Through The Fog: Loggins/Messina
Being the live music junkie that I am, I have been subjected to some surprises over the years. Some were more than welcomed surprises, like this one time back in ’77 or ’78. I had to meet some guy named Boris (don’t ask) at a bar in Manhattan called Traxx. There was a trio playing on a small stage, killer rockabilly. Skinny, no shirts, a guitar bigger than the player. Upright bass and standup drummer playing a pretty austere kit. The Stray Cats were playing that night. Lucky Break.
Another time I won tickets to see The Tubes from a local radio station. The show was in a small club in downtown Portland. About halfway through the first song I noticed that it was not Fee Waybill behind the oversized shades, but a Waybill-wanna-be. Bad surprise. Glad I didn’t spend money for those seats.
There was another time the surprise just made me a tad less than comfortable. Sitting in the third row for the Mark Farner Band I was all set for a night of Grand Funk Classics, of which there were plenty. But, after opening with a few early ’70s gems, Farner said he wanted to show us where he had been for the last few years. What followed was about an hour of Christian church songs with a boogie beat, I mean Onward Christian Soldier kind of stuff. Well played, good music and all, plus I got my Grand Funk fix before the night was through, but just not how I expected it. I suppose the Mark Farner Ministries t-shirts I saw in the front row should have been a dead giveaway.
Those surprises came years ago, before the internet really, which dates them back far enough. Nowadays with the sweep of a mouse you can find out everything you want about a touring act in a matter of minutes. When I heard that Loggins & Messina were coming to town I did a little research before shelling out the ducats. I found a lot of raves about their 2005 Sittin’ In Again tour, but very little about their current outing. Just like with movies sometimes, no previews may be a bad sign.
READ ON for more from AJ on Loggins and Messina…
