Table Of ContentTHE SHOW
A rite of passage, a defining event, a catalyst of musical and personal 5 T
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epiphanies—a concert is an experience unlike any other.
W H
In The Show I’ll Never Forget, writer Sean Manning has gathered
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an amazing array of unforgettable concert memories from a veritable I E
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A-list of acclaimed novelists, poets, biographers, cultural critics, and E I’LL NEVER FORGET
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songwriters. Their candid, first-person recollections reveal as much S S
about the writers’ lives at the time as they do about the venues where R
E H
the shows occurred or the artists on stage. L
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V
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TE ★ Ishmael Reed on Miles Davis T
EENC ★ Luc Sante on Public Image Ltd. HE W S
RGXPERI ★★ HDaenidiei Jl uHlaanvidtlse ro na nRdu Ashndrew Sean Greer on Metric IR M I EA
E
OG O ’ N
N ★ Diana Ossana on Led Zeppelin S L
FTGOI ★ Maggie Estep on Einstürzende Neubauten T M L M
RCER ★ Dani Shapiro on Bruce Springsteen EM A
EON ★ Gary Giddins on Titans of the Tenor! O N N
VC R
E ★ Nick Flynn on Mink DeVille A E N
EL
NMORAB ★★ SRuicska nM Sotordayig ohnt Tohn eT Lhoeu Fnugnek L Fiezasrtdivsal BLE C V IN
LME ★ Jennifer Egan on Patti Smith O E G
’LOST ★ Harvey Pekar on Joe Maneri NCE R , E
W IR M ★ Thurston Moore on Glen Branca, Rudolph Grey, RT DI
HEI and Wharton Tiers GO F TO
OE T ★ Chuck Klosterman on Prince IN O R
HIV ★ Sigrid Nunez on Woodstock G
E SERS REL ★★ JCehraryrl eSst aRh. lC orno sDsa voind N Birovwainea EXPE RG
T R
HRI ★ Marc Nesbitt on The Beastie Boys I E
W E
T0 ★ And many more . . . N T
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No matter where your musical taste falls, these often funny, occasion-
ally sad, always thought-provoking essays—all written especially for The S
E
Show I’ll Never Forget—are sure to connect with anyone who loves, or A
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has ever loved, live music. M
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Sean Manning lives in New York. His writing has appeared in the New N
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York Press, The Brooklyn Rail, and BlackBook. N 5500 WWRRIITTEERRSS RREELLIIVVEE
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$16.95 US / £9.99 / $20.50 CAN MUSIC/ESSAYS R TTHHEEIIRR MMOOSSTT MMEEMMOORRAABBLLEE
Da Capo Press A Da Capo Original
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TheShow I’ll Never Forget
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The Show I’ll Never Forget
50 Writers Relive
Their Most Memorable
Concertgoing Experience
Edited by
S E A N
MANNING
DACAPO PRESS
AMember of the Perseus Books Group
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Copyright © 2007 by Sean Manning
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher.
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in this book and Da Capo Press was aware of a trademark claim, those
designations have been printed with initial capital letters.
ISBN: 0–306–81508–7
ISBN–13: 978-0-306-81508-9
Printed in the United States of America.
Cataloging-in-Publication data for this book
is available from the Library of Congress.
Da Capo Press is a member of the Perseus Books Group
Interior design by Cynthia Young
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Contents
1 Introduction
R.E.M.at Madison Square Garden
New York City, November 4, 2004
SEAN MANNING 1
2 Miles Davisat The Casablanca
Buffalo, New York, September 21, 1955
ISHMAEL REED 9
3 Jimmy Reed at LuAnn’s
Dallas, Texas, April 1958
DAVID RITZ 13
4 Steve Abbot Benefit Concert at Jordan Junior High School
Salt Lake City, Utah, Winter 1961
RON CARLSON 17
5 The Rolling Stonesat The Academy of Music
New York City, May 1, 1965
LYNNE TILLMAN 22
6 The Beatlesat Plaza De Toros
Madrid, Spain, July 2, 1965
REBECCA BROWN 26
7 Titans of the Tenor!at Philharmonic Hall
New York City, February 19, 1966
GARY GIDDINS 31
8 James Brown at Boston Garden
Boston, April 5, 1968
DAVID GATES 40
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VI CONTENTS
9 Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Guy at The Scene
New York City, 1968
GENE SANTORO 45
10 Woodstockat Max Yasgur’s Farm
Bethel, New York, August 15–17, 1969
SIGRID NUNEZ 52
11 Nina Simone at The Village Gate
New York City, Winter 1970
LINDA YABLONSKY 58
12 Bill Evans at The Jazz Workshop
Boston, January 1971
RICHARD BURGIN 69
13 Led Zeppelin at St. Louis Arena
St. Louis, Missouri, May 11, 1973
DIANA OSSANA 74
14 Three Dog Night at San Diego Sports Arena
San Diego, California, Autumn 1974
JOHN HASKELL 79
15 Televisionat CBGB
New York City, Winter 1975
BRUCE BAUMAN 84
16 The Sunshine Festival at Anaheim Stadium
Anaheim, California, September 28, 1975
KAREN KARBO 89
17 Queen at The Capital Centre
Landover, Maryland, November 29, 1977
TRACY CHEVALIER 94
18 Mink DeVille at The Paradise
Boston, Winter 1978
NICK FLYNN 100
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CONTENTS VII
19 Patti Smith at Winterland
San Francisco, May 13, 1978
Or . . . Boarding House
San Francisco, August 1979
JENNIFER EGAN 103
20 Bruce Springsteen at Madison Square Garden
New York City, August 1978
DANI SHAPIRO 109
21 Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden
New York City, December 14, 1978
ELIZABETH CRANE 114
22 X/Levi & the Rockats at The Whisky
Los Angeles, 1979
ARION BERGER 119
23 The Funk Festival at Los Angeles Coliseum
Los Angeles, May 26, 1979
SUSAN STRAIGHT 123
24 Black Flag at Hong Kong Café
Los Angeles, September 2, 1979
JOHN ALBERT 129
25 The Horslips at The Whitla Hall
Belfast, Ireland, April 1980
PAUL MULDOON 135
26 Public Image Ltd. at The Ritz
New York City, May 15, 1981
LUC SANTE 141
27 The Kinks at Madison Square Garden
New York City, October 3, 1981
THOMAS BELLER 147
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VIII CONTENTS
28 Rushat Cumberland County Civic Center
Portland, Maine, December 4, 1985
HEIDI JULAVITS 157
29 The Pogues at Metro
Boston, July 2, 1986
ROBERT POLITO 164
30 The Beastie Boys at The Capital Centre
Landover, Maryland, April 5, 1987
MARC NESBITT 172
31 Redd Kross at The Town Pump
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, May 1987
CARL NEWMAN 177
32 Bon Jovi at Memorial Coliseum
Portland, Oregon, May 8, 1989
JON RAYMOND 183
33 Van Morrison at The Beacon Theatre
New York City, November 30, 1989
ROBERT BURKE WARREN 188
34 Van Morrison at The Beacon Theatre
New York City, November 30, 1989
HOLLY GEORGE-WARREN 195
35 Clarence Carter at Bobby’s Hideaway
Waldo, Florida, January 18, 1990
KEVIN CANTY 200
36 Nirvana at The Paramount Theatre
Seattle, October 31, 1991
CHARLES R. CROSS 205
37 The Lounge Lizards at Merkin Concert Hall
New York City, April 12, 1992
RICK MOODY 210
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CONTENTS IX
38 Katell Keineg at Café Sin-é
New York City, February 1993
MIKE ALBO 221
39 Einstürzende Neubauten at Roseland Ballroom
New York City, April 3, 1993
MAGGIE ESTEP 226
40 Beck at The Fillmore Theatre
San Francisco, July 5, 1994
MARC BOJANOWSKI 232
41 Joe Maneri at Harvey Pekar’s Living Room
Cleveland, Ohio, Summer 1997
HARVEY PEKAR 236
42 The Mekons at The Mercury Lounge
New York City, September 12, 1997
LYDIA MILLET 241
43 Prince at The Fargodome
Fargo, North Dakota, December 8, 1997
CHUCK KLOSTERMAN 246
44 Glen Branca, Rudolph Grey, and Wharton Tiers at The Knitting Factory
New York City, 1999
THURSTON MOORE 251
45 Antony and the Johnsons featuring Lou Reedat PS 122
New York City, November 10, 2001
SAMANTHA HUNT 253
46 David Bowie at The Greek Theatre
Los Angeles, April 22, 2004
JERRY STAHL 258
47 Kevin Spacey at House of Blues
Chicago, December 29, 2004
MAX ALLAN COLLINS 263
