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.
Poison at Cayuga County Fairgrounds — June 14, 1991
Poison played the Cayuga County Fairgrounds in Weedsport — glam metal at a Central New York county fair. Bret Michaels, C.C. DeVille, and the boys brought ‘Every Rose Has Its Thorn,’ ‘Nothin’ but a Good Time,’ and ‘Talk Dirty to Me’ to an outdoor stage surrounded by cornfields and carnival rides. Peak hair metal at […]
Grateful Dead with Sting at Rich Stadium — June 13, 1993
The Grateful Dead and Sting on a stadium co-bill at Rich Stadium in Orchard Park — June 13, 1993 — sounds like a fever dream now, but it happened, and Jerry Garcia walked out during Sting’s set and sat in on ‘Tea in the Sahara.’ This is the last era of Dead stadium shows. Jerry […]
Hank Williams at Civic Theatre — June 12, 1951
Hank Williams played the Civic Theatre in Syracuse. The father of modern country music — ‘Your Cheatin’ Heart,’ ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,’ ‘Hey Good Lookin’.’ Williams died just 18 months later at age 29. Syracuse got to see the most influential country artist who ever lived. Seventy-five years ago.
Bob Marley & The Wailers at Shea’s Theater — June 11, 1978
It’s hard to overstate what June 11, 1978 means now. Bob Marley brought the Kaya Tour to Shea’s Theater in Buffalo — the old Buffalo movie palace with the gilt ceilings and the chandeliers — and played one of his last upstate New York shows ever. He’d been shot in Jamaica eighteen months earlier. The […]
*NSYNC at Ralph Wilson Stadium — June 10, 2001
*NSYNC played Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park — filling an NFL stadium. Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, and the boys were the biggest pop act on the planet. ‘Bye Bye Bye,’ ‘It’s Gonna Be Me,’ ‘Tearin’ Up My Heart.’ Peak boy-band mania. Twenty-five years ago.
Yes at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena — June 9, 1976
Yes played the Broome County Arena in Binghamton — prog-rock’s most ambitious band bringing ‘Roundabout,’ ‘Close to the Edge,’ ‘Starship Trooper’ to the Southern Tier. Fifty years ago.
Aerosmith at Saratoga Performing Arts Center — June 8, 2001
Aerosmith played SPAC in Saratoga Springs. Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, ‘Dream On,’ ‘Walk This Way,’ ‘Sweet Emotion’ under the SPAC pines on a summer night. Twenty-five years ago.
moe. at Saranac Brewery — June 7, 2006
Twenty years ago tonight, moe. played the Saranac Brewery in Utica — a hometown show in the truest sense, the Upstate NY jam legends inside the F.X. Matt brewhouse, copper kettles glinting in the back of the room. moe. is what the Dead were to the Bay Area or Phish to Burlington: a regional band […]