Acoustic Hot Tuna
Scottish Rite Auditorium, Collingswood, NJ
20 April 2022

set 1: Don’t Leave Me Here, Hesitation Blues, Trouble in Mind, Death Don’t Have No Mercy, That’ll Never Happen No More, Second Chances, Trial By Fire, In the Kingdom, Letter to the North Star, Come Back Baby, Ice Age

set 2: Ain’t in No Hurry, Broken Highway, Winin’ Boy Blues, Barbeque King, San Francisco Bay Blues, Great Divide: Revisited, Sleep Song, Good Shepherd, Roads and Roads &, Uncle Sam Blues, Song From the Stainless Cymbal, Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning

encore: Embryonic Journey

Hot Tuna has definitely captured my heart since Jerry’s passing. Tonight was just wonderful. First row. Frankly, the best seat in the house as I was unobstructed right on Jorma. Fantastic!

I recorded this. I wasn’t the only one, but I love the video I got. I don’t know what’s up with Broken Highway.

This is the perfect venue for me. Easy drive, free parking, great seats, and good acoustics.

Hesitation Blues always delights. Trouble in Mind was excellent. Death Don’t Have No Mercy is one of my favorites but of late I don’t think they play it sorrowfully enough. Frankly, the entire first set was wonderful.

The second set started wonderfully with Ain’t in No Hurry. Broken Highway was well-payed. Winin’ Boy Blues is a winner any time it’s played. I welcome Barbeque King. Loved that San Francisco Bay Blues was played. Yes, the second set was equally nice. Was hoping for True Religion. Oh, well . . . Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning was excellent!

Ther next show is at Carnegie Hall. Not bad for two old guys. 🙂

Remember, seat A14 is a winner at this venue.

David Bromberg Quintet & Hot Tuna
Count Basie Center for the Arts, Red Bank, NJ
5 December 2021

David Bromberg Quintet: Big Road Blues, This Month, Why Are People Like That?, Spanish Is the Loving Tongue, I’ll Keep Movin’ On, Peanut Man, Eyesight to the Blind, Tennessee Waltz, The Strongest Man Alive -> Maydelle’s Reel -> Jenny’s Chickens

Hot Tuna: Take Your Time, Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning, Heart Temporary, Been So Long, Ode to Billy Dean, I’m Talkin’ About You, Great Divide: Revisited, Roads and Roads, Bowlegged Woman, Knocked-Kneed Man, Come Back Baby, Sea Child, Good Shepherd, Hit Single #1

encore: Funky #7

Back in the spring I noted this show. It had been rescheduled from an earlier date because of COVID. I took a look and found a single ticket in the fifth row. I purchased it. It was the first ticket to a show I purchased since the divorce. I was excited!

Since then, other concerts have come and gone. Winter is nearly upon us and the prospect of driving two hours on a school night to see a show wasn’t as thrilling as it was when I first purchased the show. Nevertheless, there I found myself driving up to exit 109 on the Parkway.

I was convinced I was going to Hackensack. Turns out the Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre is the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. Nice town. I paid the extortion to park and went to the corner restaurant and had a drink and watched a little football. I learned that Loudon Wainwright was playing in the smaller theatre. I actually heard that show during a quiet moment of Bromberg’s set. I imagine that audience heard all of Tuna’s set. 🙂 Then I walked next door.

The Count Basie is an old theatre. Apparently, it was recently renovated as those next to me aid there used to be netting on the ceiling to catch falling debris. The theatre is nice. And comfortable. I did not feel squeezed into my seat. Plenty of leg room. 🙂

The David Bromberg Quintet opened. Somehow, I’ve made it all these years without seeing him. I am not well-versed in his music, but what I know of him is blues . . . Reverend Gary Davis blues. He did not play that style tonight. He had a young band. They played some bluesy stuff, but it wasn’t classic style. This Month was very much to my liking. Peanut Man, written during Jimmy Carter’s presidency, was a jazzy instrumental that I enjoyed. The finale, Strongest Man Alive, was in the style of an Irish drinking song. Everyone participated. 🙂 I was hopeful that either Jorma would join David or vice versa. Neither occurred. Spanish Is the Loving Tongue was the blah song of the set for me.

Hot Tuna went on at 9:00 and played 90 minutes. They began with three “acoustic” numbers. At least Jorma was playing an acoustic guitar. I marvel at the man who will turn 81 in a couple weeks how cleanly he plays. Watching the lockdown concerts every Saturday helped me with how great of a player he is. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning was beautiful!

Then he plugged in. Oh, my!

It occurred to me that Hot Tuna is a style of music that is going to go away at some point, but presently, they kick ass! No, there aren’t stacks of Marshalls any longer, but it was straightforward blues rock from that point forward. While I enjoyed everything, it wasn’t until Bowlegged Woman that I felt things really geared up! Love Jack’s playing on this. That bass line is unlike anything anywhere else. Fabulous!

I thought there would be a set break there, but they rolled onward. Come Back Baby, Good Shepherd, Hit Single #1, and Funky #7 sure made it feel like it was the 1970s all over again. Awesome!

Whatever reservations I had about a Sunday evening concert on a school night were erased. I will gladly see Hot Tuna whenever they are around.

As Jorma would say, “Yikes!”

Phish
Beach, Atlantic City, NJ
13 August 2021

set 1: Cars Trucks Buses, AC/DC Bag –> Blaze On, Wolfman’s Brother, I Didn’t Know, Funky Bitch, Rift, Sand

set 2: Tweezer –> Bathtub Gin –> Everything’s Right –> Possum –> Also Sprach Zarathustra –> Rise/Come Together –> Harry Hood –> More

encore: Loving Cup

Joyous!

I had been looking forward to this show. Arrived and got to my place at 6:00 expecting a 7:30 start. Yeah, no. The guys began slightly after 7:00. Loved the Cars Trucks Buses opener. I am always up for a rarity. Then we got a fun AC/DC Bag, which I suppose should have been expected. Next up was one of the songs I had hoped would be played tonight: Blaze On! Loved it. 🙂 Then came Wolfman’s Brother. This produced a hot jam that really picked up the crowd. Prior to the show, I was thinking Lawn Boy might get played. Instead, the offbeat song was I Didn’t Know. Jon on the vacuum is awesome! Funky Bitch was next. Mike was on in the first set. His bass was popping and he was up in the mix. The set closer was Sand, another song that could be expected tonight on the beach. Nicely done. This set was just over an hour, which I thought was short. Most shows on this tour have started at 7:30, which was the stated start time tonight.

While I was not the oldest one in attendance tonight, I was certainly among the oldest in the audience. No chairs were permitted. I had been on my feet since 5:30. It was now a bit after 9:00. My knees were stiff. Just today I made an appointment with a knee doctor, which I think is going to lead to knee replacement surgery. But I was up and expecting a 9:30 second set start. Nope. We waited until quarter of.

Once the second set started, my knee ache disappeared as I was focused on the music. Tweezer! A 25-minute Tweezer. Awesome! We had a nice extended jam here, although not a tier 3 type jam. Even so, I was into this. After that, we got Bathtub Gin, a favorite of mine. This had another long jam, but one that was a bit subdued. Nevertheless, I was into this. Picking up the pace, the guys pushed into Everything’s Right. Nice! Rockin along and then came Possum. Oddly placed, perhaps, but the band ripped this one. This is what Phish does so well. All night I kept thinking I heard spots where Also Sprach Zarathustra could have segued into. Well, this is where the guys decided to drop it in. 🙂 It seemed to take just a bit to hit that crescendo, but they got there! Next was Rise/Come Together. Well played and the audience seemed to be into it. The set seemed to call for Harry Hood, although I was hoping to drop Fluffhead here. Love Harry, but it did not rip. It also felt like this was going to be the end of the set. Perhaps not thinking the tempo was up enough to close, More was brought on to close. Yes!

My analyses of bands usually speaks to how the early work is what everyone wants to here. No one goes to a Rolling Stones show expecting to here their latest album. Nope, folks want the hits (the early stuff). Phish has plenty of the early stuff to want to hear. But Phish has songs from throughout their nearly 40-year career that I want to hear in a show. Blaze On, Everything’s Right, More, WIngsuit, Ocelot, etc. are songs that are more recent that I welcome when played.

More had me singing along. Loved, loved, loved this!

Loving Cupwas the encore. I like that I got to hear this tonight. I thought this was very well played and a wonderful way to end this show.

I truly loved this show. The first set was funky. The second set was jammy. Vibes were excellent here. Kind folks all about. Had a great time with the folks around me. I walked away with a smile on my face. Isn’t that the greatest?

Jackson Browne & James Taylor
United Center, Chicago, IL
29 July 2021

Jackson Browne: I’m Alive, The Long Way Around, Downhill from Everywhere*, Somebody’s Baby, My Cleveland Heart, Until Justice Is Real*, Doctor My Eyes, Late for the Sky, The Pretender^, Running On Empty

James Taylor: Country Road, That’s Why I’m Here, Copperline, Never Die Young, Mexico, You Make It Easy, Line ‘Em Up, Chili Dog, As Easy As Rolling Off a Log, Sweet Baby James, Fire and Rain, Carolina On My Mind, Shower the People, How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved by You)

Encore: Shed a Little Light, Take It Easy#, Secret ‘o Light

* first time played
^ with James Taylor
# with Jackson Browne

My sister surprised me with a concert tonight. We took the L out to the area. Not quite to the venue. We still hoofed it a bit. I was surprised public transportation didn’t drop us off at the arena. We walked over, figured out where we were, and then decided to eat. There is no place to eat nearby. We essentially walked back from whence we came. We picked another location of the Billy Goat Tavern. They were rocking! So much we had to sit at the bar and then wait in line. Enjoyed an Italian beef sandwich before we returned.

We were denied entry as Patty had a backpack. Since we had no vehicle to dump it in, we were stuck. Lots of women were commiserating. We learned from a police officer (I think) that there was a baggage check across the street. Off we went.

This place was hysterical. Some guy in an open trailer was taking everyone’s pocketbooks and giving them a piece of paper with a number written on it. It looked very shady. We joked with those around us that the trailer was going to hook up to that guy’s car and be in another state by the time we returned.

Then it was back to the United Center. As we walked I realized it was 34 years ago that I saw J.T. I have never seen Jackson Browne live. In we went and then up. We had tickets on the third level. Pretty good timing as Jackson Browne came on right as we sat down.

Truly enjoyed his set. As an opening act, I knew we weren’t going to hear everything. Oh, how I would have loved that he pulled out The Load Out/Stay. I have thought he might do that as the encore with J.T., but alas he did not, J.T. joined Jackson for one song, The Pretender.

Stuff was going on on stage during the break. Turns out there was a cloth added that was suspended from the rafters. That was used as a screen for a trailer to introduce J.T. And then he and the band kicked off with Country Road. I remember from 87 that J.T. rocks a little more than one might think. J.T.’s set was a good mix of hits from throughout his career.

One of the encore songs brought Jackson Browne out for a duet on Take It Easy. Nice. J.T. messed up at one part. Loved Jackson’s response, “We’re not there yet.” Fun!

This was the first night of the tour. The house was pretty full. One could have gotten a ticket, I suspect at the last minute, but it would not have been down on the floor.

This was a fun night. Enjoyable. And a surprise!

Allman Betts Band
Landis Theater, Vineland, NJ
15 June 2021

Dreams, King Crawler, Southern Rain, Ain’t Wastin; Time No More, Jessica, Green Flower Street, Rivers Run, Long Gone

encore: Trouble No More

The pandemic is over! Well, I suppose not, but I said all along that once concerts began again, we would know we are in good shape. This is the first concert I have attended since Lord knows when. Liked it very much.

The Allman Betts Band is composed of Berry Oakley Jr., Devon Allman, and Duane Betts, all sons of original Allman Brothers Band members (Berry Oakley, Gregg Allman, and Dickey Betts). Of course, there are others that round out the band including Johnny Stachela who plays a mean slide guitar.

I believe the Devon Allman Project played the Levoy a few years ago. I missed that show but am happy I made this.

The background music upon them walking on stage was fantastic! That was Cold Little Heart by Michael Kiwanuka. Nice!

They opened with Dreams. This is a good choice to allow me to see how competent this band really is. They preformed this well. Nice. This was followed by a couple originals that were definitely good to hear. Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More may have been the highlight of the show for me. Nicely played. Where else am I ever going to hear this song live these days?

Next up was Jessica. Devon left the stage for this. As a guitarist, he wasn’t needed. This allowed Duane to have the spotlight. Obviously, Jessica is a classic song. It felt to me that Betts struggled on the solos on this one. He just seemed a bit off from capturing the magic that his father lighted each time he tore into this.

Donald Fagan’s Green Flower Street followed. I knew they covered this but had never heard their version. I love Fagan’s music, but it seemed like an odd choice for southern rockers. Well, I think they nailed this!

A couple more originals, including Long Gone closed out the set. Long Gone is a song I like. The band is highlighted throughout this song. Good stuff here!

The encore was Trouble No More! Loved it. Berry sang this. I dug his bass lines all evening. His voice isn’t as gravelly as Allman’s. I think this requires a bigger voice, but what do I know? I enjoyed it nonetheless. Come back, baby! Yeow!

I had been wondering if this was just a garage band. Definitely not. These guys can play. Allman is the singer. Neither Betts nor Oakley’s voices are strong. The second drummer had a verse on something (Green Flower Street?). His voice was good as well.

The audience was old. I was in an odd position: I was older than everyone in the band and younger than everyone in the audience. Weird.

They played two shows tonight. One that began at 6:00 and another at 10:00. I attended the 10:00 show and sat front row. The theater definitely was not filled. It seats 750. Perhaps a hundred-plus were in attendance. Most of the audience had attended the earlier show as well. I was unwilling to drop $100 for this band.

Two things I noted: Landis Theater did not put the band on the marquee and the show only was 75-80 minutes long.

The opening band was the River Kittens. I had never heard of them before. Two women singing and playing acoustic guitar and mandolin. Loved them Their song Dressing on the Side is humorous. They played Springsteen’s Atlantic City, which I thought was well played (They had played this with Allman Betts Band as an encore for the first show.).

Yes, the band changed up the set list slightly from what they had planned.

Yesterday Rex Fowler of Aztec Two-Step presented a program to the students at my school. Tonight I went and saw Aztec Two-Step at Appel Farm. It was a last minute decision that worked out perfectly, although Gert was unable to come.

This is the second show I have seen at Appel Farm. I have seen several other programs of theirs at school. I am always impressed. Tonight’s show was the first I saw in the theatre. I love that the seats are old church pews. No kneelers, which is fine by me. 🙂

The guys came on at 8:00 along with a bassist. I was about the youngest attendee. One lady had her son. The girl next to me was younger. She had never heard of the group before, but was a fan of Simon and Garfunkel. Aztec Two-Step are touring now playing Simon & Garfunkel’s songbook.

These guys have talent, no doubt. I enjoyed the two-set, two-hour show.

At the end of the first set, they played two of their original songs. These were the highlight of the night. While there was absolutely nothing wrong with the S&G covers, the soul of the musicians shone while playing Baking and The Persecution & Restoration of Dean Moriarty (On The Road). These two songs had me longing for more originals.

There were about 120 in attendance tonight. After an hour, the guys took a 10-minute break. They were accessible in the lobby.

Back on they came to continue with Simon and Garfunkel. They played most of the hits and interjected some history. I was hoping to hear American Tune. It wasn’t played. That was the only song they didn’t play that I was “expecting”. The guys did cover the Everly Brothers Let It Be Me. The Everly Brothers were a big influence on S&G.

I enjoyed the show. If they ever come back this way playing their original stuff, I would definitely go see them again.

Since I was a guest for the evening, I did not record any of this. Looking on YouTube, I see plenty have. I wonder how the guys would have felt about it. Sitting right smack in front, there was no way of being discreet. 🙂

The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
11 August 2007
5:00 p.m. show (second show)

Hello We’re The Wiggles, Rock-A-Bye Your Bear, Joanie Works With One Hammer, Look Both Ways, Incy Wincy Spider, Here Comes a Bear, Ring The Bells It’s Wiggle Time, Getting Strong, Ooh It’s Captain Feathersword, Romp a Stomp, Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, Shake Your Hips with Wags the Dog, Stairway to Heaven -> Play Your Guitar with Murray, English Country Garden, Can You (Point Your Fingers and Do the Twist?), Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, Turn Around; Teddy Bears Big Day Out, Fruit Salad, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Move Your Arms Like Henry, Captain Feathersword Fell Asleep on His Pirate Ship (Quack Quack), Hot Potato, Toot Toot, Chugga Chugga Big Red Car

Wow! Today was the day we went to see The Wiggles in Philadelphia at the Spectrum. Wow!

It wasn’t until yesterday that I realized this show was at the Spectrum; I had thought it was at the Wacovia Center across the parking lot. I have many fond memories of the Spectrum. It appears the last time I saw a concert here was the Grateful Dead in 1992. That’s a long time ago.

We made the familiar drive to the city. Parking was a snap. Beetle was excited! She kept saying she didn’t see The Wiggles. Patience, Little One. Patience.

We got to the doors of the hall just as they opened. As soon as we entered, I was taken aback. Yup, here is where I danced so many times in the concourse. Right around the bend are the bathrooms. Ah, my youth was flooding back to me. As we walked around, we caught a glimpse of the hall. Ah yes, concerts. It’s been a while.

This was our little girl’s day. We were willing to get her anything she wanted from the concession stand. She wanted nothing. At the merchandise stand, all she wanted was a flashing light thing with The Wiggles atop. No Dorothy tail. No hat. No T-shirt. Nope, just a little light. She’s practical, I suppose.

We made it down to the floor to our seats. We were 16th row, slightly left. Things looked good from down here. Yup, just about 40 feet or so from where I saw Jerry for the first time. A row over is where David and I saw Clapton and Roger Waters. Fond memories indeed. Beetle still didn’t see The Wiggles.

The stage was set up about a third of the way up. It was obvious from the flow of the crowd coming in, the hall was not going to fill up. As it was, the floor filled, the first 10 rows or so of the side stands, and then about the first five or so rows of the second level. As I looked up, most of the rafters were covered. No one would sit up there tonight or most nights anymore. Right over there was where I saw Joe Walsh and Stevie Nicks. Memories.

The crowd was a young family crowd. While I was the old one in the venue, we fit in well. There were lots of pregnant women toting their youngsters. Gert was nostalgic. In front of us was a couple and their young son. He cried. Daddy stood him on his lap. And that is where he stood for the balance of the night, right in front of us. Yes, this is why I adopted the “Sit in the front 10 rows” policy way back when. We’ll know better for next time.

Eventually the show commenced. There were announcements that the lights would go out, keep track of your children, etc. We recognized Fernando who sang La Cucaracha on one of the videos we have. Then the dancers hit the stage. Soon enough, The Wiggles!

Cameras flashed as the four mates from Down Under came out. It was quite exciting. Beetle was the model spectator. After the opening number, it was Beetle and my special song, Rock-A-Bye Your Bear. The entire audience sang along. And that would happen all night. The lady next to me squealed each time a new song, character, etc. happened.

Things were warming up and before we knew it, Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus, Dorothy the Dinosaur, and Captain Feathersword came out on stage. What fun!

The set list was mostly familiar tunes, with a few new ones sprinkled in . . . just like most bands. I was impressed that The Wiggles actually played music live (although there was plenty of piped in music too).

We had read about folks who bring roses for Dorothy and dog bones for Wags. The dancers come out into the audience to collect them. But so do The Wiggles. Murray in particular was very good and coming out and seeing the audience. That created a lot of excitement.

By this time, Beetle got out of her seat and began dancing. She was absolutely adorable! I wish we had video of her splashing about in the aisle. She was all smiles. She enjoyed herself immensely.

Each Wiggle has his own special song. Murray’s is Play Your Guitar with Murray. Original title, eh? The prelude to this was the beginning of Stairway to Heaven. That was very cool and a nod to some of us old geezers in the arena. I recalled the first time I was in the Spectrum. It was circa 1972 for a 76ers game with David and his family. Very few people tonight in the hall were even born in ’72.

The Wiggles put on a great show. I think the adults enjoy it every bit as much as the children. We expect we’ll see them again. We will no longer be novices. We’ll have our signs so the band will read them out. We’ll have roses (a really big homemade one so Beetle gets to go to the stage). Perhaps we’ll don pirate hats like Captain Feathersword. We’ll definitely have Fritz in tow. All the mothers had their infants strapped to them.

I related to Beetle that she was attending her first concert in Philadelphia with her father, just as I had a long time ago. While it wasn’t at the Spectrum, Poppy took her and me to my first concert (Billy Squire opened for Pat Benatar). She didn’t seem to understand the connection. 🙂

We enjoyed all the songs and had fun dancing and singing. Before too long, after Gert’s favorite, Hot Potato, The Wiggles announced the last song of the night. a rousing version of Toot Toot, Chugga Chugga Big Red Car finished off the concert. No encores, the lights came up.

Beetle had just seen her first show. What a great night.

We hit the concourse and once again offered Beetle her choice. She wanted nothing. Until we got outside. Then she melted. She screamed about something or other and we re-entered the hall. It took some time, but we finally deciphered what she wanted: a yellow duckie mouth. You see, there was a number tonight where some of the dancers dressed as ducks. I gather Beetle liked them. She wanted a duck’s mouth (bill) like theirs. It seems reasonable. One can buy a dinosaur tail or a feather sword. Why not a duckie mouth? Alas, there were none. Beetle did not understand. We even offered the dreaded cotton candy to appease her. She wanted nothing but a duckie mouth.

We eventually made it to the car to go home. The Phillies played tonight and all the traffic for that game battled all the traffic of the concert letting out. I offered to take the ladies to the game, but no one was game. Sigh . . . It wasn’t long before we were on the Walt Whitman. Beetle announced she wanted cotton candy. All I could do was smile.

What a wonderful day!