Page 12 Pride October 1994 CS&N at the Creek by Claudia Herrera ‘If e 9{a!^c[ Trutfi On June 25,1 saw Crosby, Stills, and Nash (CS&N) in concert at Walnut Creek. The night started off just fine. The Bone Ponies, a small­ Yee-Haw! time band from Kentucky, opened up. For a bar band they entertained well; however, they were too stuck on which way their long hair lay. b> Buck Naked Next came CS&N, of course. I was interested in their performance and was excited to hear all the old songs I grew up with, or at least some What has 61,321 eyes and 14 teeth? The audience at a Hank of them. Little did I know I wouldn't get the pleasure of hearing any of Williams, Jr. concert! them. I expected not to know some of the songs; however, I didn't expect Brothers and sisters, this summer on June 1, J made my annual not to know most of the selections. pilgrimage to my mecca—Bocephus. 1 did as any devout redneck would First of all, CS&N never spoke to the audience. It was like we were do and crawled on my knees with Budweiser, cowboy hat and boots never there! In fact, the only thing any of them said was "We sure do love (careful not to scuff the boots) in hand to pay homage to the greatest man to play music." Well, that just made me glow with happiness. After all, ever to croon for Monday night football. they have only been performing for about thirty years. There I was with thousands of kindred souls, all of us looking like As time went by, I noticed that Graham Nash was drunk: He almost Hillary's pro-choice poster children, at the cathedral for country and' fell off the stage, kept playing a song even though it was finished, and western music called Hardee’s Walnut Creek Amphitheatre. I met four kept his back to the audience most of the time. Sorry, I didn't go to this of Slick Willy's cousins, bufthe highlight of the evening was when Hank concert to see a guy stumble around on stage. If I wanted to see that, I took to the stage with "Hog Wild." It sent me, my pig, and Sweet Pea (my could have gone to any adult entertainment establishment in town. ole lady) just that-HOG WILD! He was great. On top of playing songs which were not that famous, they played . He sang many of his own songs. He also crooned to some of his late four or five songs from an album which was not due out until August. father's music ("Tear on a Sweet Thing") as well as some songs of Lynard These new songs took up half of the short time they played. When it Skynyrd, ZZ Top, and Johnny Cash. came to encore time, the three of them proceeded to "argue" over Towards the end of the concert it became apparent that the audience whether there would be one or not. Thanks to Crosby, the audience was was mostly a direct result of inbreeding, but they drooled with dignity as graced with more music. they spewed chunks in the parking lot. On my way home, 103.5 FM was playing a recent CS&N concert If in the future any of you get the opportunity to participate in a Hank which was what I had imagined a CS&N concert would be. However, the Williams, Jr. concert, 1 highly recommend it. It cures arthritis, concert 1 attended fell short of my expectations. CS&N should always conjunctivitis, gingivitis, and inferiorty-itis! One bit of warning: there keep in mind that when people go to a concert, they want to hear music, will be as many rebel flags (the old red. white, and blue X) as X's at a not get involved in the performers' problems. Spike Lee party. If attending one of these concerts, don't expect much, just plenty of drinking, good music, and lots of hollerin'. I wouldn't recommend these concerts for everyone. I also wouldn't advise parents The Only One: A Night with Melissa to let their children spend the night with a 36-year-old male pop singer who is married to Elvis's daughter. by Dan Devlin, Jr. On rare occasions, one becomes privy to special, private occur­ ^ ■ ^ rences, like a shooting star. On July 3 0 ,1 had the privilege of witnessing Janet, Miss Jackson, If You're Nasty one of those occurrences, along with 10,000 others. The musical spectacle that is Melissa Etheridge had, once again, by Valerie Harel accomplished the impossible: giving an outdoor arena the intimacy of On July 29, lovers of your favorite smoky bar on the comer. pop music gathered at Wal­ Melissa and Co. hit the stage at Walnut Creek Ampitheatre with the nut Creek Amphitheatre in super hit "Come to My Window" from her latest album "Yes I Am" and Raleigh for a Janet Jack­ for two hours proceeded to knock the crowd out with improvised son concert. Janet mainly versions of material spanning her entire career, including acoustic performed songs from her versions of her hit "Ain't It Heavy" and Rod Stewart's "Maggie May." album, "Janet," with hits Her banter between songs was close and personal and involved everyone such as "That's the Way (once the entire arena sang "Happy Birthday" to a friend in California) Love Goes" and "Again." from the Gold Circle seats to the top of the lawn (where, incidentally, 1 Janet follows the trend was sitting), proving her ability to give everyone their money's worth. of popular music as a typi­ Unfortunately, many allow their fears of differences in society, cal American phenom­ namely siexuality, race, creed, religion, and class, to get in the way of enon. Her mania for speed enjoying the music. Etheridge, openly lesbian, has admittedly encoun­ and insistence that a song be danceable to achieve success are tered many of those types of obstacles. What sets her apart from other certainly part of this phenomenon. performers, however, is her message. Her songs, mostly about love and The show's concentration was definitely on dancing. It is this fear, two aspects of human existence which are hopelessly intertwined, physical sense of the music that seems crucial to pop culture now. The is ambiguous, able to be interpreted by gay and straight couples alike. sexuality and eroticism were present when Janet's dancers picked a This point was evident throughout the complex: people of all persua­ man at random from the screaming audience. The hit "Anytime, Any sions were dancing, singing and embracing one another, enjoying the Place" evoked an emotional outburst from the artist which was quite music, and, more importantly, each others' company. bathetic. Innovations were rather scarce at Janet's concert, but the fans Live music has a remarkable effect on people, something that can be enjoyed the pop entertainer nevertheless. directly attributed to its creators, and on this night, the creator was the I That's the way it goes for Janet! one and only Melissa Etheridge: a lover, a dreamer, a star.