My Summer of Live Rock & Roll Act II: Rock Hall Three for All (Joan & I Finally Connect)

This was the start of it all and the tickets I bought first.  Three acts that were big in the 70s and 80s, all Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, touring and performing together.  I had even lobbied for two of the acts to get into the RRHoF.  Joan Jett was the ticket I wanted, but what an opportunity!  I jumped on the tickets, buying VIP Tour seats in the Cheap Trick section  of the audience.  Not a huge Cheap Trick fan, but they were the only VIP seats left when I got online.    Heart mentioned that this was the first performance of the Rock Hall Three for All.  Cool.

Upon arriving and after finding the seats, the guy next to me leaned over and asked who I was here to see.  My response was Cheap Trick -- you got to be faithful to your seating section after all -- apparently that was good enough for him and he shook my hand and started yelling "Cheap Trick! Cheap Trick!"  I joined in for a few shout outs and then let it fade -- waiting for the show to begin.

Cheap Trick

The Live at Budokan album was seminal to me because it was one of 3 Live albums that came out and lived in my tape player for months afterwards -- the other two being Frampton Comes Alive and Kiss Alive II.   I knew the songs I wanted to hear, and was eager to hear them play.  Kevin Zander came out dressed in a mixed military/80s glitz white leather outfit and Rick Nielsen was in a normal suit and baseball camp -- although Rick's part of the stage was covered in the expected black and white checkers.  Tom Petersson was less dynamic, except for a solo late in the show, but his rhythm guitar under penned the whole performance.  Daxx Nielsen was on drums and kept the driving beat going.

Zander's voice was on target and even though he was not very physically animated, you could tell he was getting the energy of the crowd and he was striving for and delivered a great vocal performance.  Rick on the other hand was all over the sage, on top of amps, swapping guitars (once even in mid song) and throwing dozens of guitar picks to the appreciative audience.    As mentioned, Tom played a bluesy instrumental solo that I had never heard before but really enjoyed as he built it from something very delicate to a thunderous rocker.

Surrender, Dream Police and I Want You to Want Me did not disappoint -- although the lack of an encore to a clamoring crowd did.    I realize that there were timing marks to be met -- but damn it this is Rock & Roll!

Cheap Trick left the audience ready for what Joan Jett was about to bring.

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts

Heavy guitars, driving bass, and a snarl.  What a way to hit the stage.  Joan was fired up and delivering music in her style and having a great time doing it.  She and the band connected with the vibe established by Cheap Trick and kept it fired up.  Things may have calmed a little as roadies switched out equipment but then Joan et al took the hum that was left and turned it into a roar.

She played tunes going back to her time with the Runaways.  It was not done in a retrospective chronological format but someone seemed to have taken the time to construct a set that was connected and flowed.  She and the Blackhearts also threw in two tunes off her latest album (2013's Unvarnished) that fit right in with the rest of her set.  It was visible that she was having a great night and the band as well.  She played to the crowd and was rewarded with cheers and applause.  The band was totally rockin' it and they knew it -- it is what a concert experience was meant to be.

 

Joan had built up the crowd and fanned the flames that were growing -- then she doused it with gas as the band hit the unforgettable guitar riff that starts I Love Rock & Roll.  Everyone was on their feet and cheering. 

The band went straight from that classic to Crimson & Clover -- my personal favorite.  I was sitting almost directly in front of Joan -- four rows out.  As she sang the line "I want to do everything" -- she looked straight at me, smiled, licked her lips, tilted her head, winked, and then breathlessly sang "What a beautiful feeling".  Dayum.   To anyone who wants to argue that Joan and I did not share a moment -- please take that rhetoric elsewhere.  Joan was connecting with me -- after all these years -- she and I both knew and enjoyed it.

Heart

I have often said that going to a concert carries with it the expectation that you will have a good time and the artist will deliver the expected performance.  If you read my past write ups you have probably come to expect me to likewise deliver a positive review and you would be hard pressed to say you have ever read a negative review authored by me.  Well, page mark this one and I will add that I am a fan of this band.

Heart disappointed.  They failed on so many levels and it was not the headline experience I was expecting nor that the audience deserved.

The sound mixing was horrible.  Ann Wilson's voice was drowned out by the rest of the band.  She was on 5, they were on 11.  As a result, her usually magnificently strong voice was totally buried in the music.  Midway through the set some adjustments were made, but not enough and the damage had been done.  The chance for the audience to become immersed and escape into the music was gone.

The huge background video screen was a mistake.  The pictures displayed seldom went with the song being sung, and the screen's brightness made it hard to see the band standing in front of it.  It was just a distraction that added nothing.  Get rid of it.

Nancy Wilsons' playing and vocals were great, but she didn't seem to be there.  The performance was almost robotic and disconnected.  You can tell when a performer is connecting with the audience and that symbiotic exchange of energy is going on -- but it was totally lacking.  However, she does play a wicked mandolin and provided great vocals on the Led Zeppelin and Ne-Yo cover.

I wondered during the entire set, what was wrong with Ann Wilson.  She dropped notes and did not hold the sustained pitches as she did in the past.  She seemed to be out of breath -- allergies?  A cold? Not in shape?  Her face showed that she knew it too.  She would bite the end of the note that should have been sustained early and then gave a look disgust seemed to be out of personal frustration for a moment before going to the next lyric.  One of my favorite tunes that Heart did not perform was Magic Man -- but it requires her voice to sustain those notes to come off right.  Maybe she cut the tune because her voice could not handle it; I have no way of knowing.  Disappointing even if given the benefit of imagined reasons.

The audience did not need the "We are the inspirational woman led band" speech.  Most of the crowd were my peers and knew Heart's history.  Ann and Nancy Wilson may have blazed a trail, but that was almost 4 decades ago -- at least two generations of female rockers have come and gone since then and Heart may have inspired some of it -- but it is no longer unique.  Agreed that Ann & Nancy did inspire and led the way but that is part of a Rock Hall induction speech, not a distracting and flow interrupting speech for the middle of a concert.

The songs off the new album, Beautiful Broken, were okay but are a significant departure from their past style -- at least musically if not lyrically.  Just did not fit in with the rest of the set they were playing.  I realize it was a promotional decision -- but that does not make it right.  

A bad way to end an otherwise winner evening.

Note: Gave Beautiful Broken a listen separately.  It is a good album but a departure for Heart as there is less driving guitar and more keyboards, strings and sitar (yes, sitar).

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My Summer of Live Rock & Roll

When I was younger, it was very rare that I went to live music events.  My parents never saw a huge value in paying to attend live music events if you could get the same music on the radio for free.  As a result I have only flashes of any live music before I was in High School.  The earliest memory of a live performance was a band performing Cliff Roberts’ song The Horse at a party for kids whose fathers were in Viet Nam (saw Bozo the Clown doing magic tricks during that party too). 

High School changed the concept of live music as every dance I went to from 9th grade on had a live band.   DJs were unheard of and a few of the bands were good enough that they are still around.  Slap Water was the band that performed at my prom and then later at one of the reunions of the class three decades later.  Having experienced parties at friend’s houses where a record player was the source of music; I knew the difference live music could have.  Slow dancing especially was always so much better when the band was live. 

The first big name, sit down and listen type concert I went to was when I took my Dad to see Johnny Cash.  Even if you did not like his music, he was known to put on a terrific live show that also featured wife June Carter Cash along with the Carter Family and his brother Tommy.  But this was the 70s and there were dozens of bands on tour -- the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Bob Segar, Elvis, and so many more.  This was before MTV and music videos, so the stage show made each concert an amazing experience.  Alice Cooper toured with a guillotine on stage, ZZ Top had live long horn cattle and no KISS was complete without explosions and Gene Simmons spitting blood.  Unfortunately, I went to none of those concerts.  

In the past couple of years I have been able to see the Eagles, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band, and ZZ Top live, but the march of time has not been kind to my favorite bands as death seems to be catching up with them.  Flash forward to 2016...because of prior concert attendance I started to get notices for upcoming concerts featuring my favorite bands in March.  The first was Journey & the Doobie Brothers, but Ticketmaster’s app kept screwing up and, because they have no humans you can call anymore, by the time I got it resolved the only seats left were undesirable (who the hell pays $100 to sit behind a pillar on the far left of the audience?) or ridiculously expensive.  But then more concert notices started to arrive in my mailbox – and these included advance purchase codes and the like; so I was able to get good seats at prices I considered worthwhile.  Based on kismet and a reminder of the mortality of humans from Glenn Frey’s passing, I have declared this my Summer of Live Rock & Roll and started to pick up tickets as the shows were announced.  So far, I have seats to attend four great concerts with nine stellar acts: 

The Rock Hall Three for All featuring Heart, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and Cheap Trick.  This was the second notice that came and I jumped on it and managed to score great seats.  I had lobbied for both Heart and Joan Jett to get into the R&RHoF, glad they both finally did.   Cheap Trick was just icing on the cake; Cheap Trick’s Live at the Budokan album is still one of my favorite live albums.  

Lynyrd Skynyrd and Peter Frampton.  Not the first time I had tickets to see Lynyrd Skynyrd,  the last time was 1977 but a few weeks prior to the concert date, fate intervened when Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, along with backup singer Cassie Gaines and assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick were killed in an airplane crash and the concert was cancelled.  (Details).  Frampton Comes Alive! rocked my 1976 as we all took guesses at what the mouth guitar lyrics actually were – our interpretations were no doubt dirtier than his.  

ZZ Top and Gregg Allman.  The last time I saw ZZ Top I was in the upper bleachers of a State Fairground venue with two friends.  Too far away to see the show well and big screens had not become standard yet.  Los Lobos was the opening act and they were great. Gregg Allman and the Allman Brothers were ahead of my time, but I got turned on to them after the band had been through various breakups and reformations.  My love of guitar driven Dixie Rock led me to their music and they ended up with 3 songs on my 50 Best Bike Riding Tunes list, more than any other artist.

Steve Miller Band.  Last ticket bought, first show I get to go to.  This to me was a Holy Grail.  I have loved Steve Miller’s music for a long time and to finally get to see him in person is even better.  I really wish they had offered a VIP or Meet & Greet option for the tickets, but alas nothing was out there.  Scalpers have some better seats but not sure about the cost versus value.

NOTE:  Just found out later that the concert included special guest Peter Wolf & The Midnight Travelers.  I had never heard of them. So I looked them up and discovered that Peter was the former lead singer of the J. Geils Band and his standard concert playlist contained most of the J. Geils’ hits.

Now begins the count down for each concert date, but even before that will be the receipt of actual physical tickets in the mail.  E-tickets for a flight -- great idea; vapor tickets for a live rock & roll experience – totally unacceptable.  Getting and holding that ticket is the second step on your way to what you hope will be a one of a kind musical experience, and it is also the only real physical reminder you will have decades later – once you have worn out the tour T-Shirt and the ZZ key chain has been lost.  You will come across the ticket in that place where you stuck it for safekeeping or some forgotten drawer -- then holding it again in your hands and closing your eyes you will remember not only with your mind but with your soul.

Even on its best day, radio will never come close.

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Your Other Most Important Vote of 2012

The list of this year's nominees for induction to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is out:  Public Enemy, NWA, Rush, Deep Purple, Kraftwerk Heart, Procol Harum, Albert King, The Marvelettes, Donna Summer, Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Meters, Randy Newman, Chic.

Click here for the Rock&Roll Hall of Fame

Since we,  the listeners, actually get to vote this year (for up to 5),  I will let you know my favourites.

Heart:  They made a lot of the music I lived, danced, and made out to in the 70s and 80s.    The album Dreamboat Annie was awesome.  Screaming electric guitars and strong female vocals  that made you feel the raw emotion of every single note.  Magic Man had one of the best instrumental interludes of the decade.  The only true rock band I am aware of (other than Fleetwood Mac)  that dared to put two women out front and center.  



Joan Jett & The Blackhearts:  She loved Rock n Roll starting with her time in the Runaways and never stopped.  Joan dressed in black leather, wore dark eye makeup and had dark hair and eyes plus a sensual snarl.  Fine, she had my adolescent teen attention,  but it was the powerful rhythms behind the music that keeps me a fan.  Besides there was that night when I first heard Crimson & Clover - unforgettable soundtrack to a great night "such a sweet thing... I wanna do everything...what a wonderful feeling..."  Simple lyrics  that pack a punch because of her strong vocals and the driving band behind it.

Deep Purple:  Creators of the most famous intro in all of Rock and Roll,  but they were so much more than that.  Machine Head was one of the first albums, other than those by The Beatles, which was good enough that I listened and liked every song on it. Woman from Tokyo is another of my favourites.   They defined metal guitar.

The Marvelettes:  One of many girl bands in the 50's,  had the first #1 record for Tamela Records  (one of Barry Gordie's Motown companies),  Please Mr. Postman; but their influence was deep and wide.   They were identified as the model used to create the Greek Chorus for the Broadway/Movie Musical The Little Shop of Horrors.   Three way harmonies with spot light verses taken on by each performer of the group.  Good stuff.

Kraftwerk:  Just a little Düsseldorf band.  They defined Krautrock and because I was in Germany for the early 80s,  I heard more than just Autobahn. I remember when I got back to the US and was watching Saturday Night Live and they did a skit called Sprockets -- its intro music was Electric Café - I wonder how many people watching knew what a great album that was.  Stripped down electro-Euro-techno with a bass and rhythm line underneath it all to move the song forward at warp speed. " fahr'n fahr'n fahr'n auf der Autobahn" - indeed. 

Honourable Mention

Procol Harem:  Another intro that is instantly recognizable and how many other bands could pull off a rock lyric like "We skipped a light Fandango, turned cartwheels 'cross the floor"?  My High School friend Tom knew how to play one song on the piano,  and that was it --- A Whiter Shade of Pale.   The band's blend of orchestra and rock had never been done before and it eventually led me to appreciate other music that blended the two genres.  Check out Conquistador (live version is best).

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