Something completely different

Part of the cache of 'stuff' that yielded the Fernando Valenzuela button I posted awhile back was a stack of concert ticket stubs from the early 70s. Some of these were concerts my wife attended, some were mine and some were concerts we went to together. Generally the ones from 1975 or later were shows be saw as a couple. 

I don't collect stubs as a rule and I'll toss these out in my next 'purge'. I have stubs from some baseball games I attended as a kid and some Orioles World Series and playoff games as well. I originally planned on keeping all the Houston Texans tickets but after a couple of seasons they became a pain and other than the ones from their first game I've tossed them out as well.

Lot's of good shows represented with these stubs. I used to work at Hofheinz Pavilion on the University of Houston campus and was able to see every show that came thru that venue. No stubs from those I'm afraid. But there is some great 70s music represented below.

I've always been a fan of Janis Ian. I loved her voice and she's still producing good music on a limited basis. Mostly now she's a frequent Facebook Liberal gadfly and for that I still love her. Notice that the Wings ticket was a 'general admission' entry. What a mistake that was. I remember being pinned in close to the doors waiting for them to open that evening. It got pretty crazy. The other tix are from a Rolling Stones show that I have no memory of (nor does my wife, at least that's her story) and Jose Feliciano who created the original National Anthem controversy.

For you youngsters the second set of tickets represent shows by Santana, America, Linda Ronstadt and Traffic. Some of which I actually remember.

The concerts I enjoyed the most from that terrific era of music are not here. Like Springsteen playing for three and a half hours. Billy Joel was a one record wonder playing in a tiny downtown venue. CSN&Y headlined a July all day stadium festival that saw people overcome with the heat being laid out on the concourses. One really fun night saw Isaac Hayes (one of my very favorites!) 'upstaged' by an imposter who walked right by me and onto the stage and  before the law dragged him off. Good times.

Big concerts demand big prices these days and are are much more judicious in our entertainment spending. We still love live music.