My younger sister often goes to concerts. She and her husband drive to nearby states to see their favourite bands and she sends me video clips. I haven't been to a concert in over a decade, and that one was in a private box at The House of Blues in Cleveland. I was the guest of a big shot on the board who is a former student and was also my financial adviser at the time. It was the perfect situation for me because I didn't have to worry about people standing up in front of me, people dancing around next to me, or people holding up their arms or their phones in front of my face.
I've wisely stopped going to concerts because I know that they are simply not the place for me. I'm not going to pay big bucks to listen to thousands of people sing along and annoy me in other ways. I'd rather stay home and listen to music in comfort.
In my youth, however, I did go to concerts, and thankfully, I didn't have to pay exorbitant prices. At the risk of all of you furrowing your brows and repeatedly asking Who?, here is at least a partial list--in no particular order--of
Concerts I Have Attended
1. Eric Carmen
2. Seals & Crofts
3. James Taylor
4. Harry Chapin
5. Genesis
6. Peter Frampton
7. The Cars and Wang Chung
8. Phil Collins
9. Rod Stewart
10. Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks
11. Stray Cats
12. Michael Crawford
13. Trans Siberian Orchestra
14. Aretha Franklin
15. B.B. King
16. Neil Diamond
It's entirely possible that there are more and I can't remember.
Seals & Crofts was my very first concert. My best friend and I were huge fans, and her parents took us to see them at the Ohio State Fair. I was in probably 8th grade, and we were both so excited. Eric Carmen was my second concert. He was a Cleveland boy, frontman for the group the Raspberries. He went solo and had the big hit All By Myself. He played at a local high school's theater, and my older sister and I went. I was 16 at the time. You aren't the only one wondering why these acts were playing at such relatively obscure venues.
There are a few of these on the list that I saw more than once, like Genesis and Rod Stewart and Phil Collins. A few were concerts that weren't chosen by me, like B.B. King, Neil Diamond, and Stray Cats, but I went and had a great time. The Aretha Franklin concert happened after a Cleveland (then) Indians baseball game. Aretha arrived in a big Cadillac that drove right onto the field. She had a huge entourage, and I have no idea what all those people were doing because they sure didn't sing with her.
There are some concerts I would have loved to have seen: Elton John, Queen, Tina Turner, Carly Simon, and Earth, Wind and Fire, among others. Heartbreakingly, I had plans to see Elton John, but that was the year I got very sick with mono and strep. He played Cleveland without me--an Official Elton John Fan Club member!
My older sister actually saw The Beatles in concert in Cleveland. Can you even imagine?
What are some of the concerts you've seen? Do you even know who these acts are?
