TV Concerts Better Than Live

I watched Fleetwood Mac on TV for an hour or so last night. Always enjoyed at least some of their music and that was the first time I'd actually watched them for any length of time. Good show with good sound, good video and good music. I can't say the same for many of the concerts I've seen in person. I think TV concerts are the way to go.

I'm not really the type to go any social event, much less concerts. I wouldn't have gone to any of the ones I had if it weren't for a UCI student name Keith Furrows. He was from South Africa and rented a room at our house in Irvine. He liked to hang with us younger kids and would come home with tickets to concerts and invite us to go with him.

It would usually be him, me and Jim Broughton, the guy I moved up here with. We'd go to Crawford Hall at UCI for the first ones. Crawford Hall was a fairly small lecture hall but probably held 300 people or so. Saw at least a couple big names there, including The Beach Boys, Dave Mason and the late George Carlin. 

Of course, George Carlin just talked. No music.

The Beach Boys didn't go well. Music too loud in too small a venue. You couldn't even tell what the words to the songs were. It was just one big, loud, blaring noise. I wondered if it was just me? Everyone else was clapping and yelling as concert goers do. I suppose I did too. Didn't want to be the misfit, but it was really too loud. 

I never mentioned that to anyone until I was talking with Jim Broughton on the phone last year. He remembered going and agreed it was too loud, and he's a musician. I guess it wasn't just me. I'd have rather watched that one at home on TV. 

I did see the Beach Boys again many years later at the Arizona State Fair. It was held in some huge covered place probably used for rodeos- free admittance. That one was well done and probably the best concert I'd ever been to. It was worth the drive there.

Keith paid for tickets to see Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks and the Pflourescent(sic) Leach and Eddie after UCI ran its course. That Eddie guy would play in the Mothers of Invention and, I believe, The Turtles. Kinda neat seeing someone that I'd seen on TV before. Dan Hicks? Well, what can you say? He was Dan Hicks. 

I'm not sure it was worth driving all the way to the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for that.

Probably the biggest name we saw was Pink Floyd. It was held at the Hollywood Bowl. I was kind of excited for that one being a big fan. As we're walking to the stadium from the parking lot someone brings up that this concert was going to have "360 sound". We're all like "awesome, dude". Pardon the pun, but it did sound cool.

That was fairly new for the time- speakers all the way around the bowl, and they weren't small ones. Big mistake, I felt later.

We sat maybe 2/3 to 3/4 to the back of the bowl, speakers all around us. It wasn't too bad at first but as the show progressed it seemed to get louder and louder. Joints were passed around and it would seem the perfect party for a 16 year old like me, but it just got too loud. 

Towards the end it built up to what I think you'd call a crescendo, and got REALLY loud. I was actually scared it was going to damage my hearing. I looked around me, but nobody else seemed bothered. I was. I actually put my hands over my ears and put my head down on my legs to protect my hearing praying for the show to end. If I could have ran off I would have but, with 360 sound, where would I go?

It didn't seem as bad right at the end when they started the psychedelic fireworks display on stage. The show was finally over and we left. I never said a thing about it being too loud. I just mimicked everyone else: "That was awesome, man?". Yep. Back then I tried to be part of the crowd.

I suppose I have bragging rights to say I saw Pink Floyd but I would never go to a show like that again. I would have rather just watched it on TV.