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FIRST_CONCERT

                                              August 2, 2007

A popular game among college
radio music snobs is "So what
was *your* First Concert?"

   My traditional answer
   is "Hot Tuna", General      HOT_SUFFOLK_FORUM
   Admission at the
   Suffolk Forum.                  That covers the
                                   bases well: slightly
   But really, that's my           embarrassing, a
   first *arena rock*              nostalgic hint of
   concert.  Back in those         another time and place.
   days we all regarded
   those as the Real Thing,
   but since then most of
   us (now using a different
   definition of "we")                 For example, around that
   have decided that was               time I saw Harry Chapin
   exactly backwards.                  perform live in my high
                                       school auditorium, but
                                       *that* didn't count,
     Thinking it over, I               because it was in my
     believe my real                   high school auditorium.
     "first concert" was
     going to see "The                    Looking back at it, it
     Cartoon Opera" on                    was *astoundingly*
     multiple occasions,                  cool that Chapin was
     performing in                        willing to do this --
     Huntington's small
     outdoor ampitheater                  Sneer at this as the
     in Hecksher park.                    necessity forced on
                                          him by a declining
     The Cartoon Opera                    career if you like...
     was the performing
     duo of Heather                       The resourcefulness
     Forest and Patrick                   of finding and
     McDermott, dancing                   performing at
     and singing to the                   these kind of
     music performed on                   small venues is
     keyboards off-stage                  really remarkable.     (larger than
     by Billy Batson.                                            a bar, and
                                             The mark of a       accessible to
       (If I remember the                    Real Musician,      the underage).
       name right... I                       as Eugene
       know that sounds a                    Chadbourne
       lot like Captain                      might say.          HATE_THE_MAN
       Marvel's alter-ego,
       but could be that                     No one *else* was
       was the joke, you                     doing this, declining
       know?).                               career or not.

       This was ostensibly
       music for children --                    The big moment of this
       hence the settings                       performance: he got
       they got to play --                      the girls in the audience
       but they had the                         to sing the chorus on
       knack of doing                           "Cat's in the Cradle"
       work that appealed
       on different levels.                           (The boys refused,
                                                      and shyly sat it out,
       My favorite piece                              despite much effort
       alternated readings by                         on Chapin's part to
       Patrick from an essay                          shame us into it,
       by the astronaut Rusty                         e.g. by referring
       Schweikart with lines                          to "a quality called
       sung by Heather about                          'balls' that has nothing
       the tale of King                               to do with anatomy").
       Arthur's Flight.
                                                And I went home with
          The theme:                            the memory of the
          political                             girls ethereal voices
          borders are                           drifting through my
          invisible in                          head... and impressed
          the grand                             with Chapin's simple
          perspective.                          stories set to song.

          Really brilliant                           (But I regret to
          work, with a                               say I don't think
          touch of magic                             I ever bought
          to it...                                   one of his records...
                                                     they're not the
             Under what deranged                     kind of songs you
             system of values                        need to hear more
             would this not count                    than once, however
             as a "real concert"?                    good they are the
                                                     first time.)


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