June 29, 2025: It's a JPP Reunion!

Alameda County Fairgrounds
Pleasanton, CA 

 

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area is a treat when your favorite band is Journey. They're a hometown band, so they're almost always going to play a hometown (area) gig. Steve Augeri, however, is not a Bay Area resident, so his appearances out here on the West Coast have been few and far between since he and the rest of the band went their separate ways (pun absolutely intended!) So when I saw he was going to appear at the Alameda County Fair this weekend, I definitely wanted to go. I had just one concern -- it was the Sunday after my company's annual conference ended. At the beginning of the year, there was a good possibility that I would be in Las Vegas working twelve hour days and in need of some serious rest this weekend. That fell through, so it was no worries about hitting a Sunday night show.

I grabbed a pair of tickets for Ana Marie and myself a few weeks after they went on sale. This meant front row was out of the picture, but I was able to snag seats about 10 rows back. Now it was just time to wait. About two weeks ago, Darryl sent a group text to the Nor Cal Journey fans to see who wanted to get together for dinner/drinks before the show. After a bunch of back and forth, the pre-show gathering was just five of us -- Darryl, Jenny, Chris, Ana Marie and me. We'd meet up with everyone else at the show.

I headed out Sunday afternoon about 3:30 to make our 4:30 meeting time and cruised into Pleasanton with out hassle and arrived at McKay's Taphouse and Beer Garden right on time. It was a nice little spot, very casual, with picnic tables and couches set out for people to sit and visit. Ana had arrived a few minutes before me and had ordered some cider and a sandwich and after I got settled, I promptly followed suit. Darryl, Jenny, and Chris arrived shortly after me and we all settled in for some tasty food and good company. We hung around McKay's for a couple of hours catching up and telling old stories.

Soon enough it was time to head over to the fairgrounds and meet up with everyone else. Since we'd all driven to Pleasanton from varying directions, we arrived a bit staggered at the fairgrounds. Ana and I headed in ahead of the others and wound our way through the fairgrounds to the amphitheater. As soon as we entered the gates, we ran in to Renee, Debbie, and Krystal. Quick hellos and hugs while I followed the usher to find our seats -- two rows behind Linda and Walt who were visiting with Emerson. A few rows down in the seated pit, there was Robin and her daughter. Soon we were all gathered at the stair boundary and catching up, when Scott appeared behind me. More hugs and hellos followed when Matt and his wife Wendy arrived. We had most of the old NorCal contingent gathered for the show. I smiled as I looked around and saw all the familiar faces of the friends I'd made during those crazy Journey journeys of the late 90s/early 2000s. Twenty-five plus years on, and we quickly fell back in to the groove.

With about 20 minutes left to settle in our seats, people drifted off to grab last minute drinks and chat. I went over to say hello to Scott's wife Kim and meet his kids. Kim joked that the Journey gang had known Scott almost as long as she had. I laughed and reminded her I first met her the same weekend I meet Scott -- at the 1998 Fan Convention in San Francisco!

I headed back to my seat and settled in waiting for the show. Steve started out right on time with "Separate Ways." Unfortunately the mix was terrible and Steve's voice was totally drowned out. It took a few songs to get sorted, but finally things sounded better by the time Steve and the band kicked in to "Send Her My Love." That was immediately followed by "Lights", which, as always, got a great hometown reaction. Steve introduced it by talking about how much he loved San Francisco and the Bay Area and had considered moving out here back in the day. That would have been interesting for this home town fan. 

Steve's voice isn't what it once was and there were some rough spots, but getting to hear him sing again was all we needed. The old gang stayed on their feet as Steve introduced "Higher Place", and I was instantly ported back to that long ago November weekend when the band first played songs from Arrival. The set moved along briskly and soon we were hearing "Faithfully" and "Don't Stop Believin'" Looking at my phone, I realized that we'd blazed through the show in just an hour.

The main set wrapped up with "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'" which included a bit of a guitar duel between Steve and his long-time guitarist Adam Holland. This bit was delayed briefly as Steve's guitar somehow got disconnected from the sound system, resulting in a roadie coming out to fix it and Steve standing at the edge of the stage rubbing his eyes with mock tears. After a few moments things were fixed and Steve and Adam played back and forth and morphed into a bit of "Rocky Mountain Way" before seguing back to LTS.

Steve noted the time and let us know that the "next band up" was "Hard Curfew" at 9:30. After a chuckle from the crowd, the set went into a vamp mode as apparently, Steve didn't put together a set list. One of my personal highlights of this section was when Steve covered Rod Stewart's "Forever Young." It's one of my favorite Rod Stewart songs and just as it did the last time I saw him with his full band, I got a bit teary eyed. Both because Journey's music will always take me back to my teen aged years, and because hearing Steve will always take me back to those crazy days in my 30s of dashing around the country catching another show and meeting more fans. I may be getting older, but my heart stays young.

With some time yet to kill before the curfew, Steve decided to sing "Open Arms" which he prefaced by saying he was in no condition to sing that vocal. He did a great job. The show closed out with most of "Be Good to Yourself" combined with bits of "Whole Lotta Love" and "Won't Get Fooled Again."

The show was over much too soon, but there was still time afterwards to gather and chat with all the friends who had made it. Linda and Walt had to duck out right after the show as they were heading on vacation in the morning, and Robin and her daughter got shuttled out a different exit, so we didn't get to visit with them after the show. My favorite part of all my Journey journeys was never the concert -- it was always meeting and hanging out with my fellow fans. It was terrific to get to do that again for a few hours this weekend. I did take time to think of the people I missed - especially my fellow JPP crew. Cheryl and Leslie F. have moved out of the Bay Area, Mary Ann and Leslie W. were never local, and of course we lost Darla seventeen years ago. They were all forefront in my mind during the show, but so were the memories of so many others and so many fun times.

We will continue to meet again, and of course the memories always remain. 

photo courtesy of Emerson Dong

Set List

Separate Ways
Ask the Lonely
Stone in Love
Send Her My Love
Lights
Higher Place
-- guitar solo --
Wheel in the Sky
Faithfully
Don't Stop Believin'
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'
Rocky Mountain Way

Encore/Vamp

Anyway You Want It
Forever Young
Who's Crying Now
Open Arms
Be Good to Yourself/Whole Lotta Love/Won't Get Fooled Again
 

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. 

October 12, 2024: Life in the Sphere, Everything All the Time

Sphere
Las Vegas

In 2022, while heading to the Venetian resort for my company's annual conference, my cab ride took me past a new building under construction. It's odd circular shape led me to ask my driver what it was. A new 360-degree concert venue was his response, and I thought "Wow, cool and that place is huge!" Clearly it was going to be a venue for major acts. Fast-forward a year, and it's announced that U2 will be the first performer to take up residency at the Sphere. I considered getting a ticket to that show, but just couldn't bite the bullet on the ticket price and a weekend hotel rate in Vegas. In June of this year, my company conference was once again at the Venetian as usual, but this time our CEO's keynote and the "celebration" event were both going to be held at the Sphere. Alas, we could only send one support person and I didn't get to go this year, and had to settle for watching the keynote speech streaming at my desk and wait for pictures and stories from my colleagues who attended and got to see the Dead and Company show. The keynote looked cool for a corporate event and everyone raved about the concert and shared some great photos and video.

When the Eagles announced their residency, I took a look a the dates and saw they were playing the weekend before and the weekend following my birthday weekend. Since October 12 is my sister-in-law's birthday, and she and her twin sister usually go to Las Vegas for their birthday, I asked her at a family dinner if she'd be interested in going to the show. She said she and her sister had decided to skip Vegas this year, but thanks for asking. My mom overheard our conversation and said "Can I go with you?" Well, sure! So, I made arrangements to get tickets for the show and since Mom hadn't been to Vegas since the mid-1970s, looked for something fun we could do either the night before or after.

I'll skip my usual ramble about getting to Vegas and Mom's impressions 50 or so years since her previous visit and start with some general information about the Sphere experience beyond the show. Should you plan to see a show at the Sphere and use the Venetian walkway tunnel, know that it's about a 10-15 minute walk from the casino floor to the entrance of the arena, plus any time it may take you to get from your room to the casino floor should you opt to stay at the Venetian. The whole trek is indoors, and one I am particularly familiar with due to attending my company conference (though it was rather odd walking through the convention hall with nothing happening, I'm used to it being much more hectic.) The security is a little slow, but likely because most of the people attending the show are coming via the walkway rather than one of the other entries. It was otherwise efficient and I had no issues with my small-ish concert purse and the "no-bags" policy. We were able to grab a couple of bottles of water from a self-serve stand that had very friendly staff helping people check out their purchases. A quick stop in the restroom was the only "disappointment" as it was very poorly lit -- way too dark -- but otherwise clean and efficient. Off we went to our seats.

Before I purchased the tickets, I did some online research into where the best seats might be. I knew sitting on the floor would be great for seeing the band, but likely not the best viewing point for the immersive video. The general consensus was the 200 or 300 sections, but from the pictures I saw (plus reports from my work colleagues) both seemed to be miles from the stage and the band would be ants. Thus, I opted for section 106 which came with a note of "limited screen" (despite being dead center stage) since I wanted the ability to also see the band and not just "watch TV." (More on that later.) As you can see from the photo at the top of this post, the "limited screen" meant things were cut off a bit on the side, but otherwise the view was terrific. Mom and I got to our seats and were just amazed. The screen showed assorted historical music venues from Los Angeles and other key moments in time from the history of the band. Every so often a blurred car would roll along the screen making it look like someone was driving down the Sunset Strip. The whole thing was amazingly crisp and Mom and I were both dazzled just by this "simple" opening.

This scene would move down
the table and through the door

Shortly before the show started, we discovered we were in the wrong section, so we promptly hustled over to our seats to settle in for the show. Here's where this review gets challenging. It's now six days since I was as the show and I still don't know if I have the words to aptly describe what I saw and heard. The show kicked off with "Hotel California" and as the screen morphed from a misty, foggy background to an animated car driving down a hill in a canyon my jaw dropped wide open and my eyes popped out of my head (and everyone's phone was up taking pictures and video.) Even though it was an animation, it felt completely three-dimensional as the car moved down the hill and then slowly turned a corner to the driveway of a small motel. The doors of the hotel opened and it was as if you were walking down a hallway and kept moving forward through various doors and scenes. I don't think I blinked for the duration of the entire song. I did have enough brain power left to manage to snap a few pictures and grab a few snips of video, but I wanted to stay in the moment as much as I could because it was such an amazing experience. During the ending solo the video became a swirling aurora with the various band members highlighted in the middle.

The next few songs are a bit of a blur. I rather felt like a country bumpkin wandering in the big city for the first time. There was animation of driving along the California coast and it felt like I was in the car along for the ride. I typically get a little queasy on windy roads, so imagine my surprise when I found myself feeling queasy "riding" along the animated coastal road!

About three songs in, the screen changed to a calm star field and Don Henley welcomed us to the Sphere by saying "You'll see a lot of pretty pictures tonight. Some of them will be moving. Hope you brought your Dramamine." Which got a laugh, especially from me after the queasy car ride a few minutes before. He also shared that what the band was enthusiastic about -- the sound system! He informed us that "there are 164,000 speakers. You can hear all our mistakes." I didn't notice any mistakes, but the sound was excellent, though I must admit the quality of the sound was a bit lost among all the stunning visuals.

I don't want to spoil the show too much for people who may be planning to see it soon because it's really an incredible experience, but I do need to highlight a couple of my favorite moments. The first was the trip through space during "Take it to the Limit" -- planets, nebulae in vivid colors with Vince Gill appearing on some of the planets as he sang. "Tequila Sunrise" was a quieter scene of a sunrise over a canyon. Beautiful and peaceful.

But the most surreal moment of the show came towards the end of "In the City." The screen had started off as a bunch of black and white tenement buildings, invoking the feel of a cramped, crowded, dirty city. Towards the end, the scene turned to color and started rotating and moving. Sitting in my seat, I felt like I was slowly rising and floating above the scene. I looked back towards the stage at the band to try to re-center myself and even they looked like they were floating upwards. It was completely surreal. I looked over at my mom and she too was stunned by the feeling of motion.

Fortunately the show would split up the surreal scenes with ones that were more tranquil and would give you a moment to ground yourself. "Seven Bridges Road" was a perfect example with the star field once again behind the band on the screen as they harmonized on that beautiful song, eventually ending with a slow ride down a peaceful river.

Normally, when I'm at a large show I make a concerted effort not to watch the show on the video screens. I want to be in the moment and watch the band. I will often close my eyes to just let the music wash over me. This is absolutely impossible at the Sphere. The full surround high resolution video is so stunning you can't NOT watch it. At a normal show I also try to limit how much of it I take pictures of and record because I don't want to watch it through my phone. That was an extreme challenge at the Sphere. Part of me wanted to have my phone on and recording for the entire thing, but since the only way to really capture everything would be to scan the entire show in all directions I'd be experiencing it through my phone rather than immersed in it. I did grab some photos, but notably most of the video I grabbed was from the quieter sections of the show rather than the visually stunning ones.

One thought kept running through my head as my eyes bugged out of my head -- I've got to buy a video of this, but how the hell do you capture this all in a video that you can watch on a normal television? The small snips of video I captured on my phone did an OK job of getting a sense of what it's like, so I suppose a professional crew could capture it, but I guarantee the feeling won't be the same as seeing it in person.

A few more moments of the show I wanted to highlight. The first was the only time in the show I actually closed my eyes. For "Already Gone" the video screen essentially disappeared and bright spotlights shone through and would rotate out towards the crowd. They were really blinding so I closed my eyes for much of that song. Then later when the band launched into Joe Walsh's "Life's Been Good", the screen was filled with archival photos and video of the band over the decades and it was great to see photos of Glenn Frey prominent among them. Some of the photos of Glenn made it extremely simple to see just how much Deacon looks like him. We also were treated to Don Henley's "Boys of Summer" and the video for that one started off with a shot exactly like the opening shot from the original video and got a huge cheer. It took a few seconds of watching the video before I thought "that's not right -- this is a different video using the same look." I was right and that video morphed into something completely different.

After a brief break, the show closed out with "Take It Easy", "Rocky Mountain Way", "Desperado", and "Heartache Tonight." The first three were backed by some of the quieter, peaceful videos, but "Heartache Tonight" went out with full color animation. All in all a great compilation of the experience of the evening.

I'm contemplating getting tickets again and sitting in one of the upper sections and experiencing it again from that angle. I think it will be less overwhelming a second time, but I would also have an ability to appreciate what I'm seeing rather than being completely gobsmacked the entire time. I will definitely go to future shows at the Sphere should the opportunity arise (and I'm extremely curious about my company's plans for NEXT year's conference and concert since I think there will be a good chance I'll get to attend again.)

Setlist

Hotel California
One of These Nights
Lyin' Eyes
Take It to the Limit
Witchy Woman
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Tequila Sunrise
In the City
I Can't Tell You Why
New Kid in Town
Seven Bridges Road
Those Shoes
Life's Been Good
Already Gone
The Boys of Summer
Life in the Fast Lane

Encore:

Take It Easy
Rocky Mountain Way
Desperado
Heartache Tonight

 

September 9, 2023: Let's Groove Tonight!

Chase Center
San Francisco, CA

When tickets went on sale for Lionel Richie with Earth, Wind, and Fire earlier this year, I thought "oooooh that would be a cool show to see!" However, I'd just bought a bunch of other tickets for other shows and my credit card was melting. Throw in buying a new car and some travel, I decided to wait a bit and see if I could get a ticket later on once my immediate expenses calmed down a bit. I went back and forth for a several months on whether or not I'd get a ticket and would periodically check availability and pricing. Tickets were still generally available and not too outrageous, so I'd wait and see.

About three weeks ago I finally bit the bullet. I wanted to go to the show and the only thing that was stopping me was money which I now had, so what the hell get the ticket! I am SO glad I did!

I took the train up to San Francisco after clocking out from work a little early. As has seemed to be the case every time I've gone to Chase Center directly from the CalTrain station, I missed the Muni light rail connection as the cars pulled in just as I was exiting the train station with no way to get across the street to catch the light rail. This time I actually missed TWO light rail trains because of timing and street lights! No matter, it's a relatively short walk from the CalTrain station to Chase Center and it was a pleasant evening, so I walked the 15-minutes or so it takes to get there.

The doors hadn't opened yet when I arrived, so I debated -- stand in line for something to eat at Gott's Roadside, or just stand in line to get into the arena and eat something there. The line for Gott's looked like it would take as long as getting in, so I just opted for arena food and waited on the doors. The wait for the doors was a bit longer than I anticipated, but soon enough I was in the arena and off to grab something to eat in the lounge area behind my seat.

Once I finished eating, I headed in to my seat which was in the last row of my section. That turned out to be a pretty good thing as there was more space between my row and the row in front of me than the other rows, and only two seats to my left before the next section which was designated for wheelchairs. That meant there was a lot of room to move around and the couple sitting next to me and I took full advantage of that once the show began.

Now, I can't say I was ever a huge Earth, Wind, and Fire fan, but I always enjoyed the songs I knew and figured it would be a fun, upbeat show. I wasn't wrong. They took the stage to "Shining Star" and I was up on my feet dancing along immediately and within a minute I thought "Oh I am SO GLAD I got this ticket!" I was rather surprised to see the entire section to my right was seated. Sure, this wasn't a young crowd my any means, but Earth, Wind, and Fire play music you dance to! Get up and dance dammit! You can sit when Lionel Richie comes out and plays all his ballads!

I knew I probably wouldn't know all of their set going in, but I knew about half of the set. An early highlight was the bass solo by Verdine White. The stage had been set up with a catwalk out to the middle of the arena and dang if he didn't dance on down to the secondary stage to play his solo! I don't think I've ever seen a bass solo before -- it was funky!

I loved their cover of "Got to Get You Into My Life" and I was reminded of hearing it as a kid. I may have actually heard the Earth, Wind, and Fire version before I heard the Beatles original (not totally sure on that one though.)

About half way through the show I got to wondering how many members of the band were still original members as the only one I could remember and recognize was Phillip Bailey and that was in part due to the fact he was a donor when I worked at the SETI Institute. Never fear, shortly after this thought crossed my mind, Phillip introduced the band. It turns out there are only three original members left - Phillip, Verdine White, and Ralph Johnson. I should have guessed they were the only three original members as they were all dressed in gold suits while the rest of the band was wearing black suits with gold embroidery. (Oh yeah, they still LOOK like Earth,Wind, and Fire with their costumes even if the platform boots have been replaced by sequined sneakers!)

Once the band got to "Boogie Wonderland" everyone was finally up on their feet and dancing through the end of the show. When "Let's Groove" followed "Boogie Wonderland" I was pleasantly surprised -- I had completely forgotten that it was an Earth, Wind, & Fire song! I appropriately danced along until the set ended a little over an hour after it had begun.

Time to sit and relax until Lionel took the stage, and I found myself really enjoying the between acts tunes playing over the PA. Lots of classic Motown and R&B. Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight, the Temptations, and so on. It really fit the mood. (And, yes, duh, I know Lionel Richie and the Commodores were Motown acts.)

The lights went back down about 9:15 and out on the secondary stage, a trap door opened up and up came Lionel Richie on a rising platform and he immediately launched into "Hello." I laughed to myself and thought "I should have expected that to be the first song!" I also immediately noticed he was wearing a white tuxedo jacket with tails and laughed again -- someone has been taking fashion advice from Steve Perry!

Again, I was immediately delighted that I had decided to get a ticket for this show as Lionel went through hit after hit from both his solo and Commodores catalog. So many hits that I kept thinking "oh gosh, I forgot about that one!" But with the exception of a couple of Commodores songs I knew the words to every single one of the songs.

A couple of personal highlights -- "Three Times a Lady" which is probably the first Commodores song I remember hearing as a kid and being somewhat annoyed by it as a ten-year old. I forget exactly why it annoyed me then, but I laughed at the memory. "Sail On" got stuck in my head once the show was over, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear "Brick House" (which might be neck and neck with "Three Times a Lady" for first Commodores song.)

Lionel also performed a bit of "Endless Love" after teasing the audience into thinking Diana Ross would be joining him to sing (despite opening with "I've been asking Diana Ross to come sing this with me for 37 years and she always says no.) So the audience took on the Diana half of the duet. It was quite fun.

Towards the end of the show, a piano came up on the secondary stage (in addition to the one that had been on the main stage all night) and Lionel sat down and played "Still" which I absolutely loved. 

The main set closed out with a song I did not expect at all -- "We Are the World" -- which he introduced by reminding the audience that "those people" are human beings and we all share family, love, and loss. I got quite teary-eyed as he sang the whole song through. (I simultaneously did a mental check off of who sang which lines in the original version, which was helped by recently being sent a video of a rehearsal take.)

The last song of the night was one I had expected much earlier -- "All Night Long" -- but it was a fun way to dance away the end of the show.

I made my way out of the arena fairly quickly and almost made the first Muni train back to CalTrain, but it was too full, so I waited a few minutes for the next one being too tired to walk all the way back. Of course, CalTrain has a weird schedule and there isn't a train between 10:45 p.m. and 12:05 a.m., so with the show ending around 11:00 it was a bit of a wait for the train back home. Thank goodness it was a Friday night! I think they actually added a second train after the 12:05 because the line was REALLY long by the time I got to the station (there had been a Giants game that night also, so some lingering folks from the game were also in line) but I was able to get a seat easily. Finally got home a little after 1:00. The long day rather blew up my plans for Saturday, but it was worth it!

Always buy the tickets.

Set Lists

Earth, Wind, & Fire

Shining Star
Let Your Feelings Show
Serpentine Fire
-- Verdine White bass solo --
Sing a Song
Got to Get You Into My Life
Departure
Reasons
After the Love Has Gone
That's the Way of the World
Fantasy
Boogie Wonderland
Let's Groove
September
In the Stone

Lionel Richie

Hello
Running With the Night
Easy / My Love
Truly
Stuck on You
Sail On
You Are
Dancing on the Ceiling (Snippet of Van Halen’s “Jump”)
Three Times a Lady
Fancy Dancer
Sweet Love
Lady (You Bring Me Up)
Just to Be Close to You
Zoom
Endless Love
Brick House / Fire
Still
Say You, Say Me
We Are the World

Encore:

All Night Long (All Night)

August 20, 2023 -- Oh It's 80s Night!

Concord Pavilion
Concord, CA

A few months ago my friend Barbara sent a message to our Mercy Girls group text -- she had a Groupon for tickets to see Culture Club with Berlin and Howard Jones at the Concord Pavilion, was anyone interested in joining her? It was a pretty good deal, so I said what the heck. Our friend Lora said she'd go too so long as she didn't have to drive. I volunteered to be the chauffeur for the evening, and the three of us made plans to go to the show.

I haven't been to the Concord Pavilion (current sponsor name "Toyota Pavilion") in over fifteen years. It is a major hassle getting there from the San Francisco Peninsula as it's over an hour-long drive without traffic, and there's always traffic. The absolute worst stretch is the last 8 miles through Concord on the one road that leads to the venue, and after a nightmare experience getting there for a Stevie Wonder concert, I swore I'd never go back unless it was my ONLY option for seeing someone I really wanted to see. Other than a show I already had tickets for that same year, I haven't been back. I've flown to Los Angeles and Las Vegas rather than drive to Concord to see a performer I really wanted to see. So, knowing it was a pain in the rear to get there, my friends and I set out early and arrived shortly after the parking lots opened and managed to get an excellent parking spot in the general parking area that was just the other side of the premiere parking. Score! However, we arrived so early we had to wait about 45 minutes for the gates to open! I can't remember the last time I was that early for a show (recent Matchbox Twenty pre-show event not included.) Eventually the gates opened and we got in with plenty of time to grab something to eat before the show.

One side effect of Barbara getting our tickets via Groupon was she wound up with extra lawn seats in addition to our reserved seats. After multiple attempts to get friends or family to take them, I was able to connect with my cousin Denise and she and a few of her friends took the lawn seats. While we were waiting for our food, I happened to see Denise walking past, so a quick hello and a hug before she headed off to get her spot on the lawn. 

While waiting for the show to start, I had to laugh at the various band t-shirts I spotted on fans in the crowd -- the Go-Gos, the Cure, Duran Duran, Human League -- yep, this was a night for us 80s kids!

Going in to the show, I figured I would know about half to two-thirds of the songs by each act. I enjoyed all of them back in high school, but none were a huge favorite. I was most concerned about Berlin because I could only remember the names of two songs off the top of my head, but knew I probably knew a few more, so I did something I seldom do -- looked up the set lists from earlier in the tour to see what they were playing. I remembered a few more songs after that and was looking forward to hearing them live.

Berlin took the stage right on time at 7:00 and launched into "Masquerade" which, once I heard it again, I remembered, so OK this was going to be better than I thought! Our seats were in the 200 section of the venue, so a bit further from the stage than I would normally get for myself and it meant looking at the video screens a bit more than I normally do. Not a huge problem except that during Berlin's set it was still fairly light out so it was hard to see the screens. It appeared they were playing a lot of their 1980s videos while performing the matching songs. Early in their set, I was a bit distracted when an owl started flying around! Never seen that before! Terri Nunn sounded fantastic and it was great hearing her on "The Metro" and "No More Words." Of course the big highlight of their set was THE HIT -- "Take My Breath Away" (obviously) and everyone was singing along. Berlin played for about half an hour and the stage was quickly turned over for Howard Jones.

Going to a show with two of my high school friends was going to be a blast except there was one problem -- Mary, our resident Howard Jones fanatic, had moved to Portland and Ana Gloria, expert in all things Culture Club, is living in Denver. Well WHAT a bummer to be heading to a fun show with out our two friends who would really love it and definitely would have come if they still lived in the area. I texted them both and asked "What song do you want a for a concert call?" If they couldn't be with us in person, at least they could have a virtual participation. With Howard about to take the stage, I did a quick look up of his set list to see when I could expect Mary's request -- two of the three were the last two songs of his set. Perfect.

After seeing the multitude of '80s band t-shirts and hearing an eclectic mix of 1980s tunes being played over the PA between sets I should not have been surprised when HoJo took to the stage with a keytar! I thought they were extinct! The other notable instrument on stage was what I could only guess at the time was some kind of bass guitar which was the strangest thing I can remember seeing because it clearly had too many strings to be an actual bass guitar and looked like a long stick. (It's apparently called a Chapman Stick and puzzled me all night.)

Unusual instrumentation aside, I was really looking forward to this set as I was more familiar with the HoJo hits. This was only in part due to sharing the exact same class schedule as Mary our junior year of high school when she would supplement her "Cure Fact of the Day" with a periodic "Howard Jones Fact of the Day!" I didn't recognize the opening song "Pearl in the Shell" (despite the fact that it apparently comes from his album Human's Lib which I had on cassette and is likely stuck in a box in storage.) This was soon followed by "I'd Like to Get to Know You Well" which is an excellent song to have early in the set. A fun point about midway through the set was when he covered "Too Shy" by Kajagoogoo which was written by the bass player with the weird looking Chapman Stick, and an easy sing along for the crowd at the chorus. (I am shocked it didn't get stuck in my head all night!)

"Too Shy" was followed by my personal favorite Howard Jones song -- "No One Is to Blame." I mentioned this being my favorite HoJo song to Mary a while ago and she was quite surprised I even had a favorite! It's just one of those songs that hit at the right place and time and still has a special place in my heart, so it was fantastic to hear it live.

His set wrapped up with "What Is Love?" and "Things Can Only Get Better" which he tied together nicely by referencing a line from the third verse of "What Is Love" -- "And maybe love is letting people be just what they want to be."

Another break to turn over the stage for Culture Club. Lora was a little perplexed when she didn't see things getting set up as we had between Berlin and Howard Jones. I pointed to the big black curtain hanging over part of the stage and reminded her that headline acts have their set prepared and hidden while the openers perform. (She doesn't go to concerts as much as some of my other friends.) A quick check of the phone to see when to anticipate Ana Gloria's concert call -- second song in, got it!

Boy George (or "Man George" as he later joked) and the band took the stage about 9:15 and opened with an excellent cover of "Sympathy for the Devil." They really had a good bluesy sound to them which surprised me somewhat since I generally put them in the reggae-influenced pop category. Covering the Rolling Stones was unexpected (checking out the set list not withstanding.)

Again, this was a set list I knew I would be relatively familiar with overall thanks to Ana Gloria's undying fandom back in high school. When we all turned 40, I put together some mix CDs as a gift for each of my friends. One of mixes included answers to 10 questions including "What song reminds you of [name]?" I had to laugh when I looked at the responses for Ana Gloria -- 3 responses "Karma Chameleon", 1 response "Love Is Love." So, we all associate AG with Culture Club, but none of us guessed "It's a Miracle" as her song of choice, which she got to listen to through a muddy mobile phone connection. 

Boy George sounded fantastic, though he was singing in a lower key than he was 40 years ago. And of course he looked stylish as always with a red hat jauntily atop his head and an interesting jacket. (And of course fabulous eye makeup!) Though I must say it was a bit weird seeing him with a goatee. It looked fine, just different!

"Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" was a definite highlight of the set as it was slowed down and more acoustic than the original. I did laugh at myself while standing up and dancing along -- I found myself dancing rather like Boy George did in the video. Quite unintentional! But the biggest highlight for me was towards the end of the set when "Church of the Poison Mind" turned into Wham!'s "I'm Your Man." I'd been up and down in my seat all night, but absolutely could not stay sitting for that. Wham! was my first concert back in 1986 and "I'm Your Man" was one of two new songs they performed that night. I was already in an '80s nostalgia mood, so that was just a perfect tie in for me.

The main set closed out with "Miss Me Blind" and then we had to wait a bit for the encore. Not terribly long, but longer than I typically expect. As I has suspected, Boy George had a bit of a wardrobe change and returned to the stage now sporting a yellow hat and black and yellow jacket. The band launched into a cover of "Bang a Gong" which was excellent and towards the end of the song both Terri Nunn and Howard Jones returned to the stage to sing along which was great fun. It turned out that last night was the last night of the tour with both HoJo and Berlin. (There are a couple of shows left in LA with just Berlin opening.)

Terri and Howard stayed on stage for the finale -- "Karma Chameleon" (naturally) and it was a fun way to end a trip back in time.

The show wrapped up a bit before 11:00, but with general exiting delays and stopping for some water, it was 12:45 when I dropped Lora and Barbara back at Barbara's house and headed for home. A late night before a work day AND one where I needed to be in the office made for a bit of rough Monday, but all in all a fantastic night out with good music and good friends.

Set Lists (courtesy of setlist.fm.)

Berlin

Masquerade
No More Words
The Metro
Animal
Transcendance
Take My Breath Away
She Sells Sanctuary (The Cult cover)
Sex (I'm a...)

Howard Jones

Pearl in the Shell
Like to Get to Know You Well
Everlasting Love
New Song
Too Shy (Kajagoogoo cover)
No One Is to Blame
Celebrate It Together
What Is Love?
Things Can Only Get Better 

Culture Club

Sympathy for the Devil (The Rolling Stones cover)
It's a Miracle
I'll Tumble 4 Ya
Melodrama
Everything I Own (Bread cover)
Let It Go
Do You Really Want To Hurt Me
Eyeliner Voodoo
Angel of Mercy
That's the Way (I'm Only Trying to Help You)
Church of the Poison Mind / I'm Your Man
Time (Clock of the Heart)
Miss Me Blind
 
Encore:
Get It On (T. Rex cover)
Karma Chameleon

August 2, 2023 -- Music on the Mountain

Mountain Winery
Saratoga, CA

I wasn't planning on writing up my Wednesday night trip to the Mountain Winery to see Chris Isaak. I have a really hard time judging how much interest people outside of the San Francisco Bay Area have in Chris. I suspect most people know him as the guy who sang "Wicked Game" and had a fun TV show in the early 2000s and that's about it.

Meanwhile, I remember talking about Chris Isaak with my friends when we were in high school. He was popular on the San Francisco music scene and his first album Silvertone came out when I was a junior in high school. None of us were able to actually see Chris in those early days as he was usually playing clubs we weren't old enough to get in to (and even if any of us had tried to use a fake ID we all looked younger than we were anyway and it would have never worked!) Still, we knew who he was and I have followed his career ever since, including referring to guitarist Hershel Yatovitz as the "new guy" in his band. (Hershel's been in the band since 1995, about the same time I could finally afford to go see Chris.)

It had actually been quite a while since I'd last seen Chris. The usual vagaries of conflicts with time and money had a lot to do with that, but I was quite surprised to realize it had been over 10 years since I'd seen him last! So when I saw him once again on the Mountain Winery calendar I grabbed myself a ticket.

The Mountain Winery is a gorgeous venue in the hills above the Santa Clara Valley (aka "Silicon Valley") but it is a chore getting there. Driving up the narrow winding roads is nerve wracking in the daylight and downright scary at night. Still, it's worth the trek up the mountain to a scenic venue with a great view of the South Bay. It's a bit hard to believe that we're still in the heart of the Bay Area and it feels miles away.

Located where it is, you're generally stuck either bringing a picnic dinner or grabbing something from one of the various eateries on site. You can grab a quick salad or pizza from the concession stands or get a nice sit down 3 course dinner on one of the patios, just depends on how much you're willing to spend. I went for a salad this time and sat beneath some trees while I ate and could hear a band playing off by one of the dining areas. A nice relaxing way to start the evening.

Most shows at the Mountain Winery usually include an opening act. Sometimes it's an act touring with the main performer and others they're booked separately. That seems to be the case for this show. I didn't even notice the name of the opening act before the show other than to note that I didn't recognize the name and figured it would be some forgettable act as so many similar acts I've seen over the years. I couldn't have been more wrong.

The fellow who opened the show was named David Luning (I had to text a friend to look it up for me since I couldn't connect to the internet after his set ended) and he and his band mate Ben Dubin (also had to look that up) were absolutely fantastic! The best way to describe his music is probably with the catch-all "Americana" -- a little folky, a little country, a little bluesy. He played about a half dozen songs with just him on an acoustic guitar while Ben played a stand up bass, harmonica, and tambourine -- AT THE SAME TIME! The tambourine was taped to the floor and played using drum pedals in case you were wondering. It's rare that I see an opening act I've never heard of and immediately want to find more of their music, but that was the case here. I'm definitely going to be checking out more of his stuff! (Interestingly the last time I remember seeing a new act and wanting to find their music was also at a Chris Isaak show. The Wallflowers opened for him right when their first album came out -- my friend Mary and I headed to the Virgin Megastore right after the show ended to find their album. Not sure if either of us bought it that night, but we had it soon afterwards if not!)

After being thoroughly entertained by David Luning, it was time for Chris and his band to take the stage. I had a great seat to the side of the stage and could see them entering from back stage and it was great to see his familiar band take the stage before Chris appeared in a light blue suit with paisley rhinestones down the sides of his pants and on the lapels of his jacket. No one looks like Chris Isaak on stage!

Since it had been so long since I'd last seen Chris, I'd rather forgotten just how much fun his shows are. With his quirky sense of humor and his melancholy songs it's always a fun night. The show kicked off with the song he used as the theme song for his television show "American Boy" which is a fun little romp. Then a few songs in, Chris wandered out into the audience while singing "Don't Leave Me on My Own" and I was pleasantly surprised when he started up the stairs next to my section!

"Wicked Game" came along surprisingly early in the set which I thought was great. He's got so many excellent tunes that getting the biggest hit out of the way early allowed everyone to enjoy the rest of the set. Chris was influenced quite a bit by Roy Orbison and he told a story of opening for Roy at the Mountain Winery early in his career and Roy calling him over to stand next to him while being photographed by the press. It was a great way to open his cover of "Only the Lonely." Another highlight was his cover of "Can't Help Falling in Love." If you can't have Elvis sing that song for you, Chris is a damn good replacement. Beyond that, I again have a hard time choosing my favorite moments as he played so many of my favorite songs. "Dancin'", "Blue Hotel", and "San Francisco Days" probably top the list.

A brief intermission and Chris and the band were back for their encore. Chris now in his mirrorball suit that I always wonder how he gets it cleaned! The whole encore was a highlight. From hitting and holding the high notes in "Can't Do a Thing to Stop Me" to paying tribute to Paul Rubens (aka Pee Wee Herman) with a bit of "Tequila" to having his brother Nick join him on stage to sing a song in Spanish to the soft close out of "The Way Things Really Are."

I need to make sure to not take so much time between seeing Chris again!

David Luning set list (courtesy of setlist.fm)

Bad Idea
Almost Sounds Like Laughing
Ain't Easy
Danger
I Won't Cry (Janiva Magness cover) [someone else I need to check out!]
Give Me Back My Keys
Ain't Life a Beautiful Thing 

Chris Isaak set list (courtesy of setlist.fm)

American Boy
Somebody's Crying
Waiting
Don't Leave Me On My Own
I Want Your Love
Wicked Game
Go Walking Down There
Speak of the Devil
Oh, Pretty Woman
Forever Blue
Two Hearts
Blue Spanish Sky
Only the Lonely
Dancin'
Killing the Blues (Rowland Salley vocals)
Can't Help Falling in Love
Blue Hotel
San Francisco Days
Big Wide Wonderful World
Notice the Ring
 
Encore:
In the Heat of the Jungle / Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing / James Bond Theme/ Bye Bye Baby
Can't Do a Thing (To Stop Me)
Tequila
La tumba será el final (with Nick Isaak)
The Way Things Really Are

July 30, 2023 -- Oh Thinkin' About All Our Younger Years

Chase Center
San Francisco, CA

At the beginning of the year I got a list of the promotional events for the San Francisco Giants. One of them included Sesame Street Day with an Elmo bobble head giveaway. I checked the list of games included in my 22-game Thrill Pack to see if it included that game. Yep, there it is, July 30 vs. the Boston Red Sox. So I shot a note off to Ana Marie to see if she wanted to join me and get her very own Elmo bobble head. Well, of course she wasn't going to miss out on that! (If you know, you know. If you don't, sorry, inside joke.)

A week or so later, I see an announcement for a concert at Chase Center on the same day -- Bryan Adams with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts opening. I shot a text off to Ana Marie -- wanna do a double header? She was in, so off I went to grab a couple of tickets and we planned to spend a day and night in San Francisco.

Fast forward to last week when I mentioned my weekend plans to my manager and a co-worker. My manager asked if I was going to see Taylor Swift at Levi's Stadium. When I told him no, but Bryan Adams and Joan Jett, he let out a laugh at the difference.

So, yes, the big concert in the Bay Area last weekend was Taylor Swift's two sold out shows at Levi's Stadium. I couldn't help but think that the reason Taylor Swift can sell out multiple nights at football stadiums in 2023 is because Joan Jett kicked down a bunch of doors and banged a few heads around in the 1970s and 80s to blaze the way for others who came behind her.

I remember when I fist saw and heard Joan Jett back in the early '80s. I was 12 or 13 and she absolutely fascinated me and completely scared me at the same time. She exuded a raw toughness that was just impossible to miss. To me, she was someone you did not want to cross because she'd quickly show you who was in charge. Her music had the same intensity. I was a shy awkward kid and the idea of having that much inherent power was amazing.

So heading into the show Sunday night I was really looking forward to seeing Joan Jett and the Blackhearts even though I knew I'd really only know the early '80s hits out of her set. She's such a trail blazer and that she's still at it at 64 is fantastic.

Ana Marie and I met up Sunday morning at the hotel I booked and dropped off our things in our room that was surprisingly ready for us at 11:00 am. We crossed the street to Oracle Park and got right in picking up our Elmo bobble heads before settling in for a tight game between my beloved Giants and the Boston Red Sox. We enjoyed the in-game Sesame Street promos as much as the game and the Giants emerged victorious after 11 innings.

Back across the street to our hotel to freshen up and change clothes before heading up to the roof top bar for some post-game pre-gaming. Terrific view from the top of Hotel Via, and something I definitely want to do again. We decided to head over to Chase Center about 6:15 and after a 15 minute walk we arrived just as the doors opened. 

We grabbed some swag and drinks and hung out in the lounge area behind our seats for a bit before heading down to our seats. I really like Chase and the way they have the concessions in a lounge area for the sections that run parallel to the floor in the lower bowl. Feels very comfy. Once we got to our seats, I noticed the entire upper level was empty, so I figured they didn't even try to sell those seats. That made sense to me since the last time I saw Bryan Adams was at the Shoreline Amphitheater and they didn't sell the lawn seats -- just the seated sections -- and I was mildly surprised he was playing at Chase which is our fancy new arena for the Warriors that has only been open since late 2019.

Joan Jett hit the stage about 7:40 and kicked into her set. It was as intense and ferocious as I had expected. As I had also expected, I didn't recognize the song, but appreciated the energy. The second song in was "Cherry Bomb" from her time in the Runaways. I have a passing familiarity with the Runaways catalog, but can't say I know it well so it took a minute to recognize. The first set continued with songs I was less familiar with, but I definitely enjoyed a new tune called "(Make the Music Go) Boom" which really summed up a lot of the attitude I associate with Joan Jett. Another highlight was a cover of "Everyday People" which was quite different from the Sly Stone classic.

The second half of her set was full of the big hits and I was up on my feet for "I Love Rock and Roll." That was followed by "Crimson and Clover" which I had totally forgotten about and sounded terrific. Throughout her set I just kept thinking "Yeah, she's a bad ass!" and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I really enjoyed the last song of her set too which was a more country tinged song called "Whiskey Goes Good" which is another new song and had a nice melancholy feel to it.

Joan wrapped up about 8:45 and the road crew came out to get the stage ready for Bryan Adams. While we waited for the show to start, a drone controlled inflatable car came drifting out and around the arena promoting Bryan Adams' new album. It was an amusing distraction.

Bryan and his band hit the stage about 9:15 and I was almost immediately thrown back to my teens and early twenties. So many of his songs were part of the soundtrack of my life at that time. Not the main themes, but part of the constant background music to life as those years went by. With the exception of a couple of new songs and one album cut I'd quite forgotten about it was a blast to the past.

With so many hits and so many memories flashing through my brain, it's hard to pick the highlights. When he introduced "It's Only Love" he talked about collaborating with Tina Turner and what it was like as a young musician getting to play with someone of her stature. He naturally dedicated the song to her and I could hear her vocals singing along in my head. 

Another highlight was when he went into "Heaven" and the audience took the entire first verse which reminded me so much of the audience participation when Bruce Springsteen performs "Thunder Road." Like the the loud audience singing "Maybe we ain't all that young anymore", the opening line "Oh thinkin' about all our younger years" really rang true and hit just right as so many memories were flying through my brain. What was really impressive was that with half as many people as would be at a Springsteen show in the same arena it was equally as loud. In fact, throughout the show the audience singing along was loud and clear. I haven't heard that in a long time other than at Springsteen shows. It was great!

"(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" reminded me of my cousin Eileen's wedding. "18 Til I Die" put a smile on my face and added a laugh when the video screen flashed "18 goin' on 64" instead of "65" as he'd been singing (and "55" from the original lyric!) Towards the end of the main set, he opened up the set list for an audience request, which got us "Do I Have to Say the Words" and the comment "oh you're a romantic then."

He closed off the main set with a cover of "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" which again had a loud audience participation. (And promptly got stuck in my head for the rest of the night! Ninety minutes of Bryan Adams, and I go home with Frankie Valli singing in my head!)

Back out for the encore and it was a solo acoustic rendition of both "Straight from the Heart" and "All For Love" (with my brain inserting Sting and Rod Stewart as needed.)

All in all an enjoyable day doing two things I love most -- watching baseball and going to a concert.

Joan Jett set list (courtesy of setlist.fm)

Shooting Into Space  
Cherry Bomb  
Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)
You Drive Me Wild
(Make the Music Go) Boom
Fake Friends
Everyday People
If You're Blue
Fresh Start
I Love Rock 'n' Roll
Crimson & Clover
I Hate Myself for Loving You
Bad Reputation
Whiskey Goes Good

Bryan Adams set list (courtesy of setlist.fm)

Kick Ass  
Can't Stop This Thing We Started  
Somebody  
Take Me Back  
Please Forgive Me  
One Night Love Affair  
Shine a Light
Heaven
It's Only Love
This Time  
You Belong to Me  
I've Been Looking for You  
The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me Is You  
Here I Am  
(Everything I Do) I Do It for You
Back to You
18 til I Die
Summer of '69
Do I Have to Say the Words?
Cuts Like a Knife
So Happy It Hurts
Run to You
Can't Take My Eyes Off You

Encore:
Straight From the Heart
All for Love