights soon came up and yes, that was it.*

Back to the VTA and then the car for the ride home. Getting in at 1:00 a.m. on a weeknight makes for a rough morning at work, but it was so worth it.

Set list:

set 1/opening:
Sunday Bloody Sunday
New Year's Day
A Sort of Homecoming
-- a bit of Paul Simon's America --
Bad
-- a bit more of America --
Pride (In the Name of Love)

set 2/The Joshua Tree:
Where The Streets Have No Name
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
With or Without You
Bullet the Blue Sky
Running to Stand Still
Red Hill Mining Town
In God's Country
Trip Through Your Wires
One Tree Hill
Exit
Mothers of the Disappeared

set 3/encore:
Beautiful Day
Elevation
Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
One
Miss Sarajevo
The Little Things That You Give Away (new song)

*I learned after this show, that most sets ended with "I Will Follow" after "The Little Things..." which makes much more sense then ending on a new song. I suspect the already way past curfew time for this show played a role in the slightly shortened end.

May 21, 2005: Gregg Kicks Off the Summer Season

Santa Clara, CA
Avalon Night Club

Just in time to kick off the summer concert season AND appease my need for some live Journey music, Gregg and his marvelous band played another Bay Area gig. I've lost track of the number of shows I've seen since Roots was released in 2001, but it must be well over a dozen by now (maybe even 2 dozen??) This past Saturday's show was the first time he had a significantly different set-list than all the previous shows I'd seen. In the past, the shows have focused primarily on songs from Roots and the classic Santana tunes we all know and love. Thus, I was puzzled by the promotion I was seeing about "an evening of songs from Journey and Santana" -- Gregg seldom performs any Journey tunes. I had only heard him do any twice -- and that was when he was first out on the road with Roots and Dave Amato was on guitar and took the Perry vocals on a couple of tracks.

Once we got through the gawd-awful comedian who would have been booed off the stage if any one had bothered to even listen to what he was rambling about, the large contingent of Nor Cal Journey fans took to the floor for key spots. Gregg and the guys took to the stage and acknowledged all the familiar faces that were standing right up front. About four songs in to the set, I noticed an unfamiliar guy standing behind Michael Carabello and wondered who he was. Shortly after, he walked out on stage and Gregg introduced him by saying "How'd you like to hear some Journey songs?" That got a great response from the crowd and the band launched into a four song set of "Just the Same Way," "Anytime," "Lights," and "Any Way You Want It." The singer (Robbie something, no one seemed to catch his last name!) did an admirable job. While he's no Steve (Perry or Augeri) he did very well. Hearing someone who clearly doesn't have the range to cover the songs as originally written, really helped drive home to me just how difficult those tunes are to sing. When the set was over, Gregg looked down at Darla, who was standing right at his feet, and said "So, how was that?" -- I laughed to myself when I saw the exchange. Yep, Gregg's gotten used to us showing up!

After the show, the band stuck around for an autograph signing session. It was a bit of a mad house, but I was able to give Gregg his JPP star that the rest of the guys received at the luncheon in Hollywood. There should be a couple of pictures around soon -- just need to get them from the people who took 'em!

I'd hoped to have the set list, but since I didn't write it down and I've yet to get a copy sent to me, we'll have to skip this time.