Janet's Smiles

W is for John Waite

Posted on April 26, 2024 by scr4pl80 (Scrap Lady)

So John Waite is a surprise favorite. I knew some songs but didn’t realize he was the singer. He was with The Babys and Bad English, both bands that I wasn’t really familiar with but I did like a few of their songs. We’ve seen him 4 times now. He travels a lot with Pat Benatar.

The first time was in 2015 when he opened for her. We had seats a little off to the side but in the front row and at one point my husband yelled out his name and he looked straight at us! Perfect for me to get a picture, since most of the other ones had him facing front and center.

The next time was at the San Jose Civic Center where he was again opening for Pat Benatar. This was in September of 2021 and things were just opening up again after the pandemic. We felt comfortable attending since masks were still a requirement. This was a little less of a “rock” style although he sang most of the same songs.

Back at the Mountain Winery for show number three. This time he was with Rick Springfield and Men At Work so his setlist was quite small.

The last time was again at the Winery where he opened for Pat Benatar once more. This time he was selling signed copies of his new CD so we had to get one. It has his hits and then some but in acoustic versions. While I like it, I prefer the regular style. I had to take a picture of the drummer. He looked so funny sitting behind that small drum kit on his little stool.

There was no setlist given for the last show but you can see that most of the songs have been the same, just in different order. I have a video but, you know, space!

Date: 7/29/2015
Venue: Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA
Artist/Tour: John Waite
Setlist:
Change
Back on My Feet Again
Every Time I Think of You
Midnight Rendezvous
Whenever You Come Around
Best of What I Got
Drum solo
Missing You
Head First
Whole Lotta Love

Date: 9/8/2021
Venue: San Jose Civic Auditorium, San Jose, CA
Artist/Tour: John Waite
Setlist:
Change
When I See You Smile
Whenever You Come Around
Bluebird Cafe
All Along the Watchtower
Downtown
Missing You
Head First

Date: 09/1/2022
Venue: The Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA
Artist/Tour: John Waite
Setlist:
Change
When I See You Smile
Bluebird Cafe
Missing You
Midnight Rendezvous
Whole Lotta Love

One more letter tomorrow and then the grand finale of our A to Z next week.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged John Waite, The Mountain Winery | 8 Comments

V is for Vanilla Fudge

Posted on April 25, 2024 by scr4pl80 (Scrap Lady)

Well this is certainly a band I would not have seen on their own. I was never really into “psychedelic rock.” Vanilla Fudge was part of a show called “Hippiefest” that the Mountain Winery put together. The other groups that night were Badfinger, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels and Rick Derringer.

I knew a few songs by each group but wasn’t really a fan of any of them. It was interesting as well that there were a few band members that switched from band to band so I have no clue how many of these guys were from the original Vanilla Fudge. In looking at some old pictures and reading on Wikipedia, I think the guy on the organ and the lead guitarist/main singer are. They did do a good job of using the lights on the background wall to make it look more psychedelic.

Date: 8/9/2018
Venue: Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA
Artist/Tour: Vanilla Fudge/Hippiefest
Setlist: Note: There was no setlist for the show at the Winery but this is a list of songs they performed around that time at other venues with this tour
I’m a Believer
Take Me for a Little While
People Get Ready
Gimme Some Lovin’
Shotgun
Drum solo
You Keep Me Hanging On

Pretty sure I wouldn’t pay to see this bunch again. I think this is one of the years we were hard pressed to find four shows to see in order to keep our “loyalty” status at the Mountain Winery, something that gets us early access to tickets for the following year. Not really sure how much of a perk that is anymore since I haven’t been able to get seats as close as we like lately. I might have better luck just waiting until the day of sale.

Anyway, as our A to Z winds down, I believe I will make it without having to pay for an upgrade. I realized that up until a couple years ago I was posting on Blogger and simulcasting to WP so a lot of those older posts I can delete from here because they are still on Blogger, if that makes sense. Thanks for coming along!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A to Z 2024, Hippiefest, Mountain Winery, Vanilla Fudge | 8 Comments

U is for Down Under

Posted on April 24, 2024 by scr4pl80 (Scrap Lady)

We are heading down under for today’s performance. Not literally – LOL. We are at our favorite Mountain Winery to see Men at Work. They were the opening act for Rick Springfield and it was another great show.

Adele’s Garden is a small area on the winery grounds and because we are Wells Fargo customers we get early access to this area, free water and a snack. They usually have a warm up band there and this one was pretty good.

Men at Work is a special band to us because when we were dating we drove up to Reno for a couple of days and listened to their music on the way up. We had never seen them in person before so we were excited to see that they were opening for Rick Springfield.

I managed to add this video before I started losing space on WP. Enjoy “Who Can It Be Now.”

Date: 9/1/2022
Venue: Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA
Artist/Tour: Men at Work
Setlist:
Touching the Untouchables
No Restrictions
Down by the Sea
I Can See it In Your Eyes
Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive
No Sign of Yesterday
Overkill
It’s a Mistake
Who Can It Be Now
Down Under
Be Good Johnny

I just found out that the Mountain Winery does not have a Wells Fargo sponsorship this year so no free water or snacks for us. That’s a bummer. Five more shows to go!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A to Z 2024, Concert, Down Under, Men At Work, music | 19 Comments

T is for Tower of Power

Posted on April 23, 2024 by scr4pl80 (Scrap Lady)

Tower of Power is another local band, starting across the Bay in Oakland. We’ve seen them twice, both times they were the opening act on a 3 band bill. The first time was in 2014 where they were on the ticket with Steve Miller and Journey. It was at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View. We went with a couple friends and had a great time.

The second time they started the San Francisco Fest huge concert that was reminiscent of the Day on the Green style of the 70’s.

I don’t have a setlist for the first show but here’s what they sang for the second.

Date: 9/4/2016
Venue: (AT&T) Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA
Artist/Tour: Tower of Power/San Francisco Fest
Setlist:
We Came to Play
Soul with a Capital “S”
Get Yo’ Feet Back on the Ground
So Very Hard To Go
Soul Vaccination
You’re Still a Young Man
What is Hip

Six to go! Still with me? I’ve been able to get rid of some old stuff so I just might have room to make it without paying for extra space! I’m trying to visit some of the other A to Zers but of course I’m not doing too well.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A to Z 2024, AT&T Park, Concert, music, Tower of Power | 8 Comments

S is for Stop In The Name of Love

Posted on April 22, 2024 by scr4pl80 (Scrap Lady)

Diana Ross came to the Mountain Winery a few years ago but we didn’t add her to our list at that time. When I saw she was coming again I told my hubby we really had to go. She’s one of those icons that is getting up there in age and who knows how long she’ll be able to tour. Watching her perform, it seems like she hasn’t lost much and can keep on for a while!

I actually saw Diana Ross at the Circle Star Theater in San Carlos when I was just out of high school (dare I say 40 years ago!). That was a great venue because the performers were on a circular stage which rotated so every seat was a good one. I went with a bunch of my girlfriends and we had seats pretty close to the stage. Her opening act? The Jackson Five!

We didn’t have our usual up close and personal seats this time but as I have said, the Winery is another venue where almost every seat is a good one. They started playing, “I’m Coming Out,” and then she appeared from behind a curtain on stage.

She changed clothes several times during the show and I tried to get a few pictures of each outfit. Lots of glitter and sparkle. It was a really good performance and I’m glad we went.

“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.”

As you can see she sang a ton of hits.

Date: June 15, 2023
Venue: The Mountain Winery
Artist/Tour: Diana Ross/The Music Legacy Tour 2023
Setlist:
I’m Coming Out
More Today Than Yesterday
My World is Empty Without You
Baby Love
Stop! In the Name of Love
You Can’t Hurry Love
Love Child
The Boss
Upside Down
Touch Me in the Morning
It’s My House
Endless Love
Love Hangover/Take Me Higher/Ease on Down
Tomorrow
Why Do Fools Fall In Love
Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know…)
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
I Will Survive
Thank You

Okay folks, we are starting the home stretch of this years A to Z. Just a week left. Can I make it?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A to Z 2024, concerts, Diana Ross, music, The Mountain Winery | 20 Comments

R is for Rock, Paper, Scissors

Posted on April 20, 2024 by scr4pl80 (Scrap Lady)

I had an issue with this show. It featured Peter Gabriel and Sting and I wanted to do Peter Gabriel for “G” and Sting for “S” but when I started writing it, everything was so intermingled that I really couldn’t break it apart neatly. I decided to put it here under “R” because it was the “Rock, Paper, Scissors” Tour. As you might imagine, it then required lots of moving around of other artists as I needed to switch 3 letters! All this AFTER the A to Z started! Good thing I had a weekend to figure it out.

Anyway, back to the business at hand, we started the night at that cute little place called the Louisiana Bistro. We have to find a new place to go before concerts at the SAP Center. There was one we were looking into recently but we couldn’t find parking and then decided just to go to the show and get something to eat there. Maybe next time.

Peter Gabriel is a little weird sometimes but it wasn’t too bad. I don’t know many of his songs except the ones from the album “So.” I don’t even know that many from when he was with Genesis since I only really became a fan when Phil Collins was in the group.

Same with Sting solo. Most of his songs I know from the Police times.

They did a kind of combination show and both performers were on the stage at the same time for the most part. They sang each other’s songs and songs from the groups they were in. There was a little banter back and forth.

Date: 7/14/2016
Venue: SAP Center, San Jose, CA
Artist/Tour: Peter Gabriel and Sting/Rock Paper Scissors
Setlist:
The Rhythm of the Heat
If I Ever Lose My Faith In You
No Self Control
Invisible Sun
Games Without Frontiers
Shock The Monkey
Secret World
Driven to Tears
Fragile
Red Rain
Dancing With the Moonlit Knight
Message in a Bottle
Darkness
Walking in Your Footsteps
Kiss That Frog
Don’t Give Up
The Hounds of Winter
Big Time
Englishman in New York
Solsbury Hill
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
Roxanne
Love Can Heal
Desert Rose
In Your Eyes
Every Breath You Take
Sledgehammer

It proved to be a very interesting show but I don’t think I’d add it to the top 20. In reality, we were walking out to beat the crowd before Sledgehammer was finished. Another week down in this A to Z challenge. Eight letters left. Can I make it? Have a great weekend.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A to Z 2024, concerts, Louisiana Bistro, music, Peter Gabriel, SAP center, Sting | 20 Comments

Q is for One Night of Queen

Posted on April 19, 2024 by scr4pl80 (Scrap Lady)

Unfortunately we never saw Freddie Mercury with Queen. We have seen Queen with Adam Lambert twice and thought they were great.

One of the offerings at the Mountain Winery was “One Night of Queen,” a tribute band. We love the music so we decided to check it out and honestly Gary Mullen and The Works do a really good job. While Gary does not 100% look like Freddie, he is almost spot on with his mannerisms and singing style. The crowd was really into it.

As I mentioned yesterday I am running out of space here so I am not including as many pictures but I wanted to add this video to show you why we love the Winery so much. A lot of the performers are like this where they go out into the crowd and sing with us. High fives are given all around and the venue is really so nice.

There was an intermission between Hammer to Fall and Flash. Gotta have time to get refreshments, right?

Date: 7/24/2022
Venue: The Mountain Winery
Artist/Tour: One Night of Queen
Setlist: – Note, there was no actual setlist printed for the date we saw them but this is from a couple of nights later and is typical of the songs they were singing on the tour.
One Vision
Tie Your Mother Down
Somebody to Love
Under Pressure
Now I’m Here
Killer Queen
I’m In Love With My Car
I Want to Break Free
Ay-Oh
You’re My Best Friend
Hamer to Fall
Flash
Another One Bites the Dust
Don’t Stop Me Now
Seven Seas of Rhye
I want it All
Keep Yourself Alive
Fat Bottomed Girls
Bohemian Rhapsody
Radio Ga Ga
Back in Black
Mony Mony
Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Okay. One more day to squeak through and then I have Sunday to try to figure out how to finish this A to Z without paying for more space. Also, my views are looking kind of wonky. I’m wondering if that’s part of the problem too.Hope you hang in there with me!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A to Z 2024, concerts, Gary Mullen and The Works, Mountain Winery, music, Queen | 16 Comments

P is for Pretenders

Posted on April 18, 2024 by scr4pl80 (Scrap Lady)

Chrissie Hynde and her band, The Pretenders, was the opening act for Stevie Nicks. I try to see Stevie whenever she is around and we are sometimes treated to great opening acts. This was no exception.

We are back at SAP Center in San Jose this time. We stopped at the Louisiana Bistro before the show. Sadly this establishment closed down and we miss it. I’m not really into Cajun spices but this place had a little of everything. We try to get to the venue early since the traffic from our house down to San Jose can get kind of backed up.

And we had reasonable seats too. I did know a lot of her songs and she was a very personable performer, really reacting to and interacting with the crowd.

Here’s some of Brass in Pocket.

I love it when the songs sound just like they do on the radio. Makes it much easier to sing along.

Date: 12/14/2016
Venue: SAP Center, San Jose, CA
Artist/Tour: The Pretenders/24 Karat Gold Tour
Setlist:
Alone
Gotta Wait
Message of Love
Private Life
Down the Wrong Way
Hymn to Her
Back on the Chain Gang
I’ll Stand By You
My City was Gone
Holy Commotion
Stop Your Sobbing
Don’t Get Me Wrong
Mystery Achievement
Middle of the road
Brass In Pocket

So now I have a real problem. As I was trying to get my next post ready I ran into a snag in that I HAVE NO MORE SPACE FOR PICTURES/VIDEOS on my WP unless I upgrade. So now do I give in and upgrade again or do I take the time to go back to some of my older posts and delete them? GRR. I have to finish this A to Z so I may have to bite the bullet. I was not ready for this.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A to Z 2024, Chrissie Hynde, Concert, Louisiana Bistro, music, Pretenders, SAP center, Stevie Nicks | 15 Comments

O is for One Woman Show

Posted on April 17, 2024 by scr4pl80 (Scrap Lady)

Most of the time the shows we see are well-known artists from our 70’s and 80’s rock genre. Every once in a while my husband will read about someone in the paper and get intrigued. This is what happened with Tash Sultana.

One Woman Show is the way I describe her because she plays all the instruments for most of her show. She does have a band accompanying her but only for one or two songs. She starts playing an instrument and then sets it on a loop and moves on to another instrument, sets that on a loop and keeps going until she has the whole show in motion. She uses a lot of flashing lights too, reminiscent of ELO. In fact, there was the warning on the screen to let us know about that.

While my photos aren’t great because we were up in the balcony, here’s a review of the show that night where you can see some better ones. My hubby actually got a brief video. It doesn’t really show how much she moves around between the different instruments but you can kind of get the picture.

Date: 7/22/2022
Venue: Fox Theater, Oakland, CA
Artist/Tour: Tash Sultana/Terra Firma
Setlist:
Big Smoke
Mystik
Cigarettes
Pretty Lady
Greed
Willow Tree
Coma
Notion
Jungle
Blackbird

I think “Jungle” was the song that my husband found on YouTube that made him want to see her in the first place. In the video you can see her stepping on different pedals and then using the keyboard to add more sounds. It was very interesting to watch and she certainly is constantly in motion but not knowing any of the songs, it was kind of hard to get into. It was definitely a new experience. If we saw her again I think I would get closer seats. This was kind of a last minute thing so we had to take what we could get.

What do you think? Ever seen anything like that before?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged A to Z 2024, Fox Oakland, music, Tash Sultana | 16 Comments

N is for Night Ranger

Posted on April 16, 2024 by scr4pl80 (Scrap Lady)

Night Ranger was the opening act for Foreigner and Journey. That was a great show, made better by the fact that we went with some friends and had a tailgate before we went in.

No video for this one either. It was in 2011 so I probably wasn’t thinking about recording, just taking pictures. I did turn this into a mini-album for our friends. It was one of the first paper bag albums I ever made.