Polls

[Randall Hixson <rhixson@netline.net>]

I've been wanting to reply to several posts during the last couple of weeks,
so I thought I'd do it now while I have the better part of a sixpack of
Samuel Adams in my gut and don't have to work tomorrow. It's 3 a.m. and I
just got home from my job at the newspaper, so forgive me if my spelling/AP
style suck; nobody's paying me for this.

Here we go with a cut & paste from hell:

  >what was your first album purchase?
Elton John's Greatest Hits in 6th grade (1974, i think). My brother and I
pooled our allowances for the purchase at Grant's. I still have it.

  >what was your first exposure to the who?
My earliest memory is seeing "Tommy" when it came out. I was about 10 and
saw every movie that came to our little 1-theater town. I think "Tommy' and
Woody Allen's "Sleeper" were instrumental in molding me into the warped
person that I am today. I remember saving a dollar from my $.25 allowance
and begging my mom to get me the "Pinball Wizard" 45 by Elton John. She
tried several record stores, but always came back saying, "They only have a
record by the Who." I was pissed.

  >what was your first concert?
Yikes. Journey and the Babies in 1980 in Ft. Myers, FL. I was 16, stoned and
was just happy to be seeing A CONCERT.

 > first Who concert
---pastepastepaste---
>From: WFang01@aol.com
>Date: Sat, 14 Oct 1995 07:58:18 -0400

>You'll be happy to know that Joan Jett (and the B52s) opened for The Who in
>November, 1982 at the Orange Bowl in Orlando, Florida. It was her birthday
>and she wanted to open for The Who. However, seems the redneck Who fans
>weren't too happy with her poor performance (she really stunk) and belted the
>shit out of her with Ketchup and anything else they could throw. She took it
>for about 20 minutes, then went off stage... Shame was they did the same
>thing to the B52s, who actually played extremely well. They were a bit more
>clever and used their guitars to "protect themselves". You'll be happy to
>know that John Entwistle wore his "Too Late The Hero" album cover outfit for
>that show

I was at this show (It was the Tangerine Bowl, though. The Orange Bowl is in
Miami. I think it's now called the Florida Citrus Bowl or something similar.) 

I remember Joan Jett being received slightly better than you mentioned. I
saw a lot of upraised middle fingers during her set, but she DID have a hit
album around that time. The B52s were great, but mostly unheard of and
definitely didn't fit in in a stadium full of southern rock fans who had
come to see the Who. They put up a valiant effort ("We're gonna take ya to
Planet P whether you like it or not!"), but eventually left the stage after
being pelted by one-too-many flying objects.

I LOVED the Who's show! I still have (I think) a battered cassette tape of
the show which I dubbed from a $20 microcassette recorder which I smuggled
into the show. Are there any decent tapes/cds of this show out there? I have
nothing to trade, but I'd love to get my hands on one for old times' sake.

BACK TO THE PRESENT....

Last CD purchased:

I tend to be impulsive and buy several at a time. The most recent were:
"Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness"- Smashing Pumpkins, "Washing
Machine"- Sonic Youth, "The Amps"- Kim Deal's (formerly of the Pixies...LOVE
THEM) side project while her sister/fellow Breeder rehabs.

Most recent concerts seen:

Geraldine Fibbers/Mike Watt 19 Oct 95 in Tampa at a small club with about
150-200 people. The Fibbers were GREAT (Carla accidentally hit me in the
nuts with a beer bottle and I bought my t-shirt from the bass player after
the gig) and Mike Watt (Minutemen/fIREHOSE) ATTACKS the bass rather than
plays it. I LOVE SHOWS AT SMALL CLUBS!

Nine Inch Nails/David Bowie Oct 95 in Raleigh, NC. I've really liked NIN
since I saw them on the original Lollapalooza tour ('91). I brought my kids
( 4 & 5 at the time) to the Lolla show, but won't go into the details, as
I'm a single father and would probably lose custody of them if I were to
mention the incident with the police horse. :) 
Any rich, female, single Who fans out there?

Bob Dylan Sep 95 in Ft. Myers, FL. He actually smiled and seemed to enjoy
playing!

R.E.M./Radiohead Sep 95 in Tampa, FL. Great show.

Lollapalooza Aug 95, Atlanta, GA. SONIC YOUTH/PAVEMENT/SONIC
YOUTH/PAVEMENT/SONIC YOUTH/PAVEMENT/SONIC YOUTH/PAVEMENT/SONIC
YOUTH/PAVEMENT/SONIC YOUTH/PAVEMENT/!!!!!!

I should mention that through the 'Net and my (lousy) job at a newspaper I
was able to get free tickets (10th row for Lolla '95) and photo/press passes
for the Lollapalooza and NIN/Bowie shows. The 'Net has endless possibilities
for those who REALLY want to see/photograph/record concerts. Simple e-mail
is often enough to score killer seats at awesome shows. A little BS goes a
long way...

I think I've had enough, and you probably have, too.

Randall