I've lived in Madison since 1989, and have experienced some pretty amazing concerts. I've been fortunate enough to have seen the Rolling Stones at Camp Randall twice, attended all the Madison blues festivals, and have seen some pretty amazing acts in small clubs. But some experiences stand out more than others, and for reasons you might not expect.
MOST TICKED OFF LEAD SINGER
I wasn't in the audience when Ryan Adams flipped out at the Barrymore because some one yelled out "Summer of '69," the title of a Bryan Adams hit. But I was at the Club De Wash when Peter Himmelman couldn't stand the loud bass thumping coming from the gay bar below. He did the entire solo show standing on the bar, his boots just a precarious foot away from my cocktail.
SOMETHING THAT NEVER HAPPENS, HAPPENS
When you attend a concert and you yell for an encore, you usually give up when the house lights come on. But some very determined Barenaked Ladies fans really wanted to hear Be My Yoko Ono as a 1995 show concluded at the Barrymore. When the lights came on, I headed for the exit..only to hear the band return to the stage to fulfill the crowd's demands. Yeah, that was pretty cool.
UNEXPECTED VENUES
I've seen Sonia Dada play at Rose Records, a shop that used to be on State Street. I didn't plan on going to their show later that night at the Crystal Corner Bar, but Paris wooed me with his super low bass voice. I still get chills. I also saw Dave Mason at Best Buy on Madison's west side last year, and I'm still kicking myself I didn't get to see R.E.O. Speedwagon when they played at Walmart a few years ago. (And no, I'm not making that up..ask Jonathan..he was there.)
INTIMATE SHOW THAT SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SO INTIMATE
When legendary Kinks frontman Ray Davies came to Madison on his Storytellers Tour, for some reason the show just didn't sell, and the Barrymore Theatre was almost empty. The show was fantastic not only because the songs are so great..but the stories he told were hilarious! You'd think he would have been ticked off about the low turnout..but he wasn't, and signed autographs afterward. I was so nervous that every one else would get a signature except me, all I could do was say "me, me, me" while holding my paper toward him. (I was successful and now have that autograph proudly framed.)
Hi, Kit. I was at that 95 BNL show too. The best part was when they came out for the encore, all of their equipment was being packed up. The guys just sang with a snare drum. Good moment.
I'm not sure why Pete Yorn decided to name his new music project after a European cave dwelling aquatic salamander, but if he stops by to play us some songs in Studio M, we'll have to ask him.
The Olms is a collaboration between Pete Yorn and...
Today's song was written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary. It was inspired by the 1957 novel Doctor Zhivago. No one was inspired by the song this morning. It was rejected by almost all the listeners.
Today is World Goth Day, a day to celebrate the post-punk, anti-establishment, dark clothes-wearing subculture.
I'm pretty sure I was a Goth for at least for little while, for two reasons.
1) I almost hardly ever wear pastels.
2) I used to...
Hello to all from Nfusion. Another round of challenges has moved beyond us all. Congrats to those of us lucky enough to have survived to this point. Sad to see the others eliminated as they were all very creative and talented. Good Bye to our new friends...
This morning it seemed like just about everyone was in the mood for some Funky Cold Medina...except Kitty. This ridiculous song made it all the way to number 3 in 1989. Jonathan says any song that references advertising dogs from the 80's has got...
Madison's summer music festival season kicks off this weekend with Brat Fest at Willow Island, where there are more bands than you can shake a bratwurst at! Check out the Brat Fest website to plan your itinerary.
Next up is the Marquette...
John Fogerty is making the talk show rounds this week, stopping in to see David Letterman Tuesday and Wednesday, and the ladies of "The View" on Thursday.
He's promoting his new album, "Wrote a Song For Everyone" which comes out next Tuesday...
It's a miracle that both Jonathan and KItty wanted to hear Barry Manilow this morning. They were not alone. Plenty of Fanilow's called in to vote yes. One caller claimed to have seen Manilow in concert 25 times!
I'm not sure why Pete Yorn decided to name his new music project after a European cave dwelling aquatic salamander, but if he stops by to play us some songs in Studio M, we'll have to ask him.
The Olms is a collaboration between Pete Yorn and...
Today's song was written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary. It was inspired by the 1957 novel Doctor Zhivago. No one was inspired by the song this morning. It was rejected by almost all the listeners.
Today is World Goth Day, a day to celebrate the post-punk, anti-establishment, dark clothes-wearing subculture.
I'm pretty sure I was a Goth for at least for little while, for two reasons.
1) I almost hardly ever wear pastels.
2) I used to...
Hello to all from Nfusion. Another round of challenges has moved beyond us all. Congrats to those of us lucky enough to have survived to this point. Sad to see the others eliminated as they were all very creative and talented. Good Bye to our new friends...
This morning it seemed like just about everyone was in the mood for some Funky Cold Medina...except Kitty. This ridiculous song made it all the way to number 3 in 1989. Jonathan says any song that references advertising dogs from the 80's has got...
Madison's summer music festival season kicks off this weekend with Brat Fest at Willow Island, where there are more bands than you can shake a bratwurst at! Check out the Brat Fest website to plan your itinerary.
Next up is the Marquette...
John Fogerty is making the talk show rounds this week, stopping in to see David Letterman Tuesday and Wednesday, and the ladies of "The View" on Thursday.
He's promoting his new album, "Wrote a Song For Everyone" which comes out next Tuesday...
It's a miracle that both Jonathan and KItty wanted to hear Barry Manilow this morning. They were not alone. Plenty of Fanilow's called in to vote yes. One caller claimed to have seen Manilow in concert 25 times!
