Jim Brown - Editor
This is a real shit-to-shinola situation...as a kid growing up in Alaska on an actual dirt road, we didn't get many musical acts visiting town. That was until 1984 when the almighty Kenny Rogers came to town and packed the George Sullivan Arena (capacity about 6,000 which was 1/3 the population of town). Mom took me. He sang the hits. He probably paused the show and brushed his hair on stage because he could...the was the Gambler, and it was the best concert I could go to for my initiation to live music.
I wasn't allowed to go to concerts by myself until I was 16 years old, according to Mom and Dad, so when Quiet Riot made a stop in Alaska in 1995 I was incredibly bummed out. Probably said things I shouldn't have. When George Thorogood and the Destroyers came to the Egan Convention center in 1986 I was front row in the pit smashing elbows with hardcore welders and alcoholic oil field workers. That show was the starting point for my interest in live music, learning to play guitar and all-night keg stands at the AM/PM parking lot. I still have the ticket stub and got to see George Thorogood in concert last year...but have yet to connect with him and explain that this journey is primarily all his fault!
Landing in California in 1987 elevated everything again. Cal Expo, Candlestick Park, The Cattle Club, The Press Club and the most surprising of all...The El Dorado Saloon where Bush, Seven Mary Three and lots of other bands passed through in the late 80s and 90s. I was there. Justine and I were there. My buddies and I were there. Tickets were $20 at BASS ticket outlets, generally attached to the Tower Record Store. Those were the days.
Fast forward a few years and Justine and I got married (yes...live band at our wedding reception) and began a family. Did we bother to find a sitter for our 6-year-old daughter Emilie when Toad the Wet Sprocket came to San Francisco and played a sold out set at Slims? No. We did not. Instead, we took Emilie, threw her up on my shoulders and ended up hanging out with Glen Phillips and the guys afterward, and they happily signed a set list for Emilie's growing collection.
So the story is that we love going to shows. We'd rather go out honkey tonkin all night in Reno, San Francisco or anywhere in a 3 hour radius than sit home and watch re-runs of CHiPs...wait...that was a pretty good show, actually.
We like music. We will drive all night to see a quality show. We are music fans. We have been for a long long time and this is our way of sharing our perspective and staying involved with music as we finally grow up. Hope you enjoy our comments on the tours of 2024!
With Angel White at Fairwell Festival
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