The Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast

Episode 037 - Sam Globus - The Interview

• Alex Gadd / Sam Globus • Season 1 • Episode 37

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This week, we have an interview with Sam Globus, our first doctor! Sam is a PhD in genetics who is also a die-hard music fan. He's spent his life seeing concerts, and he shares some of his unforgettable concert memories with us. From his first concert to his children's' first shows all these years later, Sam's positivity and passion shine through. Also, find out how he got backstage at an Allman Brothers show and what keepsake he took with him when he left.

Hear stories about Phish, the Stones, The Sphere, and more. We've got a great conversation to share with you, this week on the Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast.

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Alex Gadd:

Welcome to The Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast. We're here to share the magic of experiencing live music together with strangers and with friends, and to get to know our guests a little bit better through their concert experiences. I'm your host, Alex Gadd, and I do this because I love talking about music with people. Finding out what band someone likes and what shows they've been to allows us to get to know and understand one another better. And also, it's just fun to swap stories about the shows we've seen over the years. Today, we're welcoming Sam Globus to the show. Sam and I have been friends for more than 20 years now. He's the fourth member of our Rotisserie Baseball League to be a guest on the show. He and I joined the league the same year in 2004. He's also a PhD in genetics and biochemics. Biochemistry. We'll get to that. So definitely the smartest of my friends, but Sam's seen a ton of shows over the years, and I can't wait to hear all about some of them, Sam, thank you for joining us.

Sam G:

Hey Alex, great to be here. Can't

Alex Gadd:

Really glad to talk to you. Yeah, man. Uh, we've, we've had conversations about music many times in the past, but never in a structured format. And I don't know, how did you first get into music? How, like, was music something you had all around you growing up?

Sam G:

Yeah, I grew up in a household that basically always had music on, started with records, uh, worked its way into tapes and then CDs and, um, don't really ever remember a time growing up where there wasn't something playing. My dad went to, uh, went to Woodstock, was at the Newport Jazz Festival. Liked to brag about it. He was one of the few people that made it to the, to the, the last day of Woodstock on Monday and saw Jimi play the Star Spangled Banner on Monday morning. Um, and then he also was there when, when, uh, Bob Dylan, turned electric and, made everyone go crazy. So. He, uh, he claims he's the only person who was at both of those events. I suspect that's not quite true, but there probably aren't too many of those. And then, you know, my mom was also super interested in all, all types of music. And so I grew up on a steady diet of classic rock and, uh, and oldies. So CBS, 101, if those are in New York City, familiar, was always on in the car. Music was always a big, big part of our lives. Soundtrack to our lives growing up.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, it's funny that you say classic rock and oldies because now those two things are one.

Sam G:

Combined. Yeah. Yeah. They're a little bit more like 50s, 60s doo wop.

Alex Gadd:

What you and I consider oldies is that CBS 101 stuff. Uh, now to younger kids, it's all oldies.

Sam G:

I think Madonna's oldies for, for, for our kids.

Alex Gadd:

Right. It's heartbreaking. Heartbreaking. Did you have a first favorite band? Was there a band you latched onto or a musical act you latched onto as a young kid?

Sam G:

Yeah, the Beatles were formative, were always playing in my house. They're pretty easy to like, uh, even to this day, still listen to them. Uh, you know, probably was thinking about it. Probably listened to the White Album 1000 times in my life easily. Um, so that was the Beatles were always there. And I think they were a good entree point to the rest of kind of the British invasion. Um, so we listened to a lot of Stones, and then kind of Beach Boys and so on and so forth. The Beatles were, I think where I first really was passionate about like learning all of their songs and learning as much about a band as you could. I'd say as I kind of came into my own, when I actually picked a band, not one that was kind of imposed though, happily imposed on me. I think Guns N Roses was like the first one that I really got into. That was like 11 or 12 and, you know, had a good friend who lived upstairs, Max Cascone, who, was my best friend growing up, um, and, and he and I both got into Guns N Roses and Metallica, he played the guitar, and so he was, uh, he was really into, into that, so that was, that was probably the first one I selected, if you

Alex Gadd:

Right. Now, speaking of that, do you play any instruments? Have you ever played an instrument of any kind?

Sam G:

I, I tried to play the guitar. And was, uh, wholly unsuccessful. Largely cause my, my best friend, Max play the guitar. And I thought it was cool. I was told that I had good pitch singing, at one point, but maybe it was just because there was a choir teacher that was trying to recruit me. That probably, probably was not true, but no, my musical talents lie in the observation and enjoyment of music, not the playing thereof.

Alex Gadd:

Well, that's, that's good too. I had no, problem there.

Sam G:

I'm. I'm fine.

Alex Gadd:

How about your first concert? What was the first show you ever saw live?

Sam G:

So first concert I ever saw live was Paul Simon, uh, at MSG for the Graceland tour. You know, Paul Simon and Simon Garfunkel were both really popular, In the household and, we'd listened to Graceland a million times at home and, uh, my parents brought me. It was great. Fantastic.

Alex Gadd:

Graceland's a pretty amazing show to see as your first show.

Sam G:

It was pretty sick. I mean, I really, I remember it. I mean, I couldn't have been more than eight or nine maybe. And it was, uh, I remember watching, you know, the, they had 15 people on stage, at least, I mean, there's massive amounts of people and it was, uh, it was a great show. And I knew the Graceland album really well, but I didn't know a lot of Paul Simon's other stuff at that point. And, this song called"The Boxer" came on and watch my parents singing along to it. I was like, I don't know this song, and they were like you will, don't worry. And, uh, got my first experience with all of the let's say ambiance around at a concert that, uh, that, that you get at a concert like, like Paul Simon, which was, which was fun.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, especially in New York, you get the full effect, I'm sure.

Sam G:

Yeah, exactly. the first show I chose to go to after I got into Guns N Roses was, uh, my friend Max, who I mentioned, and I went to the, uh, Guns N Roses and Metallica Use Your Illusion Black Album Tour, at Giants Stadium. Which was very different. My, my core, core memories from that one are Axl coming on stage like at 2 in the morning or some ridiculously late hour after waiting for a very long interval between them. And how often he changed his clothing. I was like, I was mind blown that you could change your clothing as often as he did. So,

Alex Gadd:

Especially for a hard rock band. That was something I had seen Madonna and she changed outfits. And I mean, I saw Taylor Swift in 2016 and she changed outfits a lot,

Sam G:

he's trying to match the, uh, the outfit to the song for the video. It was, it was my recollection

Alex Gadd:

Well, they, that's where they shot the Paradise City video during soundcheck of that show.

Sam G:

So here's a trivia quiz for you. Do you remember who opened for the two of them? Because they're a

Alex Gadd:

No, who was it?

Sam G:

Faith No More,

Alex Gadd:

Faith.

Sam G:

know if you remember those guys, but I, I've been into them and like, didn't even really understand the concept of an opening act, but, uh, place couldn't have been more than a third full, but me and Max got there as early as we could. We scalped the tickets for really expensive. It was 75, 80 bucks.

Alex Gadd:

Those tickets would be 500 bucks today minimum for the worst

Sam G:

face. I mean, face, right?

Alex Gadd:

Right. Yeah, it's funny because Faith No More Epic was a big song like they had a big video and yeah, they were great. They were actually a really talented band. They didn't stick around for very long and then they're back together and they

Sam G:

I saw that. Yeah.

Alex Gadd:

Whatever. What is the act that you've seen the most often?

Sam G:

that's Phish, but there's no brainer on that one. I think you may be setting them up for me, Alex.

Alex Gadd:

Right. That was a softball.

Sam G:

Yeah, I

Alex Gadd:

How many times?

Sam G:

couple 100 times right around. Probably. Yeah, probably a notch over 200.

Alex Gadd:

That's amazing. So, that involves going out on tour. You can't see that many shows in New York.

Sam G:

Nope,

Alex Gadd:

Cause I did that. I saw all the shows in New York for 15 years,

Sam G:

I've seen Phish. I don't know. I could go. I should have looked up my stats on. You can develop all the stats, but I've probably seen him in 25 states I did did a couple of full tours. Um, I don't know how my parents, like, when I was, like. 16 or 17, they let a group of us fly out to Red Rocks. So the kind of the Red Rocks shows in 96, which were pretty mind blowing. One of them was on my, uh, on my birthday and it was, you know, real, really special, really, really memorable. And then the full addiction, came in, I think I've maybe cost myself at least a half point of my GPA for all the shows I went and saw during college. I went to Wesleyan in Connecticut, which is right in the middle of Connecticut, which happened to be prime location for going to see Phish in the late, late 90s and early 2000s. Um, so you could go and catch, uh, shows, you know, within a pretty easy drive from, from college, everywhere from Maine down to, um, Down to like DC, you know, it was like, everything was within five hours. And, um, Phish always happened to tour during reading week, which was great. And so I used to spend reading on the road, watching shows in the Northeast, uh, which was, again, maybe hurt myself a little bit, but you know, I ended up where I ended up. So I'm okay.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, you're doing all right. Yeah, it's funny. I have seen Phish and I, I knew that one of the guys that Phish pretty well for a while. And I've seen them maybe 30 times like, and

Sam G:

feels like a lot. Yeah.

Alex Gadd:

feels like a lot until you say a couple hundred. But I've never traveled to go see Phish and I kind of wish now that I had. And I saw them more often. There are other times that I saw them that I don't have a count of because that doesn't include all the shows at Nectar's that I would stop in and see them play in for forty-five minutes and be like, Oh my God, these guys are awful. And then I saw them at a, at a couple other places as they progressed and they got progressively better and better and better. And by the time I left college, I went to school in Burlington, they'd go on tours of all the, the New England, prep school towns. And then they'd come back and they'd play a bar called The Front. This was when I had just graduated. They'd play a bar at The Front at the end of a tour. So they'd go, like, they'd play their Saturday night gig, drive back, and show up at, I don't know, One in the morning as the bar was getting ready to close, and they'd get up on stage and play for the last hour, or they'd just come and drink or whatever. They were great. And it's such a, it's such a, a scene. So what about the scene, the Phish scene appealed to you?

Sam G:

So I look, Phish I think is they've been a through line in my life and, uh, I've gone on a major evolution from them. When I first started, it was just like, wow, this music just rocks me to the core and makes me, you know, I, I remember vividly the first show I saw was at Jones Beach in 95 and I'd seen a couple of concerts at that point. I'd gone to the Further Fest the year before, I'd seen like the Allman Brothers. And, uh, you know, it was just getting into like jam rock generally, uh, had a friend who I think has been on the podcast, uh, Russ is the one that said you should come see Phish live and I'd heard that or some of the tapes and stuff that he had and, Runaway Jim was the first song.

Now it's the one that's everyone wants and when. Run away, run away, run away. It's the one and only that'll save the day. Run away, run away, run away. Woo!

Sam G:

And I remember sitting in the upper deck and just getting just absolutely hammered by the warmth of the music and being like, this shit's different. Like, this is really, really different. And I was hooked almost immediately. Um, I honestly never got that into the scene. I went on tour for one, you know, one full summer tour and did part big parts of other tours. Um, for one summer we were like, selling stuff in the lot and made shirts and stickers and sold burritos and stuff like that. And after that, I was kind of like, these aren't. It's not that I'm ideologically opposed, like different than a lot of the folks who are seeing Phish shows, but I wasn't like trying to hang out on, on shakedown. Like that wasn't my, that wasn't what I was doing. I was there for the a hundred percent for the music. I went from, you know, just going to shows and being young and doing all the things you do at shows and getting messed up, um, to just being completely sober at concerts at Phish concerts in particular, um, pretty quickly. And I was like, not that sober in the other parts of my life, but that, that three or four hours during the show is like, they're just the pure interaction with the music is all I needed. Um, and you know, I danced my ass off and came out of the shows with more energy than I did going in. And so it was really an energy exchange that I was there for.

Alex Gadd:

I love it. That's a great way to describe it.

Sam G:

Yeah, I still want to go to shows for that. And, you know, it's funny because there's been this evolution of like, no responsibilities, go to every freaking show that you can possibly go to, travel. I mean, I saw them in Europe a couple times and saw them, you know, go to Halloween and New Year's shows wherever they were. Um, to having more and more responsibilities and being able to go to less shows, but still enjoying those moments, when I'm able to go. And, you know, I have kept up with them, but, uh, I'm sure if you saw the bar graph, I've, I've trailed off, but I still, still enjoy them. I met my wife at a Phish concert. Um, so, you know,

Alex Gadd:

I didn't know that.

Sam G:

our tables at our wedding where, you know, instead of numbers, they were all Phish songs. You got, you got assigned to the Golgi Apparatus. All my science nerds got, got assigned to the Golgi Apparatus table. The, the best friends were at the You Enjoy Myself table. But, uh, you know, she, she could care less about Phish. She was not a Phish head or anything, but we met at a, we met at a show and I'm grateful for. For the, uh, the opportunities and the kind of life lessons I've learned at Phish shows. It was also an opportunity to just explore the world with friends. Right. So drove across the country, three, four times, got to go to all these different national parks in between shows. It was a vehicle for exploring. So it was, I mean, it was very formative in my, my early days of my life.

Alex Gadd:

think that is an underappreciated part of touring with a band and there are very few bands that people tour with these days, except the jam bands and Phish, you know, preeminent among those because by the time you started seeing Phish, that was the last year the Dead toured with Jerry. I mean, he passed away I believe the next year. And so it is underappreciated that you go on tour for the summer. They don't play every day. You've got time, you have time and access to the country wherever you are. That is a gift. And when the, that you took advantage of it is a gift.

Sam G:

I mean, name a national park in the Western half of the US and, you know, I've been to a lot of them and it was not, you know, not with my family in the last 5 years. It was because, you know, we went to Crater Lake because Crater Lake was unbelievable. And we were driving from Shoreline up to the Gorge and it was like, where should we stop? You should stop at Crater Lake. This place is epic. And I still remember, you know, being there in August, there was like snow and stuff. It was incredible. Like, and so I have a lot of really great travel memories and, you know, three or four of my best, best, best friends that I did this traveling with who I'm still, you know, bonded at the hip with. It's more than just the, about the band it's the friends you're with and the, and it sounds a little cheesy, but it is really about the friends you're with and the, the energy from the music.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, I don't think that's cheesy at all. I think that especially once you're not 20 anymore, that's what it's really all about. And the other stuff is just, you know, Oh, I got wasted. Oh, I had to danced my ass off. Those things are great or not. But those aren't the lasting memories that what you just described to me is you've nailed it. Yeah, it's funny now'cause I go to a Phish show and sometimes I go with

Sam G:

some friends and other times I go solo and I, I enjoy it either way. You know, it's still a lot of fun and my priorities have really changed because I'm in and out of there. Like, the last note goes, I'm walking up the stairs and running out and beating the traffic and I'm like, I'm that forty-five year old guy who does that who I used to laugh at. I'm like, I'm good with that, though.

Alex Gadd:

Oh, Totally. Totally. I'm going to see them over the New Year's run this year for the first time in literally 20 years. And, I can't wait to see how, how I react. So, I

Sam G:

saw them. I saw them this spring in Vegas at the Sphere, and we can talk a little bit about that It's a totally different experience with Phish. And, you know, I mean, I have these moments with Phish throughout my life and my memories are very, very clear on a lot of them, a couple of really memorable New Year's shows, Red Rocks, um, and now The Sphere has been added onto it, so here I am, you know, uh, seeing them for over 20, 20 years now. And I, or 30 years, Jesus. And I still, still developing core memories from them, which is, which is awesome.

Alex Gadd:

Do you have a favorite Phish show that sticks out the most in your mind?

Sam G:

I would say a couple. I would say that Red Rocks, August 7th, which is my birthday in 95, they opened with Punch You in the Eye, which was my favorite song at that moment. I, we went to a show, uh, way down in, North Carolina on like a Sunday night and they just ripped the hell out of those in Winston Salem and they played an encore that me and my friends were like, in the front row, but up up a level. So, over the floor and. Trey was staring at us the whole time and literally just played, played the song through us. And it was pretty incredible. I really, I mean, I swear I wasn't, I wasn't high. It was, it was what was happening. The other people who didn't know us noticed it. It was amazing. It was not just me. It was like seven or eight of us, probably the whole section really. And then Sphere was unbelievable.

Alex Gadd:

So tell me more about that. We'll, we'll get right to that now. So did you see, they did four shows, no set list repeats, correct?

Sam G:

yeah,

Alex Gadd:

Did you go to all four? Okay.

Sam G:

first two, I don't know that I would miss, miss another one. I had been to The Sphere, I happen to be in Vegas like two weeks after it opened and I'd seen the movie that they had there. And it was incredible. Like I was like, I was skeptical and I walked in, I was like, Oh my God, this place is so much bigger than I expected. I mean, it's holds 20, 000 people. So it's bigger than MSG. And it just, you see it from the outside and you can't really grok how, how epically large it is. And then you go and you watch this movie in there and you're walking around and you're like, man, a concert in here would be just through the roof. And the sound is just like, even at the, the movie we were watching was sort of like crystal clear, very directional. So, you know, we decided, hey, if Phish is doing this, I'm, I'm, I'm going to make it happen. I don't know how or where, but I'm going to make it happen. Happened to have a really good friend who lives in Vegas. So at least they got the housing taken care of, was able to jump on a couple of tickets. And then another dad from the school I, send my kids to had an extra seat. Uh, really good seats. I was, you know, I was ready to drop some stupid amount of money because I was out there and he's like, you want an extra? I was like, yeah, that's fine. I'll take that extra and, got to hang out with a guy who is, you know, friendly with, but, totally new experience. I've never been to a show with him. And, um, Yeah, that Phish, I think, that place was made for them. When Dolan was thinking about what would, what would I do here? I think Phish was right at the top of the list of bands that would, would rock that place down. And, uh, and, Trey is such a perfectionist and, you know, you were talking about how they got a lot better while you were in Burlington with them, you know, they're, they're one of the hardest working bands that you're ever going to come across. And I, I'm not someone who's like, you need to like Phish. They're a taste that you either like them or you don't. I'm good. I like, I spent the first 5 years of my Phish fandom trying to convince people to like Phish. And I'm like, I don't care if you like Phish or not. It doesn't matter to me. I know I like them and it is what it is. So, Trey spent a lot of time thinking about how to best use that space and they did a really great job. I mean, you look at the, all the cool stuff that the Dead Co. And even U2, I don't know so much about the Eagles, but they, they did some really cool stuff, but the way Phish did it was totally different, which is not surprising. Um, but they made The Sphere part of the show is the equivalent of Kuroda's lights effectively, you know, and they did some set pieces where it felt like, you know, they played Farmhouse and you felt like you were in a farm, seeing the northern lights over you and everything like that. But most of it was just really abstract. Very cool stuff visually. And, most importantly, they had a really wide variety of looks and it just felt, it felt like a Phish show with a completely different medium. And, they played great obviously as well. So, um, I, I will do everything I can to get every single show that they play in that space the rest of my life. It is an incredible place to see them and any concert really. You can't help but feeling, um, a little spoiled. And I mean, it's a ridiculous amount of money that they spent on it and everything. It's, it's feels very over the top because it is, but it's still a lot of fun.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, it looked amazing and I did see a news or documentary feature with a woman who was tasked with coming up with the visuals. So, because Phish didn't do any repeats and because The Sphere is so closely tying the visuals and the audio together, and Phish plays, what, 15 20 songs a night. She had to come up with visuals for 80 songs, essentially over four shows with no repeats.

Sam G:

I think that they have a little bit more of a set list framework and they'd like to let on because they definitely had it the way that the shows fit together. There were also themes in the shows, right? So there was an earth night, a water night. Yeah. Uh, wind and I think it was plasma. I thought that or fire or plasma or something like that. I went to earth and, um, earth and water, right? And so they were the water night was the second night. So they played like theme on the on the theme

Alex Gadd:

Theme from the Bottom.

Sam G:

yeah. yeah. And so some of the songs fit in with that. And some of the visuals fit in with that. With the, with the theme. And so they, they've thought a little bit about it, but the interesting thing was that Phish is also like, you can't, they're not like we're gonna play a nine and nine minute and 26 seconds song. And so all the visuals are going to match. So they set up a really cool system where they could kind of like scale colors and size and, and graphics and everything to, so that they could continually get new looks at the show, but still allow them to jam. And then, you see what they did with You Enjoy Myself, which was, uh, which was really cool. They did like a car wash where they went in and the beginning, which is a set piece. They play exactly the same every time. More or less. Time wise was them coming into the car wash and it was the right amount of time. And then the kind of jam out part was. They just kind of kept repeating it and changing colors. And then the end of it was them driving out of the car wash. And so they, you know, they were able to scale that middle piece by changing colors and kind of keeping stuff on a loop.

Alex Gadd:

I'm going to see The Eagles in January, just because I feel so badly that I missed Phish, that I'm going to go see the Eagles.

Sam G:

I would see any concert. I don't even think that you need to like the band did.

Alex Gadd:

I don't love the Eagles.

Sam G:

Yeah. I don't love the Eagles either. If I was in Vegas or I hadn't been, I do regret not seeing Dead Co., even though I'm like not too into Dead Co., but like, I, It would have been very cool. Some of the stuff they were doing from what I saw on the

Alex Gadd:

Looked

Sam G:

great.

Alex Gadd:

Let's juxtapose that with your most recent concert. What's the last show you saw?

Sam G:

Let's see the last show I saw, actually, sorry, just remembering I saw a concert 2 weeks ago, which was David Gilmour, um, at, uh, at MSG, I'm a giant Pink Floyd fan growing up. I'd seen, Roger Waters do The Wall at Yankee Stadium 10 years ago, I think it was. Um, and so seeing the other half of the band, which was fun. It was great. It was, I had actually fairly low expectations and I really, really enjoyed it. I mean, it's still Pink Floyd music, a lot of it, they played everything from Fat Old Son to Comfortably Numb, you know, more obscure to, to not obscure at all if you're a Floyd fan. Uh, interesting crowd, very white, very old, very male. I was younger than most, but the rest of my demographics fit. I went with two friends from high school who were married and my wife and our two wives were like, The youngest women in the whole place. I mean, there were not a lot of women there in general, and it was just, it was, you know, it was an interesting, uh, it was definitely an interesting phenomenon because I mean, I know, I don't think gender has to do with your, um, your enjoyment of a band like Pink Floyd, but, uh, apparently your willingness to pay does. But it was a great show. I mean, it was a lot of fun. It was

Alex Gadd:

I heard nothing but good things, and again, I kick myself for not going. Do you have an overall most memorable concert, or have we already talked about, does Phish just dominate your most memorable concert

Sam G:

Phish dominates a lot of my concert going experiences, but I've been to a ton of other non Phish shows and the music just going to concerts has been a real, uh, through line of my life. And I do appreciate a lot of the other music. I mean, 1 that's worth mentioning was I brought my daughter over to, to her 1st concert last summer. And we saw a band named AJR, who I don't, you may or may not be familiar with them, uh, but it was at Madison Square Garden right around the same age. I was, she was super into this band, AJR. It's three brothers who grew up in New York City. One of them went to Columbia, they grew up here in the city. They put this band together. We first learned about them because they, they have a song called"Bang," viewers, you guys can look it up.

Alex Gadd:

I get up, I get down, and I'm jumpin around. And though I'm fessin up, you're so comfortable now. Been a hell of a ride, but I'm thinkin it's time to grow. So I got in the club, and across from the bar. Booking wine and my friends, still I'm not feeling wrong. Been a hell of a ride, but I'm thinkin it's time to go. Say! So put your best face on, everybody pretend you're the best son, everybody come here, let's go out.

Sam G:

But on the song, uh, they actually have the guy who does the New York City subway announcements is sampled, and he says something in it. And so it's too long to get into, but we found that out. And we listened to it like, Oh, this is kind of fun. And you know, in the car with the kids. She started requesting it. And so my wife and I liked it and we're like, all right, we're going to bring Maddie to this concert. They're playing an MSG this summer. It'll be, it'll be a blast. And it was great. And they put on a really kind of operatic show. They're very thought out and, you know, lots of set pieces. And, you know, they played a couple of songs from the upper deck and. You know, played some pranks on the audience, got some audience members up, just a lot of like, really, it was like a really fun show. And I ended up enjoying it way more than I was expecting. The music's fun or whatever. It's pretty poppy. Not necessarily what I've kind of cut my teeth on, but you know, can nod my head to it. But the way that they put together the show was very unique and very kind of special. My daughter just ate it up. I mean, she just, she's, she's 11. It was her first concert experience. There were lasers and big set pieces and she just was like, this is incredible. Can I go tomorrow? But, you know, it was like, I'm like, all right, I got another one. I got another one on the,

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, you, you've hooked another one.

Sam G:

yeah, exactly. And then we saw, uh, Imagine Dragons at Jones Beach. A couple of weeks later, she's also really into them. I'm not a huge fan of their music, but, you know, again, nod my head and watch my daughter. And we brought my nephew for his first concert. I was with my sister who my sister, by the way, was also really into Phish and has seen a hundred plus shows as well. So it was another, another reason that Phish was amazing. I got to to spend a lot of time with my sister. Um, so we brought our two kids to, to, to a concert and, uh, two of them loved it. My nephew slapped the lead singer's hand when he went by singing a song in the audience and, he's like, never washing my hand again, kind of thing. It wasn't my favorite music to listen to, um, but you know, it's still a good show. The guy was, you know, very positive, talked about mental health and getting help and was like super, it was a lot of like really nice positivity. And ultimately I'm going to enjoy a show if there's positivity, right. That's like, that's what I'm all about at concerts. And so, it was worth it for, for my daughter's smile on her, on her face.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, I think that is, is worth more than almost anything at this point. If you can expose your kids to something that's really positive and that they really respond to, you're doing your job as a parent, cause you do the everyday stuff as a parent, and you'll do your job, you'll do it well, you'll do it not so well sometimes, but if you can take those opportunities to really expose your kids to some cool things that spark a fire inside them to be more creative, to be more outgoing, to be more confident, whatever it is, that's a gift. That's truly a gift that you can give your kid.

Sam G:

and it's been such an important part of my life and growing up and development that I, you know, at least want to give her, she's going to make her own decisions, but at least that, that access to it, I think she'll, she'll, she asks, she's, she loves Queen. Queen is like. Probably her favorite band.

Alex Gadd:

Wow. You're doing a good job as a

Sam G:

uh, well, she, you know, sometimes you just force feed them, right? I mean, you know, you're, you're in the car and you're going to listen to Queen and Bob Marley and everything. But, uh, she's asked me to go see Queen about Queen. That's, that's going to be a little tougher to pull off, you know, you know, I don't know about that whole Adam Lambert thing

Alex Gadd:

Well, I mean, you could take her, you could see, you at

Sam G:

no, if something came around, I would go see her cause she really does love them. But it was, uh, you're not going to get Freddy, but I've shown her the Live Aid shows on YouTube and stuff. They're

Alex Gadd:

that's well, that alone is enough.

Sam G:

Exactly.

Alex Gadd:

So, other than Phish, who's the best live act you've ever seen?

Sam G:

It's a good question. I saw the Dead once right at the end, last tour, I saw the Giants and it was great. I really, really liked it. And it was very memorable. I don't know if there were the best act that I've seen since then. There's been, some sneaky ones. I saw LCD Soundsystem, which I got into their music. Um, But I hadn't really seen them live it was last year, And man, those guys put on a really, really good show, just real, like really tight, a lot of great energy. Um, Like them a lot, um, you know, I saw, I saw Blues Traveler when I was a kid, they used to put on a good show. I just saw them a couple of months ago and they weren't as quite as amazing as they were. Saw them in, uh, on top of the, uh, the pier 17 They used to put on a pretty, just Popper with a harmonica and the way they, the way they kind of fit themselves together was, was pretty incredible. I saw the Allmans, in their prime, or when, at least when I was seeing them in the late 90s were pretty amazing I used to see them at the Beacon and saw them at Radio City 1 year. That was pretty, pretty incredible. Allmans rock the house down then. I mean, the Allmans were a great, phenomenal live band. I mean, I probably seen them the 2nd, most times live. Um, I probably would go with them with the, like. Yeah. Maybe my second favorite band live.

Alex Gadd:

I mean, Greg and Dickie Betts and like the whole thing. And then Warren Haynes fit in so perfectly. It was a great,

Sam G:

Did Mike, did Mike tell you the story about going backstage at the Allmans when you guys chatted?

Alex Gadd:

me, tell me.

Sam G:

we were, we used to go to the Beacon shows. Like Mike and I were both living here in New York and we were in high school and we would just go to the Beacon shows and try to pick up tickets for like 20, 30 bucks that were kind of floating around. And so that, you know, the Allmans would play like 10, 15 shows at the Beacon. It was just the March, right. They just

Alex Gadd:

All of March Yep.

Sam G:

I think we'd see four or five shows each March, at least, for a couple years running. And 1 year we got in and it turned out some, a girl that I had gone to high school with who had moved on, uh, before graduating was really good friends with, um, uh, 1 of the drummer's daughters and she was like, Oh, what are you doing at the show? You want to come backstage? And we were like, sure And so we, we go backstage and, and like, two high school idiots, everyone's like looking at us like you guys shouldn't be here, you know, kind of thing, and we walked all the way up and then, you know, we came out and Jaimoe was down at the bottom and this girl introduced us, he's like, what are you guys doing back here? It was kind of like, just kind of stood there and like, I don't know, really met musicians before kind of thing. Awkward, you know, 15 year old. And he's like, you want a drumstick? And like, just like signed a drumstick and like handed us each a drumstick. He's like, I think you guys should probably go back, back out. We're like, okay. I took our drumsticks and kind of left. So not that exciting of a story, but, uh, you know, I think it was maybe the only time I ever actually got backstage at any concert, which was fine. That's not my, that's not why I go to concerts, but, uh, it was cool. I just explore the Beacon. It's pretty interesting theater back there.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, it's super cool. There are apartments above it, the whole thing, like a hotel. So, just before we leave the concert portion of the show, we had talked about seeing opening acts. Have you ever discovered a band only when seeing them as an opening act? So you walk in, you say, Oh my God, I love this band. I've never even heard of them before.

Sam G:

I mean, I'm not the, I don't, I'm not like a diehard Dave Matthews fan anymore, but in 1994, I'd never heard of them. They opened for Blues Traveler and The Allman Brothers. And I definitely went and bought the album pretty quickly thereafter is Under the Table and Dreaming. Right. So, which was I still their best album. I think,

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, I agree completely. And I saw the tour the next year at Roseland when they headlined Roseland. And, yeah, Yeah. We've been to a lot of shows. Because I was at the Jones Beach Phish Show, too, in

Sam G:

Yeah. Dave put on a great show. They really put on a great show, um, for sure.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, when they had, uh, Boyd in the band still. And when they had, you know, the original bass player. They were really a tight group. It was excellent.

Sam G:

It's just a, such a unique sound with the, you know, with the, with the strings and the horns and everything. And, I think that they got a little bit spoiled, spoiled by the crowd that ended up getting into them, but it's, I mean, it's just one of those things where it's like, people get really annoyed. I mean, even with Phish, like you saw Phish at Nectar's and then, you know, there's always the generation before you that saw Phish. And people do this a lot and they're like, I saw Phish back then, you know, now it's blown up and all these people come and you're like, yeah, but you used to go see them like 20 times a year and you freaking love them. Like, why do you think that nobody else would have that same

Alex Gadd:

Right.

Sam G:

and joy from the same? Yeah. And it's like the same band, like, you know, you don't get, just because you saw them this time, it doesn't mean that more people shouldn't like them. They should be as big as, as the number of people that want to get enjoyment out of them. If you want to tap out, I get it. Cause it's not, the venues have gotten too big or whatever, but like, don't look down at people for, for liking. I mean, you know, did I like a lot of the Dave Matthews people at the concerts I went to towards when I stopped seeing them? No, they were, you know, wearing their, their white hats or whatever we used to call them. Um, But I don't blame them. Dave was putting on a good show and these guys were, we're enjoying it. So, you know,

Alex Gadd:

That's the whole point of going. Why go and absorb negative things and hold on to them?

Sam G:

well, look, I look, there's a lot of people who are trained in music and they're music critics. And I, that's a, that's a good route to take, right? I'm not a music critic. I go for, I go for the heart. Like it's, it's a different, different experience. Um, and people are, people are listening, you know, my friend Max was mentioning, he's really talented musician and he hears things at these shows that I don't hear. He's like, Oh, do you hear Mike with a wandering baseline during blah, blah, blah. I'm like, no, I didn't. I heard it all together. It was amazing. Maybe that's why I liked it so much. Um, and which is cool. I mean, that's one of the great things about seeing shows with other people. They, they, you hear different things and you. Probably are, you know, experiencing it, but, you know, I, I, again, I'm going, I'm going to enjoy myself. Like why, why else would I spend a hundred bucks and take a night, night out?

Alex Gadd:

Right. I think you're right. I think that's the healthiest way to do it. And try to leave your critic behind when you can. All right, let's move on to venues. So you mentioned venues. Where have you seen the most shows at which venue?

Sam G:

definitely MSG.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah,

Sam G:

Yeah. I mean, I grew up, uh,

Alex Gadd:

12

Sam G:

blocks, 12 blocks MSG. So it's pretty easy, seeing Phish there a whole ton of times. I've seen so many bands there, the Who, during the Quadrophenia tour, I

Alex Gadd:

Oh, I saw that. It was

Sam G:

Dave Gil, David Gilmour, I didn't see the Dead there, but I saw Phil, Lesh and friends saw, um, uh, you know, I saw that my first show was there, so I, I could go on. I mean, there's been a, been about a lot of concerts at MSG

Alex Gadd:

Sure.

Sam G:

and I've found, I don't know what your experience, it's still. You know, they've done a great job of improving that place and it has become a luxury place to see a concert. I mean, it really is nice. You know, there's, I mean, it's the, even the bathrooms are spotless. And it was not how I remember it back in the day, but you go into those bathrooms, they are spotless and during the show, maybe it's slightly different crowds, but even still, it's just like, you know, they've really stepped up their game there. And the sound is just fantastic there.

Alex Gadd:

What's funny, and you're right, I'm with you 100%. I've seen the most shows there of any place I've seen a show. And I've been seeing shows there since 1979. And it has changed so much, and it makes me think Jim Dolan really knows and loves music, it's clear. I wish he would sell the sports teams and just focus on the music. Because he did, he owns the Sphere, or MSG Entertainment runs the Sphere. And he has the Garden, he has the Beacon. The Beacon has the best sound I've ever heard in a live concert venue. The Garden, the sound has improved immeasurably over the last 40 years.

Sam G:

Yeah. Well, you haven't been to the Sphere yet. So you may, you may, have to revisit that.

Alex Gadd:

Well, yeah, the Beacon will definitely step into second place, but the point being that it's all from the same organization and they're focused on the live sound and so, yeah, I think, I think the Garden has improved in so many great ways, given that you can't tear it down and build it like a modern arena. It's still a 50, 60 year old arena.

Sam G:

yeah. I love seeing shows there. I mean, you know, the secret there, right? Is that it's the ground level floor level is what on the 5th floor

Alex Gadd:

it's supported by those, those cables, so when

Sam G:

and I mean, Phish shows the whole thing freaking bounces The audience gets in harmony with the band. It's not just Phish. Obviously, this happens with, but, uh, it's, it's still a great place to see a show. And you'll see when you go to The Sphere, it very much is an extension of this experience there. And the Sphere experience is very, been very informed by the updated MSG experience, which is, which is great.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, that sounds great. Now, Is that also your favorite concert venue? I mean, you've seen some great shows elsewhere.

Sam G:

I don't necessarily like picking favorites, but things, but, uh, the top venues were certainly, I still love MSG. It's still it's home. Right. So, you know, you're always, you're always going to go home. Hampton Coliseum for Phish is just, you know, no, no frills, but always one of the very best places to see Phish in particular, I imagine a lot of other shows would be a lot of fun. There's sound there is impeccable. Red Rocks is incredible. It really is incredible. Sphere, you know, I don't want to overdo it, but it was, it's pretty epic. Um, and the Gorge, I'm really into that kind of combo of the beauty and the, being able to intersperse nature in a concert, um, gorgeous, amazing places to see a concert as well.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, I haven't been there, but there's a documentary on Prime Video right now about the Gorge that I'm going to watch. I just found it.

Sam G:

Yeah. The Gorge, we saw Phish there in 97. Um, it's a haul to get out there. But the view, wow, that view, I mean, you're, you're, you're looking out over an entire floodplain of the Columbia River and it's just, you watch the sunset behind you because you're facing west and it's, it's pretty epic. And then Red Rocks lives up, Red Rocks lives up to its billing, man. That place is I mean, it's so special. It's an absolute gem. It really is.

Alex Gadd:

I can't wait to go. I, I'm still never been and I'm dying to go. If you, I know he keeps encouraging me to, I'm

Sam G:

It's so, it's worth

Alex Gadd:

on It

Sam G:

It is

Alex Gadd:

going to take him up on it. If you could see a show in any type of venue, what's your favorite type of venue? And I classify them as clubs, theaters, amphitheaters, arenas, or stadiums

Sam G:

It's a tough question. Yeah, it's such a tough question. I don't love festivals. I've been to some great ones, but that one's definitely going to be on the side. It so depends on the band, right? Like, you're going to have such a, you know, I don't know how enjoyable Phish would be for me in a small club, I've seen them in small clubs and out and, um, uh, in, in Europe. Um, and I'm not sure that I love those shows nearly as much as I mean, so it's part of the, you know, David Gilmore, I don't know, would have been as good kind of intimate, right? Like you need the lights and everything. And then I saw LCD sound system at Terminal Five. And like, I can't imagine them in a big venue. Like they were, you needed to be, and you need to have everyone rubbing up against each other to get the vibe and all the energy that was going through the band. So it really is music specific.

Alex Gadd:

That's interesting. That's a great way to describe it.

Sam G:

You know, and again, it's the best way to get the energy into you is going to be different depending on the band.

Alex Gadd:

Um, real quick, some bucket list questions. Which concert venue would you most like to go to that you've never been to?

Sam G:

Royal Albert Hall.

Alex Gadd:

Right on. Good

Sam G:

I really want to see a show there. It'll happen. My sister lives in London. I'm going to do it at some

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, yeah, that's good.

Sam G:

Gilmore was talking. Yeah. David Gilmore played, he, they played three venues. They played the Greek and, and which is the other one. I really want to go to the Greek and, um, the LA Greek. I've been to the, the Greek in Berkeley is awesome. That's another great venue, but the Greek in LA, I'd really want to go to and Royal Albert Hall and three venues that Gilmore played were Royal Albert Hall, MSG, and the Greek, um, and so they, they, I think Paul Simon played there. They did Zeppelin. The guys from Zeppelin played. I think Paul McCartney played there recently.

Alex Gadd:

I think that of all the people I've talked to on this show, Red Rocks is the number one answer because most people haven't been there. And then it's either the Greek, the Hollywood Bowl, or Royal Albert Hall is next.

Sam G:

Yeah. Yeah, it's, it's not surprising. I mean, it's just these places that have hold our imagination

Alex Gadd:

Yes.

Sam G:

concerts that we've listened to live recordings of. I mean, if I could go back in time, I think the answer would be Fillmore East. I've seen shows of the Fillmore, what's left of the Fillmore West when I lived out in San Francisco, which is also fun, but it's not, not quite the same, my dad went to shows of the Fillmore East and told me about them. And so I have a lot of live music in my catalog from the Fillmore East. There's some good, great, epic, epic concerts there. It would have been fun to see a show

Alex Gadd:

Oh, for sure. That was a great venue when it was around. And then, is there a band still performing that you haven't seen yet that you really want to go see the most? Or a couple of

Sam G:

know, I'm in the kind of the like picking up some of these classic rock guys that aren't going to be around that much longer. I still haven't seen like Dylan live, which I would love to do. My dad, my number one for my dad is Dylan and, you know, would really love to go see a show with him. And I know he's very different than he used to be, but I think it'd be good to be able to say I saw him. I haven't seen Neil Young. It would be great to see him. So there's a couple of those kind of bucket list older guys. And then there's a couple of newer bands that I haven't had a chance to, I haven't seen Goose yet. They're, you know, everyone has told me you got to go see Goose. So they're on my list that, you know, next time I'm here and there, you're definitely going to go catch them. Um, but the, you know, the real ones that I'd be focused on just, you know, making it Clapton too. I mean, I haven't seen Clapton live. Um, so, you know, seeing, checking off some of the, I saw, I got to see the Stones, uh, at Giants last time they came through and it was like. It's fucking awesome. So glad. That was actually, you know, as the tour where Mick had the heart problem I kind of knew what to expect from the Stones, but I didn't really understand how much running he was going to be doing. And I talked to Holly, it was the first show back from his heart surgery. And I was like, this is either going to be an epic show or Mick Jagger's going to die right in front of us. Because like this man had heart surgery six weeks ago in triple bypass. And he, he ran six miles during the show. I mean, he's just going back and forth the whole time. And it was like, I was like, holy shit. It was really. It was incredible. Um, and that was a great show that, that exceeded. I mean, I was, that was checking a list, checking a bucket list. I'm really big Stones fan. Um, hadn't seen him. I gotta, we gotta go catch him before it's too late. And, uh, it exceeded my expectations, which is a weird thing to say about the Rolling Stones, but I mean, it was a great, it was a great concert. Those guys, they know how to put on a great show still. And they, they execute really well.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah. I saw him this spring, this past spring, and he ran. Yeah. he ran, like you said, all over, back and

Sam G:

Five miles easily. Right. I mean, back and

Alex Gadd:

that his whole,

Sam G:

It's a job.

Alex Gadd:

seeing them. He's

Sam G:

This is not running on a small, like, theater stage. Like, it was, it's a giant

Alex Gadd:

he, yeah, he jogs 50 yards to go to the end of the runway in the front and then just jogs back.

Sam G:

Yeah. it's, it's,

Alex Gadd:

Incredible.

Sam G:

incredible.

Alex Gadd:

He's incredible. And the band's incredible. They sound great.

Sam G:

They do.

Alex Gadd:

All right. do. you have any tickets for upcoming shows?

Sam G:

I was going to go see LCD Soundsystem on Sunday, but they're, they're doing a 12 night stand, in Queens. I had to sell the ticket on Sunday, but I'm going to go try to make up for it in the next couple of weeks. So I'm going to go catch them again. I'm not going to be here for Phish over New Year's. So I'm bummed to miss that. Um, and then, uh, bringing my kids is going to be my son's first concert, unless he sneaks something in to a Weird Al Yankovic next summer at MSG. So making sure that they both have their first show at MSG. They've gotten into listening to some of the classics that we grew up listening to, uh, it'll be, you know, he's not quite a Clapton uh, uh, Bob Dylan, uh, bucket list level guy, but I really liked him when I was younger and I'm pretty excited to go see him live. So we'll see. It's a little bit different than our, a lot of the other bands we've been talking about, but I think my kids will really have fun at it. And I think me and my wife will as well.

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, I think that also, for a first concert, your son will really be engaged because they're funny songs and he's super, he's a great performer. So at least he'll leave the show being like, I love concerts.

Sam G:

Yeah. That's the whole idea. It's just positive. We're going to walk out of this enjoying it. So,

Alex Gadd:

And then you've kind of danced around it. But the big last question that I like to ask everyone who, especially fans who've seen hundreds and hundreds of concerts, what is it about live music that keeps you wanting to go back? And you've kind of addressed it, but

Sam G:

I, you know, it is, it's, it's the combination of the energy, the positivity, the stepping outside of the rest of the world, everything else falls like a great concert. Everything else falls away and it's you and the music and you're just there. You get that warm vibe. I mean, I really believe that music, you know, when, when it's working, the music is flowing right through you and it's a, it fills, it fills your cup up. I mean, it really does. And, and, people say, how do you see 200 Phish shows? I'm like, how did I not see 400? Uh, it was the question because I mean, I, I, you know, I've gone some gaps without seeing them and I think, uh, you know, I don't need that. It's fine. I'm fine with it. And then I go and see one and I'm like, Oh, That feels really good. Like I really want to be at that, you know, it just is, it feels great to be at those shows, and just, just being in a really positive overall environment, I think is just, you know, that's what I want to be. I'm going to enjoy myself and be warm. And, I'm a people person. I like being around people who are at shows. They're there. They're excited. You know, I, I, it's funny. We didn't talk about Taylor Swift and it was one of the things I was going to bring up. I, I'm not that into Taylor Swift's music. There's some songs that I respect. I think they're okay. Um, my daughter doesn't care for them that much. But I have been so absolutely intrigued by the concerts because I, and I kind of wish that someone just gave me a ticket because I want, I really want to actually see that experience because for me, I think it's the closest thing you're ever going to see to a Phish show that's not Phish, because every single person at that show loves that musician more than anything in the world. They know every word, every note, and that night is the best night of their life. And they're there to be there and have the best night of their life. And that's what Phish was like, and a lot of the other shows I go to. It's like, if this show is like, everyone there, it fits all of those criteria, right? It's the best night of their life. They know every song. And, um, And it's just all positive. There's no one getting into freaking fights at a Taylor Swift show Like none of the girls are getting into fights there. They're all just there to like be there and have them like the most memorable night of their life. Um, and so that for me is, is what music is all about. Like you don't have to like that music. But like those people are, they're having the freaking best experience of their life at a live music show. Like you're just jealous, man. Like you really are. And like, that's kind of how I felt about it with the Phish. Like, I know you can't have that, but maybe you haven't been able to unlock that same thing that, that these folks have with going to a Taylor Swift show, going to a Phish show and going to, you know, an LCD Soundsystem show, which surprised the hell out of me. And I was like, this is one of the better nights of my life right now. This is amazing. Like this is, I'm just loving it. So those are the kinds of things that I'm, that keep, keep me coming back for more. For sure.

Alex Gadd:

Well, that sounds amazing. And Sam, thank you so much for being with me today and sharing your experiences with us. It was great and we'd have to get to a show together. That is my

Sam G:

goal for 2025. Yeah. You want to go see LCD Soundsystem the next couple of weeks?

Alex Gadd:

Yeah, sure. I

Sam G:

All right. I'll, I'll I'll text you offline.

Alex Gadd:

All right, cool. Let's figure that out. But thanks again for being here.

Sam G:

Yeah. Thanks, Alex. Talk soon.

Alex Gadd:

All right, and that's it for today's conversation. Thank you for joining us. We'll be back next Tuesday and, if you like what you heard today, we'd appreciate it if you would subscribe or follow to make sure you get notified about every new episode and tell your friends. Also, a reminder that we release a playlist for every episode. So look for The Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast Playlist on Spotify every week, featuring songs from the bands that we talked about on the show today. So please check that out. Additionally, we want to know what you think. Please leave us a comment. We'll try to respond to every one of them. And I love hearing from you. So thanks for doing that. The Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast is a World Highway Media production. I'm your host, Alex Gadd and, until next time, remember that life is short. So get those concert tickets.