Welcome to another Saturday night of music, memories, and conversations. Last week we celebrated the breakup song - This week we're DOING IT LIVE!
One of the first things to go during the worst of the pandemic in 2020 were public gatherings, including live music performances.
From a guitarist performing in a coffeehouse, to a band performing in a club, to a concert in a concert hall, arena, or stadium — all ground to a halt in the spring of 2020. Musicians, promoters, and venue employees were out of work, and unemployment and PPP loans only go so far.
But live music is back, from open mic nights to Taylor Swift selling out stadiums and giving tweens and teens their first exposure to the power and spectacle it brings….as well as the t-shirts to wear to school the next day back, or the first day of school in the fall.
In 1983, I was caught up in America’s obsession with Australia, and saw Men At Work at the old Stanley Theatre in Pittsburgh (now the Benedum Center) — Men at Work, “Down Under”.
Traveling to another country in Oceania, New Zealand was one of the few places where the government clamped down the pandemic in early-to-mid 2020, at the expense of FREEDUMB! This enabled the rarest of events — a concert on 7 November 2020 at Auckland’s Town Hall by The Beths — probably the only official live music in the world that day. The Beths — “Dying to Believe”
The Beths show I saw on February 15, 2023 was my first show since before the pandemic. No surprise who I saw next — I finally saw Skating Polly on May 6, 2023. Skating Polly — “Camelot” (live on July 11, 2023, Peyton Bighorse’s birthday!)
Who did you see live, or wanted to see live? Did any of you see Tony Bennett in concert?
Gentle reminder: Please continue to put the name of your selection in your comment along with your song. Those of us on our phones? We really appreciate it.
You know how this works — Put your quarter in the slot and your song in the comments. This is your Saturday night jukebox and the party starts NOW.