The 10 concerts, performances, performers, musicians, acts,
groups…(whatever) I want to see before I die (or before they do, whichever
comes first).
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| My Buddy Ozzy Summer 2013 |
Parameters for this up front, not that it matters since the
three people that read this won’t call me on it if I refuse to put rules on my
own rambling, however without some rules cats and dogs may start living
together (Dr. Peter Venkman – Ghostbuster).
So, just for giggles, I will limit the list to those that I have not yet already seen (so
Ozzy, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Lita Ford… are all of the list) and I am keeping it within the realm of
possibility of groups or people that still can be seen. In other words I will not pick the obvious like Mozart
since he died like 900 years ago. I think we can agree that even the most ardent honkey tonk lover
would take a shot at seeing "el Amadeus" live just to for the bragging rights and the t-shirt. So, to review historical greats are off the list. Also I will not pick the extreme situations like a choir of angels. Just
saying that I feel I have to put that out there, so that the very slim chance some self
righteous ass comes along and reads this rant some 30 years from now and then comments some
effed up sanctimonious crap about me NOT putting choir of angles and I am on my
death bed and reading that (future) comment is what sends me over the edge into
the abyss of the afterlife and into Vahalla…wait what? I got off on a rant there… So, yeah – the list
1. Dio. Yep Ronnie
James Dio. Oh wait?!?!?!? You are saying I just broke one of my rules
(actually my only real rule) right out of the gate. Yes Dio did die. Actually the anniversary of the death of Dio
and the recent release of a tribute album is what really got me thinking about
this list. I have always had a few “must
see” groups but I never really had a chance to see Dio (hostly bad timing) and for that fact and
the fact he was the front man for Sabbath (that BLACK Sabbath to you, lets not
get too informal here) the Godfather of Metal has to be on this list. Ok so now here we go… on with the rest of the list in no
particular order
2. AC/DC. Almost anytime an AC/DC song kicks off in my
car I turn up the volume to speaker shattering levels and go along with the
parts of the song I know, and I just wail for the parts I have forgotten. With the recent scare of the stroke of
founder Malcolm Young and the rumors that the band may quit for good, these
guys have a reserved hard spot on my list.
The word is that they are recording in Vancouver this summer and touring
this fall, most likely without Malcolm and that sucks but the group has been
through it all before with the loss of Bon Scott in 1980. Australian groups come out heavy on this
list but AC/DC is and will be the first on my list of must see groups. Hopefully, I will
be front and center at one of their concerts before the year's end. And
until then FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK…..
3. Ratt. Hells yeah buddy!!! I LOVE Ratt.
They had me when I first heard "Round and Round" back in the 80s with Stephen
Pearcy’s vocals, Bobby Blotzer beating those skins and Robbin Crosby and Warren
DeMartini on guitar. They have had a few
lineup changes over the years and unfortunately the last info I have is Stephen
Pearcy is out again. I guess Crosby was out a while back. Recently – like just a week or so ago, I had heard they were recording and going to
tour, if so break out the stone washed jeans, hair goop, and jean jacket
baby!!! And as if there has to be any more justification there have been few
covers that could stoke the imagination of a pre-teen boy like Invasion of YourPrivacy.
4. Scorpions. For
those that know me, know I love many things German: BMWs, German Shepherds, Bratwurst,
Hefeweizen, Jaeger Snitzel, and some of the best rock bands ever. The first concert I went to was Ozzy, but he
was headlined by U.D.O, and that guy rocks!!! I can really rock out to some
Rammstein (Du Hast anyone?), I even have some love for Xavier Nadoo, if you like that R&;B sound and but don’t
mind it is not in English he is worth a listen.
But the Scorps are the tops for me.
I still remember flying missions out of Panama a few years after I had
been stationed there. And we would
sometimes hit the Popeyes chicken place on base. There was one of those video jukeboxes in the
corner that thankfully was not updated all that often. The Scorpions “Winds of Change” was on that
machine and I played it each and every time we went in. Gotta realize that was like an anthem to me,
living in Germany just as East was shedding the commie masters and breaking
down that iron curtain. That song
epitomizes the early 90s better than any other in my opinion. So my goal is to
be one of the yahoos in the crowd swaying left and right with a lighter in my
hand when they rock out to that song.
5. RebaMcEntire. I crap you not. She is on this list. One, she is HOT (still). Two, with hits like “Fancy”
and “Does He Love You” and going strong for 40 years or so. She has suffered
devastation like losing half her band in a plane crash and succeeded in music,
film, and TV. I will foreshadow some of
the choices I have coming ahead by saying if Reba is shocking then you might
want to stop here.
6. Men At Work. Love
these guys. One of the few groups I can actually sing most of their songs
without getting lost or forgetting the words.
I don’t even know if they are still touring but I haven’t seen a new
album (CD, MP3, ITunes digital cut???) in a while. If I am having a bad day
just setting my playlist to “Business as Usual” and after “Who Can it be Now?”
and “Down Under” the day is just better.
It is hard to believe it has been over 30 years (released in 1981) that
I was listening to these tracks on 96 Rock (96.5 on the FM dail…) with DJ ScotThrower in the A.M. and Lee Reynolds on the afternoon drive time slot thinking
that the world was ahead of me as I played with my Star Wars toys during the
day and sneak a look at late night TV on HBO or CINEMAX. Sorry I digress, good
times.
7. BritneySpears. Effyeahman!!! I love this
chick. I don’t care how crazy people
think she is. I remember the day I first
saw her CD sitting on the shelf at that small PX (military store on base for
you civilians) on top the hill at the Defense Language School in Monterey
California. I was there to get some
chips and dip or shoe shine crap or maybe a notebook and pencils – who knows
does it really matter? Ok just pretend I was buying some Mexican Boxed Wine and
some Sudafed. I came around the corner of an aisle and there she was, I want to
say one of her songs was playing on the sound system being pumped through the
store, maybe not but I took a look and said to myself – Dude that chick is a
flash in the pan, one hit wonder, not metal or old school rap so not worth the
$5. (can you believe that CDs ever cost
$5? Me neither) so left the store. By the time she released her second CD I was
hooked. Comeoneman take a look at anyone
of her videos. But to hold back the horde of haters- I actually like her music
so SUCK IT.
8. I am not going to
lie, I thought I was not going to get to 10 but as I started this ramble I
realized there were a few I had forgotten.
So before I finish out here are my honorable mentions. Kenny Rodgers. I used to play marbles as a kid singing “TheGambler in my head”, The dude is a legend and if you got doubt about his depth,
check out “The Last 10 Years”. Glen Campbell.
Yeppers. I don’t know why, I
don’t even remotely know why…but for SOME reason one of my all time FAV songs
is Rhinestone Cowboy. One of the few
memories I have as a kid, I mean real lil kid, like pre-5 or 6, was hearing
that song on a ol hi-fi stereo that was sitting in the living room we lived in
when I was maybe 4 or close to 5. Something good must have happened when I was
very young while that song was playing in the background so for that reason I
will forever be a fan of Glen, even though I don’t think I could name another
song he does. Rick Springfield. Same deal as with the Campbellator, I love
Jessie’s Girl. No I did not ever have a
thing for a girl that was dating anyone I knew named Jessie. Actually off the top of my head I can only
recall every knowing only one Jessie and that was in like 3rd grade
and he was a little bit of a chubby dude at the time so not sure if he had a
girlfriend. But thinking back to that
year, if for some reason he was dating a girl named Amy Ferari (not sure of the
spelling there) then maybe that song fits.
I don’t really think I was noticing girls since they didn’t play Army,
Hot wheels, Star Wars, GI Joe, or ride bikes in the mud but for some reason I
do remember noticing Amy. Where are you
now days Amy? Last Honorable mention, Joe Walsh. Love that song “Life’s Been Good To Me” that
was my Rota, Spain song. The bar I hung out played it once a night and if they
forget I would remind them. Just reminds
me of some great times. So even though I have others on this list those four
songs somehow top out on my all time favorite list so the performers that do
them get a nod here.
9. Run DMC. Actually
I would love to see the whole cast of Krush Groove on stage. DMC, Beastie Boys, Kurtis Blow, Sheila E, the Fat
Boys…. But DMC put rap on the map in my opinion. Even their lesser known hits like Wake Up
take me back to days of trying to do the wave, moon walk, pop and lock… but of
course I looked more like I was having a seizure.
