August 14, 2014: And In The End, The Love You Take Is Equal To The Love You Make

San Francisco, CA
Candlestick Park

I'm not a huge fan of stadium shows. They're too big and even if you get a seat close to the stage, the stage is so high you're not really all that close. Seats on the lawn are looking at the backs of heads and the actual stadium seats are miles from the stage.

Candlestick Park is a decrepit dump. It's freezing cold with howling wind and located in the single most inconvenient location in San Francisco. Getting there is a nightmare. Getting home is worse. Why anyone thought it was a good idea to build a stadium on Candlestick Point back in 1958 is well beyond me.

But oh the memories....

Candlestick Park (and always Candlestick Park, any other name the place has held over the last 54 years was always irrelevant) was where Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, and Juan Marichal reigned supreme in the 1960s. John Brodie, Gene Washington, Jimmie Johnson and later Jim Plunkett and an aging O.J. Simpson brought football in the 1970s. Candlestick Park was home for Joe Montana, Dwight Clark, Ronnie Lott, Jerry Rice, Roger Craig, Steve Young, and oh so many more stars for those 1980s championship 49er teams. Will Clark, Robby Thompson, and Matt Williams brought good, exciting baseball back to Candlestick in the late 1980s and in 1993 the best player in the game signed with his hometown team -- Barry Bonds came to play at Candlestick Park.

The Rolling Stones played concerts at Candlestick Park. I can vividly remember them coming to town in the early 1980s and the hype and hoopla surrounding these 40 year old guys playing a rock concert.

And, of course, the Beatles played their final concert at Candlestick Park. All reports have always been it wasn't a very good concert, but it was always a point of pride for that lousy old dump off Highway 101. Now that the 49ers have followed the Giants and moved on to greener pastures, it was only fitting that the final event to be held at Candlestick Park be a concert by Paul McCartney.

Talk about this concert began sometime last year after Sir Paul appeared at the Outside Lands festival, and as soon as I heard there were plans in the works to try to get him to Candlestick for one last hurrah, I planned to be there. When the concert was finally announced earlier this year, I made sure I knew every which way to get tickets. This was a hard ticket to get and I was in a panic while trying to buy seats -- nothing would come up over and over and over again no matter what I tried. After what seemed like days of selecting tickets and hitting enter on Ticketmaster, I was finally able to snag two tickets in the lower reserved section. My cousin Eileen would be coming up from L.A. to join me for the show.

The day of the show finally arrived and since Eileen was coming up, I had planned ahead and taken the week off. I picked Eileen up at the airport Thursday morning and after doing a quick hometown tour of Millbrae and dropping things off at my place, we were off to spend the afternoon in San Francisco before heading to the show. A yummy lunch was followed by a stroll down the Embarcadero through the throngs of tourists. Back to the car by 4:15 or so and over to Candlestick. Sure, the concert wasn't scheduled to start until 8:00, but the parking lots opened at 3:00 and the gates would open at 5:00. I'm no fool, I've spent a lifetime going to Candlestick and know it's best to get there early or you'll never get there on time.

We got to the parking lot around 4:45 and got out to the usual howling cold wind. The weather had been very pleasant with a slight breeze downtown. Not Candlestick Point. Popped the trunk and pulled out the sweatshirt and coat, grabbed the gloves just in case, and pulled my hair up. Now I'm ready for Candlestick!

The gates didn't open right on time at 5:00, so it was probably closer to 5:30 or so when we got in. A nice treat, everyone was handed a souvenir ticket as they entered. In these days of electronic and print at home tickets, that was a nice touch. (I had opted for the traditional ticket, so I have that souvenir too.) We found our seats easily through the early crowd and chatted there for a bit before heading off to check out the swag table and grab something to eat. We both picked up a t-shirt that listed only the Candlestick date on the back, but finding food was a trick. The concession stands were clearly not being operated by whoever ran them when the 49ers were still there, so there were lots and lots of options for wine and beer but trying to find a simple hot dog was a chore. Once we did find a vendor selling hot dogs, we had to wait a good 10 minutes for them to be ready!

Candlestick gradually filled up and I was pleasantly surprised to find that our seats were pretty well sheltered from the wind. It was howling like mad on the concourses, but where we were sitting (approximately behind the old third base visitors dugout) it was actually pretty nice. We were miles from the stage, which was set up in what had been the north endzone (home of "The Catch"), but the HUGE video screens would be fine for viewing.

The show didn't start until nearly 9:00 (which I had more or less expected despite the "promptly at 8:00" notifications I had been receiving) which was quite beneficial to those folks who were stuck in Candlestick traffic. I've seen Paul quite a few times by now, and this show was on par with all his previous performances. A mix of classic Beatles tunes, Wings hits, a few new songs that got polite applause, a few lesser known Wings tunes, and a couple of covers. As he so often does when in town, he played "San Francisco Bay Blues" which got a marvelous response.

The show was quite good and the audience enjoyed it quite clearly. There were many points when I could hear the 49,000 or so people singing along with those oh-so-familiar songs. A couple of personal highlights: "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da" got people up on their feet dancing and singing along, "Here Today", Paul's tribute to John which always puts a tear in my eye, "The Long and Winding Road" reminded me of the first time I saw him in Berkeley in the early 1990s, and the fireworks show with "Live and Let Die" is always much more fun outdoors than inside.

But it was the songs you knew would be the cream of the crop that took the show. "Let It Be" with a galaxy of mobile phone "stars" throughout the stadium was amazing. "Hey Jude" and the massive sing-along chorus. And the simple mastery of "Yesterday" that always makes me think of just how young Paul was when he wrote this amazing tune.

Over two and a half hours later, the show was over. At 72, I gotta say that's pretty impressive. The show just flew by and it was sad to see it end. Eileen and I hustled back to the parking lot and were in the car by 12:00. Pushing through the traffic and pedestrians to get to the freeway, we managed to make it to 101 by 12:30 and home by 1:00.

Good ole Candlestick Park... you decrepit dump of ice cold, bone chilling wind. I'm not sorry to see you go. I will miss seeing the home of so many memories, but I will always have the memories. Glad I got to capture the last memory anyone will ever have of an event at Candlestick.

Set List (courtesy of setlist.fm)*

Eight Days a Week
Save Us
All My Loving
Listen to What the Man Said
Let Me Roll It
Paperback Writer
My Valentine
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five
The Long and Winding Road
Maybe I'm Amazed
I've Just Seen a Face
San Francisco Bay Blues
We Can Work It Out
Another Day
And I Love Her
Blackbird
Here Today
New
Queenie Eye
Lady Madonna
All Together Now
Lovely Rita
Everybody Out There
Eleanor Rigby
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Something
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
Band on the Run
Back in the USSR
Let It Be
Live and Let Die
Hey Jude

Encore 1:
Day Tripper
Hi, Hi, Hi
I Saw Her Standing There

Encore 2:
Yesterday
Long Tall Sally (last song played by the Beatles at Candlestick in '66)
Golden Slumbers
Carry That Weight
The End

*There was a bit of Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady" played early on in the set I think between "Listen to What the Man Said" and "Let Me Roll It", but I'm not totally sure. That was followed by a nice tale of Jimi Hendrix playing songs from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" two days after it was released and Jimi asking Eric Clapton to help him re-tune his guitar.

July 1, 2014: Killer Queen!

San Jose, CA
SAP Center

It's taken me a bit longer to put this together than I'd expected, so with out further ado.

Last Tuesday night I met up with Leslie, Todd, and Emerson to take in Queen + Adam Lambert in San Jose. All I can say is "Wow!" Totally amazing night. Before we get to that, however, a little back story. I was never a huge Queen fan "back in the day." They were a band that was more popular with friends' older siblings than me or most of my friends. I knew who they were and a handful of songs of course, but for the most part if anyone asked me about them my response would have been along the lines of "yeah, they're OK I guess" and then would have promptly forgotten about it. I really had no opinion one way or the other about them and, all things considered, I only really remember hearing "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions" and "Another One Bites the Dust" on the radio when I was a kid. (I'm sure I heard other tunes, I just have no recollection of them at all.) So, clearly, I came very late to the Queen party. In fact, I'm pretty sure that it wasn't until I heard/saw the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in my early 20s that I really registered what an incredible band they were. Better late than never I suppose.

Now, add in to this mix that I have probably watched a grand total of 15 minutes of American Idol in my life. Reality television just isn't my thing and I'm not overly interested in talent shows any way. Since I don't live under a rock, I had heard of Adam Lambert and vaguely knew who he was, but beyond that he was on my radar about as much as Queen was when I was 10.

Still, when the tickets went on sale for this show I thought "hey, that could be loads of fun!" I'd seen Queen in 2006 when they had Paul Rodgers handling the lead singer duties and had been blown away by their show. Despite not knowing much about Adam Lambert, I did know enough to think he'd be a better fit for Queen than Paul Rodgers was. Boy was I ever right!

I'm going to start off by saying despite finding an appreciation for Queen 20-some years ago now, I'm still mostly a "Greatest Hits" fan. I knew most of the songs in the set, but there were a handful that I wasn't all that familiar with. None of that mattered at all.

The show kicked off about 8:15 with all kinds of pomp and flair and when Adam Lambert walked out in his shades, leather jacket, black t-shirt, and leather pants I leaned over to Emerson and said "he's channeling his inner George Michael!" (Seriously, he looked like '90s era George Michael.) He came out with tons of energy and flair and early on in the show I thought how great it was that Brian May and Roger Taylor let him just be himself while performing. They easily could have told him to reign things in -- they're the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers after all. One of my favorite over the top moments came during "Killer Queen" when Adam Lambert was lounging on a purple fainting chair fanning himself off.

As a singer and general performer, Adam Lambert was fabulous. He didn't have that compelling magnetism that made Freddie Mercury famous and is a sign of a strong front man. That's not to say he wasn't fantastic, but just that he didn't have that vibe/energy that had everyone following what he does. I think it's probably a combination of his age and relative lack of experience (compared to the rest of the guys on stage) and the fact that he's the "fill in guy" and it's not his own stuff he's performing. There's a difference between great entertainer and compelling performer that's a little hard to describe/define; it's one of those "I know it when I see it" kind of things. Adam is definitely in the former category.

When I saw Queen with Paul Rodgers, the show was quite good, but there were songs that Paul Rodgers couldn't (or didn't) sing because he doesn't have the range that Freddie did. Adam Lambert, on the other hand, covered the whole range magnificently. My favorite Queen songs are mostly the slower ballads -- Freddie's voice is so amazing on many of them -- and Adam nailed them.

Overall, the show was the kind of show you remember going to (or wanting to go to) as a teenager. Loud, fog machines, multi-colored lights, laser lights, a spinning disco ball. All of it. Just amazing production. There was even a dual drum solo featuring Rufus Taylor (presumably) Roger Taylor's son on one kit while Roger was on the other. I can't remember the last show I went to that had an honest-to-god drum solo. Later in the show Brian May had about a 5 minute guitar solo. Again, I can't remember the last time I saw a show with a solo like that. Probably the last time I saw Queen!

Brian May and Roger Taylor each took a turn on lead vocals. Brian did a lovely acoustic version of "Love of My Life" and Roger took on "These Are the Days of Our Lives." The latter was accompanied with video of the band in their hey day. I've loved that song from the moment I first discovered it and the older I get the more I appreciate it. Brought a bit of a tear to my eye.

The climax of the show, of course, was the finale. "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a bear of a song to sing and performing it live has got to be a huge challenge. It was handled beautifully. Adam Lambert started it, then it switched to Freddie's vocals on the video, and the multi-layered vocals were also the famed video. The song closed out with Adam back on vocals, but trading off the last few lines with Freddie. Adam totally nailed the song and it was AMAZING to watch. I shot some video on my phone and when I've gotten a chance to see if I can fix the orientation issues I'll upload it to my YouTube account and update this post. (Trying to find time to do that has already delayed this entry by 12 days!)

Of course the encore was the perfect ending to the show -- "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions." It was all over much too quickly, but it was a fun and hugely entertaining night out. I hope they come back around again soon.

Set List (courtesy setlist.fm):

Now I'm Here
Stone Cold Crazy
Another One Bites the Dust
Fat Bottomed Girls
In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited
Seven Seas of Rhye
Killer Queen
Somebody to Love
I Want It All
Love of My Life
'39
These Are the Days of Our Lives
-- drum solo --
Under Pressure
Love Kills
Who Wants to Live Forever
-- guitar solo --
Tie Your Mother Down
Don't Stop Me Now
Radio Ga Ga
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
The Show Must Go On
Bohemian Rhapsody

Encore:
We Are the Champions
We Will Rock You

What the Heck Happened After 2010?

As I transferred the last few Rockin' Road Reports from my Facebook account to this blog, I realized I hadn't written a whole lot after 2010. One post each for 2011 and 2012 and none at all for 2013! What the heck happened?

Well, as should be apparent by the change from strictly Journey concerts with a few others tossed in to having more tales of other bands, I seriously cut back on my Journey shows. That was one factor. Another, larger factor, was the shift in how people interact online in 2014 (as I write this) and how people interacted online in the past. The Rockin' Road Report started on the Journey Digest mailing list and eventually would also appear on Back Talk, the message board for the official Journey website. Back Talk was shut down around 2008 and the Journey Digest, while technically still in existence, is rarely used these days. Now, keeping up with fellow Journey fans entails mostly communicating on Facebook. When I first joined Facebook in late 2008, one of the key features for interaction, was the "Notes" section. Over time, that section became less featured as new functions were added.

With the change in communication styles, I wrote fewer tales from the various concerts I attended. I know there were several I had planned to write up, but as I spend more time online via my iPad than my computer, I never got around to it. I also have been attending fewer concerts. I know 2013 was particularly quiet, and as I write this in February 2014, I have no concert tickets purchased as yet. There is a Journey show coming up in June (I think) that I plan to attend, but have had to wait to purchase as the ticket prices have gotten quite exorbitant since those early shows in 1998.

Taking a look at my calendar, here are all the shows I've been to since that last report from July, 2012.

October 2, 2012 -- Peter Gabriel (from the 4th row!)

November 30, 2012 -- Bruce Springsteen (epic as always, but a bit emotional for me as one of my favorite uncles had passed away earlier that day.)

April 25, 2013 -- Bon Jovi (with out Richie Sambora)

July 20, 2013 -- Goo Goo Dolls/Matchbox 20 (in Irvine)

July 21, 2013 -- Wallflowers/Counting Crows (also in Irvine -- girls weekend!)

September 16, 2013 -- Journey w/ Tower of Power (even wrote down a set list for an unwritten RRR!)

September 21, 2013 -- Gregg Rolie (from the 2nd row!)

October 26, 2013 -- Rick Springfield (woo hoo! girls night out!)

Most of those 2013 shows got iPhone pix uploaded to Facebook, but no real write ups. I'm hoping that I'll write more in 2014 and beyond now that I've got this alternate outlet for them. We'll see how I do. Might help if I buy tickets for that show in June...

July 22, 2012: Journey to Tahoe!

Lake Tahoe, NV
Harvey's Outdoor Arena

Fair warning, this is gonna get long and there's a lot of pre-concert (and pre-pre-concert) stuff to cover.

July 2012 and time for my one and only Journey concert for the year. Kind of weird after 8 years of multiple shows, that for the last 6 years I've been a one show a year person, but that's how things are now. That change has meant missing out on seeing a lot of friends and the epic pre-show get-togethers of time gone by, which is always what I loved most about my Journey journeys of 1998-2006. Fortunately, this one show was going to be the one to bring back some of that time. For starters, it meant traveling farther than an hour from my house and included a weekend in Tahoe! This should be great!

When I left work on Friday, I knew I REALLY needed this weekend away. It's been a particularly stressful time at my office the past 4-5 months, and it all caught up with me last week. I needed to get out of there in the worst way. So I was up bright and early Saturday morning, earlier than I even get up for work, loaded up the car and headed off to pick up Cheryl, Leslie, and Emerson for the four hour drive up to Tahoe. When we got underway, I told everyone "I've been stressed out this week, so we're going to listen to my de-stress play list on my iPod on the way up." Since the de-stress playlist is dubbed "Perry Era," no one minded much.

We made good time to Tahoe and got to the condo that Leslie had arranged for us by about 1:00. We hauled our luggage and a few groceries up the 104 steps (at 7,000+ feet no less!) and collapsed in the condo to wait for Darryl and Jenny to arrive before heading to lunch. By the time they got there and got settled, we were trying to figure out what time Jenn and Teresa would arrive and lunch became an early dinner and we headed off to Cabo Wabo to get something to eat and drink. We did kill some of the pre-dinner time by watching a 1980 Journey concert on the big screen TV.

We were joined for dinner by Matt and his wife Wendy, so once Jenn and Teresa arrived from the airport there were 10 of us for dinner and lots of talking and joking and catching up commenced. After dinner, we split up the group staying at the condo -- some to get groceries, some to head back to the condo. We tried to get Cheryl to join the grocery store outing, but she wanted to head back to the condo. This was a problem.

You see, back when the tickets for the show went on sale and everyone picked up their seats, I realized the concert would be a few days before a milestone birthday for Cheryl. I sent a note off to the gang and then Jenn and Teresa took the idea and went running with it. We would have a surprise party for Cheryl before the show. Now, after dinner, Cheryl wanted to go back to the condo. This meant riding with Jenn and Teresa who had gifts and supplies for the party in their car. They told Cheryl their car was parked in a bad spot, so they'd come pick her up rather than have her deal with the hassle of getting to the car. This gave them enough time to move things out of sight. When I returned to the condo from the grocery run, all of those things were put into my car, safely out of the way.

Sunday morning dawned and the 8 of us crammed into the condo got ready to start the day. Cheryl had booked a hotel room for herself for Sunday (which really worked out well for us) and Jenn and Teresa were going to crash with her on Sunday night. They packed up their car and headed off, Darryl, Jenny, and Leslie were headed to the "craft show," and Emerson and I would meet up with everyone at the shops. I don't know where Jenn and Teresa took Cheryl because Emerson and I never caught up with them. Meanwhile, the "craft show" was code for "picking up the balloons and birthday cake."

Around 12:30 Emerson and I headed over to the Hard Rock Cafe to meet up with Leslie and get things set up for the party. We were expecting 20 folks to join us for Cheryl's special day around 1:00, and the guest of honor was set to arrive around 1:15 and would be told that we'd run into the other folks for lunch. Since our tables were exposed to the casino and the surprise would be blown a good 100 feet before Cheryl reached us, we decided to start singing "Happy Birthday" as soon as she was in sight. It went over well, and Cheryl was truly surprised. Almost immediately thereafter, "Don't Stop Believin'" came up on the video screen for the Hard Rock and the 20 or so folks in the group let out a huge cheer.

It was a great pre-show party with friends from near and far. Sue and Marty in from the UK (and after an 8+ hour drive up from San Bernardino where they'd seen the boys the night before) with Barb and Val. Debbie and Renee came up just to help celebrate Cheryl's birthday and managed to snag a couple of tickets to the concert. Les and Barb joined the gang and somehow we lucked into Jon stopping in for a minute to say hello. After a couple hours of chatting and noshing, people began peeling off to get a little rest before the show. Debbie and Renee came back to the condo with us and we were later joined by Matt and Wendy and a couple of bottles of champagne. A good time was had by all.

Back down the hill for the concert where we all scattered a bit as we had different seating options, some opted for the 4 or 5 star packages while others took the less pricey seats. I was sitting by myself, but not far from Matt and Wendy and Debbie and Renee. Loverboy was up first and they went through their 30 minute set fairly well. I can't say I was ever much of a Loverboy fan and though I recognized most of the set, none of it was particularly inspiring.

Pat Benetar came out next, and put on a great show. Way back when I wanted to be Pat Benetar, that tough chick who didn't take anything from anybody. I was up on my feet singing and dancing along through the whole set. Once she was finished, I went off to visit with folks and was watching the sky carefully. Dark clouds were building up and there was a gusting wind coming -- were we in for a mountain storm? Then I noticed there was some smoke in the air -- must be a fire near by.

Now it was time for Journey to take the stage. We'd gotten some advance info on the set list from the folks who'd been to San Bernardino the night before, so I was interested in how it would all play out. The guys came out to some introductory music and then launched into "Majestic," something I've never heard live before, so that was a fantastic way to start it. Launching into "Never Walk Away" next was an interesting choice, but probably a wise one as the crowd was too pumped up with the start of the show to sit down and it has a good energy that everyone stayed on their feet.

There were a lot of different thoughts running through my head during the show and memories upon memories came flooding back about the last 15 or so years and all the adventures in Journeyland. I couldn't get in to "Faith in the Heartland" -- I just have a hard time hearing someone other than Steve Augeri singing it, which I know is REALLY weird since I haven't had any problem with other people singing the songs Steve Perry made famous. I think the difference lies in having met and gotten to know Steve A. a little bit over time where as the closest interaction I've ever had with Steve Perry is nearly walking into him at a SF Giants game in 2010!

That leads me to the next moment -- "Lights" -- since that 2010 World Series season for the San Francisco Giants, they've instituted a sing along in the 8th inning. If the Giants are losing or tied, it's DSB, but if they're winning it's "Lights" so now two of my favorite pastimes are joined very closely. Now when the sing along begins, they helpfully put the lyrics up on the score board and eventually it gets to "Air Guitar Solo." Naturally, that's what popped in my head when the band launched into the song about my hometown.

It was the final third of the show that really got to me though. First "Escape" came up and on the video screens behind the band came that album cover. I'm sure I said something like this last year, but seeing that cover hit me really hard. That album was such an important part of my teenage years and to this day gets me through both the highs and lows of life. The stress of the last few months caught up with me too and I burst into tears. Seriously? "Escape" is not a song that moves me to tears, but there I was crying. "Open Arms" was up next and gave me moment to recollect myself, but there were still memories flooding back of all the things that I had experienced because of and with this band over the last 15 or so years. "Separate Ways" came up next and, bam, I'm crying again. Now I'm thinking of all the friends I've made and the good times we've had, but especially of the ones that have drifted away through the vagaries of time and space. I make a mental note to send off a couple of emails to people I haven't talked to in a while, just to check in and see how things are going. And I'm appreciating the fun weekend that I've been spending with my friends, but I'm also really missing one. The whole weekend I had been thinking that Darla really should be there and enjoying the party and that she's not really isn't fair. On top of it, she would have had a milestone birthday this year too and that we didn't get to have a great big bash just stinks.

"Be Good to Yourself" was next and this has long been one of my personal anthems. I kept crying right through this one too, but with a smile on my face. Gotta remember to take care of me every once and a while. This weekend was part of it, my vacation next week will be more. The guys closed up with "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'." Of course they did. I'd been remembering lots of good times with Darla -- all nighters watching Journey videos, scrambling around putting the JPP events together, just hanging out and talking. So, naturally, they end the main set with Darla's favorite song. More crying. Yet I'm laughing at myself too. It was just one of those nights.

I pulled myself together for the encore of "Any Way You Want It" and "Don't Stop Believin'." The gang all met up briefly after the show and we said our goodbyes. As always, it went much too fast and not nearly enough time to talk to everyone as much as I'd have liked too -- especially Sue and Marty who I hadn't seen in 6 years since they graciously let me stay with them for a few days while traveling through England.

Driving home from work tonight, with my "de-stress" playlist on full bore in the car, "Why Can't This Night Go on Forever" came on and that's what I felt this weekend, and every other weekend adventure with the crazy Journey buddies. Time flies much too fast.

Set list:

Majestic
Never Walk Away
Ask the Lonely
Chain Reaction
Only the Young
Faith in the Heartland
Faithfully
-Neal solo-
Stone in Love
Edge of the Blade
Lights
City of Hope
Wheel in the Sky
Escape
-Jon solo-
Open Arms
Separate Ways
Be Good to Yourself
Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'

Encore:
Any Way You Want It
Don't Stop Believin'