I used to go to a lot of concerts back in the '70s and '80s and was lucky enough to catch many great ones, some of which I actually remember. Thank God I wrote everything down.

All the venues are/were in Toronto, Canada, unless stated otherwise.

COMMENTS are welcome, even complaints and corrections:

YEP, SAW THAT TOO, or "I Have a Ticket Stub So I Must Have Been There" (in chronological order)
ARTIST / EVENT	DATE	VENUE	PRICE	OUT OF 10	WHAT ELSE?
James Cotton Blues Band	Summer 1968	Canadian National Exhibition	free	6	The legendary harp player gave me an excellent introduction to live blues in a corner of Toronto's grand fall fair..
Lighthouse	Summer 1968	Humber College	free	5	A first taste of the rock-festival feel with Canada's answer to Blood Sweat & Tears playing outdoors on a rolling college backyard. Warm-ups: Keith McKie, Subway Elvis
Bruce Cockburn	Probably 1971	Georgetown District High School	$2	6	A great Canadian talent before he hit the big-ish time, playing at my high school, of all places. Warm-up: Keith McKie
The Beach Boys	June 1969	Free Trade Hall, Manchester, UK	$2	6	An interesting night out on an English holiday, Mike Love and the Wilson brothers at the top of their game, with a once-iconic opening act to boot: Paul Revere & the Raiders, plus Joe Tex.
Perth County Conspiracy	September 1972	York University	free	6	Cedric Smith put his best thespian skills into this dramatic minstrel outfit from southwest Ontario.
Elton John	Oct 5 1972	Maple Leaf Gardens	$5.50	7	Elton probably deserves more credit cause he sure worked hard onstage back then, and the opening act, Family, were terrific too.
Rory Gallagher	Mar 20 1973	Colonial Tavern	$2.50	7	A Taste album was one of the first blues records I bought, so it was a treat seeing Rory (RIP). Warm-ups: Mainline, King Biscuit Boy
The Kinks	Apr 5 1973	Massey Hall	$6	7	Classic Ray Davies, sweet and funny. Warm-up: Michaeljon
It's a Beautiful Day	Apr 13 1973	Massey Hall	$5.50	4	It's a who? Warm-ups: Bloodrock, Sylvester & His Hot Band (and his who?)
The Steve Miller Band	May 3 1973	Massey Hall	$6	7	Pretty smooth stuff from the Space Cowboy. Warm-up: Rick "Wildfire" Roberts
Downchild Blues Band	May 13 1973	High Park	free	5	Somebody prised Downchild loose from Grossman's Tavern so they could get a little fresh air. Good times with Donnie Walsh. Warm-ups: Horn, Murray McLauchlan
Jethro Tull	May 30 1973	Maple Leaf Gardens	$6	7	Ian Anderson and his mates were always great live, but dwindled to buffoonery. Warm-up: Brewer & Shipley
Savoy Brown	June 20 1973	Massey Hall	$3	7	This billing should have been the other way around: Savoy kicked, but the openers, Manfred Mann, were always a better band.
Foot in Coldwater	July 5 1973	Ontario Place Forum	free	6	More rural Ontario charmers, quite engaging. Warm-up: Fast Eddy
The Guess Who	Sept 22 1973	University of Waterloo	$4.50	6	Canadian heroes and pioneers, not exactly in their prime. Warm-up: The Greaseball Boogie Band
The Grateful Dead	Sept 26 1973	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium	$6	4	Maybe I was just trying to figure out what I'd missed when I saw the Dead at Watkins Glen. (Nothing.) Warm-up: The Doug Sahm Band
John Mayall	Oct 7 1973	Convocation Hall	$5.50	4	I may have been expecting too much from the Bluesbreaker and kingmaker. He was less than inspiring. Warm-up: If
Joe Walsh & Barnstorm	Oct 20 1973	Massey Hall	$5	6	Walsh can not be bad, but this night sounded like too many nights on the road. Warm-up: REO Speedwagon
The Doobie Brothers	Nov 13 1973	Massey Hall	$6	7	The Doobs hadn't yet fallen into their pit of schmaltz, and this evening, Billy Joel opened with a rousing set.
Todd Rundgren	Nov 14 1973	Massey Hall	$4	6	Even a wizard, a true star, can get tiresome. Warm-up: Lazarus
The Climax Blues Band	Dec 9 1973	Victory Burlesque	$5	7	More rock dynamics than blues; a powerful show. Warm-ups: The James Hartley Band, Joe Mendelson
Breathless	Dec 12 1973	Abbey Road Tavern	free	6	This Canadian rock band lived up to their name. Wonder whatever happened to them?
McKenna-Mendelson Mainline	Dec 31 1973	Victory Burlesque	$5	7	This was the Mainline Bump 'n' Grind Revue, complete with strippers and broadcast live on TV for New Year's Eve, though not the same show that produced the album "Live at the Victory Burlesque".
Downchild Blues Band	Jan 10 1974	El Mocambo	free	6	Can't complain when the fun is free.
Spirit	Feb 9 1974	Victory Burlesque	$4.95	8	One-time Hendrix sideman Randy California in full flight. Spirit was one of the best bands around in their day. Warm-up: Rose
Bachman Turner Overdrive	Feb 13 1974	University of Waterloo	free	7	Truly takin' care of business. Warm-up: The Michael Quatro Jam Band
Scrubbaloe Cane	Mar 7 1974	Abbey Road Tavern	$1	6	Pretty good Canadian rock outfit.
Soft Machine	Mar 9 1974	Victory Burlesque	$5	6	Not up to expectations for these trailmates of Pink Floyd. Warm-up: The Michael Quatro Jam Band again
The Pointer Sisters	Mar 10 1974	Massey Hall	$6	6	Lots of talent, light entertainment. Warm-up: Tony Kosinec
Roy Buchanan	Mar 15 1974	Victory Burlesque	$5	7	Great blues from the late master. Warm-up: Rick Roberts
NOVEMBER 2007, MAJOR FAN JOE COMMENTS: I have, over the years, recounted that show to many folks as one of the most amazing displays of musicianship I have ever witnessed. No one has ever demonstrated greater guitar skills and, like yourself, have seen most of the accomplished axemen of our time. Perhaps the crowning moment for me was when the credits rolled in Martin Scorcese's 'The Departed' and I can still recall his stance as he played without so much as a sway in body movement. Perhaps the greatest blues guitarist ever.
Peter Frampton	Mar 23 1974	Victory Burlesque	$5	8	Whadya know, he really does come alive. Warm-up: Lorence Hud
Electric Light Orchestra	Mar 30 1974	Massey Hall	$7.50	8	Lovely stuff from ELO, but what I remember best is Al Stewart, the opening act, hushing the audience by saying, "Listen to this, it will change your life."
The Strawbs	Mar 31 1974	Massey Hall	$6.60	7	The Strawbs were a band to behold, just the sort of melodic prog rock I adored at the time. Warm-up: McLean & McLean
Shawn Phillips	Apr 4 1974	Massey Hall	$6.60	6	Phillips could do amazing vocal acrobatics. British Columbian Valdy, the warm-up, just got grumpy about singin' a rock'n'roll toon.
Hawkwind	Apr 9 1974	Massey Hall	$3.30	5	My head was so bent on drugs that I don't know what happened at this show. I just remember an unending roar. Apparently Lemmy from Motorhead was in the band, so that would explain it. Warm-up: Man
Savoy Brown	May 11 1974	Victory Burlesque	$5	5	What, again? Warm-up: Silverhead
Mott the Hoople	May 27 1974	Massey Hall	$4.50	8	All the young dudes in their platform shoes, with a great opener in the form of Kansas.
The Mahavishnu Orchestra	June 28 1974	Massey Hall	$6.60	7	Finally got to see John McLaughlin somewhere else besides the Maple Leaf Barn.
Nazareth	July 1 1974	Seneca College	$6	5	The big hit of the day was "Love Hurts". Warm-up: Rush
Eric Clapton with Freddie King	July 6 1974	Orchard Park Stadium, Buffalo, New York	$8	8	Slowhand at last, in a massive crowd. Warm-up: The Band
Roy Buchanan	July 13 1974	Centre Island	$7	8	A terrific day of blues, also featuring John Lee Hooker, the Sunnyland Slim Blues Band, Ellen McIlwaine, Diamondback and Michael Hasek.
Martin Mull	Aug 30 1974	The Chimney tavern	$2.50	7	Oh, so this is live comedy! "Fernwood Tonight" was justifiably pretty hot on TV.
Jesse Winchester	Sept 6 1974	The Chimney tavern	$2.50	5	A real live draft-dodger.
Herbie Mann	Sept 14 1974	Massey Hall	$7	3	The guy's good, but someone must have talked me into this concert.
Wayne Cochrane & the CC Riders	Sept 20 1974	El Mocambo	$5	7	Pretty hot show from an influential original.
John Mills-Cockell	Sept 20 1974	The Gasworks	$1	3	Yes, the same night, but who's this guy?
Roy Wood's Wizzard	June 28 1974	Ryerson Theatre	$5.50	3	Funny-walk Brit silliness. Warm-up: Michael Hasek
Diamondback	Sept 27 1974	The Gasworks	$1	1	I have no idea.
Rick Wakeman	Oct 7 1974	Maple Leaf Gardens	$8	5	The kind of show wot killed Vaudeville, if not art rock. I think it was "Journey to the Centre of the Earth". Thespian David Hemmings trying to explain what was going on between scherzos or something. No, Wakeman, get back to Yes!
Bill King	Nov 2 1974	The Chimney Tavern	$2	2	Couldn't tell you. Something about the blues, I think.
Perth County Conspiracy	Nov 8 1974	Massey Hall	$3	7	More lovely stories from the mediaeval countryside.
Jim Eaves	Nov 15 1974	Egerton's Tavern	$2.50	2	I have no recollection at all of who Jim Eaves was, but this was the tiny Ryerson College cafe that became The Edge, which hosted the Canadian debuts of the Police and U2.
Elton John	Nov 18 1974	Maple Leaf Gardens	$8	6	Elton and his protege Kiki Dee doing their "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart" shtick.
John Lee Hooker	Nov 22 1974	some bar in Oakville, Ontario	$4	7	Hot, authentic blues and boogie.
Manfred Mann	Dec 12 1974	Convocation Hall	$5.50	6	I was beginning to realise by now that Con Hall was a terrible place to see concerts. Warm-up: Rush
Moxy	Dec 27 1974	The Gasworks	$1	7	This Toronto band had a hell of a lot going for it. So did the Gasworks at the time.

The J Geils Band	Jan 2 1975	Maple Leaf Gardens	$7	7	The year off to a fine start with Peter Wolf's hot Boston band. Warm-up: Foot in Coldwater
Sparks	Apr 6 1975	Massey Hall	$6	6	Remind me: What was it about these goofs that made them so appealing? Warm-up: Brutus
Luke Gibson	Apr 18 1975	Egerton's Tavern	free	7	The Canadian singer-songwriter and erstwhile member of Luke & the Apostles deserved a lot more recognition as a soloist than he ever got. "Another Perfect Day" was a perfect album.
The Mahavishnu Orchestra	Apr 24 1975	Century Theatre, Buffalo, New York	$5	8	John McLaughlin with Jeff Beck doing the warm-up: Who's not going to drive to Buffalo?
Alice Cooper	May 2 1975	Maple Leaf Gardens	$7	8	Alice's Nightmare, with Dick Wagner, Steve Hunter and the rest of Lou Reed's backing band, plus Suzi Quatro as the opening act. Great stuff.
Yes	July 12 1975	Orchard Park Stadium, Buffalo, New York	$10	8	A humongous show, leaping from start to finish with the J Geils Band, Johnny Winter and Ace. Patrick Moraz on keyboards for Yes.
Jeff Beck	July 23 1975	O'Keefe Centre	$6.60	7	At last, Jeff Beck out front and headlining, and in a swank place too. Warm-up: Small Wonder
Dr Hook	Aug 2 1975	El Mocambo	$4	6	They got their picture on the cover of the Rollin' Stone!
Proctor & Bergman	Aug 4 1975	El Mocambo	$4	8	I never got to see the comedy quartet Firesign Theater live, so having half of them make me howl was a pure treat.
Todd Rundgren & Utopia	Aug 9 1975	Maple Leaf Gardens Concert Bowl	$6.60	7	Utopia gave Todd's music a terrific epic, anthemic breadth. A great show.
The Beach Boys	Aug 30 1975	CNE Stadium	$5.50	7	Starting to fade a bit here six years after I first saw them, but lots of great tunes alongside the midway.
Jefferson Starship	Sept 1 1975	Maple Leaf Gardens	$9	7	Too bad it wasn't the Airplane, but there was plenty of muscle in the show, with the J Geils Band and Gentle Giant warming up, and the White Rabbit was there at least. Thanks, Gracie!
Savoy Brown	Sept 6 1975	El Mocambo	$4	6	Who kept talking me into going to see this band?
Jethro Tull	July 23 1975	Maple Leaf Gardens	$7.70	5	Okay, now it was just getting silly, and having Gary "Dream Weaver" Wright as the opener didn't help. Two guys in a zebra suit came out, popped some balls of dung out of the zebra butt, and Ian Anderson juggled them. What?
FEBRUARY 2008, WAYNE CONFIRMS: "I too remember the night the zebra came out at the Jethro Tull show and Ian commented how Bowie and Elton were not quite sure of how to get their act together, but Jethro Tull had its shit together, and out dropped the tennis balls. Campy at its best, but the solo by Martin Barre to start the second half of the show was spectacular."
Rod Stewart & the Faces	Oct 27 1975	Maple Leaf Gardens	$7.70	8	Rockin' Rod, still completely relevant at this point, before he submitted to craggy old "legendary" status. Warm-up: Heart
Dr John	Nov 12 1975	El Mocambo	$4	5	Definitely night trippin'.
Roxy Music	Nov 20 1975	Massey Hall	$7	6	Roxy already petering out, unable to pace themselves. Warm-up: the ghastly Carole Pope and Rough Trade
ZZ Top	Jan 9 1976	Maple Leaf Gardens Concert Bowl	$7	7	Billy Gibbons has always been one of my favourite guitarists, but the trio was already starting to get MTV slick at this stage. Warm-up: Downchild
Patti Smith	Apr 15 1976	Massey Hall	$7	8	Patti in her early "Horses" days was terrific, the proverbial breath of fresh air. Warm-up: Joe Mendelson, having shed Mainline and gained weight.
Nektar with Larry Fast	May 26 1976	Massey Hall	$7	2	Don't remember. Sorry, chaps.
Todd Rundgren	June 25 1976	Massey Hall	$7	6	Either Todd or I was overstaying our welcome, but he always has things under control.
Rough Trade	Oct 1 1976	The Gasworks	$2	5	Did I once like this band? You don't say.
Ellen McIlwaine	Oct 14 1976	The Midwich Cuckoo tavern	$1	7	Terrific voice and an even better slide blues guitar.
Robin Trower	Nov 30 1976	Maple Leaf Gardens	$7	8	Given the spectacle of his studio talent, Trower proved disppointing, but fortunately there was a slamming warm-up with Boston.
Patti Smith	Dec 19 1976	Seneca College	$7.50	7	Giving Patti another listen as soon as possible. Warm-ups: Sparks, James Ackroyd
Ellen McIlwaine	Jan 31 1977	The Midwich Cuckoo tavern	$3	7	A revisit with the blues lady at the same venue.
John Cale	Feb 19 1977	New Yorker Theatre	$7	6	Not the fantastic show I expected from the former Velvet, but fairly gripping. Warm-up: The Hummer Sisters
Journey	Apr 17 1977	Massey Hall	$7.70	6	Perhaps Journey is another band who sound better on record. Warm-ups: Starcastle, the Steve Gibbons Band
John Miles	Apr 21 1977	El Mocambo	$3.50	7	Miles was flying with the great album "Stranger in the City" and the unfortunate disco single "Slow Down".
The Kinks	Apr 29 1977	Maple Leaf Gardens Concert Bowl	$10	7	Getting reacquainted with the Davies brothers, not as much fun this time. Warm-up: Elliott Murphy
Bryan Ferry	June 20 1977	Massey Hall	$7.70	8	Having discarded his Roxy parasol, Bryan nevertheless had Chris Spedding and Phil Manzanera to stoke the furnace. Warm-up: Rough Diamond
Blue Oyster Cult	June 21 1977	Maple Leaf Gardens	$7.70	8	With "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", the Cult seemed pretty cocky having someone like Todd Rundgren & Utopia open the show. Great double-bill.
FALL 2007: Ralph, a Briton who runs the highly detailed Blue Oyster Cult history website Hot Rails to Hull, informs me that the band's official history gives the date for the Toronto show as June 23, but he too has a ticket stub that swears it was the 21st, and I don't recall the show being postponed. Ralph's site gives the concert's setlist as "Stairway to the Stars", "Harvester of Eyes", "ETI", "Buck's Boogie", "Astronomy", "Last Days of May", "Cities on Flame" and "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". The line-up: Eric Bloom and Buck Dharma on guitar/vocals, Allen Lanier on keys/guitar, Joe Bouchard on bass/vocals and Albert Bouchard on drums/vocals.
Mink De Ville	June 29 1977	El Mocambo	$3	4	There was a time when Willy De Ville seemed the epitome of cool. Maybe it was just a Springsteen hangover.
Emmerson Lake & Palmer	July 24 1977	CNE Stadium	$11	8	I wouldn't have gone to see ELP again, but they had Journey and Southside Johnny & the Asbury Dukes (or is that Jukes?) on the same bill. It was well worth it.
Elliott Murphy	Sept 1 1977	El Mocambo	$3	6	Having seen Murphy open for the Kinks, I thought he'd be a safe act to take a date to see. Bastard got her phone number while I was in the toilet.
"Outrage"	Sept 2 1977	Masonic Temple	$6	7	A testy punk sampler featuring Toronto's Viletones, Teenage Head, Simply Saucer, the Concordes and the Battered Wives.
Iggy Pop	Oct 9 1977	Masonic Temple	$7	8	A dream pairing with the Ramones.
The Dead Boys	Oct 14 1977	New Yorker Theatre	$7	8	Stiv Bators and the boys from Cleveland were regular visitors in Toronto, and this fine night they shared the stage with the Viletones and the Poles.
Tom Waits	Oct 20 1977	New Yorker Theatre	$8	8	In the midst of punk fever, Tom was always great to cool down with. Warm-up: Gary David
Be Bop Deluxe	June 20 1977	Seneca College	$6	5	I have never expected so much from a band based on their albums and been so shockingly disappointed by the live show. Bill Nelson: guitar god on vinyl, bum onstage. Warm-up: City Boy
Eddie & the Hot Rods	Oct 30 1977	Masonic Temple	$6	6	Pretty feisty American power rockers, with a slick warm-up by Teenage Head.
Queen	Nov 21 1977	Maple Leaf Gardens	$10	7	Another fine show by Mercury, May, Deacon and Meadows-Taylor, though not on the same level as the first time I saw them.
Jimmy Buffett & the Coral Reefer Band	Mar 17 1978	Maple Leaf Gardens	$8	7	It's a tribute to "Margaritaville" and Buffett's charisma that he could headline his own show at the Gardens. Nice one. Warm-up: The Good Brothers
The Jam	March 1978	Colonial Tavern	$4	8	The Colonial didn't get to see a lot of supercharged stuff like this in its long life. The Jam were always amazing. Warm-up: Battered Wives
Leroy Sibbles & Chalawa	April 1 1978	Horseshoe Tavern	$4	6	I interviewed Sibbles about this time for NOW magazine, utterly enjoyable while it was going on, excruciating when I found out later that my tape recorder handn't been working and I had to extract every quote from memory.
The Stranglers	Apr 14 1978	Horseshoe Tavern	$5	6	A dark and snarly evening hiding behind pitchers of beer. Warm-ups: Drastic Measures, Earth Roots & Water
Long John Baldry	Apr 22 1978	some bar in Guelph, Ontario	$2.50	5	Good stuff from the British bluesman who adopted Canada as his home. He died in 2005.
The Eagles	Aug 6 1978	CNE Stadium	$12	7	Back in the cosy Eagles nest. Warm-up: The excellent Little River Band
Linda Ronstadt	Aug 19 1978	Maple Leaf Gardens	$10	8	And more sunny California with the feisty Ms Ronstadt, in a really rousing show. Warm-up: Sweet Baby James' baby brother Livingston Taylor
Teenage Head	Aug 19 1978	Horseshoe Tavern	$4	7	After Linda, the bars were still open. Toronto's second-best punk outfit after the Viletones, and always good for a roiling, raging performance.
Toots & the Maytals	Aug 22 1978	Horseshoe Tavern	$4	7	Double dread. Warm-up: Leroy Sibbles & Ishan
David Johanssen	Oct 21 1978	El Mocambo	$4.50	7	A passionate show from the former New York Doll.
Devo	Oct 25 1978	El Mocambo	$4	6	Are we not men, indeed. Warm-up: Nash the Slash and his bizarre Invisible Man head bandaging.
Van Morrison	Oct 26 1978	O'Keefe Centre	$10	8	More sumptuous soul from Van the Man, plus a magnificent warm-up courtesy of Dave Edmunds' Rockpile, featuring Nick Lowe.
Jimmy Cliff	Nov 17 1978	Queen Elizabeth Building, CNE	$10	7	Great to finally see the star of "The Harder They Come", though I suspect he was a little off his best. Warm-up: Ernie Smith & Roots Revival

Goddo	Jan 28 1979	Way-Jay Club, Norval, Ontario	free	5	An evening's diversion near my hometown. Warm-up: The Battered Wives
Valdy	Feb 27 1979	Way-Jay Club, Norval, Ontario	free	5	Make that two evenings.
Peter Tosh	Mar 4 1979	Convocation Hall	$5	7	Reasonably good accounting from another third of the original Wailers. He sparked up a spliff onstage after a pointed warning from the fire marshal that no one was allowed to smoke. Warm-up: Exuma
John Cale	Mar 21 1979	The Edge	$5	7	More bass than the cello I'd have preferred, but admirable.
Teenage Head	Mar 23 1979	Larry's Hideaway tavern	$2	7	Top down with the teen-angers. Warm-up: Next
Second City Revue	Mar 29 1979	Way-Jay Club, Norval, Ontario	free	7	Yuks with a touring troupe from the company that forged most of "Saturday Night Live".
999	Mar 29 1979	The Edge	$?	7	Later that same day, punk-rollick with "Urry Up, Arry". Warm-up: The Demics
The B-Girls	Apr 7 1979	The Edge	free	5	Alright outing for the Toronto girl group.
The Jam	Apr 10 1979	New Music Hall	$10	8	A little more room for Paul Weller's power trio to flail away in.
Yes	Apr 20 1979	Maple Leaf Gardens	$10	8	I could watch these guys night after night. Wakeman back on board for "Future Times", "Long Distance Runaround" and "I've Seen All Good People".
Robert Gordon	May 19 1979	New Music Hall	$7.70	7	Hot rockabilly boogie from someone Springsteen looks up to. Warm-up: The B-Girls
The Mods	July 1979	Larry's Hideaway tavern	$3	6	Toronto's answer to the Jam, or was it the Who?
Truths & Rights	July 1979	The Edge	$2	6	Seems to me this was a homegrown reggae outfit, and pretty good too.
Secrets	Sept 14 1979	Larry's Hideaway tavern	free	5	An interesting band with at least one good album.
Crazy Cavan & the Rhythm Rockers	Oct 5 1979	The Edge	$4	8	Lively rockabilly romp with a British band that had a crowd of old rockers following them on tour.
Levi & the Rockats	October 1979	The Edge	$?	?	Who?
Tom Waits	October 1979	New Music Hall	$?	7	Unfortunately for me, by then Tom had begun listening to a different drummer and left his "Nighthawks at the Diner" days behind. Still great, though.
The Necessaries	Feb 20 1980	The Edge	$?	7	This interesting group was mostly interesting because they had the great Chris Spedding playing with them.
The Selecter	May 14 1980	Palais Royale	$8	7	Another British band to get ska back where it belonged, on the dancefloor. Warm-up: Leroy Sibbles
Jerry Jeff Walker	May 1980	Ontario Place Forum	$3	8	A terrific show with a hugely influential Texan songwriter I've always loved. The guy sits on God's left hand.
Third World	June 11 1980	Massey Hall	$11	8	Smooth rock reggae for Babylonians. It must have been 96 degrees. Warm-up: Inner Flame
The Plasmatics	May 10 1981	Concert Hall	$10	7	Pretty good show musically, even if the central point was looking at Wendy O Williams foamed-covered boobs. Thanks for sharing and RIP, Wendy.
The Jam	May 23 1981	Concert Hall	$10	8	Nice double-bill. Warm-up: Blue Peter
Icehouse	Sept 5 1981	El Mocambo	free	6	Good New Wave from Australia, a show I reviewed for NOW magazine.
Gary US Bonds	Sept 10 1981	Concert Hall	free	7	Another reviewed show for which NOW picked up the tab. Bonds was riding Springsteen's coattails at the time. Warm-up: The Danny Marks Trio
The Kinks	Sept 25 1981	Maple Leaf Gardens	$13	8	Dancing with the Davieses. Opening act Red Rider were a big part of the draw, a Canadian band whose singer, Tom Cochrane, I got to know as a buddy of NOW publisher Mike Hollett.
Duran Duran	Sept 26 1981	El Mocambo	free	8	Also covered for NOW magazine. The blokes demonstrated that they could rock very well indeed before they forgot what good music was about.
Ian Hunter	Oct 4 1981	O'Keefe Centre	free	7	I blew my chance to interview Hunter when I couldn't find his hotel, but the show was thoughtful and entertaining.
The English Beat	Oct 16 1981	Concert Hall	free	8	Interviewed guitarist Andy Cox and bassist David Steele for NOW, not knowing of course that I was looking at two-thirds of the future Fine Young Cannibals. Warm-up: The Off
David Lindley & El Rayo-X	Oct 18 1981	Stars nightclub, Brampton, Ontario	$5	8	Jackson Browne's guitarist was, probably still is, some sort of demi-god.
The Mighty Diamonds	Mar 20 1982	Holiday Inn, downtown Toronto	$?	7	The best non-famous reggae band in history in an odd venue, still pulling off great harmonies.
Red Rider	July 1982	Palais Royale	$8	7	NOW magazine's second-anniversary party.
"Police Picnic #3"	Aug 5 1983	CNE Stadium	$10	8	A terrific lineup: The Police, Peter Tosh and James Brown.
Simple Minds	June 5 1984	Massey Hall	$13	8	One powerful show by Jim Kerr et al.
Acton Rock Festival	Aug 4 1984	Prospect Park, Acton, Ontario	free	8	I'm still amazed that the folks in the little burg next to my hometown managed to pull this off, even if they did take a bath because hardly anyone came to see the great roster: Bo Diddley, Long John Baldry, Rompin' Ronnie Hawkins, the Paul James Band, Pattie Janetta, the Grotty Beats, the Backbeats and Pearl City.
Simple Minds	Nov 8 1985	Maple Leaf Gardens	$18.50	8	Why not more Scottish anthems? Cracking good drummer!
The Mission	Apr 16 1986	RPM club	$15	8	Amazing double-bill of pounding trance rock with Balaam & the Angel.
Jackson Browne	July 8 1986	Kingswood Music Theatre, Maple, Ontario	$15	?	You know what? I do not remember this show at all. Must have been some heavy-duty distractions at Canada's Wonderland.
Billy Bragg	July 30 1987	Concert Hall	$17	7	Some fine rabble-rousing for us working-class stiffs.
Siouxsie & the Banshees	Aug 12 1987	Kingswood Music Theatre, Maple, Ontario	free	6	I reckon Siouxsie, Budgie and Steve Severin had seen better days. Warm-up: Julian Cope
The Pursuit of Happiness	Sept 3 1987	RPM club	free	8	Moe Berg's immensely promising band were cruising on the strength of "I'm an Adult Now" when I saw them at NOW Magazine seventh-anniversary party, and Blue Rodeo, soon to eclipse them, warmed up along with Rang Tango.
Tom Waits	Oct 18 1987	Massey Hall	$25.50	7	Tom Waits for no man. (Or has that been used?)
Gene Loves Jezebel	Feb 3 1988	Concert Hall	$19	8	A packed menu of catchy licks and steaming rock with Flesh for Lulu opening.
The Church	Mar 16 1988	Diamond club	$11.50	8	The Church were a great band, perfectly in synch with the era. Warm-up: 13 Engines
Tweedle Street Blues Band	Mar 25 1988	Night Crossing pub, Georgetown, Ontario	free	4	Must have been someone I knew in my hometown.
Love & Rockets	Apr 21 1988	Concert Hall	$21.50	7	The rest of Bauhaus finally heard from, and a polished show it was too. Warm-up: The Mighty Lemon Drops
St Xavier	July 1 1988	Glen Williams, Ontario	free	6	Local band makes good at my hometown's Canada Day party, with a wicked guitarist playing the national anthem.
The Native Spirit Band	Sept 1 1988	RPM club	free	3	NOW magazine's eighth-anniversary party.
St Xavier	Sept 9 1988	Georgetown Fall Fair	$3	4	A smalltown crowd covered in candy floss.
Toronto Symphony Orchestra	Feb 5 1989	Roy Thomson Hall	free	6	Gotta get some class once in a while.
Violent Femmes	July 14 1989	Kingswood Music Theatre, Maple, Ontario	$16.50	7	A damn fine band, but what the hell were the amazing Pogues doing warming up?
Kevin Head	Aug 11-12 1989	Aunt Lucy's restaurant/tavern, Kingston, Ontario	free	8	Catching up again with an old pal.
Ringo Starr & the All-Stars	Aug 19 1989	CNE Grandstand	$?	7	A fun but sloppily paced show: Joe Walsh, Dr John, Billy Preston, Nils Lofgren, Clarence Clemons, Rick Danko, Levon Helm and Jim Keltner helping the uncute Beatle tend his octopus' garden.
The Call	Aug 23 1989	Wonderland International Showplace	$11	6	Good, as they say, but not great. Warm-up: The Peregrines
Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers	Sept 10 1989	Superstars club, Mississauga, Ontario	$25.30	7	It may have been Ziggy and his siblings who put me off concerts. He sounded so much like his dad I was in cross-generational shock.
Michie Mee	Sept 14 1989	Diamond club	free	3	Another NOW magazine anniversary party. Warm-ups: Adrian Miller, the Touchtones
The Waterboys	Oct 12 1989	Concert Hall	$22.75	7	A great show, but I figure with all their amazing material they could have done a lot better.
Roger McGuinn	June 28 1990	Ontario Place	$13.50	6	A decent performance by the ex-Byrd.
Kitaro	Sept 14 2004	BEC-Tero Hall, Bangkok	free	2	Dreadful, artless noise. Check out my review for The Nation.

THIS PAGE BEGAN AS A BLOGSOME BLOG. GET ONE HERE.

I used to go to a lot of concerts back in the '70s and '80s and was lucky enough to catch many great ones, some of which I actually remember. Thank God I wrote everything down.

YEP, SAW THAT TOO, or "I Have a Ticket Stub So I Must Have Been There" (in chronological order)