In A Concerted Effort To Get My Mojo Working...

...and back on the horse again, it's time to talk some music....as in...Best. Concert. Ever.

But let's get real...it's too tough to pick just one. Hart categorized them last week, and I kinda liked how he did it. So we're stealing that format and crashing ahead (and since I've already gushed about Steve Earle and Tom Waits, I'm considering them exempt)...

Funnest Concert... have to go with Iggy Pop at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver in '84...you see, they have rubber tires installed under the entire dance floor, so the whole room 'bounced' for over two hours...'No Fun?' Fun!

Honourable Mention goes to Barenaked Ladies in '98 or '99 at Molson Amphitheatre... those boys know how to put on a great show and have a ball doing it...so did I.

Coolest Concert... Canadian indie band Grapes of Wrath in '84 or '85 - why? I dunno, it was a small club and the band played a stellar set...but then when the encore concluded, they didn't stop....and started taking cover requests...and hearing the Grapes doing songs like The Cars 'Just What I Needed'; The Police's 'Message in a Bottle'; and closing with a mashup of BTO's 'Taking Care of Business' blended with U2's 'I Will Follow' made it truly memorably cool...

But can't go without mentioning seeing early Black Crowes in 1990 before they broke big, and early Elvis Costello and early Police (like in 1979 on their first N. American tours promoting their first albums)...didn't really know who they were at time but knew they were worth checking out...and they were all good shows, however it's looking back on them that makes them cool as opposed to seeming really cool at the time.

Best Funk Fest... had to be Prince in Buttkick, Saskatchewan in 2003...the little man formerly known as The Artist took the stage and blazed through more than two hours of gospel/soul/jazz-inspired funk a la James Brown interspersed with maybe only half a dozen of his hits, but it didn't matter! (though 'Nothing Compares 2 U', 'How Come U Don't Call Me' and 'Snows in April' done unplugged on the piano was 'voice as instrument' magic)...the Purple One reigned supreme that night...(and if I had to pick just one show, this would probably be it)

Craziest Concert... in a hockey arena around 1980, following opening act The Greg Kihn Band, Ted Nugent swings over the crowd on a vine wearing only a loincloth to the strains of 'Cat Scratch Fever'... a show of which I remember very little having been numbed by some herb that led to me blacking out and tumbling into the row of people below me, totally freaking out two PYT's that accompanied me...I found out later it was black hash laced with opium - kids...don't do drugs!

Coolest Alt-Country Concert... without question, Dwight Yoakam in 1999 at Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto...I dig Dwight...

Biggest Concerts... Rolling Stones in '81 (85,000 in Boulder Stadium, Colorado)...David Bowie (in Bomber Stadium in Winnipeg - around 30,000)...and Phil Collins (35,000 in Skydome Toronto) - I think it was '94...took place the same night as the OJ Simpson freeway chase.

Biggest Small Concert... Bryan Adams when he was on top of the world in '90 or '91 at a tiny club in Vancouver as part of some charity benefit. Wasn't the biggest Adams fan but he put on a heck of a show and was right there in front of me!

Earliest Concert... the first live show I ever saw was The Stampeders in '78 I think, but my first 'real' concert - like with strobe lights and smoke bombs and screaming girls - was Cheap Trick in early '79 riding the wave of their hits 'Surrender' and 'I Want You To Want Me'..."squeal"

Most Disappointing Concert.... unfortunately (cuz I'm a huge fan) it was Van Morrison - 1997 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto - where the back up singer was called upon by the Big Man to sing lead vocals on over 50% of his songs...including 'Domino'?...and 'Moondance'??? as Van stood off to the side or just plain left the stage. People were booing. And the sound was muddy. And it was hot and stuffy. Yeah, it sucked.

Still Hope To See... U2, Radiohead, Bruce Springsteen, ACDC, Bob Mould...

Wish I'd Seen... The Clash, Led Zeppelin, Queen, The Who, Stevie Ray Vaughn...

I'm going to close with Best Concert Moment Ever...and that goes to Muddy Waters. I've seen a lot of the old bluesmen live... Howlin' Wolf, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, James Cotton...but it was the Mudman who made the biggest impression.

When I saw him it was 1982, in a small college auditorium classroom...he was quite old...had to be helped out onto the stage and spent the show sitting on a stool, just picking his guitar and playing the blues...

Further setting the scene, Mississippi had no help here. The acoustics were okay, but there weren't any special effects or sexy background singers, no flashy lightshow (I can't remember if it was just fluorescents overhead, but for the purpose of this story, let's say there was). The man had nothing to carry him but his voice, his guitar, his band, and his reputation. But I was mesmerized for an hour and a half: "Blow Wind Blow', 'Hoochie Coochie Man', 'Baby Please Don't Go', 'Mojo Working'....wow.

And then he launches into 'Mannish Boy'...and the mostly white buttoned-down college crowd perks up, recognizing that familiar chord riff...duh duh duh duh..."When I was a young boy"... Duh duh duh duh... "At the age of five"...Duh duh duh duh... and I felt myself rising up out of my seat, but look around nervously...there was security everywhere - this was supposed to be a 'sit and listen' show - but then Waters growls: "I spell it 'M' ..."... the crowd begins to clap along ... " Aaaaa child!"... 'N!'..."That rabble spell MAN!"...

Oh my...

Then he gets to the part where he wails 'Ain't that a man'... and slowly he stands up from the stool and grabs the mike..."I said ain't that a man!" He's literally quivering...spitting out the words as the band continues to play behind him. I can't help myself. Start jumping up and down and screaming 'Wooohooo!!!' I wasn't alone. The room just lost it.

Security starts scrambling to keep order...but Waters ignores them and makes his way down the steps at the front of the stage and joins the now standing front row of the crowd (I was about 4 rows back). The man could barely walk, but lo and behold he was grooving. And perhaps it was what he did every show...you know, showbiz theatrics, but for those few minutes I honestly believed that the music had somehow flowed through his veins and made him rise up and dance...Halleluiah!

"Maannnnnn!"

Muddy Waters - Mannish Boy



Best. Concert. Moment. Ever.

Muddy Waters passed away the following year. I felt blessed to see him and experience him, live and in concert.

Let's hear some of your concert stories...