80 - 71

80. CMA COUNTRY CHRISTMAS (ABC TELEVISION)
JENNIFER NETTLES, TRACE ATKINS, LUKE BRYAN, SHERYL CROW, HUNTER HAYES, MARY J. BLIGE, RASCAL FLATTS, LADY ANTEBELLUM, DARIUS RUCKER, KELLY PICKLER, LUCY HALE, WILLIE ROBERTSON
November 8, 2013
Bridgestone Arena
Nashville, Tennessee


An annual tradition in Nashville for many years was the filming of the CMA Country Christmas television special on the day after the CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena. Taking advantage of the pre-existing cameras and sound equipment. The date for taping was November 8, 2013.


The arena was packed, even though everyone knew that the the stage would be periodically blocked by large microphone and camera booms. The program was filmed in segments, some of which were shot among the audience. Musical performances were usually given two or three takes. The performers were loose and often joked with the crowd. Being able to watch the process was hilarious, with all the cue cards, multiple camera shots, sound glitches, and make-up breaks.


Jennifer Nettles was the master of ceremonies and was very active in several introductory segments and comedy skits. The other performers could easily be seen waiting in the wings. It was a fascinating glimpse into the music and television business. The one-hour program took more than three hours to shoot. It was edited over several weeks and broadcast on December 2, 2013.

ABC Preview of 2013 CMA Country Christmas

SETLIST:
What Christmas Means To Me (Jennifer Nettles)
Jingle Bell Rock (Rascal Flatts)
Baby Please Come Home (Lucy Hale)
The Man With The Bag (Kellie Pickler)
Let It Snow (Hunter Hayes)
Hairy Christmas (Luke Bryan and Willie Robertson)
A Strange Way To Save The World (Michael W. Smith and Rascal Flatts)
I Saw Three Ships (Trace Adkins)
Mele Kalikimaka (Jake Owen)
Happy Xmas - War Is Over (Darius Rucker)
Do You Hear What I Hear (Mary J. Blige and Jennifer Nettles)
I'll Be Home For Christmas (Lady Antebellum)
Christmas Time Is Here (Jennifer Nettles)
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (Mary J. Blige)
Winter Wonderland (Mary J. Blige)
Silent Night (Trace Adkins and Lily Costner)





79. THREE DOG NIGHT
March 25, 2011
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Sarasota, Florida



We had seen a few of those 'oldies but goodies' shows over the years, so our expectations were low. This concert, however, was a blast!! The signs taped to all the entry doors to the Van Wezel auditorium stated that the program would be no longer than 90 minutes. I think that this was done to alert those with prostate issues ... to help them decide to go to the bathroom just prior to the start of the show.


We could clearly see the band (including four original members) take the stage from the front row. As they launched into their first number, Family of Man, they sounded a little rusty ... so much so that most of them (everybody except Danny Hutton) were laughing through the song. Then Corey Wells stepped up to the microphone, smiled, and said, "Hello everybody! We will not be using auto-tune this evening!" This received a huge response from the audience and set the tone for what would be a fun performance. The hit-filled show lasted precisely 90 minutes.


SETLIST:
Family Of Man
One Man Band
Black And White
Never Been To Spain
Shambala
Out Of The Country
Easy To Be Hard
Old Fashion Love Song
You Can Leave Your Hat On
One
It Ain't Easy
Heart Of Blues
Liar
Sure As I'm Sittin' Here
Mama Told Me Not To Come
Celebrate
Prayer For The Children
Joy To The World






78. ELTON JOHN
"From The End Of The World Tour"
April 5, 2013
Bridgestone Arena
Nashville, Tennessee







I'm sure Elton's 2013 Nashville concert was fantastic, but we will never know for sure, because we had floor seats at the rear of the arena and everyone stood the entire time. We know that Elton was there, because he spent the afternoon visiting the Rymer Art Gallery to view his songwriting partner's (Bernie Taupin) art exhibit.


Obviously, it was a great show. It was Elton John. But only being able to experience him via large screens was a disappointment.


SETLIST:
The Bitch Is Back
Bennie And The Jets
Grey Seal
Levon
Tiny Dancer
Holiday Inn
Believe
Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters
Philadelphia Freedom
Candle In The Wind
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Rocket Man
Hey Ahab
I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues
Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
Take Me To The Pilot
All The Young Girls Love Alice
Sad Songs (Say So Much)
Daniel
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word
The One
Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me
I'm Still Standing
Crocodile Rock
Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting
Your Song





77. DIANA KRALL
"Wallflower World Tour"
April 21, 2015
Ryman Auditorium
Nashville, Tennessee 















Upon arrival, our usher sternly told my wife and me that, "At the request of the artist, there would be no photography, no seating during performances, and no intermission." We were further asked to be respectful of the artist at all times. We both wondered to ourselves if "the artist" had become some sort of diva.

Diana Krall casually strolled out to her piano, along with her six-piece band, onto the elegant candle-lit Ryman stage and without a single word, launched into three songs, played back to back without stopping. Krall's voice was smoky, almost gritty, during those opening numbers. A friend had warned us beforehand that her singing-voice was in bad shape (we later learned that she was still recovering from a long bout of pneumonia, and had been forced to postpone the start of her tour by a month). Fortunately, with occasional sips from a nearby glass and frequent sprays from an atomizer, her vocals improved throughout the evening. 

Her set was an eclectic collection of standards, jazz, as well as renditions of pop songs from the the 1960s and 1970s, many of which were featured on her new Wallflower album. Most of the older songs were accompanied by black and white silent film footage that ran in twenty second loops. Both hilarious and fascinating!! By the time she tore into Tom Wait's Temptation, she was hitting on all cylinders. Her band (including guitarist Anthony Wilson, fiddler Stuart Duncan, and drummer Karriem Riggins) was outstanding, and represented some of the best musicianship we had heard in Nashville.

But it was during a brief solo set that Krall really came out of her shell and started conversing and joking with the audience. She was not a diva at all ... she was just quirky. She would play a snippet of Maple Leaf Rag and then stop and chat for while, then play some Duke Ellington for a bit, and then stop and chat some more. It was a wonderful interlude, being carried along in her steam of consciousness. I've never seen an artist personally connect with an audience quite like that.

The musicianship was incredible and the setting lovely. Our hope is that her voice continues to hold out, because we'd like to see her again.

Setlist from the Ryman show:




76. JOHN MAYER / PHILLIP PHILLIPS
"Born And Raised World Tour"
December 4, 2013
Bridgestone Arena
Nashville, Tennessee


I really wanted to see John Mayer in concert. I knew he was a great guitarist and had earned the respect of such peers as Eric Clapton. I had also watched Where The Light Is ... an outstanding concert video he produced in 2008. His reputation was well-earned and I was prepared to witness guitar virtuosity.


When the curtain rose, things looked promising. The stage backdrop was a fascinating three-dimentional recreation of a southwest desert-scape. Behind it was a screen representing the sky that evolved during the gig from day to night. It was a beautifully-conceived setting for a concert. Mayer and his band came out in subdued fashion and started playing. It was tight. It was sonically crisp. It was boring. The next two hours was a moody interlude of extended blues and jazz jams, interrupted occasionally by Mayer's very low key introductions. This tended to tamp-down audience enthusiasm. So much so that there was complete silence at the beginning of many of his songs. Furthermore, his setlist was devoid of several of his hits, in favor of new material.  This may have been an effort to reduce stress on his vocal chords, that had recently required surgery.  

Still, the gig was weirdly engaging. I walked away knowing that Mayer did indeed have superb guitar chops, but felt I had been to some strange kind of avant-garde art exhibition rather than a rock concert.


John Mayer in Nashville, December 2013

SETLIST:
Queen Of California
Half Of My Heart
I Don't Trust Myself (With Loving You)
Paper Doll
Speak For Me
Why Georgia
Slow Dancing In A Burning Room
You Don't Know How This Feels
Stop This Train
Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey
Neon
Wildfire
Waiting On The Day
Belief
If I Ever Get Around To Living
Born And Raised
Waiting On The World To Change
Dear Marie
Who Says
Gravity





75. KEITH URBAN / GARY ALLAN
"Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy World Tour"
Van Andel Arena
Grand Rapids, Michigan
November 2, 2007


Keith Urban was one of those people who was on my musical periphery. I respected his music, but didn't really warm up to it. There was something about his style that threw me off. I have no idea what it was. Maybe he was a little too sympathetic. I little too empathetic, based on the ballads that I had heard. He was also kinda funky in a weird sort of way. I attributed it to him being Australian.

I got over that real quick when I saw him in concert. The dude can rock. I discovered that he is a serious musician, with far greater abilities than I anticipated. His guitar-playing was first-rate (and has gotten even better since), but it was the intensity of his performance that really stuck with me. He really put it out there. He worked for it. By the time he wailed into 867-5309 Jenny as an encore, he had me.


Gary Allan was the perfect opening act. His understated, erudite approach to music complimented Urban's. He was re-emerging from a hiatus with a new album, Living Hard, after enduring the suicide of his wife in 2004. Many of his songs touched on darker themes, but were beautifully written and performed.

GARY ALLAN SETLIST:
A Feelin' Like That
Tough All Over
Nothing On But The Radio
Alright Guy
Smoke Rings In The Dark
Life Ain't Always Beautiful
Best I Ever Had
Learning How To Bend
Watching Airplanes
Songs About Rain
Right Where I Need To Be
Drinkin' Dark Whiskey

KEITH URBAN SETLIST: 
Once in a Lifetime
Where the Blacktop Ends
Faster Car/All Right Now
Shine 
Raining on Sunday 
Stupid Boy 
Used to the Pain 
Better Half 
Making Memories of Us 
You'll Think of Me 
I Told You So 
Drum chorus 
Days Go By 
I Can't Stop Loving You Tonight 
I Want to Cry 
Who Wouldn't Want to Be Me 
Somebody Like You 
Got It Right This Time
Better Life
867-5309 Jenny
Everybody





74. JOHN WILLIAMS AND THE BOSTON POPS
"100 Years Of The Boston Pops"
July 20, 1985
Blossom Music Center
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio







In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Boston Pops, conductor John Williams took the BP Esplanade Orchestra (a freelance ensemble) on a short tour of fifteen cities. On July 20th, one of the concerts was performed at Blossom Music Center as a fundraiser for other orchestras and symphonies in the Cleveland area.


Williams opened with the fanfare from the 1984 Olympic Games, followed by the score from Fiddler On The Roof.  His setlist was also sprinkled with other masterpieces of modern cinema, including Oscar-winning hits Moon River, The Way We Were, Over The Rainbow ... and of course, his own Star Wars - Return Of The Jedi, of which he played virtually the entire score. It was a spectacular Saturday evening of glorious music.




73. JAMES TAYLOR
"Never Die Young Tour"
September 4, 1988
Veterans Memorial Auditorium
Des Moines, Iowa

For me, there was a 'sweet spot' in James Taylor's career that emerged in the late 1980s, starting with the album  Die Young and running for about ten years through the release of Hourglass. It was a span of time where his musicianship, songwriting, and fabulous voice all came together to create some of his best work.

This concert captured the essence of James Taylor at his best. The auditorium was old and small and added a quaintness and intimacy to the concert that perfectly suited his style. Most of us knew that Taylor had recently emerged from a more difficult period of his life, and it was great to see that he had come out the other side joyous and optimistic. We all left feeling good.

James Taylor - Never Die Young Tour (1988)

SETLIST:
Song For You Far Away
Something In The Way She Moves
Where You Go
Looking For Love On Broadway
Riding On A Railroad
Machine Gun Kelly
Every Day
Summer's Here
Walking Man
Millworker
Western Plain
The Twist
Steamroller
Come Together
How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You
Sweet Potato Pie
Baby Boom Baby
Never Die Young
Love Has Brought Me Around
I Will Follow
First Of May
Up On The Roof
Carolina On My Mind
Fire And Rain
Shower The People
You've Got A Friend
Your Smiling face
The Secret O' Life
Sweet Baby James






72. CHICAGO 
"Chicago 19 Tour"
April 8, 1989
Hilton Coliseum
Ames, Iowa




The Hilton Coliseum at Iowa State University was a thirty-minute drive from where we lived at the time ... Boone, Iowa. Tam was six months pregnant. Chicago had also being enduring some changes. Peter Cetera had split the band (as well as producer David Foster) and Jason Scheff and Bill Champlin were beginning to make their presence felt.

The 1989 tour was in support of Chicago 19, an album with four top ten hits, including Billboard Magazine's #1 song of the year, Look Away.

Basketball arenas are notorious for being lousy concert venues, especially with sound systems back then. This was no exception, especially considering the band's bright brass tone. 

It was the 80s, so there was a lot of big hair going on. But the thing I remember most, however, was the wild spandex sleeveless bell-bottomed jumpsuit that James Pankow wore that revealed his 'guns' while played his trombone. He was the 'fashion-forward focal point' of the band, no doubt.


SETLIST:
We Can Last Forever
Look Away
You're Not Alone
I Don't Want To Live Without Your Love
Old Days
Baby What A Big Surprise
Stay The Night
Will You Still Love Me?
Saturday In The Park
Make Me Smile
Hard To Say I'm Sorry
Color My World
25 or 6 to 4
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?
Questions 67 & 68
Beginnings
Feeling Stronger Every Day
Just You n Me
Wishing You Were Here
(I've Been) Searching So Long
You're The Inspiration
Alive Again





71. RONNIE MILSAP
"A Conversation With Ronnie Milsap"
February 7, 2015
CMA Theater
Country Music Hall of Fame
Nashville, Tennessee 




We weren't sure what to expect from this event. When we entered the CMA Theater, we noticed no piano or other band set-up. Just two chairs, with a small coffee table between them. We were among two hundred museum members who attended the intimate event. Peter Cooper, newly named museum editor, opened the program with a few remarks about the life and accomplishments of Ronnie Milsap before introducing him to us in person:

* 40 Number one hits on the Billboard country music charts, placing him third, behind George Strait and Conway Twitty.

* 8 Country Music Association awards, including Male Vocalist of the Year three times, and Entertainer of the Year in 1977.

* 6 Grammy awards.

* More than 35 million albums sold.

Milsap received a standing ovation as he was ushered into his chair. He was in great spirits, having been recently inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He started at the beginning, blind at birth and abandoned by his parents, he attended numerous boarding schools. His childhood was difficult, but he learned that he had a gift for music, particularly the piano. He eventually landed in Memphis as a session musician, where he recorded with Elvis Presley, most notably on Kentucky Rain in 1970.

In a chance encounter with Charlie Pride, he was persuaded to move to Nashville, arriving on December 26, 1972. His first gig in the Music City was as headliner at the King of the Road Hotel, where he became an immediate sensation. Ronnie recalled several hilarious stories involving liquor and guest performers such as George Jones, Tom T. Hall and Charlie Rich. 

We were rolling in the aisles!!



And the rest is history. He lightly touched on his massive success throughout the next two decades, but he was even more enthusiastic for the future. He was continuing to make music every day of his life. Several times throughout his talk, he gave credit for his ongoing success and happiness to his wife, Joyce, to whom he had been married since the beginning and who had been, quite literally, the guiding force in his life.

No. It was not a concert per se, but to hear such enthusiasm and contentment from this legend was music to our ears.