Since we ruminate on "other people's music" on these pages from time to time, I just thought I'd share a couple of recent, disparate musical experiences ...

Week before last I had the opportunity to see live, for the first time, one of my musical idols from way, way back - Elton John. The man played for nearly 3 hours solid, and the show was just flat-out fantastic! Just too bad I didn't get to sit quite as close as I usually do at the Down Home ... :-)

Speaking of ... last week I finally managed to go see someone at the DH other than Brother Wilder ... an old college buddy (the one, BTW, who originally turned me on to WW back in '87) came up from Greensboro, and we went to see another of his favorites, Guy Clark. While Clark's music was new to me (well, except for 'Homegrown Tomatoes'), it was a thoroughly enjoyable 2+ hours ... just Clark and a long-time buddy and collaborator (sorry I missed his name) on acoustic guitars, with no set play list. What a treasure.

See some of you in January!

I saw Foreigner in Nashville a couple of weeks ago (Kip Winger opened for them with a solo acoustic set). Great fun.

In the past year, I've seen John Waite (formerly of The Babys and Bad English, as well as his solo career), REO Speedwagon, Journey, and Foreigner. It's been late '70s/early '80s all over again for me! 8-)

I'm planning to see Webb at Phoenix Hill Tavern in Louisville next month....

Hunter

Hey Hunter - u forgot to mention my other band .... Cheap Trick-- u saw them too right?

I did not get the pleasure of seeing Trick this last tour. The only bands I've seen recently -other than my beloved Webb -are Allison Krauss/Robert Plant w/ T Bone Burnett (what a fabulous show...Webb is the man, but Robert Plant is the other man!) Little Texas, Phil Stacy, the Smithereens and B-52s :-) I would love to see Foreigner though. Kip Winger would be an interesting opener -- haven't seen him since Winger toured w/ Cinderella back in the early 90s. Blasts from the past are my favorites!

~Christina

Ah, yes, forgot to mention Cheap Trick, who opened for Journey.

Foreigner was great, despite Mick Jones being the only original member in the band. Kelly Hansen is their lead singer, and he really pulls it off very well.

Kip Winger was very good. I first saw him when he played bass for Alice Cooper in '86.

I saw the B-52s back in 1990. Fun show.

I saw Van Halen while they were still touring prior to Eddie's "mystery illness"! I also went to see Bon Jovi and Chris Daughtry last spring. Nothing beats Webb and the guys though. All my top rated music spots on my ipod belong to them!

As good as The White Stripes and the Raconteurs are, I must say that Jet is still the only NEW group to really capture my thoughts in the last many years. The last time I checked their website, they were working on their third album. I highly recommend the first two. WW

I didn't realize Kelly was with Cheap Trick. Always loved him with Hurricane.

Jo

Kelly Hansen is Foreigner's lead singer.

I loved the first Jet album, but thought the second was too ballad-heavy. Still, they're the only band that's popped up in the past 10 years that I will listen to.

I stand corrected....didn't know that, either! ;-)

Jo

I stand corrected....didn't know that, either! ;-)

Jo

Speaking of the B52s, I was lucky enough to get invited to an invite only, unposted show held at the House of Blues in Chicago with the B52s last Thursday. This was the first time for me going down to the HOB in Chicago (was unable to get down there when Webb played there) and the first time seeing the B52s. All I can say was, WOW. What a place and what a show!!! It was a small crowd, maybe 500 people or so. Stood right up front of the stage. Just to see Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson and Keith Strickland that close was just unbelievable. They did a 90 minutes set and ended the show with 2 encores, Plant Claire and Rock Lobster. At the end of the show it was all high "5's" with everyone from the band...just great....

Speaking of Cheap Trick, since they do hail from Rockford Illinois and some of the band if not all of them still reside there. I did see Rick Nielson at the Rockford Airfest back in 2007. Not to sure if he was there in 2008, since the company I work for, flew in an A310 Airbus for a static display, I was there all 3 days giving tours. I was hoping that he was going to show up, but with over 500,000 people there over 3 days, I might of missed him.

Anyways enough said......later

The second Jet album is stronger in the ballad department than the rocking department but, I really dig their ballad thing. In a way, their ballad thing is more their own than their Rock thing which is more derivative. Having said that, their derivations originate from ALL the right influences for their abilities. The singer is great at it. I think he's great on the ballads or mid tempo ballads as I refer to them, too. Those songs remind me of what I always liked about Badfinger's mid tempo Ttheir Rock thing has it's origins in the styles of AC/DC, Humble Pie and the Who fer sure but, that's great! Some people may not take them as seriously because of the obvious origins of those songs but, there ain't nothin' new and they really make it work. I DO think that the drummer (the singer's brother) has (quite naturally) a very, unique and compelling style that seems akin to the great Brit drummers(Jet is Australian) without being particularly like any of them In other words, he's really got his own style. Okay...I'll shut up! WW

I agree with everything you said about Jet, Webb. And I liked the ballads (and agree that that's more their own thing), I just thought the second album could have used a couple more rockers.

The first time I heard Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" on the radio, I said to myself, "I *have* to buy this CD." The last time that happened was when I heard Jackyl in 1992, and before that, Webb in 1990.

Hunter

Frank, I agree that Guy Clark is excellent. I believe that his collaborator's name is Verlin Thompson, if it's the same guy that has been playing with him for many years. I have seen them 3 or 4 times and it shows how just a couple of acoustic guitars and vocals can carry a show. Good songs sound good with a lot of instruments, or very few.

I know what you mean, Hunter. That "heard it on the radio, gotta buy it" thing is rare for me, too. It happened WAY back when I heard "Just What I Needed" from the Cars first album. There may have been a few things in between but, YEARS after that it was "Every Day Is A Winding Road" from Sheryl Crow's second album. I had become so jaded that after hearing "If It Makes You Happy," (which is totally great!) I still had to be convinced! "Winding Road" convinced me. "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" was one of those for me, too. Granted, I bought lots of albums in the years following the Cars first release. After all, it was the new music exposion and Graham Parker and the Rumour, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Rockpile, NRBQ (I KNow they had been around for a while) Elvis Costello and so many others were truly happenin', but those guys weren't much on the radio. 'Course MTV started OUT pretty cool. It is also obvious my tastes ran toward the rootsier, "old dogs." Edmunds was about a hundred then! BTW, Guy Clark's first album which I first heard in the 70's is one of THE if not the supreme album from the original Progressive Country years. He is a songwriter's songwriter. The real heady radio times for me were back when I remember hearing "Paperback Writer" or "Jumpin' Jack Flash" for the first time as brand new singles on AM radio! Yeah! Okay. WW

Thanks, Roger ... that may well be him (I don't know how I managed to "not hear it" during the evening) ... the fellow I saw is in several pics on Guy's web page, if you want to wander over there to confirm ... BTW, in both sets this fellow played a couple songs by himself, and man, can he flat-out pick that guitar ...

BTW, Hunter and Christina, I saw Cheap Trick in some small club in Winston-Salem, NC, back in '97 ... seeing a relatively "big" band in such a small venue was an interesting experience.

And typing this, I had a flashback to 1975, seeing the film "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Rolling Stones" shown on a huge screen in a basketball arena, where some drunk and/or stoned guy in the upper deck kept yelling out requests ..... LOL

Hey, I think that was ME yellin' those requests! Hard to remember though...

Frank, I looked at Guy's page and I believe it is Verlin. I agree that he is an excellent musician.

I once worked with the road crew setting up a stage for a Cheap Trick concert back in the mid 80's. I could not believe how many guitars that Rick Nielsen had with him. I found out later that he had been buying old guitars for a while, and what a smart move that turned out to be. His collection is worth no telling how much money now.

AM music radio, Does it exist somewhere...I still remember listening to the big AM powerhouses at night esp in winter months because our local stations were daylight only. John "Records" Landecker out of Chitown was my favorite. On Saturday the Opry was the choice if we were out in the old 62 Rambler

I recently saw ZZ Top at the fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis. Wow it was great, more blues than they ussualy do and the venue is awesome. Also, the opener was very impressive. Blackberry Smoke, i think from Atlanta. Great southern Rock. Check em out!

>> Blackberry Smoke

I saw that happen once, when some guy at the airport dropped his PDA in the sink.

Roger - your post inspired me to change my avatar...again! I'll bring my crazy cat back later.....
Rick is a character....and I love this guitar, along w/ the one from "The Doctor"
~Christina

Yep. It's hard to believe but from day one to about Dec. 31, 1983, MTV was not so toxic. Whipper-snappers will gasp in wonder, but back in the early days, white bread superstars who made FM radio so boring didn't make videos. Only weird geeks from England did that! But MTV up and got popular, so quick enough, every half-baked metal act and ham-fisted rawker started preening their ugly pusses across the tube and all the wind went out of MTV's sails for me. Next thing you know you had your Madonnas and hair farmers and millionaire superstars dominating MTV. Feh.

I should mention that Webb Fest III bookended a furious week of concert-going pour moi. 4 Days after WWIII it was Todd Rundgren at The Orange Peel in Asheville. I've wanted to see TR for about 30 years and finally did! I've heard he's reluctant to play older material, and I haven't heard an album since 1989's "2nd Wind," but heck, it was Todd Rundgren and the man has taste and talent to spare! Besides, I usually have to wait 6-8 months between shows I want to see in Asheville, and having saved a packet on ticket prices at Webb Fest, I had the cash for Rundgren. He played about 40 minutes of solid Todd classics (and canny covers) right off the bat. Heck, even NAZZ classics I NEVER thought I'd hear as anything other than covers! Then he played his whole new album from start to finish. It was all great! And playing a full album solves that musician problem of picking a good flow of material for a show. An album comes with built in flow! He encored with a couple more classics and we all went home happy.

Then three nights later, Mrs. Revolt and I hit the road to Raleigh for a Magnetic Fields show. Now we NEVER thought we'd see these people playing live! Head Field Stephin Merritt is legendarily stage-shy but managed to confound expectation by talking to his band as well as the audience in the concert hall. The incredible "Papa Was A Rodeo" was performed with such aching tenderness it made the LP cut sound like a KISS track in comparison!

And now, it's back to The Grey Eagle (home of WWIII) for Southern Culture On The Skids this Friday night! 4 Concerts in 3 weeks??! What's wrong with this picture!? I've seen SCOTS as much as Webb and hold them dearly in my heart as well.

I think it's great when one of your musical hero's (stop yer blushin' Webb) likes alot of the same bands you do. Thanks for praising Jet and the others. I'm trying to get the chick stuff though. I'm in the Cheap Trick fan club as well!

Webb, I like Jet (didn't they used to be called the Screaming Jets?), not necessarily in my top 10, but they're good. Also like the originators of that straight ahead hard rock Aussy sound, the Angels (or Angel City as they're usually known here). Songs like Shadow Boxer, Fashion & Fame, Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again, Comin' Down etc., are "the goods" to me. Looks like Angels have reformed and are touring all over Australia now, maybe they'll get over here into the states again. Opening for Jet? Now that would be great.