Story
by Linda East Brady
, Standard-Examiner staff
- Jun 1 2012 - 12:28am
We called out to you, our readers, to pick the favorite concerts you've seen, as well as some you'd like to check out this summer. And by phone calls, email, snail mail and Facebook, you made your choices:
Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown
Timm Gehrett, Ogden -- Gehrett picked a free outdoor concert in Oregon about eight years ago, when he not only got to hear Texas/Louisiana blues guitar/fiddle legend Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, but he and his kids got to meet the man as well.
"We showed up a few hours early to get good seats and ended up hanging with his organ player, Joe Krown. We mentioned that our 4-year-old's favorite Gatemouth tune was 'Sunrise Cajun Style.' "
Krown said he would try to get his boss to play the song. An hour into the show, when Brown asked the band what to play, Krown told them they had a request.
"Gatemouth, who was known to be a terribly grumpy old man -- which I saw evidence of firsthand -- snapped something about 'not being a radio,' " said Gehrett. "Joe said a little girl had asked for it. So Gatemouth turns toward the crowd of roughly 5,000 people and asked, 'Which one of you requested that song?' My 4-year-old daughter (Allison) stands up and raises her hand. The grumpy old man melted into a smile and agreed to do it."
After the show, the Gehretts went to get autographs, and ended up with a unique souvenir. Upon meeting Allison, Brown leaned in and asked if she and her siblings would like to take their picture with him.
"We snapped a picture and sent it to his daughter, who maintained his Web site," said Gehrett.
The pictures remained on Brown's site until his death, not long after Hurricane Katrina hit. Brown lost everything except his fiddle and beloved Fender Jaguar guitar in the storm.
Said Gehrett: "His daughter, whom I spoke to via email off and on, told me that he died not of illness, but of a broken heart."
Though busy with work, family and college, for a summer concert pick, Gehrett hopes to attend at least some of the Ogden Music Festival today, June 1, through Sunday, June 3, at Fort Buenaventura.
Bruce Springsteen
Dennis Brown, Roy -- Bruce Springsteen and his music is something of a family affair in the Brown household.
Though Springsteen "lifers" are usually hewn from the concert experience, Brown had missed his one chance to see him back in the 1970s, due to breaking up with the girlfriend, who had custody of the tickets.
So when the chance came to see the "Wrecking Ball" tour on April 27 in Los Angeles, Brown not only attended, but also took his kids -- a son, Bubba, 22, and 14-year-old daughter Mandi.
"I have encouraged my children over the years to listen to Bruce's music and had always hoped they would be fans and have an appreciation of his music as I did. It was a fabulous three-hour show which produced more intense, intangible feelings within me than I can hope to express with words alone. It was a magical night, and everything and more that I hoped it would be."
His son, who recently graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Utah, wrote about sports for The Daily Utah Chronicle and posted a blog about that groundbreaking concert experience and the Springsteenian bond with his dad and family. (To read it, go to: bubbabrownbaseball.blogspot.com).
"Well, to say the least, Bubba's story created a fountain of emotions within me," said Brown. "It feels so wonderful to know that one of your children understands you and just seems to get it. ... To spend this special night with two of my children whom I love and appreciate so much, and do this in the presence of Bruce and his music made this night truly one of the best of my life."
Though others pale in comparison to Brown's love of Springsteen, he is looking forward to Brandi Carlile's show at Red Butte Garden on July 15. He has seen her at various Salt Lake City venues over the years, and he and his son caught her Red Butte show last year.
"I really like her voice, and the stories she tells with her songs strike a chord within me similar to the way Bruce's music does."
Chet Atkins and co.
Tim Baker, Farr West -- Baker reaches back in time to a show he saw in the 1960s at the Valley Music Hall, a venue in Bountiful in the late 1960s.
"I was working there at the time and was able to see all the shows," said Baker. "The show had Chet Atkins, Floyd Cramer, and Boots Randolph. I don't know if many remember, but the Valley was a theater in the round, and had many shows, both stage (plays) and concerts."
Styx
Susan Brown Shreeve, Ogden -- Brown loved the Styx concert at the Salt Palace in 1983.
"It was the first concert I had seen using a big screen with music videos," she said. "The performance of 'Mr. Robato' was just amazing!"
Sting
Kim Valeika, Layton -- Sting was Valeika's first concert, and her high school crush as well.
"His pictures covered the inside of my locker door, my room was plastered with his posters, and my homemade grocery sack book covers were liberally scattered with his name," Valeika said.
With the help of a friend's older brother, Valieka and pals headed to the show at ParkWest -- "THE concert venue of the '80s. It was a perfect evening for a concert."
The concert was general admission and packed, but Valieka was not to be deterred from seeing up close and personal the man she surely thought she would marry. When Sting finally took the stage, chaos ensued. The crush of people caused an overzealous bouncer, believing Valieka was hyperventilating, to remove her from the crowd.
"So over the barricade I was pulled and taken off to the side to make sure I was OK. OK? I was devastated! All my hard work, only to be sent back up the hill, to the back of the crowd."
While she did work her way down nearer to the front over the course of the concert, her stage-front spot was not to be had again. She no longer has her ticket stub to the show, but does have a souvenir key chain from that night.
"And I'll always have the memories of my first concert with Sting. He is still a favorite artist and his concert will always hold a special place in my memory."
James McMurtry, etc.
Brad Fullmer, Salt Lake City -- Fullmer said that picking a favorite show is like picking a favorite chocolate from a candy box -- not an easy task when it all tastes so good.
A standout for him is the James McMurtry show at the Mangy Moose in Jackson, Wyo., in 2004.
"That Mangy Moose show set-list was epic, and I was camped out up front and center in the crowd -- the only way to see a good bar show," said Fullmer.
He's also seen his two favorites, Rush and Neil Young, six times each. He picks out the 2001 Neil Young Bridge School Benefit in New York as a highlight.
"Anytime you can see artists like Dave Matthews, Pearl Jam, Ben Harper and R.E.M. in the same day, along with Neil, that's tough to top. In addition, the show was about six weeks after the 9/11 tragedy. Neil was sporting a red F.D.N.Y. hat, along with his signature flannel shirt, and he sang songs like Dylan's 'Blowin' in the Wind' and Lennon's 'Imagine'. Very emotional, powerful."
Since Rush doesn't seem to plan a stop in Salt Lake City this tour, Fullmer may road-trip it to Las Vegas to see the band in November.
Journey, etc.
Tammie Garner, Ogden -- Garner has a few favorite shows. She includes in her list of faves any of the many she's seen by Journey, and also those on Iron Maiden's "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" tour. She also notes that Mötley Crúe's "Girls Girls Girls" tour, circa 1987, was tremendous, too.
"Tommy Lee's drum solo is something I will never forget," said Garner.
Garner said she is excited for the USANA Amphitheatre's Iron Maiden and Journey shows on Aug. 1 and 3, respectively. She pointed out that the Iron Maiden show is the band's first here in more than 20 years.
Nirvana
Ryan Tronier, Salt Lake City -- Tronier said a 1993 Golden Spike Events Center Nirvana show was one of his most memorable.
"My friends and I piled into my tiny car and drove to Ogden to watch The Melvins and The Breeders open up for Nirvana," said Tronier. "The (Nirvana) bassist, Chris Novoselic, jumped into the crowd and we tore his shirt off. Later, we cut the shirt into strips and distributed pieces around our high school. I was 16 years old -- awesome!"
Iron Maiden, etc.
Chad Hamblin, Roy -- Hamblin may not be able to swing it this year, but really wants to go to the USANA Amphitheatre to see Iron Maiden on Aug. 1 this summer with his wife -- front row would suit them just fine, if you don't mind.
"We are such huge fans and always have been," Hamblin said. "They really do put on a good show. We have been to every one of their concerts."
Two concerts stand out in particular in Hambin's experience. One is an Iron Maiden show from their "Somewhere Back in Time" tour in 2008.
He also cites a special Queensryche concert from a few years back.
"They performed the whole album 'Operation: Mindcrime,'ââââ" said Hambin of the night with QueensrÃøche. "Both were excellent concerts. The stage setups for both concerts were just amazing."