I’ve missed two things the most during Dumpster Fire 2020: Going to concerts and going to the movie theater. I’ve been known to have a pretty packed concert calendar and luckily, most of the shows that I was going to see have been postponed and not just outright cancelled. So that’s a good thing – just a little longer to wait, in some cases, clear until next year. But, they’re still coming to town so I will be there with bells on.

How they accomplish pulling off a concert when they want everyone to social distance is another story. Same goes for the movie theaters but you can easily block seats out for a movie to keep it at limited capacity, I suppose, but what do you do with concert venues? You’re packed in like sardines, typically, AND with GA tickets, it’s a free-for-all in the Pit. And, a lot of previous shows have been sold out for a long time so how will that work? Multiple days they have to perform to limit the seating? Hmmm, it’s a predicament. So yeah, not sure how that’s all going to shake out but here’s hoping they figure out what to do. I’ll show up in a mask all…day…long.

I’ve been following Dave Grohl’s stories throughout this whole shit show and loving all his writing. He posted this one the other day that made me think of writing my own version and reminiscing more about past awesome concerts I’ve attended, in particular back when I worked with the radio station. It’s ironic, and a tad creepy, too, that as I write this, I’m listening to SiriusXM 90s on 9 and The Smashing Pumpkins are playing. It’s the perfect segway to tell you about one of the most awesome experiences I’ve been lucky enough to lock away in my concert memory.

As I told you before, I slowly started gaining the respect of the Edge radio station crew and they started having me go to more shows with them, continuing to document everything with my fancy digital camera to post on the website. One show in particular was truly a treat. Like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Smashing Pumpkins were going on a back-to-their-roots tour, playing at dive bars and venues they originally performed out early in their band career. The only way you could attend any of the shows was to win tickets from local radio stations. It was limited to about 20 people total. A couple of winning fans and the radio station people. Whatever you could squeeze in to that number. The dive bar that had been on their roster for the Phoenix area was Boston’s in Tempe. A real pit of a place, near the Big Surf water park. Many famous bands had graced its stage back in the day but man, it was a hole. This would clearly be the most action this place had seen in a long time. And, I was asked to attend with the DJs, the head of promotions and the couple fans who won tickets. It was beyond cool.

They set up a small stage out back in their open patio area. It was February 10, 2000 so the weather was perfect. I was maybe 10 feet a way from the stage as Billy Corgan glided up there, neck to toe in a heavy canvas black dress, one of his signature “looks”. He honestly looked like he floated, just by the way he carried himself and the fact that the dress went all the way to ground, over his Doc Martens. His bald dome was gleaming in the sunlight. And, we could hear the insane amount of people freaking the fuck out on the other side of the fencing, just hanging out in the parking lot to listen. The fence was high, not chain link, so no one but the handful of us within the patio could see the band. But oh, you could hear them. It was fantastic. The lady bass player was awesome, as was the lead guitarist and the drummer too. But man, Billy as the lead. He was something. They came back to town that year on May 19 and the promotions girl who ended up being really, really good to me over time, gifted me tickets to take a friend of mine to see them at the Mesa Amphitheater, since she never had experienced their awesomeness. It wasn’t the same as the back patio of an old dive bar but was still grand.

I carry this memory and many, many other awesome live concert experiences with me to this day and really hope, fingers crossed, the experiences continue on. Seeing live music is good for the soul. There’s nothing like it. Sure, you can listen to their music or watch a recorded show on YouTube but live, with your friends and family, beer in hand, and thousands of others that dig them too, is a special kind of situation.  There’s really nothing like it. And I need to damage my hearing just a little more. 42 years worth hasn’t been nearly enough. Cheers to live music and getting back out there! Fuck the Rona!