The Concert List

Concerts are still a thing. You can listen to all the digitized sound you want, but for some reason, going to a concert is still a thing. It can be an expensive thing, but in 1976, I drove to Macon with my friend Mike Openshaw to see the Doobie Brothers. Jimmy Buffet was the opening act! So technically, Buffet was the first artist I saw perform live. The ticket price? $7.50. My parents didn’t flinch at our proposed trip, and we enjoyed every moment of it.

Since then I’ve seen, in alphabetical order: The B-52s, Billy Joel (X), Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Chicago (X), Dan Fogelberg, Def Leppard, Doobie Brothers (X), Eagles, Earth Wind & Fire, Elton John (X), Fleetwood Mac, Greg Allman, Hank Williams, Jr.; James Taylor, Jimmy Buffet (X), Journey, Kansas, Linda Ronstadt, Lynyrd Skynyrd (X), N’Sync, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Peter Frampton, The Police, Pretenders, Rain, Ringo Starr, Rolling Stones, Simon & Garfunkel, Steve Miller, The Who, Yes, and ZZ Top. (X) means more than once. I might have missed an artist here and there, at my age who can remember?

Some of you have seen more, some less. I’m not a Swiftie, can’t swing those prices, but the one act I hate missing is Aerosmith. Steven Tyler’s vocal cords just couldn’t hang at this point with the demands of being a rocker. So I think I’m done. It’s been a lot of fun, but my concert attendance is finished. I hope you enjoyed a concert or two over the years.

Kelly Burke, attorney, former district attorney, and magistrate judge, writes about the law, rock’n’roll, and politics or anything that strikes him. Contact Kelly at dakellyburke@gmail.com to comment on this article or suggest articles you’d like to see, and visit his website at www.kellyrburke.com.