1990-02-17 David Bromberg

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The Bottom Line

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Waiting outside to get in was kind of a unique part of the experience at the Bottom Line in Greenwich Village, NYC. I heard a familiar sounding voice, it was Penn Jillette on the line with us, fooling around as usual.

In a previous post I mentioned the popularity of the tapes that circulated of Bromberg’s Bottom Line shows. This was one of the anniversary shows there, and always something to enjoy thoroughly.

1991-08-05 Marty Balin

in ,

Stephen Talkhouse

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On a Monday night in August in 1991, Amagansett was pretty quiet, and much less busy than it has been in more recent years.

The Stephen Talkhouse was a very small, intimate scene. If you got a table, you felt like you were right on top of the performers. (Even after it was later expanded, the Talkhouse was still a very small and intimate club; in 1991 the Talkhouse was still in its original form.)

A local restaurant there featured a "4 hour salad" - made from ingredients picked out of the ground within 4 hours previous to being served. But that night we went to Mt Fuji - the sushi restaurant in Amagansett - for dinner before the show, and we immediately saw Marty and band members eating there. So we said hello to them and wished them well. They did not disappoint - an intimate musical experience with one of the true leaders of the 1960s San Francisco music scene.

I was really sad to hear of his passing and will always remember seeing him at this show, at which he played a beautiful version of “Summer of Love,” and other great songs…

1991-09-08 The Grateful Dead

in ,

Madison Square Garden

My US Open mens final ticket stub from that day.

During the afternoon of this day I went to the US Open Tennis Mens Finals and watched Stephan Edberg systematically destroy Jim Courier with his lightning-fast serve and volley game. The official start time of the mens finals was listed as 1pm, but I don’t think it started on time. During the match my companion and I had moved into court-side seats because someone nice had arranged for us to sit there, just a few rows up off the court.

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So it was a little difficult trying to explain how much I appreciated that when I also knew we had to leave early in order to make it to MSG for this Dead show on that evening. We arrived a little late but were settled in our seats by the time they played a smoking version of Big River, a few songs into the first set.

1994-07-31 Traffic

in ,

Saratoga Performing Arts Center

 
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One of my favorite classic rock bands, Traffic reunited and opened for the Dead during 1994, and then played a number of US shows at excellent venues on their own as part of their reunion tour supporting their outstanding album "Far From Home." Two week later they would play a smoking hot set at the Woodstock ‘94 show, and a great video of that is available.

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I had good orchestra seats at SPAC for this.

In later years the image of Capaldi singing "Light Up or Leave Me Alone" would pop into my head when I heard the original, or the Phish rendition. I remember thinking that Winwood still looked so young in 1994 when I saw him at this performance, which was only the first time I saw him perform after waiting a long while.

1994/12/02 John Wesley Harding and Rob Wasserman (w/ Lou Reed)

in ,

The Bottom Line

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I was very interested to learn that JWH would be playing with Rob Wasserman at The Bottom Line. In a later year, JWH would join Hot Tuna and other bands to form one summer's traveling Further Festival lineup. The great drummer Pete Thomas of Elvis Costello and the Attractions had played on some of JWH's early albums, and his musical style through that period of time evoked comparisons to Elvis Costello's.

I really didn't think of Wasserman in that musical vein, although his "trios" album showed the great range of his musical interests and talents.

At the beginning of the show, JWH announced that a special guest would be joining them later in the show. We wondered who it might be. We were simply amazed to see Lou Reed walk out and play several songs with them, including "Busload of Faith." I later met Lou Reed one night at the Film Forum I mentioned my concert experiences to him.

The show is listed on Setlists.FM but without any details.