Steve Oakley and Paul Altobelli @ Pearl Jam Wells Fargo show, October 22, 2013
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October 21, 2013 - Pearl Jam - My 360° view of "Alive" - Wells Fargo
My 360° view of "Alive" - Pearl Jam - 10/21/13 - Wells Fargo
April 17, 2013 – Ben Ottewell (of Gomez) – MilkBoy
Awesome acoustic show with Ben Ottewell of Gomez at the intimate yet noisy MilkBoy. It was a perfect blend of fantastic guitar playing, one of the best rock and roll voices I've ever heard live, and great songs.
Ben Ottewell - 78 Stone Wobble into Not Fade Away, April 17, 2013
April 13, 2013 – Black Crowes – The Electric Factory
Date April 13 2013
Band Black Crowes
Tour Lay Down with Number 13
Venue The Electric Factory
City Philadelphia
Who saw this show with me? Dave Frankel, Ian Messinger
Notes Nov 29, 1994 was the last time I saw the Black Crowes. The band's surprise performance at The Trocadero under the name O.D. Jubilee Band gave my friend, Dave, and I a great night of music and a wonderful story to tell. 19 years later I finally get to see them again with, coincidentally enough, Dave. I walked out of that show thinking that Chris Robinson may be one of the best frontmen of rock. He's up there with Eddie Vedder, Roger Daltrey, Robert Plant, and Chris Cornel -- great rock singers with incredible stage presence. I couldn't take my eyes off him. Well, actually, I did, a few times to watch two young twentysomethings girls shaking their money makers with every song.
I look forward to seeing the Black Crowes again, with Dave, soon and not 19 years from now.
April 13, 2013 – Black Crowes – The Electric Factory
Setlist
- My Morning Song
- Stare It Cold (with Morning Song reprise)
- Movin' On Down the Line
- Medicated Goo (Traffic cover)
- Good Friday
- Wiser Time
- She Talks to Angels
- Whoa Mule
- Thorn in My Pride
- By Your Side
- Remedy
- Soul Singing
- Jealous Again
- Hard to Handle / Hush (Deep Purple cover)
- Descending
- Oh! Sweet Nuthin' (The Velvet Underground cover)
- Boomer's Story (Ry Cooder cover)
June 17, 1980 – Genesis - The Spectrum
Date June 17, 1980
Band Genesis
Tour Duke Tour
Venue The Spectrum
City Philadelphia
Who saw this show with me? Tom Hartman
Notes My first concert: Genesis.
At this time in my life -- days out of 8th grade -- I was not a Genesis fan. But Tom Hartman was and he asked me to go with him. "Don't worry," he said, "my Mom will drive."
I don't remember much of the show except that our seats were not very good (3rd level, stage left) and there was a guy smoking something illegal near where we were sitting. I remember Tom saying, "I think its opium."
Looking at the setlist from that night and knowing what I know now about Genesis -- we saw a good show. The band was still very young (Phil still had hair) and was just about to turn the corner into the main stream, radio friendly Genesis that (I'm embarrassed to say) I saw many times thereafter. The 1980 Genesis was still "Art Rock" and music and happily the length of the song still mattered.
I can't remember how many concerts I saw in my life. But I'll always remember my first. Thanks Tom.
And thank you Mrs Hartman for the ride.
June 17, 1980 – Genesis - The Spectrum
Setlist
- Deep In The Motherlode
- Dancing With The Moonlit Knight (Intro)
- Squonk
- One For The Vine
- Behind The Lines
- Duchess
- Turn It Again
- Duke’s Travels
- Duke's End
- The Lady Lies
- Ripples
- Misunderstanding
- In The Cage
- Slippermen
- Afterglow
- Follow You, Follow Me
- Dance On A Volcano / Drum Duet
- Los Endos
May 29, 1984 – David Gilmour - Tower Theatre
Date May 29, 1984
Band David Gilmour
Tour About Face
Venue Tower Threatre
City Upper Darby, PA
Who saw this show with me? Tim Weaver
Notes This show was memorable for the following reasons:
- This was my very first concert at "The Tower" -- my favorite concert venue of all time.
- In 1984 I never ever thought I'd see Pink Floyd live. What a thrill it was to hear "Money," "Run Like Hell," and "Comfortably Numb" live. The best part, the tickets were $10.50!
- Tim Weaver and I sat in the VERY last row - upper balcony.
- Gilmour's second guitar player was Mick Ralphs founding member of Mott the Hoople and Bad Company.
May 29, 1984 – David Gilmour - Tower Theatre
Setlist
- Until We Sleep
- All Lovers Are Deranged
- Love On The Air
- Mihalis
- Cruise
- Short And Sweet
- Money
- Out Of The Blue
- Let's Get Metaphysical
- You Know I'm Right
- Run Like Hell
- Blue Light
- Murder
- Comfortably Numb
- I Can't Breathe Anymore
May 21, 1983 – The Kinks – Spectrum
Date March 18, 1983
Band The Kinks
Tour State of Confusion
Venue Spectrum
City Philadelphia, PA
Who saw this show with me? Tom Hartman, Ilene Esbitt Litz
Notes - I don't remember this show at all and I had a hard time finding anything at all on the web so I contacted Dave Emlen who runs http://www.kindakinks.net. He wrote back: "They played at the Spectrum on May 21st, 1983. It was rescheduled from the March 18th date, but I don't see a reason given in Doug Hinman's book. It's possible they had to push the tour back so they could finish the State of Confusion album."
83-03-18-kinks-spectrum
Setlist
- Around The Dial
- Definite Maybe (intro only)
- State Of Confusion
- The Hard Way
- Destroyer
- Yo-Yo
- Come Dancing
- Don't Forget To Dance
- (Lola intro improvisation) / Lola
- Superman
- A Gallon Of Gas
- Art Lover
- Till The End Of The Day
- Bernadette
- All Day And All Of The Night
- Pressure
- Low Budget
- Celluloid Heroes
- You Really Got Me
May 21, 1983 – The Kinks – Spectrum
May 21, 1983 – The Kinks – Spectrum
May 21, 1983 – The Kinks – Spectrum
May 12, 1987 – U2 - Meadowlands Arena
Date May 12, 1987
Band U2
Tour The Joshua Tree
Venue Meadowlands Arena
City East Rutherford, NJ
Who saw this show with me? Ray Koob and about 50 WMMR listeners
Notes My first U2 was very spur of the moment and completely unexpected. I worked at WMMR in Philadelphia and the station was sending listeners to The Meadowlands to see U2. The promotions director, Ray Koob, had a few extra seats on the bus and asked me if I'd like to go. One minute I'm getting ready to go home and the next I'm on a bus heading to North Jersey to see one of the hottest bands in the world.
The show was, to put it simply, amazing. U2 was at their top of their game and loving every second of it. The band had transcended from a "new wave band" to rock superstars. They played eight songs for their new album The Joshua Tree including "With Or Without You." I recall Bono saying that Billboard had just announced that "With Or Without You" was the #1 song in the country. What a moment!
U2 closed the concert with "40." I remember as we walked out of the stadium everyone was still singing, "How long to sing this song?"
May 12, 1987 – U2 - Meadowlands Arena
Setlist
- Where The Streets Have No Name
- I Will Follow
- Trip Through Your Wires
- I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
- MLK
- The Unforgettable Fire
- Bullet The Blue Sky
- Running To Stand Still
- Exit
- In God's Country
- Sunday Bloody Sunday
- The Electric Co.
- People Get Ready
- Bad
- October
- Springhill Mining Disaster
- New Year's Day
- Pride (In The Name Of Love)
- With Or Without You
- "40"
April 24, 1987 – Deep Purple - Spectrum
Date April 24, 1987Band Deep Purple Tour The House of Blue Light World Tour Venue The Spectrum City Philadelphia, PA Who saw this show with me? Chris DeFranco
Notes As hard as I try I just can't remember this concert. It's probably because its almost identical to the Deep Purple show I saw in 1985. So, I'll write the same note: I don't remember much about this show other than the band broke into Jesus Christ Superstar during Strang Kind of Woman. I also remember the incredibly long Ian Paice drum and Jon Lord Hammond Organ solos.
Setlist 1. Highway Star 2. Strange Kind of Woman 3. The Unwritten Law 4. Drum Solo 5. Dead or Alive 6. Perfect Strangers 7. Hard Lovin' Woman 8. Child in Time 9. Difficult to Cure (Rainbow cover) 10. Keyboard Solo 11. Knocking at Your Back Door 12. Lazy 13. Black Night 14. Speed King - Encore - 15. Call of the Wild 16. Smoke on the Water
Deep Purple, San Diego 1987. Skip to 3:27 and you'll hear "Jesus Christ Superstar."
April 29, 1985 – Eric Clapton - Spectrum
Date April 29, 1985Band Eric Clapton Tour Behind the Sun Venue The Spectrum City Philadelphia, PA Who saw this show with me? Jay Friel
Notes This was a cool show because I gave out "Official WMMR Eric Clapton" guitar picks to thousands of fans who walked into the Spectrum. Sadly, whatever I kept for myself are long gone now.
Setlist 1. Tulsa Time 2. Motherless Children 3. I Shot the Sheriff 4. Same Old Blues 5. Blues Power 6. Tangled in Love 7. Behind the Sun 8. Wonderful Tonight 9. Steppin' Out 10. Never Make You Cry 11. She's Waiting 12. Something is Wrong with my Baby 13. Lay Down Sally 14. Badge 15. Let it Rain 16. Double Trouble 17. Cocaine 18. Layla 19. Forever Man 20. Further On Up the Road
Clapton, Hartford, May 1, 1985
Clapton, Hartford, May 1, 1985
Clapton, Hartford, May 1, 1985
April 19, 1991 – Yes - Patriot Center
April 17, 1988 – David Lee Roth - Spectrum
April 14, 1986 – Rush – Philadelphia Spectrum
I don't remember much of this other than earlier in the day I came home from a week-long European vacation. So, I was pretty wiped by show time. I remember the big Godzilla on the stage during Blue Oyster Cult's opening set. I remember the Three Stooges short before Rush took the stage. Lastly, I remember thinking Neil Pert is a drumming God.
April 4, 1988 – Styx – Philadelphia Spectrum
Between 1977 and 1981 I was a hardcore Styx fan. So, you can imagine how excited I was to see one of my favorite bands live at The Spectrum at the height of their popularity and creativity. Unfortunately, the show itself did not live up the hype I built up in my mind. To put it bluntly, the concert was boring.
April 2, 1988 – George Thorogood & The DE Destroyers – Spectrum
Date April 1, 1985Band George Thorogood and The Delaware Destroyers Venue Spectrum City Philadelphia, PA Who saw this show with me? Jeff Haessler
Setlist
1. Long Gone 2. Who Do You Love 3. Cocaine Blues 4. Born To Be Bad 5. No Particular Place To Go 6. Night Time 7. I Drink Alone 8. One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer 9. I Really Like Girls 10. The Sky Is Crying 11. Madison Blues 12. Bad To The Bone 13. Move It On Over 14. Boogie Chillun 15. Willie And The Hand Jive 16. You Talk Too Much 17. Reelin' And Rockin'
April 1, 1985 – George Thorogood & The DE Destroyers – Spectrum
Decent if unspectacular show from George Thorogood, who couldn't treat every arena they played as the local bar. But I remember this night for its end, when The Spectrum announced that the Villanova Wildcats beat the Georgetown Hoyas, 66-64, to win the NCAA Men’s Division I tournament. The victory was Villanova’s first-ever national championship.
March 25, 1986 – Grateful Dead – Spectrum
March 22, 1990 – Janet Jackson – Capital Centre
I was really excited about this concert. It was Janet's first ever concert tour and she was supporting her 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814, a fantastic album I might add. The show, however, was in a word - boring. Sure, there was dancing and video and costume changes and more dancing but her performance was lackluster and I felt like she never really connected with the audience.
March 20, 1991 – Grateful Dead – Capital Centre
Date March 20, 1991
Band Grateful Dead
Venue Capital Centre
City Landover, MD
Who saw this show with me? Linda Altobell
91-03-20-grateful-dead-capital-centre
Setlist
- Feel Like a Stranger
- Cold Rain and Snow
- Little Red Rooster
- Althea
- Black-Throated Wind
- Tennessee Jed
- Music Never Stopped
- Might as Well
- Eyes of the World
- Foolish Heart
- Estimated Prophet
- He's Gone
- drums / space
- The Other One
- Wharf Rat
- Sugar Magnolia
- The Weight
March 16, 1990 – Grateful Dead – Capital Centre
Date March 16, 1990
Band Grateful Dead
Venue Capital Centre
City Landover, MD
Who saw this show with me? Ivan Eimer
90-03-16-grateful-dead-capital-centre
Setlist
- Let the Good Times Roll
- Touch of Grey
- New Minglewood Blues
- Peggy-O
- Queen Jane Approximately
- Loser
- Black-Throated Wind
- Bird Song
- Blow Away
- Scarlet Begonias
- Estimated Prophet
- Ship of Fools
- Man Smart/Woman Smarter
- drums
- The Other One
- Stella Blue
- Sugar Magnolia
- This Could Be the Last Time