Earth, Wind & Fire / Chaka Khan at Pepsi Arena — September 16, 2001
On September 16, 2001, Earth, Wind & Fire brought their horn-driven spectacle to the Pepsi Arena in Albany, with a reunited Rufus and Chaka Khan opening — funk and soul royalty sharing one bill, just five days after the September 11 attacks had frozen the country. The tour hadn’t paused; it had rolled straight through […]
Neil Young & Crazy Horse at Rochester Community War Memorial — September 15, 1986
On September 15, 1986, Neil Young reunited with Crazy Horse for the first time since 1978’s Rust Never Sleeps tour, and chose the Community War Memorial in Rochester as the launching pad — the opening night of the “Live in a Rusted Out Garage” tour. Backed once again by Ralph Molina, Billy Talbot, and Frank […]
Ramones & Blondie at Sal’s Last Chance Saloon — September 14, 1976
On September 14, 1976, two future Rock and Roll Hall of Famers shared a bill in a tiny Poughkeepsie dive bar, five months before either had a real audience outside Manhattan. The Ramones, barely five months removed from their self-titled debut LP, tore through a set of two-minute blasts; Blondie, still a year from releasing […]
Willie Nelson at Melody Fair Music Theater — September 13, 1996
Willie Nelson brought his road-worn baritone to Melody Fair’s revolving stage on September 13, 1996 — one of at least seven return trips he made to the North Tonawanda theater-in-the-round across a decade. He was fresh off releasing Spirit that June, a stark, largely acoustic detour from the outlaw-country sound that made him famous, just […]
Electric Light Orchestra at Utica Memorial Auditorium — September 12, 1976
On September 12, 1976, Electric Light Orchestra brought their full symphonic-rock spectacle to Utica Memorial Auditorium on the Face the Music tour, with Orleans opening the night. Jeff Lynne’s outfit was riding the momentum of “Evil Woman” and “Strange Magic,” blending strings, lasers, and arena-rock muscle just weeks before “A New World Record” would push […]
The Cure at Knickerbocker Arena — September 11, 1996
On September 11, 1996, Robert Smith and The Cure brought the Wild Mood Swings tour to the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, playing a sprawling set to a devoted Capital Region crowd. The band was more than a decade into its run as goth-pop’s most enduring institution, mixing new material like “Mint Car” with deep-catalog staples […]
Orleans at PER Ice Arena — September 10, 1976
On September 10, 1976, Orleans — the harmony-drenched rock band that formed right up the road in Woodstock — played the PER Ice Arena on the SUNY Cortland campus at the absolute peak of their career. “Still the One” had just climbed to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 that summer, an Upstate-born band […]
Bon Jovi at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena — September 9, 1986
On September 9, 1986, Bon Jovi rolled into the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton on the Slippery When Wet tour — just weeks after the album that would turn them from New Jersey hopefuls into the biggest rock band in America hit shelves. “You Give Love a Bad Name” was already climbing the […]
Heart at Saratoga Performing Arts Center — September 8, 2016
On September 8, 2016, three Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acts shared one SPAC stage as the “Rock Hall Three for All” tour rolled into Saratoga — Cheap Trick opening, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts in the middle, and Heart headlining. Ann Wilson’s voice, four decades on, still detonated on “Alone,” “Crazy on You,” […]
Whitney Houston at State Fair Grandstand — September 7, 1986
On September 7, 1986, Whitney Houston brought her meteoric self-titled debut to the New York State Fair Grandstand in Syracuse — a night that found the 23-year-old singer already the biggest new voice in pop, on the road behind an album chasing history. “How Will I Know,” “You Give Good Love,” and “Saving All My […]