A couple years back, I saw that the band Chicago was going to play a free show in Coney Island. I was like, great! Chicago! Coney Island!! They play that ‘25 or 6 to 4‘ song that has one of the greatest bass-lines EVER!!!! And so I did what I normally do and prepped the crap out of myself to know all the songs that they were possibly gonna play. And oh man – what songs! I knew like zillions of them!!! But then disaster struck! The wife got sick and we couldn’t go!! And then I realized something even worse – Chicago doesn’t even have Peter Cetera in the band anymore!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE FCUK IS UP WITH THAT!!!!!
But wait, Chicago was going to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the 2016 ceremony was going to be at the Barclays Center!!! Surely Pete and the boys could mend fences and come together for one night (The Talking Heads once did for the Hall!), right??? Apparently not, but I went anyways and Chicago with fake Peter Cetera still fcuking RAWKKKKED it!!! But still, Chicago without Peter Cetera is like New York without douchebag Yankee fans – INCONCEIVABLE!!!Â
And so I had a mission – see Peter Cetera live and HEAR the true voice of Chicago! AND SO I DID!!! FINALLLY!!!!
And after all that’s been said and done, Peter’s voice is just the part of me I can’t let go, cause
PETER CETERA IS FCUKING AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He still has got THAT voice, and THAT awesome hair, but who knew he had such biting humor! And who knew that his Karate Kid II theme was a rejected theme for Rocky IV????? SCREW YOU ROCKY IV!!! YOU MISSED THE BOAT!!!
AND I WILL NEVER EVER MISS THE S.S. PETER CETERA BOAT EVER AGAIN – WHICH ENDLESSLY SETS SAIL FOR ENDLESS AWESOMENESS, ENDLESSLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
but if I could ask for one thing Peter – for next time – can you bring a horn section on tour with you?
Setlist – Save Me / Restless Heart / Baby, What a Big Surprise / After All (Cher cover) / Love Me Tomorrow / One Good Woman / Glory of Love / Stay the Night / If You Leave Me Now / You’re the Inspiration / Even a Fool Can See / Oh! Darling (Beatles cover) / Come Together (The Beatles cover) / The Next Time I Fall / Hard Habit to Break / Hard to Say I’m Sorry/Get Away
Encore – Feelin’ Stronger Every Day / 25 or 6 to 4
‘Found this great pic from my “Olivia Newton John†phase! Holy Moly!’
they and we used to say ‘Monroe County Dank‘, but now we say ‘Monroe County Thanks’. Â thank you Monroe County, for giving us a place to escape after a wild week of American head-shaking and denial. Â if there was ever a weekend to get away and disappear into a fuzz of farts and beer, then this was the one Â
but my blood bleeds blue AND red for the city seat of the county – Bloomington
ahhhhhhhhhhhh Bloomington – the home of my ‘education’ from 1995-1999, and the home of an annual weekend trip where a bunch of dudes I truly love get together and party like it’s (1995-)1999
31st Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Barclays Center April 8th
Say what you will about the actual Hall of Fame for Rock and Roll, and how they go about figuring out who gets in and who doesn’t, but the show they put on to induct whoever gets in is simply amazing – cause these moments only happen once – and sometimes people come together that haven’t been in awhile, and then never will again Â
This year’s inductees weren’t AS monumental, both to me personally and for music in general, but the show went on, and the show was AWESOME!!
it opened with David Byrne and Kimbra and The Roots paying tribute to David Bowie with ‘Fame’!!!
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Deep Purple
I had no idea who was in Deep Purple or whether they were still alive or not. Â Well, they are alive!! And David Corverdale was in Deep Purple at some point (and now actually looks like a white snake)! Â And Lars Ulrich loves them!!!! Â And they were great! Although they didn’t play ‘Child In Time‘, which is one of my mos flavorite longest songs of balls thyme, but I guess there wasn’t time for 10+ minutes songs, but the ones they played were juss perfect
Highway Star / Hush / Smoke on the Water
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Steve Miller
I think we take Steve Miller for granted and granite.  Maybe cause his name is so basic and so American, or that his music has become so commonplace and so 70s American.  But you know what – we took a listen to Steve Miller’s greatest hits last week and we realized how foolish we’d been for not listening to him in ages.  His music is CLASSIC rock that truly rocks, and Steve’s still got it at age 72.  Hearing 3 of his songs was not nearly enuff to quench my need for Miller time.  I’ll have to go see a full on Steve Miller show.  HAVE to!
Fly Like An Eagle / Rock’n Me / The Joker
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N.W.A.
Coming off the HUGE success of the hugely awesome Straight Out of Compton movie, N.W.A.’s influence and importance has never been higher – so what a PERFECT time for them to be inducted into the RnR hall of fame (becoming the 5th hip-hop group to do so), right???  And the group members speeches?  Thighly memorable – but they didn’t peform – which is almost a complete waste of inducting them.  Apparently N.W.A. wanted to perform but the Hall wasn’t helpful in helping them do what they wanted to do, so they didn’t do anything, which is BS.  But hey, if all we have are those speeches, then speech on!
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then a little break for a Sheryl Crow and Grace Potter duet of The Eagles’ ‘New Kid in Town’, a tribute to the late Glenn Frey (who was at on this very stage 2 years ago)
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Chicago
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions that bring about unexpected reunions are the single greatest reason for the Hall to exist.  I mean, it brought The Talking Heads together, and the 3 other heads HATE David Byrne more than I hate microwaved Nazi tunafish at Duke University.  Well, if Peter Cetera and his former bandmates of Chicago were to EVER reunite – this would have been the time – but alas, they didn’t, and so, we heard Chicago as they are today – Chicago minus Peter Cetera.  They do have a faux Cetera, but it’s juss not the same.  Anywho, Chicago remain cheesy, but they’re fun, and groovy, and cheesy groovy fun
Saturday in the Park / Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? / 25 or 6 to 4
2 weeks ago, I was like – I don’t know who Cheap Trick really are or why are they being inducted (esp over Three Dog Night or Duran Duran or whoever you think).  Then I youtubed some of their hits and was like, oh yeah, I know those songs, but they’re so MEHHHHHHHHHHHH, and I was like, so why are these guys getting inducted??  And then when I was at the show, I was like, they must induct these guys first and get them out of the way.  But no – they were the last dudes to go.  Probably cause their music is high engery, but whateves.  They were inducted, and they sounded good (and it was cool that their former drummer played with them for maybe the last time ever), and now I can move on with my life and Cheap Trick can with theirs
I Want You to Want Me / Dream Police / Surrender
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and it all ended with a jam that was not one for the books, but hey, when else are Steve Miller Deep Purple Chicago Cheap Trick Paul Schaffer Sheryl Crow Kid Rock Rob Thomas and Little Stevie all going to play music together at the same exact time????  Nowhere else but for the Hall!!!!!!