Pink Floyd, May 7, 1977 - Anaheim Stadium

I had this wild hair earlier and just had to find a video of a concert that I attended.  I first searched for David Bowie in '75 at LA Forum, no luck.  Then I tried a few shows I'd seen at the LA Sports Arena, no luck.  Finally I found one:  and the video is not embeddable!  But here is the link.

The quality is poor but you get the feel for it.  I guess back then somebody had to sneak in a real camera.

As for me, I snuck in a bota bag full of cheap red wine and a few tabs of pink pegasus.  It was historical.

What is one of the most memorable concerts you've been to?
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Billy Corgan "Meets" My Son :)

WOW - this is one fun thing to share, I am so jazzed.  My son hasn't even heard about this yet!

Here is the story:  First of all, Keven's favorite band is Smashing Pumpkins.  He thinks Billy Corgan is "the man" and he indentifies with him because of some of the things Billy shares about his life that Kev can relate to.

So....the other day two of Keven's friends go to see Billy's solo band, and in honor of Keven not being there they made a sign that said "Free Keven". ( I smiled at this because its kind of cute but it makes him sound like he's in jail unfairly - he's certainly not!)

Well they kept holding up the sign and Billy finally says, "Okay, who's Keven and what's the story?" and proceeded to have a conversation with Andrew about Keven while Matt filmed the whole thing on his cell phone!!! 

So imagine it - your favortie musician (in my case lets use Bruce) is up in front of a crowd at a concert having a conversation about you - even though you aren't there to hear it - but its all caught on tape.  Keven will DIE! 

So tomorrow Andrew and Matt are going to surprise Keven with a visit (this is a first so far only family has gone to see him).  He is going to FREAK OUT in HAPPINESS to see them and then he will GO INSANE to hear the story I just shared! 

I LOVE IT!!!  I am so happy that my son is going to have such a great visit!  I can barely stand it!!  I had just sent him about five Smashing Pumpkin songs (lyrics only) the other day.  They aren't allowed music but he reads the lyrics and can hear it in his head.

I am waiting for the video to be transferred to YouTube, you KNOW I'll post it here!  (FYI, Keven is doing well and may be out next week to receive the help he needs.  He is not a criminal, he's a drug addict.  Unfortunately being an addict often turns one into a criminal)

The Most Important Messages in Songs:

Many songs have a message for us. One that is very relevant to me these days is by the Stones, and its one I'd like my son to "get" also. The song is, "You Can't Always Get What You Want", but damn it, if you TRY, sometimes you get what you NEED! (key words, want, try and need).

My goal is to ask some famous Rapper to re-record some songs with POSITIVE messages so my son will actually listen to and perhaps adopt the message.

What songs can you add to the list?

(To those of you following the saga of my son, thanks for listening between the lines , he's still not learning his lessons but at least he's someplace "safe" for the moment. Addiction is an ugly, evil disease).

My Generation

This is pretty much the entire song:.

People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation) Just because we get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation) Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation) I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation) This is my generation This is my generation, baby Why don't you all f-fade away (Talkin' 'bout my generation) And don't try to dig what we all s-s-say (Talkin' 'bout my generation) I'm not trying to cause a big s-s-sensation (Talkin' 'bout my generation) I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-generation (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

Just thinking about generations over the years and how different things are now than in the 60's, 70's, 80's.

I think a lot of (not all!) our youth today is really messed up. And who is to blame? Possibly my generation.

Los Angeles Rock and Roll Trivia

Spent the day up in LA trying to give Drew the rock and roll tour. I think I could have done a better job if I would have made out a better map...oh well.

How well do you know your LA Rock Trivia?

Do you know what the "Riot Hotel" is?

If so, can you name a few incidents that occured there?

Name three famous nightclubs on Sunset Strip.

Name five rock stars that have a star on the Hollywood "Walk of Fame".

There are two songs inspired by Mulholland Drive - can you name one?

Can you name three people who lived on Laurel Canyon?

Which record company has its home in a tall round building?

How many songs can you name that are about, or mention, Los Angeles, Hollywood, or any of the surrounding areas?

I will have some fun photos and some of the answers later.....

Summer Concert Memory

Charlie at Bloggerythms left a comment to the last post and triggered a great memory:

Anyone familiar with Laguna Beach will be able to picture this beautiful setting, about 1/4 mile from the ocean in what is known as Laguna Canyon.

It was summer 1980 (or 81, 82?) and I was living out "the  Canyon",  one block east of The Sawdust Festival. Across the street from Sawdust was the Laguna Bowl (home of the world famous Pageant of the Masters*) and back then they also held concerts.

The Laguna Bowl was just a block from the beach. It was a warm summer day and POCO was playing there! Living so close (and being totally broke) we decided to enjoy the concert from our roof!

We carried up chairs, ice chests, food and of course beer! The way the Canyon is situated the acoustics were phenomenal, it was as if we had the best seats in the house (we couldn't see but we sure could hear).

By the last song most of our neighbors had caught on and were on their roofs too, people could drive by on Laguna Canyon Road and wave at all of us.

I can still here them playing Rose of Cimaron and Crazy Love. What a GREAT band, and a great memory. Thanks, Charlie :)

*I've lived here all my life and have only been to the Pageant of the Masters ONCE.  Its something you have to see with your own eyes to appreciate - I recommend it to anyone but get tickets early - like a  year in advance!

I'm a Statistic!

I am now one of the many people that make up the high percentage of unemployed here in the USA. It was a bit of a shock to get the news on Friday.

But the good news is....maybe I will finally be able to catch up with all your blogs! There are so many great music blogs out there now that I can't keep up as well as I'd like.

Also - PLEASE DO ME A FAVOR - leave me a comment even if it just says "hi". I am trying to figure out something with my sitemeter. It looks like a lot of people read here but not many comment so please help me figure that out. I appreciate it!! (You can comment as anonymous, just don't say anything mean!)

For My Son:

I spent the entire day with my son in one of those situations where you sit around waiting for hours in boredom. Luckily (for him) I had my iPod, and although our tastes in music are vastly different, there are a few bands we both like.

One is Rage Against the Machine. When I mentioned to Keven that I had seen Tom Morello play once and how iincredible it was to watch him, Kev spent ten minutes explaining to me the technique Tom uses for his unrivaled sound. I loved hearing him get excited about music. Since I can't remember his exact words, I'll just use the explanation from Wikipedia:

Critically acclaimed, he is said to use the guitar in a unique and imaginative way; rather than just plucking the strings, his maneuvers include toggling between two pickups - one on and one off - while rubbing his hands on the strings over the pickups (his signature vinyl scratch effect used in "Bulls on Parade"). He also uses techniques such as rapidly hitting a pencil on the strings ("Cochise", although he now emulates the sound by "baby-slapping" the strings), scraping an Allen wrench on the strings for a whole song ("People of the Sun") and even tapping the bridge with his audio jack cable ("Testify" and occasionally on "Bullet in the Head").

So, this video is for my son, Keven (who has never looked at my blog but - hey there's a first time for everything, right?)

Record Store Day - Not Good for Me

I wish I could tell the whole story of why my day yesterday was the PITS. I better stick with the short version:

I decided to visit my local independent record store. Since there isn't one near me, I had to look up the closest one. I could have driven 10 miles to Laguna Beach or 20 miles to Orange. I chose Laguna, bad choice.

Laguna Beach is beautiful. But the people who worked at the record store - not so much. They were rude and cranky. The other customers (there were only two) looked bored and weren't even looking at music, they were looking at t-shirts. But the real bummer was the small selection of LPs. There were 4 rows in the store, only 1/4 of one row contained used vinyl and one very small section up front had new vinyl (at crazy prices that made me sad).

So, I trudged the five blocks back to my car, enjoying the ocean view but wishing I would have driven to Orange instead and went to a better store.

THEN, this happened:

I decided to fulfill a promise I mad here months ago. I dug out the box of albums in my garage so I could go through them, take some photos and tell you all what treasures I had left in my collection (which went from about 300 to 50 but we won't even go there today).

I sat there in the garage smiling as I took each one out of the box, looked at it front and back (and in the middle when there was one). Wow. What memories. There are some classics in that box. There were also about ten of my dad's favorite LP's, which also brought a smile and some good memories.

I decided to arrange them in a really cool looking collage and take a picture of them. But that's where the ugly part of the story comes in. In a fit of rage someone in my family threw a chair at my carefully laid out collage knocking it over and probably cracking several of the records (I was too upset to look I just put them all away and stormed off, and no it was not my son, he may get into trouble now and then but knows better than to mess with my music.

So, I'll have to wait for another day to share pics. In the meantime, if you find yourself in Laguna Beach don't bother stopping here:

Karma Got Me on Peace Sunday at the Rose Bowl

Here I sit in 2009 and just now figured out why I had such a horrible day on June 6, 1982! It wasn't bad luck - it was bad karma! God knew I was not their with pure motives.

I guess I should start at the beginning:

For any of you over 45's our there you may recall the days back in the late 70's - early 80's when there was a huge movement affectionately known as "No Nukes". It was started by a group of musicians and activists that were calling for an end to the use of all things nuclear powered, including weapons.

This was a great time for music lovers like me because of all the concerts! They even had one in my area in this HUGE empty meadow (which incidentally is now covered with buildings, including the one I work in). Check out this line-up:

It was a blast! So naturally a few years later when we heard that Jackson Browne was getting his buddies together for another big show, we got tickets, and being a fan of Bruce even back then, our hopes were that he would be there. It was never officially confirmed that he would be but if the truth be told: I WAS MORE INTERESTED IN THE POSSIBILITY OF BRUCE SHOWING UP THAN I WAS IN THE END OF NUCLEAR ARMS!

There, I admit it after all these years! And that is why everything that could go wrong that day did!

First of all, there is no parking at the Rose Bowl. We had to park on a residential street at the top of a big hill. As soon as I shut the door to my car I realized I had LOCKED the keys inside the car!!! So there we were, four semi-stoned girls at 7:00 am trying to figure out how to get the keys out. We walked all over and finally found a fireman to help us (that's what they called them back in the day - firemen).

Then we finally get to the concert and our seats were bad. It was blazing hot out and we were in the sun ALL day and each of us got bad sunburns. But it was worth it because we just KNEW Bruce would show up as a special unannounced guest.....right?

Sitting next to us that day was a very bizarre young man who was apparently years ahead of the trends...because he proceeded to pierce body parts as he sat there right next to me! He had some needles and he pierced each nipple, his lip, his nose, who knows what else. It FREAKED us out - we had never heard or seen anything like this and there it was two inches away. We were afraid of the guy and didn't say a word to him all day long.

So we sat there all day enjoying speeches by people like Ed Asner, Jesse Jackson, Cesar Chavez and listening to great music by Stevie Wonder, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, Dan Fogelberg, Gary U.S. Bonds and Bonnie Raitt.

But as the day turned to night there was still no sign of Bruce showing up. Hmmm. We began to wonder if maybe he wasn't coming after all? So even after the encore, after hundreds of thousands of people walked out of the stadium, we sat hoping that maybe he'd just show up...he never did.

Tired and sunburned we started the long trek back to the car. There was only one problem. We forgot where we parked. All four of us had different recollections of which was the right hill to walk up. So we walked up one, then another, then another, and after two hours of walking up and down hills, intermittently crying, cussing and praying, we finally found my car.

To top of the day I entered the exit of the freeway but luckily by then it was so late (3 am) that no one else was on the road and I was able to quickly make a U-turn and get back off before the two hour drive home.


It was not a fun day. But now I know why! Karma. I was there to see Bruce, not to stand up for the anti-nuke cause.

Sigh.

Impure motives will get you every time.

Life Itself

"Life Itself" is becoming a favorite of mine from the new "Working on a Dream" CD. In case you didn't know you can hear all the new songs on NPR.

I miss talking about music.

Here's a personal question for any of you who care to answer:

Is it important to you that your spouse/partner/significant other share your passion for music?

My answer: My last serious boyfriend liked music. Period. End of story. He liked music. That's sort of like saying "I like sex". There's not a whole lot of passion behind the statement. So when I would hear a song come on the radio and point out a guitar solo or something special that, MOVED ME, got me EXCITED, etc. - he would say "yeah that's nice".

It drove me nuts. Luckily I had others in my life to discuss music with, but oh how wonderful it would be to have a man in my life that LOVED music, that was PASSIONATE about it.

I mean can you imagine listening to Pink Floyd and having someone say "that was nice"? NICE!??

Sorry, I just had to express this today.

THE WHO LIVE AT KILBURN: 1977, rating - A+

WOW!

Ok, just reviewed this 2 disc DVD and have lots to say about it. First off, as you know I typically give away the CDs and DVDs that are so kindly provided to me be various media companies - but I am KEEPING THIS ONE!

The footage of this concert, The Who at Kilburn: 1977, has been stashed away in the vaults for thirty years but was re-mastered incredibly well. You can find a few clips on You Tube from this performance, but the quality is poor. On the second disc in this set is unseen footage from a performance at the London Coliseum (an opera house) from 1969! Unfortunately the quality of that one was filmed differently and could not be remastered but its still easy to watch because the quality of the performances by Roger, Pete, John and Keith make up for it.

As with all live performances things don't always go perfect. There are a few mishaps and some interesting bantering with the audience. At one point when Roger notoriously flings his mic out over the audience and pulls it back to catch it - he misses, but he doesn't miss a beat in continuing to dance and find another mic :)

Its almost painful to watch the footage of Keith knowing it was his last live performance with them. His boyish face grinning as he pounds out each song. Of course Pete does all his typical Townsend theatrics (and falls once on disc 2), his guitar talent and style is the main focus of many of the songs. And John, a superb bassist, adds his calm charm and deep voice to make them the perfectly well rounded rock band. GREAT STUFF! All the hits you would want plus several surprises.

If you watch them back to back you can see how the band has perfected and polished their act over ten years, although they certainly weren't lacking anything in '69. They were so young - all around 25, and were already a huge success.

For me this DVD has a special significance. I've only seen The Who one time. It was in 1976, a year before this was filmed and the last year Keith played with with the band before his tragic death.

My memory of this day is so clear, I can still see what I was wearing, I can see my boyfriend Scott's red hair and his puka shell necklace. I can feel his hand holding mine so tight as we stood in line for hours, people pushing and shoving (later that same tour several people would die from being crushed in the crowd). I was so scared standing in that line that I told Scott I didn't even want to get on the field so we sat in the stadium seating on Pete's side of the stage with a great view.

The concert was being held at the Angel's Stadium in Anaheim. It was general admission so people had waited overnight in line hoping to rush to the front of the field and get close to the stage. I have searched the Internet for info on this concert but can't find a thing! I know the concert took place, I was there! It had to be the summer of '76 because I was 16 and that's the summer I dated Scott. I did find one photo labeled "The Who at Sunset in Anaheim".

I don't recall any opening act - but there must have been one right? All I know is we sat for literally HOURS waiting and waiting for the show to start. Now, being an outside show we didn't have the usual hints that the band was going to take stage. There was no dimming of the lights for that "THEY'RE ON STAGE" moment.

But there we were, in our seats, the sun starting to set, an orange glow about the sky and seemingly out of nowhere...

the sound of a piano playing the opening of Baba O'Riley
it went on for what seems like ten minutes,
no one on stage, until...
suddenly, in a burst of sound and energy,
there they were!
and Roger BELTs out in his perfect vocals:

Out here in the fields
I fight for my meals
I get my back into my living.
I don't need to fight
To prove I'm right
I don't need to be forgiven...

I'll tell you, it was one of the BEST moments in my long history of attending rock concerts. If you watch this video, you will get a glimpse of what it was like (Roger is also damn good on the harp!) It was great. We had no idea, of course, that it would be one of Keith's last shows.

All this to say:
IF YOU ARE A FAN OF THE WHO YOU WILL NEED TO SEE THIS DVD!

A Tribute to John Bonham

28 years ago today we lost, in my opinion, the best drummer of all time. Some may say others have more defined drumming skills, but no one can deny the power, the passion and the unique style that was his alone. He's inspired so many others over the years, including his own son, Jason who proudly continues his father's legacy.

For me personally, it was a tragic loss because at the time Led Zeppelin was my favorite band, and because John's death day was my birth day. It put a dark cloud over my plans to celebrate my 21st. I shared it here if you're interested - side note, yes, I'm 49, you can do the math but I'll never admit it - I've saying 38 for years and it still works ;)

Here are a few quotes from John and two videos that showcase a bit of his thunderous style. I miss you, Bonzo....

With Zeppelin, I tried to play something different every night in my solos. I'd play for 20 minutes but the longest ever was 30 minutes. It's a long time, but whenI was playing it seemed to fly by.

My nerves before a gig got worse; I had terrible bad nerves all the time. Once we started... I was fine.

I remember in the early days when we played six nights a week for a month and I was doing my long drum solo every night. My hands were covered in blisters.

I dare not drink before a gig because I'll get tired and blow it. So I have to sit drinking tea in a caravan.

Drumming was the only thing I was ever good at.

Robbin Crosby - a sad story

Was just riding my exercise bike and watching VH1 Classics, they had a show on featuring RATT. Before I knew it my cycling had stopped and I was glued to the interviews and film clips of the band. Plus, its hard to peddle when you feel like crying and that's how I felt when I saw Robbin on the screen.

So many lives claimed by drugs...

It seems to be a typical scenario, the most sensitive person in the band ends up the drug addict. No one realizes how bad it is till its too late. Or maybe,in his case, no one cared enough.

Although I've always been a 70's girl at heart, I did go the clubs in Hollywood during the LA Band scene of the early 80's. On one occasion I had the opportunity to meet Robbin Crosby.

This will sound a bit odd, but I've always been very discerning about people and often feel like I can see someone's "true self" in just a brief meeting. That's how it was with Robbin. I was only with him for a short time but I got a clear sense that he was a senstive soul. I wondered if he was not cut out for party rock band scene, even though we were about the same age he seemed vulnerable and out of place with the other guys.

As the band gained popularity he became addicted to heroin. For a long time he hid his drug/alcohol problems but eventually it caught up to him and he was forced to leave the band. I just saw a clip of his last show. During one of their big hits he picked up the wrong guitar. He had no clue. He kept playing. It sounded horrible. All eyes were on him - the band, the audience, and that's when they realized he'd gone over the top. Apparently after that most of the band members wouldn't even associate with him. He went from a rich rock star to a junkie living in a shack.

He contacted AIDS. Word had it that he kicked the heroin habit, but on June 8, 2002 he died. Some say it was an OD, some say it was a heart attack. Does it really matter? It all started with the first taste of heroin that stuff usually owns you after one try.

At one point in the interview he talked about how he reached out in desperation to his former band mates and, other than Juan Croucier, they would have nothing to do with him. That kind of sums up my opinion of Steven Pearcy - he was the typical arrogant frontman with "LSD" (lead singer's disease - it was very contagious in those hair bands of the 80's).

Robbin's nickname in the band was "King" but he certainly didn't die
like one. Its tragic.

Here is what Juan had to say about the death of his friend, it kind of confirms to me that my instincts about Robbin were right:

"Former bassist Juan Croucier, who remained very close with Crosby over the years, wrote, "To a King among men: Robbin, you will always be loved by those who knew you. I will always love you, beyond words. Your kindness and compassion, knew no bounds. Your heart was pure love. Your sprit was a gift to be admired. It was an honor to have been your friend. I will always cherish the many wonderful memories we shared together, over the many years. The world is a better place because of you. I wish you all the love in this world and all the peace in heaven. The pain and suffering is over. God bless you."

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Now playing: Ratt - Round and Round
via FoxyTunes

Cheap Trick - Self Torture

Why do I do this to myself?
Went out to hear a local band that I heard was good (I won't drop their name here cause to be honest they weren't all that great, imo).
So there I am with my glass of white zin alone trying to look like I'm not there to get picked up on by a guy.
Watched people laughing and dancing and having fun.
I have friends...but none that like rock n roll (I know - its crazy)
Drove home thinking about the guy I love(d)? and then this song comes on:

Another night slowly closes in,
And I feel so lonely.
Touching heat freezing on my skin,
I pretend you still hold me.
Im going crazy, Im losing sleep.
Im in too far, Im in way too deep over you.
I cant believe youre gone.
You were the first, youll be the last.

Wherever you go, Ill be with you.
Whatever you want, Ill give it to you.
Whenever you need someone to lay your heart and head upon.
Remember: after the fire, after all the rain,
I will be the flame.
I will be the flame.

Remind me to not do that anymore.
I wonder if Robin Zander is still a hottie.

Pete Townsend has a Blog!

This is so cool - Lately I've been thinking about picking up the guitar and learning how to play. I haven't played in years so it will be a challenge, but I just FEEL the need, the passion, the desire - to not only HEAR music, but to make some of my own.

Here is the cool part - all day long I was doubting this, listening to the negatives in my head "no, don't bother, you'll never be any good, you're too old, it's just a passing whim, you won't practice..."

Then - I got a SIGN! I ran across Pete Townsend's blog.

Don't you agree that's a SIGN!!! I am totally jazzed and can't wait to get my guitar and start playing! ' Check out Pete's blog, as my friend Rick says, "The best part is his profile: "I'm in a rock band." How's that for understated elegance?"

I left him a comment - watch him stop by here, I'd die!!

technorati tags: Who, Music, Townsend, Rock-N-Roll, Guitar, Blogs

Unused Zep Tix

NEVER GOT TO USE THESE TiCKETS!

I'm depressed today so what better thing to post than my un-used tickets from the only chance I ever had to see Led Zeppelin. Notice the price - $8.75! Can you believe that!

If you want to hear the whole sad story as to why we showed up for this concert but weren't allowed in, give me a post and I will share on here. Long story short: my boyfriend messed up on the dates and we were a day late for this concert.

I am going to go put on Kashmir and try to feel better.