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.

Playboy

  When a concert is announced, there are sometimes opening acts leading up to the headliner.  That person or group is who people come to see.  Usually, the opening people are not as well-known as the headliner, and they are being promoted by the organizer.  Sometimes, the opening acts are people you have heard of.  Such was the case in both at this show.  

 It was put on as a benefit for the local firefighters in Columbia.  The acts were The Shirelles, Andy Childs, and Gary Lewis.  I didn't know who Andy was, but I had come to see Gary Lewis.  The Shirelles opened the show.  

 I knew some of their music from the fact that they were on tour with The Beatles back in the day.  I was sitting on the 2nd row with my friends Chris and Del.  During their set, they wanted an audience member to come up on stage and sing "Going to the Chapel of Love".  They pointed at me.  My heart sank.  I kind of knew some of the words of that song, but not enough to perform on stage. My life had passed before my eyes.  As I was about to stand up, the man sitting in front of me on the first row stood up.  I was so relieved!  They put on a great show.

 Next came Andy Childs.  I wasn't familiar with his work, but it was kind of like country rock.  He had the audience eating out of his hand.  He was amazing.  Every song came with massive applause from the audience.  By the time Gary Lewis (formerly of The Playboys) came on stage, the crowd was exhausted.  He sang almost all of his hits from the 60's which were many.  There was one problem:  our hands were sore from clapping for the two previous acts.  Everyone was polite to Gary, but we were exhausted.  By the way, for those who don't know, Gary Lewis's father was Jerry Lewis.  

 After the show, Chris, Del and I stayed outside at the stage door to meet Gary.  He signed the albums and cd's that we had brought.  He was nice to talk to, and we gave him a copy of our music from The Cobbwebs.  He heard it later and emailed us that he liked it.  

Crouch

  I went to Explo '72 in Dallas which was sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ.  It was June in Texas.  Even though the heat and thunderstorms dominated the week, we also got to see some amazing artists.  Among them where two Christian acts:  Andrae Crouch and the Disciples and Danny Lee and the Children of Truth.  

 Crouch was a gospel singer at the time, but he later went on to work with pop acts including Michael Jackson.  His music has been covered by Paul Simon and Elvis Presley.  He started his career with Billy Preston.  When he was there at Explo, he sang soulful gospel music.  It was a blessing to hear him.

 Danny Lee (Stutzman) sang upbeat songs which was referred to as "Jesus Music".  His was more like rock and roll with Christian lyrics.  I really liked his music.  There was a lot of dancing in the crowd, when he performed.

 Both have gone on to be with God in Heaven.  Andrae had a rocky road later in life.  Danny was a little truer to the faith.  But, both knew who their God was and is.  

Heat

  Canned Heat.  They played at Woodstock in 1969.  That was when The Blind Owl (Alan Wilson) was with them.  By the time I saw them in 1972 at Clemson, Alan had died.  The Bear (Bob Hite) was still with them.  They did an impromptu show at Clemson along with Mountain.  There was one problem though.  Canned Heat came in two vans, and one of the vans got lost on the Blue Ridge Parkway, so only half of the band showed up.  Bob Hite was there, along with their drummer and a guitarist.  It really didn't matter.  There was enough Boone's Farm Wine circulating through the crowd.  Mountain was good, too.  Leslie West and company played very loud.  They had been at Woodstock, too.  As some know about me, my hippie name was The Woodstock Kid.  We had a fine, old time that night.  

Zoom

  With the advent of modern technology, it has become possible to meet someone via Zoom without having to be in their physical presence.  The interaction is still there, even if there is no firm handshake or hug.  Being seen and heard by someone else on a one-to-one basis still counts in my book.  Such was the day I met two giants in the journalism field.

 I had been invited to participate in a discussion on mentoring by Ashleigh Banfield.  She has worked for NBC, MSNBC, CNN, Court TV and now NewsNation.  She was hosting a Zoom meeting to inspire young journalists by inviting people to the meeting who had made an impact on TV or Radio journalism.  She would let the participants ask questions of the guests during the meeting.  She was very approachable, as well as extremely funny.  Professionals need to learn to laugh at themselves at times, and then know when it is time to get serious.  

 Her first guest on the program was Shepard Smith.  He had worked for Fox News for many years but resigned over his journalistic integrity.  He later worked for CNBC.  My question to him was about the difference between journalists who just read teleprompters versus those professionals who care about their work and what comes out of their mouths.  I waved to him, when my question was asked, so that he would know who asked it.  He waved back and then called me by name when answering the question.  He said he left Fox just for the reason that my question was raised.  He was very interesting.

 When the Zoom call was over, I gave him a thumbs up, and he gave one back at me.  I have participated with other of Ashleigh's meetings including one with Dan Rather.  I wasn't able to ask my question which was about Texas, which is where he is from, but he was very good.  Ashleigh and I comment back and forth on chat during the meetings, so she knows who I am.  When Dan Abrams was on the call, he would be talking about legal journalism, while she and I were chatting back and forth about how great On Patrol Live was, and how I knew Curtis Wilson on that show.  

 Meeting someone in person is the best way to go.  Meeting someone online is almost as good.  One day, they will invent a procedure to reach through the screen and shake someone's hand for real.  I hope I live to see that day, although it might be kind of creepy.