Oh how I wish I could go back in time to see some incredible artists perform on stage. My amazing wife bought me a pair of noise canceling earbuds last fall that I can listen to music while working my second job. I work for a golf course during the summer and some weekends during the school year. While I mow or do some other maintenance work it is really nice to multitask and listen to some of my favorite artists. This week has been a bit challenging as I get into the new schedule, but the music has lifted me up. While riding our tee mower and mowing the grass this blog took shape in my mind. This was something I wanted to write about rather than dwell on the misery of the $47 administration. Being a music educator this is right up my alley. Here we go five artists(bands) I wish I could have seen live. Led Zeppelin does not make this list.

5. Chase – From 1970-1974 there was a rock band that had a horn section made up of four trumpet players. The lead trumpet player gave the band its name. Bill Chase formed the band in 1970 with three veteran jazz trumpet players that were all adept at arranging and vocals. They had one popular chart success off their first album entitled Chase. The single Get it On is a rousing anthem featuring layered trumpet cascades in the upper register. This first album was their greatest commercial success as most of the music was straight up rock. The second album Ennea was much more progressive in their song writing and arrangements. There is a big jazz/rock suite on Side two of the album that gives the record its title. Each one of the movements devotes the music to a Greek mythological subject. The third and final album with Bill as the leader was Pure Music. This album focused more on jazz/rock instrumentals, but the two vocal numbers are co-written by Jim Peterik of Ides of March/Survivor fame. During the summer of 1974 Bill Chase, Wally Yohn (keyboards,) Walter Clark (drums,) and John Emma (guitar) lost their lives in a plane crash on their way to a gig in Minnesota. The band has a few live releases out there from the soundboard. These feature some songs that would have been included on a developing fourth studio album. Sadly, the small discography and one hit wonder status have relegated the band to a specialized group of listeners. I became a fan of the band in the early 1990’s when a friend of mine introduced them to me. I own their three albums on vinyl and compact disc. I would have loved to have seen them live, but I was a rising pre-schooler when they were active. They are an acquired taste, but they were innovative during the 1970’s.

4. Blood Sweat and Tears (1968-1974) Al Kooper and David Clayton-Thomas early years The second highest paid act at the Woodstock Festival was Blood Sweat and Tears. Their single Spinning Wheel from the Blood Sweat and Tears album were at the top of the charts. The first four albums in their discography have influenced many groups over the years. They had some heavy weight jazz players in their lineup including Randy Brecker (trumpet,) Mark Katz (guitar, producer for Lou Reed,) Lew Soloff (trumpet, also played with Chase,) and Dave Bergeron (trombone, tuba.) The music of Blood Sweat and Tears fused rhythm and blues with jazz. I have enjoyed playing arrangements for concerts and jazz band from the BS&T catalog. I also have several vinyl albums and compact discs from the group. This era of BS&T started before I was born and had their greatest commercial success during my preschool years. I have watched countless drum corps play arrangement of their stuff. I’m just a fan of great bands with great horn sections. I feel the rock band Chicago was influenced by BS&T’s successes in some of their single digit album releases. I would love to go back in time and catch a show post Woodstock.

3. The Police – Pre-Synchronicity. I was in high school when Synchronicity was on the radio everywhere. The band at that point was done as tempers had worn their relationship down. I loved the music on the Synchronicity recording. Every single song is awesome, even Mother. What I want to experience is the tour for Ghost in the Machine. I want to experience that youthful edge. I was in middle school when this was released and my family frowned at rock music. I still listened to a lot of music my parents liked until age 13. When I made it to high school my peers opened my mind on all things musical. I really got into the second British Invasion, R&B, and all kinds of bands with horns. I’ve seen Sting (aka Gordon Sumner) nearly a half a dozen times. My first time seeing him was in St. Louis. Vinnie Colaiuta was the drummer on that tour and I went from a passive fan to a super fan of all Sting’s work including The Police discography. When the band reunited I wanted to see them at Wrigley Field in Chicago, but tickets were $600 a piece… errr no… I should have spent the money. I paid $250 to see the final Rush tour. It was money well spent. I have obsessed over interviews and documentaries on The Police. I highly recommend the Rick Beato interviews on You Tube of all three musicians. I’ve read multiple books too, but I have yet to grab Stewart Copland’s latest book. Andy Summer was always the enigma for me, but his interview with Beato was solid gold. I want to be in the arena in 1981 with all the smoke and stench of youth listening to Sting and company play with the angst and sarcasm of their youth. I can feel the hair standing on end with such anticipation… Oh how I wish.

2. Prince – Prince Rogers Nelson was a genius. He was a musical savant. He was a prolific composer of music, and at the time of his death there are rumors of recordings for dozens of albums that are in various stages of development. Prince could play everything. His bass playing left me speechless. His guitar playing was epic. Have you seen his guitar solo on My Guitar Gently Weeps at the 2004 Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Concert?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SFNW5F8K9Y His Purple Rain record encapsulates 1984 perfectly from a musical style standpoint. I still listen to it after all these years and I find new nuances to enjoy. Prince came to the Quad City IA/IL area back in the early 2000’s but there was only five days notice and by the time I found out via newspaper review it was the day after. I was so bummed. Our 10,000 seat arena in town only had 4,500 fans in attendance for the concert. It was an epic show, and I remember the writer of the review (who was an indie rock fanboy) was spellbound by his performance. As I have listened at the golf course, I find myself singing along nonchalantly in safety orange on a lawnmower. He would be my number one choice, but there is one artist that eclipses him. No… it is not Led Zeppelin.

#1 Queen – Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon, and Roger Taylor are the only band I have ever seen take an audience and make them part of the show. The musicing taking place at a Queen show moves me emotionally more than anything I have ever experienced. The Wembley performance for Live-Aid was the first and only time I witnessed a concert by the band. Their videos, recordings, and now the Queen with Adam Lambert shows online have given me an idea of what it could have been for me. Unfortunately the band stopped touring when Freddie was diagnosed with HIV. I was in high school. Freddie’s singing style, flamboyant persona, and showmanship impressed me. I knew he was gay in a time where being gay was shunned by everyone. I didn’t care. He lived with confidence. He invested himself completely into every performance. Dr. Brian May’s guitar sound is unique. You know immediately it is him when you hear a chord, or a solo. His melodic playing is sculpted like a classical musicians, but without pretense or self-importance. John Deacon’s bass playing is economical. His sense of rhythm is the heartbeat of Queen. His quiet persona is the perfect compliment to Freddie’s flamboyance. He kept Roger Taylor on the beat all of those years. Roger was by and far the weakest technician in the band, but his drumming was economical and much like Ringo Starr’s work with the Beatles. There are so many musical moments in their catalog that make me smile. There are two though, that bring me to tears every single time. Who Wants to Live Forever from the film soundtrack to Highlander features both Mercury and May on vocals. The orchestral backgrounds are haunting and this song makes the movie better, if it was even possible. The second song is one of the final recorded performances of Mercury, The Show Must Go On. I heard this for the first time shortly after Mercury’s death. I’m not ashamed. I wept. No popular musician(s) have affected my emotions like the band Queen. I would love to time travel and catch multiple shows from that final tour. If I could see a tour with Adam Lambert I would go in a heartbeat, but to experience Queen in the 1980’s would have been a life changing musical experience. There will only be one Freddie Mercury.

Musical experiences are a personal thing. They can help us escape the miseries of our daily grinds. I look forward to days where I can play my favorites without interruption. Whether it is the Dave Matthews Band who I have seen multiple times, or ZZ Top that I’ve seen once. I just like listening to well crafted honest music, and I hope you do as well. The beauty about my list… It is mine… It is valid… Your list is just as valid for you… Now if only our politicians could learn how to make some music with each other, they could make the world a better place… Dissent on… so it goes.