Sept. 27: Worst concert

 I will start this note by making a list of all the concerts I have attended:

- Amanda Marshall (x3)

- Weird Al Yankovic (x3)

- Alice Cooper

- Aerosmith

- Prince (x2)

- Don Henley/Susanna Hoffs

- Van Halen (with DLR)

- Roxette

- John Mellencamp

- Huey Lewis and the News

- Trisha Yearwood

- Sass Jordan

- Lee Aaron

- Kim Mitchell/Allannah Myles

- Raffi

-

Of them all, Raffi was the worst. He came onstage about two hours late, was obviously high on opium and Cheez Whiz, and then yelled at a bunch of kids in the front row for wearing Sharon Lois and Bram shirts. Raffi refused to play any music, set fire to the stage, and then wiped his nose on his tuba player's eyebrows.*

-

Seriously, I hate to say it but Sass Jordan and John Mellencamp were both pretty bad, but I don't fault either of them for it. I had gone in with high expectations, hoping to see a show as hopping as they were in their respective heydays, which were the 80s and 90s. 

I saw Mr. Mellencamp's concert in Ottawa when I was in my late 40s and I was one of the youngest people in the audience. As he sang in his trademark partly singing-mostly talking voice, a whole lot baby boomers took to the stage and started dancing in the aisles.

Adding to my general discomfort was that Mellencamp didn't play my favourite song from his catalog, which is When Jesus left Birmingham. I like that song s'much because it's like he pulled it all right out of my brain.

But he did play Pink Houses, which is my second favourite song of his, but I don't think I'm going to see him in concert again. I wish I could have seen him on his Lonesome Jubilee tour because so much of that album was inspired by the book of Ecclesiastes, which is the best thing that has ever been written.


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* Didn't actually happen. Wrote this to get a rise out of my sister.



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