Friday, January 07, 2005

 

TRIPPING BACK TO THE 60's

Comments from Mister Anchovy and Gympumpkin following my post THE LONG, STRANGE RIDE OF A RAIDER got me to doing a lot of reminiscing about my wayward teenage years. I mentioned that I had seen THE STOOGES at a club in Birmingham MI around 68 or 69. When Andrea told me she was jealous, I replied that I had consumed large quantities of Boone's Farm, and all that I recalled was that the band was outrageous and I got laid afterward. The whole conversation got me to thinking, and made a couple of phone calls. The gist of it:

We did see THE STOOGES, I was drunk, and I did get laid. But not in Birmingham. It was 1968, and the club was MOTHER'S in Romeo. Actually, they were called the PSYCHEDELIC STOOGES then.

Mother's was a great, seedy, teenage club located in a small farm town about 20 mins. north of Pontiac on M-53. We saw a lot of great bands there that went on to some fame. The MC 5, Dick Wagner and Frost, The Amboy Dukes (Ted Nugents band), Grand Funk Railroad, and most impressively, Bob Seeger and the Last Herd. In fact, the only times I ever got to see Seeger was at Mother's, and at a H.S. dance at St. Fred's in Pontiac.

I look back now and realize how fabulously lucky we were to live in a time and place with such a great, vibrant music scene. I have a feeling I am going to be spending some time and money on Amazon and I Tunes the next few days.


Comments:
You were lucky. Sometimes I think I was born too late.
 
I am not sure that it is the time as much as it is the area. Metro Detroit still has a really great music scene! I have lived in South Bend for 30 years, and I still miss the area. I try to take in as much as I can when I get back there, but there is never enough time. Perhaps when I retire I'll become known as that old hippie who hangs out in all the trendy clubs!

You are quite lucky to live in a town with a really thriving Celtic music scene. Hope you get Bridgeport and check out some great bands!
 
In Toronto in the 80s we had a fabulous music scene. On Saturdays we would walk down Queen West to the grand ol Cameron House to see Handsome Ned and the Handsome Neds. Too bad Ned checked out early, because he was a brilliant singer. Blue Rodeo were starting out, and the Cowboy Junkies too, and Joanne Mackell and the Yahoos. At the Horseshoe Tavern and the Bamboo Club, they were bringing up Zydeco groups like Terence Simion and the Mallet Playboys and Fernest Arsenault and the Thunders and Queen Ida and the Bon Temps Zydeco Band. Uptown, at Albert's Hall, we had a super Blues scene happening. James Cotton used to come to town a lot and Buddy Guy and Junior Wells (Wow!!), not to mention our own Downchild Blues Band and the Paul James Band (who later played at my wedding - and were awesome).

Handsome Ned used to say, The Queen St. hills are alive with the sound of music.

We still have our share of live music, but back then, it was HAPPENING.
 
Haven't been to Toronto in years and years, but there used to be a lot of great little jazz clubs in town. Would like to get back soon and see if they are still alive!
 
I see you're high enough up that mountain of life to start looking back. A few years ago I surprised myself at the lack of memories I had about my youth and growing up. Now they keep flooding back over me. Uh-oh, time's getting shorter and I ain't ready...
 
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