I imagine most of us have been to a music concert before. But the reality is, some concerts are better than others. Being a musician and loving music as I do I have been to several performances in my time. Some enormous. Some little. Some with well-known rock stars. And some with new artists on the way up.
Here's some of the finest performances I have seen and some things I figured out about attending a performance along the way.
Larger Isn't Invariably Better
I have been to some massive shows, including the mother of all concerts Woodstock. Though that show was excellent, the incontrovertible fact that it was huge wasn't the reason why I relished it. It's probably the indisputable fact that Woodstock was out of control that made it fascinating and fun. The confusion surrounding the over-crowded, food-less, no-place-to-go-to-the-bathroom scene, was what made it amazing. We all made the best of an awkward situation. We all subconsciously agreed to make is something none of us would ever forget. I think that is an important take-away.
As far as surprising smaller concerts, one of the best concerts I saw was Little Feat at my varsity, University of Massachusetts, back around 1974. The band was not yet well-liked and the show was attended only by about a hundred folks, although it was obvious this was a great band on the way up. The show was held in the Student Union Ballroom. It might doubtless hold only 500-600 folk when full.
And this room held many concerts while I was in school there in the 60's and 70's. I also saw Jonathan Edwards, Bo Diddley, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Hound Dog Taylor in this room, among many others.
Another small show that was memorable for me was seeing The Nazz at The Tea Party in Boston. The Nazz was Todd Rundgren's first band and, like many bands I loved, weren't super popular but had some great tunes. They had Hello It's Me which later would be re-done by Todd Rundgren as a solo artist and be a massive hit for him. At the time, Nazz was up and coming and that concert was seen by less than 20 people. I suspect the band was a bit bummed, but still put on a superb concert.
My First Concert
If you love music you always remember your first big rock show. Mine was seeing The Kingsmen at The Surf in Nantasket Beach just south of Boston in around 1965. The Kingsmen had the big garage rock hit, Louie Louie, so certainly seeing them was a thrill. But even this show was relatively little. The Surf only held around 1000 folks. Today a band with a hit like that will be playing to 30-40,000 people at a concert.
But almost all of my concerts back then were in tiny clubs seeing local or regional bands. Still those shows were always noteworthy to me and a very big part of why I wanted to be a musician.
So over the years I saw many concerts. Here's a couple of the highlights I remember...
- The Allman Brothers at Orpheum in Boston around 1971.
- Boz Scaggs, Curtis Mayfield and Brewer and Shipley at an outside UMass concert in 1970.
- Allman Brothers and Bonnie Raitt at UMass Alumni Stadium in about 1980. What was special about this day was both The Allman's and Bonnie Raitt showed up and jammed with NRBQ later that night at a small club called The Rusty Nail in Hadley Mass.
- Any NRBQ show at The Rusty Nail.
- B.B. King Live at the NAMM show playing to about 20 folk in a back room. (Don't get me started about the concerts I saw at the National Association of Music Merchant's conventions)
OK I could go on for a long time, I've seen so many great performances. Hope that inspires you to make your own list of your fave concerts.
Here's some of the finest performances I have seen and some things I figured out about attending a performance along the way.
Larger Isn't Invariably Better
I have been to some massive shows, including the mother of all concerts Woodstock. Though that show was excellent, the incontrovertible fact that it was huge wasn't the reason why I relished it. It's probably the indisputable fact that Woodstock was out of control that made it fascinating and fun. The confusion surrounding the over-crowded, food-less, no-place-to-go-to-the-bathroom scene, was what made it amazing. We all made the best of an awkward situation. We all subconsciously agreed to make is something none of us would ever forget. I think that is an important take-away.
As far as surprising smaller concerts, one of the best concerts I saw was Little Feat at my varsity, University of Massachusetts, back around 1974. The band was not yet well-liked and the show was attended only by about a hundred folks, although it was obvious this was a great band on the way up. The show was held in the Student Union Ballroom. It might doubtless hold only 500-600 folk when full.
And this room held many concerts while I was in school there in the 60's and 70's. I also saw Jonathan Edwards, Bo Diddley, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Hound Dog Taylor in this room, among many others.
Another small show that was memorable for me was seeing The Nazz at The Tea Party in Boston. The Nazz was Todd Rundgren's first band and, like many bands I loved, weren't super popular but had some great tunes. They had Hello It's Me which later would be re-done by Todd Rundgren as a solo artist and be a massive hit for him. At the time, Nazz was up and coming and that concert was seen by less than 20 people. I suspect the band was a bit bummed, but still put on a superb concert.
My First Concert
If you love music you always remember your first big rock show. Mine was seeing The Kingsmen at The Surf in Nantasket Beach just south of Boston in around 1965. The Kingsmen had the big garage rock hit, Louie Louie, so certainly seeing them was a thrill. But even this show was relatively little. The Surf only held around 1000 folks. Today a band with a hit like that will be playing to 30-40,000 people at a concert.
But almost all of my concerts back then were in tiny clubs seeing local or regional bands. Still those shows were always noteworthy to me and a very big part of why I wanted to be a musician.
So over the years I saw many concerts. Here's a couple of the highlights I remember...
- The Allman Brothers at Orpheum in Boston around 1971.
- Boz Scaggs, Curtis Mayfield and Brewer and Shipley at an outside UMass concert in 1970.
- Allman Brothers and Bonnie Raitt at UMass Alumni Stadium in about 1980. What was special about this day was both The Allman's and Bonnie Raitt showed up and jammed with NRBQ later that night at a small club called The Rusty Nail in Hadley Mass.
- Any NRBQ show at The Rusty Nail.
- B.B. King Live at the NAMM show playing to about 20 folk in a back room. (Don't get me started about the concerts I saw at the National Association of Music Merchant's conventions)
OK I could go on for a long time, I've seen so many great performances. Hope that inspires you to make your own list of your fave concerts.
About the Author:
Rick Honeyboy Hart is a long-time blues guitar player. He teaches blues guitar on his website and writes about live concerts like seeing B.B. King live.
