“For those of you
in the cheap seats,
clap your hands to this one;
the rest of you can just
rattle your jewelry.” 
John Lennon

I was in San Francisco for the Summer of Love in 1967. Somehow, I missed it. I lived with my family in the Sunset, not far from the San Francisco Zoo. I attended summer school classes at Saint Ignatius High School for the first six weeks of the summer, and worked as a junior counselor at Silver Tree Day Camp in the canyon behind Glen Park Playground for the last few weeks. I was unaware that something historic was taking place in The City, not far from my home. The Haight-Asbury District and Golden Gate Park became ground zero of a cultural revolution. The unifying element of the experience was music.

In Golden Gate Park, free, informal concerts featured such musical legends as Janice Joplin, the Jefferson Airplane, and the Grateful Dead. In the wake of the Beatles’ transformation of contemporary popular music in the mid-60’s, a new brand of entertainment came to life. And in the years following, large concerts became commonplace.

I actually attended a few concerts in that summer of 1967. My family had season tickets to the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra’s summer series, which featured guest conductor Arthur Fiedler. Fiedler was famous for his work with the Boston Pops. We attended several concerts at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium, and one free Sunday concert at Sigmund Stern Grove. Hardly revolutionary. 

I didn’t attend another concert until 1973. This was my first “real” concert, meaning “without parents,” featuring the 50’s rock group Sha Na Na at Winterland in the Fillmore District. 

My next concert may have been my most unique concert experience. I was invited to attend a performance by the Vienna Boys’ Choir in the Paradise Island Hotel in Nassau, Bahamas in the spring of 1975. It was an amazing show, but when people of my generation discuss concerts we’ve attended, I don’t know of any of my friends who shared that experience. Understandably.

In August 1976, I attended a Day on the Green at the Oakland Coliseum. The show began with performances by Linda Ronstadt and Loggins & Messina. The main draw for this concert was the Eagles. It was magical. The stadium was filled to near-capacity. The stage was situated in center field and concert goers filled the playing field, as well as a good percentage of the seating areas. I recall leaving the Coliseum that afternoon thinking that I’d finally been to a real concert.

During my 20’s, I attended a number of other concerts. Not in any particular order, I saw Billy Joel, the Beach Boys, the Moody Blues, Kenny G., Chuck Mangione, and country singer Don Williams. It was during this period in my life that I also had the opportunity to see Gordon Lightfoot, James Taylor, Harry Chapin, and John Denver. Sadly, three of the four have already passed.

Since meeting Kathy in the mid-80’s, we’ve attended a number of other concerts: Peter, Paul, and Mary, Amy Grant, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Michael Crawford, Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Simon & Garfunkel, Pato Banton, Neil Young, and even the Kingston Trio. Our most recent concert was two months ago, when we saw Chicago at the Paul Masson Mountain Winery in Saratoga.

I’m well aware that this is a fairly tame list of performers. With all due respect, I was never tempted to see groups such as AC/DC, Mötley Crüe, Kiss, Def Leppard, Metallica, Motörhead, or Guns N’ Roses. Not my style. I think I may, however, have enjoyed listening to some of the music of Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin. 

My generation was blessed with some amazing musical performers. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to see some of them in live performances, even if I was sitting in the cheap seats!