Martin's Musical Memories

The first real concert I ever went to was Santana at Maple Leaf Gardens.
They were on a tour to support the Amigos album. It was 1976.
The air smelt of dry ice and "other" stuff, too.

Flash forward a few years and I'm with some friends and relatives at the weekend long Atlantic Folk Festival.
Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee performed. Valdy,too

A couple of us were walking around the site when this guy comes up to us and asks: "Hash, Fellows?"
"No thanks" we replied. After we were out of earshot, I asked; "What's a Hashfellow?" As if it were some kind of licorice.

Returning to Toronto for a visit in 1980, I saw The Who at Maple Leaf Gardens. I went with a bunch of high school buddies. I still have photos of the concert. I bought a T Shirt. Kept it for years. Can't remember what ever happened to it.
While in Toronto, I went with a friend to The Edge to see a group called "The Battered Wives." The show was being recorded.
I saw the album at Sam The Record Man years later and should of bought it. I doubt it was ever made into a CD. I have a dim memory of the group changing their name to "The Wives" after getting negative press on their original moniker.

I remember seeing Teenage Head play at a club in Halifax. This must have been in the early eighties. At one point in the show,Frankie Venom jumped up on some tables to sing/scream his lungs out.
In my subconscious an idea was forming that maybe Toronto was the centre of the universe at least in terms of music. An idea that led to my moving back to this city in September of 1984.
Happy Anniversary to me!

Some shows that stand out during the past 25 years:

Colin Linden and Mendelson Joe at the Free Times Cafe.

Anytime Morgan Davis played Grossman's .

John Hammond Jr. at the Horseshoe Tavern

The Hopping Penguins settting an attendance record at Lee's Palace.

Sheep Look Up at The Rivoli.

Bitch Diva at My Treehouse.

Phil Woods at The Bermuda Onion

Play on!

Martin