Outside Lands August 2014 – San Francisco CA
By Andy Goldfinger

Yes, we finally were able to attend the Outside Lands festival in Golden Gate Park (thank you Mike & Marcie Campbell).  The main attraction for us Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.  They are on a mini tour in support of their Hypnotic Eye Album.  Having not been to a festival in well over 20 years I was not all that keen, but I was happily surprised at the way they did Outside Lands. First of all, if you have not been to Golden Gate Park, it is humungous, I mean ginormous. There were stages and booths everywhere, but the sound was amazingly restricted to the areas where the stages actually were. There was very little bleed over, and this also dissipated the crowds as well, which for a veteran such as myself was a welcome feature.

Now the music, I’ll start with the heartbreakers. It’s funny how the fan’s perception is vastly different that those of the actual musicians. I though their performance at Outside Lands was superb, and yet there are those in the band who did not have the same enthusiasm for the performance as I, and the many thousands of fans saw. I am extremely fortunate to be friendly with a few members of the band, and I emcee an event in Ls Angels at the Troubadour where some of the Heartbreakers perform for this charity gala, and I was talking with Scott Thurston about the show at Outside Lands. He was not nearly as impressed as I was with their performance. I got to see the Heartbreakers a week later, but that’s another post from the road.

Back to Outside lands. The music was just incredible Deathcab for Cutie whipped the crowd into a frenzy before the Heartbreakers came on. I stumbled into tents where there were jazz trios and bluegrass pickers going at it. Off of the main stages were incredible acts like the Jon Butler Trio who just blew away a small meadow, Arctic Monkeys, Ray LaMontagne, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and so many more. It was an unbelievable event, and the best part of the whole thing was seeing all the kids singing along to every Tom Petty song.

Albert Lee’s 70th Birthday January 9, 2014 @ The Canyon Club
By Andy Goldfinger

We are backstage at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills California, and I have the good fortune of interviewing one of the all-time great guitarists in Albert Lee, at his birthday bash no less. I must give you some background first on my introduction to Albert Lee. The first time I saw Albert play was in 1981, and he was part of Eric Clapton’s band. The beautiful thing about EC is that he always loved to showcase his band and Albert got to play a few of his songs, with CLAPTON backing him up. Holy crap, I was hooked. Went out the next day and bought as many Albert Lee albums as I could find, and then started buying the albums he played on. Of which there are soooooooo many. Let’s see, Emmylou Harris, Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Dave Edmonds, Dolly Parton, Jackson Browne, The Everly Brothers (responsible for getting them back together), to name a smattering.

My first personal encounter with Albert was in 2009 for a benefit to raise money for departed Little Feat drummer Richie Hayward, coincidentally also at the canyon Club, and Albert was one of the performers that day. I’ll never forget how he introduced himself, and imagine this now in your best English accent, and he says “hi I’m Albert lee, not Alvin, Albert”, hysterical. You will never meet a more humble, giving person. On this particular day he showed up at the venue around noon, and was essentially everyone else’s roadie, the whole day, and night. Then he finally played his set and blew the place apart.

Now here we are in 2014 and Albert has amazingly turned 70, and the people that have come out to pay homage to this gentlemen’s gentlemen are unbelievable. Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Don Peake (Legendary wrecking crew member), Rosie Flores, Ramblin Jack Elliot, Denny Laine, Peter Asher, Laurence Juber, the whole Desert Rose Band and so many more. It was a tremendous evening with Albert taking the stage with everyone and just so masterful and eloquent with his guitar as always. The performances by Emmylou and Rodney doing such classics as Poncho and Lefty and Luxury Liner, and the entire Desert Rose Band (Chris Hillman, Herb Pederson, etc.) doing Love Reunited, He’s Back and more. Seeing Don Peake (if you don’t know look him up) of the Wrecking Crew playing with Peter Asher on World Without Love and others. That man has played on just so many songs. Talking to him was unbelievable, the songs he has played on, holy moly. He would sit , well actually stand backstage just playing all these riffs from the Jackson 5, Ray Charles, The Temptations, the Monkees, and you realize the breadth of work.

Now backstage and talking with Albert we discuss his longevity and he is really taken aback by all the attention he is getting from his peers. He also reluctantly actually does take credit for bringing the Everly brothers back together in the 1980s. The number of songs and people Albert has played with is quite remarkable. Here is the short list of people he has played with: Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, Jimmy Page, Rosanne Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Joe Cocker, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Linda Ronstadt, Rosie Flores, Michelle Shocked, The Everly Brothers, Earl Scruggs, Jackson Browne, You can listen to the interview (http://flyingeyeradionetwork.com/includes/stream_interviews.cfm?filename=AlbertLee01-09-14.mp3) in all its glory. That same evening I was lucky enough to sit down with Rosie Flores as well and that interview is available as well on our website (http://flyingeyeradionetwork.com/includes/stream_interviews.cfm?filename=RosieFlores01-09-14.mp3).

Phish – The Gorge Washington August 2013
By Andy Goldfinger

It has been over 20 years since I have seen Phish live, but what an opportunity this was. Not only will I get to see them in one of the most majestic venues in all of the united states (The Washington Gorge Amphitheater), but I am meeting my boy and his crew there for a weekend of music and bedlam.

The band was on fire, having recently reformed a few years ago. Their reemerge was done by playing the entire Little Feat, Waiting for Columbus album on Halloween. The shows at the Gorge were outstanding. They ran through all the songs I knew, which was very cool, and they did some new songs that are going to be on a soon to be released new album.

The highlight though was completely unexpected and just unbelievable Known for some of the outstanding cover versions of songs they perform Phish came out and pulled off something I was just left speechless. Knowing their love for Little Feat, as evidenced by their coming out show, I thought they might do a Feat cover or maybe a Grateful Dead song, but no. They come out and they play two true rarities, and not only rarities, but two of my most favorite rarities. The first a Robert Palmer song which features The Meters and Lowell George (yep, Little Feat) and it was “Sneaking Sally Through The Alley” I about lost my mind. Then they go and do my all-time favorite Lynyrd Skynyrd song, “Ballad of Curtis Lowe” and I admit it, I cried. Ti was just overwhelming, and then to share it with my boy, just unbelievable.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – Paris, France June 27, 2012
By Andy Goldfinger

Here at Le Grand Rex in Paris, France to see Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers courtesy once again of the incredibly generous Campbell’s. This venue is incredibly classic. Everything is just so much older and well respected in Europe. This is the first time I have experienced a true concert overseas. What an experience. I have never heard a crowd that loud in my life, and I have been to a concert or two. Unreal.

As were my seats. As usual Mrs. C took care of me. They opened with Listen To Your Heart and then just ripped into You Wreck Me, throwing a Wilbury’s song (Handle with Care) and several other covers (Carol – Chuck Berry, Oh Well – Fleetwood Mac). It was just tighter than tight. It’s Good To Be King and Mary Jane’s Last Dance always good to hear.

Such an interesting crowd attending the show, all walks of life and in Europe that could mean anything. Truly a treat and I would highly recommend trying to see your favorite band overseas