Robert Hilburn’s favorite rock ‘n’ roll road trips
VIDEO| Creedence Clearwater Revival in Europe (1971) One reason it stands out is Creedence was my favorite American rock group from the '60s. But also: I had only been pop critic at The Times for a year and this was my first trip to Europe and the first time I spent a few days with a band. The stops included Berlin, London and Stockholm.
The punk band's hard-core style was so revolutionary to old-style rock values that dozens in the audience in San Antonio pelted the band with paper cups, a pie, slices of pizza and empty beer cars. Later in Dallas, someone punched bassist Sid Vicious in the nose and blood poured down his face. On the tour's last night in San Francisco, however, the Pistols were cheered as heroes. Elton John in Russia (1979) This was the first time a Western rock star performed in the Soviet Union, so there were all sorts of interesting cultural sidelights. A favorite moment was in the tour's second night Leningrad. In his third floor dressing room after the show, Elton heard the chanting of thousands of fans in the street below. At first he thought they were fans from the show, but he learned that they couldn't get tickets (most of which went to Communist Party VIPs). They had come just on the hopes of seeing him. He was touched more by this affection by the strong audience response to the actual performances. Live Aid in London (1985) The concert itself, which was designed to fight famine in Africa, was thrilling enough, thanks to performances by U2, Paul McCartney, Queen, David Bowie and Mick Jagger, among many. But the civic pride (both in London and throughout the world rock community) was an ever greater high. Rock went through a lot of disillusionment in the late-'70s and early-'80s, but there was a lot of healing at Live Aid. Bob Dylan in Israel (1987) This two-city swing was Dylan's first shows in Israel and, thus, widely viewed as the most significant rock concerts in the young country's history. But there was much disappointment in the opening show in Tel Aviv because the audience wanted to hear the classic hits and Dylan stuck pretty much to the assortment of less familiar numbers he used on recent U.S. dates with the Grateful dead. In his hotel room the next day, he was curious about the reaction to the show. He didn't seem concerned when told the crowd was disappointed by the song selections. "You don't want to just get up there and start guessing with the people what they want," he said. Still, he asked what songs they might want to hear. I wrote down several titles on a piece of paper, starting with "The Times They Are a-Changin." On the following night in Jerusalem, he and the band opened with that song-and the crowd went wild. Paul Simon in Zimbabwe (1987) Simon wanted to take his historic "Graceland" tour to South Africa, whose musical tradition largely inspired much of the landmark album. But this was as close as conscious and laws allowed at the time. Highlight: the musicians joined at the end of the afternoon for "God Bless Africa," the song that is regarded in much of the continent as the black national anthem. It was a moving scene as blacks and whites in an audience that was about 80 per cent black rose and sang along: the people of a land that had just gained independence in 1980 longing for self-determination for their neighbors in South Africa. |
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