Journey & The Doobie Brothers at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts — June 24, 2016
Journey and the Doobie Brothers played Bethel Woods — the original Woodstock site. ‘Don’t Stop Believin” meets ‘Listen to the Music’ on the sacred ground where the counterculture was born. Classic rock at its most iconic setting. Ten years ago.
Blue Öyster Cult at Niagara Falls Convention Center — June 23, 1976
Blue Öyster Cult — Long Island’s own — played the Niagara Falls Convention Center. ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’ was about to become one of rock’s most iconic songs, and BOC’s live show blended heavy riffs with an almost literary sensibility that set them apart from every other hard rock band.
The Allman Brothers Band at Darien Lake Performing Arts Center — June 22, 1996
The Allman Brothers Band played Darien Lake. ‘Whipping Post,’ ‘Jessica,’ ‘Ramblin’ Man’ — Southern rock royalty at a Western NY amphitheater. Thirty years ago.
The Head and the Heart at Canalside (Kerfuffle Festival) — June 21, 2019
The Head and the Heart headlined Kerfuffle at Buffalo’s Canalside on June 21, 2019 — the kickoff of the Living Mirage Tour, the Seattle indie-folk band at the absolute peak of their cycle, playing a free festival on the waterfront with Lake Erie shimmering behind the stage. ‘Lost in My Mind’ and ‘Rivers and Roads’ […]
Yes at Rochester Community War Memorial — June 20, 1976
Yes played the Rochester War Memorial — progressive rock’s most ambitious band at the height of their powers. Steve Howe’s guitar, Chris Squire’s thundering bass, Rick Wakeman’s cascading keyboards. ‘Roundabout,’ ‘Close to the Edge,’ ‘Starship Trooper’ — epic compositions that required a venue big enough to contain them.
Bruce Springsteen at Saratoga Performing Arts Center — June 19, 2006
Bruce Springsteen played SPAC on the Seeger Sessions Tour — performing Pete Seeger’s folk songs with a big band. A different side of the Boss, celebrating the folk tradition that influenced his songwriting. Twenty years ago.
Daryl Hall & John Oates at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts — June 18, 2016
Hall & Oates played Bethel Woods. The best-selling duo in music history — ‘Kiss on My List,’ ‘I Can’t Go for That,’ ‘Maneater’ — on the original Woodstock site. Blue-eyed soul meets counterculture history. Ten years ago.
Lynyrd Skynyrd at SPAC — June 17, 1975
June 17, 1975 — the first time Lynyrd Skynyrd ever played SPAC. The Nuthin’ Fancy Tour. Original lineup, Ronnie Van Zant out front in his bare feet and floppy hat, Allen Collins and Gary Rossington on guitars, Billy Powell on piano. Two years and four months before the plane went down in a Mississippi swamp. […]
Dave Matthews Band at SPAC — June 16, 2006
Twenty years ago tonight at SPAC, Dave Matthews Band played night one of what had already become an annual ritual — the June DMB stand at Saratoga, lawn full, pavilion packed, the smell of grass and patchouli rising into the pines. This was peak DMB: Boyd Tinsley still sawing the violin, LeRoi Moore still on […]
Eric Clapton at HSBC Arena — June 15, 2001
Eric Clapton played the HSBC Arena in Buffalo. Slowhand — one of the greatest guitarists in rock history — brought decades of blues-rock mastery to Western New York. From Cream to Derek and the Dominos to ‘Tears in Heaven,’ Clapton’s catalog spans the full history of electric guitar.