louise on the left (coast)

When we first arrived at The Grove, all I saw was a growing sea of receding hairlines and beefy Brits lining up at the bar to order their Newcastles before their hero, Ray Davies, took the stage. And I thought, Okay, not quite as glamorous an audience as last week's Feist concert, but this is Ray Davies! This is the guy responsible for The Kinks. He wrote "Lola." He's a rock 'n roll legend. He's gonna kick ass. Then my husband told me, you know, "Oh, didn't I tell you? Of course, he's a legend, but this is an acoustic concert. It's just Ray and another guitar player." Oh, wait. Huh? No drums? No bass? Just Ray Davies and another guy unplugged? Oh, no. This will be a long night. Another man in a Union Jack shirt walked by. I sighed. But, I was wrong. Again. It was an amazing concert. What a delight to discover so much new music I never even heard before tonight. It was far too short an evening of music -- Ray Davies wa

Last night I went to my first and only Elton John concert. Check THIS out: My ticket! That's my ticket , my friends! That's my ticket to Elton John ...Last night. Finally, after all these years. Wow. That's my teen-age idol out there! I mean -- his play list was almost too much to take it in. You have to understand, he was my idol, but I had never once made it to an Elton John Concert. Here he is striking a pose. Let me backtrack; If you knew me growing up, (say, anytime between 1970 and 1982) you would know what a huge, major, big deal going to an Elton John concert for the first time really would be. What can I say? I was an only child living in a somewhat rural part of New England with what can only be described as astonishingly un-hip parents. This meant nobody took me to a rock concert or even drove me into the next town to buy anyone's latest album, either. I was on my own...However, I learned to be very resourceful that way. I was a dedicated fan