My Life in Concert.com

Welcome to the My Life in Concert podcast! Join me, your host Various Artists, on my musical time travel as I look back on (almost) every live gig I have seen from 1975 to the present. This podcast series started life as a blog on Salon.com’s late, great OpenSalon.com in 2010. It gained a regular readership there until OS closed in 2015, and is now being resurrected as a podcast in February 2020. I’ve been a lifelong tunehead and fan of many genres with a particular passion for live shows, big and small. And while I’ll be discussing the music played, the podcast won’t simply be a critique of the performance.People recall a gig’s small moments that can end up defining the event in one’s mental hard drive sometimes more than the tunes: what happened before and after; things seen and heard; technical malfunctions, musicians passing out on stage, etc. Therefore, the podcast is about the “concert-going experience” rather than simply being a description of the performance: a mixture of concert review, music history, memoir, and philosophical musing. While my main musical bases in the 70s were glam in the earlier part of the decade and punk in the latter half, my tastes have exploded through the years. The podcast will go on to encompass live concerts in many genres: r&b, jazz, folk, pop, electronic, hip-hop, country & Americana, pop, blues, reggae, and more.I grew up in and have returned to London, Ontario, Canada (with a 20-year stop in Ottawa). While I will be remembering shows from a variety of locations including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Detroit, NYC, and more, many of the early episodes will focus on concerts that took place in the Forest City from the 70s through the 90s … and now again in recent years (it will be Ottawa-heavy in-between.) There will be notable local visits by Elvis Costello, The Smiths, Iggy Pop, Marianne Faithfull, Radiohead, Joe Jackson, Steve Earle, k.d. lang, Gang of Four, and more. I’ll also have special episodes devoted to the local and regional live bands I saw regularly from the late 70s through early 90s. Along the way I’ll be dropping back into dearly departed local live venues including Fryfogle’s, the Cedar Lounge, the London Arena, the London Gardens, Bullwinkle’s, Wonderland Gardens, and the Embassy along with ongoing stalwarts like Centennial Hall and Call the Office. Outside of London, I’ll also be remembering great nights at long-gone venues such as NYC’s Danceteria, Toronto’s CNE Stadium, and Ottawa’s Barrymore’s.While London was my starting base, I’ll also be looking back on shows in Canadian and U.S. cities where I saw Neil Young, The Clash, Lou Reed, Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Janelle Monae, Sonic Youth, The Rolling Stones, Patti Smith, PJ Harvey, Ornette Coleman, Laura Nyro, Bootsy Collins (who head-butted me), The Jam, Paul McCartney, the Buzzcocks, Al Green, and plenty more. You can also check out the mylifeinconcert.com blog for written entries, original ticket scans, and related visual and audio; VATV My Life in Concert on YouTube for live clips; and follow us on Facebook. (Instagram coming soon!)Come out and join me at the show!

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My Life in Concert.com

(EP 20, no. 14) Iggy Pop with Nash the Slash: Gimme Danger, Wonderland Gardens, London, Ontario, Canada, Wednesday October 27, 1982

September 24, 2021 • Various Artists

Three weeks after the Joe Jackson concert, Iggy Pop comes to town with Toronto’s bandaged electronic mummy, Nash the Slash, in tow.

I first and finally got to see Iggy the previous year when he gave a spirited performance at Police Picnic ’81, a festival I covered in EP 15: The Boiler.

So how did this second appearance, this time at the historic Wonderland Gardens, stack up against that first one from the previous year?

Tune in dear listeners for musical scuffles, pushed buttons, and a mini lake of spilled beer.

To read the original 2011 blog entry, go to 014. (EP 20) Gimme Danger: Iggy Pop with Nash the Slash, Wonderland Gardens, London, Ontario, Canada, Wednesday October 27, 1982

Next on Stage: Leeds’ furious and funky post-punk innovators The Gang of Four make an indelible, unforgettable visit to London, Ontario’s Wonderland Gardens, four months after the chaotic Iggy Pop gig at the same venue.

Euphoria ensues.

I had been listening to the band incessantly during that 1980-83 corridor and was thrilled they were coming.

This March 1983 concert was not only my first ticketed gig of a musically busy year, it also marks the start of a new and welcome chapter in my life as well.

This podcast recalls the concert but also reflects on key changes in my social life at this time as I began my 20s and finally found my local tribe.

Special Guest Phil Robinson, who I met at this time, returns to share his memories of the gig and the party after.

Stay tuned for intensity and celebration, a lipstick covered forehead, and finding your tribe.

Read the original 2011 blog entry here ….

(EP 21, no. 15) The Gang of Four with The Hoi Polloi: I Found That Essence, Wonderland Gardens, London, Ontario, Canada, Saturday March 5, 1983