Butch Walker Live, Chicago, December 31, 2012

Incredible tweet today:  Butch plans to party hearty in Chicago on New Year's Eve!  Do plan to buy a couple of tickets, although, really, who will go with me?  New Year's Eve is so fraught with issues for most people, even usually normal people get weird about that day.  But, the hope is that it could mean there will be a few other dates for Butch.  Fingers really crossed! 

Been a full, emotional day--not just the Butch show announcement (lol)--and hope to lay low for the evening recuperating.  Played a lot of Chicago, Bob Seger, Rod Stewart, the Rolling Stones to and from and while at the cemetery.  Always think it works out well that there are rarely any other visitors since the music is so loud.  Just the way Jimmy liked it.  Was thinking about my one chance to hear Buddy Guy when he opened for the Rolling Stones at the Compaq Center--great concert, btw.  Couldn't beat the Compaq Center as a rock concert venue, not too big, not too small.  You always left the concert deaf and you wouldn't hear clearly for at least the rest of the night.  The Stones killed it that night, all the hits, of course, and they did a thing where people had voted online for some golden oldie.  I desperately wanted to hear Under My Thumb, and YES, they played it.  About halfway through the show, they walked down the center aisle from the main stage to the small stage very close to our seats (we were just behind the sound booth).  Jimmy had been complaining about the seats (they weren't obstructed view, but he wanted to be closer to the front) but almost right away, he became buds with one of the guys in the sound booth, asking questions about the Stones and any insider information the guy could give him.  He gave Jimmy his copy of the play list on Rolling Stones Bridges to Babylon tour letterhead.  Telling you, Jimmy could talk to anybody.  Plus, the Stones were so close, just like they were performing for us.  The sound guy kept saying:  what do you think of the seats now?

Anyway, they announce Buddy Guy and Jimmy says:  let's go walking around in the lobby--can't stand the blues.  The way he looked at it, life already had its lows, why listen to music that wallowed in them.  Really great outlook on life, I thought.  So I never got to hear Buddy Guy, just came really close.  I still have the tshirt he insisted on buying me.

Of course, one of the coolest things about that concert is that Jimmy hit the pick-3 that night, $4000, and we came back the next night so he could buy the tour jacket--like a football letterman's jacket--the hoodie, sweatpants, whatever else they had.  That jacket was a hit whenever he wore it.  Still looked great when it was displayed at the funeral, too.  We often tell stories about Jimmy when the family is together; I get to tell this one and everyone loves it.  Jimmy is the star of the story and as usual, without really being obvious or trying too hard, he comes out the winner, getting way more that he had even hoped for, just being himself.

AC/DC: They Shoot to Thrill

I’ve tried to figure out why I like AC/DC so much. Watched Shine a Light last night (Martin Scorsese concert film about Rolling Stones; RS executive-produced the film) and found their performance to be flat and unexciting. The Jack White and Buddy Guy segments with them were notable and near the end, there was some excitement and energy, but otherwise, too mannered, too polished, too “done this so many times before”.
If you are ever lucky enough to see AC/DC in concert, you won’t believe the energy and “coming to get you” attitude. Every song, they play like there’s no next song, ever. Sure, you know the material, but when they perform it, WHOA! Back in Black is killer-fantastic, Whole Lotta Rosie is CRANKED UP; The Jack is incredible….OK, name one of their hits and AC/DC delivers a rendition that promises: if you want blood--you've got it! Each song will be very close to the album version AND it will be just jumping, screaming, all the way out there LIVE. They really, really do get it hot! By the time they play Let There Be Rock, Highway to Hell and For Those About to Rock, the fans are in serious sensory overload (the earth is shaking, my mind is aching, won't be faking it) and at the same time begging: more, more, more, please!!
Of course, it's the entire rocking band that does this, but listening to Angus play those unforgettable guitar riffs and solos, watching the duck walking and running all over the stage--a high voltage performance that steals the show every time! He is and will always be a guitar god live wire for me.
In Vegas, if the set list has been augmented by Sin City, when they play it, the MGM concert venue will explode like Krypton in Superman's story. Would be so cool to be there for those fireworks, n'est-ce pas?