And so we begin week 3 of our A to Z challenge! Seems to be going pretty well so far. I haven’t noticed too many new visitors but I haven’t actually been very good about searching out new ones myself so…
Today we have Mariah Carey. She is definitely not someone that I would pay to see on her own but she was the opener for Lionel Richie, who I love!
She didn’t change my mind about her, still not someone I’d go see more than once. Fun fact though, just as she was starting to break out in the late 80’s early 90’s my husband was working at a local Warehouse Records and she came in to promote her album. I did like her red dress. No video today. Guess I was saving my batteries for Lionel.
Date: 7/21/2017
Venue: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
Artist/Tour: Mariah Carey/All the Hits Tour
Setlist:
Love Hangover/Heartbreaker
Shake It Off
Touch My Body
I Know What You Want
My All
Always Be My Baby
Don’t Forget About Us
One Sweet Day
All I Do
It’s Like That
Vision of Love
We Belong Together
All I Want for Christmas Is You
Hero
Honestly, the only song I remotely knew was Hero and the Christmas one, which she sang only a snippet of, and Love Hangover which isn’t even her song! Still, she helped me fill a letter in the A to Z so there is that! Happy Monday all.
Hey there A to Zers, another week down! I’m ashamed to say I haven’t even visited the main A to Z blog myself, have you?
Once again we have an opening act that was almost as fun to see as the headliner. Almost I say because the headliner was CHER!
Cyndi Lauper was very chatty with the crowd and talked about her relationship with Cher. Their mothers were friends so they have known each other a long time. She had a lot of jokes and stories to tell but it didn’t interfere with her show.
I was happy that we had seats kind of higher up for this because at one point Cyndi stopped what she was talking about and looked down at a guy in one of the front rows and called him out for taking pictures! She said, “Are you filming me right now? You’re missing what’s happening right in front of you because you’re doing that! Put that camera away right now!” Or words to that effect. I’m sure if we had been sitting closer she might have been talking to me! Here’s how I scrapbooked that event.
The pictures aren’t that great but I do have a video. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” right?
I should learn how to take some stills from the videos because a lot of times they are so much better than the pictures I can take. Still, they are not for publication, just for my scrapbooks so… Also, kind of proud of myself for holding the camera so steady during this song because you know I wanna dance!
Date: 07/02/2014
Venue: SAP Center, San Jose, CA
Artist/Tour: Cyndi Lauper/30th Anniversary: She’s So Unusual
Setlist:
She Bop
I’ll Kiss You
Witness
All Through the Night
Into the Nightlife
Sex is in the Heel
Time after Time
Money Changes Everything
Girls Just Want to Have fun
True Colors
Okay, did you survive the week? I’m going to try to get around to some new folks this weekend. It’s raining here so there’s not much to do outside and who wants to clean house? See you Monday with “M”.
Kool and the Gang were the opening act for Van Halen. This was one of those concerts that my husband wanted to see more than I did. I’m glad we went though since Eddy Van Halen is gone now.
I enjoyed Kool and the Gang more than Van Halen I think. They really had the place up and rocking. This has also made it into the scrapbook.
I mean, who can’t dance to Celebration? No video today, sorry.
Date: 06/03/2012
Venue: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
Artist/Tour: Kool and the Gang/A Different Kind of Truth
Setlist:
Fresh
Tonight
Emergency
Misled
Too Hot
Hollywood Swingin’
Jungle Boogie
Ladies Night
Get Down On It
Celebration
Short one for this letter but at least it’s up. One more this week and then a break on Sunday. Hope to see you tomorrow!
We have seen Journey at least 7 times by my counting and I did write about them in a previous A to Z challenge but this time I’m using a different iteration. Neal Schon got a few of the former band members together and did a spin-off called “Journey Through Time.” That’s who we went to see and this time we took our daughter with us! It was a fun night at a new to us venue, The Fox Theater in Oakland.
While waiting to get in I was intrigued with the old communication equipment that was still in the hallway. I am not sure what all those levers were for but it was interesting. Once inside the venue was full of great things to look at.
Neal Schon put together a group of musicians including former bandmates, Gregg Rollie and Deen Castronovo, Marco Mendoza (from Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy) and Chris Collins. They played lots of songs from all of the Journey albums, including the first three. They also played some Santana songs since both Schon and Rollie were with Santana. Deen Castronovo had been the drummer for Journey for a while but then he got into some drug-related problems. This was one of his first times back on stage and he appeared very grateful.
We had general admission tickets and thought that we were going to have to stand the whole night but there were some tables and we were early enough to be able to grab one. A couple times during the show people came up to us and offered to pay us for the seats! We could have made the money we spent on the tickets back – LOL.
They sang some songs I was not familiar with because honestly I became a Journey fan when Steve Perry joined the group and that was after the first few albums. To me, Journey is not Journey without him. Anyway…
Anyway You Want It
Date: February 23, 2019
Venue: Fox Theater, Oakland, CA
Artist/Tour: Journey Through Time
Setlist:
Ā I’m Gonna Leave You
Look Into the Future
Just the Same Way
Kohoutek
Daydeam
Walks Like a Lady
Feeling that Way
Anytime
Lights
Still They Ride
Separate Ways
Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’
Wheel in the Sky
Trial by Fire
Stay Awhile
Mystery Mountain
Of a Lifetime
La Do Da
Lovin’ You is Easy
Nickel & Dime
People
Mother, Father
Any Way You Want It
Don’t Stop Believin’
Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen
We were thinking they might play On a Saturday Night, since it was, but they didn’t. Guess you can’t have everything, right? Okay, A to Zers, two more letters this week. Any guesses as to who my letter K will be?
Hello A to Z friends. How is your week going? I have been trying to stop and visit everyone at least once during this alphabet journey but so far have only been able to keep up truly with my “regulars.” If I haven’t stopped by you yet, I’m sorry. If you are just making it around to me, this year I am again going through the alphabet via the artists we have seen in concert over the years. Occasionally, like today, I need to use a song title to help fulfill the letter.
“I Want You to Want Me” is a song sung by Cheap Trick. This is another one of those bands that I probably wouldn’t pay to see on their own but they have opened for a couple of other groups that we like so we’ve actually seen them twice.
The first time was in 2008. They were part of the show with Heart and Journey. They are one of those bands where you go, “Oh, I remember that song. Did they do that?” At least for me they are. This first show has made it into the scrapbook. By this time they had started using print at home tickets which are not really the same, are they? I had some background papers that I thought went really well with the set used by Cheap Trick with all the black and white checkerboards. I realize that I forgot to include a “selfie” from the Hooters yesterday! It’s kind of fun to see how we have changed over the years too.
The next time we saw them was in 2017. This time they were the middle act between Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience and Foreigner. Both of these were at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View.
I did a Facebook Live, something I like to do when I can to share the experience with my friends. Actually got part of “I Want You To Want Me.” Sorry for the poor quality but my equipment was not the best.
Still, you get the idea.
Date: 09/27/2008
Venue: Shoreline, Mountain View, CA
Artist/Tour: Cheap Trick
Setlist:
Hello There
70’s Song
California Man
If You Want My Love
I Know What I Want
I Want You to Want Me
I Can’t Take It
The Flame
Surrender
Goodnight.
Dream Police
Date: 09/02/2017
Venue: Shoreline, Mountain View, CA
Artist/Tour: Cheap Trick
Setlist:
Hello There
Just Got Back
California Man
Long Time Coming
Baby Loves to Rock
You Got It Going On
Need Your Love
Bass Solo
I’m Waiting for the Man
The Flame
I Want You To Want Me
Dream Police
Surrender
Goodnight.
They are actually going to be at Chase Center this September as the opening act for Heart. We haven’t gotten tickets yet but just might! What do you think? Shall we see them again?
Happy Tuesday my A to Z friends. Are you ready for another event at the Mountain Winery? If you wonder why so many of our shows are there, it’s because a few years ago they started doing a “Loyalty Club” program where if you see 4 shows a year you get the special benefit of advanced ticket sales for the next season. So of the 6 or 8 concerts we go to each year, at least 4 of them are there. In reality, the tickets are mostly within reason and so we can usually sit up close, which is where I like to be!
For the letter “H” I’m using the “Hooters.” If you ask me to name a song they did, I’m not sure I’d be able to right off the bat but they were the middle act between Tommy Tutone and Rick Springfield. Once they started singing, I did indeed remember them.
I love the way they use the lights on the trees above the seats. If you want, you can watch the show from that section and still see the beautiful lights of the city in the distance. The Mountain Winery is way up on a mountain top with a gorgeous view of the surrounding area.
Here’s “And We Danced,” which we did!
Definitely a great way to get the crowd going to welcome Rick Springfield.
The Details:
Date: 9/12/2023
Venue: Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA
Artist/Tour: The Hooters/I Want My 80’s Tour
Setlist:
I’m Alive
Day by Day
Why Won’t You Call Me Back
All You Zombies
Karla With a K
Drum solo
Twenty-Five Hours a Day
One of Us
Time After Time
And We Danced
Did you know the Hooters? Recognize those songs? Like the colorful trees? See you tomorrow with “I.”
Welcome to week two my A to Z friends. How are you all managing? I ran into a snag with this letter “G” and have had to juggle 3 letters around to make it work. I guess it would have helped if I had been more prepared and written more of the draft posts instead of just the headings! At any rate, I think I have it now so here goes.
As I mentioned in the Theme Reveal and have done on the last two editions of this theme, I will sometimes use a song title, or in this case an album name, to cover the letter. In my opinion it still counts! So for today’s “G” I’m using the album Gaucho by Steely Dan.
The first time we saw them was at the Mountain Winery. We went with another couple and it was very early in our concert experiences so when they had big signs posted all over that there WAS NO PICTURE TAKING, I actually followed the directions and didn’t take any pictures. Not even any pictures of us! I mean why didn’t I at least take a group photo or pictures of the scenery, which is beautiful? Anyway, I had to do something to be able to add the show in our concert album. I found some pictures online of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker and used them and the tickets to document the night. This was back in the day when they actually had tickets! Also early in my scrapbooking as this is kind of a simple layout.
I won tickets to see them again the next year. This was a radio contest but all I had to do was submit my email address. I was very surprised when I got the notice that I won! They didn’t have signs about no cameras here but it was an inside venue so the lighting wasn’t that great. Still, I managed a few. This one has also made it into the scrapbook!
This was a new to me venue, the San Jose Civic Auditorium. My husband didn’t feel like going so I went with my girlfriend and we had a terrific time. Don’t know why I didn’t take any pictures of us but I did get some of the venue. Back in 2009 I don’t think selfies were such a popular thing. Could I even take a selfie with that phone? Who knows.
I am glad that we were able to see them since Walter Becker has passed away. That’s one of the reasons we go to so many concerts. All our favorites are getting older and either not touring or are dying. I think Donald Fagen is still touring with some form of the band but I was reading there might be some legal issues with Walter Becker’s estate. I’d love to see Donald with Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald. They did a tour together called “The Dukes of September.” I’d have a lot of options for the alphabet with that one!
The Details:
Date: 7/24/2008
Venue: The Mountain Winery
Artist/Tour: Steely Dan/Think Fast
Setlist:
Everyone’s Gone to the Movies/The Fez
The Royal Scam
I Got the News
Show Biz Kids
Bodhisattva
Two Against Nature
Hey Nineteen
Godwhacker
Pretzel Logic
New Frontier
Gaucho
Black Friday
Parker’s Band
Josie
Aja
Love Is Like an Itching In My Heart
FM
Peg
Black Cow
Kid Charlemagne
Last Tango In Paris
Date: 10/21/2009
Venue: San Jose Civic Auditorium, San Jose, CA
Artist/Tour: Steely Dan/Rent Party ’09
Setlist:
Teenie’s Blues
Black Friday
Aja
Hey Nineteen
The Royal Scam
Bodhisattva
Peg
FM
Pretzel Logic
Any Major Dude Will Tell You
Rikki Don’t Lose That Number
Do It Again
Love is Like An Itching in My Heart
Babylon Sisters
Deacon Blues
Josie
Black Cow
Don’t Take Me Alive
My Old School
Kid Charlegmagne
Reelin’ in the Years
Have you seen Steely Dan? Do you think I’m cheating by using the album title instead of the band name? Hope to see you back for “H.”
It would have been wonderful to have been able to see the Beatles in person but I never got the chance. We have seen Paul McCartney and although he was almost an hour late coming out, it was still a terrific show. We looked into seeing Ringo Starr and his All Star Band because they are playing at the Winery this season but the tickets are out of our price range.
A close second is the Fab Four, a Beatles tribute band. We have seen them four times and they really do a good job. The first time was in 2013 at the Fox Theater in Redwood City. We were sitting toward the back and because it was an inside event, they didn’t allow pictures so the few that I got aren’t very good. When the show was over they were in the lobby signing autographs, which was pretty cool. This one I have put in the scrapbook. I was excited that I had papers with the swirls on them which matched the background screen they used.
We decided to see them again when they came to, guess where? The Mountain Winery of course. This time our seats were closer and there was no problem with taking pictures. Do you remember when I mentioned Miles, the security staffer in my letter B? Here is my husband chatting with him before the show.
To introduce the band, they have an Ed Sullivan impersonator who does a really good job of warming up the crowd. For this performance they even had a woman doing the songs in sign language. She was interesting to watch. The boys do some quick costume changes and go through the many phases that the Beatles went through. When it came time for “Imagine,” the whole venue had their phones out to light the night.
While it is clear they are not the Beatles, with the costumes and their voices it gets close. They do make an announcement at the beginning of the performance that all the music you hear is the actual guys playing and singing. No canned or taped music.
The next two times we saw them were pretty much the same. This is 2018.
And the last time we saw them in 2021 I didn’t even take as many pictures because it was all pretty much the same. There were some folks who came in costume though and that was kinda neat.
I did get a short video of the start of the show. You can see “Ed” on the side. He really is a pretty funny guy.
The boys are going to be at the Winery again this year but we have decided not to see them. I think four times of the Fab Four is enough. The only setlist I found was for the 2017 show but you can guess that the rest of them were very similar. We would have preferred the whole version of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” instead of the three song mashup but you can’t have everything.
Date: 11/30/13, 8/19/17, 8/17/18, 8/20/2021
Venue: The Fox Theater, Redwood City, CA/The Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CA
Artist/Tour: The Fab Four
Setlist:
From Me To You
Please Please Me
All My Loving
I want to Hold Your Hand
She Loves You
Love Me Do
A Hard Day’s Night
Eight Days A Week
Can’t Buy Me Love
Yesterday
Help
The Night Before
Drive My Car
Day Tripper
Roll Over Beethoven
I Saw Her Standing There
Twist and Shout
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
With A Little Help From My Friends
When I’m Sixty-Four
Strawberry Fields Forever
Yellow Submarine
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Reprise
A Day in the Life
Got to Get You Into My Life
Imagine
While My Guitar Gently Weeps/Something/Here Comes The Sun
Revolution
Hey Jude
We made it through the week! I hope you’ve been having a good time going to the concerts with my husband and I. We’ll be back at it on Monday. Who could “G” be?
Hey there A to Z-ers! How are you enjoying the show so far?
This artist is not one that we would have gone to see on her own. We know very few songs that she sings and yet were pleasantly surprised to find that she puts on a pretty good show. Melissa Etheridge was the opening act for Pat Benatar at The Mountain Winery and we really enjoyed it. Our “selfie” this time included some friends that joined us. We usually start the evening off with a tail gate pre-event cocktail and snack at the car.
It was very cool how she played the drums during one song. She started at the drummer’s right side and played through to the left. Once again we had really good seats.
Because we enjoyed Melissa the first time, we weren’t disappointed that she was the opening act for Pat Benatar again in 2019. We WERE disappointed that Pat Benatar chose this year to request that no pictures be taken during the show. I was mad. I mean, I understand being obstructive or using flash but I do none of those things and I just want a few photos for the scrapbook, you know? I did manage to snag some. I may or may not have gotten in trouble for it.
I did get a bit of video from this show. Melissa wasn’t as fussy as Benatar was about taking pictures. She can pick those guitar strings!
I’m pretty sure she sang more than just four songs at the 8/24/16 event but I’m using SetList to find the listings and that was all they mentioned. It is not always updated for the Winery shows for some reason. I’m pretty sure it was closer to the setlist from the 7/23/2019 performance.
Date: 8/24/2016
Venue: The Mountain Winery
Artist/Tour: Melissa Etheridge
Setlist:
Born Under a Bad Sign
Pulse
I Want to Come Over
Come to My Window
Date: 7/23/2019
Venue: The Mountain Winery
Artist/Tour: Melissa Etheridge
Setlist:
Ain’t It Heavy
If I Wanted To
Lover Please
I Want to Come Over
Royal Station 4/16
This Human Chain
All the Way to Heaven
Chrome Plated Heart
Come to My Window
Bring Me Some Water
The Medicine Show
I’m the Only One
Like the Way I Do
One more letter this week and then you get a break for a day.
It is interesting that even though the Doobie Brothers band was formed right down the road from me, they’ve never been in my top 10 favorite list. They do have quite a following though and we saw them as part of a huge “Day on the Green” type event a few years ago. There were five bands that played that day, Tower of Power, Steve Miller, Santana and Journey being the other four.
I wish that Michael McDonald had been singing with them but he wasn’t. Still it was a good prep for the rest of the show and got the crowd up and moving. We had some pretty decent seats on the field a little to the right of the stage.
As you can see, this show was from 2016 and it is not in the scrapbook yet! When I did the other A to Z music scrapbooking themes I jumped around in years and it is taking me some time to fill in the gaps. That’s why this time I decided just to go with what I had instead of trying to rush the scrapbooking. Next month I’m going to a scrapbooking weekend with my girlfriend and I’ll take the concert albums with me to work on. I think at this point I’m only chronologically up to 2011!
Not sure why but I have no video from this group. Maybe I was trying to conserve battery and memory space and I knew it was going to be a long day.
Date: September 4, 2016
Venue: AT&T Park, San Francisco, CA
Artist/Tour: Doobie Brothers/San Francisco Fest
Setlist:
Jesus is Just Alright
Rockin’ Down the Highway
Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)
Dark Eyed Cajun Woman
Spirit
Sweet Maxiine
Eyes of Silver
Clear as the Driven Snow
Takin’ It to the Streets
The Doctor
Black Water
Long Train Runnin’
China Grove
Without You
Listen to the Music
“D” is done. Hopefully I’ll see you tomorrow for “E.”
Janet's Smiles 