Concert #12 - Mike + the Mechanics at the Universal Amphitheatre (June 1986)

 

Bringing together Mike Rutherford (Genesis), Paul Young (Sad Cafe) and Paul Carrack (Squeeze), Mike + The Mechanics wasn't quite a super-group, but they were certainly a fun group.

  "All I Need Is A Miracle" and  "Silent Running" are great songs. Good videos, too. Both are from their self-titled debut album, released in 1985. At the time of their first concert in LA, that's all they had - one album - which wasn't quite enough for a headlining act. To supplement their meager repertoire, they had Paul Carrack deliver a soulful rendition of Squeeze's "Tempted", which turned out to be the most memorable part of the evening.

The opening act was Keep It Dark, a short-lived British band that left no lasting impressions.

Concert #11 - Tangerine Dream at the Universal Amphitheatre (June 5, 1986)

My first show of many at the now-renamed Universal Amphitheatre. In preparation for the show, I had been listening in my car to a cassette tape of two Tangerine Dream albums, yet the show was a massive surprise.

I sat at the balcony in the front row, a great vintage point for a highly visual production that involved much more than just the stage. With laser lights shooting from everywhere, with countless visual special effects, not to mention the out-of-this-world sounds, the show has left a lasting impression on me. And all that rich audio and video display was accomplished by two musicians only, who sat practically motionless in front of their oversized high-tech gear, as if they were not part of the show.

On the minus side, the show has had a negative side effect: just listening to Tangerine Dream's music is an underwhelming experience now.

Concert #10 - Pete Seeger & Arlo Guthrie at the Greek Theater (1986)

This was my first concert that I attended together with Ken and Marilyn, two good friends who for many years, until Marilyn's untimely passing, were regular concert-going partners of ours. Ken was a folkie, while Marilyn was more of a rocker, but the kind that could still enjoy an evening of acoustic music.

I had been very well acquainted with Pete Seeger's music, but as far as Arlo was concerned, I only knew "Alice's Restaurant", of course, and the "City Of New Orleans". Truth be told, it was Pete I really went to see.

We sat in Section B, in one of the first few rows, so we had decent seats overall. Pete was fantastic, but the big surprise was Arlo, who impressed me very much with both his singing and humor. After so many years, I still remember two of the songs I heard there for the first time: "Garbage" and Dave Mallet's "The Garden Song". Later, I found both songs on the same album, Pete Seeger's "Circles And Seasons", released in 1979.

The highlight of the show was the "If I Had A Hammer" sing-along. Now that's a song I've known since I was twelve - singing it with the master of singalongs was something truly special.

The crowd's repeated calls for Alice were totally ignored by Arlo. Rightly so.

Concert #9 - The Firm at the Forum (May 1986)

Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers - two of the biggest names in rock - yet together, as the Firm, they haven't achieved much. Two national tours and two rather forgettable albums later, the Firm disbanded to no one's chagrin. Still, it was fun going to the Forum to see my first concert there.

In spite of some decent support from KLOS and KMET, the Firm had failed to excite the masses, so no wonder that the show was not a sellout. Just like me, most people were there to see two legends in actions, and it that respect, we all got our money's worth. We did get to hear "Radioactive" and "All The King's Horses", two of their more palatable songs.

Here's a live version of "Radioactive":

Concert #8 - Simple Minds at the Greek Theater (April 16, 1986)

This concert came after almost three years of no live shows at all. Musically speaking, I'd been living in Oldiesville and I reached a point where I badly needed new music, new artists, new genres. Then one day, an Englishman I worked with gave me a VHS tape with two live concerts: Eric Clapton and Dire Straits. EC was so-so, but Dire Straits' "Brothers In Arms" show at the Wembley Arena just knocked me out. So I forced myself to listen to new stuff on the radio, and the result was Concert #8.

The Simple Minds had just had a huge hit in the States with "Don't You (Forget About Me)", from the movie The Breakfast Club. Their follow-up album, "Once Upon A Time", had also produced a few hits that were on heavy rotation on both radio and MTV.

The opening act was The Call, the American band whose song titled "I Still Believe" received quite a bit of airplay, and indeed, this song was the highlight of their set.

The headliners played a set that was later described by the LA Times as "suffering from sameness", not a totally untrue assessment. The crowd enthusiastically joined in on "Don't You (Forget About Me)". "All The Things She Said" and "Alive And Kicking", both from "Once Upon A Time", were also performed. I do remember their backup singer, Robin Clark, on her first-ever major national tour. She was quite a singer, but surprisingly, I haven't heard of her since then.

Going to the Greek Theater for the first time was quite an experience. That night was my introduction to the horrors of "stack parking", whereby you can drive out only after the cars around you are gone.

Concert #7 - Ray Charles at the LA County Fair (September 1983)

Located not too many miles from our house, the LA County Fair presents lots of concerts, year after year, but a typical line-up consists of mostly "has beens" of all genres. Every now and then, though, you can catch there something truly big. Like Ray Charles, for instance. 

We arrived a few hours early, and in this case, "we" meant my father, my friend Peter and myself. Our fair admission included the concert, with grandstand seating on a first-come-first-served basis. We had decent seats, obtained after standing in line for close to an hour.

Brother Ray was in good vocal form. Accompanied by a big band, he went through many of his standards, "Georgia On My Mind" among them, but what impacted me the most was a seldom-heard song called "Keep Me Singing", essentially a call to God for continued vocal prowess. My father was totally taken by the performance and so was I. Peter was less impressed.

Concert #6 - Zamfir at the Ambassador Auditorium (1983)

He sold over 40 million albums worldwide, including many millions in the US, primarily via his late-night TV ads. He played on the world's most famous stages. He became Romania's best-known musical export, and he did it with a pan flute.

While I was living in the Old Country, city-dwellers such as myself wouldn't be caught dead listening to someone like Zamfir. The traditional Romanian folk music was way below our dignity, and that's what Zamfir was playing. But then, out of the blue, his "Doina De Jale" became a hit in Western Europe, and all of a sudden it was alright to talk about him and, what the heck, even listen to his music. By the time we got to the States, he had built up a reputation as one of the world's better-known musicians. From Mozart to the Beatles, he covered everyone, but nothing he touched was quite as good as his Romanian folk songs, most of which required a high level of virtuosity.

We went to the show as a trio - we were joined by a somewhat reluctant guest, my mother. Zamfir had landed in Los Angeles just a few hours before the show and had some problems at the customs, allegedly because of his many pan flutes. As a result, the show started a bit late. We had excellent seats, in row three or four.

The first half of the show had Zamfir backed by a Western European modern band, all dressed up in elegant evening suits and white shirts. He played classical music and pop hits, a rather forgettable affair. After the intermission, he came out with a distinctly Eastern-European-looking band, something like a gypsy band you would see in a lowly restaurant in the Balkans. Zamfir himself came out in a shirt, no jacket, with his sleeves rolled up. Well, the minute they went to work, you could almost hear the crowd go "Wow". The sophisticated Pasadena crowd had never heard a sound quite like it and they loved it. 

Changing his pan flutes after every song, Zamfir dazzled the audience with complex, fast-paced Romanian folk songs that were exceptionally well-received by the audience. His band was equally good. To me, their sound was very familiar, but most folks in the attendance had not heard taragots and cimbaloms before, yet in spite of the newness of the sound, Zamfir has kept everyone hostage with his virtuosity and truly electric personality, something you seldom see in a performer.

All in all, it was a fabulous evening, the kind one never forgets, and yes, my mother loved it, too.

 

This video will give you a taste of what Zamfir is like in concert.

Concert #5 - The Righteous Brothers at Disneyland (1983)

My parents were visiting us in 1983, it was our job to entertain them, so one fine day we took them to Disneyland. Not coincidentally, the Righteous Brothers were giving a concert on the very same day. The stage was set up on Tom Sawyer Island, not far from the Pirates of the Caribbean, so the crowd had to watch the show from the "mainland", where there was no seating at all. My folks weren't too thrilled about standing there for a full hour before the show, but being there early gave me the best possible vantage point.

Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield arrived on a motorized raft. When they sang together in harmony, they sounded just like one would expect the Righteous Brothers to sound. Bill's voice was as powerful as ever, but Bobby's solo moments weren't quite as good - he had some trouble hitting Unchained Melody's high notes. But they did most of their greatest hits and everyone was happy.

The show ended with the two hopping back on the raft, which then took them just a couple of feet from the "mainland". Then they were gone.

My father, who was in his 70s at the time, was quite impressed with the show. Unlike my mother.

Driving home, I remember constantly going from one oldie radio station to another, hoping to hear the Brothers sing, but no luck.

Concert #4 - Ella Fitzgerald at the Bridges Auditorium (1982)

 

Had somebody told me just a few years earlier that one day I'd be seeing The First Lady Of Song live in concert, I would have sent them to a shrink to have their heads examined. But it happened.

Accompanied by the Paul Smith Trio, Ella put on a great show at the Bridges Auditorium in Claremont. At 65, she was still a mesmerizing singer who kept us fully engaged during the entire show. At one point, she brought out Joe Pass, yet another legendary jazz musician and long-time collaborator. Almost thirty years later, I cannot recall any particular song performed that night.

Ella turned out to be one of the very few jazz artists I've seen in concert. She passed away in 1996, after ten years of continuing bad health.

 

Joe Pass

Bridges Auditorium in Claremont, California

Here's a video featuring both Ella and Joe:

Concert #3 - Jose Feliciano at the Pasadena City College (1982)

I don't remember how I got wind of Jose Feliciano's concert at PCC, but I'm glad I did. We showed up as a trio, as we failed to find adequate babysitting for our son Danny, who was eight at the time. Jose played the whole show solo, mostly acoustic, but I think he also picked up an electric guitar for a few songs. After all these years, I still remember his rousing delivery of Mason Williams' Classical Gas. All-in-all, a great concert .. what a shame that Danny fell asleep half-way through the show ...

Concert #2 - Roger Whittaker At The Terrace Theater in Long Beach (November 5, 1981)

  

I've been a huge Roger Whittaker fan ever since I first heard "I Don't Believe In If Anymore", his1970 huge international hit. The concert took placed at the gorgeous Terrace Theater in Long Beach. My Better Half and I had semi-decent seats. Accompanied by his touring band, Roger went through many of his well-known songs, including some of his whistling numbers. Great show. There was no opening act.

Roger Whittaker at the Terrace Theater (November 5, 1981)

The Terrace Theater

My Better Half and I just before the show

Concert #1 - Marty Robbins & Merle Haggard in Anaheim (1979)

My first concert ever in the States was a double-header featuring Marty Robbins and Merle Haggard, in that order, with the Sons Of The Pioneers opening.

It all happened at the Anaheim Convention Center. I heard about the concert on AM radio, while listening to KZLA, LA's main country music station during those days. I drove immediately to the box office and grabbed two tickets.

I don't know the date of the concert, but it had to be in the late 1979, shortly after we settled in the USA. Both Robbins and Haggard had been huge favorites of mine in the Old Country, so I was thrilled to death to have the opportunity to see them live in concert.


Overall, the experience was less than positive. I was struck by the crowd's total lack of respect for the decorum one would normally associate with a live music event. Talking, walking, eating and drinking were pretty much the norm. More than three decades after the show, I can't remember the setlists at all.
  
Marty Robbins died in 1982 at the age of 57. As of this writing, Merle Haggard is still touring and recording.