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