Bands and concerts in retirement

[Tailgate]

Tops on the list of ER activities my DW identified prior to pulling the plug was 'travel based on going to concerts and festivals'.

I think we've hit our groove with this summers tours.. so far have seen or have tickets to go to:

Doobie Brothers, Don Felder (Felder kicked ass)
Jimmy Buffett
Rolling Stones
Steely Dan
Alabama Shakes

anyone else touring that you'd recommend?

 

[ArkTinkerer]

I have a desire to see various Cirque troupes. Cirque du Soleil is the one everyone knows but there are at least a couple smaller ones running around the US (Cirque Mechanics for one) . Curious what is in Europe. Anyone know of a good way to find what is available when for this type of performance?

 

[2017ish]

JD McPherson was a great show that you might enjoy given that the Shakes are on your list. We saw him/them on the first or second show of this tour, in February.

Definitely smaller venues than the ones you've posted though!

 

[BBQ-Nut]

I gave up on concerts in my 40's - too many rude people, people end up standing even in reserved seating venues so everyone ends up standing.


And this

Oh - and get off my lawn, too!

 

[MichaelB]

There is a very nice outdoor venue in the Chicago area called The Ravinia Festival. Concertgoers bring along picnic meals and their favorite (mostly alcoholic) beverages and make a nice afternoon of the event. Covered reserved seating is available but we prefer the lawn, and not just because the prices are far less. We meet up with other family members, the grandkids often come along (who else takes the grandkids to a rock concert?) and everyone has a great time.

This year we're going to see a couple of headlining shows - Lady Gaga / Tony Bennett, Santana, ZZ Top, Rob Thomas. We're also going to see some things we haven't seen in the past - Old Crow Medicine Show, Pink Martini. And as always, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

 

[2017ish]

There is a very nice outdoor venue in the Chicago area called The Ravinia Festival....

DW's sister & Hub live in your neck of the woods. They love the Ravinia concerts. (And, their son just had his HS graduation there last week.)

 

[Sarah in SC]

Look at you, Michael, checking out Old Crow. Nice! That'll be a good show!

Tailgate, considering your location, there are a ton of great live music opportunities for you there...so jealous! Like many, I prefer smaller venues and lesser-known bands to the big stadium shows, but I have seen a couple on your list as well.

And then there's the festival circuit. Best people watching IN THE WORLD!

 

[explanade]

I used to make fun of geriatric rockers and the people who went to go see the shows.

They have more money but are willing to shell out a lot to see acts which are a shell of themselves. What's more they're inflicting these now mediocrities on their grandchildren.

Are The Rolling Stones in their seventies the same as they were in the '60s?

Of course one of the first bands to benefit from older fans having money to support them was the Grateful Dead, which was more a cult.

Pandora has a study in which shows that most people stop liking new music in their early 30s. Guess these old acts are proof.

But this phenomenon isn't new to Baby Boomers and the artists they liked since their youth and well into old age. People paid a ton of money for the works of Picasso and other painters well past their primes who were only trading on their fame at that point.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Wow, then I guess getting the chance to see Levon Helm in his old age was me trying to be a boomer, lol?

Sometimes the older guys (see: blues, Americana, bluegrass) are musicians I most want to see play and sing.

I still love the up and coming bands, too, but damn, that's a pretty broad brush you got there, explanade.

 

[ERD50]

There is a very nice outdoor venue in the Chicago area called The Ravinia Festival. Concertgoers bring along picnic meals and their favorite (mostly alcoholic) beverages and make a nice afternoon of the event. Covered reserved seating is available but we prefer the lawn, and not just because the prices are far less. We meet up with other family members, the grandkids often come along (who else takes the grandkids to a rock concert?) and everyone has a great time.

This year we're going to see a couple of headlining shows - Lady Gaga / Tony Bennett, Santana, ZZ Top, Rob Thomas. We're also going to see some things we haven't seen in the past - Old Crow Medicine Show, Pink Martini. And as always, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

DW's sister & Hub live in your neck of the woods. They love the Ravinia concerts. (And, their son just had his HS graduation there last week.)

Ravinia's a bit of a mixed bag for me. Yes, doing the picnic makes it a fun event, but I'm pretty serious when it comes to music, and I want to be close in with pavilion seats and really focus when the music starts.

And I just can't do the CSO if there are 'sound system' speakers and amplifiers between them and me. The sound of pure acoustic energy in Symphony Hall is the real deal, and it hurts my ears to hear anything less.

We did see a modern string ensemble at Ravinia a few years back, and as soon as they started, my brain went "AHHHHH!!!!! Violins, cellos, violas - through tizzy sounding speakers!!! AHHHHH!!!". I calmed down and enjoyed the show, but it's a big deal for me. Just nothing like pure acoustic, or even electric when you hear it direct from the player's amps, w/o a 'sound system' mushing them all together.

I am thinking about getting seats for the Tedeschi-Trucks show though. They are just too good to miss. A little distortion and tizz can be a good thing with Rock and Blues

-ERD50

 

[explanade]

Maybe, but it certainly appears as if these "seniors" music circuit is a bigger business than ever.

Rolling Stones and Eagles were charging $300 or more a ticket.

Boomers either have money to burn or in the case of the Eagles, as much masochism as nostalgia.

 

[ERD50]

...

Pandora has a study in which shows that most people stop liking new music in their early 30s. Guess these old acts are proof. ...

I wouldn't say I stopped liking new music at any point. But I definitely am not 'in the loop' and searching out new music like I did when I was younger. I bet that's some (maybe most?) of the effect they are seeing. By the time you are in your 30's you probably are more busy with work and family and a home than when you are in your teens and twenties, and (if you were like me), searching out bands every weekend.

And there is so much old stuff that I have not discovered yet, but related to what I know. And of course, old can still be very very good, so no reason not to.

Sometimes I'll hear tunes my kids play, and I have to stop and ask "Who is that, that's cool?".

-ERD50

 

[MichaelB]

It's a shame this thread went so quickly from what acts we're going to see to why I'm not going to such and such. If you don't like the band or venue, don't go.

Back on track, Tailgate, I saw Steely Dan last year and it was an excellent show. A nice mix of ages in the audience and the band was at the top of their game.

 

[frayne]

Have a friend who just saw the Stones in San Diego and swears it was worth every penny.

 

[steelyman]

It's a shame this thread went so quickly from what acts we're going to see to why I'm not going to such and such. If you don't like the band or venue, don't go.

.

That's right. I went to hear Nellie in late April (posted some about it here). I've already missed two Lake Street Dive shows that I could have easily made were I not such a slowpoke in moving. I consider both "today's music".

But I have a JT/Bonnie show on my calendar that I still need to figure out how to swing it to get there. I'm guessing it'll be another "Geezers Galore" event, but I don't care. Plus it's in one of my former hometowns.

 

[Tailgate]

It's a shame this thread went so quickly from what acts we're going to see to why I'm not going to such and such. If you don't like the band or venue, don't go.

Back on track, Tailgate, I saw Steely Dan last year and it was an excellent show. A nice mix of ages in the audience and the band was at the top of their game.

thanks MB... couple of things to add to my original post

1. Only large (stadium) show is the Stones..we prefer smaller venues.
2. Saw the Doobie Brothers and Don Felder in Austin at a 2,700 seat venue (where they shoot Austin City Limits). Buffet venue was at a 20k capacity beautiful Pavilion in the Woodlands.
3. Doobie Brothers/Don Felder tickets were $85 for awesome seats. Felder was in the Eagles for 26 years and wrote music to Hotel California, among other hits. IMHO, you could close your eyes and swear you were at an Eagles concert.. bargain price.
4. Stones tickets (on the floor at AA Center in Dallas) are a gift from a good friend. Just cause the Mick and Keith are both 72 doesn't mean they can't put on a magical concert. Reviews from the early part of this tour say otherwise.
5. Pandora study? I'm almost 64 and hooked on Alabama Shakes... also Band of Heathens, Black Keys, getting into Kid Rock among others. Thanks 2017ish..I'll check out JD McPherson.. another new find,perhaps.
6. Don't listen to classic rock radio much at all, but I do want to see the great bands I grew up with one last time before we all exit stage right.

cheers...

 

[audreyh1]

I'm still finding new music in my 40s and 50s, so I'm happy.

My brother is in the sound engineering business and I quit worrying about the longevity of his touring career, because the old rockers just don't quit.

 

[Major Tom]

Just cause the Mick and Keith are both 72 doesn't mean they can't put on a magical concert.

They've still got it. I saw them in Oakland a couple of years ago and they were fantastic. Tom Waits came out on stage with them and sang Little Red Rooster While we were waiting for the show to begin, I told my friend that I thought the special guest was going to be Tom Waits, and he'd do Little Red Rooster. He lives nearby, so I figured he was the obvious choice - and I was right!

One of the local rags printed a review of the show that said they were"mediocre at best" and it had me wondering if we were even at the same concert. I don't go to many shows, as I tend to get bored after a few songs (I know, I know, I hate to admit that but it's often true). The Stones held me the entire time. They were great.

We have a series of free concerts every year in San Francisco at a park called Stern Grove, on Sundays throughout the summer. This year, for free, you can see The Doobie Brothers, Randy Newman, The SF Symphony, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Morris Day and The Time, and Talib Kweli, amongst others. Pretty good for no admission fee!

 

[Mango1956]

This summer, we have tickets to see:
Rush
Steven Wilson (formerly with Porcupine Tree)

DH's band Points North Band - Home is playing in Oregon at the outdoor festival "Guitars Under the Stars" http://oregonsummerconcerts.com/August 8th. Also playing that weekend are the Robert Cray Band, and old rocker Pat Travers, among many others. We'll tie that trip to a vacation exploring Oregon more. Looking forward to that!

 

[Midpack]

We used to go often, but we don't go to big rock concerts much anymore, last one might have been The Police at Wrigley Field in '07? But we go to more theatre (not movies) and there are about 10 free concerts in our little downtown park that are great for the money.

 

[Walt34]

The only ones we'll be going to are the free ones downtown in the square, if it's not too hot. The city and some sponsors put on a series of concerts with local bands. It's a pretty laid-back atmosphere and the music is usually good.

The photo is from one last year.

 

[rodi]

I gave up on concerts in my 40's - too many rude people, people end up standing even in reserved seating venues so everyone ends up standing.


And this

Oh - and get off my lawn, too!

I was feeling the same way - but found my way to some great concerts by accident.... Was downtown and saw the Balboa Theater (the one at Horton Plaza) had Elvis Costello on the marquee... turned out tickets were going for sale the next day - and it wasn't being widely advertised. Small venue. Solo show. Most of the crowd was late 40's to early 60's... and clearly used to be hip... but that ship had sailed. A year or so later, I saw in a Mission Bay Aquatic Center email that they were sponsoring Los Lobos... Did some digging because this show was SOOOO not easy to find. It was a benefit for the La Jolla Arts Festival - it was at the Illumina amplitheater (the one you can see from 805, just north of Nobel Dr.) I don't think it was advertised at all - I had to email a bunch of people to find out how to get tickets... the venue was only half full. But it was a great show.

In that same time frame X played at the Belly Up - again, small venue... Great show.

I refuse to go to arena type shows. I can't take the crowds... but for the right band/artist... I'll definitely have fun at a small venue.

 

[Music Lover]

As someone who loves music, I must admit that I rarely go to concerts anymore. I'm in a few bands and get most of my musical enjoyment rehearsing and gigging with them, but the only concert I've been to in the last decade was Rush a couple years ago.

 

[explanade]

I was feeling the same way - but found my way to some great concerts by accident.... Was downtown and saw the Balboa Theater (the one at Horton Plaza) had Elvis Costello on the marquee... turned out tickets were going for sale the next day - and it wasn't being widely advertised. Small venue. Solo show. Most of the crowd was late 40's to early 60's... and clearly used to be hip... but that ship had sailed. A year or so later, I saw in a Mission Bay Aquatic Center email that they were sponsoring Los Lobos... Did some digging because this show was SOOOO not easy to find. It was a benefit for the La Jolla Arts Festival - it was at the Illumina amplitheater (the one you can see from 805, just north of Nobel Dr.) I don't think it was advertised at all - I had to email a bunch of people to find out how to get tickets... the venue was only half full. But it was a great show.

In that same time frame X played at the Belly Up - again, small venue... Great show.

I refuse to go to arena type shows. I can't take the crowds... but for the right band/artist... I'll definitely have fun at a small venue.

EC and Los Lobos were hip in their time but I doubt they have the same drive -- artistic, anger, political -- that they used to have.

I remember the old movies from the '50s where rock music pit generations against each other.

It's the music of youth and rebellion.

It's not your father's oldsmobile!

 

[mystang52]

I highly recommend Fleetwood Mac if you have the chance. DW and I are not huge fans, but we do like their music. But wow we had a blast at their concert, and was way above our expectations. They just banged out one hit song after another.
If you're like us and just like them, you'll really enjoy it. If you love their music, I guess it'll be that much better!