Retirement blogs: America, part three, experiences 15 – 20

I don’t know whether I’ll get round to the full 20 ‘events’ I promised in the first one of these ‘America as was’, blogs but here’s another 5 favourite experiences to be going on with. In this blog I’ve grouped five must-remember music gigs (broadly speaking) together. They spread cross the years from 1979 to 2013 (I think).

In this case I’ll start at the very beginning in 1979 and a full blown concert, stadium and all. Can’t remember the name of the stadium but it was near Washington DC, in Virginia. That’s all I know.

The group was appropriately enough called America. They became a firm favourite with us over the years. They were our introduction to what came to be called West Coast rock. They seemed to epitomise everything we liked about the country in those days and for quite a while afterwards. To prove just how much we liked them the picture above is all our America albums.

They really only had one hit in the UK and that was A Horse with No Name, ‘we rode cross the desert on a horse with no name, it felt good to be out of the rain’, went the lyrics or something similar. A simple song musically (just two chords) but evocative. I don’t think they did it at the concert because it only emerged quite a few years later.

I’m pretty sure they didn’t but, given we were both stoned out of our minds simply by being in the audience under a closed roof, I can’t be entirely certain. Incidentally Mrs Summerhouse was pregnant with our second child. We sometimes wonder whether this passive dope smoking experience had anything to do with what an interesting child he turned out to be.*

Moving right along several years and a continent and a bit away to Hawaii. Oahu in fact. We had flown back from New Zealand and, in those days, United Airlines made a stop in Hawaii. I don’t think they do now but for us the rare opportunity to visit Hawaii was too good to turn down. The musical experience in this case could not be more different from the last one. No grand concert just my daughter and I playing for a small audience of 3 or 4 people on a piano in the hotel bar. I think we played Piano Man by Billy Joel but I’m none too clear about the duet we performed and no dope was involved on this occasion, just vagueness of memory.

A few years and two or three thousand miles later we were in Chicago. We’d arranged to meet an old friend of ours. I like Chicago probably more than New York, it’s a bit friendlier and, as it’s smaller, it feels more accessible. And the architecture is, as they say, to die for. In this case the musical component was my friend taking Mrs SH and myself (No kids in this case) to Buddy Guy’s Blues club. I think this was the first time I’d heard the blues played live. And it was certainly where my affection for this musical genre began. It’s lasted ever since.

And while we’re moving through the genres it wouldn’t be America without a taste of country music would it? And if you’re going country then a person must go to the very heart of it, to Nashville, where else? Remarkable place. We walked down the main street, which may have been called just that, and every bar had a top quality band playing a variety of country music from Hank Williams (for example) to The Dixie Chicks (it’s a few year ago). I love country music. Musically it’s very simple, usually 3 chords, but lyrically it’s a thing of beauty. Genuine poetry in my opinion. People who scoff are maligning a much under-rated musical genre.

Again switching genres and cities and over to Boston on New Year’s Eve. Boston, 2013. That most Irish of cities so appropriately, in order to celebrate the New Year, we headed for an Irish bar. The name of it was The Black Rose, down by the harbour. My love of Celtic music was probably lying a bit dormant at this stage in my life. This evening brought to full bloom hence the rose. It was a real roll-back the carpet, clear the tables and bring on the band. If they had a name I’m afraid I’ve forgotten it. Mrs SH had to ask twice for She’s Moved Through the Fair before they agreed to play it. A bit too mainstream maybe. She persisted and got it.

So there’s the five. It’s slightly strange given where my musical tastes lie these days that there’s no jazz in there. I tried hard to remember if we had had any jazz experiences but couldn’t think of any. I suppose the fact is that my taste for jazz has developed in the last five years or so.

I also can’t bring to mind any classical music concerts even though today classical music provides most of my musical listening enjoyment. So not all my musical loves have an American base but, as you can see a lot of it does. I owe quite a few of my musical pleasures to American experiences from way back when. So thanks for that.

*Our love of this West Coast sound has persisted through the years with The Eagles, Crosby, Stills, etc. Jackson Brown, Carole King (not west coast) and many, many more, too many to mention here.