Live Music 2024

“If you ever wonder just how to shake your blues, just follow this prescription and get the cure for what’s ailing you. Music is the doctor; makes you feel like you want to. Listen to the doctor, just like you ought to. I said music is the doctor of my soul” – Doobie Brothers

Last year I had the pleasure of meeting musician friends for lunch each week (50 in all). As I mentioned to each one of them, live music always makes me feel good, and helps me forget about anything else that is stressing me out at the time. In 2024 I look forward to another great year of live music. I won’t post about every show I go to- there will be way too many. But I have to highlight my first live show of the year, featuring three of my former lunch guests- Cliff Hillis, Greg Maragos, and John Faye. It was great to start the year at one of our favorite local venues- the Steel City Coffeehouse in Phoenixville PA, along with so many friends we haven’t seen in a while. John Faye got things off to an awesome start, highlighting songs from his upcoming new release. I especially loved the hard rocking “Sell Your Soul as an NFT”, and my new favorite John Faye song, the beautifully poignant “Harm’s Way”. I can’t wait for the new record to come out! John ended with Cliff joining him for their IKE classic, the popular “Into Philadelphia”. Then Cliff Hillis and the Forward Thinkers took over with a fantastic 90-minute set, including “Turn on a Dime” featuring the epic line he sings whenever I’m in the audience- “beneath the Mesopotamian Sun and the Jack Leitmeyerian moon, you rushed slow and you got here soon”. Cracks me up! Another highlight was “Dashboard”, with Greg Maragos’ haunting bass line, which I get stuck in my head for days every time I hear the song. Then Cliff and the boys rocked out to another favorite of mine “Twin Sisters”, which I hadn’t heard in quite a while, and we were dancing in our seats for “Buddha’s Belly”. The band ended with killer covers of REM’s “Radio Free Europe”, and Social Distortion’s “Ball and Chain”, with John joining them. It was a great night of music helping kick off my 2024 concert season!