I’m a tad younger than you are, so when I was in college in the early 90s grunge was king. In high school I was all classic rock, with my favorite bands being Rush, Zep, Yes, and (much lower down the scale) Genesis, in that order. In college I started to branch out a lot thanks to becoming good friends with a lot of dorm guys who had varying tastes. Still remember when one of my friends loaned me this crazy album “Mother’s Milk” by some group called the Red Hot Chili Peppers that I loved just for it’s sheer energy. Got hooked on them and that led to probably my most envy-worthy concert, at least for grunge fans. Attended RHCP’s Blood Sugar Sex Majik tour in 1991 at Illinois State where I was an undergrad. My friends and I were pumped for the concert, and slightly annoyed that there were not one but two opening bands, but whatever. I hadn’t heard of either of them: Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam. We liked what we heard! Highlight was still RHCP. Just *watching* Flea play bass was an exhausting experience, that guy had incredible energy. Fun show.

A few years ago I had the highlight of seeing John Paul Jones play bass with the members of Nickel Creek & some other guy I can’t remember, I think they called themselves Mutual Admiration Society. That was really cool too, and JPJ was incredible! Hasn’t lost a thing, his bass chops were amazing. Played “Going to California” on mandolin w/Sean Watkins, the Nickel Creek guitarist and had everyone there over the age of 30 enraptured…

The most incongrous pairing I’ve seen was the Dead Milkmen opening for Living Colour at the Cannery in Nash Vegas ages ago. Perhaps the most incongrous thing was I was there to see both acts.

A quick wiki lets me know that Kusick once tied a major league record by being hit by 3 pitches in an 11 inning game.

Solaita I knew from his stint with the Kansas City Royals – the team that became my favorite because of a 1974 team card serendipitously purchased at the IGA located behind my house when I was 7 years old.

I’m envious as well that you got to see Bon Scott era AC/DC. I just missed it though I do have vivid memories of all the older kids at the skating rink showing up with Highway To Hell shirts one night during my junior high days.

Not to turn too sentimental or sappy, but your blog is always a highlight for me as you often express thoughts that go far beyond the common diamond shaped crux upon which so many of my childhood dreams took swings before they hustled around the bases.

I can remember this millisecond perfectly, frozen in amber, unstuck in time.

It concertized with the still-vivid act of purchasing Elvis Costello’s ‘This Year’s Model,’ and ‘Exit Stage Left’ by Rush, in one fell swoop, on one particular afternoon, at the DiscoMat near Grand Central on E. 42nd St.

A month earlier I had been seeing Ozzy (for the second time) and listening to The Doors and Zep constantly.

A month later I was getting into The Buzzcocks and The English Beat.

The lines were really cleanly drawn in those days, lads…or at least until The Replacements came along a few years later and made it acceptable to listen to Aerosmith again.

Funny, I remember him riding someone’s shoulders for the wading in the crowd guitar solo, but my fuzzy memory didn’t recall it being atop Bon Scott, but perhaps a roadie. Bon makes more sense though.

Here tomorrow night, there’s a show I’d love to go see–but its only the opening act I want to see. Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers are opening for, ahem, Hanson.

Since I’m roughly the same age as you, Josh–my odometer rolls over in October–did you go through that “classic rock” stage in the early 80′s? I went through a phase where the Doors were in VERY heavy rotation in my ears and cassette player.