album art

Artist:

Tom Waits

Song:

What's He Building?

Album: 

Mule Variations

Year: 

1999

Buy this song from:
About The Artist

Tom Waits started out in the early 1970s as a piano-based barroom balladeer with a penchant for beat poetry and West Coast jazz. By the late '80s...
read more

Definitive Albums
Contemporaries
Influences
Followers

David | MEMORY FROM 1999

Don't Stop Mesmerizing

LOCATION: Beacon Theatre , New York City

YEAR: 1999

TAGS: Concerts, Beacon Theatre

PUBLISHED: January 11, 2008

Here is another memory dedicated to not truly grasping an artist until you witness them live. A colleague of mine asked me some years ago if I wanted to go with him to see Tom Waits, who rarely tours. I was into the idea, until I learned that tickets were around $100, unscalped. And while that is probably the 1999 equivalent of $35 in 2008 for concert tickets, it seemed like a lot for someone I did not follow religiously.

But when the show started, it was hard to believe it was really happening. He and his band were unbelievable. Just completely stellar. Like watching a version of Neil Young on acid.

After the show I was driven to purchase the bulk of his discography which I've enjoyed since.

But it makes you wonder... after some decades when Tom and Neil are no longer available to tour, who are today's performers who will captivate us tomorrow?

Add a Comment
COMMENTS (3)
David said: By the way... Tom, when's the next tour? (1/16/2008)

reply

sunshinelikeacid said: Its pretty sweet that you were there. (4/14/2008)

reply

kathyp said: Tom Waits just announced a few dates, and at least where I am, the cheapest seats are going for $70. (The good ones are about $100.) That's still pricey -- in 1999 or 2008 dollars. (5/10/2008)

reply

Add a New Comment:



Reproduction, publication, or public exhibition of materials provided at this site is prohibited. Music data provided by MuzeMusicTM and Essential ArtistsTM Copyright 2008 Muze©.