A place to discuss the weekly Wall Street Journal Crossword Puzzle Contest, starting every Thursday around 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Please do not post any answers or hints before the contest deadline which is midnight Sunday Eastern time.
Tom Shea wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 5:23 pm
My first real concert (other than local bands in VT) was Journey at SPAC. Quite forgettable. I spent most of the concert looking at girls in the crowd. Lot's of memories of SPAC, but can't remember any of the other bands except the Beach Boys.
Best experience is Bonnie Raitt at Great Woods (or whatever they're calling it now. Right when 'nick of time came' out. 1/2 the people there might have guessed it was her first album. Bruce Hornsby was opening act and played several songs with her as well.
Got lawn seats and a hand rolled cigarette for a wedding present. It started raining as soon as we got there. I asked if I could exit and get a tarp out of the car to cover us. The person at the gate said to try and get no show seats first. I did. 3rd row center. I had to ask people around us how the hell they got such good seats. The people behind us were friends of Bonnie Raitt. The people next to us were friends of Don Law (concert promoter for those not from eastern mass) who said it was other friends that couldn't make it that were supposed to be in our seats. In front of us were winners of a radio contest. Great concert and boy can she play guitar. And she is definitely the opposite of tall.
Other good ones were Jerry Garcia band at Waikiki hatch shell in the afternoon, benefit to put dive moorings in to protect the reef. Second row behind the wheelchair row, so no one blocking my view. That and June 27th Grateful Dead 'fare thee well' concert. Every song was 1970 vintage or earlier.
You were at the June 27th Fare Thee Well show? Me too - I didn't see you there! I went to both shows in Santa Clara; the second night I was on the field in front of the stage, where I had to avoid standing behind Bill Walton.
DrTom wrote: ↑Fri Apr 24, 2020 1:41 am
Ah - I see now. I was going for the Hippie reference but see the "looks like its gonna rain".
I was a reluctant anti-establishmenter, I went to a small Lutheran University in Central PA and it was so straight that I was one of the hippies! They did make one HUGE mistake while I was there; they were looking for a homecoming concert band and decided to go with this new group, relatively unknown with only one real hit, something called "Light my Fire". Boy was THAT an eye opener. The concert was held in the Chapel Auditorium and I swear they tried to disinfect it after. The campus newspaper was afire with tales of the lewd and lascivious lead singer and felt sure that Mr. Morrison would never achieve any success.
Interestingly enough my buddy and I were walking across campus earlier in the day when we saw these guys unloading a panel truck and we asked if they were the roadies for the Doors. They said, "no we are the Doors", so he and I helped them unload and then sat and shared some "refreshments" with them. It's how I have my meal card signed by all of them - who knew I was sitting with a legend. They asked "what is this place like" and when I told them there was this long, drawn out, four letter word expressed loudly by the same Mr. Morrison. I don't think he believed me that everyone would be in coat and tie and would filter in quietly and respectfully. Funniest thing that happened in my four years there.
I first thought I attended my first concert in college - Simon and Garfunkel at Barton Hall, but after a couple of hours remembered I went to one several years earlier. It was in late 60s or perhaps 1970 when I was living in Hong Kong. At that time I was taking piano lessons and listening to classical music that my dad put on the record player. One day, he ran into a friend who gave him comp tickets to a concert that evening. My dad said we had to dress up for the concert and so we did. We also had no idea what kind of music would be performed. It was a sparse crowd; the theater was less than half full. The act? Ike and Tina Turner.
Devilbunny wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 3:17 pm
GenX: My first concert is unmemorable, but I have always lorded it over my wife that while she went to UT-Austin, and saw amazing bands, I saw Nirvana and George Clinton/Parliament. Major trump card.
And then there was Bootsy Collins. Random weeknight. No idea who he was going in. That was a show. Funk like you wouldn’t believe. A room full of forty-something black professionals and six white college kids, but we’re all brothers and sisters in the funk.
That's pretty funky. I saw nirvana and pearl jam, missed out on beastie boys and soundgarden though.
I think my first real concert was Warrant in Baltimore.
Man, I am loving this concert talk. So I mentioned that we didn't get to open for Melloncamp, but we did open for the Outlaws, Marshall Tucker, Molly Hatchett, Jonny Lang and Warren Haynes, and lots of others I can't remember because of hand-rolled cigarettes and other stuff I can't remember. And my brother and cousin (as a duo after the band split up for the first of the final times) opened up for Levon Helm and his band and Pete Best and his band (talk about a guy who lost the lottery!). And when our blues band was playing at a club in Utica, this guy came in and asked if his 11-year old son could sit in. This time we said yes, since he lived about 3 miles away from us, and my brother had given him guitar lessons when he first got started. A kid named Joe Bonamassa.
Tom Shea wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 5:23 pm
My first real concert (other than local bands in VT) was Journey at SPAC. Quite forgettable. I spent most of the concert looking at girls in the crowd. Lot's of memories of SPAC, but can't remember any of the other bands except the Beach Boys.
Best experience is Bonnie Raitt at Great Woods (or whatever they're calling it now. Right when 'nick of time came' out. 1/2 the people there might have guessed it was her first album. Bruce Hornsby was opening act and played several songs with her as well.
Got lawn seats and a hand rolled cigarette for a wedding present. It started raining as soon as we got there. I asked if I could exit and get a tarp out of the car to cover us. The person at the gate said to try and get no show seats first. I did. 3rd row center. I had to ask people around us how the hell they got such good seats. The people behind us were friends of Bonnie Raitt. The people next to us were friends of Don Law (concert promoter for those not from eastern mass) who said it was other friends that couldn't make it that were supposed to be in our seats. In front of us were winners of a radio contest. Great concert and boy can she play guitar. And she is definitely the opposite of tall.
Other good ones were Jerry Garcia band at Waikiki hatch shell in the afternoon, benefit to put dive moorings in to protect the reef. Second row behind the wheelchair row, so no one blocking my view. That and June 27th Grateful Dead 'fare thee well' concert. Every song was 1970 vintage or earlier.
You were at the June 27th Fare Thee Well show? Me too - I didn't see you there! I went to both shows in Santa Clara; the second night I was on the field in front of the stage, where I had to avoid standing behind Bill Walton.
A friend of mine that I hadn't seen in at least five years was there. I talked to him on the phone on the way there. Made plans to meet by a beer stand after we got in. Cell service crashed from overuse. Never got to say hello. Still haven't seen him since.
I got tickets for both Levi Stadium shows via the lottery. My friend that lives in Saratoga, CA, got none. He went with us the first night and I gave him the tickets to the second night -- I'm too old for two dead shows in a row.
Al Sisti wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 6:22 pm
Man, I am loving this concert talk. So I mentioned that we didn't get to open for Melloncamp, but we did open for the Outlaws, Marshall Tucker, Molly Hatchett, Jonny Lang and Warren Haynes, and lots of others I can't remember because of hand-rolled cigarettes and other stuff I can't remember. And my brother and cousin (as a duo after the band split up for the first of the final times) opened up for Levon Helm and his band and Pete Best and his band (talk about a guy who lost the lottery!). And when our blues band was playing at a club in Utica, this guy came in and asked if his 11-year old son could sit in. This time we said yes, since he lived about 3 miles away from us, and my brother had given him guitar lessons when he first got started. A kid named Joe Bonamassa.
Al Sisti wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 6:22 pm
Man, I am loving this concert talk. So I mentioned that we didn't get to open for Melloncamp, but we did open for the Outlaws, Marshall Tucker, Molly Hatchett, Jonny Lang and Warren Haynes, and lots of others I can't remember because of hand-rolled cigarettes and other stuff I can't remember. And my brother and cousin (as a duo after the band split up for the first of the final times) opened up for Levon Helm and his band and Pete Best and his band (talk about a guy who lost the lottery!). And when our blues band was playing at a club in Utica, this guy came in and asked if his 11-year old son could sit in. This time we said yes, since he lived about 3 miles away from us, and my brother had given him guitar lessons when he first got started. A kid named Joe Bonamassa.
Saw The Band minus Robber Robbertson in Concord NH, before they all started dying. Levon Helm seemed like a guy you'd want to sit down and have a beer with. The 'coal miner' in Coal Miner's Daughter.
Jazzvibist wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 2:43 pm
I wonder how many Muggles will identify with this post. My first memorable live concert was taking a date in the mid-1950s to see and hear Dizzy Gillespie’s quintet at the long-defunct Blue Note in Chicago. Since then I have seen many hundreds of live jazz performances, ranging from local performers to world-renowned jazz musicians. The only three post-60’s pop music icons I have seen perform in person were all after 1970 (Frank Zappa, Jean-Luc Ponty and Michael Jackson).
I can identify with that. SoCal native and spent many nights at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach. I was still in high school, but you could get in and drink a fruit punch and sit at a very tiny round table. Saw the Jazz Crusaders,(and many more jazz artists) and hey, jazzvibist, Bobby Hutcherson, the most animated vibist I've ever had the pleasure of seeing live.
Just checked back in and I am enjoying all the concert talk. My first concert (that I can remember) was The Rolling Stones at JFK Stadium in Philly in 1981. I was about 15 and two friends and I got there early and ended up about 20 yards from the stage. Mick Jagger was on a cherry picker right above us at one point. I’m a little young for Woodstock, but that day on that field was close enough! I saw The Who there the following year. Great place for concerts - too bad it’s gone now.
Another one here WHO thinks she has the strategy and the meta answer, but can't rationalize it for all theme entries...
Isaac has put the disinfectants away and is now pouring again...
oldjudge wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 3:41 pm
Draft Lottery story—-The first draft lottery was held during the school year and we had a large group sitting in one guys dorm room as the numbers were announced. One guy got there a few minutes late. As the numbers continued to be announced he was grinning wider and wider, 175, 200, 225....when the numbers got to 300 he started thinking that he had arrived a little late and he wanted his number to be called. As we approached 365 his smile faded to a look of impending doom. Turns out he had been number 3 and gotten there just late enough to miss it being called. I was 125 which was a borderline number. Luckily, I was from the Bronx which had sufficient able bodied men so that my draft board never called me.
The trajectory of a lot of people's lives changed that night. I wasn't concerned, I had already made the commitment to enlist when I graduated. But my roommate was totally stressed out. His birthday was drawn #52 and we headed to a local bar. I found out later that night that my birthday was drawn #325 and thinking how cruel fate was, we would have both been happy the other way around. That night impacted a lot of people's lives forever.
TMart wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 11:00 pm
Just checked back in and I am enjoying all the concert talk. My first concert (that I can remember) was The Rolling Stones at JFK Stadium in Philly in 1981. I was about 15 and two friends and I got there early and ended up about 20 yards from the stage. Mick Jagger was on a cherry picker right above us at one point. I’m a little young for Woodstock, but that day on that field was close enough! I saw The Who there the following year. Great place for concerts - too bad it’s gone now.
If there was just one show, I was there as well, and remember seeing tiny figures in the distance playing the Stones' greatest hits exactly as on Hot Rocks. The opening acts included George Thorogood, who I had seen not long before in NYC, and Journey, who were roundly booed. They were obviously superbly talented and deft song-smiths, but there was a divide at the time between fans of polished music and fans of grit.
My main memory, though, was that the pat-down folks found my Jack Daniels. They were apologetic.
Last edited by Hector on Sun Apr 26, 2020 12:39 am, edited 2 times in total.
oldjudge wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2020 3:41 pm
Draft Lottery story—-The first draft lottery was held during the school year and we had a large group sitting in one guys dorm room as the numbers were announced. One guy got there a few minutes late. As the numbers continued to be announced he was grinning wider and wider, 175, 200, 225....when the numbers got to 300 he started thinking that he had arrived a little late and he wanted his number to be called. As we approached 365 his smile faded to a look of impending doom. Turns out he had been number 3 and gotten there just late enough to miss it being called. I was 125 which was a borderline number. Luckily, I was from the Bronx which had sufficient able bodied men so that my draft board never called me.
Gosh, for a minute I thought we might have gone to school together! I had been out with my girlfriend and got to the drawing a little late. The rest is pretty much the same story. At 350 I was elated, at 363 I was confused and at 366 I knew I was toast. I managed a #7 in the 69 draft and despite the fact that I was blind as a bat without glasses and had Fred Flintstone flat feet I managed to pass the induction physical. I tried to extend my deferment by going to Grad school and actually got accepted at a law school but I was a terrible student and had no law boards so I figured that they had ether made a mistake or were so desperate that they would take anyone so I declined. I went ahead and joined the Navy Reserves before they could call me for a branch of their choosing (because they were choosing Marines a LOT - nothing against Marines but they had a habit of getting shot).
Obviously it would not have made a difference had I been there earlier, but the roller coaster from Woo Hoo BIG number to Boo Hoo little number was traumatic enough to burn itself in my mind. The irony of the whole thing was that I was in the "Senior" end of the dorm and my end of the hall did not have a total of 150 among us. Lot of drinking closed out that year....
NUDGES!I am always willing to give nudges where needed; metas should be about fun, not frustration. Send me what you have done so far because often you are closer than you think!
oldjudge wrote: ↑Thu Apr 23, 2020 7:09 pm
Sounds like it could be a line out of “Small Circle of Friends”
I saw Phil Ochs a few times. He wasn't at Woodstock, was he?
The first concert I saw in college was Phil Ochs. He played at Kresge Auditorium at MIT to what must have been 50 people, but it was one of the best concerts I ever heard. I thought he was as good as Dylan at the time.
I saw the Ramones in a gym at MIT in 1981 or 82, which was kind of a surprising venue given that they were already quite well known at that time. In concert, they were almost like a parody version of themselves, playing everything at double speed so that the songs that already sounded very similar ended up sounding almost identical.
I wasn't an MIT student, but my recollection is that the event was sponsored by an MIT fraternity where one of my Harvard freshman dorm mates had a friend, so we somehow got tickets and traipsed down Mass Ave to check it out. A fun night!
camandsampowercouple wrote: ↑Sun Apr 26, 2020 5:15 am
we're past the submission deadline right? when do we know the contest answer?
Here's what the official contest rules state: "Email your answer to the Weekly Question to crosswordcontest@wsj.com by midnight New York City time on the Sunday following the publication of the Friday Puzzle." The answer is published shortly thereafter. Fellow muggles often post the answer in the forum right after that. Another great description of how to solve the meta is always published at Crossword Fiend just after the deadline (https://crosswordfiend.com/). Good luck!
I went to both shows in Santa Clara; the second night I was on the field in front of the stage, where I had to avoid standing behind Bill Walton.
