It’s November 18, 1971, in Brooklyn, NY. I am a high school junior, who along with friends, gets on a D train express to Manhattan for the forty-minute ride to 34^th Street in midtown Manhattan. At our ages, the train is the usual form of transportation on our travels to New York City. When we reach our destination, we scale the stairs to 34^th street. There, between 6^th and 7^th avenue, stands Madison Square Garden, the most famous concert venue in America. We are there to see Alvin Lee and Ten Years After. it’s to be my first concert event ever. What a time it was! Riding the popularity of his Woodstock performance, Alvin Lee and the band put on quite a show. Lee was one of the fastest guitarists of his day and he proved it that night. In those first few months after losing my concert virginity, I was fortunate enough to see the likes of the Beach Boys at Carnegie Hall, 60’s folk stars Brewer and Shipley, the Allman Brothers, Jefferson Airplane, George Carlin, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, the Kinks, Kenny Loggins and Jethro Tull. Thus began a journey that has brought me to more than six hundred shows to date. Little did I know what would transpire over the years. Great artists, fabulous venues, and memorable experiences were there for the taking. And take I did!

Do you recall how you feel when you are getting ready for a concert? The time leading up to the show brings fresh energy and an adrenaline rush. Then comes the performance and the experiences we have attending these shows. For many, it’s a better experience than going to a professional sporting event or a Broadway-style show.

Sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle and see an exceptional performance. Often you catch a great show from the artists who take the stage. Rarely have I ever walked out on a disappointing concert.       

Concert experiences are best shared with others whenever possible. Everyone wants to have a good time with their friends and family. There have been scientific studies which have concluded that frequent concert-goers (6 shows a year on average) are happier, healthier, and live longer than the general public. For me, there’s no place I’d rather be than at a concert, indoors and outside!

This blog, Do You Believe In Magic, derives it’s title from a Lovin’ Spoonful song by the same name. The lyrics go like this; “Do you believe in magic in a young girl’s heart?, How the music can free her whenever it starts, And it’s magic if the music is groovy, It makes you feel happy like an old-time movie, I’ll tell you about the magic and it’ll free your soul, But it’s like trying to tell a stranger ‘bout rock ‘n’ roll,” (1965). These words ring true even to this day! Whether I’m working at a concert or attending as a patron, It brings me great joy seeing pre-teens with their parents, getting an early start on their lifelong concert experience.

It’s been fifty years since I experienced Alvin Lee at MSG and I can’t wait for my next show! For the first forty-four years attending concerts, I averaged nearly seven concerts each year. Since that fateful day in 2015 when I began working at the Charleston Music Hall, I have averaged a show each week, every week for the last six years. Mind you, I probably attended forty percent of all of those shows as a paying customer at venues all over the country. The last six years have brought a cornucopia of musical styles and sounds. I love almost every kind of music and I have seen eight of my ten bucket list artists along with visiting several bucket list venues (the Ryman Auditorium and Red Rocks). You can find a recap of the first five hundred shows in (July 13, 2019) at DoYouBelieveInMagic.blog.

To celebrate this pinnacle in my music lovin’ life, several shows have come together from across the musical spectrum. It begins with the Indie rocker Shakey Graves followed the next night by funk jam band Galactic at the Charleston Music Hall on November 9 and 10^th, followed by country superstar Eric Church in the Thompson-Bolling Arena on the Univ. of Tennessee campus in Knoxville, TN on the 12^th,. Then I will be attending the Jackson Brown/James Taylor show at the North Charleston Coliseum in S. Carolina on the 17th. I’m thankful to have made it this far and hope to have the health to attend concerts for many more years to come. If they keep playing, I’ll keep going to the shows. 

#themusicneverstopped #letthegoodtimesroll #listentothemusic #doyoubelieveinmagic