In early August, 1969, there was quite a buzz about Woodstock. I don’t believe anyone, even at that late date, anticipated how big it was going to be. At least not among my friends. Most of us were not planning on a trip to … Continue reading Concerts Vol. 14: Led Zeppelin
By the fall of 1968, I had seen Cream four times, another of my favorite artists The Paul Butterfield Band five times, The Electric Flag with Mike Bloomfield, Traffic, The Stones, The Beach Boys, among a host of other artists, but I had yet to see Jimi Hendrix. Two members of the Bram Rigg Set, … Continue reading Concerts Vol. 13: Jimi Hendrix
Last year I picked five albums I considered the best of the year. This time I’m upping it to 10 with a few bubbling under and some added tidbits. 1. Already Free, The Derek Trucks Band: Traditional blues with modern sensibilities and influences from jazz, roots and world music, all played by an array of accomplished … Continue reading The 10 best for ’09
In the summer of 1967, when Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was released, fans of The Beatles didn’t get together with friends and listen to the mono version of this landmark album. I don’t recall anyone buying the mono version. Perhaps if you couldn’t afford the $1 extra for stereo, because that’s all it was. … Continue reading Beatles remastered: Revolver & Sgt. Pepper’s
A few weeks before leaving for Boston University, and later Berklee School of Music, in August, 1967, and after the Bram Rigg Set had broken up, my good friend Beau Segal and I drove down to New York to see the Yardbirds. Beau was the one who found out about the show and it was his … Continue reading Concerts Vol. 6: Jimmy Page and The Yardbirds
I mentioned in Concerts Vol. 1 that one of my earliest major influences from a live show was seeing the Paul Butterfield Blues Band at the Cafe Au Go Go in the winter of 1966-67. That remains true but there was a series of concerts that had an even bigger impact for me. I saw Cream play … Continue reading Concerts Vol. 3: Fresh Cream
To recap part 2: At the end of the summer of 1967, two popular New Haven-based bands broke up at the prodding of manager/producer Doc Cavalier, who owned Syncron Studios (later Trod Nossel) in Wallingford. Three members from the Shags and three from the Bram Rigg Set joined to form The Pulse (the actual original … Continue reading CT Rock ‘n Roll: Pulse, Part 3
The first in a series that will focus on concerts I’ve seen and serve as companion pieces to the Connecticut rock ‘n roll scene posts I started with Connecticut’s Own and Pulse, Part 2. I’ve been to quite a few concerts over the years, many influential, some inspiring. The earliest big venue shows were in the … Continue reading Concerts Vol. 1
I touched on a sliver of Connecticut Rock ‘n Roll in the ’60s in a previous post. Here is a little more of the story, particularly to clear up some misconceptions and inaccuracies that have been on the web for a long time. Pulse was a group formed from the ashes of two bands managed by … Continue reading CT Rock ‘n Roll: Pulse Part 2
Not for a reunion. For a CD release. If you haven’t followed the history of this seminal ’60s pop band, you probably don’t realize just how momentous this is. The DC5, probably the Beatles’ biggest rivals in the early-to-mid 1960s in the singles market, haven’t had an official best of compilation in nearly two decades. … Continue reading The Dave Clark Five returns