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Phish | Hampton Roads, VA | 20-Oct-18

27-Nov-18 Brian McDonald Leave a comment

I’m working late on a Friday. My friend, Mike texts me that he’s going up to Hampton Roads, Virginia to see Phish during their three night run. He grabbed a ticket online and was going to meet some friends and go to the show.

Now it does not take long for me to figure out the scenario. I called my wife and asked if she was cool with me heading up for the show and she was. I found a ticket and hotel room and we we’re on our way.

I had wanted to see a show at Hampton for years. The first time was back in 86 when a friend was driving up to see Metallica and Ozzy, he even had an extra ticket. It was a Sunday show and I had classes the next day and I said no. He was not staying the night and it’s about a 6 hour drive round trip.

Well a few months later Cliff Burton, the bass player for Metallica died during their European tour and I was bummed I missed going to that show.

Now a chance to see Phish at Hampton, The Mothership. I have listened to Hampton Comes Alive many times and expected to see a good show.

Mike picked me up and we headed up to Hampton. Listening to Friday nights show on the way we were picking out songs we wanted to hear. We had just seen them a few months before in Raleigh and it was a good show.

We got to Hampton, checked in to the hotel and went to meet his friends. The hotel had a shuttle but after waiting about 20 minutes we ended up walking over to the venue. It was only about a mile and the sun was starting to go down.

Upon seeing the Coliseum it’s impressive. I immediately snapped some pictures and we headed to Shakedown Street. After a quick tour of shirts, stickers and about everything else for sale we found his friends, Colleen and Andrew.

They went the night before and gave us the details of the venue and the show. I mentioned that I wanted to see if I could get a poster as I saw it on Twitter on the way up. They mentioned that they sold out of posters early the night before, however the guy in the car next to us had purchased one and showed it to me. It was awesome and part of me knew that I would not get in early enough to buy one.

We left our stuff in their car and headed in. Once we got inside I went to merch stand and sure enough they were sold out of posters. We grabbed a beer and picked out a nice spot on the floor on Trey’s side. I looked around the coliseum and was amazed at the size. It reminded me of Dorton Arena in Raleigh in terms of size and capacity. For a show like this the bleachers were tucked away and lots of room to dance on the floor.

We got some beers. Met some other Phans, Larry from LA was awesome and he bought me a beer too. Then the lights went down and Phish came onstage. They opened with Llama but a funky version that they had only played a few times before. I knew the evening was off to a good start.

The first set had some great songs including Runaway Jim, a blistering 46 Days and closed out with a 17+ minute version of Fluffhead.

Set one was over and time for intermission. Hampton Roads has a nice patio section on the second level that we grabbed some fresh and cooler air. It was hot down on the floor.

Andrew, Colleen, Mike and I on the floor

We found our spot again down in front of Trey and got ready for Set 2. The opened with First Turbe before tearing into a strong Tweezer. Almost 19 minutes long and it was amazing. Phish took the song to several places, some spacey, some rocking and all very seamlessly.

Dirt was next before going into Backwards Down the Number Line and No Man in No Man’s Land. Both of these songs were a nice upbeat change to Dirt and got everyone dancing.

Cavern was next and this was one of the songs I mentioned during our ride up that I would like to hear. And it was great.

The set closed out with Suzy Greenberg after Gotta Jibboo that had a nice jam.

Now time for the encore. What would they come out with. In Raleigh they had played The Beatles, A Day in the Life. Since they had not played any covers I thought we may see a cover or maybe two?

They came out and did Shine a Light. It’ a beautiful song and had everyone in a very loving mood at the end of the show. I was surprised to discover it’s a Rolling Stones song from Exile on Main Street.

We headed out of the venue and made our way to the car. Since Mike and I had not eaten we hunted out a Waffle House that wasn’t too near the venue for fear of it being packed. We found one and grubbed out, discussing the songs and the different parts of the show.

What was a great experience was being able to be on the floor and see the band a little closer. Nowadays if you want to sit up front it costs a lot. Also it was interesting to see their light show from the floor versus a hill or the upper decks. I was reading some reviews later and realized that I should have gone and sat behind the band for a few songs to see the lights from their perspective.

We drove back the next day listening to the show again. Mike and I both agreed that it was a good show but not a really great show. Especially compared to the night before. Mike stated the saying “Never miss a Sunday show” as we drove south to Carolina. Of course neither of us could swing it so we ended up listening to the show afterwards. All in all Friday was probably the best show, but Saturday and Sunday weren’t bad. Saturday’s show felt a bit experimental.

But that’s why you go to see live bands, especially those that change the setlist everynight like Phish. You never know what you’re going to get and the anticipation, excitement, and all the emotions create a unique and exciting experience.

One note, the ticket stub I had for this show was a digital one from TicketMaster that I bought on the secondary market. It had nothing but a QR code and their logo with show info. The ticket stub I posted here I found on Reddit as the artwork is so cool that I wanted to share it. And that’s the problem with digital tickets, they are souless!

Phish.net reviews

80s, Live Music, Review

Rolling Stones | Raleigh NC | 16-Sept-89

01-Jul-15 Brian McDonald Leave a comment

The Rolling Stones. A band that I was not heavily into at the time I went to this concert. I was a Beatles fan and The Stones were cool and all that but they weren’t the greatest rock-n-roll band as their fans claimed them to be in my eyes. That was all about to change.

Nontheless I was a fan of their music. I bought Tatoo You as a freshman in high school and really liked the entire album. Their previous album as a favorite of mine as well, Emotional Rescue. So I was stoked to finally see them.

I remember my older sister had seen them back on the 81 Still Life tour and told me what a fantastic show it was. She was probably the biggest Stones fan in our family. My brother had a copy of Hot Rocks and we used to listen to it often. Also they were a constant on the classic rock stations of the time.

The Stones had not toured in several years due to Mick and Keith fueding in the 80s. I actually never thought they would tour again due to all the press and hype.

This was a good time for concerts in Raleigh. The Who, Pink Floyd and The Grateful Deal would all play Carter-Finely during the time I was attending NC State. Most of the big tours typically skipped Raleigh as it had no large concert venue other than Carter-Finely Stadium. You had to drive to Charlotte, Greensboro or Chapel Hill for most of the indoor arena tours.

The opening act was Living Colour who had just had major breakthrough hit with Cult of Personality. The one cool thing a bout The Stones is they always put up and coming acts on their opening bill. I was big fan of Living Colour, as their guitarist Vernon Reid just ripped it.

Living Colour did a respectable job despite being the opening band. As usual their sound was awful as the crew did not fully push their sound through the full PA system. The stage was huge to say the least. It spanned the entire width of Carter-Finely reaching the upper deck on both sides. Living Colour occupied the center of the stage, the rough equivalent of a small music hall stage. They gave it a great effort the setlist is below.

Living Colour Setlist Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, NC, USA 1989, Vivid

After Living Colour finished their set it was time for The Stones. First I have to mention the stage. It was huge! I had never seen such a large stage before in my life with large video monitors on each side. In addition to it spanning the width of the field and lower deck, it rose at least 50-60 feet up!

They kicked things off with Start Me Up! Full explosions, fire and all stage effects to coincide with the opening guitar lick. Mick Jagger took the stage like no one else wearing a big green jacket with tails, prancing around like only he can. From there they went into Bitch and the full sound of the band and horns section sounded fantastic.

Minus a few tracks from Steel Wheels, the setlist covered their catalog with songs like Tubmlin Dice, Miss, You, Midnight Rambler, Gimme Shelter and Brown Sugar. Some great surprises were the Keith songs Before They Make Me Run and Happy. Two great tunes that Keith shows his singing skills. If he was not the guitarist for The Stones I always wondered what he would have been as the lead singer in a band.

There were two points in the show that I really remember. The first one was during Honky Tonk Woman. During the song giant inflatable women sprung up on both sides of the stage.

The second moment was late in the show during Gimme Shelter. The song had the great backing vocals that Mary Clayton had made famous on the original recording. There was a big staircase on the stage that appeared during the song with the backup singer descending as she belted out the classic line “Rape, Murder, it’s just a shot away!”

The Stones ended the set with Satisfaction and I think everyone attending was well satisfied with the performance. They came back out for one encore of Jumpin’ Jack Flash. Mick thanked the crowd, introduced the band and that was it.

This would be the last tour that original bassist Bill Wyman would play with The Stones and it was amazing. Although he and drummer Charlie Watt appear extremely subdued during the performance, their playing was excellent. Also Chuck Leavell, former member of The Allman Brothers Band was on piano and is still playing with The Stones!

After this show I have to say I became a much bigger Stones fan. Mick Jagger has more stage presence than anyone I had seen at that time. I remember saying how impressed I was with him after the show. Constantly moving, dancing, pointing at the crowd and engaged with all 50,000 fans without missing a beat. The Stones are one of those band you have to see live to really appreciate what they bring to the stage.

The Rolling Stones Setlist Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, NC, USA 1989, Steel Wheels

Quick author’s note, this post is dedicated to the biggest Rolling Stones fan I’ve ever known, Cary Rowells!

80s, Live Music, Review

Pink Floyd | Chapel Hill, NC | 25-Oct-87

09-Apr-14 Brian McDonald Leave a comment

Reviewing this concert reminding me just how much I love Pink Floyd. I have not listened to them much the past few years but upon reviewing their 1987 World Tour I found myself rediscovering music that’s been a part of my fabric for a long time.

I think the first time I heard Pink Floyd was riding in the back of my brother’s car as he dropped me off at Pizitz Middle School in Birmingham, Alabama around 1978. Listening to Dark Side of the Moon (DSOTM) on 8-track I remember thinking how grown up I felt listening to it. Especially the song, Money. The sounds of the cash registers along with the music was different than anything I had heard before. I think it was also the second song I had heard profanity, the first being The Beatles saying “shit” on The White Album.

A few years later, The Wall came out and I listened to it often during high school. Many days I would listen to the album on headphones and enjoy hearing all the different sounds Pink Floyd brought into the recording. For my generation they were the one band that just about everyone knew and appreciated. Before I finished high school they had broken up and I never thought I would see them live.

A Momentary Lapse of Reason

Well thank goodness David Gilmour did not feel that way. A few years later he decided that Pink Floyd was not dead even though Roger Waters had left the band and was not happy about the reunion that did not include him. So much so that Waters sued the other members of Pink Floyd to prevent the use of the name for the album and tour. Waters lost and the new album, [A Momentary Lapse of Reason was released along with the supporting tour, the first in 6 years.

For me in 1987 as a junior at college, this was an epic show that I was not going to miss. This was the first psychedelic rock concert I had ever attended by one of the creators of the genre. I almost could not believe it was true when they first announced it, but before you knew it the new album was out and they were all over MTV! I can’t remember who I went to the show with but I do remember that I had just turned 20 and bought the ticket as my birthday present

This was also the first concert I saw in the Dean E. Smith Memorial Center, better known as the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill. The venue was only a few years old at that time and was the site for most of the major tours as it had larger seating capacity. But the Dean Dome is built for basketball first so the acoustics are OK for a domed basketball stadium. The advantage of seeing a band like Pink Floyd is that they care about the sound and the fan experience. Of all the shows I have seen at the Dean Dome, Pink Floyd sounded the best.

I drove up with 2 friends that were huge Pink Floyd fans, Greg and Tim. We had been talking about this show since it was first announced several months earlier and we could not get to Chapel Hill fast enough.

Shine on You Crazy Diamond

The show started off with Shine on You Crazy Diamond, the tribute to former lead singer Syd Barrett. The slow intro of horn sounds coupled with the echoing guitar picks eased the crowd into the evening ahead.

From the very beginning you also realized that this was probably the best light show you were going to see for some time. There was a large round screen behind the drummer as well as multiple moving lights and lasers. Forget the Pink Floyd light show at the Morehead Planetarium, this was the real deal!

The rest of the first set was devoted to the new album. I had bought the new CD and liked about half of the material. It’s more the David Gilmour side of the band which you would expect. The songwriting was decent and it had that Pink Floyd trippy sound. Learning to Fly was getting a lot of airplay as the first single.

Setlist

Pink Floyd closed out the first set with what I thought were the best tracks from Momentary Lapse of Reason. Dogs of War was the closet they sounded to the Roger Waters years. The sent ended withOn the Turning Away, a mellow acoustic song that reminded me of Wish You Were Here (WYWH).

This was also the first concert I attended where there was an intermission. I remember running into a few friends from high school during the break and we were wondering what songs they would play during the second set. I soon found out as the band came out for the second set, which opened with One of These Days.

One of These Days

One of These Days is a classic Pink Floyd song and this was a really great performance since it’s an instrumental and a song where David Gilmour plays slide guitar. A great example of their experimental aspect of their music, the song builds on a repeating bass line that drives the whole song. Drums, guitar and everything else as the song builds to a giant crescendo and the striking piano keys. A longtime favorite song, I was enjoying hearing it live. The lasers were great during this song and at the end a giant inflatable pig from the Animals album appeared at the other end of the stadium.

Then came the familiar ticking and ringing of many clocks letting you know the next song was Time from DSOTM. The rotodrum intro was perfect and the video screen was showing various clocks and lasers matched the beat. When the song finally kicks in and you hear the familiar lyrics, “Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day.” It’s hard to express how awesome that sounded then and it still gives me chills when I hear it today.

Time segued into On the Run like it does on DSOTM. The large video screen had images from the DSOTM tour of various characters. This is a cool instrumental as it is very experimental with various random voices, sounds, and other elements. It ends with a harsh crashing sound from a guitar that sounds like an airplane diving and crashing.

Wish You Were Here

After the crowd applause, the familiar acoustic beginning to Wish You Were Here began. This is one of my favorite songs and I’ve always loved the simple acoustic guitar sound that runs through the song. The lyrics are some of the most true to life words I’ve ever heard in a song. Even though the song is a homage to Syd Barrett, I find it speaks to me and anyone going through life. There’s always someone we miss from time to time and this song captures both the sadness and joy in that feeling.

Next was Welcome to the Machine that opened with the animation from the 70s tour of the giant metal ball that turns into the some metalic animal. A great edgy song with some amazing synthesizer effects it sounded great. Some more from DSOTM was next with Us and Them. The saxophone sounded just like the album it was incredible. After the song ended you heard the sound of cash registers and knew that Money was coming. The crowd exploded and I was pumped. I had listened to this song as long as I could remember.

The bass plucking away with the cash registers followed by the trippy guitar has to be one of the most famous rock songs. Money is another song that has some of the best lyrics including, “Money get back
I’m all right Jack keep your hands off my stack.” As the song hits the saxophone solo you can really appreciate how big of a sound Pink Floyd creates. Granted there are 8 musicians and 4 backup singers on stage but you have to make it all work together and they did. The song closes out with a fantastic guitar solo that gets slow and bluesy for a bit before building back up.

Comfortably Numb

Wow, how can you top that? Well you go back to The Wall and pull out Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2. I remember this song being my anthem in junior high soley because of the lines, “We don’t need no education’ and “Hey teacher, leave those kids alone!” The set ended with Comfortably Numb which was the biggest hit from The Wall and one of Gilmour’s best performance of the evening.

Run Like Hell

After the set break the band came out with 2 more songs. The first one being a new song, One Slip. Then the band broke out Run Like Hell. One of my favorite songs from The Wall. From the beginning bass to the screaming voice it captures the fear of the song so well. The band finished and the crowd was on their feet showing their appreciation for a show that was totally worth the wait.

I got back to Raleigh and called my buddy Jimmy. He asked me how the show was and I told him it was incredible. In fact I said we need to go to the show the next night, which we did. That was also the first time I went to see a concert 2 nights because it was such a great show.

I still would love to see Roger Waters perform with Pink Floyd and can say that was the only negative part of my review. Without Waters you miss his incredible bass and guitar playing but he also adds that crazy element to their sound and vocals.

00s, Featured, Live Music, Review

Lollapalooza | Reston, Va | 14-Aug-92

23-Mar-14 Brian McDonald 2 Comments

This was my first Lollapalooza Festival since I missed the first year and was a bit bummed. For the second year Lollapalooza made up for it with a stellar lineup featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers as the headlining act and Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Ministry, Ice Cube, The Jesus and Mary Chain and Lush performing on the main stage.

The side stage was incredible as well with Cypress Hill, House of Pain, Ice-T, Porno for Pyros, Luscious Jackson and Stone Temple Pilots. Some of the bands setlists are recorded and I did not get to see all the bands, which happens at large festivals.

Regardless it was an amazing day with beautiful weather. The one odd aspect was that it was held out on Lake Fairfax in the Virginia countryside. The roads leading in were jammed and we only missed the opening band Lush, which I don’t regret.

Also there was no alcohol being sold since the lake was private property. Basically the stage was built in a big field somewhere near the lake. I don’t remember seeing any water that day. Luckily my friend Jimmy was touring with Pearl Jam so he hooked me up with a free ticket and pass as well as a few beers backstage.

Lallapalooza 92 Guest Pass — Lollapalooza Pass Courtesy Jim Shoaf

I had hung out with Jimmy and Pearl Jam’s drummer Dave the night before at my house in Falls Church. Dave brought over his laundry and we hung out for the evening. For them I knew it was a break from hotels and venues and we had a good time.

The next day I headed to the show with several friends and we sat in the congested traffic for about an hour. Once we parked and made our way in Pearl Jam took the stage. Chris Cornell had come out to fill in for Eddie as he was en route and most likely did not have a cell phone! Cornell was just about to fill in when Eddie was spotted making his way towards the stage. The crowd parted and let him through as he got up on stage and told everyone, “thanks for waiting!”

Pearl Jam ripped into their set with Once as Eddie’s last minute appearance had pumped up the crowd. Why Go and Jeremy followed and the band was sounding great. Chris Cornell must have been itching to perform during their set and he did so, coming out and singing Hunger Strike. Four songs into my first Lollapalooza and I’m totally amazed. Temple of the Dog only performed live a few times and rarely outside of Seattle and I just was at one of them!

The rest of Pearl Jam’s set was just as good. This was the first time I had seen the band as I missed their opening set the previous fall when they were opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. After their set I caught up with Jimmy and went back stage.

Jimmy showed me the tour bus that was sweet. I had a chance to meet Mike McCready briefly. We popped in a few of the tents and trailers and I saw Eddie hanging out for a few minutes. The backstage area was messy with mud as the entire staging had been built that week.

I searched for and found some of my friends. Jesus and Mary Chain was playing and we checkout the layout and found the side stage. The only band I remember seeing on the side stage was Ice-T and was amazed that he had played the main stage just the prior year. Looking back I wish I had gone over to the side stage more but it was hard to get information in 92 about who was playing the side stage for each date.

Soundgarden was up next and I was able to make my way to the soundboard tower to meet up with Jimmy. The view from the tower was perfect and it was not too crowded.

Soundgarden Setlist Lake Fairfax Park, Reston, VA, USA, Lollapalooza 1992

I had seen Soundgarden a few months earlier during the Badmotorfinger tour. At that time they were in constant rotation on my CD player. To me they were the Seattle equivalent to Led Zeppelin, a strong, fierce four piece band led by a singer whose voice matched the thunderous music.

Soundgarden open up with Face Pollution before going into Gun, a great heavy guitar song. Mid set they were joined by Ice-T and did Cop Killer. The last 4 songs were all off Badmotorfinger. Searching With My Good Eye Closed was especially good and one of my favorites.

I caught a bit of Ministry’s set mostly because Jimmy told me they did a cover of Black Sabbath’s Supernaut, a song they would later cover on the Black Sabbath tribute album, Nativity in Black. I had not listened to them before and found their set to be very enjoyable. Supernaut was spot-on and I moved up closer to the stage to check out the band. The singer’s mic stand was made of bones and skulls and was very cool.

I spent some time checking out the community area where Rock the Vote! and several other organizations had booths set up. This was the first festival I had really been to and it was interesting to see organizations with a cause talking to people.

The Chili Peppers had taken the stage about the time the sun set. The temperature cooled off a bit as it had been a hot August day. I had seen RHCP the previous fall during the first leg of the Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic tour and was excited to see them again. John Fruiscante had quit the band a few months earlier while they were on tour in Japan and they quickly found a new guitar player.

Edit this setlist | More Red Hot Chili Peppers setlists

RHCP opened with Give it Away, their big hit from Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic. they also played some Parliament/George Clinton covers which allowed Flea to really get into the the heavy bass funk groove. Another cover they performed was Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues which I’ve grown to appreciate over the years. The Chili Pepper’s take on this song really gives it a punk edge.

Also during their set RHCP donned chrome hard hats that were attached to propane tanks. On the top of the hard hat was a 2 inch tube that were lit and flames were coming out of the band’s heads for a few songs. I had moved up closer to the stage at this point and it was a cool effect to say the least.

One of the best parts about seeing RHCP is that they do a lot of covers. The encore was no exception and this time it was Jimi Hendrix’s Crosstown Traffic. A great song and a great end to a fantastic festival of music.

Overall Lollapalooza 92 was an incredible event. I think it was the best of all the early festivals mostly because 3 of my favorite bands were on the bill. But also it was still very new and exciting event at that time. Also the lack of alcohol made it a friendlier even as people were not getting drunk and acting like idiots.

Now Lollapalooza is a multi-day festival and tours Latin America. However it no longer is the festival that was unique for a generation. Perry Farrell’s original goal to bring different types of music together was unique then but now typical. For my generation this was our Woodstock. Festivals had died out in the US at that time and all the big tours were either pop acts or classic rock bands. Lollapalooza was the first festival that embrace emerging music that would soon dominate the airwaves.

There are still great acts at Lollapalooza but I miss the vibe that this show had.

00s, Live Music

Queens of the Stone Age | Raleigh NC | 30-Jan-14

03-Feb-14 Brian McDonald 1 Comment

So this is the first review I’ve done for a recent show and I was really excited. I’m a huge Queens of the Stone Age (QOTSA) fan and had not seen them since the Songs for the Deaf tour. The one consistent member of QOTSA is front man, lead guitarist and singer, Josh Homme. The other musicians have changed often during the early years. At the same time the band has worked with a impressive list of session musicians including Elton John, Dave Grohl and Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top.

Queens of the Stone Age | Like Clockwork

I have to thank my good friend and former co-worker Rob for letting me know this show was coming. He had never seen them so we grab some tickets and made our way downtown. We grabbed some dinner and made our way to Memorial Auditorium on a very cold Winter evening. The tour is in support of the latest QOTSA album, …Like Clockwork.

Once we got into the lobby I checked out the swag table to see if they had any prints for the show. Sure enough they did and it was a very cool cobra in a bottle design on a black background. Reminded me of the old 70s black light rock posters. I knew that I wanted it so I skipped the opening band so that I could shuttle the poster back to my car and not have to hold onto it all night. The opening artist was Chelsea Wolfe whom I had not heard before. She was a bit to goth for me so I have no regret missing her set.

Queens of the Stone Age, Raleigh Show Poster, Jan 2014 — Kick ass poster by Brad Klausen

I had a few minutes to say hello to some old friends before QOTSA took the stage. Once the lights went down I was back and my seat and ready. They opened with You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire. Great opening track that got the crowd pumped and set the tone for the show. They followed up with the next song from that album, No One Knows. I like when bands do this, open up a few tracks that are not from current album. It’s a great way to get the crowd amped up for the rest of the show.

Next was My God Is The Sun from …Like Clockwork. I really like the groove that this song starts out with. This was the song they played at The Grammys when they were cut off and Trent Reznor sounded off. Then into Burn the Witch which has a similar groove to it. Smooth Sailing off the new album was next, again with a very good groove and some funky riffs. After Monsters in The Parasol (a great rocking song from Rated R) QOTSA went into I Sat By The Ocean. This song has a great sound with heavy bass and driving beat. It’s not typical of their sound in that it’s not heavy and fast.

Like Clockwork, the title track on current album was next. This is a slow song which is typically how they close out their albums. Two songs later was If I Had A Tail. I have really grown to like this song as it has some fun lyrics and slow building sound. The set closed out with Better Living Through Chemistry and Go With the Flow. Better Living is a fantastic piece that builds off the guitar and drums and builds up with some scary vocals. The pause in the middle of the song allows it to build back up with a driving guitar riff. The video clip above captures some of that part of the song. Go With The Flow was the single released from Songs of The Deaf that is about the closest they get to a pop song.

The first set ended and the band took a short break before coming out for the encore. Josh came out alone to play The Vampyre of Time and Money from the new album. This was a different Josh than I’ve seen before, sitting at a piano and pouring his heart into the song. He has really progressed as a songwriter and performer and it showed.

Feel Good Hit of the Summer and A Song for the Dead closed out the show. Feel Good is one of those songs that just thumps with crazy lyrics. Song for the Dead is one of their heavier songs and one of my favorites from Songs for the Deaf. The band totally nailed it.

This was an excellent concert. The band played their asses off. The sound and lights were great. The crowd had energy and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. If you ever get a chance to see QOTSA go see them. You won’t regret it.

80s, Featured, Live Music, Review

The Police| Rio de Janeiro | 16-Feb-82

13-Jan-14 Brian McDonald 3 Comments

This was my first rock concert! To say the least it was totally awesome and radical! I was a freshman in high school living overseas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was an urban paradise with beaches, bikinis, futbol, samba and in February of 1982 The Police played 2 shows during their Ghost in the Machine tour at Maracanãzinho.

To say I was stoked is an understatement. I was a huge fan of The Police and had been listening to them heavily since the release of their third album, Zenyatta Mondatta. When word broke that Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland were coming to Rio for 2 shows, a fever pitch hit our community.

We had been living in Rio for a little over a year and there had been very few concerts. Rio and Brazil had a bad reputation for fake promoters, scams and other corruption that kept major artists away. Rock in Rio was still a few years off. So when my brother and I scored tickets we were amped!

The venue was Maracanãzinho which means little Maracanã, the world’s largest soccer stadium that sits next door. Several of my classmates had scored front row seats and we ended up sneaking from our mezzanine level seats to the floor seating area before the show started. We ended up about 5 rows from the stage with a great view. One of my classmates was fortunate enough to get several front row seats as his father worked for CBS records and had connections. Nonetheless I remember my neighbor, Gabriel and I were glad to be able to get closer to the stage and band!

I don’t remember there being an opening band. I was very excited and I was enjoying the energy and vibe of the concert. Once the house lights went down and The Police took the stage part of me realized that this was a special feeling that I may never feel the same way again. This was and would always be my first concert!

Edit this setlist | More The Police set lists

Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland seemed pumped as they hit the stage. Sting was playing one of those 80s minimalist bass guitars. I remember Stewart wearing the 80s athletic “shorts” of the day with tube socks sneakers and cutoff sleeves t-shirt. I was impressed by how high Stewart jumped off the drum riser after the sets. The entire band seemed a bit pumped due to the lively Brazilian crowd and vibe. You don’t play Rio unless you’re ready to impress a town that just wrapped up Carnaval a few weeks before!

There was a horn section playing with the band. Several of the songs from Ghost In the Machine had horn arrangements like Hungry for You. It was a interesting mix between the power trio and the 4 man horn section. Several reviews of the tour DVD are critical of the horns and I have to admit that recording equipment in the 1982 was still poor compared to what would be introduced in the next few years with early digital mics.

This was a very upbeat opening set with the first several songs. When The Police hit The Bed’s Too Big Without You, they really hit that reggae grove and slowed it down a bit. That song has stuck with me over 30+ years! The video footage is from shows in Chile a the week before they came to Brazil.

From there they ripped into De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da, a silly song but a big hit on the previous album. Walking on the Moon also sounded excellent as it mellowed out the vibe a bit. Shadows in The Rain is a great tune to follow that up with and The Police did just that.

The set ended with Roxanne from their first album Outlandos d’Amour. I’m not a huge fan of Roxanne as it’s been overplayed on radio so much.

After a short 10 minute break The Police came back out for a 2 song encore. Man I was stoked because I had heard of encores but this was my first time witnessing one in person! Stewart Copeland again came out jumping up and down like a madman! I think Sting spoke some Portuguese he probably learned while they were there. All I can remember is that I felt awesome after seeing such a great performance and wish I had tickets to see them the next night of the 2 night stand.

I went home and taped this ticket stub to my desk, hence the aged old tape marks! I would see The Police again on the Synchronicity Tour a few years later before they broke up. No doubt The Police were at their creative peak during this tour. But with the success came more division in the band especially between Stewart and Sting that would only allow them to produce one more album and final tour before their Reunion tour.

Favorite Concert