Concert Time

Vaughn McMillan

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Steve and Heidi are a couple of my best friends. Just overall good people. Steve played keyboards in my band many years back, and I've known Heidi nearly as long as I've known Steve. I got a text last night from Heidi asking if I wanted their spare ticket (at no cost) to go see Ringo Starr and his All-Star Band with them tonight at a local outdoor concert auditorium. The "All-Star Band" is currently made up of Todd Rundgren, Steve Lukather, Gregg Rolie, Richard Page, and Gregg Bissonette, all of whom are heavy hitters in their own rights. Sounded fun, so I accepted. Then I found out the tickets are for are front row seats. :) Then Heidi mentioned that she expected Gregg Bissonette to come out front after the show to visit, since he and Heidi's brother are good friends. (Heidi's brother Derek Hilland is an awesome keyboard player who has toured with Rick Springfield, Foreigner, Whitesnake, Iron Butterfly, and others. And like Heidi and Steve, he's a genuinely nice person..I've been buddies with him for years.)

This should be a fun evening. :D
 
Well Vaughn I envy you in more ways than one. Whilst i don't know or recognize these names i do recognize the names of the bands you mentioned. One sad thing from my youth was that due to isolation of the country i grew up in, we never has any of the bands i would listen to tour our place and so i have never had the luck to attend a rock concert as you know them, in my life.
My son was saying the one thing he regrets about his University life to date was that by playing football he lost out on what is called Frosch week here. ( the first week of the year for 1st year students).
Well in that same way a rock concert is one of the things i most agonize over. There is a chance to see some of the old bands touring and playing gigs in Casinos etc locally but the sound my ear is set to and the whole idea of starting out at 56 somehow just doesnt fit in my mind now.
I still find myself caught in the timewarp of the music the bands of my era played but hey would have been so cool to have been front row like you gonna get to do.

Enjoy it from the sounds of things given your own musical background it will be as good if not better given the human interaction than turning on your big yellow. Great friends you have to think of you but then hey you great company too so its a wash. :)

By the way i still find myself feeling like a rebel when i chant the words to Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" to my son.
 
It was a great show indeed. Since Ringo doesn't really have enough hit material to fill a concert, he brings a band of other known stars to play some of their hits, too. We heard songs by Ringo, the Beatles, Santana, Mr. Mister, Toto, and Todd Rundgren.

Obligatory photos...

This is Heidi with Gregg Bissonette before the show. I ended up missing the chance to meet him since they met up before I got there, but Steve and Heidi spoke highly of him. They had met Gregg before, and they also know his brother Matt, who's played with a lot of people (currently with Elton John). Matt and Heidi's brother played with Rick Springfield together. Both Matt and Gregg have played with Ringo, as well as David Lee Roth, Joe Satriani, and others.

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This was my first time going to a show at this venue. It's an outdoor amphitheater at Sandia Resort and Casino. It's a nice facility for sure.

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And an imperfect shot of the whole band from our seats.

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From left to right:

Greg Rollie - keyboards, vocals - Santana, Journey

Steve Lukather - lead guitar, vocals - Toto, as well as session work with tons of artists, from Aretha Franklin to Warren Zevon

Warren Hamm - keys, percussion, sax, vocals - Bloodrock, AD, and utility work with a lot of bands ranging from Kansas to Donna Summer

Gregg Bissonette - drums, vocals - David Lee Roth, Toto, Steve Vai, and many more

Ringo Starr - vocals and occasional drums - Some old band from England

Richard Page - bass, vocals - Mr. Mister and solo recordings

Todd Rundgren - rhythm guitar, percussion, keys, vocals - Solo recordings, as well as producer on a wide variety of records

The show was delayed about an hour and a half due to rain, so everyone went inside the casino to stay dry. While we were waiting, we met up with several other friends, and one of those friends - Rene - and I took off together to go throw $20 each at the slot machines. In pretty short order I'd doubled my money and she was down to 30 cents, so we cashed out.

Towards the end of the rain delay, Heidi got a text message from Gregg saying "I think we're going on pretty soon". Kind of cool when the band sends text messages to let you know the show's about to start, lol.

While waiting for traffic to clear out after the show, I decided to risk my new-found $20 on a few more pulls of the slots. I ended up winning another $220 in about 15 minutes, so I cashed out and went home. :D
 
Lotta talent on that stage. Sounds like it was well worth the wait. I don't imagine rain delays happen that often there. Take good care of that $lot pulling arm:thumb::D
 
... I don't imagine rain delays happen that often there...

It's monsoon season here now, so brief daily afternoon thundershowers are pretty common. This was my first concert at that venue, but Steve and Heidi have been to a lot of them there, and they said they've only been rained on three or four times. One of those times was when Harry Connick Jr. was playing. Right as the concert was starting, the rain started falling, and the band left the stage while crews rushed out to cover all the instruments and equipment. After a few minutes, the rain was still falling, but not real heavily. Before long, Harry came out on stage alone and said "I know out here in the desert, rain is a rare occurrence, but I'm from New Orleans, and we have humid days that are wetter than this. If you all don't mind, I'm going to go ahead and play." Then he uncovered his keyboards and started playing a solo set. Eventually, the rain stopped completely, so the rest of the band came out and joined him for the last half of the show. :thumb:
 
Great stuff Vaughn. Thanks a lot for posting it. Cool looking venue for sure. Did they do any of Todd's work besides the pop stuff?
 
Glenn, unfortunately, they didn't dig very deep into Todd's catalog. Just a few songs, and they were the ones voted most likely to be recognized by a crowd. ;)
 
That's OK. That's what those concerts are for and they always look like a blast. I went to a Steve Miller concert once because Eric Johnson was opening for him. I stayed to watch Steve and was amazed how many of his somgs I knew . . . and knew well. It improved my views on the pop genre, that's for sure. There's a lot of talent out there (much of it little known) in many types of music whether its your favorite style or not :thumb:.
 
When i first saw the venue i thought how cool given location they dont have to worry about the weather....well almost. Nothing beats outdoor venue like that in my view. You lucky you know what. :) Cool company, great show and music (like the idea of variety) and getting paid by the Casino to attend, what more could one ask for. Now whats it gonna be, another guitar or more ammo for your next shooting excercise. :)

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