Medwyn’s flute

John Clark looking back, sometimes recently, sometimes far back. When I was a teen, concerts meant our high school band played in the Thompson Memorial Auditorium, in an exchange concert with another high school, or as part of the annual state band competition.

Everything changed when I started college at Arizona State University. My first true concert experience was attending the Homecoming one at Grady Gamage Auditorium when the Fifth Dimension performed. It was magical and since then has led to many other live performances. I can’t remember all of them, but here are some of those that have stuck with me.

Judy Collins-twice, once at that same university auditorium (I can still picture her singing Send In The Clowns), the second at Scottsdale’s Theater In The Round.

Flo and Eddie, who were also part of the Turtles.

The Doors at the Phoenix Coliseum, with Sweetwater nearly stealing the show.

Gordon Lightfoot-three times, the most memorable was at the then Cumberland County Civic Center and when he sang Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the thunder shower outside seemed to accompany the song perfectly.

Livingston Taylor-twice. The first time was at the University Of Maine, Farmington more than thirty years ago. The second, a month ago at Johnson Hall in Gardiner and I was completely impressed by his enthusiasm which hadn’t lost anything. What a fine human being.

Taj Mahal-at Colby College maybe 40 years ago. What I remember clearly about that performance was him coming out after intermission and chatting with everyone. He said something I remember like it was yesterday. “Moat folks are uncomfortable with the idea of responsibility. Turn it around and you have the ability to respond.”

The Indigo Girls-twice. Their performance at the Civic Center in Portland was one of the most energizing concerts ever.

38 Special-saw them by accident at the NASCAR race in Dover, NH. They were surprisingly good.

Acoustic Alchemy-twice on back to back nights, one in Boston, the other in Portland. One of the few New Age performers I’ve had a chance to see.

David Arkenstone-in Camden during a blizzard that had me white-knuckling all the way down Route 17, but it was well worth it. I think I own every album he’s done.

Dar Williams-twice in small Maine venues. She writes heartfelt ballads and sings them so well.

Tom Rush-at least twice, again some forty years apart. Like Liv Taylor, He hasn’t lost a step.

The Moody Blues-twice, once at the Bangor Auditorium, the other at an outdoor performance by a lake in New Hampshire. I took our older daughter with me and was delighted to see her dance under a full moon.

Fleetwood Mac-once at the Tweeter Center, with giant TV screens so those sitting further from the stage could enjoy the band close up.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young-twice, once at Woodstock, and the second time just a few months later.

The Association-possibly twice. The most recent was last year at the Husson Performing Arts Center. They might have been long in the tooth, but sure didn’t disappoint.

The Who-in Bangor doing Tommy. We were in the nosebleed seats where the marijuana smoke was nicely concentrated.

Iron Butterfly-way back in an outdoor concert while at ASU.

Leo Kottke-twice, again some 40 yerars between performances. The second was all the more impressive because he’d fought back from a stroke to perform.

Mahavishnu John McLaughlin-at the University of Maine Performing Arts Center. I remember him coming out and literally blowing the balcony back three rows with his opening guitar riffs.

Great Big Sea-at the Waterville Opera House. Way cool Celtic band from Newfoundland. After the first song, nobody was sitting and it stayed that way all through the performance.

Garnet Rogers-At Longfellow Square in Portland. After the show, I wanted to buy one of his CDs I didn’t have, but I had no cash. He said he’d trust me, and wrote down his address. I mailed him a check the next day.

Pure Prairie League just a couple weeks back, nothing better than the whole audience singing Amie along with the band.

Two concerts I was not impressed with were The Rolling Thunder Review at the Augusta Civic Center (too hastily put together, unruly crowd, couldn’t see the group), and Paul Simon’s Graceland Tour at the old ballpark in Old Orchard Beach. We had won tickets and took our daughters who were quite young. Between spilled beer by nearby concertgoers, and marijuana smoke whirling around the four of us (I was six years sober at that point), we lasted three songs before heading home.

Of course, the greatest concert experience of my life was Woodstock. Several of us who were painting the old Carleton Bridge in Bath that summer bought tickets and rode together. The next three days were memorable, magical, and not only still have mini-reels flow through my head fifty some years later. I remember helping the Hog Farm get food ready, losing contact with the guys I came with, that electric moment when Country Joe hollered out “Gimme an F”, dancing in a thunderstorm around a giant pile of garbage, listening to Jefferson Airplane play White Rabbit while stoned out of my mind on homegrown weed shared by a guy from North Carolina who was AWOL from the army, and seeing said White Rabbit prancing through puffy clouds overhead.

I ran into two friends from Camden, and we ended up walking miles before a car went by with space enough to give us a ride. Altogether a most memorable event. There are other notable concerts, but this is already a long post.

Perhaps my favorite non-concert musical experience was the discovery of Medwyn Goodall while taking a lunch break at my job as Boothbay Harbor head librarian. I’ve been a fan of him and his allied group of New Age musicians ever since and buy any new album they release as soon as I hear about it. The wooden flute at the top of this post was his. I won it in a contest many years ago.

Next up is Celtic Thunder at the Waterville Opera House in a couple weeks.

What concerts are memorable for you?