TICKETS TORN IN HALF: The Rascals@ SINGER BOWL,August 30,1968

AUGUST 30: CAN’T SEE A THING TILL YOU OPEN MY EYES

Just finishing out the summer internship at The Chase Manhattan Bank off of Wall Street (95 bucks a week), all of 16 years of age I was ready for the big stage. We ventured out from Suburbia, AKA The Sticks, on the LongIslandRailRoad to Jamaica Station and then a subway took us into the heart of Queens, New York to see what was and probably still is the Greatest AMERICAN Rock band. This band did it all, they wrote, produced, played their own instruments and sang like a church choir…THE RASCALS.

The Rascals, Nazz, The Vagrants, Eire Apparent at the  Singer Bowl  (8/30/68)

It was a beautiful evening for an outdoor concert. With clear skies, the train ride was uneventful, and the crowd enthusiastic, me being one of them. My girlfriend accompanied me, my buddy George and his date, a beautiful 16 year old blond from Europe who was visiting George’s family. She could and would cause some problems in months to come as she was beautiful and a flirt. But back to the show.

Eire Apparent, a band produced by Jimi Hendrix (they said it at least twice during their 25 minutes of fame, was in hindsight, about as good as we got at Hullabaloo, the local teen club. Nothing too shabby, just okay. NAZZ was next up. The drummer was superb, the singer and bass players were pretty good. Yet there was something quirky and eye catching about the guitarist. Windmills, neck bending, string slapping, a bit theatrical and too cool to describe. Not having seen anything like this before this Todd Rundgren guy caught my musical attention at that moment and would have my attention for many moons to come. Local favorites (boys from Forest Hills) the band I witnessed many times at Hullabaloo, The Vagrants, hit the stage with a set of their own tunes doing an extended version of a Stones tune (Satisfaction) and finished with RESPECT. Pretty nicely done on a big stage, a completely different Vagrants then I was use to seeing at Hullbaloo. The stars of the show, the band I was dying to see,The Rascals,were tremendous. The applause was deafening at their introduction, after each tune, and at the end of their hit filled set. Hit after hit after hit after hit. Solos, musicianship, vocals, all clear, clean and crisp. It was heavenly. I was hooked, I needed more.

TICKETS TORN IN HALF: Two Nights of TODD RUNDGREN-Two Years Apart.(1973/1975)

TICKETS TORN IN HALF: Two Nights of TODD-Two Years Apart.(1973/1975)

August 25,1973:TODD RUNDGREN-SONS OF 1984@ Wollman Rink in Central Park: We had our blood test for our marriage license in the morning then got on the train with my brother and his date for a free afternoon show (for a limited audience) to assist as a chorus in the recording of a new TODD tune entitled “ SONS OF 1984”  which would be on TODD’S next album. Upon arrival to Wollman Rink, an outdoor venue, we received the lyric sheet, and after an explanation rom the choral master (TODD) we rehearsed our part a few times and  then Todd recorded a few takes.He explained how we”the last coast” would be coming out of one speaker and a soon to be recorded part from the west coast would be designated to the other speaker. After playback and upon approval from TODD well… Then TODD and the band gave us a show, some of the hits and the heavies.I took some amazing photos, actually  used by CREEM magazine despite Lisa Robinson and a few other gems trying to block my angles. BeBe posed gracefully and was as gorgeous as can bebe.

TICKETS TORN IN HALF August 25,1975: TODD RUNDGREN/ UTOPIA@ Wollman Rink in Central Park “ANOTHER LIVE” was  recorded. This is two years to the date, in the same spot, since we recorded SONS OF 1984 with Todd.So here we are again, on another TODD (live) album. Again,the musicians who make up UTOPIA are his band.These guys are a bit different from previous incarnations of TODD line ups. Since 1968 I have seen Todd with Nazz, The Hello People, Runt, with Tony and Hunt Sales and others, sometimes aided by Hall and Oates, et al.But tonight was quite different, musicianship at the forefront. However, I got quite lost in some of the songs, particularly THE WHEEL which went on forever and made no point to me.TODD introduced “Do Ya” as “the MOVE covered “Open My Eyes” so we are returning the favor”.

(Wiki)•Todd Rundgren – guitar, vocals, production

•Mark “Moogy” Klingman – keyboards, vocals, harmonica, glockenspiel, Korg synthesizer

•Ralph Schuckett – keyboards, vocals, organ, clavinet, accordion

•John Siegler – bass guitar, vocals

•Roger Powell – Moog synthesizer, trumpet, vocals

•John “Willie” Wilcox – drums

•David lasley (background vocals)

•Arnold McCuller (background vocals)

•Phillip Ballou (background vocals)

From: thevinyldistrict.com:(Graded On A Curve):Todd Rundgren’s Utopia (later shortened to just Utopia) surprised me in several regards. First, I thought Todd was the synthesizer freak in the band. Wrong. Mark “Moogy” Klingman and Roger Powell played the Korg synthesizer and the Moog synthesizer, respectively, along with tons of other instruments. Rundgren played guitar and sang, while Ralph Schuckett played all manner of keyboards in addition to bass. John Siegler played bass and cello, and John “Willie” Wilcox played drums. Second, I was glad to discover (how could I have forgotten?) that Utopia covers The Move’s great rocker “Do Ya,” written by later ELO stalwart Jeff Lynne.

TICKETS TORN IN HALF:August 11,2013-TODD RUNDGREN @Westbury Music Fair.

 

TICKETS TORN IN HALF:August 11,2013-TODD RUNDGREN @Westbury Music Fair. Two of my buddies had tickets for the show. They told me where they were seated, so I went on-line and bought the one next to them.Surprise.(Thanks to setlist.com for the list)

Real Man

Love of the Common Man

Buffalo Grass

Kind Hearted Woman Blues
(Robert Johnson cover)

Determination

Lucky Guy

Can We Still Be Friends

Espresso (All Jacked Up)

Love Is the Answer
(Utopia song)

It Wouldn’t Have Made Any Difference

Lost Horizon

Flaw

Soul Brother

I’m So Proud
(The Impressions cover)

Ooo Baby Baby
(The Miracles cover)

I Want You
(Marvin Gaye cover)

Hawking

I Saw the Light

Courage

Drive

Couldn’t I Just Tell You

Hello It’s Me

A Dream Goes on Forever

TICKETS TORN IN HALF JULY 3, 1976: Todd Rundgren

 

 

TICKETS TORN IN HALF JULY 3, 1976: Todd Rundgren  (4th time) (UTOPIA) / CHEECH AND CHONG/HALL AND OATES @ Central Park. It was the day before, actually late afternoon before the BIG EVENT, The Bi-Centennial, 1776-1976, the 200th Birthday of our independence and we were celebrating in style. NYC was an epicenter for the event. Huge flags draped across the access bridges to Manhattan. The LI RailRoad was extending hours and trains. People were attired in the Red, White, and Blue, and some on the uptown subway were dressed like UNCLE SAM, one guy even wearing stilts. The harbors were filled with tall ships and naval vessels. Uniforms abound.  So our event was TODD RUNDGREN, a family favorite since 1968 with NAZZ and now Todd was doing his UTOPIA stuff full time now as well as producing HALL and OATES at the same time so H&O stepped in with UTOPIA for a few numbers. The band closed (encore) with THE MOVE’S “Do Ya”. Speaking of numbers ,CHEECH AND CHONG did a full comedy routine which had us in hysterics.All for $2.00

ON THE SHELF: SMALL TOWN TALK- BOB DYLAN,THE BAND, VAN MORRISON, JANIS JOPLIN, JIMI HENDRIX AND FRIENDS IN THE WILD YEARS OF WOODSTOCK by Barney Hoskyns, DaCapo Press

ON THE SHELF: SMALL TOWN TALK- BOB DYLAN,THE BAND, VAN MORRISON, JANIS JOPLIN, JIMI HENDRIX AND FRIENDS IN THE WILD YEARS OF WOODSTOCK by Barney Hoskyns, DaCapo Press

Yesterday’s post was JUDAS! so I thought this a decent follow up to the exploits of one, Robert Zimmerman.

“There’s a veil of secrecy around all this stuff,” the folk singer Artie Traum told me when I first visited Woodstock in the summer of 1991. “And for no particular reason, because there’s really nothing to hide. I don’t think there are any skeletons that aren’t already public. But one of the whole things that Dylan started was ‘Don’t talk to anybody.” (preface)

This book is small town name dropping at its best. ALBERT GROSSMAN being the star attraction, arriving as his way to escape the hustle and bustle that he brought upon himself,a way to escape those that despised him, he settles on a spread in upstate New York, BEARSVILLE, and consequently an entire army of like minded folks (pun intended) arrive a few years later, BOB DYLAN being the most famous.

They are all here in and around WOODSTOCK , the small town as the title suggest, some only visited, while others settled or “escaped” from drugs, money, spouses, or just for the serenity of what the surrounding had to offer.

MY LITTLE KNOWN FUN FACT THAT I LOVE: Gate Of Horn co-owner LES BROWN who with ALBERT GROOMSMAN opened that Chicago club in 1956:“Les Brown loathed him so much that, after Grossman’s death, he made a special trip to urinate on his grave” (p32)

TICKETS TORN IN HALF: June 21,1975 BETTE MIDLER ON BROADWAY@The Minskoff Theatre

TICKETS TORN IN HALF: June 21,1975 BETTE MIDLER ON BROADWAY@The Minskoff Theatre

I knew this girl (circa 1971) who raved about seeing BETTE MIDLER in the Continental Baths, a gay spa in Manhattan. For the life of me at that time I had no idea who or what she was speaking about, but that gal was always interesting and fun to be around so I listened. Slip in time to a 1973 visit to a local record store on there on the rack of new releases is BETTE MIDLER “The Divine Miss M”. I peruse the songs and lo and behold I find my buddy, BUZZY LINHART and his writing co-partner MOOGY KLINGMAN’S song “Friends” listed, along with a few other known covers.Hmmm…further along in the time machine, stopping in 1975 and we find THE DIVINE MISS M starring on BROADWAY in “Clams On The Half Shell Review” starring Bette Midler, Lionel Hampton, and The Harlettes.

We nab 4 good seats for a Saturday night performance, get all dressed up, and away we go.During the intermission I was in the lobby having a smoke, dressed in my off-white suit with a TODD RUNDGREN t-shirt underneath. An elderly woman comes over and asks for my autograph to which I give her. While she walks away my brother laughs, shaking his head and said ,“Who does she think you are?” to which I replied “How the hell do I know”.

Oh, yeah the show was great and LIONEL HAMPTON is the plus here.

IN THE HOUSE: TWO SEPARATE NIGHTS, YEARS APART with LED ZEPPELIN

IN THE HOUSE: TWO SEPARATE NIGHTS, YEARS APART with LED ZEPPELIN

June 14,1977-LED ZEPPELIN@ Madison Square Garden… Since May of 1969, I saw Led Zeppelin every time they hit the colonies.This night was my 8th and probably last time to see LED ZEPPELIN barring any miraculous events whereby they reunite with JOHN BONHAM.Hey, I still have a hard time seeing one of my all time favs THE WHO without the shenanigans of KEITH MOON doing “Magic Bus”. But, I digress, again. Back to Led Zep. WPLJ the NEW YORK radio station gave us buttons celebrating the bands 6 nights sold out performances at THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS ARENA . My notes are vague but in my marble composition notebook where I store ticket stubs, etc, I do have a copy of JOHN ROCKWELL’s NYTIMES review of the shows. It was a 3 hour extravaganza complete with an acoustic set in the middle. Jimmy did do his violin bow routine with a lazer show accompaniment, and JOHN BONHAM did his obligatory hand drumming during MOBY DICK. I don’t recall any new material and few from LED ZEPPELIN I and II.(My Notes: a fucking hour’s wait before they play…THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME opened the show, Moby Dick, Jimmy Page solo, Achilles Last Stand, Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love and closed with Rock and Roll) It is significant to note that waiting an hour for any band is a sin in my book. I waited just shy of two hours before I stormed out of MSG for SLY and THE FAMILY STONE, finding out the next day it was  3 1/2 hour wait in total. Fortunately I had comp tixs so missing him/them didn’t cost me a dime. But waiting for JIMMY, ROBERT, JOHN-PAUL, and BONZO was a chore as I was in the crowd during the September 3, 1971 appearance when M-80’s and such were being throw from the balconies to the crowd below. But this in 1977 was seeing Led Zeppelin after a 2 year hiatus and I was ready, just please hurry up boys, start the show.They did not disappoint.

JUNE 15,1972 LED ZEPPELIN @ Nassau Memorial Coliseum (5th Led Zeppelin show)

Advertised as a “3 1/2 hour show” and as I was still shaking from the MSG fiasco a year ago (M-80’s thrown from the balcony to the crowd below) I had NO intentions of going to this brand new venue to see Led Zeppelin. But while leaving the RUNDGREN show at CARNEGIE HALL (June 8) we found two tickets for LZ in the glove compartment of my VW bug. Still to this day I never found who or why the tixs were there but a free show cannot be passed up. And away we go, about 14th row center, me seated there with me looking over my shoulder the whole time. “Immigrant Song” opened the show, but my fav was (Moby Grape’s) “ Since I’ve Been Loving You” and they finished out with about a 25 minute romp of a ‘Whole Lotta Love” medley. A free for me and I sold the ticket stub years later. (my ticket stub is on their web site)

IN THE HOUSE: June 8, 1972-TODD RUNDGREN AND THE HELLO PEOPLE @ CARNEGIE HALL

IN THE HOUSE June 8, 1972-TODD RUNDGREN AND THE HELLO PEOPLE @ CARNEGIE HALL  School had ended and I was finalizing all my duties as Managing Editor of the college newspaper and just happened to check my mailbox one last time before heading home. In my cubby was an envelope from BEARSVILLE RECORDS addressed to me. Seems that all my talk on my college radio program about seeing NAZZ in 68 followed with the constant playing of the TODD RUNDGREN RADIO SHOW promo disc that Bearsville issued had paid off. Inside I found two comp tickets to see TODD RUNDGREN with THE HELLO PEOPLE at Carnegie Hall.

THE HELLO PEOPLE, hard to describe their sound but easy to describe their look…they were dressed as mimes, white face and all, not speaking a word to the audience between songs while acting out routines. Geez. Then TODD took over and rocked the joint. BUZZY LINHART who was seated next to me was called to the stage to join in on the festivities. Overall, a great night of RUNDGREN music.