In early August, 1969, there was quite a buzz about Woodstock. I don’t believe anyone, even at that late date, anticipated how big it was going to be. At least not among my friends. Most of us were not planning on a trip to … Continue reading Concerts Vol. 14: Led Zeppelin
Thanks For Thinking Of Me But It’s Alright is the closing track of Side 1 from the self-titled Pulse album from 1969. After it was written and we arranged it in late 1968, it was also almost always Pulse’s opening tune in concert. The group Pulse was based in New Haven, Connecticut, more specifically Wallingford at … Continue reading Pulse: Thanks For Thinking Of Me …
About six months after writing a series of pieces in 2009 on Cream concerts I’ve been to, I was contacted by Ken Melville. Ken was in the band Catharsis in Boston in September, 1967 and opened for Cream for their one-week run of concerts at the Psychedelic Supermarket in Kenmore Square, just a stone’s throw … Continue reading Cream at the Psychedelic Supermarket, 1967 & more
Winter and spring of 1968 in Boston was a particularly memorable and remarkable time for me as far as the music to which I was exposed. My group Pulse opened for the Lovin’ Spoonful at the Back Bay Theatre; I saw Michael Bloomfield’s Electric Flag at the Psychedelic Supermarket, where I had earlier first seen … Continue reading Concerts Vol. 11: Traffic
At one point Sunday night at the Oakdale Theatre, Bonnie Raitt said it’s taken 40 years to get Taj Mahal and her together for a tour. Too bad it took that long. It’s understandable of course. Both have had successful careers in their own right, particularly Raitt, whose career exploded in the late 1980s and … Continue reading BonTaj traveling blues show
Chrissie Hynde oozes attitude. At 57, she still possesses a distinctive and charismatic voice suited so well for rock ‘n roll. Or any of rock’s offshoots: punk, new wave, R&B, balladry, even country, among others. Hynde’s charisma on stage is in place as well. She’s sexy, sarcastic and devilishly fun to watch as she puts her latest … Continue reading New Pretenders have old allure
A little more than two months after seeing Cream at Yale’s Woolsey Hall in New Haven, the second time I had seen them live in about six months, the group was booked to play two shows — afternoon and evening — at the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Connecticut on June 15. It was the next-to-last show of an exhausting … Continue reading Concerts, Vol. 5: Farewell Cream
In Concerts Vol. 3, I wrote about the single concert performance that was probably the best out of hundreds I’ve attended and certainly the most influential: Cream at the Psychedelic Supermarket in Boston, September, 1967. That wouldn’t be the only time I would see this amazing trio. I was lucky enough to see them three … Continue reading Concerts Vol. 4: Heavy Cream
Mrs. Elvis Costello dedicates her latest album to Declan, Dexter and Frank, her husband and twin sons. She has presented them with a cool, mellow record in a distinctly bossa nova mood from her hushed vocal approach to spare but sparkling piano solos and the pristine production by longtime collaborator Tommy LiPuma. Diana Krall’s Quiet … Continue reading Diana in a bossa mood
The first in a series that will focus on concerts I’ve seen and serve as companion pieces to the Connecticut rock ‘n roll scene posts I started with Connecticut’s Own and Pulse, Part 2. I’ve been to quite a few concerts over the years, many influential, some inspiring. The earliest big venue shows were in the … Continue reading Concerts Vol. 1