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| Photo by Dana Bonn |
Here's the third and final part of a Virtual Ticket Stub Gallery tour of bands I've seen in their original lineup (or in partial groupings thereof). Part 1 listed bands I saw with their founding configuration intact. Part 2 looked at groups who were one player shy of their charter membership. Finally, today we have a handful of acts for whom I've seen all or most of the original lineup, but not at the same time:
THE BEACH BOYS [4/5, in pieces]
Dennis Wilson passed a few years before my first (and only) Beach Boys show, which took place at the Grandstand at the New York State Fair in...whatever year it was that "Kokomo" hit big. Yeah, 1988. Listen, it's not one of my favorites, but I don't hate "Kokomo" like a lot of folks out there seem to hate "Kokomo." The 1988 version of the Boys included Mike Love, Al Jardine, and Carl Wilson, plus Bruce Johnston. Mike, Al, and Carl were three-fifths of the original lineup (as of the "Surfin'" 45); David Marks replaced Jardine by the time the Beach Boys signed with Capitol (and Marks deserves more credit for being in the Beach Boys for their first four albums, at which point Jardine returned). But nonetheless: Jardine was the original.
And at this show, I got to witness Carl Wilson singing "God Only Knows." I'll gladly put up with Mike Love and the Kokomo side trip if it gets me to that.
I finally saw Brian Wilson in concert at the Fair on a melancholy day in 2016. That memory is detailed here.
HERMAN'S HERMITS [4/5, in pieces]
When I was still in high school, some lineup of Herman's Hermits (presumably without lead singer Peter Noone) played at a North Syracuse club called The Boardwalk. A phone call to the club confirmed that there would be no all-ages show, scratching any scheme I may have had to see it with a pretty girl of my acquaintance, perhaps with an opportunity to say to her, "Something tells me I'm into something good," likely inviting her reply that I was a must to avoid. Nope. This seventeen-year-old was left leanin' on a lamp post.
I got my chance (with the Hermits, not the girl) in the summer of '78, when that Herman-less Hermits core of bassist (and now lead singer) Karl Green, guitarist Derek Leckenby, and drummer Barry Witwam British Invaded The Gin Mill in Liverpool, NY, with guitarist Frank Renshaw in place of Keith Hopwood. It was a solid club show, even without ol' Herm (or Keith), and I wish I'd had an opportunity to see this band again.
In the early '80s, Peter Noone was trying to shed his Herman image with a new wave group called the Tremblers. The Tremblers only did one album, and I got to see them in Rochester. Even got to shake Noone's hand, but he steadfastly refused to perform any Herman's Hermits material at the time. Now, he refuses to do any Tremblers material. But I've seen him several times since the Tremblers days (the most recent occurring on the same day as the above-linked Brian Wilson show), and he always puts on a good show.
THE MONKEES [4/4, in pieces]
The resurgent Monkeemania driven by MTV in 1986 brough three of the Monkees--Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, and Peter Tork--to my town in 1986. Well, not quite to my town; the Chatauqua Institution stage was a seemingly interminable drive from my Buffalo apartment, and I found myself abruptly between jobs and unable to afford tickets when the Monkees did visit Buffalo a few months later.
But: DREAM COME TRUE! I had seen the Peter Tork Project at Buffalo's Tralfamadore Cafe in the early '80s, and this was my very first chance to witness any sort of Monkees quorum in concert. I concede that the MTV-era Monkees were a little more show biz! than my taste would have preferred, but it was still 3/4 of the friggin' Monkees in concert. I was more than satisfied.
I saw the same Monkees trio again in Canandaigua in 1987, with "Weird" Al Yankovic opening. The Monkees played a much longer set on this tour, still leaning into schtick, but going in for several deeper cuts. As a hardcore fan of the Monkees' music, this was a great evening for me.
Michael Nesmith was supposed to do a Buffalo club date in the early '90s, and I considered a trip from Syracuse to catch that. The show was canceled, however, and it seemed unlikely that I would ever see Nez. I did see Micky and Davy again at the State Fair, and Davy at least once on a Teen Idols tour with Peter Noone and Bobby Sherman.
When Davy Jones died in 2012, I was among the collective everyone presuming that was the end of the Monkees. No one--no one--seriously expected Nesmith to return.
But he did. And I saw Micky, Peter, and Michael in Buffalo later that year. It was one of THE best shows I've ever attended, and I wrote about it here.
I'm sure I've forgotten someone I should have mentioned. I probably saw the complete (or maybe nearly complete) original lineup of Wang Chung when they opened for Tina Turner. I also saw three-fifths of the Runaways, probably a similar fraction of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, about half of the Ventures, half of the Clash, half of the Searchers, two out of six of the Turtles. I've seen a couple of Beatles at different times, a couple of Wings at different times, a couple of New York Dolls at different times, a couple of Spiders From Mars at different times, and possibly all of the Burns Sisters all at once. I've seen a single original component apiece from Aerosmith, the Weavers, Great Buildings, the City, the Dictators, and the Lovin' Spoonful, and I don't know how meager a representation of the original lineups of Earth, Wind and Fire, Chicago, the Romantics, and others.
But I saw some shows, I did. The memories linger. Let me hear you make some noise. Let's give a big Boppin' (Like The Hip Folk Do) welcome to...THE ORIGINALS!!
If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar.
Carl's new book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones is now available, courtesy of the good folks at Rare Bird Books. Gabba Gabba YAY!! https://rarebirdlit.com/gabba-gabba-hey-a-conversation-with-the-ramones-by-carl-cafarelli/
If it's true that one book leads to another, my next book will be The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1). Stay tuned. Your turn is coming.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio. You can read about our history here.
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