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erikalbany
mortality post
February 07, 2011 05:08PM
People you've seen live who have left this mortal coil:

Mine is short (born in 1969, I suspect I'm [relatively] young for this board)--

Kurt
Michael Hutchence
Rick Danko
Bob Stinson
A couple of Ramones
John Entwistle
Joe Strummer
Janis Joplin (ok, I was an infant)
Charlie Louvin
Johnny Cash
Townes VZ
River Phoenix (playing with his band, Alekka's Attic, twice in Woodstock, NY)

There are likely more, but I am running on faulty memory. . .
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MrFab
Re: mortality post
February 07, 2011 05:26PM
River Phoenix had a band? And you saw 'em twice?!

3 Ramones
2 Wall of Voodoo-ites
Lux Interior
Malathini
James Brown
Bo Diddley
Boozoo Chavis
D. Boon
Jam Master Jay
Sam Butera
John McGeoch

I'm worried about seeing musical legends - they often die mere months after I see 'em, e.g.:
Ray Charles
Tito Puente
Link Wray, who, granted, were all old
Joe Strummer, who was not.

Compiling this list makes me realize that: a)damn, I go to a lot of shows, b) I'm lucky and privileged to have seen so much talent, and c) I sure have seen a lot of dead guys.



Post Edited (09-24-12 15:28)
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erikalbany
Re: mortality post
February 07, 2011 05:44PM
"River Phoenix had a band? And you saw 'em twice?!"

He had some roots in Woodstock, and a couple of his bandmates were from there, so he played the Tinker Street Cafe (essentially a main-street bar at the time that was popular) twice in 1991. He was pretty altered both times. His sister, Rainn (sp?), was in the band as well. It was around the "My Own Private Idaho" period. I was in college the next year in NYC when I was walking down the street and saw the New York Post cover story on his death. It certainly shocked me. . .
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zoo
Re: mortality post
February 07, 2011 06:11PM
The three Ramones
River Phoenix (his band opened for...I forget...They Might Be Giants?)
John McGeoch (w/ PiL)
Layne Staley
Gary Shider (P-Funk)
Karl Mueller (Soul Asylum)
Michael Hutchence
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MrFab
Re: mortality post
February 08, 2011 12:28AM
Oh yeah, I also saw the P-Funk All-Stars, and Bob Bogle of the Ventures. And met Robert Moog.

I'm surprised, and a little disturbed by the number of y'all who list Michael Hutchence. Dragged to INXS shows by dates? Won free tickets? Wandered into the wrong theater? (I kid because I love!)

Quote

Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Joe DeRita

OK, there's gotta be a story there.
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zoo
Re: mortality post
February 09, 2011 09:40AM
I remembered a few more...

Bobby Sheehan (Blues Traveler)
Allen Woody (Allman Bros/Govt' Mule)
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rebelwithoutaclue
Re: mortality post
February 09, 2011 06:33PM
johnny thunders- had 2 beers with him also
jim carroll-poetry reading

my mom n dad had tickets to see elvis around the summer of 77 but unfornately he passed on before the concerts date
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Paganizer
Re: mortality post
February 07, 2011 08:15PM
shit, much worse is the list of concert buddies who've died
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breno
Re: mortality post
February 07, 2011 09:25PM
Michael Hutchence
Joey & Johnny Ramone
Ben Orr
Charlie Louvin
Lane Staley
Mark Heard
Michael Been
Mark Linkous
Porter Waggoner
Johnny & June
Ricky Nelson
Howie Epstein
Chris Whitley
Mick Ronson
Chris Acland (Lush)
Warren Zevon
Moe Howard
Larry Fine
Curly Joe DeRita
Gerald Ford
Peter Graves
Bettie Page
Kirstie MacColl
That fat guy who used to be in Tim Burton movies
Ed McMahon
Billy Carter
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Michael Toland
Re: mortality post
February 16, 2011 09:28AM
I keep meaning to ask: what was Mark Heard like live? When did you see him?
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breno
Re: mortality post
February 16, 2011 09:49AM
I saw him at some Christian music festival or another in the mid-80s. Unfortunately it was about half a decade before he hit the phenomenal stride he hit on his three final albums, so honestly I just kind of regarded him as an afro-ed Jesus rocker and didn't pay much attention to him because he was nowhere near as cool as the 77s.

One of the biggest regrets of my concert going life is that I didn't recognize how great Heard was when I had the opportunity to see him and just kind of ignored him. Next year marks the 20th anniversary of his onstage heart attack and subsequent death, which is hard to believe.

It was him solo with acoustic guitar, so it was a pretty folky performance.
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Delvin
Re: mortality post
February 07, 2011 10:34PM
Listed in (more or less) the order I saw them:

Richard Wright (Pink Floyd)
Bob Bogle (the Ventures)
Allen Collins, Billy Powell and Leon Wilkeson (all from Skynyrd, later all in the Rossington-Collins Band)
Liberace
Ronnie James Dio (fronting Sabbath)
Dan Fogelberg
Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott (the Pretenders)
Benjamin Orr
Michael Been
Rory Gallagher
Gary Shider
Joe Strummer
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Miles Davis
Hillel Slovak (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Eric Carr (Kiss)
Michael Jackson
Roy Orbison
Jeff Healey
Layne Staley
Michael Hutchence
Joey and Johnny Ramone
Jonathan Melvoin (keyboardist for Smashing Pumpkins)
Karl Mueller
Lux Interior
James Brown
Ron Asheton (the Stooges)

Added three more: Dio, Slovak and Healey (thanks to reminders from other posts).

One concert experience that the Grim Reaper robbed from me is Led Zeppelin. I had bought a ticket to see LZ at the Superdome on its 1980 tour when Bonham died.



Post Edited (02-09-11 11:54)
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breno
Re: mortality post
February 08, 2011 06:29AM
Quote

OK, there's gotta be a story there.

Sure, but it's not a very interesting one. The Three Stooges did a performance at the St. Louis Arena when I was a tiny, tiny kid and my parents took my brothers and I to see them. This would've been sometime in the late '60s. I was way too young to remember much about it beyond general awe at the size of the arena and a hazy mental image of seeing the tiny figures on the stage and thinking "Those are the guys in the cartoons," because at the time I was more familiar with the Three Stooges cartoons from the 60s than I was with their film shorts.

It's probably the first live performance of any kind I can remember going to. And I also recall that my dad bought me a Sad Sack comic book in the lobby of the arena, where they seem to have been selling comics for some reason. It would have to have been the first comic I ever owned, so I guess the roots of many of my geek obsessions were sown on that same day.
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breno
Re: mortality post
February 08, 2011 08:18AM
I saw INXS opening for Adam Ant in '83 - they were touring behind Shabooh Shoobah and Ant was doing Friend or Foe. Adam Ant was good, but I have much stronger memories of INXS from that show - they were young and fairly kick-ass at that time.
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HollowbodyKay
Re: mortality post
February 07, 2011 11:57PM
Quote

There are likely more, but I am running on faulty memory. . .

Ha-rumph. I'll say. Was even one of those folks ever in This Mortal Coil?

...

Thankfully, the list is short. Sadly, I realize it will not improve with time.

Howard Zinn
Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee
Mark Linkous
William Cooper
Chris Acland
That dude from Alice In Chains

...

I was gonna fake a story about having seen The Dwarves in concert, but that's getting a little high-concept.
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Delvin
Re: mortality post
February 08, 2011 07:12AM
That's a good story, Reno. Don't sell it short.

As for Hutchence, I would've loved to have seen INXS in its late-'80s prime. The word I've gotten is that the band was top-notch on stage, in those days. By the time I got to see INXS, though, it was 1995 and Hutchence already was on the downhill slide. Musically, the band was still tight, but Hutchence's dreary presence seemed to drain the whole ensemble's energy.

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erikalbany
Re: mortality post
February 08, 2011 11:44AM
"As for Hutchence, I would've loved to have seen INXS in its late-'80s prime. The word I've gotten is that the band was top-notch on stage, in those days."

I saw them really early on (Shabooh) opening for the Go-Gos in Utica, NY. It was ok, I suppose. Then I saw them utterly command Texas Stadium on the Kick tour in the late 1980s. Before then, I had moderate interest; after that show I became a committed fan. I have rarely seen someone command a stadium the way Hutchence did that night. To see him slide in the 1990s was sad. 37 is awfully young--I'm staring at 42 in several hours.
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breno
Re: mortality post
February 08, 2011 12:37PM
I saw Whitley in an amphitheater opening for Tom Petty. While he was still impressive in that setting, I always wished I'd seen him in a smaller venue. Amphitheaters don't do anyone any favors except stadium size bands. Same with NRBQ - the only time I ever saw them was in one of those monstrosities and they just weren't a band built for that space.
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Heff
Re: mortality post
February 08, 2011 10:30AM
I, too saw Michael Hutchence - part of the Hfestival in 1993 (I think)

Jeffrey Lee Pierce
T-Bone Wolk (Hall and Oates)
Graham Chapman
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Michael Toland
Re: mortality post
February 08, 2011 11:10AM
Bryan Harvey (House of Freaks)
Ron Asheton (both with the Stooges and with J Mascis and Mike Watt doing a set of Stooges songs)
Mark Linkous (Sparklehorse)
Lionel Hampton
Ruth Brown
Hank Thompson
Waylon Jennings (this and the three above were all ACL tapings)
John Entwistle
Stevie Ray Vaughan (same show as seeing Entwistle with the Who above)
Karl Mueller (Soul Asylum)
Chris Whitley (Living With the Law tour, a show I walked out of due to a major stomach cramp - I've always wished I stuck it out, because I never had the chance to see him again)
Billy Powell and Leon Wilkeson (also an ACL taping; Allen Collins was already gone by that time)

There's probably more, but that's all the memory banks will provide.
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Delvin
Re: mortality post
February 08, 2011 12:10PM
Yeah, I've heard a few other testimonies to Hutchence's onstage charisma. INXS packed three nights at Fiddler's Green in Denver during the Kick tour. That adds up to about 54,000 tickets; I couldn't lay a hand on even one of those (at least not at a price I could afford).

When I finally did see the band, Hutchence still was in decent voice, but he was simply hitting the notes. He didn't put any energy into his performance, and seemed to drift in and out of awareness throughout the show. The other five gave it their best, but they seemed to be embarrassed about their singer. We went home really disappointed.

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nosepail
Re: mortality post
February 08, 2011 12:15PM
Stevie Ray was my guitar hero as a kid. When I heard he died, I was so distraught, I left work at my little part time job at the library and just laid on my bed for hours. I was so heartbroken I didnt go to school the next day also.

Chris Whitley hit me hard also. A totally unique guitarist, singer, and songwriter. No one has ever played a Dobro like him before or since. Living With The Law one of the greatest debut records ever.

A 3rd her of mine: Jeff Healey's records were not great, mostly because his voice and songwriting were a little bland, but as a blind dude who played with his fingers over the fretboard, he sure could wail like a son-of-a-bitch. A sick player and true individual.

God rest all their souls.



Post Edited (02-08-11 14:43)
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Michael Toland
Re: mortality post
February 08, 2011 12:32PM
There's two I forgot: Jeff Healey and the great Charles Brown, both of whom opened for Bonnie Raitt when I saw her at the Woodlands Pavilion back in 1990. I agree with your assessment of Healey, but he was certainly fiery on stage.
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Neilantman
Re: mortality post
February 08, 2011 05:47PM
ronnie james dio
carl and dennis wilson(beach boys)
entwistle
strummer
bob stinson(replacements)
howie epstein(tom petty)
kurt cobain
cliff burton(metallica)
randy rhoads(ozzy)
dave insurgent(reagan youth)
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nosepail
Re: mortality post
February 08, 2011 10:34PM
Happy birthday, Erik! You'll post a helluva lot more inspired posts to this board before you shuffle off this mortal coil.
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erikalbany
Re: mortality post
February 09, 2011 07:19AM
Thanks, Nosepail!
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Jermoe
Re: mortality post
February 09, 2011 09:00AM
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Gary Shider
Michael Hutchence
Jonathan Melvoin
Karl Mueller
Mark Linkous
John McGeoch
Miles Davis
Benjamin (Smoke)
Jam Master Jay (Run-DMC)
Robert Quine
Josh Clayton-Felt (School of Fish)
Paul Hester (Crowded House)
Scott LaRock (Boogie Down Productions)
Jay Bennett (Wilco)
Vic Chesnutt
James Brown
Guru, a.k.a. Keith Elam (Gang Starr)
Deacon Lunchbox
Johnny Fields (The Blind Boys of Alabama)



Post Edited (02-09-11 11:09)
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Michael Toland
Re: mortality post
February 09, 2011 09:34AM
May I just say how incredibly jealous I am of all you folks who saw Miles Davis?

Vic Chesnutt is another one I forgot. I saw him open for Bob Mould back in '91 or so, when Little was his only LP. Sadly, I didn't see him later, when he was making the records I'd really come to love.
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erikalbany
Re: mortality post
February 09, 2011 11:16AM
I forgot Vic as well. . .
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Delvin
Re: mortality post
February 09, 2011 03:00PM
Three more in my list:

Brad Delp
Kevin Dubrow (Quiet Riot)
Albert Collins
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Aitch
Re: mortality post
February 09, 2011 04:23PM
Mark Linkous
Michael Hutchence
Jeffrey Lee Pierce (man that was a good gig)
Vic Chesnut (a matter of weeks before he pulled the pin)
Tracey Pew
Johnny Thunders
Harvey James
James Freud
Steve Connolly
Ricky Wilson
Miles Davis
Roger Frampton
3 Ramones
Paul Hester (in The Checks, prior to Split Enz)

Geez didn't any of my American friends manage to see The Gits?



Post Edited (02-09-11 21:10)
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erikalbany
Re: mortality post
February 09, 2011 04:58PM
"Geez didn't any of my American friends manage to see The Gits?"

No, but apparently a majority of the board has seen Hutch and the boys. . . including meself. . .



Post Edited (02-09-11 19:05)
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kwk
Re: mortality post
February 12, 2011 02:58PM
I saw the Gits a day or two before Mia's death at the Belmont Inn in Portland. I was pretty drunk back then (all the time), so my memory is hazy, but I do recall shooting a few games of pool with the band and my friends. We basically lived in that bar (and Satyricon) at the time, so we were always there hours before shows. My friends and I were total Seattle/Portland scenesters back then. If the night's band kicked ass, we'd hang and drink with them at load-in. The Gits definitely kicked ass. And Mia was a wonderful person. Such a sad story.

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Aitch
Re: mortality post
February 13, 2011 03:45PM
Michael, Half A Cow have re-released "Where Are All The Single Girls" which is everything they released (sadly only a single and EP) plus some demos and live stuff.

[www.halfacow.com.au]
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Michael Toland
Re: mortality post
February 14, 2011 09:41AM
Oooh, good to know. Thanks!
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zwirnm
Re: mortality post
February 09, 2011 06:43PM
Chris Whitley, many times
Vic Chesnutt, just once
Paul Hester of Crowded House, two times
Not sure if Jay Bennett was in Wilco the time I saw them; I've never been a big fan.

There have to be others. Wondering if I saw Material Issue at one point?

I think I'm younger than some of you all, which might explain (sad as it is) why most of the deceased took their own lives, instead of dying of illness or old age.
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Michael Toland
Re: mortality post
February 10, 2011 06:54AM
Once again, you've reminded me of two others.

I did see Wilco with Jay Bennett (an ACL taping). I also saw Material Issue about 20 years ago.
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zwirnm
Re: mortality post
February 11, 2011 08:38PM
How, how, how did I forget to mention Chilton?

I saw Big Star - with the Posies lineup of course - and it was transcendent. Very glad of it. And Alex was incredibly gracious.
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erikalbany
Re: mortality post
February 11, 2011 09:26PM
Shoot. . . I forgot Alex as well, both with Big Star and The Box Tops.
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zwirnm
Re: mortality post
February 17, 2011 11:01AM
kwk, you're referring a club (dive) just down the street from my old house in Portland between 2001-2005. Do you live there now, or did you then?
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kwk
Re: mortality post
February 17, 2011 07:21PM
zwirnm,
I lived there in the 80's and 90's growing up, moved away for awhile, and I am now back. Belmont Inn back in the 90's was a dive. But it was one of the places in town at that time to see great indie bands. Satyricon was the main place to see them, but I remember some stellar shows at Belmont.
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rhettlawrence
Re: mortality post
November 08, 2011 04:04PM
Thought of this thread today as I listened to Vic Chesnutt's Ghetto Bells and had the song "Rambunctious Cloud" nearly bring me to tears. Gorgeous fucking song.

In scanning back over this list, I didn't see anyone mention Stuart Adamson, whom I saw with BC in 1983 in Winston-Salem (with Wire Train opening!). Maybe I just missed him here though; I'd have expected Zoo especially to have mentioned him.
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ira
Re: mortality post
February 09, 2011 07:41PM
Jeez, my list would be ridiculous. Or we could go with reynolds' people i've interviewed who are no longer breathing - my list is long there as well. Sigh.
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erikalbany
Re: mortality post
February 10, 2011 08:46AM
I had an inkling your list would be less of a post and more of a book, Ira. . . I like Reynolds' idea, though.
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Delvin
Re: mortality post
February 10, 2011 09:42AM
Oh yes, one more: the drummer from Spinal Tap. He survived the show that night, but I'm sure he's dead by now.

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Aitch
Re: mortality post
February 10, 2011 05:30PM
How could I forget James Darroch of The Eastern Dark (and Celibate Rifles), I'm still pissed-off I only got to see 'em twice. They could have been anything.
Also Ian Rilen from (the Australian) X
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Michael Toland
Re: mortality post
February 11, 2011 07:53AM
I was listening to the Eastern Dark just last night - great band, with a lot of potential. I've only been able to find their music through the usual download blogs. Considering that they recorded only singles and EPs (as far as I can tell), isn't it time for a retrospective that puts everything on one disk?
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Michael Toland
Re: mortality post
February 11, 2011 01:06PM
You realize, of course, that the title of this thread would make a great band name, album title or song title.
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Delvin
Re: mortality post
February 17, 2011 02:40PM
This thread just refuses to die! (Sorry ...) A few more for me:

Ricky Wilson (The B-52's)
Dee Murray (bassist for Elton John)
Alex Chilton

I hang my head in shame, that I remembered the singer from Quiet Riot before I remembered these three musicians. (Elton doesn't get much love here, I know, but Dee Murray was a stellar bassist, and the vocal harmonies he sang with Davey Johnstone and Nigel Olsson were right up there with the Beach Boys at their best. I consider myself lucky to have seen Elton with that band.)

> You realize, of course, that the title of this thread would make a great band name, album
> title or song title.

Yes, indeed it would!

Come to think of it, I have a co-worker who visits a web site, every single day, that collects obituaries from all over the U.S. She checks it out to see if anyone who might be related to her has died. I'll have to find out what that web site is called.

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willie
Re: mortality post
February 18, 2011 05:43AM
" I have a co-worker who visits a web site, every single day, that collects obituaries from all over the U.S. She checks it out to see if anyone who might be related to her has died."

Helluva better way to learn about that shit than having to talk to your stupid fucking cousins twice a year.
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zoo
Re: mortality post
February 21, 2011 06:10AM
"Elton doesn't get much love here, I know, but Dee Murray was a stellar bassist, and the vocal harmonies he sang with Davey Johnstone and Nigel Olsson were right up there with the Beach Boys at their best. I consider myself lucky to have seen Elton with that band."

I saw this band, too. I thought someone from it had died, but I couldn't figure out who (I was thinking Ray Cooper, but couldn't find info about him dying, so I forgot about it). And I agree...a very good band.
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Delvin
Re: mortality post
February 18, 2011 10:26AM
From what I've gathered, if this woman had to poll her cousins and other relatives to find out about recent deaths, by the time she got done talking to them all, it'd be time to start at the top of the list and call them again.

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Aitch
Re: mortality post
February 20, 2011 03:46PM
It does refuse to lie down.
I can't believe I forgot Pete De Freitas.

On it being a good band name, if that were the case the classic double bill would be.
Mortality Post + Dead Letter Chorus.
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Delvin
Re: mortality post
February 20, 2011 03:58PM
Oh jeez, I forgot de Freitas as well!
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Delvin
Re: mortality post
February 21, 2011 07:33AM
Ray Cooper is alive & well, and still tours with EJ as percussionist.

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zoo
Re: mortality post
November 08, 2011 09:15PM
Unfortunately, I never saw the great Stu Adamson live, so he didn't make my list.

Though I just remembered another...Kenny Kirkland, the pianist for
Sting for a while (though I saw him playing with Branford Marsalis).
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