Big Leather Couch

So I had a whole Tuneage Tutelage all set to go. Part of the Delta Blues Series and lifelogger will not accept any of my uploads.

This threw all my plans for tomorrow's (that would be TODAY'S) post out of whack...so we are free-styling here.

I could just throw up some music already uploaded, but you have heard them all. Sure, there are many deserving of a repeat.

But if I just keep typing here, eventually I will have a post. It will probably be complete nonsense, but maybe no one will notice.

Hopefully, the issue will be worked out tomorrow and we can share the post with all y'all.

OK, we can go back to the post from Friday where we talked about concerts and had you, our guests, tell you best and worst concert stories.

I really enjoyed reading your recollections and thank all who took the time...

We selected two experiences to win the CD of music that has been played on The Couch. The first was the poignant story told by Angell of her Styx concert after a tragedy. She wrote:

Well, since becoming a security guard five years ago, I have attended some totally amazing shows, but had to work them, and wasn't actually able to pay attention.

But the best concert ever, for me, was when Styx came to Hamilton about six years ago. I had just lost one of my best friends, Ruth (some may remember her story), and was not in the partying or Styx mood (yah, I know - others fainted in shock). But my other friend Cathie, had never been to a Styx show, and I promised her I would take her. So we got to Hamilton early - it was a GA show. We stood for two hours, at the front of the stage, through the opener and set change, and then the boys came on stage.

At this point I had barely registered anything that was going on, hardly speaking to Cat, just totally miserable, and wondering why God had taken such a wonderful person and left me here. Well, the boys came on stage and started playing. I couldn't get into it. I didn't think it was fair that I was able to be there when Ruth was gone. I felt Cat nudge me during Lorelei (one of their older songs for those that don't know), and when I looked at her, she grabbed both sides of my head and turned it to face the stage.

I looked up and the bassist, Glen Burtnick, was looking down at me, smiling and singing. Didn't matter at all. In fact, I almost started crying. During the guitar solo that Tommy threw in there, he knelt at the edge of the stage and held out his hand to me. I put mine in his, and he mouthed at me, Smile sweetheart. Then he kissed something and pressed it into my hand.

When I opened it, it was one of his guitar picks. I smiled, for the first time in days, and mouthed up to him - I love you. And he mouthed it back.

I enjoyed the rest of the concert, and will forever remember that show as the one that reminded me that there's a lot of life left to live.

The second memory is a tale of woe for a young woman and her boyfriend BFF when they are confronted with unfamiliar stimuli and time restraints...from LeeLee...

Worst? In maybe 73-74. My BFF and I went to Roosevelt stadium in Jersey City to see Rod Stewart. One of our Moms drove us down there and one of our Dads was picking us up at 11pm.

We got there at like 3pm. Found a space on the floor pretty close to the stage..and were pretty psyched. We had no idea that Rod Stewart was the last act...the first was Lynyrd Skynyrd. We were teeny boppers and didn't even know who they were..so they start and the crowd rushes to the front and basically crushed us.

After Skynyrd, Alvin lee and 10 Years after comes on..and the crowd pushes even further..(ashamed to say now I didn't know them either) We were majorly uncomfortable and not too happy. At like 10:30..finally Rod The Mod comes on...and we had to leave..at 11..~sigh~ It was one for the record books. I saw RS a few times after that...but that one will always stick in my mind.

And then we kept coming back to one other flashback (maybe in more ways than one! LOL). This comes to us from Mickey-T, a true tale of a fan making the most of the experience.

The best, Watkins Glen [you know who was there]
THE COUCH NOTE: In case you do not, was The Band, The Allman Brothers & The Grateful Dead. A fantastic show it was!

About a week before the show I was hitching back from Calif. to Boston by myself. [100 thousand miles first 5 years out of school]

It was a warm day and my ride through NY offered me to come to this public pool. I chatted the pretty lifeguard, and she said I could crash with her friends in Geneva. Party house all the way! The next day they invited me to the Can Am Race at the Glen. Paaarrrtttyyy!!!!

My first race and then they told me that next week the concert was going to happen, so stick around. Well the last night of the race it's customary to burn junk cars in this bog of mud. I was in the thick of it, burning ,screaming, mudding. I lost my voice and my wallet that night.

Next day hitched home pennyless, went to the bank and got my 10 dollars [lost traverler check in the mud] Hi mom, by mom. Hitched back to the Glen, got there on a rainy wed night and slept under a bus with about 20 others. So at a dollar a hit for the mind set and 25cent bagles, the next four days were the best time and music outdoors I ever did have!!

So, if the three of you will send me an email and tell me the following:

• Your snail mail address
• So you want me to just select at will or do you want to send me a list of artists/songs?
• OR...are you not interested in the CD? Remember, it will be our secret!

See, now we should play some music from each of the bands listed...and we can throw up some Dead we have used -

ENJOY.....

THE COUCH NOTE: Dad Vince sent an email this morning informing us that LeeLee will not be seeing Bruce tonight as Danny Federici, the longtime keyboard player for Bruce Springsteen whose stylish work helped define the E Street Band's sound on hits from "Hungry Heart" through "The Rising," died Thursday. He was 58.

Federici, who had battled melanoma for three years, died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. News of his death was posted late Thursday on Springsteen's official Web site.

In some aspects, I have thought I would get more satisfaction from sitting at home with my eyes closed and an album blasting from the speakers. Of course that is not a totally serious comment...but there is a thread of truth to it.

Arena rock began in the late 60's, early 70's when bands realized they could do one show for 25,000 people, instead of 5 nights in a small theater for 5,000 each night. Does it make sense? Well hell yeah, from a financial and time standpoint. Does it impact your fan-base? Nah...if someone wants to see you live, it does not matter if they are in the first row of the Beacon Theater in NYC, or a half a mile away at Woodstock or Ozfest.

Part of the concert experience is the crowd and the energy that runs through a building (or outdoor arena) no matter how large the place. Over the last few years, I have not done too many live shows due to fiscal restraints, but as most of you know, I did get to two days of the Beale Street Blues Festival last year and was not surprised that on Friday, I made sure I got there early enough and moved as close to the stage as possible.

No seating...I knew it was going to be about 5-6 hours of standing and that slowly the 'personal space' I currently had would disappear entirely. Did not matter. 20 feet from The Allman Brothers and Govt. Mule and Jerry Lee Lewis and Derek Trucks was worth every elbow in the kidney or toe stepped on.

If you have not been around long, we posted this on our story about the weekend HERE :


Also last year we went to Birmingham, AL and met up with a whole group of crazy muthaf**kers wonderful people for Taylor Hicks' concert in his hometown. It was at the Alabama Theater, a wonderfully built, acoustically orgasmic building. My seat was in the 4th or 5th row of the loge. So it equated to being in the 15-20th row of the Orchestra, without all the heads in front of you.

COUCH NOTE: If ya have not guessed, we are not the tallest tree in the forest.

It was a fantastic show - the man is a showman and until you see him live, you can not really judge. Did it help that it was in a theater like that? Absolutely and, without a doubt this is the way I would prefer to see a show.

I do miss the Palladium in NYC. What a great venue that was. They would sometimes hold two shows a night there (as they did with the Fillmore East and West). Going to the second show, which would start at about 1:00 am, and walking out as the sun comes up after 5 hours of a Dead show is something that has to be experienced. Not sure they would even attempt that in today's world.

We have been to outdoor fests (Allman Brothers, The Band & The Dead), football arenas (Bruce, The Rolling Stones, The Dead to name a few), indoor arenas (Led Zeppelin, The Dead, Pink Floyd, Elton John - with a surprise visit from John Lennon, Allman Brothers, Jethro Tull, Springsteen, Jeff Beck, Genesis...you get the idea...) but nothing beats the intimate theater or club (Hot Tuna, Jeff Beck, Jerry Garcia, Stevie Wonder, Linda Ronstadt). Seeing B.B. King in a 500 person club on Long Island in the 80's is something I will never forget.

We keep adding names above and are leaving out many others.

And - OF COURSE - let's not forget the ticket prices...LOL...$200.00 tickets today. We put together some show here...sure look at the artists, but look at the prices!

So...let's start a little discussion...

What was THE BEST concert you have ever seen, what was the venue and why was it the best?

What was THE WORST concert you have ever seen, what was the venue and why was it the worst?

I was asked the other day if I would consider putting together a CD of music that has been featured here on The Couch. This person even offered to pay for it! LOL...Not sure we will do that, but how about if we do a CD for the BEST and the WORST story? You will have the choice of a random sampling or you can ask for specific songs. If you are the winner and could not be bothered with the CD, well we can make that our little secret, just let me know. LOL

Let's play fair here and no making stuff up...you are on the honor system on this.


So, of course we go all live...a selection from my collection of bootleg concerts to share with all ya'll

Here we go again...it is midnight...blogger will not let me publish...lifelogger has slowed to a crawl...If the post happens to publish but there are no audio players, come back after 7:00 am Central Friday morning and they should be there...

Three uploaded...two to go 12:08 am

FINALLY....12:20 am...night...

Have a Great Weekend...ENJOY...