Best Memory of Massey Hall
by Live Music Head
Was when I got in for free to see
Keith
Richards and The X-pensive Winos
sometime in the early 90s,
prob'ly '93.
I forget the
exact date because
I don’t have a ticket stub.
This is why:
after my
ticket-connection guy failed to show,
and my friends caved to scalper prices,
I
found myself standing on the sidewalk out front of the Hall alone,
still hungover from the night
before,
and with no ticket to the show.
I wandered into the Silver Rail across the street
and had to laugh.
Everyone drinking in there looked just like Keef.
But still no sight of my ticket-connection guy.
When I came back out to the sidewalk in front of the Hall,
a group of guys were there smoking a joint.
When I told them I
really wanted to see the show,
but had no ticket,
they said:
"why not just
pretend you have one and follow us in,
like you're with us?"
Now this
really isn't my style at all,
so I surprised myself when I said:
“okay, yea why
not?
If I get booted, hopefully it won’t be too embarrassing
and I’ll blame it
on the hangover.”
So off I went walking between them four boys,
straight up to where
their seats were on the first balcony
without being stopped once,
only to find
an empty seat right alongside theirs!
The lights went down moments later,
offering
a perfect cover of darkness.
I spotted my friends down below,
sitting in their
3x-the-ticket-price-floor-seats
and wished I was with them.
But ya know,
on further thought,
I was
pretty darn happy where I was,
rockin’ out with my new friends,
at no cost.
When
the guitarist for the Rolling Stones came out,
it was with a butt hanging from
his mouth
despite Toronto's smoking ban.
From that moment on,
and throughout the entire show,
I could hear,
clearly and distinctly,
every single note he hit on his axe.
Kudos to
the Massey Hall sound man!
It was rock and roll,
and I liked it.
I liked it.
Yes I did.
Official website for Massey Hall...
