Ticket Stub Time Travels

 3 years ago today... November 29, 2018 - Phoenix, AZ  Justin Timberlake brought his "Man of the Woods" tour to Talking Stick Resort Arena. This man can dance, as was evidenced in this show that included a stage that went the length of the arena, giving all concert goers an up close look at one time or another. While I haven't purchased any of his albums, I Can't Stop The Feeling that I would gladly see his show again.

 3 years ago yesterday... November 28, 2018 - Phoenix, AZ  Fleetwood Mac played a classic rock concert at Talking Stick Resort Arena. This version of FM had Mike Campbell of Tom Petty's Heartbreakers on lead guitar in place of Lindsay Buckingham. This "Evening With..." show was filled with greatest hits including seven songs from Rhiannon and five from the debut FM album. Here's a link to the setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/.../talking-stick-resort-arena...

 10 years ago... November 27, 2011 - Phoenix, AZ Clint Black played a country concert at Celebrity Theatre.

 16 years ago... November 26, 2005 - LaQuinta, CA PGA Tour journeyman Fred Funk won the Merrill Lynch Skins Game over Tiger Woods, Fred Couples and Annika Sorenstam at Trilogy Golf Club. A last minute addition to the field, Funk won 15 skins and $925K over the two-day competition. Fred was a friendly and funny guy who was happy to be there. Freddie and Annika engaged with the fans, signing autographs and posing for photos. Tiger and his then caddy Steve Williams were rude standoffish jerks, clueless than this was a silly-season made-for-TV fan-driven event. We attended the pro-am day and the first day of competition.

 38 years ago today... November 25, 1983 - Tempe, AZ  Comedy and music was featured in "An Evening With the Stars," a charity fund-raising performance from Robert Klein and Paul Williams at Gammage Center. United Cerebral Palsy benefitted from this show which was unwritten by one of my advertising clients. I handled pre-show publicity and a media tour. The Wrigley Mansion Club hosted a cocktail reception with the stars following the performance. Klein was coming off a couple appearances on Saturday Night Live and HBO specials. Williams penned some of the most popular songs in modern music at the time like "Rainy Days and Mondays" and "We've Only Just Begun" for the Carpenters, "Old Fashioned Love Song" for Three Dog Night, the Love Boat theme and "Evergreen" for Barbara Streisand in a Star Is Born, among many more.

 19 years ago today... November 24, 2002 - Phoenix, AZ  The King of the Blues, B.B. King, brought his road show revue to Celebrity Theatre.

 41 years ago today... November 23, 1980 - St. Louis, MO Stevie Wonder and his band Wonderlove played a concert at the Checkerdome. Although it was nearly Thanksgiving, Stevie was touring behind his new album "Hotter Than July," which introduced his hits "Master Blastin' (Jammin')" and "Happy Birthday," dedicated to Martin Luther King and the proposal to create a national holiday in his honor.

 24 years ago... November 22, 1997 - Phoenix, AZ  Hall & Oates performed in concert at Celebrity Theatre.

 6 years ago... November 21, 2015 - Chandler, AZ  Robert Randolph and the Family Band played a concert at a downtown park.

 11 years ago... November 20, 2010 - Scottsdale, AZ  New Riders of the Purple Sage played a country rock concert at The Compound Grill. Guitarist David Nelson and pedal steel player Buddy Cage from the original NRPS were still with the band and autographed the set list for us. This post dedicated to the memory of long-time friend and music man Pat Hayes. RIP brother.

 18 years ago today... November 19, 2003 - Phoenix, AZ  He may have said left his heart in San Francisco, but Tony Bennett shared a lot of love in a crooner concert at Celebrity Theatre.

 10 years ago yesterday... November 18, 2011 - Chandler, AZ Rick Springfield sang about "Jessie's Girl" in a concert at Ovations Live at Wild Horse Pass Casino.

 2 years ago today... November 17, 2019 - Santa Clara, CA Jimmy Garoppolo threw 4 TD passes as the San Francisco 49ers came from behind to defeat the Arizona Cardinals 36-26 at Levi's Stadium. We were privileged to attend this game as the guests of the Cardinals who surprised our group with field passes to watch pre-game warmups from the Cardinals sidelines.

 15 years ago today... November 16, 2006 - Phoenix, AZ  Kris Kristofferson helped us Make It Though the Night in a concert at Celebrity Theatre. Kris is clearly one of America's leading songwriters but he has never been known as a great vocalist. There were plenty of seats still available in the 2,600-seat venue. Ironically, his co-star from the "Star Is Born" movie, Barbara Streisand, was also on a rare tour and performing this same evening at a sold out US Airways Center downtown, a mere 15 minutes away. Once Kris ended his show, he made his way downtown to be introduced by Barbara on stage. The two did not sing together. The "Star Is Born" was filmed at Sun Devil Stadium on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe in 1976.

 5 years ago today... November 15, 2016 - Phoenix, AZ  Ringo Starr And His All Starr Band showcased each members' biggest hits in a concert at Celebrity Theatre. Ringo does an annual tour with his band comprised of musicians from other touring acts. This year's edition included Todd Rundgren, Steve Lukather of Toto, Gregg Rollie of Santana and Journey and Richard Page, singer from Mr. Mister. The set was heavy with Beatles tunes and Ringo's hits like "Photograph" and "It Don't Come Easy." Other radio hits heard this night included "Rosanna," "Africa," "Evil Ways," "Kyrie," "Hello It's Me," "Bang On a Drum All Day" and "Broken Wings." As one might predict, the show ended with an all band singalong to "A Little Help From My Friends." Peace, Love & Ringo.

16 years ago today... November 14, 2005 - Phoenix, AZ  Jethro Tull played a classic rock concert at the Orpheum Theatre. Ian Anderson continues to front the band with his flute. This show offered a heavy dose of songs from the 1971 release "Aqualung," the band's best selling album. Upon exiting the show, patrons were treated to a free CD of the band performing the Aqualung album live acoustically in an XM radio studio. The disc was also made available for sale, with all artist and publishing royalties going to charities for the homeless. Here's a link to the setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/.../orpheum-theatre-phoenix-az...  

 20 years ago today... November 13, 2001 - Scottsdale, AZ Toby Keith hosted "The Detour," a golf tournament and jam session for charity at Grayhawk Golf Club. This is the same event reviewed yesterday in TSTT, just a year earlier and a day later. Toby signed my ticket. As mentioned previously, this was the top musical event and hottest ticket in town in the early 2000s.

 19 years ago today... November 12, 2002 - Scottsdale, AZ Toby Keith invited his rowdy friends for a golf tournament and jam session tent party at Grayhawk Golf Club. The Detour was a charity fundraiser that featured popular musicians coming together for a day of golf and a night of jamming under tents on the driving range. Over the years, tournament/concert hosts were Clint Black, John Michael Montgomery and Toby Keith. For 2002, Toby was the host and brought his touring band along to close out the party with a raucous set of his honky tonk hits. Before Toby hit the stage, local favorites The Herndon Brothers of Handlebar J served as the backing band for a who's who list of performers including Glen Campbell, Alice Cooper, Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel, Mac Davis, Gary U.S. Bonds, Phil Vassar, lead singers for Diamond Rio and Sawyer Brown and many more. This eclectic group sang their top hits but also joined in on rock and country standards. For many years in the early 200...

 15 years ago today... November 11, 2006 - Chandler, AZz The Rhinestone Cowboy, Glen Campbell played a concert at Chandler Center for the Arts. For many years, Glen lived in a mansion on Biltmore Estates Drive backing the Arizona Biltmore Adobe golf course. He was quite visible in the community, particularly with area charity efforts. I once had a memorable 10-minute conversation with Glen in the waiting area of Danny's Car Wash on Highland. I was flipping through a Rolling Stone magazine that Glen asked to look at. He was surprised at the change from newsprint to magazine stock. He laughed and said he used to know everyone in the magazine, but now didn't know anyone. Glen told me he was thrilled with his residency gig in Branson that was a breezy greatest hits show that allowed him to play golf every day. Glen ranks very high in my list of the greatest guitar players I've ever seen play live.

 7 years ago today... November 10, 2014 - Phoenix, AZ The Black Keys rocked the house in a concert at US Airways Center. A two-man band comprised of guitar and drums, the Black Keys were touring behind their Grammy nominated album "Turn Blue." Jake Bugg was the supporting act. Here's the setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/.../us-airways-center-phoenix-az...

 18 years ago today... November 9, 2003 - Phoenix, AZ Reunited after a long break from one another, Simon & Garfunkel brought their "Old Friends" tour to America West Arena. This career retrospective show offered up the long history of greatest hits from the duo. "Old Friends" concerts were recorded for a subsequent live double album and performance DVD. S&G were some of the first cassette tapes I owned as a kid and they have always been a favorite of mine. Paul and Art were influenced greatly by The Everly Brothers who joined them on stage for a medley of the hits that Don and Phil made into radio staples. As the setlist indicates, this was a magical night of classic songs and musicians; just an outstanding show. https://www.setlist.fm/.../america-west-arena-phoenix-az...

 2 years ago today... November 8, 2019 - Phoenix, AZ Luke Combs professed that Ice Cold Longneck Beer Never Broke His Heart in a sold out concert at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Here's the setlist: https://www.setlist.fm/.../talking-stick-resort-arena...

 21 years ago yesterday... November 7, 1999 - Avondale, AZ The Dura Lube 500 NASCAR race was run at Phoenix International Raceway. Tony Stewart led 154 of 312 laps and took the checkered flag. We got to ride a few laps around the track in the pace car, a standard Chevy Camaro. The driver only went around 60 MPH, but you did get a sense of the banking of the track. We also walked around the pits and watched the crews do their prep. We are not racing fans. Once the race started, the sound was deafening. Patrons must wear ear plugs or the headphones that allow listening in to the drivers' communication. We couldn't have been more bored. Fortunately we had access to VIP hospitality tents and retreated there to get out of the noise, grab comp cocktails and watch NFL games on monitors.

 11 years ago... November 5, 2010 - Phoenix, AZ  Rock & Roll Hall of Fame piano players Elton John and Leon Russell joined together for a concert at US Airways Center. Elton had long idolized Leon but their careers went in markedly different directions. Elton reached heights in music that few others ever had while Leon toured small clubs and honky tonks without a record deal trying to make a living (like the show referenced in the 9/29 entry at TSTT). Elton reached out to Leon and pitched a collaboration album, later released as "The Union," and a subsequent 30-date concert tour and appearance on Saturday Night Live. Elton tells the story here: https://www.eltonjohn.com/.../in-honor-of-leon-russell... The Phoenix show opened with a short set from Leon, followed by a set from Elton and his band. The two then joined together to play many of the songs from the album before Elton and his band returned for a finally set of classic hits. Both the show and the album, ranked...

 10 years ago today... November 5, 2011 - Phoenix, AZ REO Speedwagon played an outdoor concert on a barricaded Central Avenue at CityScape. This event was part of the Seasons for Sharing fundraising effort presented by Billing Tree and its "Rock Block." I was part of the credentialed backstage production crew for this show and got an autographed setlist from the band. We chatted up keyboard player Neal Doughty, one of the two co-founders of the band that he started at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

 20 years ago today... November 4, 2001 - Phoenix, AZ In Game 7 of the World Series, Luis Gonzales singles off Mariano Rivera to drive in Jay Bell with the winning run in the 9th inning as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the New York Yankees 3-2 at Bank One Ballpark. It was the greatest sporting event I've ever witnessed in person. We were fortunate to see all four wins in the home ballpark along with Ray Charles' amazing version of "America" in Game 2. But Game 7 remains one of the greatest World Series games in MLB history and an indelible moment for us. Gonzo autographed one of our Game 7 stubs with the inscription "Game 7 GWH."

 15 years ago today... November 3, 2006 - Mesa, AZ What Is Hip? Tower of Power and Average White Band combined for an evening of jazz, funk and soul at Ikeda Theatre at Mesa Arts Center.

 20 years ago today... November 2, 2001 - Phoenix, AZ Don McLean shared a slice of American Pie during a concert at Celebrity Theatre.

October is a wrap. Only 61 days left for TSTT to post in 2021. We've gone 304 days thus far, missing ticket stubs for just four dates, to date. On to November... 27 years ago today... November 1, 1994 - Mesa, AZ Lyle Lovett brought His Large Band to perform in a concert at Mesa Amphitheatre. Lyle was touring behind his new album, "I Love Everybody." His then wife, Julia Roberts (aka "Pretty Woman") sang background vocals on two of the tracks, and was on hand and on stage this night in Mesa to introduce her husband of one year. I've seen Lyle 20+ times, but this was the first appearance I witnessed from Julia. The couple divorced the next year.