\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
1<\/strong><\/p>\n I felt sorry for Bryan Adams.\u00c2\u00a0 He had to go on first, during the daytime, he The layperson thinks it’s effortless.\u00c2\u00a0 That you make it and then it’s clear It’s easier when you’re the headliner, when they’ve only come to see you.\u00c2\u00a0 Bryan and the band were giving it all they had.\u00c2\u00a0 Playing as hard as I’ve ever I got my first real six string They knew the intro.\u00c2\u00a0 It was in their DNA.\u00c2\u00a0 Bryan didn’t even bother singing. And after this they were.\u00c2\u00a0 They even sang along with "(Everything I Do) I Do Then Bryan amped it up.\u00c2\u00a0 Now that he controlled the crowd, he worked it.\u00c2\u00a0 He 2<\/strong><\/p>\n When Brian Greenbaum first told me Dylan was gonna play minor league stadiums But sitting in the middle of the crowd, atop a riser in minivan seats during And I can’t say there’s a lot of charisma in St. Paul’s Midway Stadium.\u00c2\u00a0 But Think back to your formative years.\u00c2\u00a0 Those are the gigs you remember.\u00c2\u00a0 Not The eighties were different.\u00c2\u00a0 The economy and MTV soared at the same time.\u00c2\u00a0 As uncool as MTV is today, that’s how hip it was back then.\u00c2\u00a0 Radio was This was a revival meeting of thirtysomethings.\u00c2\u00a0 People who remember the 3<\/strong><\/p>\n Tickets were $45.\u00c2\u00a0 And adults could bring children under twelve free.\u00c2\u00a0 Tony Even though we arrived a good hour and a half before Bryan hit the stage, I swear the same people were up against the barrier from Bryan through Dinner was in a tent behind the outfield fence.<\/p>\n You see this is a traveling city.\u00c2\u00a0 They don’t risk local food, they take a They carry their own power.<\/p>\n They’ve got two stages.\u00c2\u00a0 Which leapfrog each other from city to city.<\/p>\n But the sound reinforcement gear, the P.A., that comes down IMMEDIATELY!\u00c2\u00a0 And Actually, there was an opening act.\u00c2\u00a0 Before Bryan.\u00c2\u00a0 Somebody Coleman.\u00c2\u00a0 A I think the sausage was soy.\u00c2\u00a0 OF COURSE I ate it.\u00c2\u00a0 Just call me Fielding Highlights?\u00c2\u00a0 "Cuts Like A Knife".\u00c2\u00a0 Singing "na na na" makes you feel fully And when it was all done Bryan said to come hang with him in the bus.\u00c2\u00a0 He I can read the clues.\u00c2\u00a0 They wanted to be alone.\u00c2\u00a0 I was an interloper.\u00c2\u00a0 It was But SECONDS after I stepped off the bus the engine roared and they peeled 4<\/strong><\/p>\n You’ve got to know the guys in Def Leppard.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re so NICE!<\/p>\n I usually give rock stars room.\u00c2\u00a0 But when they caught a glimpse of me they And by now the sun had set.\u00c2\u00a0 Just after nine in St. Paul.<\/p>\n Midway Stadium is on the wrong side of the tracks.\u00c2\u00a0 Then again, there are The opening number was "Action".\u00c2\u00a0 Sort of a call to arms, an introduction, Next came "Let’s Get Rocked".\u00c2\u00a0 Then the album track from the monster album of And then they hit "Foolin’".<\/p>\n Is anybody out there, anybody there I’m surveying the landscape.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s a forgotten generation, forgotten music.\u00c2\u00a0 But few want to see these so-called stars.\u00c2\u00a0 Eminem, 50 Cent AND Lil’ Jon And when Rick Allen’s drums kicked you in the gut, and Viv and Phil started 5<\/strong><\/p>\n They nailed "Armageddon It".\u00c2\u00a0 Another killer from "Hysteria".<\/p>\n But it was "Rocket" that sent things to a higher level.<\/p>\n Remember when everybody took guitar lessons?\u00c2\u00a0 Admit it.\u00c2\u00a0 You wanted to be a We gave up.\u00c2\u00a0 But there was a cadre of players who continued to practice, who To see these guitarists work their axes is to remind us not only that it But the reason "Rocket" was so fucking great was the duel between Viv and 6<\/strong><\/p>\n Gunter glieben glauten globen<\/em><\/p>\n This got me on my feet.\u00c2\u00a0 Made me ignore the cute interpreter signing the show Alright Neil Young doesn’t mean much to this generation.\u00c2\u00a0 They weren’t smoking dope And that’s what happened at this point in the show.\u00c2\u00a0 Just before the encore.\u00c2\u00a0 Rise up, gather round Rock on, rock on What do you want? What do you want? You’d think there was an earthquake, with THOUSANDS of people bouncing up and 7<\/strong><\/p>\n If you got a printout of the most played videos of the eighties I’d be To tell you the truth, it’s not even one of my favorites from "Hysteria".\u00c2\u00a0 And suddenly the landscape changed.\u00c2\u00a0 Towers started to be erected throughout 8 I told Wendy and Fred you never leave right after the gig.\u00c2\u00a0 The traffic’s too It’s a whole life.<\/p>\n Tony started off selling t-shirts in Phoenix.<\/p>\n Now he’s a cast member in the circus.<\/p>\n Mark started as a foot soldier too.\u00c2\u00a0 And worked his way up the ranks.\u00c2\u00a0 To We took Wendy and Fred on the bus, where Sav treated them like they were "Troy" was on the TV.\u00c2\u00a0 There was room for us in the lounge in the back.\u00c2\u00a0 It Today’s generation has got the impression that musicians exist on television. But this is untrue.\u00c2\u00a0 Musicians exist on the road.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s their life.\u00c2\u00a0 Going I’m rolling on and on and on It’s a grind, but it’s hard to give up the dividends.\u00c2\u00a0 Seeing the world.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00c2\u00a0 1 I felt sorry for Bryan Adams.\u00c2\u00a0 He had to go on first, during the daytime, he had to warm up the crowd. The layperson thinks it’s effortless.\u00c2\u00a0 That you make it and then it’s clear sailing.\u00c2\u00a0 But you’ve got to sing for your supper every night.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to deliver every night.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-shows"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-1H","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
had to warm up the crowd.<\/p>\n
sailing.\u00c2\u00a0 But you’ve got to sing for your supper every night.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to
deliver every night.\u00c2\u00a0 You’ve got to win over the audience every night.<\/p>\n
But at a gig like this, EVERYBODY knows your hits, but when it comes to album
cuts…a bunch of people were there to see Def Leppard.<\/p>\n
seen them.\u00c2\u00a0 But fists were only raised down front.\u00c2\u00a0 Everybody else had been
standing in the hot sun, they needed to be CONVINCED!\u00c2\u00a0 And that’s what "Summer
of ’69" did.<\/p>\n
Bought it at the five and dime<\/em><\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0The audience carried it.\u00c2\u00a0 Getting louder with every word.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s moments like
this that make you want to be a rock star.\u00c2\u00a0 When you’ve got 10,000 people in
the palm of your hand, when they’re finally yours.<\/p>\n
It For You".\u00c2\u00a0 I was wondering whether Bryan would play it.\u00c2\u00a0 This was
definitely a ROCK crowd.\u00c2\u00a0 But on a tour like this, a summer round-up, you’ve got to
play your hits, ALL your hits.\u00c2\u00a0 You don’t want to leave ONE paying customer
unsatisfied.\u00c2\u00a0 Then again, you don’t want to piss anybody off.\u00c2\u00a0 So Bryan set it up.\u00c2\u00a0
Stating that the song had been labeled shit by a critic in St. Paul and all
he could say to the guy was…SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS!\u00c2\u00a0 Now the longhairs could
let their guard down, Bryan had disarmed them, they were in it together.<\/p>\n
changed the set list.\u00c2\u00a0 The roadies were tearing up the print-outs, no longer
sure where their boss was going, but just playing along.\u00c2\u00a0 Later in the bus
Bryan told me he just had to mix things up, it had to be fun for him.\u00c2\u00a0 But I think
it was about maintaining control, not losing the assembled multitude.\u00c2\u00a0 He
slowed songs down, got their attention, had them sing along.\u00c2\u00a0 He INVOLVED them.\u00c2\u00a0
They didn’t know it, but they were seeing a master at work.<\/p>\n
with Willie Nelson I thought it was cheesy.\u00c2\u00a0 Minor league baseball is about
the EXPERIENCE, not the game.\u00c2\u00a0 To play rock there seemed to invite a PICNIC
atmosphere as opposed to a church service.\u00c2\u00a0 And I want to be at church.<\/p>\n
Def Leppard’s set, it occurred to me that all the religion has vanished from
the sheds.\u00c2\u00a0 They’re seen as rip-off joints.\u00c2\u00a0 Which you go to with an open
wallet.\u00c2\u00a0 Where, even if they’re in a field far from the metropolis, you’ve got to
pay for parking.\u00c2\u00a0 Where concessionaires overcharge you for beer.\u00c2\u00a0 Where
tomorrow night is an act you hate.\u00c2\u00a0 The venue’s got no CHARISMA!<\/p>\n
the acts BROUGHT charisma.\u00c2\u00a0 This show wasn’t part of a series, it was a one
time affair.\u00c2\u00a0 With a portable stage erected just for the evening.\u00c2\u00a0 With rubber
mats covering the outfield.\u00c2\u00a0 With sound reinforcement akin to a rock festival.\u00c2\u00a0
It was an EVENT!<\/p>\n
the ones in the usual places, but one-offs where rock usually didn’t live.\u00c2\u00a0
Those gigs you never forget.\u00c2\u00a0 And tonight’s crowd will never forget this evening
with Adams and Leppard.\u00c2\u00a0 When they relived their youth.<\/p>\n
Happy days were here again.\u00c2\u00a0 The dark seventies were finally history and we
could just ENJOY the music again.<\/p>\n
calcified, radio didn’t want to play anything that didn’t fit the format.\u00c2\u00a0 It was
MTV that broke the new acts.\u00c2\u00a0 And, when they latched on to something, when it
worked, they embraced it, made it part of their core, spun multiple videos from
the album and went on the follow-up record thereafter.\u00c2\u00a0 They were in bed with
the artists.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s all they had.\u00c2\u00a0 There were no reality shows, there was no
fall back position.<\/p>\n
heyday and wonder where it’s gone.<\/p>\n
started pointing them out.\u00c2\u00a0 All the youngsters were decked out in merch.\u00c2\u00a0 They
BELIEVED!\u00c2\u00a0 Go to a rock show and you’re a fan for life, a regular paying
customer.\u00c2\u00a0 Go to see Britney or Beyonce and it’s like going to see Disney On Ice.\u00c2\u00a0
Something you grow out of, something you almost want to deny you ever went to.<\/p>\n
traffic was backed up.\u00c2\u00a0 You see people wanted to get there early.\u00c2\u00a0 For a good
spot.\u00c2\u00a0 At this general admission affair.<\/p>\n
Leppard.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t know how they held it in, how they avoided going to the
porta-potty.\u00c2\u00a0 But they needed to be close.<\/p>\n
caterer WITH them.\u00c2\u00a0 The food staff has its own bus.\u00c2\u00a0 One of eight.<\/p>\n
is thrown in a semi and onto the road right away.\u00c2\u00a0 I was stunned at the
number of trucks, but Tony said there were only nine.\u00c2\u00a0 NINE??\u00c2\u00a0 I remember when
Wings Over America had four and it was a big deal.\u00c2\u00a0 Tony just rolled back on his
heels and said that Metallica took NINETEEN!\u00c2\u00a0 For their INDOOR show.<\/p>\n
favor to Doc McGhee.\u00c2\u00a0 He got a smattering of applause, but we were only listening
from afar, in the tent, where I was busy chomping down on flank steak and
vegan sausage.\u00c2\u00a0 VEGAN SAUSAGE??\u00c2\u00a0 Isn’t that a contradiction in terms?<\/p>\n
Mellish.\u00c2\u00a0 When you’re included you try EVERYTHING, it’s part of the EXPERIENCE!\u00c2\u00a0
But as I was digging into my carrot cake I heard that thundering guitar, that
rock and roll sound, and plate in hand I dashed for the stage, to hear Bryan,.<\/p>\n
alive.\u00c2\u00a0 And "Open Road" from the new album.\u00c2\u00a0 And a solo acoustic "Straight From
The Heart" as the encore.<\/p>\n
introduced me to Jody (you remember, JODY GOT MARRIED, from "Summer Of ’69"!)\u00c2\u00a0
We discussed the status of the business, how radio wanted little to do with
artists of his generation, but that he had still sold a million and a half copies
of "Room Service".\u00c2\u00a0 And then he wanted to talk politics.\u00c2\u00a0 Canadians can do
that.\u00c2\u00a0 Say how FUCKED this country is.\u00c2\u00a0 How we need to get out of Iraq.\u00c2\u00a0 Bryan
said "East is east and west is west."\u00c2\u00a0 And after I agreed, after about fifteen
minutes on the bus, when I was worried about wearing out my welcome, Bryan
extended his hand and said they had to go.<\/p>\n
cool.<\/p>\n
right out of there.\u00c2\u00a0 For the next town on their endless trek around the world,
bringing music to the people.<\/p>\n
all had to come over and say hi.\u00c2\u00a0 Even though they were due to hit the stage in
minutes.\u00c2\u00a0 As we were on the endless hike to the stage Viv even made a point of
coming over and introducing himself, being the only member of the band I
hadn’t had a conversation with back in Burbank.\u00c2\u00a0 I mean who’s the rock star here?<\/p>\n
railroad tracks on BOTH sides of the field.\u00c2\u00a0 You could hear the trains roar by.\u00c2\u00a0
But not when Leppard hit the stage.\u00c2\u00a0 They squeezed all other sound out of your
ears.\u00c2\u00a0 I’d say we were assaulted, but that would give the wrong connotation.\u00c2\u00a0
Rather we were bathed in a sound so pure, so right, it was like we were
rolling in aural chocolate syrup.<\/p>\n
for a night of endless hits.<\/p>\n
the eighties that STILL sells, "Women".<\/p>\n
Does anybody wonder, anybody care<\/em><\/p>\n
Media is only interested in Russell Simmons, baggy jeans and rappers shooting
at each other.<\/p>\n
can’t sell out a building.\u00c2\u00a0 They barely do any better than Leppard and Adams.\u00c2\u00a0
Because those acts are about RECORDS, whereas Leppard and Adams
are about music.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s not about lifestyle, it’s not about lyrics,
it’s not intellectual, it’s a FEELING!<\/p>\n
to wail, you REMEMBERED!\u00c2\u00a0 How it used to be.\u00c2\u00a0 When being a rock star meant you
were a MUSICIAN, not a CELEBRITY!<\/p>\n
Beatle.<\/p>\n
made it, who became who we wanted to be.<\/p>\n
takes hard work to make it but that there’s PURE JOY in the sound of an electric
guitar.<\/p>\n
Phil.\u00c2\u00a0 They traded licks.\u00c2\u00a0 At an almost ear-splitting volume.\u00c2\u00a0 Penetrating our
hearts like lightning bolts.<\/p>\n
for the two deaf people sitting next to me.\u00c2\u00a0 (I asked her, could they hear
ANYTHING?\u00c2\u00a0 She shrugged her shoulders and said WHO KNOWS?)<\/p>\n
I got something to say
It’s better to burn out than fade away<\/em><\/p>\n
to "Harvest" and when "Rust Never Sleeps" was released they were still watching
cartoons.\u00c2\u00a0 Still, they understand the sentiment, the one in "Rock Of Ages".\u00c2\u00a0
They’re working all week, pushing paper just to be able to cut loose on the
weekend.\u00c2\u00a0 Drink some beer and TURN IT UP!<\/p>\n
This party had lifted off.\u00c2\u00a0 Everybody was writhing in ecstasy, everybody had
their hands in the air.<\/p>\n
Rock this place to the ground
Burn it up let’s go for broke
Watch the night go up in smoke <\/p>\n
Drive me crazier, no serenade
No fire brigade, just pyromania <\/p>\n
I want rock’n’roll, yes I do
Long live rock’n’roll<\/em><\/p>\n
down.\u00c2\u00a0 But what was moving them wasn’t a force of nature, but music, ROCK
MUSIC!<\/p>\n
stunned if "Pour Some Sugar On Me" wasn’t in the top five.<\/p>\n
But after Leppard came back on stage for the encore, after they slowed things
down with "Bringing On The Heartbreak"…that monster riff started to play and I
was defenseless.\u00c2\u00a0 The twenty first century no longer existed.\u00c2\u00a0 It was fifteen
years ago.<\/p>\n
the audience.\u00c2\u00a0 Girls were getting on guys’ shoulders throughout the venue.\u00c2\u00a0 It
was like they were IN the video.\u00c2\u00a0 Performing a ritual that used to be about
holding your lighter in the air.\u00c2\u00a0 Everywhere there were halter-topped babes.\u00c2\u00a0
In thrall to the music.\u00c2\u00a0 I’d say Joe could have gotten them to show their tits
but it was no longer about performer and audience, it was about the music and
everybody else.\u00c2\u00a0 Even the band, PLAYING the song, was a slave to the sound,
the ATMOSPHERE!<\/p>\n
<\/strong>
I’m sitting at the wheel
I got a green light
Not afraid of nothin’ cuz heart and soul
I’m built for life<\/em><\/p>\n
bad.\u00c2\u00a0 You hang out.\u00c2\u00a0 B.S. with the crew.\u00c2\u00a0 Do a post mortem.\u00c2\u00a0 Tell some
stories, tell some jokes.<\/p>\n
where traveling around all summer in a bus is second nature.<\/p>\n
family.\u00c2\u00a0 Most acts want their privacy, but Leppard…it was like we were all at
summer camp together.<\/p>\n
wouldn’t have taken much to convince me to go along for the ride.\u00c2\u00a0 To Chicago
tomorrow, then on to Davenport, Iowa and Lincoln, Nebraska.<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0That they’re untouchable celebrities who live in an alternative universe
that doesn’t intersect with their world.<\/p>\n
from town to town, imparting joy to fans.\u00c2\u00a0 Delivering each and every night to
insure they have a career.<\/p>\n
Who knows where I’m goin’?
Life is an open road – it’s the best story never told
It’s an endless sky – it’s the deepest sea
Life is an open road to me
Life is an open road to me
<\/em>
As I write this Bryan Adams is probably close to the Wisconsin\/Illinois
border.\u00c2\u00a0 Def Leppard?\u00c2\u00a0 They’re in the heart of dairyland.<\/p>\n
Touching a bunch of adoring women.\u00c2\u00a0 All the while doing what you love.\u00c2\u00a0 Playing
music.<\/p>\n