Best and Worst Rock Concert Moments

While I may be in the same decade, I have a best and worst from a lesser known band from a bit different genre - but this musician was like GOD to me!! As a young aspiring trumpet player, I went across the Windsor tunnel in the summer of 1974 to hear a jazz/rock group called "Chase" headlined by master high-register trumpet player Bill Chase. His group had a top chart hit in 1971 called "Get It On" you may have heard.

I had heard Chase in 1972 at Cobo Hall in Detroit when they opened for Ike and Tina Turner. However, this concert in Windsor was at a small college (I believe it was called St Clair College) in the cafeteria so I was geeked about possibly seeing the group in a more intimate setting. My best friend and I show up, are ten feet from the stage and Chase (both the group and the man) played their living asses off - I was simply awestruck at the power, majesty and talent of the group. However, everyone else ignored them and chose to get hammered and socialize instead. It was incredulous to me that all that talent was ignored!! We went back to hear them the NEXT night - same thing. This time we talked to the band and Bill Chase was so gracious and appreciative it was amazing. As an impressionable young trumpet player I felt God had just descended and spoke to me personally. THEN, he invited my friend and I to be his guests that weekend at a dinner club in Kalamazoo called Mr. T-Bones. MY IDOL asked ME to be his guest!! I thought I was dreaming!!

Sorry for the long post but hang on with me a bit longer.

My friend and I make the 100 mile trip to Mr. T-Bones - and just as he said, the maitre de escorts us to the table in front of the stage and tells us dinner is on Mr. Chase and we are his guests. We eat a wonderful meal, hear a FABULOUS concert from the front row and he sits with us during the intermission and talks to us. You could have killed me right then and there and I would have died happy!

WORST STORY?? Tragically, ONE WEEK LATER THAT INCREDIBLE MAN AND MUSICIAN WAS DEAD - he and 4 of his band members died in a plane crash in an Iowa cornfield in August 1974 on the way to a gig.

He was a classy man, a fabulous musician/composer and the world lost a true monster of a trumpet player on that terrible day. I will always fondly remember those precious concerts, his grace and class and his music!!!

My BEST experience was probably seeing Stevie Wonder and the Stones at the Spectrum in Philadelphia in 1972, and Mick and Stevie doing an encore together singing "Uptight" then "Satisfaction."
My WORST experience was probably going to a David Bowie concert in Miami in 2004. After Stereophonics played, a lighting technician fell to his death on stage in front of the crowd during the set-up for Bowie. Very sad moment.(Concert canceled, natch.)

Worst: My FIRST concert that I had to sell my sould to my mommy and daddy to get to permission to go to, not to mentions getting the money was difficult: Areosmith; mid way through the first song ST passes out and show is over.

Best: B52s at the Berkley CA Greek Theater, the WHOLE arean was dancing in unison for over an hour...SO MUCH FUN!!

Coolist/Best: Dead Can Dance, Hoolywood Bowl backed up by the LA Phil -- Just last year.

Best: Weather Report at (I think) the Eastman Theatre in Rochester NY July 1981. It was a beautiful night and I thought I died and went to heaven.. a 20 minute version of Tale Spinnin's "Badia". Jaco's "quadraphonic" bass towers doing his Hendrix solo.

Worst: Let's see now.. I'm gonna say Happy the Man opening for a brand new heretofor unknown band called Foreigner in september 1977. The crowd was of a primarily Pop/rock mentality. I was going ape crap watching/listening to an incredible Prog rock performance by Happy the Man; after about 45 minutes they gave up trying to "reach" the audience and Stanley Whittaker (guitarist) steps up to a mike and says "I know, you all came to rock and roll" and that was it - they left. I went out the next day and bought the 1st Happy the Man album. Foreigner was just "o.k".

The Clash, New York City, Pier 54 - 1980? My roommate and I with 2 girls we had met that day, one gallon Gallo hearty Chablis that was consumed on the drive in. We get to the show, push our way to the front and as I recall the band opens with "Rock the Casbah". The crowd goes nuts. We are feeling great, immortal, but want to take it up another notch or 3, and a friendly and complete stranger offers me a large white pill. "What is it?" "Qualude". We'll take 4. Sounded like a brilliant idea at the time. Soon the world is tilting and the rest of the night is a complete mystery to me.

A couple hours later I wake up on the bleachers, it's raining and the place is deserted save for a few crew sweeping up. Amazingly, I stumble out into the streets and he's waiting for me with the car, the girls, and a couple of sixes for the ride home.