Ticket Stub Time Travels

 10 years ago today... October 31, 2011 - Chandler, AZ Joe Walsh showed us the Rocky Mountain Way in a Halloween night show at Ovations Showroom at Wild Horse Pass Casino. Here's a link to the setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/joe-walsh/2011/wild-horse-pass-hotel-and-casino-chandler-az-4bd1a386.html

 6 years ago yesterday... October 30, 2015 - Tempe, AZ  Santana and John Fogerty were scheduled to play "Monster Mash AZ," a music festival at Tempe Town Lake. It never took place. We're not sure what happened here. I'm guessing a bad promoter. The bill sounded to good to be true. Turns out it was.

 19 years ago today... October 29, 2002 - Phoenix, AZ Paul McCartney brought his "Back In The U.S." tour to America West Arena. This concert tour was recorded for both a DVD and live double album that was released just two weeks after this performance. This was a Beatles-dominated set that was subjectively the best perfomance of the five times we've seen him: 1990, this show in 2002, 2010, 2014 and 2019. Since I never got to see the Beatles, this was the next best thing. Here's a link to the setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/paul-mccartney/2002/america-west-arena-phoenix-az-5bddb71c.html

 43 years ago today... October 28, 1978 - Carbondale, IL Performing with a large band and supporting a live double album, Bob Dylan played a concert at the SIU Arena. Earlier in the year, Dylan recorded two concerts in Japan for "Bob Dylan At Budokan," a double live album released August 1, just three months before this concert. Unlike most Dylan shows, the singer enlisted a large band with included a saxophone/flute player and pedal-steel guitar/mandolin/violin player along with female background vocalists. This big band approach was a departure for Bob, and critics thought the song performances were overly produced compared to the acoustic originals. The album was panned by some, but we enjoyed both the record and the show which showcased most of Dylan's best-known "greatest hits" in a big production for the times. We camped out for a few nights outside the SIU Arena ticket windows for a shot at the best seats, a common practice back in the day for the hotte...

 18 years ago today... October 27, 2003 - Tempe, AZ In a nationally-televised Monday Night Football game, the Miami Dolphins downed the San Diego Chargers 26 - 10 in a game relocated to Sun Devil Stadium. Wildfires had engulfed Southern California and Qualcomm Stadium, home to the Chargers, was being used as an evacuation site. This use of the stadium and its parking lots combined with poor air quality and an overtaxed police and public safety staff all contributed to the decision earlier in the week to relocate the game. The NFL made tickets available free to the public on a first-come first-served basis while collecting firefighting donations at the gate. Comp tix created one of the only "sell outs" at Sun Devil Stadium during its run as an NFL host stadium, attracting 73,014 this Monday night. Brian Griese threw three TD passes for Miami while Chargers QB Drew Brees was intercepted three times. Ricky Williams was the Dolphins top RB and future HOFer LaDainian Tomlinson ...

 21 years ago today... October 26, 2000 - Phoenix, AZ Country rock from the seventies was on display when Pure Prairie League, Poco and Firefall joined together for a concert at Veterans Memorial Coliseum as part of the Arizona State Fair. What coulda/shoulda been a great show was limited by the time restrictions set by the State Fair, which wants the concerts to end after 90 minutes so that patrons are back to the Midway by 8:30pm. Trying to shoe horn three established bands with hit songs into an hour and a half show with set changes just won't work. Each of the three bands had less than 30 minutes to play. I love all three of these bands and was disheartened to see fewer than 1,000 people there to watch in an arena that would seat over 12,000. When PPL concluded the show, I was able to walk up to the stage and chat with some of the band members who knew nothing of the restricted set times, questioning why they were turning on the house lights by 8:30pm.

 15 years ago today... October 25, 2006 - New York, NY The Tony Award-winning Broadway play "Hairspray" took place at the Neil Simon Theatre. Based on the John Waters movie, Hairspray was a long-running play on Broadway in the early 2000s. On a whim, we visited the half-price tickets booth for day-of-show tickets and ended up with eighth-row center orchestra seats at half the retail pricing. This is the best way to buy tickets for Broadway if you are flexible in what shows and times you would consider. The actress playing the Tracy Turnblad lead character was terrific. I cannot locate the program with her name.

 13 years ago yesterday... October 24, 2008 - Glendale, AZ Tina Turner brought rock, soul and blues in a concert at Jobing.com Arena. This was billed as Tina's 50th Anniversary Tour, her first live shows in nearly 10 years. This tour was her last and supported a Greatest Hits album. Tina had amazing energy and great dance moves in mile-high stilettos. She was 68 years young at the time and had the look and attitude of someone half her age. Tina rocked it in a terrific show. Here's a link to the setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/tina-turner/2008/jobingcom-arena-glendale-az-bd6a51a.html

 38 years ago... October 23, 1983 - Phoenix, AZ Michael McDonald performed the second of two solo concerts at Celebrity Theatre. The keyboardist was touring behind his debut solo album with the single "I Keep Forgettin'." We saw him the year before at the Doobie Brothers so-called "Farewell Tour" of 1982 that has been referenced in this blog before. We just saw Michael's return with the Doobie's in celebrating the band's 50th years (52nd, actually) and induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame a week ago. McDonald was hot at the time and played shows at 7 and 10pm this night on the rotating round stage at Celebrity Theatre.

 A few days ago... October 22, 2021 - Phoenix, AZ  Phish dove into Phoenix for its first jam in Arizona in 18 years at a concert at Ak-Chin Pavilion. This was our phirst Phish show and we generally liked it. Some jams found our groove while others sounded a bit disjointed. They played two long sets that went until 11:30pm, a half-hour later than most at Ak-Chin Pavilion. Phish is one of the few bands that controls its own ticketing to reward Phandom and reduce the chance of ticket scalping. The band mailed us the extremely-rare hard stock tickets with a far out graphic design a few weeks before the show. Here's a highly-detailed review of the show and setlist from JamBase: https://www.jambase.com/article/phish-tour-setlist-phoenix

 27 years ago today... October 21, 1994 - Phoenix, AZ KISS took the makeup off and went unmasked for the first time in a concert at Veterans Memorial Coliseum as part of the Arizona State Fair. With the band's popularity waning in the late 80s, KISS thought it was time to change things up and dumped the makeup and costumes for several years. We've seen KISS 15 times over the years, but this was the only appearance sans "the look." Drummer Eric Carr had died three years earlier, replaced by Eric Singer. Bruce Kulick played guitar alongside founding members Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. "Revenge" was the most recent album and the set included two cuts from that release. Compared to outdoor KISS concerts with the full light show, modular stage and fireworks, this concert was dull by comparison. We saw the KISS "End of the World" Tour two weeks ago and it was fantastic. The "End of the World" is not to be confused with the "Farewe...

 12 years ago today... October 20, 2009 - Glendale, AZ  U2 presented its 360 Tour at University of Phoenix Stadium. This show came on the heels of the release of the "No Line On The Horizon" album. It featured the band playing large stadiums in the round with a giant four-legged stage in the middle of the field with the speakers and video board mounted high at the top. At the time, it was said to be the largest touring stage ever constructed. The Black Eyed Peas opened the show. While U2 is not one of my top bands, their concert tours have been some of the more incredible live performances and stage presentations that I've ever seen. Here's a link to the setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/u2/2009/university-of-phoenix-stadium-glendale-az-5bd7dfd0.html

 40 years ago today... October 19, 1981 - Tempe, AZ Chuck Mangione had us "Feelin' So Good" at a jazz concert at Gammage Auditorium on the campus of Arizona State University. This was my first concert at Gammage and had nosebleed seats in row 1 of the balcony. We could just see the bell from Chuck's flugelhorn sticking out from the hipster hat he always wore. Mostly we saw the top of Chuck's fedora. A few years later, I had the opportunity to promote an appearance by Chuck's brother Gap, a talented but relatively unknown pianist compared to his brother, at a week-long gig at the Boojum Tree Jazz Lounge. Gap was a friendly sort who had no hard feelings about Chuck's international fame and his lack of it.

 29 years ago yesterday... October 18, 1992 - Phoenix, AZ Touring behind his "Secret Story" album, Pat Metheny and his trio played a jazz concert at Symphony Hall.

 12 years ago... October 17, 2009 - Phoenix, AZ  Bob Dylan played a concert with a full band at Veterans Memorial Coliseum as part of the Arizona State Fair. Earlier in the year, Dylan had released an album titled "Together Through Life" and played a few songs from it. Fortunately the setlist included some of his most popular classics. Not all Dylan shows are scripted this way. This was a great show and one of Dylan's more engaging performances of the ones we've seen. Here's a link to the setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bob-dylan/2009/arizona-veterans-memorial-coliseum-phoenix-az-63d7e603.html

23 years ago... October 16, 1998 - Phoenix, AZ Lyle Lovett played a concert at Union Hall, a converted high school auditorium.  

 5 years ago today... October 15, 2016 - Scottsdale, AZ Drive-By Truckers played an outlaw country set at a club named Livewire. This club in Old Town Scottsdale didn't last long, but it brought in a couple of great shows including the Drive-By Truckers. This was the post-Jason Isbell version of DBT.

 2 years ago today... October 14, 2019 - Phoenix, AZ  Outlaw country singer/songwriter Tyler Childers performed a concert at the Van Buren. Childers was touring behind his third album, "Country Squire." We were late in discovering Tyler, but really like his duets and performances in support of John Prine.

 42 years ago today... October 13, 1979 - Carbondale, IL Van Morrison had the moon dancing at a concert at the SIU Arena. Van "The Man" doesn't tour often, so it was a major "get" to have him perform at a small university. He was touring behind his new critically-acclaimed album "Into the Music" which was released two months earlier and featured the hit "Bright Side of the Road." As is his custom, the show began precisely on time, a pretty rare happening for concerts in the 1970s. He sang most of his hits, but had minimal conversation or interaction with the audience.

 8 years ago today... October 12, 2013 - Phoenix, AZ  Country singer Trace Adkins performed in concert at Veterans Memorial Coliseum as part of the Arizona State Fair. Adkins cuts an imposing figure on stage and sings in a deep bass-baritone. I like a lot of his songs like "Ladies Like Country Boys" and "This Ain't No Thinkin' Thing." At the Arizona State Fair, the concerts start exactly on time and end precisely after 90 minutes to get the patrons back onto the Midway to play for stuffed animals. With a time-constricted show, it was surprising to hear Trace play two Bob Seger covers and not sing "You're Gonna Miss This," ACM Single of the Year just a few years earlier. I love Seger more than most, but I never will understand why a popular recording artist would play some covers while skipping over their own popular material. This makes no sense to me.

 21 years ago... October 11, 1999 - Phoenix, AZ Vince Gill performed in concert at Veterans Memorial Coliseum as part of the Arizona State Fair. We've been Vince Gill fans since his stint in Pure Prairie League in the 70s. His considerable guitar prowess was on display as he went through his many country hits, just a few years removed from being named CMA Entertainer of the Year in consecutive years. The most memorable part of this show is when a couple sitting front row center got up to leave about an hour into the show. Vince noticed this and called them out, saying he still had a lot of songs to play. The couple was now clearly embarrassed and returned to their seats. Vince wasn't having it, and told them to keep walking. He wasn't joking. He wouldn't play again until security came and ushered them to the exit. I had never seen a performing artist call out a patron like that. Vince was hot under the collar at the early exiting couple. I think he had enjoyed...

 35 years ago... October 10, 1986 - Phoenix, AZ Diana Ross played an intimate concert at Celebrity Theatre. Just four years earlier, we saw Diana perform in the round at the ASU Activity Center for approximately 14,000 fans. Ross was back in the round on the revolving stage at Celebrity Theatre in front of 2,600 fans. The $30 ticket price was the highest I had paid for a concert ticket to date. That now seems like a cover charge for an above-average bar band.

 32 years ago today... October 9, 1989 - San Francisco, CA The San Francisco Giants edged the Chicago Cubs 3-2 at Candlestick Park to win the National League Championship Series four games to one and advance to the World Series. NLCS MVP Will Clark hit an 9th inning RBI single off Cubs closer Mitch Williams for the winning margin, making a winner out of Giants starter and former Cub Rick Reuschel. Mike Bielecki took the loss. As a long time frustrated Cubs fan, I took the rare opportunity to see one of the few Cubs playoff games of my lifetime by hopping a one-day turnaround flight to SFO and buying a single scalper ticket right behind home plate. The seller was a major league scout and I got in the ballpark just in time to hear the Tower of Power horns play the National Anthem. The Cubs had the early lead and held it most of the game. So it's no surprise to leave with disappointment, in historical Cubs fashion, and the whole ballpark knew it was over when "Wild Thing"...

  43 years ago and 10 years ago today... October 8, 1978 & 2011 - Murphysboro, IL & Prescott, AZ In another TSTT rarity, Pure Prairie League performed concerts on the same date 33 years apart at Salt Peter Cave and Yavapai Performing Arts Center. Back in 1978, Pure Prairie League introduced their new lead singer and picker Vince Gill to the southern Illinois audience. PPL headlined a bill that included area recording artists Gypsy and Missouri at the Salt Peter Cave, a natural amphitheater carved out of a cliff face. The cave sat dormant for years until being reintroduced as a concert venue earlier this year. Fast forward 33 years to 2011 and we found PPL opening for Poco at a small college stage in Prescott. Two of the PPL members from 1978 were still with the band. Both bands met their fans at the merch table following their sets. I was fortunate to get an autographed setlist from both PPL and Poco, with the Poco set being handwritten by pedal steel guitar player an...

 5 years ago today... October 7, 2016 - Phoenix, AZ  Florida Georgia Line headlined a country concert at Ak-Chin Pavilion. Full disclosure, I am not a fan of this "bro-country" act and only went to the show thanks to comp tickets. Their fans sure liked them, but I did not. If Johnny Cash or George Jones saw this "country" act with mullets, earrings and trucker hats, they would laugh their asses off at these comical characters. "This Is How They Roll." FGL was joined on their "Dig Your Roots" tour by up-and-coming acts Kane Brown who sang five not-yet-released songs to the early attendees, The Cadillac Three and the night's top performer, Cole Swindell, who featured songs from his new record "You Should Be Here" including the title track and "Middle Of A Memory." He closed with his hit "Ain't Worth the Whiskey." Here are links to the setlists for FGL and Swindell: Florida Georgia Line Concert Setlist at A...

 26 years ago today... October 6, 1995 - Phoenix, AZ  Van Halen rocked the house in a concert at Blockbuster Desert Sky Pavilion. This was the Sammy Hagar-fronted version of VH, touring behind its new album "Balance." It would be the last time we saw the Red Rocker with the band as the next year he was either fired (Sammy's version) or quit the band (VH take). Guitarist Eddie Van Halen died on this date two years ago at age 65. Here's a link to the concert setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/van-halen/1995/desert-sky-pavilion-phoenix-az-73c49e85.html

 5 years ago today... October 5, 2016 - Phoenix, AZ  Mumford and Sons performed a concert at Ak-Chin Pavilion.

 9 years ago yesterday... October 4, 2012 - St. Louis, MO The St. Louis Rams defeated the Arizona Cardinals 17 - 3 at Edward Jones Dome. Sam Bradford, pictured on the game ticket, was only 7 of 21 passing for 141 yards but two touchdowns including a 51-yard bomb. Kevin Kolb was 28 of 50 for 289 yards passing. Cardinals RB Ryan Williams essentially had his career ended on the suspect dome turf when he suffered a devastating knee injury in the game. Bradford haunted the Cardinals once again in 2018 when he was handed a $20 million contract with $15 million guaranteed. He lasted four games before losing his job to newly-drafted Josh Rosen and getting released before season's end. It is generally considered one of the worst free agent contracts in NFL history. Bradford, a former No. 1 overall draft pick, made a ton of money for being a very ineffective QB.

6 years ago... October 3, 2015 - Phoenix, AZ  Don Henley performed a concert with his band at Comerica Theatre. Henley was touring behind "Cass Country," his first solo record in 15 years that was released the week prior to this show. Phoenix was the debut market for the tour, but the show suffered from audio issues when the house system cut out completely for minutes at a time. The band's monitors were working, so they could hear themselves but had no idea that the audience could not. Once they figured that out, the band actually replayed a few of the songs, only to suffer similar problems. Henley was clearly miffed. He's not the most pleasant guy anyway, and the technical difficulties put him in even an uglier mood. The show sucked. I wrote the venue following the show about refunds but never got a reply.

 13 years ago today... September 30, 2008 - Phoenix, AZ  Earth Wind & Fire teamed with Michael McDonald for an evening of rhythm & blues and soul at Dodge Theatre.

 18 years ago... October 2, 2003 - Tempe, AZ  Little Feat played an acoustic show at Marquee Theatre.

  23 years ago today.. October 1, 1998 - Phoenix, AZ Tower of Power and War brought soul and funk to Celebrity Theatre.