Hinckley Blog

While I haven't been to as many quintessential concerts as Holly, I would like to think that I've witnessed some fine live music.

Paul Simon and Bob Dylan at the Delta Center (they sang The Sound of Silence with just the two of them on the stage and Dylan played a solo on the harmonica)
Billy Joel at the Delta Center
Lori McKenna at Club Passim
Mary Chapin-Carpenter at Thanksgiving Point
BNL at the E-Center and Guster opened for them
Guster at In the Venue (downtown SLC)
John Mayer at USANA Amphetheater
James Taylor at USANA (which was the night that Jenni first kissed me)
Hootie and the Blowfish in Boston
Ray Brown at Jazz at the Sharaton (SLC)
Dave Matthews Band at the Medals Plaza - SLC 2002
Dave Matthews Band at USANA
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones at Kingsbury Hall
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones with the Utah Symphony at Deer Valley
Nancy Griffith with the Utah Symphony at Deer Valley
Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand at various Wasatch Front locations
Paul Jacobsen at various Wasatch Front locations
King Friday at Mayfest at the U.
The Samples at Kingsbury
David Wilcox at the Big Easy in Boise
David Wilcox at the Gallivan Center
Chuck Pyle at the Gallivan Center
Chuck Pyle at the U.
Chuck Pyle at Greyhaven
Jake Armerding at the Gallivan Center
Jake Armerding at Greyhaven
Buddy Mondlock at Greyhaven

That's just what I can think of off the top of my head.

I've been listening to Patty Griffin's new CD this week in my car. Children Running Through. It is, by the way, very very very good. Emmylou Harris joins Patty on track 3, and it got me to thinking about the time Patty opened for Emmylou at The Beacon Theatre in New York, and then Emmylou came out to sing harmony on Patty's last song, the ever beautiful Mary. That got me to thinking about the great concerts I've been to over the years. Here's a list.

• At the Patty Griffin/Emmylou Harris concert, Buddy Miller played guitar for Emmylou. In the middle of the concert, Emmylou said to Buddy, "Hey, remember when we saw Bruce Springsteen here? We were sitting right over there. That was a great concert." I can imagine. Especially for the lucky folks who found themselves seated next to Emmylou and Buddy!

• That brings me to Buddy & Julie Miller at The Bottom Line.

And while we're talking about The Bottom Line, here's who I've seen there:

• Ellis Paul
• Lucy Kaplansky
• Cheryl Wheeler
• Richard Shindell
• John Gorka (who played from 10:00 until about 1:30, and sang Love is our Cross to Bear as a duet with his opening act, a woman whose name I can't remember. It was gorgeous.)
• Nickel Creek
• Shawn Colvin
• Wilcox, the Good Bishop. I can think of 5 times; I'm not sure if there were more. It was the first place I saw him. Once, my last summer in New York, I saw him three times in a row: the late show on Friday, and both shows on Saturday. I saw the Saturday shows with M.E., Weth & Lisa Clayton. We went to this wonderful gelato place in the Village in between acts. Weth can't stop himself from singing harmony, and Wilcox complimented him on his vocals after one song. We were, of course, at the front center table. At the early concert, we had one of those round tables on the side, and as we were watching the opening act, Wilcox suddenly came out and sat at our table to listen. We offered him some carrot sticks. He ate them. The Friday night late concert is memorable for a few reasons. I went it sort of spontaneously, and at the last minute. Just sort of felt like I needed some Wilcox Hold it Up to the Light that Friday night, even though I had tickets for the Saturday early show. Somewhere in the middle of the concert, I suddenly knew that I was going to law school. I took a cab all the way up the West Side back home, because I was alone and it was past midnight. I'd wandered into Virgin Records before the show and bought Patty Griffin's 1000 Kisses. All the way home in the cab, I listened to Rain over and over, looking out as the West Side sped by and knew that I was leaving in just three weeks. Those July concerts were memorable for another reason. It was the first time Wilcox had played in the City since September 11, and the first part of the concert was heavy on 9/11 songs he had written. The next day, as I approached The Bottom Line for the concert with the Claytons, Wilcox was standing outside. I couldn't resist going up to him and introducing myself, and telling him that I had been at the late show the night before and had come back. He said, "Can I ask you a question? What did you think about the show? What about that serious, sad song about September 11, called September 12? It just feels heavy to me." "Well," I responded, "This is the first time you've played in the City since September 11, so I felt it was appropriate." "Hmm, true. Should I play it again tonight?" "Yes, I think you should." He did, and he looked at me and smiled as he introduced the song.

That's all I can remember from that blessed venue. Other New York venues? I've seen these:

• Cowboy Junkies
• Jonatha Brooke
• Travis
• Norah Jones (before she won all her Grammys, when she was still relatively unknown)
• The Trashcan Sinatras. Twice, in Hoboken. They are Josie's favorite band, and she came down from Ithaca to go with me. The next night, I went with Whitney. As we were hanging out after the show, WKC asked the band who they were listening to. Travis was the response, so Whitney started buying Travis music, which resulted in our attendance at the Travis concert.
• Emmylou Harris. She gave a free July 4th concert in Battery Park. Wonderful.
  

But New York isn't the only city with music. In Boston, I saw Paul Simon on his You're the One tour. So, well, you can imagine. The absolute icing on that cake (and I think it was a dark chocolate ganache, or marzipan, or otherwise the best frosting available) was that when we entered the T station to go home, who should be giving her own little subway concert but Mary Lou Lord. We let all kinds of subways go by while we listened and requested. She was delighted that we knew her, and I bought a CD and had her sign it for A&J, who were living in Southampton.

Speaking of Paul Simon, remember when we saw him at Desert Sky Pavilion in January 19, 1991? Remember how Ann and I bought tickets and the whole family drove over, and then everyone else got free lawn seats?

Other great Arizona concerts? Well, I think they were both the year I turned 15. Dad drove me and a friend out to somewhere in Mesa to see Crosby, Stills & Nash. He listened to the concert on the balcony of a nearby building. Then Emmylou Harris came to Rawhide, and I needed to go badly. The concert was sponsored by the Phoenix Pops, so I signed myself up as a volunteer usher (remember those days?) I think at this point I was 16, so I drove up to Rawhide by myself, ushered people in, and then sat to enjoy the concert. At one point, someone in the front yelled out a request, which I couldn't hear. Emmylou said, "Well, that's a good idea" and started to play . . . The Boxer. Truly.

In Salt Lake, I saw Shawn Colvin give an acoustic show at Snowbird. And Ann, remember when we snuck into Kingsbury Hall to see her? That was fun. We saw Wilcox at some club downtown Salt Lake that Dad declared he couldn't enter. The Vortex. I think it went out of business, thank goodness. It wasn't exactly our favorite spot, but it was Wilcox, so, well, you know. And remember when we all saw James Taylor in Park City? That was fun. I saw Sting in Park City, and a little known band called The Samples opened for him. Nice. I also saw Everything But the Girl at Kingsbury Hall, but it was when they entered their dance music phase, and they played very few of the traditional 1980s good stuff.

Oh, and let's not forget the half dozen or so Peter Breinholt concerts we've all attended over the years. Sundance, de Jong Concert Hall, BYU Ballroom, Kingsbury Hall. Remember when he played in Brigham Young park? One year, we were in the Park, and everyone kept turning around. When we turned around to look, Grandma and Grandpa were on the balcony to see what was going on. The next year, we decided to watch and listen from the balcony ourselves. Grandma came out to watch, while Grandpa passed us plates of peanuts through the sliding glass door. That was fun.

Unfortunately, Rob and I have missed all the Greyhaven Concerts. A true tragedy. Perhaps someday one of our trips home will coincide with someone fabulous. We have, however, been to many a Folk Night that was as inspiring and satisfying as the above. Thanks, Spencer, for bringing Folk Night and your voice and guitar into our lives!

What are your favorite concerts?

Here are a few recent pictures of Ellie, mostly associated with the Chinese hats that made us so happy Conference weekend. Enjoy!

If you haven't yet seen this, you should! Kate and Benjamin photographed by the legendary Rebecca Mudrick. Amazing.