THREW Mikes EyEz

Original Writings, Images, Video and Artworks of Mike Hartley

Tag Archives: concerts


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Have you

Have you ever been part of a crowd where everyone was moving in beat with the music and everyone’s arms were in the air together in unison, the crowd singing louder than the lead vocalist to the lyrics. Like those concerts in the 60s and 70s. No cell phones, nobody trying to impress anyone. Just absorbed by the music.

I can still get that feeling now even when I’m alone. Memories of those concerts and times make the hair on my neck tingle when certain songs come on at certain times.

That was such a powerful feeling and rush. 20, 30, 40 thousand people in sync and all focused on the band. The only pause in the energy is the seconds or minute or two between songs. Concerts seemed longer in the days I went frequently. Which is a long time ago.

A friend is going to a show this evening of a big star and an old one. The disappointing thing I see now is a lot of people sitting on their butts with phones in the air in the video and clips I see.

Recapturing that magic is tough, I guess. That and the fact that a lot of popular acts have aged. Some have lost members and it doesn’t sound or feel the same.

I experienced that a long time ago. When I followed The Who and Keith Moon passed. When they got Zack Starkey, it was close but never the same. I had the same thought when I thought about seeing Rush again but without Neil Peart, I’m sure it would be different. I’m not saying different isn’t good or maybe in a few cases better, but it’s changed.

Though for me when I see some of these groups I feel like I’m back in time and inhibitions fade. Even when I hear the songs at home or in the car it takes me to that special seat at a concert. Sometimes right up front. Yeah, we slept out overnight for seats from a ticket office window.

But the number of concerts I’m willing to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on is 0 because it’s been a few years since seeing a big show. We might start looking at smaller shows and venues.

From some of the stubs I have from the 70s the average price seemed to be around $8 a seat. That inflation adjusted to today’s dollars in 2026 is around $45-$50. Most of the tickets for nosebleed sections are $150 or more. I just checked a show I was interested in Roger Daltrey playing at the MGM in National Harbor. $155 cheapest seat.

Such is life. I guess if you still have a lot of people paying that price, go for it. That could be about to change though.

Image featuring the text 'Music & Connection' with a guitar silhouette, emphasizing the idea that music is essential for a great time.


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Hands in the air

What is the best concert you have been to? – Now that is going to be a tough one to answer. I’ll have to go look at some concert stubs.

I used to go to a fair number of concerts in the 70s and 80s. Picking the best is tough. Both The Eagles Hotel California tour Led Zeppelin in 1977 were great shows.

The Who Quadrophenia tour in 1973 and Pink Floyd that same year are my favorites.

The Aerosmith 1975 tour. I’ve seen this band 5 times. 4 of the times either the sound or equipment or musicians were screwed up. But when they get it right, they cook like few others.

And tied for third place is the Doobie Brothers from 1974 and Jethro Tull 1976 tour.

As best recalled from those early years. Those days have some hazy memories.

Silhouette of a person holding a guitar above their head with the text 'LET THERE BE GUITAR' and 'TODAY' beneath.


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Do you still remember

A line in the song Aqualung, by group Jethro Tull I heard this morning, “Do you still remember”, and the answer is YES, I remember. The days when you had to go to the box office to get tickets to concerts. Sleeping out overnight at the Capital Center or Merriweather Post Pavilion for concerts like Led Zeppelin or The Eagles or The Who. Or one of our favorites also Jethro Tull.

We didn’t pay any convivence fee, or delivery fee or parking fee. But we did get some damn good seats at some concerts. They did set limits on how many you could buy but I think it was something like 10 per person because I can recall 2 of us bought close to 20 for one concert for all our friends.

Ah, what great experiences, both the purchasing process and concerts. Sleeping out overnight on concrete or in a car.

The days when both your hands were in the air because you were clapping or playing an instrument or both while singing along. No phones recording the whole concert. Your mind recorded it. I think that is why the hair on my neck stands up for some songs still decades later.

Music has and always will be an important element in my life. The enjoyment and inspiration it brings have been immense. The emotions and feelings some songs hold, and grip me like a hug.

Concerts were and still are this great shared experience with others who hold those lyrics, notes, beats, and choruses in reverence. It’s one of the great unifiers in our universe. The SONG. They cross any land or ethnic barriers.

My tickets from the early 70s are so faded you can’t see details without a magnifying glass. Photo by Mike Hartley

Random Thoughts of the Morning

  • I guess it’s time to think about taking the decorations down. I like the thinking about it part more than the doing it. I’ve thought about it and I’m not starting today.
  • That cold wind this morning is going to test my patience today.
  • Some places have a 2-drink minimum. I have a 2-mile minimum on the treadmill per day. I exceeded that 2-drink minimum many times as a youth. No need to re-live that element of my hard charging days.
  • It’s not that I don’t care or feel about the nasty events that happened on New Years Day. I just have to compartmentalize life because that crap goes on every day around the world, sometimes in larger numbers or many smaller ones but it’s there in our faces every day. I have to live and stay positive and work to change it for my children and grandchildren.