It was 40 years ago today that Chicago’s original and most brilliant lead guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, Terry Kath, died here in Los Angeles. He shot himself in the head. It was a horrible, ghastly accident; he thought the gun was unloaded. He was eight days short of his 32nd birthday.
The news came through to me in Sydney as I lay in bed on a summer morning during school holidays in January 1978.
30 September 2017, Safeco Field, Seattle, WA
I was a conscientious objector and then was most contrite. I made a huge deal about not wanting to see the Eagles continue without Glenn Frey, especially in such a colossal and overly expensive way, so I decided to boycott the Classic West Festival that played right in my vicinity in Los Angeles in July. And then on the day I was hopelessly depressed about not being there, on missing what was going to be a historic event…
or: The Interview You Do When You’re Not Doing An Interview
23 July 2017, Dallas, TX
Sitting in the front row at Don Henley’s Runaway Tours Q&A in Dallas the day after his 70th Birthday Concert, I could almost have been at a press conference, except that most of the questions being asked at this fan event were more thoughtful, and for the most part more educated, than anything the average journalist would ask.
22 July 2017, American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
Don Henley decided to invite us all to his birthday bash and so off to Texas in the midsummer sweltering humidity of Dallas I went. My name is Debbie, after all, so any excuse to do Dallas…
15 July 2017. Dodger Stadium, The Classic West, tonight, starring the Eagles, and I was not there.
My summer concert season has been in full swing and I have a backlog of at least seven reviews and reports to write with a lot of great photos from great shows. And yet here I am on a warm Saturday LA night writing about a show I didn’t even go to. An absence that has caused me much more anguish than I expected. An absence I will regret always.
26 June 2017, Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CAFor a combination of visual spectacle and musical grandeur with non-stop hits, there is pretty much nothing like a Queen concert. Having accepted this version of Queen, a Queen minus original, enigmatic bassist John Deacon, plus the fabulously flamboyant and vocally victorious Adam Lambert up front, it seems now I’m loathe to miss them if they play where I am. And who wouldn’t want to see Queen at the Hollywood Bowl?
7 June 2017, Grammy Museum and 8 June 2017, Greek Theater, Los Angeles, CA
It’s been a few months since I last wrote here (my Liv On review had a huge response), and now that my summer concert season has begun, it’s great to return with another strong woman artist, Sheryl Crow, who has intrigued me for more than two decades and always drawn me into her musical ventures.
5 June 2017, Whisky a Go Go, Los Angeles, CA
This year Chicago is marking 50 years since it formed. I was hoping for a seriously celebratory tour, or a handful of extra spectacular concerts with special guests, perhaps even – foolish fantasiser am I – a one-off reunion with former members. But no, they just decided to go on the road with the Doobie Brothers again, because it’s become standard now for Chicago to tour in a double bill each year, be it with the Doobies, Earth Wind & Fire, REO Speedwagon or some other classic rock band…
11 February 2017, Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills, CA
This was a sweet, tender, and just slightly odd night. Sweet and tender because of three women whose voices individually and separately are delightful, whose signature songs are weighty and whose humility is endearing.
At the risk of appearing somewhat Eagles-centric, I offer one more post on this subject for now. Don Henley once wrote “Don’t look back, you can never look back”, but those of us that come from a simpler time and were raised on music that is still at the core of our very being today will always look back.
DEBBIE DOES MUSIC 