The concerts of my life

Jen and I are off to see Paul McCartney on July 27th in Montreal. I've been a lifelong Beatles fan even though they were well disbanded before I had any idea what a rock band was. So the chance to see a Beatle in concert is not to be missed. And McCartney was always my favourite. I was a Wings fan first. Only later did I discover he was part of some other band years ago. I announced this to my parents like I'd discovered gravity.

This concert got me thinking about all the concerts I've seen in my life. Here's a rough list in no real order with any anecdotes that went along:

SIMON AND GARFUNKLE - A few years after their great Central Park reunion tour, they hit the road. I was a young teenager and arrived late to the concert very drunk. I remember running up with my girlfriend at the time hearing the beautiful harmonies of "America" echoing through the park.

DON MCLEAN - I loved his two big hits 'American Pie' and 'Starry Night'. But really after those two songs, there wasn't much to grab hold of. I think he did American Pie twice. I was grateful for that.

PAUL SIMON - His Graceland tour. This was a fantastic concert. He had many brilliant South African musicians touring with him. It was an eclectic introduction to the sounds of Africa all anchored by the brilliant Graceland album.

DONOVAN - What is it with me and 60s groups. Anyway for some other reason than nostalgia, these bands resonated with me in my late teens and early 20s. Donovan was great. He was very chill, sat on a stool the whole time with a bouquet of flowers at his feet. A nod to the fact he used to surround his stage in flowers.

THE TOKENS - Who? "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". They're not a band I know beyond this one hit, but they were performing on a cruise ship Jennifer and I took with her family. The concert was -- pleasant.

ELTON JOHN - Oh man, what a showman. This was mid-80s. The guy was simply wild on the piano. This is the one artist I am so glad I saw in his prime.

DAVID BOWIE - I was nuts for David Bowie so when Let's Dance came out, I knew I must see the tour. This was one of the first big stadium concerts I'd ever been to. He was playing two nights in Toronto and I bought tickets to both. I assumed each show would be something completely brand new so I was disappointed to realize he repeated the exact same set. Although we did end up with a bonus on the second night. His old guitarist Mick Ronson happened to be in town so he came on stage with Bowie to play his original solo on Jean Genie.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR -- Not exactly a concert per se, but I was a fan of the Norman Jewison film and this tour of the rock opera featured the film's original Jesus and Judas reprising their roles. And it was indeed a great show...not as powerful for me as the film, but the two guys still had great voices.

BRUCE COCKBURN - He was playing at a small outdoor amphitheatre. About 2000 people. We're all waiting for the concert to begin when two girls on the other side of the arena jump up and shout: "There ain't no flies on us, there ain't no flies on us! There may be flies on some of YOU guys but there ain't no flies on us!" And they sat back down. 10 seconds of quiet...then again "There ain't no flies on us!" They finish the rhyme and sit down. Now on our side, a small group of four stand up and shout back the same thing. And THEN almost half of the other side leap up and shout it out. So this time, our entire side of the stage jumps up and shouts: THERE AIN'T NO FLIES ON US, THERE AIN'T NO FLIES ON US! THERE MAY BE FLIES ON SOME OF YOU GUYS, BUT THERE AIN'T NO FLIES ON US! The stadium is in a giddy fever pitch and Bruce Cockburn, the smart performer he is, steps out onto the stage at that exact moment and the crowd goes ape shit. It was awesome.

k.d. lang - I caught her warm-up show in Vancouver ahead of a North American tour back in 1995 for her All You Can Eat album. Her voice is simply perfect. It's so powerful, it soars through the concert hall. At the end of the concert, I had a back stage pass and had a chance to meet her. The first and only time I've had a pass like that. I was pretty nervous, even moreso when I realized she was coming by to talk to me with no one else around. Just the two of us.

This caught me so off-guard, I couldn't fumble much to say except some pretty bland platitudes. She put the onus on me to keep this banter going, and why not? She just gave a brilliant performance. The least I could do is come with a little something to blab about. But no, I could only marvel at one thing: My god, she is absolutely gorgeous! I never really picked that up from her photos or when she was on stage, but inches from her, staring right into her eyes -- gorgeous. She autographed my CD and I mumbled a lame thank you and she was on her way. Someone told me Sarah McLachlan was backstage also (there were only about 100 of us), but I had no idea what she looked like at the time and couldn't pick her out.

SONNY RAWLINS - I didn't know a lot about jazz when I was invited to join a friend who's soon-to-be ex-girlfriend bailed on him. I was happy to join him. The seats were amazing. And the music opened my ears to jazz. Spectacular. I've not only been a fan of Rawlins since but many other of the jazz greats. A memorable concert.

TOOTS AND THE MAYTALS with headliner BURNING SPEAR - This was an intimate outdoor reggae festival in Vancouver's Stanley Park. I didn't really know either but Jennifer is a big reggae fan. She knew what we were getting into. Toots came on first and he was captivating. My favourite line of the day, said in a thick Jamaican accent: "I am the teacher and you are all my pupils" as his finger scanned across the crowd. Then he blew the lid off Stanley Park. Brilliant. Afterward, Burning Spear came on. Jennifer assured me he was a reggae legend. One of the greats. To me, he was sleepy-time reggae. We didn't last through his whole set. We left wishing Toots had closed out the event. He was the true headliner.

JOAN OSBORNE - I liked her big hit album at the time with that song, "One of Us". She was playing at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver, a club with a great atmosphere. I had two tickets but the girl I'd asked bailed at the last minute so I went with another girl, a friend. So my date concert turned into a chummy concert. Osborne was good. I remember liking the show but it hasn't stuck with me.

SIA - I discovered Sia through a youtube link someone sent me. Fell in love with her voice that was a disconnect with her goofy attitude. She played at Club Soda, a great joint in downtown Montreal. Came out in a plastic dress that looked amazing but must have been a sauna...and sure enough, a quarter of the way through, she confessed this was the first night with the outfit and confirmed it would be the last...she was melting under the lights. The show was excellent.

PHILIP GLASS - This concert stuck with me for all the wrong reasons. Philip Glass was in Vancouver to perform his soundtrack live alongside the film, Koyaanisqatsi. This was something not to be missed! I'd seen that film in my 20s and it blew my mind. I was higher than the snows of Kilimanjaro and the film spoke to me. And Philip Glass' music was a powerful voice for the film. So this performance promised to be mind-blowing. I told Jennifer, 8 months pregnant with Jada, that this was a must-see.

So the film and performance started. Jen promptly fell asleep and I dreamed of big fat joints that could help me make it through the snoozer. It was brutal.

MACY GRAY - She was our second concert at Club Soda, a great intimate club in downtown Montreal. And Macy Gray has a gravely Dylan scratch to her voice that's like a siren. Lots of fun that night.

NEIL DIAMOND - We saw him when he was into his 60s, but seriously, that guy's voice is still kickin' some ass. He had so much energy, we loved the show.

MOBY - Saw him at a small outdoor concert in Vancouver. He was pleasant, music was good though it's not too memorable really. Apart from his rapid-fire "ThankyouThankyouThankyou" after every song.

NELLY FURTADO - I went to NYC in 2002 with my old friend Rick Colbourne. We met up with one of his old bandmates (Rick used to lead a band). He was now a concert promoter and had tickets to see Nelly Furtado at the Hammerstein. We watched from the balcony. It was amazing to watch the crowd of young teens respond to her every gesture. As she sang, she waved her arm side to side in the air...in a nanosecond, the entire audience responded in kind. She had an army of young girls waving back at her. She put on a great show.

Concerts I missed...but shouldn't have:

QUEEN - they came to Toronto. I had a chance at tickets, had planned to go..but at the last minute, I didn't feel like doing the hour-journey into downtown Toronto. They'd be back. They weren't and I never saw Queen.

THE POLICE - In their early days, they used to put on free outdoor concerts in Oakland, Ontario. Two years in a row. Cheap tickets and the Police headlined the event. Both times I skipped it. Regret that now.

U2 - A friend of mine lucked out and got to DJ a private party for U2 after one of their Vancouver concerts. As a thank you, he got a bunch of free tickets to the next night's show. He offered two to me since he couldn't go. I arrived to pick them up from his brother only to learn that the brother gave the tickets away to someone else. I was pretty bummed. I was dying to see them. This was their Zoo TV tour to promote Achtung Baby...damn, what a concert to miss.

I know I'm missing some big concert. I'll make an addendum if it comes to me...