Rhythm

  Presbyterian College had some good shows, when I was a student there.  Livingston Taylor (James Taylor's brother), Lester Flatt, Mac Wiseman, John D. Loudermilk, The Mission Mountain Wood Band, Uncle Walt's Band, and The Atlanta Rhythm Section.  

 The country artists all came on one day for a picnic.  Lester Flatt was the headliner.  He was getting kind of old, but he could still play the guitar.  I fell in love with traditional country music from those acts.  There was a rumor that James Taylor was coming to PC in concert, so some folks were disappointed to find out that his brother was going to play instead.  It was still a good show.  

 The highlight of my years at PC was the Atlanta Rhythm Section.  They had just released "Doraville", and it was climbing the charts.  Their bass player was fat, whereas everyone else in the band was thin.  He sort of stood out.  Some people in the audience made fun of his looks, but he could really play the bass guitar.  Just because someone looks different doesn't mean they aren't talented.  All of that lineup is now dead.  They could really cook on stage as part of the Southern Rock genre.  We had a good time at PC.  The beer flowed, and the grass permeated the crowd.  Pretty good for a "religious" school back in the day.

Climax

  Anderson College didn't have a lot of outside artists performing in concert.  The Marshall Tucker Band used the auditorium to practice for an upcoming tour.  A classical pianist gave a program, but no show for the students.  That all changed when it was announced that the band Climax was going to perform at our school.  

 They had a top ten record on the radio called "Precious and Few".  It was a big deal to get Climax to come to Anderson.  We sold tickets, which were like $3 each.  But for a show in 1972, that was about average.  It was a sell-out.  On the day of the show, a truck arrived next to the auditorium to unload the speakers and equipment.  The band arrived a little later and did a soundcheck.  

 At 8:00, they came on stage and the crowd went wild.  They had long hair and were from California.  They had just released an album plus their hit single.  They opened with "Precious and Few".  We sat ready for a great show.  They played all of the songs from their album including their hit single again.  During the show, they sang "Precious and Few" three times.  They also sang it for the encore.  

 A tip to any band out there who is planning a setlist:  have more than 10 different songs to play for a 90-minute show.  You don't need to play your hit four times in one show.  We got it the first time.  Even if you have to play rock and roll standards to fill up the time.  By the third time of "Precious and Few", many of the folks in the audience were laughing.  I don't know if anyone walked out having felt a little cheated, but I would have if I had thought it couldn't get worse.  The encore proved that it did.  

Who

  In 1989, The Who announced a concert at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, NC.  It was the closest they would come to Columbia.  A local radio station was chartering a bus to go there.  I just HAD to go.  They had performed at Woodstock, and I knew almost all of their music.  I invited my friend Del to go with me.  

 It was about a four-hour trip to get to Raleigh.  Even though I was into bootleg recordings at that time, I didn't bring anything.  A lot of people did, and all of the camcorders were confiscated at the gate.  There was a big pile of them.  We got there just before the show started.  We were sitting on the left side of the stage in the bleachers about halfway up.  It had rained earlier, but the clouds had cleared.

 The first half of the show was The Who performing "Tommy".  It was great!  They did an intermission and then came out for the second half playing all of their hits.  Pete Townshend was having to play acoustic guitar through much of the show, because he had hurt his wrist in a previous show.  

 There was one downside, though.  Because we were sitting in the bleachers, we had to turn toward the stage to see.  Del was on my left, and there was a guy I didn't know standing on my right.  He yelled the entire time right into my right ear.  I asked him to stop yelling, but he couldn't hear me.  He was yelling.  I was getting mad at him.  Also, the concert itself was very loud even being outdoors.  The Who had the Guinness Record for the loudest concert ever.  Louder than standing next to a jet engine.  Towards the end of the show, I could actually feel my brain moving around in my head.  I was getting physically sick, so I left my seat and walked up to where they were selling t-shirts.  I bought one.  I couldn't escape the noise, so I walked back to the bus and sat inside.  I could hear the encore plain as day.  

 Because of that guy yelling in my ear for almost three hours, I permanently lost some hearing in my right ear.  Was it worth it?  You bet it was!  It was an Amazing Journey. 

Gregory

  I had heard that James Gregory was the funniest man in America.  I have always loved comedians.  They are a special breed of people.  Anybody can get up and sing, but it takes a special person to make someone laugh.  And here is a tip to those people who think they can make someone laugh:  most people laugh at a joke within four seconds.  It takes the brain less than four seconds to tell the mouth to laugh at a joke.  If the brain doesn't think the joke is funny, then it won't communicate that to the mouth.  If no one laughs after four seconds, then the comedian needs to just move on.  That is a secret of the Theatre.  You are welcome.

 I had bought a couple of cassettes by James Gregory and played them in my car.  They were hilarious.  Country humor at its best with apologies to Jerry Clower.  There were times where I would have to pull off of the side of the road, because I was laughing so hard.  When I saw that he was coming to the Township Auditorium in Columbia, I just had to go.  He was very funny.  I can't honestly say that he was the funniest man in America, but my sides were hurting from laughing.  Check him out on YouTube.  Lawn Mower repair and Tax Service all in one place.