03 Friday Aug 2018
Posted in #WhiteBoyBlues, ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, Gov't Mule, Uncategorized
TICKETS TORN IN HALF August 3,2010: GOV’T MULE @House of Blues, Myrtle Beach,SC
It was pretty late but I finally convince the bride to go to the show.We got there as JACKIE GREENE was finishing up. She agreed to stay for one set of MULE,even knowing that GM can play for hours. We stayed for two sets and all the encores. They were that good.
21 Saturday Jul 2018
My ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND obsession began in March of 1971 at FILLMORE EAST and continued for the most part throughout the years up until the very end of the band for a grand total of over 50 perfomances. Funny as I calendarize my shows I found 3 separate shows for the same date JULY 21 in various years.
TICKETS TORN IN HALF- July 21
(ABB Show #6) July 21, 1971: ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND/ COWBOY @Wollman Rink in Central Park was an experience.Met up with a buddy in a tavern prior to the show. In the park the sun was shining brightly as the ABB hits the stage and they finished hours later in the calm of an early evening. Duane was in his element. Photos galore. Two shows that night,we had the early one.
STATESBORO
TROUBLE NO MORE
DON’T KEEP ME WONDERING
DONE SOMEBODY WRONG
ONE WAY OUT
MIDNIGHT RIDER
IN MEMORY OF ELIZ REED
YOU DON’T LOVE ME
REVIVAL
(ABB Show #10) July 21, 1973 ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND @ Madison Square Garden, NY: The ABB even after the death of Duane and Berry were becoming a huge attraction on the circuit. This two night stand at MSG followed two sell outs with the Grateful Dead at RFK stadium , 80,000 seats each night, only a month before.
WASTED WORDS
DONE SOMEBODY WRONG
SOUTHBOUND- (CHUCK LEVELL IS AMAZING)
STORMY MONDAY
IN MEMORY OF ELIZ REED
COME AND GO BLUES
TROUBLE NO MORE
RAMBLIN’ MAN
STATESBORO
ONE WAY OUT
TOU DON’T LOVE ME
LES BRES IN A MINOR
WHIPPING POST MOUNTAIN JAM
(ABB Show #15)July 21, 1996 ABB/ GOD STREET WINE @ Jones Beach The band open w/ Statesboro Blues to thunderous approval. I’m sitting at the top of the expanded amphitheater with a guy I finally got to attend any show with me and tonight we are seated amongst college kids, guys, mostly drunk who encouraged their girlfriends to go topless in the rain. And it rained.
STATESBORO
MIDNIGHT RIDER
BLUE SKY
YOU DON’T LOVE ME
WHAT’S DONE IS DONE
WORRIED DOWN WITH THE BLUES
CHANGE MY WAS OF LIVING
IN MEMORY OF ELIZ REED DREAMS
HOOTCHIE COOCHIE MAN
BACK WHERE IT ALL BEGINS
NO ONE TO RUN WITH
ONE WAY OUT
14 Saturday Jul 2018
Posted in ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, Lucinda Williams, Nassau Coliseum, The Beacon
TICKETS TORN IN HALF
TICKETS TORN IN HALF July 14, 1974 ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND@ Nassau COLISEUM- In my opinion not really a good time musically for the ABB but they are a huge draw and the crowd goes nuts with each tune. It will be awhile before I see them again, if I ever do.(But I do).
TICKETS TORN IN HALF July 14, 1984: SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES @ Beacon “Hyaena Tour”. This really was a trip as I did not know what to expect and was amazed at how good they were. Opened with DAZZLE, played CHRISTINE, ARABIAN KNIGHTS and encored with HELTER SKELTER.
TICKETS TORN IN HALF July 14, 2005:LUCINDA WILLIAMS @ Beacon. w/ ELVIS COSTELLO I gave my friend a copy of “Car Wheels On A Gravel Road” and he was hooked. “We”, he said, needed to see LUCINDA WILLIAMS, so here we are in the BEACON, loge of course, very near to my ABB seats.
She opens with “Ventura” and slowly has the band come out to join her…and later ELVIS COSTELLO joins the festivities.
VENTURA
FRUITS OF MY LABOR
HOW TO LIVE
DRUNKEN ANGEL
CAR WHEELS ON A GRAVEL ROAD
I LOST IT
REAL LOVE
WHAT IF
OUT OF TOUCH
RIGHTEOUSLY
CHANGED THE LOCKS w/ Elvis Costello(guitar/vocals)
COME ON
ESSENCE
REAL LIVE BLEEDING FINGERS
KNOWING
JAIL HOUSE TEARS w/ Elvis Costello (guitar/vocals)
13 Friday Jul 2018
TICKETS TORN IN HALF: July 13,1972 The ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND @ Gaelic Park w/ a Jam featuring Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir/ Captain Beyond opened.My obsession with the ABB continued, and this was a strange show as DUANE was gone and with him went some of the spirit of the band. But the music continued and tonight’s bonus was an extended jam with Garcia and Weir. I had to wade through the crowd having gotten there late due to the horrendous traffic in the Bronx and then I couldn’t find my group of friends anywhere, so I stood in the back of the open-air field alone. Note: Show ended early due to local curfew?
Pictures are not from that night.
03 Tuesday Jul 2018
Posted in ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, heart broken, Rock music, Uncategorized
TICKETS TORN IN HALF July 3, 2001: DICKEY BETTS BAND @ BB KINGS . All I wrote in my notebook was “sad”, as Dickey was on steep decline. But Chris did buy an expensive scotch which I sipped and shared with a couple at our table. He wasn’t happy.
25 Monday Jun 2018
TICKETS TORN IN HALF: THE LAST WEEKEND @ FILLMORE EAST-Saturday Night June 25, 1971-Late Show:
FILLMORE EAST closes with the longest and in my opinion one of if not the best set ever given by the ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND. Also on the bill were the J. Geils Band and Albert King .
THIS WAS AN END OF AN ERA for all who ever walked through those doors or graced that small but amazing stage. It is rumored that the greed of some bands (Led Zeppelin) demanding more money (Madison Squrae Garden money) and/ or limiting their shows to once a night threw BILL GRAHAM in a tizzy, so it was announced that Fillmore East would be closing it’s doors for good on Sunday, June 27,1971 and that night, the grand finale would be an “audience by invitation” only. Since I knew there was limited hope for me to score a ticket for that night I felt I needed to be there on Saturday, June 26 for the late show. A few weeks prior to the said date, I was speaking with a woman who worked the box office. Somehow, we two had become friendly over the last few months. She was about 25 or so, nice woman, pretty, and soft spoken with a hard edge if you can imagine that and she knew I was an Allman Brothers Band fan who also loved Albert King so she got me one ticket for the late Saturday, a seat in the middle section of the front balcony. Cool.
JUNE 25: ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, J. GEILS BAND, and ALBERT KING at Fillmore East, I call Saturday night the show to end all shows as Sunday night show was broadcast live and after listening to it Sunday night had NOTHING compared to Saturday late show. Saturday afternoon my buddy Jim and I took off early in the afternoon as I would attempt to score a ticket for him. I wasn’t on Second Avenue more than 15 minutes before I had an Orchestra seat for my buddy, sold to me at cost ($5.50). We went for dinner, returning to the line up for the late show about 9PM, listening intently, as the ABB could be heard out in the street doing their first show. After the early show was cleared we were seated in the hall by midnight, where we saw the most incredible set by Albert King, followed by a set from The J. Geils Band. Then, The BROTHERS took the stage, introduced so eloquently by Bill Graham, and the BROTHERS played what is rumored to be their finest set ever. I was there and I agree. The sun was up as we headed toward the subway, meeting up with some of our town locals who also attended the show.
FILLMORE EAST:
This little venue at 205 Second Avenue off of Sixth Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan was my home away from home from my first night there in 1969 until it’s closing weekend June of 1971. During that period I saw almost every type of music imaginable. Live music was a real education for me and here at Fillmore East it was at the Ph.D level of instruction. Jazz, folk, rock, experimental, comedic,whatever, the eclectic bill was presented usually with a light show in the background. The seating of about 2700 was theatre style, no ballroom here. Programs were distributed at the door and you were escorted to your reserved seating by real ushers wearing their official garb of Fillmore East yellow and green football jerseys.Snacks, no alcohol, were available on the second floor, and all seats were a gem as the sight lines were amazing and the sound system the best in the land (at that time).
Most nights two shows were offered (separate admissions), one at 8 PM and the second scheduled for 11:30PM, Friday and Saturday evenings. The proprietor Bill Graham ran this place as if it was on Broadway. Bands were expected to be ready at show time AND conform to their given time slots. Mr. Graham would introduce the bands (when he was in town) or one of the Fillmore managers had the con. Intros were usually pretty classic for the “head”billed act. Intermissions were entertaining also, as cartoons, or short films would be shown. A crowd favorite was THE SUNSHINE MAKERS, a black and white cartoon from 1935. Obvious a fan favorite because of the way it displayed: Sunshine as a liquid and when that liquid hits its victim, well that grouch turned happy ala Orange barrel sunshine of the LSD variety.The crowd roared.
11 Friday May 2018
Years ago I was a vinyl junkie that being an obsessive collector of vinyl recordings. The first record I ever bought was a single 45 rpm back in the late 1950’s. Played that sucker to death on a sonically deficient record player, you know the kind that had one tiny built in speaker. The resembled a small suitcase. Dad had” The victrola” as he called it, which was off limits. Oh well, I digress again.
The 45 rpm recording led me to my first long player (lp) JOEY DEE AND THE STARLIGHTERS-LIVE which was proudly placed on the shelving storing my father’s Big Band and blues collection , a total of about 15 records mostly purchased by him from the COLUMBIA RECORD CLUB.
With just my one lonely record sitting on that shelf, Joey Dee next to Dad’s Big Joe Turner and The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, there was plenty of room for more. And then it happened. Over time there were thousands.
Awhile back I wrote about my first obsession with vinyl recording and my collection’s ultimate demise due to a hurricane. An execution by water it was. Thousands of records had fallen from their perches, totally soaked in water, the cardboard falling off, and mold on the label-less vinyl. With tears streaming down my face all were black bagged and tossed out. Only a few could be saved or preserved. And my space had to be professionally de-molded. I was reluctant to ever collect again, hey we had the “cloud” to store stuff, so why not go digital. “It’s a new dawn”, as Grace Slick stated.
But….recently, October exactly, I am back (obsessively) collecting vinyl, my renaissance so to speak. Since the first “newbie” arrived by mail my collection has grown substantially to the point where even the mailman or Fed Ex guy shakes his head while making the almost daily deliveries. I even got one on a Sunday which in a way is sacrilegious I believe. Anyway here they are:
New Discs: mostly180 grams(plus), some colored vinyl, others picture discs, many collectables.
Gregg Allman:SOUTHERN BLOOD (pic disc)
The Baseball Project: PART 2
The Beatles: SGT PEPPERS (pic disc)(still shrink wrapped)
The Beatles: SGT PEPPERS
The Beatles: REVOLVER
Tommy Bolin: ENERGY
David Bowie: LOW
David Bowie: HEROES
David Bowie: LODGER
David Byrne: AMERICAN UTOPIA
Dave Brubeck: TIME OUT
Jeff Buckley: LIVE AT SIN-E’ (4lp set)
John Coltrane: BLUE TRAIN (color vinyl)
The Dream Syndicate: LIVE AT RAJI’S
Flamin’ Groovies:GREASE (color vinyl)
(Rory Gallagher) Taste: LIVE AT ISLE OF WIGHT
Jeff Lynne’s ELO: LIVE AT WEMBLEY
John Wesley Harding: THE SOUND OF HIS OWN VOICE
L.A.M.F. (The Heartbreakers) LIVE AT THE BOWERY ELECTRIC
Richard Hell and The Void Oids: BLANK GENERATION (40th)
Robyn Hitchcock: LOVE FROM LONDON
King Crimson: IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING
King Crimson: IN THE WAKE OF POSEIDON
Living Colour: SHADE (pic)
Living Colour: LIVE FROM CBGB’S 12/19/89
Los Straightjackets: WHAT’S SO FUNNY ABOUT PEACE,LOVE…
Los Straightjackets: SING ALONG WITH…
Richard Lloyd: THE RADIANT MONKEY
Charles Mingus: MINGUS AH UM
Morphine: LIVE AT THE WARFIELD 1997
Morphine: GOOD
Nazz: THE FUNGO BAT ACETATES
Procol Harum : THE ONE & THE ONLY (color vinyl)
Otis Redding: LIVE AT THE WHISKY A GO GO 1966
Lou Reed: ANIMAL SERENADE
The Replacements: LIVE AT MAXWELL’S 1986
The Rolling Stones: BEGGAR’S BANQUET
The Rolling Stones: EXILE ON MAIN STREET
The Rolling Stones: ON AIR
Leon Russell: LEON RUSSELL
Nina Simone: SINGS THE BLUES
The Soft Boys: UNDERWATER MOONLIGHT
Soul Asylum: LIVE FROM LIBERTY LUNCH 12/3/92
Television: ADVENTURE (color vinyl)
Television: LIVE AT THE OLD WALDORF 6/29/78
Television: MARQUEE MOON
Sister Rosetta Tharpe: LIVE IN 1960
Wilco: AM
Wilco: LIVE AT THE TROUBADOUR L.A. 1996
Steve Winwood: GREATEST HITS LIVE
The Yardbirds: YARDBIRDS ’68
Neil Young: HITCHHIKER
05 Monday Mar 2018
FILLMORE EAST:
Fifty years ago this week BILL GRAHAM opened FILLMORE EAST with a show featuring BIG BROTHER and THE HOLDING COMPANY, TIM BUCKLEY, and ALBERT KING.
This little venue at 205 Second Avenue off of Sixth Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan was my home away from home from my first night there in 1969 until it’s closing weekend June of 1971. During that period I saw almost every type of music imaginable. Experiencing live music was a real education for me and here at Fillmore East it was at the Ph.D level of instruction. Jazz, folk, rock, experimental, comedic, whatever, this eclectic bill was all presented usually with a light show in the background. The seating of about 2700 was theatre style, no ballroom here. Programs were distributed at the door and you were escorted to your reserved seating by real ushers wearing their official garb of Fillmore East yellow and green football jerseys. Snacks, no alcohol,were available on the second floor, and all seats were a gem as the sight lines were amazing and the sound system the best in the land (at that time).
Most nights two shows were offered (separate admissions), one at 8 PM and the second scheduled for 11:30PM, Friday and Saturday evenings. The proprietor Bill Graham ran this place as if it was on Broadway. Bands were expected to be ready at show time AND conform to their given time slots. Mr. Graham would introduce the bands (when he was in town) or one of the Fillmore managers were left to the honors. Intros were usually pretty classic for the “head” billed act. Intermissions were entertaining also, as cartoons, or short films would be shown. A crowd favorite was THE SUNSHINE MAKERS, a black and white cartoon from 1935. Obvious a fan favorite because of the way it displayed: Sunshine as a liquid when it hit its victim, well that grouch turned happy ala Orange barrel sunshine of the LSD variety.The crowd roared in delight every time it was played.
So thanks to FILLMORE EAST for the memories.
27 Saturday May 2017
Posted in ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND, Rock music
My journey as a fan of the Allman Brothers Band began on a cold March night in 1971. Awaiting the arrival of a friend I stood among a throng of people on the corner of Second Avenue and Sixth Street. In my pocket I was holding two tickets for the Johnny Winter late show at Fillmore East. It was a few minutes before eight, and my friend was late as we were to have met an hour ago to get a bite to eat. As the early show ticker holders slowly moved into the theatre, a guy whom I never saw before walked over to me and asked if I wanted his spare ticket for the early show. With my friend nowhere in sight, and it being extremely cold, I pocketed the ticket, but remained outside in hopes of seeing my friend show up.
At 8:30, now extremely cold, and with no crowd left outside, I entered the building. Ticket torn in half by the usher, and with program in my hand I walked to the upper balcony where I would sit. The opening act, The Elvin Bishop Group, was ending and the intermission began.
Walls of amplifiers, a Hammond B-3 organ and TWO sets of drums were taking their place on the stage. While a black and white cartoon played over the big screen located directly behind the equipment, I could hear the sounds of guitars tuning up. The house lights still dimmed and with the cartoon now over, a single spotlight hit the stage and a simple announcement was made, “Ladies and gentlemen, The Allman Brothers Band”. Not the headliners for that night but after playing for a bit over an hour, you could have fooled me.These guys were good.
After the first show ended, I finally met up with my friend. It was about 11:15 p.m. and he was a bit angry that I had taking the opportunity to see the first show leaving him alone and out in the cold. After he calmed down, we went to get something to eat. Sitting in the pizza shop across the street I told him about this incredible band I just saw. While at first he did not believe me as he was there to see the headliner Johnny Winter, he changed his allegiance by 6:30 a.m. when we left the late show.
The late show started very late at about midnight. The first act ELVIN BISHOP GROUP had to cut their sey short due to a bomb scare. The entire audience had to vacate the venue and then reenter a bit later. By 2 a.m. we were back in our seats entertained by a very short set from Johnny Winter. I was confused. I thought, due to the time and the scare, the “Brothers” would be cancelled. Thankfully I was wrong.
Same cartoon as the early show intermission, same equipment being set up, and then “thanks for waiting, we will make it up to those still here”. It was a different voice. No spotlight, and now a “1, 2, 3…” Statesboro Blues. The sun up when we left the theatre, with two ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND shows under my belt, knowing there would be more to come.
Here I am 46 years later, now with 47 ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND shows under my belt, and I hear the news that BROTHER GREGG ALLMAN passed away today. As my wife said, “You knew it was coming, he was very sick”. Yes, I knew but I was not ready, not ready to never hearing the live version of his bluesy vocals. Not ready to never see him behind a Hammond B-3, not ready to end the run. As he sang so many nights “the road goes on forever”…but not tonight.
Rest in Peace, my Brother, thanks for all the great nights I watched you grace the stages.Thanks for all the wonderful music.Just….THANKS.
All prayers and thoughts go out to your family and friends at this time.
intuneandintime 