I don’t have a lot of memories of that concert. I know we got our tickets through a radio station and that they provided a bus from Richmond. I know that the Ronettes (Walkin’ in the Rain, Be My Baby) and the Cyrkle (Red Rubber Ball) played before the Beatles, though in truth I can’t really remember them. In fact I have only one clear memory of the Beatles playing: I really, really wanted them to play one particular song. If they did that then the trip would be a success, and I would not care that mostly what I heard was tens of thousands of screaming girls.
They played the song, and I went home very happy. Do you remember this song? (Click the link).
As historic as that concert was, it was certainly not the best concert I ever saw – obviously, since we could hardly hear the Beatles. What would be the best the concert ever? I doubt I could choose one, but here are some possibilities:
- The Rolling Stones, July 4, 1966, at the Virginia Beach Dome, a small geodesic dome – yes, designed by R Buckminster Fuller – that probably didn’t seat 1200 people. We were in maybe the sixth row, no more than fifteen feet from the stage. The highpoint of the show was Satisfaction and Mick Jagger was, of course, mesmerizing.
- The Stones again, July 5, 1972: By now the large arenas were being built and this concert was at Norfolk Scope. Only the Stones were advertised; only the Stones were on the poster; but when the house lights went down a voice over the PA said “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome . . . Mr. Stevie Wonder!” It was incredible. Stevie Wonder opening for the Stones? In all other circumstances he would have been the headliner, with one or even two bands opening for him. He, and they, were spectacular.
- I saw them one more time at Shea Stadium; it was a great concert, but stadium concerts are not the same.
- The Who at Cap Center, Sep 23, 1982. I think this was the second time I saw them, though it might have been the first. I loved the Who then and love them still. My clearest memory was of smiling at the mostly teenage crowd as the band sang “only a teenage wasteland.” I was a 34 year-old teenager.
- June, 1994, Barbra Streisand at Madison Square Garden while the Gay Games were in town. She was exquisite and though I like her early stuff far more than anything past 1975 or so, it was a wonderful concert, made more special by being with Ransom.
- Bob Seger in 1986, also at the Garden. Maybe the best-ever bar band to grow into superstar status. Can you name a bad Seger song? I can’t.
- James Brown several times in the 60s. The best was an 11pm show that didn’t start til well past midnight and didn’t end til almost dawn. The man truly was “the hardest working man in show business,” and his stage shows were nothing short of astounding.
- The Stax/Volt revue at the Richmond Mosque / Otis Redding at the Mosque Ballroom. The first is well-documented in the albums Stax/Volt Revue Live in London and Live in Paris: Booker T and the MGs, the Bar-keys, Carla Thomas, Eddie Floyd, Sam & Dave and Otis Redding – a collection of talent and energy that tore the roof off the place. The latter was perhaps even more exciting: the Stax house band (Booker T & the MGs and the Bar-keys) would play a set, then Redding would join them for a set, then the band again, then Redding again to close the show. When Otis was not on stage, we were dancing in the cavernous ballroom. When he hit the floor we were pressed against the stage following his every move. It was intense.
There are many other concerts I loved: Peter, Paul and Mary three times; the Four Tops at the Sahara Club, a black nightspot in Richmond; Dionne Warwick at Notre Dame; Ray Charles and the Righteous Brothers there too; Frank Sinatra at Carnegie Hall; Bette Midler, ELO, Styx, Elton John, the Grateful Dead at venues around the country. And classical concerts that still resonate: Georg Solti conducting the Chicago Symphony in a luminous Missa Solemnis, Leontyne Price singing the Verdi Requiem, Pavarotti in concert at DAR Constitution Hall and dozens of concerts that Ransom either conducted or played in – coming to mind right this minute, a breathtaking Mozart Requiem.
From the Beatles to Bach, from the Stones to Strauss from James Brown to Johannes Brahms – I’ve said it here before: I love music in almost all its varieties and forms and there’s nothing whatsoever as gratifying as a great live concert.
Just so you know, that $5.00 in 1966 would be around $36.00 today. Just saying, still cheap to see the Stones.
ReplyDeleteThe first time they were in Raleigh was as part of a revue, where I am told they did about three songs, whatever they had out at the time. It was at Dorton Arena on the fairgrounds. I was not in Raleigh at the time, so I did not get a chance to make that one.
Steel Wheels was a great tour. Saw that while standing on a rickety chair on the field at NCSU's football stadium.
Ah, music!