Ok. You’ve got 2 tickets to 2 concerts

Pink Floyd at Earl’s Court would have been something to see.
Billy Joel at MSG would have been something to see.

 

I doubt Legion Field was any great shakes as a concert venue. But both the Dead and the Stones played there while I was in college and I didn’t go to either one.

 

Imagine seeing Billy Joel at that piano bar he was at back in the day? The Beatles banging out a living in Liverpool, Springsteen playing small gigs.

 

The Doors at the Whiskey, man

 

Michael Jackson in mid 80’s

Sinatra with Nelson Riddle Band at Copacabana.

 

Beatles at the Cavern Club
Gordon Lightfoot at some bar in Ontario

 

I used to work with a guy who grew up in Liverpool when they were on their way up. He knew them all to some extent (he had his own band and his girlfriend, later wife, was related to one of the guys in Gerry and the Pacemakers) and he said going to see them was just something you did when they were gigging around the area. (He recalled occasionally grabbing a smoke between sets with Lennon.) He said in his mind it was preposterous to think they would become that famous because with the exception of people like the Queen and Churchill and maybe a guy like Richard Burton, British people just didn't get that kind of fame.

I have lived in the Toronto area my whole life and never saw Lightfoot once, I should probably be forced to give up my citizenship or something.

 

Weller is playing a club in downtown Toronto, I thought about getting tickets but they were long gone.

I saw The Jam here in 1981 but it would have been cool to see them in the UK.

As for Split Enz, well.....

 

Maybe a weird thread to ask this on, but how do fans/music enthusiasts hear about upcoming shows before tickets go on sale these days? Back in the day in the Bay Area, Bill Graham Presents would have a full-page ad (maybe more than one) listing upcoming shows in the Chronicle's Pink Section on Sundays.
Now, about the only time I hear about shows I might want to attend are when the ticket sales are lagging and they buy TV spots or are giving away tickets on local radio.

 

I follow many of my fave artists on Instagram and Twitter and that's usually how I find out about upcoming shows. The 800-seat theatre in my part of the burbs releases their season schedule on their website, I can usually find a decent show or two to go to. In the old days here in Toronto I'd find out through ads in Rolling Stone or the local paper or announcements on the local rock stations.

 

Only know the Talking Heads hit singles but I've always loved the live video for "Once In A Lifetime." You can tell everyone was just fucking on fire for that. I loved at the very end, when Byrne is soaked in sweat and hunched over, you hear one shriek from the crowd. I always try to shriek that loud at concerts.

 

The sister of my sister's best friend (and one of my best friends as well) went to a Prince show on the Purple Rain tour. Played however long he played and the lights went up. Everyone's on the concourse, Prince returns to the stage, yells "I ain't done yet!" and everyone races back into the arena to watch him play for like another hour. And thats why the Hartford Civic Center added an ironclad rule that once the lights go up, the artist is done!