I was 15 years old. I already loved The Band. My father drove my girlfriend and I to downtown Cleveland to see the show. They were between The Band and Stage Fright albums. They were incredible. No warm-up act. They came out and played two sets, about two hours total. The only time they said much other than "Thank You" at all was when Robbie introduced Lookout Cleveland and said he was thinking of us. I think he meant Cleveland, Tennessee all along, but that didn't matter.
The John Carrol Fieldhouse was a pretty big basketball arena by Jesuit college standards. Bruce was about to release The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle, and the band on the back of that record jacket was the band I saw. Vinnie Lopez might not have been what Bruce wanted, but this band kicked butt that night for sure. And Springsteen was the only guitar player, he was super-hot, and they played for three hours, and totally rocked the crap out of the place. They got tighter, and maybe more professional, as a band, but they never got wilder.
So back in 1969 my older brother sent me and my middle brother seven albums for Christmas. Go ahead, divide seven by two. And do it with adolescent males. Anyway, one of those records was the Sons of Champlin debut, Loosen Up Naturally. I've loved the Sons ever since. In 1975, after finishing school, I road-tripped to California and while visiting a high school buddy in San Diego, I visited a record store. I found the recently self-released Sons of Champlin album (on Gold Mine records, which would later be reissued by Areola) and when I bought the album, the guy behind the register said, "Hey, dude, are you going to see them tonight?" Right then I bought tickets even though the guy I was staying with had to work that night. He went to work. I went and saw the Sons. Champlin, Haggerty, and Palmer were all spectacular. I was surprised, but I liked the Tubes, too.
It really seems like there should be something else between 1975 and 1979. How odd.
Costello was doing This Year's Model and some of Armed Forces and the debut. Oh My God. 75 minutes of full steam ahead Costello and the Attractions. Not more than 30 seconds between songs, and no talk at all. The Rubinoos were playful and charming in the opening slot. They did I Think Were Alone Now and Sugar, Sugar.
It was the big suit tour, which was made into the movie and album Stop Making Sense. It was very much worth seeing live. The concept was very cool, with David Byrne doing Psycho Killer solo with a beat box, then Tina Weymouth came on for Heaven, and it kept building until there were 10-12 people on stage. Burning down the house indeed.
I went to Toronto to take my wife to see The Phantom of the Opera. The night before (or after?) we went to see Ahmad Jamal at the Purple Onion jazz club. I was mesmerized by Ahmad Jamal's trio. Such an amazing piano player. We sat at the bar about fifteen feet from Jamal, and we could see his hands on the keyboard. Breathtaking.
If you ever have a chance to see the Subdudes, they put on a great show. Peabody's was relatively small, and they rocked it. Their soulful Louisiana funk was a unique. Tommy Malone was a triple-threat singer, songwriter and guitarist. Steve Amedée's tambourine replaced a drum kit way better than it should have.
The Empire was a less than great venue in Cleveland, but this was when they were trying pretty hard to break Marti Jones. The band included Jim Brock and Jaime Hoover, and they were so incredibly tight. One of my favorite live recordings of all time is Marti's Live From Spirit Square, and this show was all of that, albeit on an considerably earlier tour.
There is no need to exclude sentimental favorites. My soon-to-be-wife and I saw Lucinda touring behind Essence. Lucinda and the band were smokin' hot. The definition of sultry. I'm sure there were people that went home talking about the way we danced.
They had the full band with them, and they are just such great songwriters and singers and so much good fun. Rock that doesn't mind the pop. And delivered with verve. My friend Bob was aghast that not everyone was dancing! I've seen several other fine shows at the Beechland. It's a great room when the sound is right.
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