Concert #28 - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers at the Universal Amphitheater (June 9, 1987)

Other than his radio hits, I had not been exceedingly familiar with Tom Petty's music, nor had I thought too highly of him. All this changed forever on June 9, when I got to fully appreciate the quality of his music, and most of all, the tightness of his band, the Heartbreakers.

It was the first of four consecutive nights at the Universal Amphitheater. I sat at the mezzanine, not too good, but not bad either. The opening acts were OK. The Georgia Satellites played their only major hit, "Keep Your Hands To Yourself", while the Del Fuegos were forgettable.

"The Waiting" was the highlight of the show. I also liked "Let Me Up, I've Had Enough". At one point, Tom talked about the loss of his Encino house to fire, a crime committed by an arsonist. "But he didn't burn this down" said Tom, raising his guitar high in the air.

Concert #27 - Genesis at the Dodger Stadium (May 22, 1987)

My first-ever stadium concert. I was accompanied by Rodica. An interesting experience overall, aside from the time it took us to exit the parking lot. The light show was truly stunning, they must have invested millions in their sophisticated systems.

Hard to believe, but the concert was still part of the "Invisible Touch" World Tour, which started in September 1986. This means that the concert was pretty much the same as the one I saw in October 1986 at the Forum.

Watch "Home By The Sea" from their London show of the "Invisible Touch" World Tour:

 

Paul Young was the opening act. His fluffy pop was not a good match with Genesis' far more complex sound.

Concert #26 - Europe at the Wiltern (April 22, 1987)

As I was driving to the Wiltern, I was thinking that the best possible show opener would be "The Final Countdown", their catchy radio hit. There are other great minds out there, because - lo and behold - they kicked off the show with "The Final Countdown", complete with low-lying smoke and fancy lighting. Come to think of it, the whole show did not jibe well with the art deco style of the theater, but who cared?

Somewhat predictably, the show ended with the same song that started the proceedings. All in all, I had a good time on a night when I wasn't particularly interested in songs with redeeming social content.

I sat at the balcony, an excellent vantage point for a show there. There was no opening act.

SET LIST

1.The Final Countdown

2. Danger On the Track

3. Ninja

4. Carrie

5. Time Has Come

6. Dreamer (a capella)

7. Heart Of Stone

8. Seven Doors Hotel

9. Open Your Heart

10. Rock The Night

11. Dance The Night Away

12. The Final Countdown (encore)

Concert #25 - Eric Clapton at the Forum (April 14, 1987)

I can confirm: Eric Clapton is indeed God. He came out with small band of heavy-hitters: Phil Collins on drums, keyboardist Greg Phillinganes and Nathan East on bass. Phil was just that, a low-profile drummer. They played lots of well-known songs, such as "Crossroads", "I Shot The Sheriff", "Layla", "Let It Rain", and others I don't remember.

Robert Cray was the show opener. Very good set. Great vocals, great guitar playing and the crowd loved him.


By the way, Eric was 47 years old, Robert Cray only 33.

Concert #24 - The Pretenders at the LA Sports Arena (February 1987)

My first concert ever at the LA Sports Arena. I did manage to miss Iggy Pop's opening set. Chrissie and the boys were not bad, but they failed to really excite me. I had lousy seats, too far from the stage and the sound wasn't great either. One of the few things that I distinctly remember was Chrissie going down on her knees and kissing the stage that Iggy Pop walked on. She must have been a fan.

Concert #23 - Peter Gabriel at the Forum (December 15, 1986)

This was Peter Gabriel's first-ever solo show at the Forum, with opener Youssou N'Dour from Senegal. Peter may have played there with Genesis, years earlier, I'm not sure. But in 1986 Peter was touring solo, behind his very successful "So" album. His popularity was at its peak, thanks in great measure to the support he received from MTV. His videos for "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time" remain two of my favorites from those years.

I will never forget how, at one point during the show, he walked up to the edge of the stage, turned his back to the crowd, spread his arms and fell backwards into the crowd. For the next few minutes, Peter remained in a horizontal position, facing up, while being carried across the floor on the outstretched arms of his fans. Quite scary, but eventually he was returned safely to the stage, albeit shirtless.

In this video, go to 5:20 and watch Peter crowd surf.

 

I have yet another strong recollection from the show: Peter's powerful rendition of "Biko", with its haunting drum beat that I can still hear. Of course, he also played many of the songs from "So", plus some older stuff. He was joined by Youssou N'Dour for "Red Rain".

Concert #22 - John Fogerty at the Universal Amphitheater (December 13, 1986)

Possessing one of the most recognized voices in the Universe, John Fogerty had just released his "Eye Of The Zombie" album and was touring in support of it. He drew a good size crowd, the concert wasn't bad, but going home without having heard a single Creedence song was disappointing. On the other hand, we all knew why he wouldn't touch his old Creedence gems, so it wasn't the end of the world either. "Change In The Weather" could have passed as a good CCR song, but the rest of the Zombie album was average at best. From the "Centerfield" album, Fogerty played the title track and a few other songs. He also sang a few obscure gospel songs.

Bruce Hornsby & The Range opened the show. One could tell how much he enjoyed one of his first opportunities to play in front of a large crowd. The highlight of his set was "The Way It Is", as expected. None of his other songs came even close.

I sat at the Mezzanine, a bit to the left, actually not a bad seat for a concert. I still remember the guy sitting next to me saying "Right On, John", every time John would say something deep.

Concert #21 - Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark at the Universal Amphitheater (December 6, 1986)

OMD was one of the bands whose music I played a whole lot during the mid and late 1980s. Synth-pop bands are not supposed to be soulful, but with Andy McCluskey's voice, OMD was the exception. To this day, "If You Leave" and all the other songs are fun to listen to.

Their 1985 and 1986 albums, "Crush" and "The Pacific Age", respectively, were full of great songs, so I was not surprised when Danny, my older son, told me that he liked OMD very much. He was only 12 at the time, but had already developed an ear for good music. It took me no time to convince him to go with me to see OMD live in concert.

We had decent balcony seats. They did play "If You Leave", "Electricity", "Forever Live and Die", and that's all I remember. At one point during the show, Andy McCluskey told us about his frequent tendencies to dance like an idiot, so he went ahead and danced like an idiot.

The opening act was an Australian band called the Models. Not bad.

Concert #20 - Steve Winwood at the Universal Amphitheater (October 19, 1986)

Here's someone I'd been idolizing since his Spencer Davis Group days, when I was still in high school. After many years of keeping a relatively low profile, Steve came back in 1986 with a strong album aptly titled "Back In The High Life" that generated lots of air play.

His show was exceptionally good. Frequently switching between guitars and keyboards, Steve played most of the songs from his current album, among them "Higher Love", "Freedom Overspill" and the title track. There were also two unannounced guests: Dave Mason and Joe Walsh, who were both received very well by the crowd. From among his earlier solo stuff, Steve played "While You See A Chance" and "Valerie". He also played "The Low Spark Of High-Heeled Boys" from his Traffic days, and ended the show with "Gimme Some Lovin'", the Spencer Davis Group gem. He may have even played "I'm A Man", but I'm not quite sure.

 

  I managed to miss the opening act, Level 42, not a major loss, although I did like their "Something About You" hit. Good video, too.

Dave Mason

Joe Walsh

Concert #19 - Genesis at The Forum (October 15, 1986)

Genesis in 1986 - Phill Collins, Mike Rutherford & Tony Banks

This was the Los Angeles leg of the Invisible Touch tour. Five consecutive nights at the Forum, I believe all were sellouts. No opening act. Powerful and elaborate music, combined with mind-blowing visuals. They played most songs from their current album, including the Brazilian, an instrumental number and "Throwing It All Away", my favorite song from the album. From the older days, they played "Domino", "Los Endos", "Abacab" and the exceptionally good "Home By The Sea". They certainly did not deserve the rather dismissive review that appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

SET LIST        

1. Mama

2. Abacab

3. Interlude

4. Land Of Confusion

5. That's All

6. Interlude

7. Domino

8. Interlude

9. In Too Deep

10. The Brazilian

11. Follow You, Follow Me

12. Interlude

13. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight

14. Interlude

15. Home By The Sea

16. Second Home By The Sea

17. Throwing It All Away

18. Interlude

19. Medley: In The Cage, Supper's Ready

20. Invisible Touch

21. Drums

22. Los Endos

23. Turn It On Again Medley

Concert #18 - Peter, Paul & Mary at the Universal Amphitheater (September 20, 1986)

Huge favorites of mine, I went to the show with great expectations. I had bought the tickets over the phone from Ticketmaster, and somehow I was under the impression that we had "orchestra pit" seats. It turned out we had "orchestra" seats, along with four thousand other spectators ... to add to the disappointment, our seats were on the far left of the stage, so we didn't even had a good view of my heroes. 

The show was pretty much in line with what we had seen on those much-aired public television pledge drive specials. Peter, Paul & Mary sang some of their old standards, along with some new material. Again, 25 years after the show, I can't positively recall any specific songs played that night, but I still remember that overall it was a satisfying concert.

 

Concert #17 - UB 40 at the Greek Theatre (September 13, 1986)

UB 40

This was my first and only reggae concert. Actually I went primarily to see the opening act, the Fine Young Cannibals, whose sound I really liked. But UB 40's "Rat In The Kitchen" and "Sing Our Own Song" were fun songs as well.

The Fine Young Cannibals

My seat was in the North Terrace, not the best, but definitely acceptable. Roland Gift, the voice of the Cannibals, sounded just like on their debut album.Overall, it was a good concert, but nothing more.

Concert #16 - INXS at the Greek Theatre (September 4, 1986)

Another summer concert at the Greek Theater. I remember listening to the "Listen Like Thieves" album as I was driving uphill. I sat at the North Terrace, not bad at all. The opening act was Del Fuegos, a rather forgettable act. INXS played "Listen Like Thieves", "Original Sin" and other hits, They were a great band to see live, with their power pop and mostly uptempo songs.

Concert #15 - The Cure at the Forum (July 27, 1986)

My seat was just below the nose-bleed area of the Forum, the lights were still on, when all of a sudden I heard loud screams coming from the floor. I saw people trying to disperse in all directions, while a bare-chested guy remained all by himself right in the middle of the floor. But let the Los Angeles Times continue the story:

Los Angeles, California: July 29, 1986, page 2:

A man stabbed himself repeatedly in the chest and stomach with a hunting knife in what police said appeared to be an attempt to impress a girl at a Forum rock concert. Inglewood police and security guards wrested the weapon from the hand of Jonathan Moreland, 38, and administered first aid until he could be turned over to paramedics, who took him to UCLA Medical Center for treatment. He was later reported in satisfactory condition. Bare chested and wearing a cowboy hat and jeans amid the mostly teen-age crowd that had come to hear The Cure, a British band, Moreland told police he wanted to impress a girl named Andrea. A suicide note was found in his truck, parked outside the arena. 

The concert started with a delay, of course, but the evening had been already ruined.

Concert #14 - Shirley Bassey at the Greek Theatre (1986)

 I had been listening to Shirley Bassey since her Goldfinger day, so having the chance to see her at the Greek was very special to me. We had seats in Section A, a bit to the right, so a small part of her backing orchestra was invisible to us. Shirley was in great vocal form, her show was very well paced, as you would expect from an artist of her caliber. It's a shame that I can't remember any of the songs she sang. 

 

Concert #13 - Stevie Nicks & Peter Frampton at the Pacific Amphitheatre (June 29, 1986)

I remember this concert for all the wrong reasons. I went for lawn seating, which turned out to be a terrible choice. The lawn area was just too far from the stage and it was no fun sitting on the ground for two full sets.

This was Stevie's "Rock A Little" tour. She was definitely not in good vocal form. Moreover, I found her show to be boring and unengaging, so I was relieved when finally it was time to go home. The Billboard magazine, in full agreement with my assessment of the concert, wrote an unflattering review, to put it mildly:

Concert Review

(Pacific Amphitheatre, June 29, 1986)

published in Billboard, July 26, 1986

(by Sharon Liveten)

The near capacity crowd that showed for Stevie Nicks' recent concert here was more than willing to accept anything she dished out, even when it was pabulum. Nicks has built her reputation on singing mystical songs with vaguely occult or Arthurian lyrics. This rather bumpy, glitzy show would have seemed more appropriate in Las Vegas than in a Welsh forest.

The first sign of trouble came early in the set, with "Outside the rain." Slowed from a soft-rocker to a dirge, the song would have befitted a lounge act better than a pop/rock headliner. The pace didn't pick up until guitarist and bandleader Waddy Wachtel virtually pushed the 10 person group into "I can't wait."

An incredible light show, more than six costume changes, two semi-erotic tango segments with a male dancer, and a five minute instrumental interlude during "Edge Of Seventeen" (while Nicks shook hands with and accepted teddy bears and shawls from the audience) could not substitute for professionalism.

Nicks has a unique raspy voice, which, given the proper circumstances, can be lovely. Unfortunately, the sloppy production of this show gave her no chance at all.

Stevie Nicks - Partial Set List

Outside the Rain
  Dreams
Talk to Me
I Need to Know
No Spoken Word
Beauty and the Beast
I Can't Wait
Leather and Lace
Stand Back
Stop Draggin' My Heart Around
Edge of Seventeen
Rhiannon
Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You 

 Opening the proceedings, Peter Frampton played a decently long set which drew quite a bit from his "Frampton Comes Alive" album. Overall, it wasn't bad, but I was just too far from the action to really enjoy it.

Trying to get out of the parking lot was as painful as the rest of the evening. With very few exits and extremely undisciplined drivers, it took me close to an hour to reach the freeway. Without a doubt, it was one of the worst concert-going experiences I've ever had.

The Pacific Amphitheater