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 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. April 24, 1987 – Deep Purple - Spectrum

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.

April 29, 1985 – Eric Clapton - Spectrum

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 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

April 2, 1988 – George Thorogood & The DE Destroyers – Spectrum

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 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
91-03-20-grateful-dead-capital-centre

Setlist

  1. Feel Like a Stranger
  2. Cold Rain and Snow
  3. Little Red Rooster
  4. Althea
  5. Black-Throated Wind
  6. Tennessee Jed
  7. Music Never Stopped
  8. Might as Well
  9. Eyes of the World
  10. Foolish Heart
  11. Estimated Prophet
  12. He's Gone
  13. drums / space
  14. The Other One
  15. Wharf Rat
  16. Sugar Magnolia
  17. 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
90-03-16-grateful-dead-capital-centre

Setlist

  1. Let the Good Times Roll
  2. Touch of Grey
  3. New Minglewood Blues
  4. Peggy-O
  5. Queen Jane Approximately
  6. Loser
  7. Black-Throated Wind
  8. Bird Song
  9. Blow Away
  10. Scarlet Begonias
  11. Estimated Prophet
  12. Ship of Fools
  13. Man Smart/Woman Smarter
  14. drums
  15. The Other One
  16. Stella Blue
  17. Sugar Magnolia
  18. This Could Be the Last Time

March 15, 1999 – Rolling Stones – First Union Center

This Rolling Stones show marked two firsts for me: First time seeing them indoors. Prior to this show I had only seen them in football and baseball stadiums. First time I saw them with long-time hard-core Stones fan, Marty Walat. Marty is the only person I know who loves the Rolling Stones more than I do.

March 08, 1986 – Aerosmith / Ted Nugent – The Spectrum

My second time seeing Aerosmith was much better than the first. This time around I got to see the classic Aerosmith lineup and a band that seemed to really want to play together and have fun. I have this great memory of Steven Tyler shaking his ass during "Sweet Emotion."

March 09, 1988 – Bruce Springsteen – The Spectrum

Honestly, this Springsteen concert was somewhat of a disappointment for me. This show just didn't have the same energy or spark like my three other Springsteen shows I've seen in the past. This show was more focused and choreographed than than what I had seen before.

Feb 28, 1983 – Aerosmith / Anvil – The Spectrum

Twenty-eight years ago @Steve Oakley and I should have stayed home to watch M*A*S*H. Not only was this one of the worst shows I ever saw it may have been one of the quickest too lasting no more than an hour and a half. The bad show was only one part of this memory. Learn about what happened after the concert...

Feb 27, 1987 – The Kinks – Tower Theatre

I don't remember  this concert very well other than their performance of the song "It." I recall there was a lot of dance and theatrics. It was cool. Prior to seeing this show I had seen The Kinks at the Spectrum and JFK Stadium so this was my first time seeing them in a small venue. God save The Kinks.

Feb 17, 1985 – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts – Tower Theatre

My girlfriend and I were supposed to go out for a Valentine diner, but while at work, my boss gave me free tickets to see Joan Jett and the Blackhearts with special guests The Ramones at the Tower Theatre. I thought, this is better than going out to dinner but my girlfriend thought otherwise . We got into a big fight. I remember saying, "It's Joan Jett. It's the Ramones. It's rock and roll!" She told me, "It's Valentine's Day!" and told me to spend it with Joan Jett and my hand. So, me and my hand and my friend Tim Weaver saw one of the loudest shows of my life.

Feb 16, 1993 – Keith Richards / Soul Asylum – Tower Theatre

Keith Richards is my rock hero. Why? It's probably a combination of Richards' swagger, endurance, style, and guitar playing that rolls into what I believe defines the essence of rock and roll. As a teenager, when I discovered that The Rolling Stones were 'The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World,'