April 22, 1984--Elvis Costello, Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor: As he had in 1982 at Meadowbrook with the Attractions, Elvis hit me with his generous side--30 songs played solo. Make that 28; he brought out T Bone Burnett for two numbers (they'd released a single as the Coward Brothers). I'd say that everything about that night was stellar except that the event was severely marred because an ex-girlfriend was sitting next to me. We'd ordered the tickets months earlier.
1984 to the 1990s--The Shy: I followed this wonderful Michigan trio from 1984 until around 1993, when I moved to Washington state. I caught them from Detroit to Hamtramck (Lili's 21!) to Pontiac and many places inbetween. Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Larry Decker, drummer Mike Sackey and bassist Paul Lark (later replaced by Bob Livernois) have written exciting original songs and play enlightened covers: for me, the Move/Cheap Trick's "California Man" is one of those. Also R.E.M., joyous rockabilly and more. They were on Nick Lowe's "Raging Eyes" right away and performed John Lennon's posthumous single "Nobody Told Me," probably before I'd even heard Lennon's. The Shy can bring it--and they're still doin' it! See The Shy Detroit site at www.theshy.com.
Summer 1984--The Turtles, the Grass Roots, Gary Puckett & the Union Gap, Herman's Hermits, Pine Knob Theater, Clarkston: Since I've failed to recall who went with me to this oldies parade, I'll have to blame myself. The Turtles were sometimes sparkling, the Grass Roots dull, Gary Puckett embarrassing and "Herman's Hermits" didn't even have Peter Noone with them. An oldies show encompassing my 1960s favorites would never have included any of these relics, so I'm aghast that I had tickets.
July 30 & 31, 1984--Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit: Two tremendous concerts because this was Springsteen's magic moment in time, with his new Born In the U.S.A. exploding--I had been blabbering about Bruce to anyone who would listen for a decade, and now every pop music fan knew who he was. The shows were expertly paced, the playing was heroic and new members Nils Lofgren (guitar) and Patti Scialfa (backup vocals) fit in perfectly. The second night saw a big change in the setlist, accenting Bruce's surplus of clever songs and varying ways to perform them. "Pink Cadillac" live was better than his recent B-side recording ("Dancing In the Dark" was the A-side, reaching #2 nationally) and "No Surrender" wasn't played like the anthem it is but beautifully still and reflective. Look out, though: big time fame proved that I would no longer get to see Bruce in a venue where he would hush the band and you could hear a pin drop. The MTV crowd had discovered Springsteen and that wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Summer 1985--The Greg Kihn Band, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit: I covered local bands for the Macomb County edition of the Detroit Free Press in 1985 and 1986, so I got passes to see Kihn in a big room: "The Joe," as it was called. I'd heard he was terrific live, liked his second album Greg Kihn Again in 1977, and by the '80s, he'd scored some hits. So a good show--Kihn covered the Yardbirds' "For Your Love"--and I left before the headliners came on. That would be Journey.
June 20 or 21, 1986--The Everly Brothers, The Premier Center, Sterling Heights, MI:
The Premier Center was like a mini Las Vegas club and an intimate place to see Don & Phil, their still-stirring two-part harmonies and their first-rate material, much of it written by themselves. They both played a guitar and faced each other; their microphone stand had two arms and a mic for each of them. While the Everly Brothers didn't perform "On the Wings of a Nightingale," given to them by Paul McCartney for their comeback EB84 release, their classics sounded sweet, even heavenly, indeed. Opening was Seguin, TX-born Nanci Griffith (I had lived in Seguin from 1973-1981), an insightful singer-songwriter.
March 20 or 27, 1987--The Pretenders, Cobo Hall, Detroit: My friend Kim from my radio job at WBRB-AM had tickets--perhaps she got them from her partner, who worked in public radio. We laughed like crazy as Iggy Pop opened the show--he jumped around like a decadent, demented spazz. When the Pretenders emerged, Stooges fan Chrissie Hynde kissed part of the stage where Iggy had been prancing. And the Pretenders played a lot of their recent Get Closer, delivering the goods some seven years since I'd first wanted to catch them.
October 4, 1987--Los Lobos, The State Theater, Detroit: The compadres from East L.A. were engaging from the start, reeling off songs from By the Light of the Moon--one great rock, blues or Latin song after another. Although a record store owner I knew opined that they were overrated, I thought Los Lobos' seamless blend of roots rock'n'roll and the musical culture that came before it was both graceful and powerful. What a band.
November 7 or 8, 1987--John Mellencamp, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit: By the time of 1985's often jaw-dropping Scarecrow, I was really into John and company; my cousin Scott had been raving about him in 1983 but I wasn't listening (to Mellencamp or Scott, though I'd finally seen the light). Playing their new The Lonesome Jubilee onstage, I found their ensemble sound to be extraordinary: lean rock'n'roll but also with superb coloring, from added percussion to John Cascella's accordion (he died in 1992) and of course, Kenny Aronoff's mammoth drumming. Surprise cover: "Like a Rolling Stone."
See also: 1972-1974, 1975-1979, 1980-1981, 1982-1983