For the Love of Music

A man that I respect once wrote, "I'm not your typical 'g' man, I like to rock out". That statement made me think of all the rock concerts that I've experienced. So, I figured what the hell, I'll list all of the musical artists that I've seen.

I'm amazed, some artists I feel lucky to have seen them because they rarely hit the road here in the States. Some bands I've seen more than once, in those cases I'll define the number of times I've seen them and I will even throw in the venue where I saw them. Where ever possible, the artist/band names will be linked their respective web-sites. Here's the list, in the order that I've seen the concert. If I remember the year I'll list that too...

The Ramones
I saw The Ramones at the Commercial Club in Bridgewater, MA back when I was
eighteen (18). The year was 1980, it was my first summer after graduating from high school. The show was great! I remember that they played outdoors and the weather couldn't have been more perfect.

The B-52's
I've seen the 'B's' twice. However, this was the first time I saw them, that I remember most fondly. It was also the Summer of '80. The show was performed at SMU (Southern Massachusetts University) when the new wave band from Athens, GA were still playing college campuses. The concert itself was held indoors in one of SMUs gymasiums. As I recall, there were alot of people there. The gym space was nearly full. The first song of their first set was also their first release,
"Planet Claire". Fog filled the stage, the music began and three-quarters (3/4) of the
people all rushed to the stage. In turn the void created a large space for dancing. The
dance type of the day was the 'pogo'. My throat was so sore after all the screaming I did during that show.

Billy Idol
I was out here visiting friends in Sunnyvale, the Summer of '86. It was late July and the Shoreline Ampitheatre was brand-spanking new. Complete with the little towers of burning methane up on the lawn. I don't remember much of the show- it had to have been a good time!

David Bowie
I saw Bowie in 1987 when he played Spartan Stadium for his "Glass Spider Tour". I remember seeing all the 'jesus people' carrying signs out in front urging people not to listen the 'evil' music of Mr. Bowie. Peter Frampton played lead guitar during that tour. I was thirty (30) feet from the stage. The turf was gone and I was dancing in an inch of mud, but I didn't care. Dude! It was BOWIE!

Pet Shop Boys
Also in 1987 was The Performance Tour was the most unique event. PSB did performance art at The Warfield. Each set was a more like acts in a play. Wonderful, just wonderful, even from the "nose bleed seats". I was a bit disappointed though-
Dancing was strongly discouraged.

The BoDeans, The Pretenders, U2
The year was 1988. The event was Concerts On The Green at Oakland Stadium.
What a totally awesome triple play! First on stage were The BoDeans doing their hit
"Runaway". Thirty (30) minutes after their set, The Pretenders were on stage. I was so close to the stage that I could see Chrissy's sweat on her brow! And yeah, it is possible to mosh to "Mystery Achievement" and "Tattoo Love Boys".
U2. What can I say? Just one word: Incredible! I had anticipated the huge crowd that was around me during The Pretenders set, to completely engulf the space
occupied by my concert companion and I, so before Bono and the boys came on stage, it was up to the stands we went. A much better view too.

Depeche Mode
1988 was a great year for concert going! Depeche was at Mountain View's Shoreline
Ampitheatre for their Music for the Masses Tour. Martin Gore's lyrics and Dave Gahan's vocals combined with the music created by Andy Fletcher and Alan Wilder
infused the the "fast fashion" sound. There's nothing like dancing on the lawn!

The B-52's, Billy Bragg
This show was at Shoreline, sometime in the early 90s. The Bs didn't disappoint the
crowd, as usual. Yet it was Billy Bragg that I wanted to see. I so enjoyed his lyric:
"... just because you're gay, I won't turn you away. If you stick around, I'm sure we'll find some common ground..." from the song "Sexuality". Cool, real cool.


NIN (Nine Inch Nails)
Who would've thought NIN at SJSUs Event Center in 1994? I heard about the show and just had to go. It was almost like a summons. NIN has always been, in this Behr's opinion, all about Trent Reznor's angst ridden music. "Head like a hole, black as your soul, I'd rather die than give you control."
A lyric from "Head Like A Hole" (Pretty Hate Machine) I really like his music. To me, it's thought provoking and dark. Very dark and haunting, like Bauhaus, Ministry, Cure and Linkin Park.

SemiSonic
I saw Semisonic in 1998 at the Filmore in SF. "Closing Time" and "Singing in my Sleep" were getting alot of airplay on Live 105. Yet at the show the song that blew me away was their cover of Prince's song "Erotic City".

Susan Tedeschi
In the Commonwealth, there are many convenience stores by the name of "Tedeschi's". I was surprised to learn that this singers' surname and the mini markets were all in the same family! I saw Susan when she and her band played the Catalyst in Santa Cruz back in'99. She's just a little thing. Susan stands perhaps a whole five (5) feet tall, but her voice- Oh man, her voice is so large!

Rolling Stones, Sheryl Crow
In the Summer of Y2k, I worked as a "Blue Coat" for "Bill Graham Presents".
A Blue Coat did just about everything in regards to crowd control and general security. My assigned position for that night at PacBell Park was on the field "protecting" the massive speaker tower located stage left. It was raining that night in The City. Not quite a downpour but rather the annoying heavy mist/drizzle. It was in this weather that Sheryl was performing in.
Yet when her set was completed, it was like the deity in charge of weather, decided that it would not rain on the Stones. By the time Mick bounded on stage, the rain had stopped and the sky was partly cloudy.

Aerosmith
The bad boys from Boston played at Shoreline in Y2k. My assignment for BGP was to limit traffic at the main stage gate. Although, I wasn't backstage per se, I was the guy the throngs of "support people" had to go through to get to all the tents immediately behind backstage. When my break rolled around, it was customary to shed the blue coat and join the audience up on the lawn. I caught up with another blue coat halfway up on the lawn. We shared a bowl and rocked out to "Sweet Emotion", "Walk This Way" and "Draw The Line".

The Other Ones
The last show I worked for BGP was The Other Ones at the Henry J. Kaiser in Oakland. My assignment was crowd control in the six (6) foot wide space between the railing and front of the stage. The Kaiser is a "no smoking" venue. Well, more like a no tobacco smoking venue. I stood with my back to the band for the entire show. So I guess I didn't "see" them. I did, however, get quite a contact from the herb smoke wafting toward the stage. I can easily understand how a spiritual connection would've been made when Jerry was still alive. Although, I think the message of caring for your fellow man was lost on some of the younger teenage crowd whom were there with their grandparents.

Def Leppard
Def was doing a tour with another old school band that I can't for the life of me remember. It was in '05 at the Municipal Stadium in San Jose. I had a female friend in the late 80s that was an extreme fan of Def Leppard so some of the songs kind of grew on me. "Pour Some Sugar On Me" from "Hysteria" and "Rock Of Ages" from "Pyromania" were the songs that I enjoyed the most from those days. Marky asked if I wanted to go along with him to the show. Seeing and hearing the band play those songs were great. I surprised myself that I actually remembered the lyrics!

Xavier Rudd
The last show I'd seen was also in 2005, at the Great American Music Hall. A fairly small venue, it reminded me of a mini Filmore. Marky had asked if like to go with him to the show. I didn't know who Xavier Rudd was, yet I trust Marky's musical prowess, as comparable to my own. Xavier had been getting alot of airplay on KFOG and it he had caught Mark's attention. Xavier's a multi-talented young guy in his 20s from "Down Under". A self-taught musician whom plays guitar, drums, bongos, and the
didgeridoo.
Xavier's voice reminded us of that of Paul Simon. All factors combined led to a fantastic presentation and very danceable.

So Sayeth Das Behr