Remembering Gary Moore - A Concert Memory (May 7, 1984)

Remembering Gary Moore today on the 5th anniversary of his passing.

Hard to believe Gary's been gone for five years already.  I listen to his music constantly.  I always felt he was such an underrated artist.  The guy could play circles around other guitar players without breaking a sweat.

First time I heard Moore perform was on Thin Lizzy's 'Black Rose: A Rock Legend' (1979).  The melodies on this album (i.e. Waiting For An Alibi and Do Anything You Want To) are brilliant, but so are the many albums Gary released over the years.

I had the pleasure of seeing Gary perform live once in my life (so damn thankful) when his solo band was touring the US for one of my favorite albums Victims of the Future (1983). First of all, this album has so many blazing guitar solos and I wore out my vinyl copy in less than a month (title track groove alone was worn down first - to this day I can never get enough of that song.).  And how can you go wrong when your band also includes Ian Paice (Deep Purple), Neil Carter (UFO) and Neil Murray (Whitesnake)?  And I couldn't get over the guitar solo in the The Yardbirds cover Shapes Of Things.  If you haven't heard it then go do that right now. 

Rush was touring in support of their album Grace Under Pressure in 1984 and kicked off that tour in my hometown of Albuquerque, NM (the band had a small history of starting their tours off here). No complaints here, especially since I'm a Rush fanatic. Anyway, Gary and band opened for Rush on select dates and ABQ was one of them.  I couldn't tell you who I was more excited to see at that point. Nobody I hung out with in high school was into Gary Moore as I was. Anytime I would play Victims of the Future cassette (or 1982's Corridors of Power for that matter) on my boombox on the bus [sidebar: I was the DJ on my bus...haha] or at school in the hallway)....nothing. What? Ugh!  I digress.

Opening day of the tour:  May 7th, 1984 - the day had arrived <cue choir angels>  The venue was Tingley Coliseum (where all the concerts took place because it was the largest venue we had at the time). It was built for rodeos and the place always smelled like horseshit (literally).  Aside from that, the sound was always horrible.  Obviously not built for concerts, but again, the only place in town for the big tours to perform. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful to this day for ol' Tingley because without that place I wouldn't have seen so many amazing concerts.

Majority of the concerts held at Tingley were GA (General Admission).  When buying a ticket you chose either the seated section or the floor.  I always chose the floor. Those were the first to sell out first because everyone and their brother wanted to be as close to the stage as possible (including yours truly). So this meant showing up at the venue four hours before the gates/doors opened (2:00 PM since doors normally opened at 6:00 PM). Could have been a problem for me on this day because it was a Monday and I was still in class at that time....ahem....supposed to be in class at that time.  I caught a ride with a few of my fellow Rush buddies, arrived at Tingley 1:45 PM and there were maybe six or seven people in line. YES!

Stood/sat in line talking to others for a few hours about what else? Rush, Gary Moore, Thin Lizzy and every other band under the sun. The line grew in length until you couldn't see the end of it...perfect.  Gates opened, which led to the front of the venue, and everyone would fuckin' run to form another line in front of the doors of the venue (always hated that).  Needless to say, I was always capable of running fast and more or less had been able to secure the same spot in line with my friends.

Doors open.....quick glance at the tour t-shirts as I ran by....down the corridor, onto the floor, ticket ripped (always hated that too and told the person ripping tickets to rip where I wanted so the ticket wasn't destroyed. I got lucky nine times out of ten and still have 97% of my ticket stubs intact) and straight for the barricade...front and center of the stage.  SAFE!  Again, spoke to all the people around me about Rush, Gary Moore, Thin Lizzy and every band out there.

Show started at 8:00 PM, lights go off, surge of the crowd pushed forward....Gary Moore hit the stage. HOLY SHIT!!  GARY FUCKIN' MOORE!!! He was maybe three feet right in front of me.  HOLY SHIT!! I held my ground best I could (I was maybe 120 lbs and 5ft 10in) and held onto the barricade with all my might to not lose my place.  I was resilient (as I was in the majority of the shows I attended) and able to keep my spot for the entire show (Rush included).  I headbanged to every song.  Sang as loud as I could. Thrust my fist in the air the entire set (with the other hand gripping onto the barricade for dear life).  GARY FUCKIN' MOORE!!

What a setlist.....

• Don't Take Me For A Loser
• Shapes Of Things (Yardbirds cover) - guitar solo is phenomenal
• Murder In The Skies
• Victims Of The Future - my favorite GM song...period!
• Empty Rooms
• Intro/White Knuckles/End Of The World - epic guitar solo
• Rockin' Every Night

His band was tight as hell too, I had hoped Ian Paice and Neil Murray were part of the touring lineup, but that wasn't the case. Still saw Neil Carter and Bobby Chouinard (RIP...who also played in Billy Squire's band).

• Gary Moore - guitar, vocals
• Neil Carter - guitar, vocals, keyboard
• Bobby Chouinard - drums
• Graig Gruber - bass

After seeing Gary Moore perform live for 50 minutes straight, I knew this guy had some goddamn magic that no other guitarist possessed (even to this day).  Not that I didn't think he was 'the shit' already, but seeing him live cemented it all for me.  I watched Gary play every square inch of that guitar.  He didn't move around the stage too much since he was the vocalist. So he remained close to the mic and guitar pedal effects. Not a problem for me....at all.

In my mind and after a few discussions with the crowd around me, Rush had one hell of a show to follow. Especially since Rush was moving more towards keyboard oriented songs and less guitar. 

But, not to worry....Rush killed it.  But Gary crushed it.

Thank you, Gary.  Your music lives on forever.  A concert memory I'll never forget.

Turn it up!!

*VIDEO* Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister Memorial Service and Celebration

For anyone who didn't get a chance to watch Lemmy's memorial service yesterday, here's a link to the video from Motörhead's YouTube channel.  It's the best quality (HD) and from the actual feed itself.

The video will hit a snafu during Dave Grohl's portion....video drops out and audio goes as well.  But the first words Lemmy ever said to Dave was, "Sorry about Kurt" (found that out this morning from a buddy of mine who attended).

Here's the link:
 Memorial Service and Celebration of Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister


♠Born To Lose / Live To Win♠

Remembering Steve Clark

Celebrating Steamin' Steve Clark [Def Leppard guitarist] who passed 25 years ago today. 

First time I heard a Def Leppard song was in 1980.  Our local Rock radio station (94 Rock) played "Wasted" oif their debut album 'On Through The Night'.  Holy shit!  Love at first listen.  And the first time I saw Def Leppard perform live was April 12, 1983 in Albuquerque, NM. They opened for Billy Squier in support of "Pyromania". The "Photograph" and "Rock Of Ages" videos were all over MTV every thirty minutes.  Needless to say, the audience was there to see Def Leppard.  And as expected, Def Lep blew ol' Billy out of the water. Then three quarters of the audience exited the venue soon after their set ended. Gee, surprise....surprise.

I had witnessed greatness in the form of Steve Clark that evening.  He was better 'live' than anything I ever heard him play on their first two releases ('On Through The Night' and 'High n' Dry'....hands down, my favorites).  The songs had so much more punch and he just plain played his fuckin' ass off.  I would never hear "Wasted" or "Lady Strange" played the way I heard them that night ever again. Etched in my memory forever.

I saw Steve one more time on the Hysteria tour (Feb 14, 1988) where they set up the stage "in-the-round" and both Tesla and Great White opened.  I was a fan of 'Hysteria' but it was way too over-produced for my taste.  The tune "Gods Of War" was (still is) my favorite track by far. I was just excited to see Steve perform again.  I wasn't disappointed by his performance, but there was way too many other things going on by way of pre-recorded synth sounds, and Rick Allen's electronic drum kit had every bell and whistle on it since this was his first tour after losing an arm to a car accident.  Steve wasn't flashy like the others running around hamming it up. But he had his moments where he killed it and stole the spotlight from the others.

I was equally touched in 1991 when Tesla's released the 'Psychotic Supper' album and it included the track, "Song and Emotion" written about their ex-tourmate, Steve.  Then in 1992, Def Leppard released their first album without Steve entitled, 'Adrenalize' which included a tribute to Steve by way of "White Lightning".  Amazing songs.

There's always a smile on my face when one of his tunes hits the radio or my iPod.  Whether it's, "Bringin' On The Heartbreak/Switch 625", "Rocket", "Photograph"....or whatever, I stop in my tracks and just thankful his music lives on.

I checked out Def Leppard last Summer (Sept 25, 2015) and they had a ton of photos of Steve flashing up on the screens and onstage celebrating him on a number of songs.  Now THAT wasn't something I was expecting and it made that concert even more memorable. 


Long live Steamin' Steve Clark.

Randy Rhoads Remembered (32 Years Ago Today)

Today marks the 32nd anniversary of the death of one of hard rock’s true guitar heroes, Randy Rhoads.

Randy, who found massive success with Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band back in 1980, after starting his career in an early version of Quiet Riot, died on March 19, 1982.  He was a victim of a plane crash accident in Leesburg, Florida while on tour with Ozzy. His death propelled him into the same vanguard as other legendary guitarists who also had their careers cut short by tragedy.

It wasn’t just the fact that Randy Rhoads dying young cemented his legendary status. He was well on his way to the pantheon of musical genius while still alive.

Randy’s legend runs so deep within the music community, it’s very easy to forget he only recorded two albums with Ozzy (Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman – both released in 1981). But the influence spread far and wide to burgeoning and established guitarists all across the world.

With a blinding speed and a pyrotechnic sonic fervor, the power of Randy’s work is stunning. He achieved so much success and spread an influence so wide at such a young age, (he was only 25 years old when he died) and with such a small amount of recorded material, is an amazing feat in itself. With his bone-crunching riffs, on top of walls of sound that would shake and rattle one’s teeth and soul, Randy played his guitar like no one before or since. In essence, he led a musical revolution in which he never had a chance to witness.

Randy’s legacy lives on to this day and will continue to do so as he lives on in so many others.

Randy Rhoads performing live during his stint in Quiet Riot (1978-79).  Watch this video and you’ll hear many portions of the solo which would go on to become classic Ozzy tunes.

QUIET RIOT (ft. Randy Rhoads) September 22, 1979