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This doesn't include artists I've mixed - only shows I attended. More as I remember...
| Band | Date | Tour | Venue | Ticket Price | Opening Act | Things I remember... | Set List |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carpenters | 08.11.76 | War Memorial, Johnstown, PA | ? | George Gobel | George Gobel was really lame and I remember Karen coming out and doing one number with these enormous falsies. | No | |
| Todd Rundgren/Utopia | 10.09.77 | Oops!Wrong Planet | IUP Fieldhouse, Indiana, PA | $7.00 | Starcastle | This was a pretty amazing show. I remember being blown away for weeks. | No |
| Blue Oyster Cult | 12.15.77 | Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh, PA | $7.50 | Detective | BOCs equipment got snowed in and they borrowed equipment from local bands and music stores. Detective lead singer Michael Des Barres has a bit part in MULHOLLAND DRIVE | No | |
| Kiss | 01.13.78 | Alive II | Civic Arena, Pittsburgh | $7.50 | Rockets | Peter Criss passed out backstage from heat during Ace Frehley's guitar solo - show was delayed and Frehley played his solo a second time. | Yes |
| Angel | 03.14.78 | White Hot | Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh | $2.00 | Wha-Koo, The Godz | None of their illusions worked. And I had a broken leg. | No |
| Blue Oyster Cult | 07.12.78 | War Memorial, Johnstown, PA | $6.00 | British Lions, Cheap Trick | I caught a pick tossed out into the audience by Rick Nielsen and Chip got sick during the BOC show. | No | |
| Genesis | 07.22.78 | And Then There Were Three... | Civic Arena, Pittsburgh | $7.75 | none | Lots of lights and fog. | Yes |
| Peter Gabriel | 10.22.78 | DIY (2nd album) | Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh | $7.75 | Jules and the Polar Bears | One of the best shows I've ever seen. Great opening act. First time I saw a wireless microphone used. | Yes |
| Yes | 04.11.79 | Tormato | Civic Arena, Pittsburgh | $8.75 | none | Revolving stage and the Anderson/Howe/Squire/Wakeman/White lineup according to the program but I'm sure it was Trevor Horn and Geoffrey Downes....maybe I saw them twice... | Yes |
| Cheap Trick | 05.06.79 | Dream Police | Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh | $8.75 | TKO | Don't really remember this show for some reason - odd because I was a really big fan and wanted to see them again. | No |
| Supertramp | 06.04.79 | Breakfast In America | Civic Arena, Pittsburgh | $8.75 | none | The first time I saw large-scale video projection in a concert. | No |
| The Who | 12.02.79 | Who Are You? | Civic Arena, Pittsburgh | $10.50 | none | It was a lame show. Sorry, they were tired and going through the motions. I never forgave them. Some bozo in the upper level started tossing firecrackers - Townshend said he would leave if it didn't stop. | Yes |
| The Silencers | 11.06.80 | WDVE Rockaffair | IAHS Auditorium | $4.50 | none | Local Pittsburgh "punk" band gives concert at high school - their big number is a version of the "Peter Gunn Theme". | No |
| Hall and Oates | 05.03.81 | IUP Fieldhouse, Indiana PA | $7.50 | 4 Out Of 5 Doctors | I don't recall anything specific except that I really enjoyed the show and they did "Sacred Songs". | No | |
| The Tubes | 07.25.81 | Completion Backwards Principle | Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh | ? | The Producers | Past their heyday and in their Top 40 decline - I remember thinking the music seemed secondary to the costume changes and oversize props. | No |
| The Clash | 08.18.82 | Combat Rock | Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh | ? | don't remember | A really good show- fast and furious. | Yes |
| Peter Gabriel | 11.17.82 | Security | Stanley Theater, Pittsburgh | ? | Electric Guitars | Another great show. First use of wireless headset microphones? | Yes |
| David Bowie | 08.23.83 | Serious Moonlight | Hershey Park Stadium, Hershey, PA | $16.50 | none | I guess I liked the show but this was during his "make money by writing for radio" phase, so he's probably done better tours. | Yes |
| Thompson Twins | 04.14.84 | Into The Gap | Fisher Auditorium, IUP, Indiana PA | $12? | Reflex | Good show. Someone called in a bomb scare in the middle of the TT show. | Yes |
| Arlo Guthrie and Friends | 02.20.86 | Old Cabell Hall, UVA, Charlottesville | ? | none | I actually don't remember a single thing about this concert except that the ticket was a birthday gift and he didn't do "Alice's Restaurant". | No | |
| The Pretenders | Spring '87? | UVA Sports Arena | ? | Iggy Pop | Obviously I don't remember too much about this show, but Iggy was great | Not as such | |
| Robert Fripp & the League Of Crafty Guitarists | 12/87? | Old Cabell Hall, UVA, Charlottesville | ? | none | Loud loud loud - twenty-some acoustic guitars playing rhythmically challenging music at the same time sounds like a giant gamelan. | No | |
| John Zorn & Fred Frith | 04/88? | Old Cabell Hall, UVA, Charlottesville | ? | none | Free improv by two masters; noisy and chaotic, but also very funny. | No | |
| Paul McCartney | 04.22.93 | New World | Astrodome | ? | none | I'll never forget squeals when Paul started singing "Drive My Car". I went back in time 30 years | Yes |
| Butthole Surfers | 05.17.93 | Pioughd | Lone Star Amphitheater | ? | Stone Temple Pilots & Firehose | Firehose was amazing as were the BHS - most memorable moment was Gibby Haynes cursing out the STP fans who started leaving in droves when the Buttholes took the stage. | No |
| Ozric Tentacles | 10.15.94 | Arborescence | The Abyss | ? | don't remember | Possibly the best show I've ever seen. Certainly the best light show. | \Yes |
| King Crimson | 11.02.95 | THRAK | Music Hall | ? | California Guitar Trio | Double Trio version of KC - six of the best musicians I've ever seen in my life on the same stage at the same time - amazing. | Yes |
| Sex Pistols | 08.03.96 | Filthy Lucre | International Ballroom | $20 | Stabbing Westward & Gravity Kills | I loved this show a lot - I sang along with all the songs and the band was great! | Yes |
| Bob Mould | 11.08.96 | Final Tour (Hubcap LP) | Urban Art Bar | $10 | don't remember | Good show - he played a bit of a Kiss song during the encores. | Yes |
| The Artist (aka Prince) | 08.10.97 | Jam Of The Year | The Summit | $45 | none | He may be a bit odd in his personal life but what a terrific performer - a great concert! | Yes |
| Peter, Paul & Mary | 09.10.97 | The Arena Theater | comped | none | I remembered songs from my childhood I'd forgotten I ever knew - and felt really good after the show. | No | |
| Wire | 05.13.00 | Reunion Tour | 9:30 Club | ? | don't remember | I was glad to finally see them live but the show as a bit of a let down - too short? too rote? - I'm not sure. | Yes |
| King Crimson | 12.03.01 | Level Five | Palace Theater | $30 | John Paul Jones | JPJ was amazing - effortless performance and classy gent; KC was good too, not as stunning as the last time but still pretty darn great. | Yes |
| Styx & REO Speedwagon | 02.25.02 | Houston Rodeo & Livestock Show | Astrodome | $14 | none | Memorable as Miranda's first concert. She loved Styx - bounced up and down, danced and clapped her hands. She wasn't as keen on REO. She's a pretty good critic... | No |
| Indigo Girls | 06.07.02 | Three Rivers Arts Festival | Point Park | free | K's Choice | K's Choice was pretty good, I-Girls were okay. Not really my cup of tea. | No |
| Leon Redbone | 06.14.02 | Three Rivers Arts Festival | Point Park | free | none | Not very good audio - made the show hard to hear | No |
| Peter Gabriel | 11.19.02 | Growing Up | Gund Arena, Cleveland | $86 | Blind Boys Of Alabama & Hukwe Zawose | Excellent show from top to bottom! | Yes |
| Aimee Mann | 12.13.02 | Lost In Space | Carnegie Hall, Pittsburgh | $20 | Maia Sharp | Crappy venue for sight lines; good show, just hard to see. | Yes |
| Joan Armatrading | 06.07.03 | Three Rivers Arts Festival | Point Park | free | none | Horrible sound system and mix ruined this show for me. | no |
| The Musical Box | 10.18.04 | The Lamb | Palace Theater | $36 | None | Recreated the 1975 Genesis Lamb Lies Down On Broadway Tour to the smallest detail. Very enjoyable show, excellent musicians. | Yes |
| Porcupine Tree | 05.26.05 | Deadwing | House of Blues | $25 | none | I looked forward to seeing these guys for years and wasn't disappointed at all. Great video, tight sound, lots of tweaky synth. | Yes |
| Porcupine Tree | 10.09.05 | Deadwing (second leg) | House Of Blues | $25 | Robert Fripp | Another great show with a completely different set-list. Nice to see Fripp in a solo setting as opener. | Yes |
| Opeth | 11.06.05 | Ghost Reveries | House Of Blues | $17 | Into Eternity & Nevermore | These guys are so good it's ridiculous - amazing show. They basically played a "best of" set, much to my enjoyment. | Yes |
| Nine Inch Nails | 06.30.06 | With Teeth | Post-Gazette Pavilion | $25 | Peaches & Bauhaus | Excellent band - very tight - great visuals - very entertaining show. | Yes |
| Guapo | 07.02.06 | Guapo vs. Zombi US Oni-Yari | Garfield Artworks | $7 | Zombi, New American Wing, and Angelo Spagnolo Quartet | Small, hot venue was the perfect place to see these intense Brits - amazing show | Yes |
| Adrian Belew | 08.12.06 | Side Three | Club Cafe | $25 | Saul Zanona | Belew so obviously enjoys playing live it's infectious. An amazing guitar player and a really nice gentleman. | Yes |
| Porcupine Tree | 05.18.07 | Fear Of A Blank Planet | House Of Blues | $20 | A very good show. Enjoyable music and really great musicianship. | Yes | |
| Porcupine Tree | 10.19.07 | Nil Recurring | The Webster Theater | $29 | 3 | Crappy venue but the bands were great. | Yes |
| Porcupine Tree | 10.22.07 | Nil Recurring | House Of Blues | $20 | 3 | Much better sound tonight and "The Sky Moves Sideways" live for the first time in 8 years. | Yes |
| Ministry | 05.06.08 | C U Latour | Agora Theater | $30 | Hemlock / Meshuggah | I went to see Meshuggah. Ministry was good but Meshuggah was better. | Yes |
| Opeth | 05.15.08 | Progressive Nation | Mr. Small's Fun House | $25 | 3 / Between The Buried And Me | PN tour - Dream Theater's night off. Great band, great show | Yes |
| Dream Theater | 05.17.08 | Progressive Nation | Time Warner Cable Amphitheater | $37.50 | 3 / Between The Buried And Me / Opeth | Opeth and Dream Theater are amazing live | Yes |
| Buckethead | 07.29.08 | Mr. Small's Fun House | $20 | That 1 Guy | Terrifyingly good. Almost 2 hours of nonstop solo virtuoso guitar shredding. Completely exhausting. | Yes | |
| Nine Inch Nails | 08.22.08 | Lights In The Sky | Quicken Loans Arena | $56 | Nicholas Megalis | The Ghosts section in the middle was truly stunning visually and aurally. I'd have sat through and entire night of that stuff and not complained a bit. | Yes |
| Neal Morse, Spock's Beard | 08.23.08 | 3RP | Pepsi Roadhouse | $60.50 | Manifesto, Mandrake Project, Gongzilla | Day One of the first 3 Rivers Progressive Rock Festival -- Morse and Spock's were a once in a lifetime bill. | Yes |
| The Flower Kings, California Guitar Trio | 08.24.08 | 3RP | Pepsi Roadhouse | $60.50 | Kalon, Izz, Rocket Scientists | Day Two of the first 3 Rivers Progressive Rock Festival. Not as amazing as day one but still great. | Yes |
| Porcupine Tree | 09.21.09 | The Incident | House of Blues Cleveland | $18 | King's X | The Incident is great live and the video accompaniment was stunning. | Yes |
| Transatlantic | 04.24.10 | The Whirld Tour | Theater of the Living Arts | $43 | none | Maybe the best concert I've ever seen | Yes |
| Porcupine Tree | 05.10.10 | The Incident | Mr. Smalls | $23 | Bigelf | Bigelf made me smile a lot. Instantly won over. | Yes |
| Stick Men | 05.19.10 | Soup | New Hazlett Theater | $22 | What can you say? 1/2 of King Crimson, two sticks, challenging music= yay! | Yes |
A special section for bands I see every time I have the chance:
| Band | Comments |
|---|---|
| Brave Combo | I think I saw these guys twice a year (at least) between 1989 and 1998. The best, loudest, most entertaining wedding band in the world. |
| Robin & Linda Williams and Their Fine Group | The nicest people in Show Business. I had the pleasure of working with them between 1985 and 1988 and can't count how many times I've seen them perform since. Close harmonies, great songs and they obviously love what they're doing. I've heard "Don't Let Me Come Home A Stranger" at least 100 times and still get goose-bumps . |
still to add to the list...
1980's
1990's
2000's
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