Tales of My Misspent Youth: Five Concerts That Changed My Life - by Jim Johnson

I’ve seen more than my share of great concerts. Heck, I’ve seen the Stones 15 or 20 times. I never did get to see the Beatles, but neither did most of you. Anyway, seeing a great band never gets old, but some will remain clogged in my memory as being the ones that really stand out. Here’s five particularly good ones.

#5 - Led Zeppelin / Pittsburgh Civic Arena / March, 1970 – I loved the band, from their first record. I was a Yardbirds fan, and they always had great guitar players, but Jimmy Page always stood out for me. Zep’s bombastic style was unlike anything else: Plant’s high wail, Page’s grungy guitar, Jones’ solid bass, but it was the drumming that really did it. No one had ever played like Bonham. Yeah, Moon was all over the place, Ginger Baker could plod out double-bass stuff like nobody’s business, but here was Bonham. He was doing that bass drum stuff, with a SINGLE LUDWIG SPEED KING pedal! To me, it was unbelievable, and I had to see it live. They had just done Led Zeppelin III, and there was a lot of acoustic stuff on that record. I was hoping they wouldn’t get too acoustic on me. They did not disappoint. They played for 3 1/2 hours, without a break. Heck, the drum solo on Moby Dick was 45 minutes. For me, this was Zeppelin at their prime, and I was privileged to see it first-hand.

#4 - The Who / Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati / December, 1979 – Yeah it was THAT Who show in Cincinnati. My friend Louis and I drove down from Columbus. We were both working for Buzzard’s Nest, and got pretty good seats. We decided to drive down early, so we could get close to the doors, get in early, and have a few beers before they started. We got in really quickly when they opened the doors, and a minute after we were in, we heard the band doing their sound check. We blew off the beer and headed to our seats. We made a comment that we were glad we had reserved seats, and wouldn’t have to fight the crowd down on the floor, where it was general admission. It was the Who’s first tour after Moon died, so we didn’t know what to expect, except I was glad they got Kenny Jones to replace Moon. No one could ever play like Moon, but now the Who would have the anchor that Entwistle needed to really let his bass playing shine. After all, he was the real lead instrument in the Who. Townshend could play, but he wasn’t a lead player, in the fashion of Clapton, Page, or Beck. Listen to Quadrophenia, and tell me Entwistle isn’t the lead instrument. Anyway, the Who were great! Didn’t miss a lick with Kenny Jones on drums. We drove home raving about the show, until we turned on the radio, and found out 11 people had died at the very show we just left. We felt just awful, because moments ago, we were raving about how great the Who were. I’ve never been to another general admission show, in an arena.

#3 - The Rolling Stones / Akron Rubber Bowl / July 1972 – I was a student at OSU. It was June of ‘72, and I decided to stay in Columbus instead of going home to Youngstown for the summer. I had just started playing in bands again, after not playing for a couple of years to concentrate on school. I was playing in a band called Caterpillar (named after the company that made bulldozers). Our flyers advertised “The earth-moving sounds of Caterpillar.” I think one of the guitar players worked for them. Anyway, our lead singer, Tom Howard, was a real Stones fan. He convinced me to go with him, and I said yeah, except I didn’t have $18 for a ticket. He loaned me the money, and off we went. We got there early enough that we were able to see the Stones from about 30 feet from the stage. Exile on Main Street had just come out, and song after song after song, they played everything I wanted to hear. Mick Taylor was still in the band on that tour, and he covered everything Keith couldn’t play, magnificently. I was a Stones fan for life.

#2 - Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band / Veteran’s Memorial, Columbus, Ohio / September 5th, 1978 – Playing in a band cost me the chance to see Bruce on the Born to Run tour at the Ohio Theatre in 1976, and I WAS NOT missing him this time. It had been a couple of years since Born To Run came out, and when Darkness On The Edge of Town arrived, that RECORD changed my life. It wasn’t about fun & games & chasing girls, getting high, and having fun anymore. This was serious shit. This was all about life, and MY life in particular. It was like he knew my life’s story, and was singing about it. I was lucky enough to be in the 2nd row (working the ticket counter at Buzzard’s Nest had its privileges). The band came out and started with “Summertime Blues.” The sound, fury and bombast was like a punch in the face, only it felt good. Three hours of the greatest songs I’d ever heard. All of a sudden this was grown-up Rock & Roll. I was mesmerized, and never the same again. Springsteen fans will know what I’m talking about. Rock & Roll grew up that day, and so did I.

#1 - Atlantic City Pop Festival / Atlantic City, NJ / August, 1969 – I know what you’re thinking, how can anything beat the previous four shows? I will tell you. It was the summer of ’69 (yeah, who thought Bryan Adams would write a song about it?), the summer between my junior and senior year in high school. My friend Randy had moved with his parents to Pennsylvania and his family invited me to spend a weekend with them before school started in September. My mom was OK with it, as she knew Randy’s dad was a minister, and I would be OK. I just had to take a Greyhound bus from Youngstown to Harrisburg PA. Randy had just gotten his driver’s license and picked me up at the bus station. He asked me if I was ready for an adventure. I didn’t know what he meant, but he told me there was a ROCK FESTIVAL in Atlantic City that weekend, only a couple hours away. There was ALSO one in two weeks in WOODSTOCK NY, but that was two weeks away, and Atlantic City had a beach. That was a bonus, so we opted for Atlantic City.

This was my first exposure to the “counter culture” and I would never be the same after this either. Pot smoke filled the air, and I saw band after band over three days of great music: Jefferson Airplane, Chicago, Joni Mitchell, Procol Harum, Iron Butterfly, The Byrds, Canned Heat, Santana, Mothers Of Invention, and Joe Cocker, to name a few. It was unbelievable for anyone, let alone a 17-year old kid. On Sunday, the final night, I was totally burnt, from three days of over-exposure to my senses. I was ready to go home, but I had to stay to see Janis Joplin, whom I loved. Janis was great, swigging from a bottle of Southern Comfort, and belting out the tunes from her new album, Pearl. She had a whole new band, and they had a really different sound than Big Brother. I still remember the sax player’s name, Snooki Flowers. Janis was unbelievable. Just as good as when she played Monterrey, in that film. The entire crowd was blown away. After her set, I just sat on the ground for a few minutes to catch my breath. I was about to leave, when they announced from the stage, “Little Richard.” I never thought anyone could top Janis. She was pure emotion, and she shared it with everyone. Richard Penniman came out and it was 45 minutes of pure adrenalin. I don’t even know how to explain it, but you can find those old films of him on YouTube. Magnify what you see by a thousand, and THAT is the electricity that zapped the crowd for 45 minutes to close the ATLANTIC CITY POP FESTIVAL. I WAS NEVER THE SAME.

Each one of these shows changed my life. They made me what I am today. I hope you enjoy my take on them. Rock and Roll CAN change your life; if you believe. It certainly did for me. - Jim Johnson

Jim Johnson is Midwest legend; playing drums with Willie Phoenix, The Retreads and League Bowlers, among others. Click here to read more about him.

Listen to this! League Bowlers Some Balls Deluxe.

Surprised by Pope Francis' Stairway to Heaven?

As our Lifestyle blogger, I've asked Wal Ozello to provide some coverage on Pope Francis' historic visit to the U.S.  Here's his thoughts on why this Pope is  a rock star.

If Justin Bieber  released a song the quality of Stairway to Heaven, you'd be justified to be surprised.

If Coach Urban Meyer started spouting love and admiration for the Wolverines and that state up North, your shock would be understood.

A WTF would be completely okay if you saw someone walking on the water during your early morning run along the Scioto River. 

But no one should be astonished by Pope Francis' message or his actions during his trip to the U.S. In fact, we should have expected it. 

As humans, we pick and chose what we want to believe is right and wrong. We end up justifying in our minds are our actions and beliefs. For example, we may stand against abortion and gay marriage and cite a few biblical quotes to support our beliefs but things like supporting immigration amnesty may be in direct conflict of  our personal rules so we ignore the Catholic belief of "Love one another." 

The fact of the matter is, the Pope doesn't have the luxury of believing in some of the teachings of Christ and ignoring the others. He must be the voice of Christ in today's world, challenging everyone he meets to act completely like Christ - not just how your perspective says you should. He know that you can't always get what you want, but I'm sure he prays that we all get what we need.

And if there's anyone that should have the truest perspective of what it means to be Christ-like, it's the Pope. And not just this Pope... any Pope.

Which is probably why we're surprised by Pope Francis' message... many of his recent predecessors have not been as outspoken as him. Some of them may not have carried the cross like Pope Francis does. And certainly some of them may have been more focused on the nuances of the rules, rather than the golden rule itself.

"Be nice to each other," sounds simple and it's easy. All you need is love.

The best thing we can do as Americans, whether your Catholic or not, is to listen to Pope Francis' messages and admire his actions.

The worse thing we can do is forget about him after he's gone.

Remember...  "There are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on."

Wal Ozello is Music and Lifestyle contributor at pencilstorm.com. When he's not blogging about rock n roll or supporting others, he's writing science fiction novels. His suspense filled time-travel books, Assignment 1989, Revolution 1990, and Sacrifice 2086 can be found at Amazon.com.

Top Ten Vocalists: Part Two - Five through Two

Wow. The debate I stirred with Ten Through Six was high.  I never realized how passionate people were about their singers.  Click here if you missed Top Ten Vocalists: Part One - Ten Through Six.

Here comes Part Two - remember the rules.  These singers just aren't a distinctive voice or a sound, they have to have talent. They must be able to use their voice as an instrument.

#5 Sting. While many rock vocalists are influenced by blues, Sting did something slightly different. He brought jazz to rock n roll, creating haunting melodies that are burned into our memories. His phrasing sounds like a jazz guitar soloing over a driving rock n roll beat. There's no one like him. Two video clips here - one is him singing at Live Aid with saxophonist Bradford Marsalis. He had just left The Police at this point.  You'll be able to hear his raw jazzy rock vocals of Roxanne intertwined with counter melodies from a soprano saxophone.  Bonus track: Eddie Murphy's  rendition.

#4 Jon Anderson. Lead singer of the Prog Band, Yes, Jon has the most angelic voice in rock history.  Seriously, when I die I expect to hear Starship Trooper blasting over the speakers as I enter the pearly gates - that's how I know I've gotten into rock n roll heaven. The most amazing thing to me is that he sings these high beautiful melodies with calm and ease. I equate his melodies to a butterfly fluttering around on a warm summer morning near the ocean. As his phrase ends the butterfly finds his destination, settling on the tall grass just above the dunes, the sun glistening through it's wings.

There's lots of clips of Yes that shows off his voice, but most have about two minutes of instrumental music before the vocals hit. So here's the classic I've Seen All Good People. He's about 57 in this clip. Any other Tenor his age would be way past their prime. His voice is still magically angelic.

#3 Robert Plant This is a voice that gets you laid. Over and over and over again. Sex just oozes out of his melodies. It's rock n roll with a heavy helping of soulful blues. He can climb up a phrase with a perfect attack then gently release it with an airy bliss that melts up into the clouds. He can change up the melodies and phrasing to capture the mood of the song but still maintain his signature blues-rock style. Here's my favorite - Kashmir.

#2 Steve Perry. Love Journey or hate Journey, what's undeniable is the strength and power of Steve Perry's voice. He brings beautiful blues to corporate rock. Many tribute bands and vocalists have tried to copy him. But if you listen closely there are nuances to his phrasing and melodies than make it almost impossible to duplicate.  Be it an extra breathe here or there, or a few grace notes that lead into the power note, or parts of the phrase that build up into a climax - Steve knows how to use his voice as an instrument. A typical singer with his range just hits the high notes and wails away (e.g. Dio, Brian Delp from Boston, Rik Emmett, Dennis DeYoung, the Bee Gees), instead Steve finesses the note, plays with it, and makes it his own.  Take a listen to this bonus track from Frontiers, a song called Liberty. It marries his bluesy phrasing that grows into his power pop, then releases it - letting it subside back into a blues phrase.

Want to know who number one is?  You'll have to check back in a few days to find out.

Wal Ozello is the author of Assignment 1989: The Time Travel Wars and was the lead singer of the Columbus hairband Armada. He's a resident of Upper Arlington, Ohio and a frequent customer at Colin's Coffee.

Learn more about Wal Ozello and other Pencilstorm contributors by clicking here