When This Baby Hits Eighty-Eight Miles Per Hour... I'm Gonna See Some Serious Shows

Who wouldn't jump at the chance to strap into Doc's DeLorean and floor it to 88? Maybe you'd want to meet your ancestors. Maybe you'd want to rub elbows with the high rollers of days of yore. Hell, maybe you'd want to see if Jurassic Park really did prepare you for a close encounter with a T-Rex. While this all sounds rad as hell, I'd without a doubt, be checking out the epic performances I couldn't experience due to my lowly millennial status. Here are a few that I would have killed to have seen...

Woodstock 1969: This one may come across as an obvious choice, but I'll do my best to narrow down the shows I’d be most psyched to see. If my nomadic ass was roaming ‘round the grounds of Woodstock, I think I’d brave the rain for the Hindustani stylings of Ravi Shankar. By day two, you better believe I’d be checking out Santana’s set, which, in 1969, featured an enormous percussion section, making Soul Sacrifice a rhythmic experience of epic proportions. Next, on the docket would have to be the soulful sounds of tie-dye-clad Joe Cocker, covering Dylan and The Beatles. Last but certainly not least, watermelon in hand, I’d get nice and close (since most folks had already left at this point) to catch Jimi Hendrix wrapping up the festivities in style.

Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East 1970: When you talk about iconic concerts, At Fillmore East is often one that comes to mind. Not only was it the band’s first live album, but it also features extended versions of jam tracks such as Whipping Post and In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, which are way too tasty for their own dang good. If I were to go back to 1970 New York, I’d probably have wanted to catch the first show. Not only because the final show was delayed due to a bomb scare, but also because of the small horn section, which was cut out in the second show due to recording complications.

Grateful Dead Haight Street 1968: The story has it that just a few weeks before the show, there was a confrontation between police and hippies in Haight, which created some friction in the area. A street festival was planned, and The Dead decided to set up a flatbed and play a free show in order to ease tensions. Following the Summer of Love, the concert was an appropriate way, not only for the Dead to bid farewell to their old stomping grounds but also, to illustrate that the spirit of the hamlet was still alive and well. If I were to somehow find myself in 1968 San Francisco, flowers in my hair, and Viola Lee Blues playing in the distance, I think I'd die pretty content.

Led Zeppelin Madison Square Garden 1973: Sure, you can watch The Song Remains the Same...but there’s something a bit more palpable about seeing Robert Plant gyrating at eye-level. That, and there’s a little bit of conspiracy surrounding the shows. Initially, the group’s manager, Peter Grant, had hired Joe Massot to direct the concert film, only to fire him after discovering that his footage was practically useless. Grant later brought in Peter Clifton, who likely should have been hired from the start. However, much of the footage was recreated at Shepperton Studios in England. With all the emphasis on recreating the shows, I’d be stoked to experience their sets up-close and personal.

The list could go on and on, but since time machines are still a little out of our technological grasp, I’ll cut it short for now.

Until next time, stay groovy.

-A