This weekend kicks off Memphis in May with the Beale St. Music Festival. This year’s line up includes Sheryl Crow, The Roots and The Black Crowes. Are you going? I’ve lived in Memphis since 1986 but I’ve never attended a Music Fest. Frankly, I’m not that fond of crowds. Or mud. Come to think of it, the closest I’ve ever come to an outdoors concert experience was when I saw Harry Connick Jr. at the Mud Island Amphitheater. Which, can I just say, the only thing that could’ve made that performance any better would’ve been if it had been at our wedding reception. Mine & Harry’s. Because I do love that man.
But in honor of Music Fest, this week’s Friday Five obviously must be a music edition.
- What was your first concert experience?
- What was the first album/tape/CD you bought for yourself?
- What live performance stands out in your mind most?
- What’s your most recent music discovery?
- Who would you stand in the rain and the mud to see live?
Leave your Friday 5 in the comments. My Friday 5 after the jump.
- I saw The Osmonds at the Capital Centre outside Washington, DC in 1976. I was 10 years old and I was a big Donnie & Marie fan. Huge. HUGE Donnie & Marie fan.
- It was definitely on vinyl, and it was either Styx Paradise Theater or REO Speedwagon Hi Infidelity. I had them both and I honestly can’t remember which one I bought first. I think I was a freshman in high school and they probably cost like eight bucks a piece.
- I consider myself pretty damn lucky to have seen Queen in concert. FREDDIE MERCURY WAS A MUSICAL GENIUS, YO. Billy Squier opened for them, and I had a big ole’ crush on him in high school so yeah, that concert was a slam dunk.
- I am really digging MGMT right now. Although I’m confused if I’m supposed to call them “em-gee-em-tee” or “management.”
- I would stand outside in a hurricane to see Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Not that they would ever agree to perform in a hurricane. (Although they are from Florida…but I think they actually prefer gators, if you know what I mean.) Tom is pure American music to me. I went to see that documentary about him and sat hypnotically entranced for FOUR SOLID HOURS so I’m pretty sure I could do rain and mud and hordes of drunk people.
Responses to “The Friday Five”
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Khyman- I Like this Friday 5 game!!
1. my first concert experience was Amy Grant when i was probably nine. parents took the family to a “wholesome” concert. we had fourth row seats (kinda a waste of money if you ask me). tom prest. was the MC that night. can’t believe that was 17 yrs ago!!
2. first album i bought for myself was Green Day’s Dookie. needless to say, dad was less than pleased with that purchase (completely opposite from amy grant-hehe).
3. there have been many live performances that i have absolutely loved but i think one of my all time favs was watching Billy Idle at last years music fest. that was classic.
4. my most recent music discovery is a tie. 1) colbie caillat. she has so much to her besides that annoying “bubbly” song. 2)sara bareilles
5. i can’t give a single answer to that because i have stood in the rain and mud to see many artists over the years. but, if you were to ask who would i dream of seeing, even if i had to stand in the mud/rain, it would probably be Tina Turner (though i HIGHLY DOUBT she would even consider an outdoor concert).
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Oh, geez. I can’t believe I am going to say this…
1. First concert experience was Bryan Adams. The Hooters opened up for him. Little Rock, AR Barton Colosseum. ugh
2. First album/tape I bought for myself was Motley Crue, Theater Of Pain. I have since bought it AT LEAST five more times!
3. I really think the best live performance I have been to was Sammy Hagar a couple of years ago at Musicfest downtown. Others that rank up there, Allison Kraus and anytime I have seen Henry Rollins.
4. Most recent music discovery is maybe Saul Williams, thanks to Nike.
5. I would stand pretty much anywhere to hear John Coltrane play, one more time…
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:32 pm
1. A triple header show! Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, and Iron Maiden.
2. I bought the 45 (yes I said 45) of Rock ‘n Roll All Night by Kiss.
3. Garth Brooks knows how it’s done!
4. Bettye Lavette
5. AC/DC
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:23 pm
1. The first concert I went to was Chicago at the Mid South Coliseum in 1976. They played here the week they had the number one song in the country, If You Leave Me Now. I’d never heard such a loud reaction from a crowd of people as when they began playing that song. Something clicked inside me that night and I’ve attended over 250 concerts since.
2. The Stranger by Billy Joel was the first album I ever bought on my own. Peaches, a national record store chain opened a store at Park and Getwell in about 1977. During opening weekend they sold new releases for $3.99 each. I started out buying the debut album from Player with the song Baby, Come Back on it. But it skipped. I went back five times to exchange the album, but they all skipped. Bad batch. So finally they let me exchange it for another artist, I chose Billy Joel’s new album. That began my lifelong fanhood with Billy’s music.
3. The first time I saw Eric Clapton close to 25 years ago, I remember thinking I was seeing the best rock guitarist in the world.
4. I am a recent subscriber to XM Satillite radio. I am becoming addicted to my constant walk down memory lane as I’m tuned to the ’60’s on 6 and the ’70’s on 7. Over the past month I’ve heard over a hundred songs that take me back to the age of 12-17 when I was in my wonder years.
5. As I did last Friday night when I drove to Atlanta, I would go anywhere anytime and if I had to stand in mud up to my knees to be entertained by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, the best live act these eyes have seen dating back nearly 35 years. Last weekend was my tenth show covering every tour since 1981, including concert stops in several different cities.
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Gosh, we all must be about the same age. I grew up in a house where only classical music was welcome. When I was… 13? or so, I turned on my radio to Rock 103 when my mom was out of the house. And “Rocking the Paradise” by Styx came on.
1) First concert: Stevie Nicks. For some reason I can’t remember, I got to go backstage, and her drummer gave me a busted drum head, which I sold decades later for a bunch of money on ebay.
2) First album: Paradise Theater. I don’t know if anyone remembers the tour for this album, but after the show was over and the lights came up, Dennis DeYoung came out and sat on the edge of the stage and talked to a handful of people who had stuck around. So I got to talk to him.
3) Oh, I’ve seen so many good shows. You know Springsteen does a really good live show. Probably the top of my list. Some others that stand out are seeing Aerosmith at the Mid-South fair, getting backstage to see Ozzie following a concert in 1980-something, a really crazy Iron Maiden show where fights kept breaking out in the audience (at the auditorium North Hall, everyone remember that place?).
4) Heather Dale. She’s an independent Celtic-type performer with a lovely voice. And I’ve been into silly old British mod bands recently. I’ll listen to anything.
5) Standing in the mud and rain is for people younger than I am. I did a lot of it, I enjoyed it at the time, now I want a nice comfortable seat.
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:36 pm
1. Pink Floyd on the Division Bell tour. We were kinda in the nose bleed section of the Superdome, but it was still one heck of a show.
2. Tape? no clue… probably Van Halen’s 1984. You’ll never get me to admit the first CD I bought (I went through a horrible “pop” phase about the time CD’s came out).
3. Cyrus Chestnut at the New Daisy. It was the first show that Amber and I went to when we moved to Memphis… forget his studio stuff, the man is an incredible player.
4. Black Moth Super Rainbow.
5. I’m with you on this one: Tom Petty. I saw him in the Jackson Colosseum about ten years ago and would endure Hurricane Elvis Part II to see him again.
May 3rd, 2008 at 10:29 am
1. I suppose it was Donnie and Marie in July, 1976. The first concert I went to without my parents was the Eagles “Long Run” tour in 1980.
2. It was “The Alvin Show,” a Chipmunk album. I bought it with my birthday money in 1970.
3. Jimmy Buffet. It was so interactive …
4. “The Book of Life” by Caldwell Mountain Grass, a Shenandoah bluegrass group featuring vocals by an old Virginia neighbor.
5. I would stand in the mud for days — even travel through time — if I could see Glenn Miller live.
May 5th, 2008 at 10:28 am
1. Shawn Cassidy…yep really.
2. Prince, Purple Rain.. I think.
3. PRINCE, 1995.. I cried when he sang What if God was one of us.
4. She’s messed up, but Amy Winehouse is amazing…when clean.
5. DEAD = Elvis ALIVE = George Strait.
May 5th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Since I can’t remember the answers to the first four questions (no it’s not because it was so long ago, I just don’t want to commit the time to think of the answers!) I will answer #5. It would be Prince! I would stand in the rain and the mud to see him live! This is coming from an african american woman and everyone knows that we will run like an Olympic sprinter to get out of the rain before we let our hair get wet. I’m not going to even mention constantly standing in it and the mud!!!
Oh…my recent music discovery would be my Zune where I can listen to satellite radio station all over the country. Its great when you can listen to shows/music in other cities.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:47 am
From your answers, I can tell we are about the same age. Donny Osmond was my first crush, and he still looks pretty darn good for a grandfather! “The Best of Times” from the Styx Paradise Theater album was our prom theme. I also loved REO Speedwagon and Tom Petty. In fact, my first boyfriend borrowed my “Damn the Torpedoes” album, scratched it, and had to get me a new one! I’ve never been much of a concert-goer, so my list isn’t going to be as extensive as yours. Here it is:
1. My first concert was The Four Tops and The Temptations at Mud Island.
2. I’m pretty sure the first album I bought was by the Osmonds.
3. The most memorable live performance was Paul McCartney at the Liberty Bowl. Our seats were terrible, but he was fantastic.
4. I have XM in the car, so I listen to a lot of different stuff. Right now, I like Lady Antebellum (a country group), Leona Lewis (a winner of the British version of American Idol), and our own Memphian, Justin Timberlake.
5. If only Elvis were still alive. I didn’t appreciate him when I was younger, but I would stand in the rain and mud to see him now. I’m not sure there is a living singer around that I would be that dedicated to.