Two of my friends and I going tonight to see the "Alija Art Company - Eastern Folk Dance Variety Show". I think it's going to be good.

Buying tickets was easy. Just charged to Visa, then was able to print out the tickets on my own printer. We got second row, center from the stage.

I've never been to a concert. I am just not a big enough fan of anyone to pay to stand in a screaming crowd to see them in person. The last time I was in a big venue,it was an Iron Bowl when I was 10,and some idiot behind us spilled smuggled in beer down my back. They thought it was hilariously funny.

The only group I have wanted to see live is Straight No Chaser,and it has to be a Christmas show. But they almost never come to a city close enough to make it worth the trip. And if they do,it's not at Christmas time. So oh well,I'll keep watching them on youtube.

Have fun at Fleetwood Macs concert! I hope this one goes off without any issues!

Live music is great (when it's a musician or group you enjoy, of course). It's fascinating to see the music being performed ... some artists are all technical, others are so full of emotion ... but the best all have a stage presence.

We don't attend quite as many shows as we used to. One of the criteria I use now, when deciding whether to buy tickets or not, is -- does the venue have seats? If it's standing only ... well, that's rough on my legs anymore. And I need separation between me and any sort of mosh pit -- I'm happy for kids to enjoy bouncing around, but not into me, please!

Amylou - Straight No Chaser? I'd go see them if nearby no matter if it's Christmas or not. Or Rockapella. Excellent!!! I got a passport just to see Paul McCartney in Canada few years ago. It was packed and everyone was nice and polite. I haven't been to many concerts and this was a nice experience. Of course, I've wanted to marry him since I was five.

Skibby,this post inspired me to look for tour dates, and SNC is coming to birmingham,which is only an hour away this november! I wonder how early they start their Christmas stuff.....

And I wonder if I can twist SOs arm hard enough to go with me....

I loved going back in the sixties. Back when many were free or low cost and the crowd was free to move around. Once they started getting into the reserved seating, ticketed thing it was no longer fun for me. I've gone a few times but I miss the good ole days.

One of my best sit down concert memories was back in the mid 90's. I was in the infield at the sprint car races. Already covered in mud splatter. Wearing an old t and overalls. LOL Cells weren't mainstream yet. So DH happened to score a pair of free prime seat for the Highwaymen just an hour before the concert. So he called the local tow truck company that he knew was working there. They radioed one of drivers who found me and told me DH wanted me to meet him down the street ASAP. So we waited for a lull and a rig drove me out to meet DH. We made it to the concert me with a few mud spatters here and there. Sat next to a nicely dressed couple, me looking like I'd just left the barn. Great fun. Great concert.

I have been to a few concerts and they were all mostly fun with nothing too terribly annoying going on. The worst behavior we've seen has been at sporting events. At one, the person behind hubby dumped/spilled an entire beer down hubby's back so he had to wear wet clothes for the rest of the time we were there. At least the guy who spilled the beer apologized.

There was also another time that a woman trying to get out of a row of seats with a cigarette in her hand burned a hole in my brand new jacket as she passed by. That irritated the snot out of me and makes me grateful that cigarettes are no longer allowed at concert/sporting venues.

Can't stand being around people (especially grown adults) who don't know how to behave out in public!

Hope you have a better time at this concert, Kathsgrdn.

Concerts in large venues were fine when I was young; no desire to revisit that format today. Much prefer a more intimate venue.

My friend and I went too see Bonnie Raitt. There were two women nearby who were extremely rowdy and rude. Finally someone complained to security and the two got bounced. What I hate even more than that is when someone near me sings along. I did not pay to hear you!

I went to many many during the years but not much at all in recent years. Just too difficult and dangerous for me to try to get around. I would love to see and hear the performance if it wasn't in a crowded huge facility.

I've not been to a concert in years, but if what happened to me w/the drunk women pounding into me, I'd have turned them into security in a flash. There's no way I'd pay that kind of money for anything to have it ruined by a drunkard.

I hope you have a better time at Fleetwood Mac, Kathrn.

Being short if I want to see a concert I need to sit above the floor. Last one I saw was Tina Turner.

As a teenager and young adult, I LOVED concerts, especially outdoor ones. My first concert was Fleetwood Mac in 1977. I was 14. My older sister and her friends took me. What an education I got that night. I think in the next 3 years I saw almost every band that is now considered "classic rock". Now it's so expensive and they usually start to late for me. lol

Hope you enjoy Fleetwood Mac, even though Lindsay Buckingham isn't a member anymore. :(

Fleetwood Mac without Lindsey Buckingham? It's a great band but won't be quite the same...

My first concert was Gordon Lightfoot at the University of Cincinnati, I think. I still have 2 of his albums (records) although no turntable on which to play them. I think Benny Goodman was my next, at the Bicentennial concert at the baseball stadium -- who I loved, I went just to hear him play -- and was very annoyed that the younger folks (I was all of 22) sitting behind me wouldn't stop loudly talking during his set.

Most of the concerts that I went to were with my ex -- he loved to go. Some concerts had that great live performance vibe, but some were disappointing. Bonnie Raitt circa 1983 was very very late getting on stage then seemed to be drunk when she appeared. I always enjoyed Jimmy Buffet concerts, never encountered anyone too drunk or rude (probably just lucky). Most of the obnoxious drunk behavior has been at baseball games.

Some concerts (like Springsteen and Seger) were so loud that I really was uncomfortable and couldn't enjoy it. I started taking ear plugs with me after those!

I've not gone to many since he became my ex, but there have been a few really good ones -- MaryMary, Cece Winans, Jackson Brown, David Lindley,, the Texas Tornados.

Sarah Brightman was one of my favorite ever concerts -- touring for her album "La Luna". Just a lovely performance, the audience was really under her spell!

The worst concert I've attended was a performance by Heart. They were really having an off day which was exacerbated because they were bummed out over the anniversary of the death of an obscure musician we'd never heard of. They went on and on and on and on about how sad it was. Look, sorry the guy died 20 years ago, but we all paid a lot of money to hear you play, so play already! The audience nearly booed them off the stage, they were that bad.

We hadn't been to a concert in years until last summer when we decided to go see Jimmy Buffet and ZZ Top. I was ill-prepared for the new security processes and although I only took a small backpack (8" X 10") it was deemed not acceptable. I ended up emptying almost everything into my pockets and throwing the backpack in their trash because we had parked blocks away and waited in line for almost an hour. Aside from having my pockets look and feel like filled chipmunk cheeks, the concert was so much fun!

I’ve attended many. The worst most recent one was a few years back when I mistakenly went with some friends who had seats in the floor at a large venue. I prefer to be above the floor in general. A foursome in front of us came in late and were very drunk. By intermission, one guy couldn’t stand up, and security had been by a couple of times. One couple didn’t return after the intermission. I’m fairly certain the people in front of them complained more than once. I would have. I never attend one in a stadium anymore. Small venues are preferable. We did see Fleetwood Mac a couple of times and really enjoyed them.

I go to concerts frequently and love, love, love live music. I'm not very interested in older bands without all their members, though. We have a wonderful performing arts center in my town that books concerts each year I am interested in seeing. I won't go to a huge concert (Seattle or Portland are within reach) because those days are over for me, unless I can get seats in a private box. My son took me to see James Taylor and Carole King in concert at a large stadium a couple of years ago, then Neil Diamond a year later - both concerts in a private box, which was fabulous.

This past weekend, I saw Judy Collins (one of my all-time favorite singers) and Stephen Stills touring together. I only know him from Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and wasn't much interested in him, but would never pass up a chance to see her. I thought they would split the time, maybe do a song or two together, but they appeared together. She was fabulous, he was not my favorite. She sang this song that was so unbelievably moving and beautiful: Dreamers

Next month I'm going to Portland to see Rufus Wainwright, another favorite of mine. Maybe in December will go to see Rosann Cash. I am not very familiar with her, but one of my concert/music loving friends says he saw her in concert and thought it was one of the best shows he's ever seen. I trust his judgement, so we'll probably go. Might see Jake Shimabukuro in January, too!

I love live music. I saw Rod Stewart about a month ago. At 73 he still puts on an excellent show. I've seen him several times. Cindy Lauper opened for him. She was good too.

I've seen Elton John several times. Once it was just him and his piano, no band. It was really good.

I've also seen Billy Joel, Styx, the Rolling Stones, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Cher (Cindy Lauper opened for her too). I've also seen Pat Benatar, Lady Gaga, there's more that I'm not recalling at the moment.

With my mother I've seen Engelbert Humperdinck and Tom Jones. They were both excellent too. The audience was mostly older women, lol.

I'm a lifelong music lover and we go to a lot of concerts/shows. I don't think you need to be a big fan of any particular performer to love good live music. But it's either something you like or something you don't. Music has been big in the SF Bay Area and surrounding region for a long time, there are many venues of all sizes (including small ones) well worth going to.

Collins and Stills came through my area earlier in the summer and we saw them. They were fantastic. Stills is arguably a bigger name in music than she is, he's a double inductee into the Rock Hall of Fame. His first group (one that was hugely influential) was Buffalo Springfield. Neil Young was also in that band. Stills wrote their first hit, For What It's Worth (There's somethin happen'n here, what it is ain't exactly clear) at the age of 21. Don't know if you knew the background of their touring together, but a bit over 50 years ago, they had a very tempestuous love affair that ended with the same fury it started with. It took both of them years to get over one another, after which they've become lifelong close friends (though married to others). Part of how he dealt with the breakup was to write songs about her and a number of those songs were on the set lists they performed together this summer. One of the better known ones about her Stills wrote (a CSN song, not performed in their joint show) was Suite:Judy Blue Eyes.

Probably the three most influential bands of the 60s that began in Los Angeles were Buffalo Springfield, The Doors, and the Byrds. All had their most productive output and essentially broke up in less than 5 years but have had a lasting influence.

Elmer, I first saw The Byrds at the Rollerena Skating Rink in San Leandro, Ca. The Bay Area was chock full of garage bands at the time. One such local band, Peter Wheat and the Breadmen opened for them.

Saw Buffalo Springfield for the first time at the Avalon Ballroom I think. Saw The Doors there too. I preferred the short lived Av to the Fillmore.

Gads I'm old.

I like going to our local theater, folks are mostly well-behaved, although I had to ask people to stop talking during a Leslie Odom, Jr. concert, and during Steely Dan a few years ago a guy kept running back and forth to the bar. Radiohead at Madison Square Garden was not great, three tall bros who drank and smoked weed were directly in front of me and refused to sit down, even when everyone else was sitting (and they hardly moved when one bro passed out). The hockey crowds are better behaved. The worst was Hall and Oates at the amphitheater, in the "VIP" section, these drunks in front of me got up and refused to sit, even when told to by the ushers. The ushers claimed that they couldn't do anything. A fight was going to break out, so I went and stood on the side for the rest of the H&O set. Oh, and I hate the people who just have to hold up their phones and record the concerts, our local theater makes them stop (yay).

I go to shows all the time. I do festivals too, which I love. But you have to like people and heat. I love people watching. I remember the first time we went to Lollapalooza in Chicago I posted on here being worried my husband and myself would be the oldest ones there. I think we were in our late 40s/early 50s. So not true! I don't like huge shows, but I would sacrifice to see Fleetwood Mac. I agree the loss of Lindsay Buckingham would put a damper on it for me. So many of the songs were written by he and Stevie. I remember seeing a video of Stevie singing Silver Springs and just glaring at Lindsay with eyes that could kill. I've looked and can't find that video, but it would have been amazing to be in that audience and see that passion. In a big show like that you should have assigned seats (which is one of the reasons I hate big shows-no dancing without the risk of irritating everyone behind you) so you shouldn't have to worry about getting touched or pushed by others. Have fun!!

I saw the Byrds and the Doors numerous times during their peak years. Lifetime memories.

Buffalo Springfield, more notably the three principals Stephen Stills, Neil Young, and Richie Furay (who went on to found Poco) had a brief reunion about 6 years ago. First they performed at Young's now defunct but formerly annual Bridge Concert in the fall at Shoreline Amphitheater (I went and was knocked out by how good they were) and then in the spring, they did a limited, 10 gig tour. We saw them at the Fox Theater in Oakland and, again, it was an unbelievable experience. They restricted both performances to strictly B Springfield songs, nothing from their later careers.

Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman, two remaining alive principals of the Byrds (excepting David Crosby, who was kicked out of the group back in the day) are touring together this year for the first time in many years. We saw them a couple of months ago at their Bay Area stop at Mountain Winery in Saratoga. An evening of Byrds songs played and sung by these guys whose voices and playing remain in top shape, accompanied by country virtuoso Marty Stewart and his band. Again, simply awesome to see them.

We've been to several concerts of our oldie favorite bands from the 70's... the crowd is definitely much older and all have been well behaved. I like that most sit during the songs... not a fan of having to stand. If someone was poking me in the back I'd ask them to stop and if they didn't I'd go to security. Concerts cost way too much these days to be too annoyed to enjoy them!

Next week is our big one - Phil Collins. I've read due to his back problems he sits most of the time but his voice is still going strong - most important part. Can't wait!

Sleeperblues, we had assigned seats at REO, there was tons of room between use and the women behind us, they just chose to go out of their space into ours. The people next to us were dancing and a lot closer, inches away and didn't bother us at all.

Share oh, I thought about complaining but they were drunk off their @sses and didn't want them to get violent so chose not to.

Leaving soon to head to Louisville for the concert! Wish us luck!

Fleetwood Mac is coming to Edmonton on Nov 10th. My two sisters are flying here to see them. One is coming from Ontario and the other is coming from New Brunswick. My older sister really wanted to see them, so she thought it would be a good time for us sister to have a visit and go to the concert.

Elmer, I did know that about Stephen and Judy since it was in the program at the concert. I barely remember Buffalo Springfield, but probably liked their music at the time. I'd guess not a big fan, since I never bought any of their albums. Not sure if I ever knew who was in it or followed them after they moved on to other things. I did like CSN&Young and was a big Neil Young fan, but I'm generally only a fan of people's music and don't follow their private lives or career moves much. Maybe Simon and Garfunkle being the exception - oh and Sunny and Cher, lol.

I go to more concerts now than I ever did, and I've been to a lot in my life. I've always lived in college/university towns and that's one of the many benefits. I prefer the intimate settings of smaller theaters and venues and stay away the high volume places with the exception of the shows we take our sprites to. (Young kids haven't learned how to behave like drunken jerks yet, lol.)

One of my favorites concerts in recent years was an evening with Paul Simon....conversation, story telling, and music. I've seen Lyle Lovett several times and love his jazzy, bluesy music. He tours with just one or two fabulous musicians or with his "Large Band".

We're able to find concerts that appeal to us here in my city, in Nashville, Birmingham, and other small cities.

I don't buy programs but I've known of their relationship. I recommend the CD Stills and Collins recorded last year. Those songs are the core of their live performances, it's very good. And included on the CD the definitive breakup lament song Stills wrote they previously hadn't done together, "Questions". First performed/recorded by Stills on the last BS album. Then again he tacked it on in a slightly different arrangement as the ending segment of the CSN song "Carry On", Then now on this new album, a slightly different arrangement again. But same song, same words.

BS, Stills, Neil Young, and their various configurations are the lifetime favorites of this huge music fan so maybe I know a bit more about them than I would other artists. I too don't otherwise follow personal lives. Neil Young lived in a rural portion of the Bay Area from the late 1960s until just a few years ago (when he and his wife divorced and he "relocated" to SoCal) and he often did pre-tour warmup gigs at a random selection of small local venues and dives, often along the coast from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz. We caught wind of a few of these, they were all unusual, quirky, and fun. These in addition to the many dozens (maybe three dozen?) of his shows we've been to over the years.

Programs are free at our performing arts center; I don't buy them either. I really didn't care for their performances together, so the cd would be a no go for me. She performed here not too long ago, solo (maybe 2016?). It was awe inspiring. She is a great story teller and spoke of being with Pete Seeger as he was dying. She sang him out of this life, to the other side...it was incredibly moving. Her song I linked above...Dreamers...was really unbelievable. He was pretty much incoherent and his voice is gone. Not my favorite by a long shot.

I would have been in heaven to catch one of those Neil Young concerts!

We have different tastes or saw different shows. We saw them in June and both were in fine form - maybe his voice couldn't last all summer.

I had almost the opposite sentiment - I saw her last about 5 or 6 years ago and thought - how many more times can I listen to her singing Both Sides Now, Send in the Clouds, etc. And the answer was - I don't need to hear those again. But performing with Stills was something special not to miss.

Did you not like their cover version of "Handle With Care", the song written and recorded by the Travelling Wilburys (Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty) ?

I don't recall it specifically, but there were a couple of things they did that I liked ok. Not enough to buy a cd. But I did get a bag with a gorgeous hummingbird design. (I just googled their version of that song - I do love the song but I really don't think their voices blend or complement each other that well. It didn't blow me away. He just sounds a little too much off key).

I want the add that I have seen Rod Stewart a few times, love that guy. Saw Elton John twice, once just him and his piano, he never spoke once just stood and bowed after every song. Second time he was more engaging with the crowd and fans were able to go up to the stage t get things signed by him. I have seen Josh Groban and El Divo a few times, best concert ever has to be Andre Rieu.

Well the concert was great! No jerks to ruin it. I was very surprised there were so many young people there. I'd say a little more than half were younger than 50. I was also surprised they did some of Lindsay Buckingham's songs. I thought they would just leave them out of the show. The guy who sang them, Neil Finn, actually sounds very similar to him. Neil Finn played one of his songs from the Split Enz from back in the 80s. I didn't know who he was before they introduced him and that song. Remember watching the Split Enz on MTV and showed it to Lauren on Youtube when we were waiting to back out of the parking garage after the show. They also played a few very old Fleetwood Mac songs from the original group, including Black Magic Woman, which I didn't know until last night was actually a Fleetwood Mac song and not original to Santana. Stevie Nicks sang that one and it was great! She also sang a tribute song to Tom Petty, Free Falling. They did two encores, the last was a pretty duet with Stevie and Christine.

Glad you enjoyed it ... Neil Finn being asked to join FM made huge news here as he is a kiwi. I remember following Split Enz as a teenager back when they first started out. They were the cause of my 'punk' phase much to my parents despair!!

Glad you had a good time.

ditto, glad you had a good time.

Fleetwood Mac began life as a traditional blues band, with Peter Green as the lead guitarist. They did many old blues songs in their repertoire. Green wrote Black Magic Woman. He left, the band went through a metamorphosis to pop/folk by adding Buckingham and Nicks (who had their own fledgling band as a duo) and left the blues genre behind. That change was almost as dramatic as if Diana Ross and the Supremes decided to drop Motown and do California surf music like the Beach Boys instead.

The story of Buckingham being dropped is murky but I remember hearing interviews with Nicks, even going back some years, saying that the good of the band as a whole was far more important than the good of any individual and that complete dedication to that was essential. And that Buckingham didn't always have that attitude. Yeah, I know, decades of baggage between those two too. They may have tired of his negative attitude. In addition to Finn, they also added a guitarist from Tom Petty's band, he too a well respected musician.

Ah, lucky one....:"Say you will..." now in my head. :) One of my all time favorites. Have seen Billy Joel, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Fleetwood Mac and

lots more in the past (when they (and I ) were younger. Enjoyed them all. Love

the Broadway shows and even the local ones. Saw Cher....we left after about

15 minutes. Her fans were all up and dancing and singing around the whole

auditorium...couldn't see her or hear her. This was about 9-10 years ago

in State College. Since then, I think, she has done 2 or 3... "very last tours".

We (and quite a few others) were in the lobby leaving and complained a

bit...were told, "yeah...well, she won't be booked here again". And, as long

as I lived there, she wasn't. Don't know about her "last, last tour". Billy Joel

is my very favorite, but Rod Stewart (then) put on a great show.

Uptown Gal, my daughter mentioned wanting to see Cher last night. She said she was doing an ABBA musical tour. Weird. I said I told her I did not want to see that. My daughter loves show tunes, I like them okay when I'm actually at a musical but won't listen to them say in my car or otherwise.

I was feeling a little envious of you seeing Fleetwood Mac, but I just saw a clip of them performing on 'Ellen'. Listening to Stevie croak through the song was painful -and even with all her gesturing she seemed kind of automated -- Couldn't hear Christine or John McVie at all, but Mick Fleetwood still kills it!

Raee, I saw that earlier on one of the news on-line. It was bad, but the concert was great. Christine McVie sounded a little off that night but it didn't ruin the concert. Everyone else sounded good.

This is an old post...Angla, are you saying I should go all the way to Maine to see a concert?

Sushipup, looks like the post is gone.

Yay! The system works.