The Rolling Stones 2006 February 1

Ten Years Ago I got to see one of my biggest bucket list concerts.

Ticket Stub 2006 February 1 The Rolling Stones in Baltimore

I have been to I am guessing around 200 concerts, but I prefer more intimate (and more affordable) venues, Thus I rarely get to see acts that are the stature of the Rolling Stones.

This Stones reputation comes with very high expectations for me, While I don't know the entirety of their catalog, I of course know all the soundtrack of your life stuff - and some deeper cuts on Albums like Let It Bleed and Exile.

As noted I had very high expectations and was not disappointed. I wouldn't place the show at the top of the list of concerts I have seen but it was definitely in the top tier.

1st Mariner Arena was the smallest venue of the tour (13,000) which some fans would term a club show. We were pretty far from the stage So I would call it small arena, we were under an overhang and sometimes the sound got muddy - one nice touch was that the band had a mobile stage which came out to our side of the arena for a mini-set. Overall I was very happy with the song selection with the setlist including several mandatories for me (Gimme Shelter and Sympathy), surprises like "Get of My Cloud" and closing with and encore of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Satisfaction"

Another interesting aspect of the show was the timing. It was the Stones last show prior to performing at Halftime of Superbowl XL in Detroit (Steelers 21, Seahawks 10). Two of the three songs that were performed on the National Broadcast were part of the Baltimore concert, "Start Me Up" and "Satisfaction". The Superbowl performance also included "Rough Justice" from the bands 2005 release "A Bigger Bang".

Rolling Stones Index
2014 Topps Heritage #NF-TRS Satisfaction

Sources and Links
VittlesTunes
It's only Rock n Roll
Rolling Stones
Football-Ref

Performance for the Planet: Earth Day 1990

I have been to numerous festivals throughout my years of concert going. Many of these shows have been to raise awareness for various causes (with varying degrees of merit). 25 years ago on April 21 1990 I went to one to celebrate Earth Day. 

1991 ProSet Super Stars Bruce Hornsby

1990 Marked the 20th Anniversary of Earth Day. Which seemed like a pretty noteworthy accomplishment at the time. Today in 2015 we mark the 45th earth day,

This means we are now five years further removed from the 20th anniversary than that milestone was from the events inception. 

The 20th Anniversary Concert held at Columbia MDs Merriweather Post Pavillion featured at least a dozen acts including Bruce Hornsby who appears on the above trading card.

Year of the No-Hitter
A few weeks ago we mentioned Mark Langston starting a no-hitter (that was completed by teammate Mike Witt). While I was reading up on Langston I cam across an interesting piece of celebrity networking gossip. Langston and Bruce Hornsby are close friends. They met after a Range concert in Seattle.

When he was a free agent prior to the 1990 season Mark Langston checked in with Bruce Hornsby while scouting the Dodgers and Angels. The first phone call Langston got after pitching his no-hitter was from Bruce Hornsby.

Bruce Hornsby and the Range were not the only act involved in the Earth Day Concert.

1990 04 21 Performance for the Planet Lineup

The Earth Day show had to be one of the first that I had been to that had a program. Twenty-Five years later it makes for a fun read. Notable bands included Michelle Schocked, Billy Bragg, Baltimore Mainstay Crack The Sky, The Indigo Girls, Fabulous Thurnderbirds (featuring Steve Ray Vaughn's brother Jimmie, KRS-One, Ziggy Marley and 10,000 Maniacs

Sources and Links
Vittles Tunes - index of our Music related posts
1990: Year of the No-Hitter

LA Times
SI Between Lines 
Encyclopedia Britannica

Live Music - Nila Kay @ Milkboy Acoustic Cafe, Bryn Mawr PA - February 21 2009

I recently caught the beautiful young singer/songwriter Nila Kay at the Milkboy Coffee Cafe in Bryn Mawr. Nila's styling is part Jazz, part Pop - her set included the expected "Girl from Impanema". The young performer initially seemed a bit timid in the intimate cafe setting, but loosened up in her second set. Kay, from Arlington VA, who has been writing songs since the summer of 07 seems to be developing her style and tends to write a lot of songs about the trials of youth, young like, and love. She branched out into some other subject matter including a song about her young son.

Nila performed two 45 minutes sets composed mostly of her own material with a few cover songs mixed in. She performed the vocals and played guitar, while Jon Laine accompanied her on percussion for about half the songs.

Here are some additional pictures from the show:

Live Concert - Jim's Big Ego @ Milkboy Coffee, Ardmore PA

We take a break from your regularly scheduled baseball card posting to bring a team Phungo concert review.


Jim's Big Ego @ Milkboy Coffee - Ardmore PA 2009-01-24

This past Saturday January 24th Jim Infantino and his band "Jim's Big Ego" back to the Philadelphia Suburbs to play a near capacity show at Ardmore's Milkboy Coffee.

JBE is an entertaining and sharply funny band based out of Boston. They have a unique style that I can only describe as having a geek-rock appeal that is somewhat similar to "They Might Be Giants".

Infantino led the three piece band (guitar, upright bass, drum/percussion) through an hour plus set of mostly new material from the latest JBE release "free*". Highlights included "sleepwalker", "i (don't know how to) party", and JBE favorite "She's Dead" as well as a recently penned song about troubled Illinois Senator Rod Blagojevich - Mostly I think Jim wrote the song only because he envies the senators hair.


Jim Infantino @ Milkboy Coffee - Ardmore PA 200-01-24

I spoke to Jim briefly after the show and he said that he felt that JBE should be out touring more in the near future and that Milkboy was a good place for them to play in the Philadelphia area. He was also good enough to sign a copy of the new JBE CD for me. The band had Free* (real price $15) for sale on both CD and Vinyl as well as two of their prior CDs and T-shirts.

The Milkboy staff was courteous and efficient as usual. They dealt with the large crowd quite well.

And a note that may interest my baseball audience, Jim Infantino has sung the National Anthem at Fenway Park, and I presume is a Red Sox fan. There used to be Anthem photos on the JBE website but they appear to no longer be present.

While we are on the Subject of the Red Sox, if you have not voted in the Jim Rice HOF poll please do. If you want more background on Rice check out my posting from last week, and you will get a hint as to how I voted.


Jim's Big Ego @ Milkboy Coffee - Ardmore PA 2009-01-24

If you have seen Jim's Big Ego, I am sure you know during which song the above picture was taken.