Concerts you have been to? | Page 10 | Fab Forum | The Beatles Bible

An update on the concerts that I’ve been to (and not been to) over the past year or so, as well as something upcoming…

Unfortunately, that Platinum Blonde show I was supposed to go to last August ended up getting cancelled a few days prior, I think possibly due to a rise in COVID cases around that time. A bummer, but understandable.

Things went up from there though, because after over two years of waiting, I finally got to see James Taylor in May! Alas, Bonnie Raitt (who was originally supposed to be opening for him on the Canadian tour) was no longer able to join, but Jackson Browne (who opened for him in the States) came up here instead! It was amazing all around, and incredible to see and hear two songwriters of that calibre not only perform with their respective backing bands, but also perform with each other! I made sure to familiarise myself with as much of their music as I could beforehand (though I wasn’t able to get to everything, they both have quite the discographies!), and I can say that I’m a very big fan of them both.

The next concert I went to was Alanis Morissette in July, which Garbage opened. I’m not particularly familiar with Garbage, but I enjoyed them. Additionally, I’ll admit that I’m a bit more of a casual Alanis Morissette fan, I suppose (my mum had seen her before and was blown away, by the sounds of it), but wow!!! Does she have pipes!!! How she could run and dance about the stage like she did, while hitting the notes and singing with the power that she did, I don’t know. I had a great time, as very clearly did the rest of the audience, who were singing along for a fair amount of the show.

Just last week, I saw Greta Van Fleet for the second time! Hannah Wicklund was the first opening act, and she and her band were alright. Next was the Pretty Reckless, who I liked less, but holy smokes! Greta Van Fleet absolutely killed it!!! They were awesome when I saw them the first time in 2018 (which I think may have also been the last time they were here), so I had high expectations this time around, and what a spectacle it was!!! We had floor tickets, which was the general admission section, and we were able to get perhaps around 10-ish people back from the stage and about in the middle. They had these cool light tower things with glass rings that would glow and change colours, and lots of fire, which I could feel every time some went off! I suppose you could say that we could feel their love, rising with the Heat Above. Josh (the singer) soared to every high note, and the rest of the band as a whole (who also each got their own time to shine in solos and extended instrumental passages) sounded superb. My mouth was often agape, and it took several hours for me to calm down from all the excitement!

Finally, in only a couple of days, I’m seeing Poison, Mötley Crüe, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts…. and DEF LEPPARD!!!!!  I got into Def Leppard a little over a year ago (actually, coincidentally a year to the day before the release of their latest album, Diamond Star Halos), and they quickly cemented themselves as one of my all-time favourite bands. I don’t know if I could even think of the right words right now to properly describe how much I love them, and I can hardly believe that I’ll be seeing them so soon. I have a feeling that this is going to be a big one.

This is the third in a series of posts titled Concerts Gone Wrong. This one features a 2004 show by singer/songwriter Elton John. 

It’s a fairly well kept secret that almost any performer is available for private gigs if the price is right. This is especially true in Silicon Valley. My wife’s tech company throws an annual party to celebrate their founding. It is an extravagant affair with a dozen restaurants and wineries, rides and games, and a wide array of entertainment with at least one or two famous headliners. Through the years we saw Dylan, Stevie Wonder, The Eagles, Rod Stewart and Garth Brooks among others. So this one year they had decided to setup the concert stage outdoors in the parking lot. The corporate headquarters were close to San Francisco Bay and it was a little windy that day. The first artists to appear were Missy Elliot and Matchbox 20. Between shows the viewing area would clear out as people wandered about to enjoy the party. The unusual thing about these shows was that absolutely no publicity of any kind was permitted. If there was any press coverage the artist could cancel the show and still get paid. Because of this you never knew who was going to come walking or dancing out from backstage. Due to my eclectic music tastes I was always hanging around the stage trying to guess who the headliner was by the instruments and setup. So this day there was a covered grand piano, a covered drum kit, a little riser behind the piano, and 2 microphone stands up front. There was a gust of wind and the piano cover blew up revealing YAMAHA. I started thinking maybe Billy Joel? Next the cover swept away from the drum kit and there it was; in big black letters NIGEL OLSSON, Elton John’s drummer. Needless to say I skipped the food and lined up with the keyboard straight in my line if sight and didn’t move a muscle. Elton came out and was in a great mood and voice. The highlight was a dream come true from more than 30 years prior.  Christmas 1971 was all about Madman Across The Water and the opening songs were Tint Dancer and Levon. We listened to those song hundreds of times over the holidays and dreamed of seeing them played live. About 5 songs in Elton starts playing the intro to Tiny Dancer. My first thought was could he possibly follow it up with Levon. When he finished Tiny Dancer he went into the next song with barely a pause. I must have jumped in the air because he glanced at me and smiled as he sang “Levon wears his war wound like a crown/He calls his child Jesus“. 

Interestingly, my wife was in management and was privy to an un-redacted list of available entertainers and their fees. There were two stars in the $1,000,000 category, Barbara Streisand and Paul McCartney .