Lenny Kravitz opened for The Cult on this tour, and I remember his performance being far superior to The Cult's.

Before he became LENNY KRAVITZ, Lenny Kravitz was a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter. His debut album, "Let Love Rule" was (and is) an amazing album for any artist to release, let alone a brand-new artist. There weren't many "radio friendly" hits on the album, but has sold nearly 3 million units worldwide.

His follow-up "Mama Said" contains many hits, and is likely the album that introduced you to Lenny. The singles "Always On the Run", "It Ain't Over 'til it's Over" and "Fields of Joy" were huge. His next album "Are You Gonna Go My Way" was even bigger. He's a talented dude.

I felt bad for The Cult having to follow such an amazing performance. Lenny (and his band) really blew them off the stage.
 
The Cult was touring following the release of their fifth album, "Ceremony". I remember playing "Wild Hearted Son" at 89x quite often.

But that was their second single with the word "Wild" in the title. That kind thing bugs me (perhaps irrationally). After this album, my interest in The Cult quickly disappeared. It's not that I suddenly thought they were bad, I just grew tired of their signature sound.

This was the first of two shows the artists played in Detroit. The seats at the Fox were not filled.  This same night, next door at the State Theatre, there was a musical concert tribute happening for Detroit music legend, Rob Tyner of the MC5. There were many guest stars, and it was a really special night. But that's not where I was.

I blocked out a lot of what happened at the show at the Fox, because my future ex-wife and I got into an arguem... er... "discussion" after Lenny's set. I don't recall all the details, but it started somewhere around me not noticing pretty nail polish.

After all these years of maturing, I now realize that there were other issues behind the arguem... er... "discussion". But at 21 years-old, it was about nail polish. So I was confused and bummed for most of the rest of the night.

Don't worry about us. We have since made up, and then got divorced. But still, I don't think it was because of this concert.

With all that happening, the main thing I took away from the show was that Lenny Kravitz is a very talented performer. Oh, and guys... check out your lady's nail polish once in a while.

The album Synchronicity by The Police was released in June of 1983. It was huge. The songs "King of Pain", "Wrapped Around Your Finger" and "Every Breath You Take" are all from that album, and it was a huge success. 

Christmas of 1983, I got Synchronicity from my parents, along with a cassette / record player combo. I fell in love with that record player and The Police. They had a sound that appealed to a budding music student like me. Interesting lyrics and fascinating musical arrangements had me hooked.

It was my first Police album, and over the course of the next few months, I bought each album (coincidentally in reverse chronological order), and discovered that the further you went back, the more interesting The Police became.

So many of us are familiar with (and tired of) songs like "Roxanne" and "Message in a Bottle". But some of the deeper album cuts are so much better.

When I was fourteen, I wanted to be Sting. No, seriously.  I asked my mom once if I might have high cheekbones one day like Sting. She said I might. (I don't, but that's ok, mom. I have a fuller hairline than him.) I can still imitate the exact pose that he had in the Police poster on my wall. (meet me in person, and I'll show you!)

I had T-shirts, buttons, cloth banners and even a school folder featuring The Police. I saw the movies Dune, Brimstone & Treacle and The Bride, simply because Sting was in them. I saw "The Police: Synchronicity" and "Bring on the Night" concert films at the theater. I bought every piece of Police memorabilia that I could afford on my paperboy's wages.

I was kind of a fan.

Just about the very second I became such a huge fan, The Police broke up. The huge success of the Synchronicity album pulled them apart.

Fortunately for us Police fans, Sting soon released his first solo effort, The Dream of the Blue Turtles. Just as I typed those words, I realized that I haven't actually listened to it in a long time. In fact, I don't even think I own it on CD. 

My mom drove me to K-Mart to buy the cassette. One of the first things I noticed before even opening it, was that the song "Shadows in the Rain" appeared as the last song. But that's a Police song from the 1980 Zenyatta Mondatta album. That blew my teenage mind!

Sting's first solo album is filled with catchy, jazzy tunes, including "If You Love Somebody" and the rearrangement of "Shadows". I was fine with that, since I knew that Sting loved Jazz. The album is fun and exciting and full of solo Sting potential.

So now I was a Solo Sting fan, as was my friend Dave, who went to this concert with me.

This has been my only visit to Masonic Temple in Detroit to date. It was the first of two shows he performed there. I saw Sting at the Palace later this same year. I ended up seeing him a total of three times, plus the Police reunion tour.

Seeing your favorite artist multiple times can have a downside. You start to see their "tricks". Ever hear Sting sing "Message In a Bottle" or "Roxanne" live? He uses a slightly different arrangement than the album versions, but it's always the same "new and different" way. Every. Single. Time. 

But that issue wasn't an issue the first time I saw him. His massive, multi-talented backup band was amazing. The show was full of energy as he went through the Police back catalog and the new solo stuff.The thing I remember most from the show is that the venue discouraged dancing. Every time we stood up to jam out and enjoy the show, they'd shine a flashlight in our face to have us sit down.

It was a nice place to see a show. Had I realized I'd never be back, I'd have paid more attention to interior of the venue.

My love for Sting slowly waned from album to album. I can't even tell you the name of any of his last few releases. He changed his style, which every performer has the right to do, so I ain't mad at him... except for one thing. There was one little misstep that changed my relationship with him forever.

Remember, this guy helped form my musical tastes in my teen years. Those years are when so many people find their favorites that will stick with them for life.

So it made me a little sad, when in 1993 the guy that wrote this:

Did THIS:

That's when he lost me.

I still enjoy the occasional new Sting song now and then. I really liked the album "Ten Summoner's Tales", and more recently, "Brand New Day". But I very rarely listen to a Sting tune, and only occasionally find myself revisiting The Police.

Like I said, I ain't mad at him. And I appreciate what The Police did for my teenage self. 

Keep checking back through the year for reviews of the other times I saw Sting. Have you seen him? Were you at this show? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

February 14th was (and probably still is) my future ex-wife's birthday, so she was never a big fan of Valentine's Day. We always focussed on her birthday instead. To celebrate in 1991, I took her to see my all-time favorite band at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, MI (although she probably drove).

But I have a predicament.

I'm getting Replacements shows mixed up in my mind.

It's a good thing I kept so many stubs. Without a Facebook record or digital pictures, I feel like some of these shows would completely vanish from my skull.

I saw The Replacements three times in the course of a couple of years. Twenty-one years ago. 

I really don't know which memories apply to which shows. In particular, two of them are intertwined: a show in July 1991, and this show from February. I'm not sure how to handle this, except to tell you what I think happened.

But to understand my main Replacements story, you need to understand my Replacements history.

The Replacements formed in Minnesota in 1979. They pioneered indy-garage rock by doing absolutely doing nothing more than having fun while performing and writing great songs. 

They were sloppy drunk on stage and in the studio. Sometimes they wouldn't even finish a show. The audience would boo them off the stage. I once had a bootleg LP of a show they tried to perform in New York. It was a complete disaster, and I wish someone hadn't stolen that from me so I could share some clips.

They were known as unreliable and uninterested in fame. And they would have gotten away with it, too if it wasn't for Paul Westerberg's lyrics. They were clever, sad, touching and funny.

Before I had a driver's license, my pal Mike occasionally drove me school and introduced me to The 'mats (their nickname (short for 'placemats', duh)) around the time of their album "Tim". 

It was their first major-label album, but I wasn't really aware of that kind of a transition, I just knew I liked 'em.  I borrowed and recorded cassette tapes to build my library. (I eventually ended up paying for it all, some of twice, ok? They got their money out of me. Eventually.)

To this day, I still love crunchy guitars and clever vocals sung with passion. I have no doubt that The Replacements are the main reason for that pocket of my musical tastes.

With all that said, my memories are becoming clearer about these shows. The February show was definitely the "less eventful" of the two that I have mixed up, but I already typed all of the above. That's how this blog works: me throwing my thoughts at you and not taking them back if they're wrong.

Looking at the seat location of each, I definitely remember being bummed out in the Mezzanine of the July show instead of the Main Floor of this one.

I have only vague memories of the songs played. I think there may have been an acoustic version of "Here Comes A Regular" for which the audience had to supply some of the lyrics.

Or maybe I heard a recorded version of that. Memories are weird.

This show was fun, but fairly uneventful, so now I feel like I misled you at the beginning of this post. Sorry about that. 

But fret not! I have two more shows in February to share. Recaps of those shows will reveal more about my personality than I'd like. And in July, when I get to the other 1991 Replacements show, you'll get to know my loser side even better.

Ever see The Replacements? Were you at this show? Share in the comments below!

John Wesley Harding and The Ocean Blue opened for The Mighty Lemon Drops at St. Andrew's Hall in Detroit. Total price for each ticket: $13.50.

Some of these re-caps are difficult because I don't remember a lot of details about some of the shows, such as specific songs. This show was 22 years ago. That's more than half my life, so I hope I can be forgiven for some of the occasional vague details.

I do have feelings about most of the tickets I have. The thing I recall most about this show was that it was a lot of fun, and it was a good night.

Like many of the shows I'll cover, I was there with my future ex-wife. At this point we'd known each other for about a year, and we were excited to see these bands.

As I mentioned in my Ministry recap, I had to do much of my musical education on my own. I found myself drawn to British artists like Elvis Costello, Echo and the Bunnymen, and The Mighty Lemon Drops.

We were (and, I suppose, still are) fans of The Ocean Blue. Although they were from Hershey, PA, they shared the jangly Brit-pop guitar sound with The Mighty Lemon Drops. So they were a good fit.

During their set, they threw out Hershey's Kisses ('cause that's where they're from, get it?). I don't recall catching any of them. 

We had great seats, though. I haven't been to St. Andrew's Hall in a while (I'll be going back soon), so I don't know if the upper level is open anymore, but it was then. We got there early enough that we were just to the right of the stage in that balcony level. So we were just feet away, looking down from above, in seats. Comfy.

I don't recall being familiar with John Wesley Harding before we saw him, but it's possible we knew who he was. We worked at a record store, and we were hip to new stuff. (And I would meet him a little over a year later, but that'll be a story for the Radio Bucket)

I do remember that he did an acoustic version of Madonna's "Like A Prayer". Which at the time was pretty Novel and Awesome. Nowadays, it's pretty common for an "alternative" artist to do their own versions of pop songs. 

It's irony or something.

Like I said at the beginning, I don't remember tons of details, but I remember it was a good time, and I bought a Mighty Lemon Drops T-shirt that I wore until it wore through. 

I'm sure there's a photo of me somewhere wearing it, but I'm still waiting on getting that box back from my baby mama. 

Were you a fan of these bands? Or St. Andrew's Hall? Were you at this show? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!