Concerts

Opened 2026-05-01.

A reader asked "what are some of your favorite concerts you've been to?" Nothing jumps out in my memory, but it occurrs to me that I could start with a list here. Compared to the many music writers and fans I'm acquainted with, my list is likely to seem very paltry. I doubt if I even qualify above the median adult of my age. But let's see what memory dredges up (don't expect dates or venues):

Pre-New York

First band I ever saw live was probably Ronny & the Daytonas, who appeared at a car show in Wichita. My bother and I attended, after we accidentally walked up to a Grand Ole Opry show, but were deemed too young for country music. Their hit ("GTO") was 1964, so probably 1964-65. Didn't qualify as a concert. They were just an exhibit, like the cars, or Big Daddy Roth (not sure if he was there, or some immitator).

I don't recall seeing any more music in Wichita, up to when I went to St. Louis. At Washington University, I saw Sly & the Family Stone. The concert was sponsored by Student Life, which was edited by a friend (Dave Saltz), so I recall some controversy about the choice. Mid-afternoon, on the campus green.

I saw one more concert as a student there. We got some money for Notes on Everyday Life, and as a campus organization we could promote events. Carl Boggs wanted to bring Bonnie Raitt in, hoping to raise some money for legal expenses going back to the ROTC fire (before my time, but I knew at least one person involved, and knew of more). I had very little to do with it, but got in free, and got to the after-party at Boggs' house. I don't recall much of the music (I hadn't heard anything by her before then), but it happened on a landmark day for me (first sex), and we stayed all night and wound up going out for breakfast with a crowd.

Only other concert I recall from St. Louis days was when Elias & I drove to Chicago with a friend who wanted to see Roxy Music. We did, headlining a small auditorium, and they were terrific. After we went out to a folkie bar and heard Steve Goodman. When leaving, I opened the car door to get in and someone hit the door, snapping it forward. They stopped a bit down the road, then drove off. We found a body shop the next day, that was able to bend the door back to where it would close, and drove back to St. Louis in the snow.

After I moved back to Wichita, I went to see Roxy Music again, at WSU, in the Field House (since renamed Koch). They were opening for Journey, and weren't into it at all, nor was the crowd. I left during Journey's first song.

New York

I moved to New York in summer 1977, and stayed into 1980. I had been writing for Robert Christgau at the Village Voice. I came out in January for a visit, stayed a week with Bob & Carola (I got there just before they came back from the Carter inaugural), and decided to move out. I figured I could support myself typesetting, write some, and possibly publish Terminal Zone. (A big part of the delay was producing the inaugural issue.) My connections to Christgau and the Voice got me into a fair number of concerts. Not sure how much I actually paid for, but not much. Some groups I saw during that stretch: