What concerts have you gone to and enjoyed?

The first concert I ever saw was The Temptations.  My boyfriend at the time was going to Xavier University in Cincinnati.  I drove down to Cincy and we attended the concert.  The Temptations were very popular at that time.  When music was real!

The next concert I went to was also in Cincinnati.  My boyfriend took me to see Sly and the Family Stone.  We were in the third row and were surrounded by a sea of black folks.  They stared at us in the beginning but when the music began, we were all up and dancing and singing.  I had to stand on my chair to see the musicians.  I didn’t stand long as it was a folding chair.

I have seen Jethro Tull at least four times that I can remember.  The last time I saw them I realized that Ian Anderson’s voice was going.  I guess that comes with age.

I saw Joni Mitchell in concert in Oxford, Ohio.  It was so wonderful to see her in person.  Every song was amazing.  She played her guitar, dulcimer, piano and some other gadget that I didn’t recognize.  She was at her finest.

Simon and Garfunkel were also an amazing show.  Art Garfunkel sang their new song, Bridge Over Troubled Water and you could have heard a pin drop it was so fantastic.

I was so glad to see Dan Fogelberg.  He died about two years after that concert in Rockford at the Coronado Theater.  The band that played with him were musicians from Spirit.  I guess they all lived close by in Colorado.

A really wonderful concert was James Taylor, again at the Coronado.  He had a picture screen behind him and showed various photos and told stories about the pictures.  He played acoustic guitar and at one point another musician accompanied him.

The Dave Mathews Band concert was a disappointment.  It was on a hill in Wisconsin and the band was about two inches big.  Everyone around sang to every song and we danced also.

I have seen Emerson, Lake and Palmer three times.  The last time was the last really big concert that we saw.  You could smoke in the arena in those days and there were more than just cigarettes burning.  My eyes cried, and my ears were about to burst.  I gave up concerts for quite some time.

I do love the venue at the Coronado and wish they would have more good concerts there.  I’d love to see Cat Stevens (I know that is not his name now and he sings children’s’ songs).  Bonnie Raitt is another musician I’d love to see.  The Barenaked Ladies would also thrill me.

My favorite live band, The Blue Olives, have changed.  They have a new guitar player and I only see them playing in Wisconsin.  I wish they would come back to the Best Dan Bar.

There is just nothing so special to me as live music.  Photo is The Blue Olives.

Peace be with you.

If I could have a talent, what would it be?

Yesterday, I went to Monroe, Wisconsin with my girlfriend, Lauri.  We went to see A Star Is Born.  I saw the trailer on line and have wanted to see it ever since.  I loved the old one with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristopherson.

Lauri and I arrived early and decided to walk around the square.  We put in a reservation at Pancho and Lefty’s and were told there would be a twenty-minute wait.

We went into Baumgartner’s.  She used the restroom and I looked at cheeses.  They had a piece of Roquefort, but it was like thirty dollars.  I asked the kid behind the counter what cheese sandwich was the most popular.  Unbelievably, muenster was the answer.  Ish and ick.  For those of you not familiar with Baumgartner’s in Monroe, Wisconsin, it is the home of the cheese sandwich.

We sauntered back over to Pancho and Lefty’s but Lauri (Miss absent minded) couldn’t find her glasses or her phone.  She went back to her car and I grabbed us a seat at the bar. We split a bacon bleu cheese burger and guacamole.  We had a short Spotted Cow beer which was on tap and was actually very good.  I don’t usually like Spotted Cow in a bottle.

BTW, if you haven’t been to Monroe to Pancho and Lefty’s you must go.  That bacon bleu cheese burger is the best burger I’ve had in a very long time.  They also have some smoked ribs that look pretty appetizing.  And Korean tacos that sound amazing.

We decided to check out the chocolate shop and I got a piece of chocolate shaped like the state of Wisconsin.  I intended it to be my treat at the movie but forgot it in my purse and didn’t eat it.  Lauri got some chocolate dipped cookies.

We still had a few minutes and went to the ice cream shop and got a small Butter Pecan cone, which was truly delicious.

Finally making it to the movie theater, we got excellent seats as there was no one else in the place.  And it was only $6.50 for the tickets.

And so, the show began.  It was a little slow but as I didn’t have any knowledge of either of the actors, I found it interesting.  A couple of the songs were very nice.  I wasn’t taken by Lady Gaga’s (what kind of name is that?) voice at first.  She has a lovely low range but when she hits the high notes, I think she is kind of creepy.

This guy, Bradley Cooper, is gorgeous!  I read that he practiced for a year and a half to play the guitar for this movie.  He was pretty good.  God, was he hot!

I had heard this story was a tear jerker and knew that from the old movie I had seen in the 70’s.  But when she walked onto the stage with Jackson to sing a song she had written, in front of thousands of people, I cried.  I love to sing in front of people.  I have sung at On the Waterfront in front of a lot of people and it was the absolute thrill of my lifetime.

If I could have one talent it would be to be able to read music and play an instrument, so I could sing along.  In elementary school when they introduced music, my parents decided they couldn’t afford the rental of the instrument.  And so, I missed my chance at learning music.  I can sing and play things by ear but given the sheet music I am at a loss.  In choir, I listened to the part I was to sing and could sing it back easily.

In choir once, I was asked to sing my part.  As I was singing solo my best friend at the time snuck up behind me and pulled my half slip down around my ankles.  I did not sing again until I was in my 30’s.  A group of friends would get together and play guitars and sing and I was encouraged by my good friend, Joe Clark, to sing before the microphone.  I will never be able to thank him enough.

Music is my favorite language.  It brings people together.  It makes people happy.

I am going to a local bar today to hear my friend, Joe Clark, and his new band.  I can’t wait.  Celebrate live music whenever you can.

Peace be with you.  And music too!

What have I changed my mind about as I grow older?

When I was a child, I thought the world so wonderful and beautiful.  Everything around me was so fun and special.  I loved playing, singing, being around other people.  As I have grown older and seen much more of the world, I now know that there is a division in the kinds of people in the world.

There are givers and there are takers.  And these taking people take and take from those around them and never offer anything positive to the world.  And the givers wear themselves out trying to keep the peace.

And there are people who get up in the morning intending to put anger and hatred into those around them.  There are people who see nothing but hatred and negativity in the world.  They look upon their fellow man as an enemy and want to take them down any way they can.  And I feel sorry for these people, but I try my best to avoid them whenever I can.

I worked with the public in many of my jobs and have been treated like a piece of fecal matter.  I have had people attack me for no reason at all except that they hated their lives and wanted everyone around them to feel as badly as they did.

I have also known folks who wear their heart on their hand and would help anyone including those negative assholes I mentioned above.

I have tried to stay in the middle.  If I have contact with someone whose aura is negative and infuriated, I try to steer clear of them or at least to maintain my calmness.  But if I meet a real human being, I give it my all to share happiness and positivity.

I have always said that I don’t really care for 80 percent of the people that I know.  But that other 20 percent, they are my people.  They are the true human beings and I appreciate them to the fullest.

Life is short.  Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

Peace be with you.