In Concert...

The topic: Micahel Ann asks...if you've ever been to a concert, what were those feelings like, sharing the music? Who did you see?

Sherry's thoughts:
i am probably one of the few people my age that has never been to a concert.true, unless you count a free performance of some of the songs from HAIR given at point state park in pgh down where the Allegheny and the Monongahela meet to form the Ohio river.The park was full of hippies and business people and college kids and just regular folk and me, about 17, i think. in bells and sandals and probably skipping doing something i was supposed to be doing but it was an event not to be missed and the vibes were strong. it was a different time truly, like every turning point in society, so multifaceted and complex that even those that lived through it still can not agree on exactly what it was really like.that was the only concert i was at. i was too busy and too cash strapped to spend the money for a one night thing. i was, as most were in my circle and in pgh. in general, more into buying albums or 45's with the cash we had. then i got married in 72 and a year later had my daughter and well, money was even harder to come by.now, well the stones were just here, but damn, i'm wasn't going to save up to pay their prices and even tho i really like them, hey, i'd STILL rather buy a cd, same with Dylan or even Aerosmith. i would have loved to see John Lee Hooker live, Buddy Guy still, a few more, but not enough to justify that much cash when a cd or a dvd of a concert is forever.did i miss out on a rite of passage all those years ago, yeah, probably, but i survived, besides on a personal note, i'm allergic to pot, the smoke that would waft my way at parties back in the 60's was enough to swell my eyes into slits and make me wheeze and head for the great outdoors or at least the back yard or an open window.

Charlie Tee's thoughts:
Wow, Sherry, you've never been to a concert...
While I do agree that listening to a CD is forever, there is nothing that can even come close to being a part of an experience that is live. Since you're into poetry primarily, here's an experience that I think that you can relate to. In the 70's I went to visit my Sister Caroleigh at Howard University Law School just before she graduated, while there she took me to see Nikki Giovanni in person, and I can still vividly see her weaving her poetry like the greatest musician.It was so full of life and so brilliant that it ranks up there with some of the best concerts that I've ever seen.
(for those unfamiliar with the name, Ms Giovanni is to poetry, especially African American poetry, what Beethoven is to music, or moreover, what Duke Ellington is to Black music.).
Anyway, as I'm sure you can imagine, I have been to many concerts, large and small, but if I had to narrow it down to an absolute favorite I would have to say that it happened here in West Virginia, the setting was Mountain Stage (our internationally broadcast radio program), and the group that caught my undivided attention was Storyville. Their frontman Malford Milligan was hands down the best showman I've ever experienced...he hypnotized me with his stage presence, and that is how I try to operate as a performer now, I try to make it an event that people remember.
After that it would be Stevie Wonder, and Earth Wind and Fire, they made me realize how much I wanted to be in the music business. I don't worship idols, but Maurice White of EWF is still my hero, along with David Sanborn.
In short, music portrayed by people who really love it is the stuff that gets my juices flowing, and there are alot of folks who move my soul.
At the end of my posts I always encourage that we should support live music today tomorrow and always.The reason that I say this is that being in that live music moment can be life changing on so many levels, and it can free you from the stresses of life.So sister Sherry, I am going to treat you to a concert: large or small, you find someone that you might like to see and I'll send you the tickets, you deserve to go at least once in your life. I know your criteria, you don't want to go where there is lots of smoke and etc.,so you pick the venue, and date at your convenience.

Jen's Thoughts....
Okay, so I'm sure that the list of artists that I have seen live will not compare to the rest of the group, but here it goes.....

Yeah, go ahead and make fun....I saw Tiffany and New Kids on the Block in concert. Hey, I was a kid and I thought that Tiffany was SO COOL! The funny story about this concert is that the music and the young girls screaming was so loud when NKOTB came out, my parents and I ended up leaving a few minutes into their set. Tiffany was great, as I remember. And my dad bought me a tshirt from the concert. Which he made perfectly clear that he thought was too expensive, but I pleaded for it and he ended up giving in. I think it was $18, I don't remember, but I do remember that it was what my dad considered "damn expensive". Hey, it was at the WV State Fair, okay..... I thought I was cool for going! :)

So, with the "teenie bopper concert" aside, I've seen Aerosmith, Matchbox 20, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Blessid Union of Souls, Seven and the Sun.... and I think that is it. I know, not an extensive list, but that's all I've got! HAHA

Aerosmith was a gift from my mother (she was trying to make up for not letting me go to the Bad Boy Entertainment concert in high school). I had a great time at the Aerosmith concert...I've always loved Steven Tyler and Joe Perry! :) I guess it is more memorable that I saw ROCK ICONS in concert than Puff Daddy (now P. Diddy), Usher, Faith Evans, and a few others. (I still would love to see Usher in concert....)

Rascal Flatts and Tim & Faith were gifts from Anthony. They were great concerts. I was very impressed by Rascal Flatts-- They are great performers!

All concerts are memorable...in different ways.

The Matchbox 20 concert was very speical. Anthony and I went with our good friends, Libby and Chad, to Morgantown to see this concert. It was special to share this awesome concert with Lib and Chad on the day after they got married. It was a wonderful road trip and a WONDERFUL concert. It doesn't hurt that Rob Thomas is BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Lib and I definitely had a great time! :) Weird how we stood beside our husbands and drooled over Rob. HA HA j/k

The Seven and the Sun concert was an outdoor concert in Charleston at the Regatta. I went with my friend, Lib, and we got to hang out with the band. They were so nice and fun. There's a funny story about this concert.....I might tell that story later......hmmmmm

I love concerts...not only is music LIVE and REAL, but it is an experience like no other.

I have many concerts on my list...I hope that I have a chance to get around to all of them. Some of the ones that I want to go to are so expensive, I doubt that I'll be getting around to them. :(

Sherry - Even though I've not been to many concerts, I definitely recommend it. It is priceless!

Joel's thoughts:
Wow Sherry, that's extremely student of you! Charlie… I'm bloody jealous. Anyone who's seen Stevie should be envied. And EWF.. not that I've listened to them for a long time, but I can imagine a motley assortment like them would be cool and crazy to see live. Jen.. I can't say I'm particularly jealous except maybe of you seeing Matchbox20.I think that's because, in my small experience of rock concerts, I've found you either get – an AMAZING vibe, with the pieces played groovingly, and a cool buzz, everything played EXACTLY to record, or everything overdone and very fake sounding… it's something that you have to kind of .. survive with. The groove to me is what I'm going for when I go to a concert… It's got be a good performance… a show…well rounded. I'm sad to say that I have yet to go to a decent hiphop concert, but that I'm still trying.. I couldn't get tickets to Jehstthe last two times he was in London, or Immortal Technique… or Eminem during the Marshall Mathers tour… or however you spell it.Anyway, concerts I have been to that I really digged or found interesting. Nine Inch Nails, Nils Langdren, Maceo Parker, Rammstein.Rammstein was just … exciting. Its unfortunate that the venue wasvile, and I had vile seats… but apart from the fact I was seeing an industrial band yet needed binoculars, it was a fucking fun concert.Really tight… amazing support band (apocolyptica), and all the customary pyrotechnics. Not my favourite concert though. Nils Langdren I list purely for vibe. You can't beat a really good OUTDOOR concert very easily for vibe. It is worth noting I may have a rosy memory of it due to the influence of weed, but it was just a happy funk concert,with everybody dancing around having fun..Maceo was the man. I'm not sure how old he is, but he's still rocking the house, managing a 90 minute set, and then some. And he's not young. He is the funkiest horn player, and the feel of the band is wonderful.He's also an awesome singer, and he controls the audience masterfully.My favourite concert ever was Nine Inch Nails. It was a concert where I knew the words- to everything! A really dynamic set too… and being the only one of these concerts on my little list except for Rammstein that I DIDN'T go to alone.

Charlie Tee adds...Maceo that Joel spoke of has been James Browns's principal horn player since the 60's, and he has been a huge influence on many of today's saxophonists...an amazing player.

Michael's thoughts:
I still remember my first concert like it was yesterday. I was in the sixth grade and my Dad took me, my sister, and my best friend to see El DeBarge and Jeffrey Osborne. Many of you won't even remember them, but I was so in love with them. El DeBarge sang that song "Donna" and "Who's Johnny" from that 80's movie "Short Circuit". Jeffrey sang "If you want, want, want..." It was festival seating, which doesn't even exist anymore due to stampedes.I was right up front at the stage and I got to go up and sing with Jeffrey Osborne, I was hooked.Since then I have been to so many concerts I can't even list them. Some of my most memorable were when I lived in Pittsburgh:U2 (2 times) Three Rivers and Mellon Arena Melissa Etheridge at Starlake Amphitheater (which now has a corporate name, but I refuse to use it)Lillith Fair - Starlake,Boys 2 Men - Starlake,Amy Grant - Starlake,10,000 Maniacs - Starlake,INXS - Starlake,Def Leppard - Starlake;Every one of these experiences were unbelievable! There is just something about "being there".I know that buying an album lasts forever, but I like experiential journeys. The sounds, the smells, the drunks, the energy, the freedom. It brings us all together for a time and I can relive it in my mind with great detail.My husband played in a band and he still recalls the excitement of playing a live show and how it really connected the band to their fans.I can't wait to go to my next concert...