Birmingham UK’s reggae outfit UB40 made two trips to London, Ontario, in the mid-80s, playing to a packed and joyous Centennial Hall on March 7, 1984, and then returning a year later almost to the week, to pack out Alumni Hall on the Western University campus on March 14, 1985.  The first show came on the heels of their international breakthrough with the “Red Red Wine” single and its accompanying covers album, Labour of Love, while they were riding high in the local charts with their Gefferey Morgan album for the ’85 show.  Special Guest Phil Robinson returns with his always splendi ..read more

The Stray Cats arrived to rock London, Ontario in 1983 at the peak of their fame. With this episode, I’ve once again jumped backwards in my story, just not as far back as that cabaret show I saw with my parents in the UK in 1977 that was the focus on EP 31, Mum’s the Word. This time, I jump back to March 26, 1983, when the Stray Cats rocked Alumni Hall here in London, Ontario. Technically this should have been Concert no. 16, falling between no.15/EP 21 on The Gang of Four at Wonderland Gardens on March 5th and no. 16/EP 24 on The English Beat/R.E.M. at Alumni Hall on April 23rd.  Howev ..read more

The Stray Cats arrived to rock London, Ontario in 1983 at the peak of their fame. With this episode, I’ve once again jumped backwards in my story, just not as far back as that cabaret show I saw with my parents in the UK in 1977 that was the focus on EP 31, Mum’s the Word. This time, I jump back to March 26, 1983, when the Stray Cats rocked Alumni Hall here in London, Ontario. Technically this should have been Concert no. 16, falling between no.15/EP 21 on The Gang of Four at Wonderland Gardens on March 5th and no. 16/EP 24 on The English Beat/R.E.M. at Alumni Hall on April 23rd.  However ..read more

With this episode, the series jumps back in time to a Cabaret show I saw in Portsmouth, UK, in August 1977 with my parents when I was 14.  The cabaret took place between my first (Roxy Music at the London Arena, February 8, 1975) and second (Bob Seger at the London Gardens on May 19, 1978) official concerts.  My initial plan was to include it as part of an upcoming compilation episode.  However, I’ve decided that this cabaret was a unique live performance along with being the only one I ever saw with my now 96-year-old mother.  Therefore, I am giving this show its own entry ..read more

Welcome to my first anniversary episode, celebrating the second anniversary of the mylifeinconcert.com podcast (I didn’t do one the first year so I’ll be doing two this year to make up for that).  For these anniversary EPs, I will be jumping into the future of my series and selecting gigs from throughout my concert=going years that are personally significant for me or that I really want to highlight or talk about.  And this first anniversary podcast jumps into 1988 and a gig wherein I had some extraordinary revelations that I have never forgotten.  Join me next time for this Epi ..read more

In February 2020, Caribou returned with his first new album after an absence of six years.  It was released to universal critical acclaim and commercial success, and an extensive world tour was planned.  And then …. Suddenly …. Everything was off, as the Covid pandemic shut down the planet, including live music.  2020 turned out to be the first year since 1976 wherein I did not see a single live music performance.  A seriously depressing proposition for an admitted live-music addict.  It also meant I could not finish my initial sequence of podcast episodes of one show ..read more

After kickstarting punk rock in NYC in the mid-70s, the Ramones finally made it to London, Ontario, along with London’s own local-punk-scene launchers: The Demics. The gig marked a moment when the Ramones were to ascend to North American commercial success with the Phil Spector-produced “End of the Century” while London’s Demics were on the verge of breaking nationally. And then? Join me and former London, Ontario resident “Special Guests” from Leeds, UK on a journey back to one of the most exciting shows I ever saw in my hometown, as well as looking at the Ramones’ history and how each of us ..read more

The legendary Heatwave Festival happened 40 years ago this weekend: August 23 1980. 100,000 people turned up for the Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, The Pretenders, The B-52s, Rockpile, Teenage Head & more (but not the no-show headliners, The Clash).  It was not only my first fest and one of the best single-day bills I would ever see, it was the centerpiece of an insane long weekend adventure that saw me stranded and broke in the middle of nowhere on Sunday morning after two days of partying and mass-imbibing. For Episode 10 and on the occasion of the festival’s 40th anniversary, I not ..read more

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 ..read more

Here is Part Two of my look back at 22 Performances I Missed. Since the Covid Summer of 2020 is also The Summer Without Live Music, I am going to pause my story and instead present two sets of podcast episodes devoted to performances that I missed by artists such as U2, Arcade Fire, The Grateful Dead, Simon & Garfunkel, Lollapalooza 2004, Bonnie Raitt, & more. Hindsight is 20/20, or so the saying goes.  So, for my Concert no.020 entry in the original blog series, I published a two-part tribute looking back at what DIDN’T happen: one remembering 20 specific performances/concerts I ..read more