Monkey Snow and Music That Soothes The Soul

Now before you start thinking we got all "northeast" down here, let me explain that this photo is courtesy of Rob Monkey who ventured out into the elements this morning and sent me a memento of his very chilly trek to work up there in what they call "Jersey."

Anyway, just a rainy day for us here in the south -- chilly though especially with the dampness in the air. Good night for staying in and keeping warm no matter your location.

As the mind does this time of year, I started to think of planning summer concert travels and as Ol' Lazy Acres mentioned, summer mixes. I don't have any summer mix plans yet, but I may start this weekend. As for summer concerts, I got to thinking of this more this week as the photo below (click to view larger) brought back recollections of summer months from days gone by.

I ran across these old concert ticket stubs while doing some cleaning last weekend. Yes sir, this was back when they actually tore your ticket and gave you the stub. Now of course, they scan your ticket electronically and you keep the entire ticket - no tearing required.


The top ticket is U2 on their Joshua Tree Tour at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sept. 25, 1987. If you recall from an earlier post, this is the concert Bruce Springsteen, Little Steven, et al, joined U2 for a song.

I remember I took this old frisbee with me to the show. Somewhere during the middle of the concert, I threw it out into the oblivion above the field. Our seats were up in the stands and that frisbee seemed to hang there forever in the air before slowly drifting down to the field and getting lost in the massive sea of fans.

A side note, you may have already drawn this conclusion, but the Live Aid concert was held at this venue two years earlier. Perhaps not sadly -- as this stadium was on its last legs when I visited in 1987 -- on this location now stands the Wachovia Center, home to the Philadelphia Flyers and the 76ers.

The next ticket which is hard to make out is The Cure in support of their album "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" at The Spectrum again in Philadelphia sometime during the summer of 1987. Back in the 1980s, I was a pretty big Cure fan, but now when I hear their music I'm kind of like, "What was I thinking?"

I remember going to work the next day after the show. I was lifeguarding at Spruce Run Reservoir in Clinton, NJ. All I wanted to do was listen to The Cure's latest cassette tape while I sat on the lifeguard stand that morning. Wouldn't you know it, the tape player ate my tape only a couple songs in. Oh well, that's why we have CDs and iPods today.

The next stub is INXS in support of their big-time "Kick" album at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pa., on March 23, 1988. This was a great show not only because of seeing INXS in their prime, but Public Image Ltd. opened the show. Yes, this was the band fronted by ex-Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten, who closed their set by performing the Sex Pistols' tune "Holidays In The Sun." Wow, I was floored. I had been a fan of the Sex Pistols and to see that song performed live blew me away.

Besides that, the memory I take away from this show was a girl who decided to have a "squat" to pee on the hill behind the parking lot. No trees, no obstructions of any kind. Of course some dude sitting in his car flicked his headlights on. But that didn't stop this girl, guess she really had to go. She didn't stand until she finished.

Last ticket in the photo, Echo and The Bunnymen and New Order at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia on Aug. 24, 1987. I myself would have given top billing to New Order. I was a huge, huge New Order fan back in the day, and there are still some of their tracks I really like. Although, the only New Order track you may find on the "jukebox" is "Bizarre Love Triangle," which I think still holds up. There was an opener who is not listed on the ticket, that was Gene Loves Jezebel. Wow, just typing that really makes me feel old.

New Order was there in support of their latest effort, a greatest hits compilation titled "Substance." The Bunnymen had just released their own self-titled album and although they had older hits like "The Cutter" and "Never Stop" it would be a few months before the airwaves were polluted with their single "Lips Like Sugar."

I remember for me, New Order totally rocked even for a band that was very 1980s synth.

I feel like I've come a long way since the 1980s, because I find that I appreciate music now that has more soul than the "soulless" synth-happy sounds of 80s-era rock and pop. But, I do feel that the music I did search out back in the New Wave era, synth-happy or not, did have a soul. By soul, I mean there was real emotion behind the song/performance. A feeling that either isn't there in much of today's music or is not conveyed.

I wouldn't trade this weird and wonderful travel through the New Wave music era, because it made me search out and appreciate truly good music. Music that is from the soul and soothes the soul as well. From a Miles Davis horn riff to a Jimmy Page guitar riff... what can I say? You wouldn't try to describe the most amazing sunset in the world, you just sit back and enjoy.

Salud!