SHARING THE SHOWS
Ahhh, New York City, my old stomping grounds, and probably my favorite place to see a show thus far. I love the subways, and it’s a place you can pretty much get any type of food any type of the day. And as a bit of a loner, I indulge in the anonymity being in a city of 8 million people provides. It’s fucking awesome.
After a day of solo travel around the Big Apple (did that not sound cheesy and touristy), I attempted to locate a place where I could get some wings and a good burger, and I stumbled into Johnny Utah’s on 51st Street. That’s this place where they have a mechanical bull. It’s quite a sight, New Yorkers trying to be cowboys. My brother, Jeremy (not pictured due to camera shyness) needed time to get into the city from his job in New Jersey, so I was dining solo at the bar. The group next to me wore their Brazil jerseys as they cheered during the World Cup, which made for some good dinnertime entertainment. The burger and wings were phenomenal; the fries were quite overseasoned, but this ain’t a Yelp review, so I’ll just stop here. When my brother came in, I gave him half my wings and fries before going to the bathroom. Once I was done, he was finishing up, and we went in. When we got in, the arena was close to empty, which I don’t mind. A little quiet time before the show (ironic for a concerthead, right?). Of course, I had to do my imitation of Frampton saying “do you feel” when he appeared on that Simpsons episode, Homerpalooza, trying to eject his pig. Apparently, Jeremy was making a bet with himself on how long it would take me to say that, being the Simpsons fan I was. I’ll also add that he got me the tickets for my birthday because he had genuine concern that I wasn’t going to enough concerts. It’s touching, the brotherly love he showed, so thank you, Jeremy. The show was scheduled to start at 7:30, and Frampton and his crew took the stage at exactly 7:29. Now, that’s a performer I can respect. He starts on time no matter how many are in the crowd, which is more than I can say for, ohhh, say Phish, who go on 45 minutes late. I love you guys and all, but seriously… I called the opener in my head: “Something’s Happening.” It’s the perfect track to open Frampton Comes Alive, and it was a good kickoff for the performance. He went into “Lines on My Face” and “Show Me The Way,” before he dedicated the following song to Chris Cornell and his family: Black Hole Sun, which he does as an instrumental on his Fingerprints album (I just learned this last night). I remember being blown away by it when he played it at Jones Beach in 2008. I also remembered the end of my third year at Hampton University being marred by hearing of Cornell’s suicide. Hell, Soundgarden provided much of the grungy soundtrack to my angsty adolescence. But I digress. He went into “I’ll Give You Money” and of course he played “Baby I Love Your Way,” along with a few other tunes with which I’m not familiar. They closed with (drumroll) “Do You Feel Like We Do.” A bit of trivia/humblebragging: that song was recorded at SUNY Plattsburgh, where I spent my undergraduate years. Now, another thing: now that I live far away from my brother (I’m in Virginia while he’s in New Jersey), we bond occasionally by sending quotes from The Simpsons. We had to re-enact the scene from “Homerpalooza” where Bart says, “that guy’s guitar is talking” to which a stoned Otto the bus driver replies, “my shoes are talking.” During setbreak, I shot the shit with the couple that had Ubered in from Bergen County, New Jersey (I lived in Fair Lawn and taught at BCC for a year, so there was a bond there). Apparently, they had thought the concert was a week early and had come down to Radio City to find out the show wasn’t that night. Freaking funny! The gal, Maggie (pictured at the top), asked us, “You’re into Steve Miller? You guys seem so young!” I replied, “this music transcends fucking generations!” I curse a lot when I’m at a concert, especially at a NY concert. Tough-talking NYC rock fans are some of my favorite people. They rock hard and don’t give a shit about who knows it. They opened up with “The Stake” and went into “Jungle Love.” My brother was hoping they would play “Abracadabra,” what he defined as their “sell-out” song. And they got it over with after “Jungle Love.” “Living in the USA” was next. That’s my theme song as I travel throughout the country this summer. After 50 years, it wouldn’t be fair to expect the boys to hit those high octaves like they used to, but they still rocked that one. They had some trippy guitar solos reminiscent of the Grateful Dead in 1968’s “Going to Mexico” and “Space Cowboy” (I only know the years because Miller took the time to educate us. Education rules). As they played, I realized they had to play some of their hits before exiting the stage. They played “The Joker” (and how do you not sing all the lyrics during that one?). They followed with “Fly Like an Eagle” (Ibid.). “Rock’n’me” (Ibid). “Swingtown” (Ibid.). I thought they were done after that, but “Jet Airliner” came. I still can’t believe I forgot that one. All in all, it was a true fine night. Thanks, Jeremy, for your intervention on the concert front. You get it when I say I don’t go to enough of them.
1 Comment
Mick H.
6/29/2018 05:19:09 pm
Rock does transcend generations! Fun piec!
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