Van Halen Ticket (11/6/07) and 15-40.org Sticker

I would have blogged about this Van Halen ticket on the 6^th, but I was away from the then powerless Hope Lodge. Four years ago, when I had just started working at the Lodge, I was able to go out at night with any guests who wanted to do something. We went to movies, hockey games, and the occasional concert. The rational was that we weren’t a medical facility so if there was an emergency, anyone at the Lodge could dial 911 just as easily as I could.

So, when a guest told me he wanted to go see Van Halen, I told him I would be glad to. It was a great show (see set list), and the first time I had ever seen VH. David Lee Roth was back touring with the band, and Eddie’s son Wolfgang played bass in place of Michael Anthony. They rocked the place, and for a couple of hours the Hope Lodge guest and I forgot about cancer.

Even though I can no longer leave Hope Lodge to do evening activities with the guests (unless everyone goes), we still have fun sharing stories, watching movies, and playing games. And even though I love working here, I try to do as much as I can to fight cancer.

Lately I’ve been working with 15-40.org to raise awareness and share my story. Last week, I spoke to students at the Bancroft School in Worcester, and told them how I learned to listen to my body and not ignore symptoms. The Worcester Sharks are having a 15-40 night on January 7^th, and today I helped shoot a video promo for the game with Sharks (and former BC) player Nick Petrecki and Stephanie, another 15-40 spokesperson. It was a lot of fun, and everyone left with new15-40 gear (like this sticker), and they had Sharks hats for Stephanie and me. Keep your eye out for the video at Sharks games in December, and buy your tickets for the January 7^th game!

Chieftans and Great Big Sea Tickets (2009, 2006)

If you like Celtic music and haven’t seen either of these bands, you should do what you can to change it. I’ve seen Great Big Sea a bunch of times (see other GBS tickets), but the Paddy Maloney and Chieftans show was my first time seeing them (hopefully not the last). If you’ve never experienced a night of Celtic music and live in Massachusetts, check out the free Westborough Session every Thursday night at Mulligan’s – you can thank me later.

Live Ticket, At The Live Show Poem, III Sides to Every Poem (9/21/07, 9/23/07, 2009)

Even though Pearl Jam dominated my ears when I was in college, the band Live did leave an impression. When I went to see them with my “lawyer friend” 4 years ago, they did not disappoint (Collective Soul was pretty damn good, too).

A couple of days later, I wrote down these words that came to me during the show. I haven’t written many poems like this recently, which is a good thing because I usually use poetry as an outlet for the darker emotions. This poem made it into my third volume,III Sides to Every Poem. Hope you enjoy…

Picture of Motley Crue and The Dirt book autographed by Vince Neil (1988, 2001)

I remember when my older brother showed me his Motley Crue Shout at the Devil LP. I couldn’t believe the picture of the band inside, but was blown away when I heard the first two tracks - In the Beginning and Shout at the Devil. The music was heavier and meaner than Van Halen, and I liked it a lot. I remember being one of only a few students in my 5^th grade class who knew about Vince Neil’s car crash in December of 1984. This was before we had cable/MTV, so I think we all thought that The Crue was over. Through the magic of being a rock star and money, Vince only went to jail for 30 days and the band continued. In my 10-year-old mind, I figured what he didn’t must not have been that bad if he only had to be in jail for a month – and I was happy they didn’t break up. The next summer, my brother got Theatre of Pain and brought it up to PEI. We listened to it just about every day, and “Home Sweet Home” quickly became the favorite with my siblings and me. When Girls, Girls, Girls came out a couple of years later, I made sure I had a copy the day it was released. I don’t know how many other 7^th graders with straight A’s walked around playing the new Crue album at school on the last day (they let us do this as long as we were outside), but I was one of them.

That summer, my older brother did something that would change me forever: Motley Crue was touring, and he took me to my first concert at the Centrum in Worcester. Not only did it quickly make The Crue my favorite band; it made going to concerts one of my favorite things to do. Like I wrote on my blog about meeting Nikki Sixx, I remember hearing about Nikki’s overdose. It was the winter after that first show, and (again because of the time and slow news travel) the rumor was that Nikki had died. Of course he had died for a couple of minutes, but the news of his “kickstart” didn’t reach me until later that day. I remember being relieved and pissed at the same time. I thought “Dancing on Glass” meant not doing drugs anymore, and was upset that Nikki would put his life on the line like that. But, I was happy to find out he was okay, and hoped the close call would make him stop.

And in the summer of 1988, I hung up this picture by my bed in Prince Edward Island. My brothers, sisters, and I often bought “metal mags” to keep up with our rock heroes. I don’t know if this came out of Metal Edge, Circus, Hit Parader, or Rip, but I’m sure it was one of them. We didn’t have the internet, we had magazines.

My older sister got me this autographed copy of The Dirt, and I just finished reading it again yesterday. Say what you will about Motley’s music, this book makes it clear to me that these 4 people were meant to be in a band together. They all have demons that differ in size and shape, and the way they dealt with them was through rock, chemicals, and sex. It’s really a miracle they survived through it all, and pretty amazing that after all the drama, breakups, and headlines, they still put out a kick-ass album a few years ago (Saints of Los Angeles). If you are (or were) a fan of this band, The Dirt is a must read. And if you don’t like the song Home Sweet Home, shame on you…

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Tickets for Tonight

Heading up to Hampton Beach today for some sand, water, wiffle, arcades, and Kenny Wayne Shepard at the Casino Ballroom. Then it’s off to PEI to see The Cup with Adam McQuaid!

Free Incubus Tickets (9/9/11)

These tickets are worth over $100, but today I got them for free. All I had to do was donate some blood at the WAAF / Red Cross blood drive.

I know some people (including WAAF DJ Greg Hill – I gave him crap when I saw him eating the post-donation snacks without making a donation!) cringe at the thought of needles and blood, but donating is a simple way everyone can help someone in need. And it gets easier every time you do it.

If you’ve never donated, all you have to do is go the Red Cross website, sign up, and make an appointment. On September 11^th, they are having a Day of Remembrance Blood Drive at Fenway Park, which I went to last year.

Looking forward to seeing Incubus on the 9^th and hearing them play this:

Thanks, Red Cross and WAAF!

Picture with Jani Lane (December, 1989)

In December of 1989, my sister Carolyn helped my friend Mike and me on a simple mission: Meet Motley Crue.

We set out to the Sheraton Hotel, across the street from Lincoln Plaza in Worcester, because that’s where most of the bands stayed at when they played at The Centrum.

Vince, Nikki, Tommy, and Mick never came out, but Jani Lane did (Warrant was the opening act for Motley’s Dr. Feelgood Tour).

Even though it appeared he had just crawled out of bed, he was really nice to us. He posed for pictures, gave autographs, and talked to everyone that was there right up until his tour manager told him it was time to go.

Luckily, I came equipped with my Levi’s winter jacket, RIP t-shirt, and Polaroid camera to capture it all. I wasn’t a huge Warrant fan when I woke up that morning, but when you meet a rock star and they take the time to actually talk to you and don’t leave until everyone gets a signature/picture (see also Tom Keifer), it’s hard not to become a bigger fan.

I ended up meeting Nikki Sixx at a book signing this past May, and that was pretty thrilling. But, it was controlled and a quick, 15-second, “Hi, nice to meet you”, and walking away before you can really talk meeting – I was also 37.

When I met Jani, I was 15 years old and it was more like “hanging out” than waiting for a 15-second “hi and goodbye”. It was also a time when Warrant videos were getting high rotation on MTV, and he signed with a “69” which I thought was hilarious. We may have not met The Crue that day, but we definitely went to the concert happy.

Rest in Peace, Jani. You may be gone, but your songs will certainly live on and make all the hair metalheads of my generation feel young every time they hear them. Thanks for making me a fan almost 22 years ago…

Pictures with Bret Michaels and Rikki Rocket (1999)

I know, you’re jealous…

Before I got these sweet Poison After Show Passes in 2000 and 2001, I met (thanks to my sister Carolyn) Bret and Rikki after a show in 1999. Even though the poster I’m holding says “Poison 2000”, I know this is from ’99 because I had them sign the poster to the special ed students I was teaching that summer. I wore my Subrosa t-shirt to follow the unwritten rule that you shouldn’t wear the t-shirt of the band you’re seeing (or a Baseball Hall of Fame shirt, for that matter). It was a fun show and a great time meeting Bret and Rikki…thanks, Ca!

Jack Johnson Ticket (7/10/10)

A year ago tonight, I was wearing this “I want to be inside you.” t-shirt and was enjoying the tunes of Jack Johnson. Check him out if you haven’t…he’s good.

Great Big Sea Tickets

The main reason I went up to PEI last year on Canada Day was that one of my favorite bands, Great Big Sea, had a concert on July 3^rd. Although I had seen them several times before (these aren’t all my GBS tickets, just the ones I could find), I was excited to finally see them up in Canada.

GBS are pretty well known in the Boston/New England area, but they are HUGE in Canada. Their last 7 albums have all cracked the top ten in the Canadian charts, including hitting #1 for their 2002 album Sea of No Cares (Two interesting things about SONC – it was the first GBS album I ever listened to (thanks to my then girlfriend), and many of the songs were co-written by Boston-based musician Chris Trapper).

Even though the GBS boys put on a great show (as they always do), I was a bit disappointed with the crowd (even though many people commented that they loved the “I Heart My Vagina” t-shirt I was wearing). When I see Great Big Sea in Massachusetts, everyone at the show knows every single song and sings along for every single song. When I saw GBS in PEI, I could tell there were a lot of people there that weren’t diehard fans that bought every CD and knew all the songs. They sung along to most of the older ones, but didn’t know most of the songs from GBS’ past 3-4 albums.

I was still very happy to see all the GBS b’ys up on The Island, and am looking forward to their next show in Boston.

There will definitely be plenty of Great Big Sea songs played at Skating for Hope…which is 4 WEEKS AWAY!!!

Dispatch Ticket for Tonight

This will be my first Dispatch show tonight. Even though I’m more familiar with Chad Stokes’ work with State Radio, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the show with my friend (and huge Dispatch/State Radio fan) Cailin. Not sure if we’re going to get there to see opening act Young the Giant, but I’m betting it’s going to be a good time.

Summer may not have hockey (sad face), but it has plenty of live music…

PS – 6 months until Christmas.

Motley Crue TIcket and This is Gonna Hurt Book Autographed by Nikki Sixx

Five weeks ago tonight, I had just two things on my mind: Meeting Nikki Sixx and the Bruins Game 4 against the Flyers…

I remember when my older brother first showed me inside the Shout at the Devil record. I couldn’t believe my eyes. To that point, The Beatles were the only band I had listened to (I was 10), and even though I didn’t get the full meaning to all their songs, at least they didn’t look like that! “Dave,” my brother assured me, “Just listen.” Even though “In the Beginning” had me wondering what the hell I was listening to, “Shout at the Devil” blew me away, and would change the course of my musical taste for the rest of my life.

Even though there weren’t too many “metal heads” in my 5^th grade class, I remember talking to my classmate Todd after hearing about Vince Neil’s accident on December 8, 1984. We were wondering how much it would affect the band. My brother was a huge Hanoi Rocks fan too, and was (wisely) more concerned about its effect on them than Motley. It’s amazing to think of how much the way news travels has changed since then, and often overlooked are the two people that Vince paralyzed.

I remember being excited to hear Theatre of Pain when it came out. My older brother got it the day it came out, and we listened to it just about every day that summer up in Prince Edward Island.

I remember seeing “Home Sweet Home” as the #1 video on MTV every day for months and months until they changed the rule and limited the time songs could be #1 down to 3 months.

I remember going to my first concert. Whitesnake opened for The Crue at The Centrum in Worcester. There was pyro, scantily clad women on the stage, and Tommy Lee’s drum set spun upside-down, and around and around. I was hooked, and knew I would be seeing The Crue and other bands live…a lot.

I remember hearing about Nikki’s overdose. It was the winter after that first show, and (again because of the time and slow news travel) the rumor was that Nikki had died. Of course he had died for a couple of minutes, but the news of his “kickstart” didn’t reach me until later that day. I remember being relieved and pissed at the same time. I thought “Dancing on Glass” meant not doing drugs anymore, and was upset that Nikki would put his life on the line like that. But, I was happy to find out he was okay, and hoped the close call would make him stop.

I remember following The Crue in metal magazines and on MTV, buying their albums, and going to their shows. Even when I went to college and grunge took over the 80s metal scene, I defended my metal bands and still listened to them along with my newly purchased Ten by Pearl Jam.

I remember seeing Motley Crue play live back in 2006, when they opened for Aerosmith at Great Woods (it will always be called this to me) in Mansfield, MA. Crue AND Aerosmith? I would like to tell you that it was the best concert I’ve ever been to, but Vince’s voice flat-out sucked that night. He apologized, and I don’t think Steven Tyler thanked Motley for opening. Hey, one bad show out of a bunch isn’t bad.

I remember being excited to hear and read Nikki’s Heroin Diaries CD and book. Not surprisingly, both rocked and I was glad to see that after he cleaned up his act, Nikki hadn’t lost his edge.

I remember reading online about Nikki’s book signing in Boston. I knew I wanted to be there, no matter how long I had to wait. My older sister and I got to the bookstore a little before 4:00, and waited until almost 8:00 for our moment at the head of the line.

I had already written Nikki a note in front of my latest book, Episode IV Play, thanking him for his music and words that I had enjoyed over the years. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to say as I approached the table, but I remember telling him I had something to give him, thanking him, and asking if he’d sign my first concert ticket. Meeting Nikki was over in a matter of seconds, but it was well worth the wait.

I included my contact info in my book, but I’ve yet to hear back from Nikki (not that I expected it, but hey, I’m a dreamer). Maybe he didn’t even read the book; maybe he was upset I didn’t thank him on the back cover, maybe he forgot about the book, I’ll never know. I just hope at the very least he enjoys fans giving back something…

Oh yeah, Go B’s!

Boston Globe Article About Glen Goland and U2 and U2 Tickets (2001, 2005, 2009)

Dear U2,

I am writing to tell you about one of your biggest fans. His name is Glen Goland, and he has been an amazing friend to me over the years.

He has been there for me when times were tough medically, emotionally, and professionally. When times have been good, he’s been there to share countless laughs with me. He also took me to my first U2 shows in 2005 and 2009, and (not surprisingly) we had a blast.

Last year, Glen moved across the country with his wife. Before he left, he game me his iPhone, MacBook, snowboard, and a lot of other things he decided he didn’t really need.

In 2003, he began giving me a gift that far surpasses all the others. He started teaching me how to play guitar.

Thanks to Glen, I was able to be online every day last year and this year to publish my daily blogs. I am also able to pick up a guitar and strum a lot of my favorite songs thanks to him.

Ten years ago tonight, you had a show in Boston and invited Glen up on stage to play with you. Although the concert was recorded for a DVD, the footage of Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” was not included because it wasn’t a U2 original.

I’m writing to you because I think Glen deserves a copy of this special moment. It wasn’t on the DVD, but I’m sure the footage exists. If you’re afraid that Glen might try to profit from this video (even though I assure you he’s not the type of person who would; he would just watch it 4,352 times in a row), then I suggest you have someone post it on YouTube. If everyone has access to it, no one can profit from it.

Glen has given me more than I could ask for in a friend, and has given you everything you deserve in a fan.

It’s time to give back.

Thanks,

Dave McGrath

PS – Go Bruins!

Tom Petty, Cinderella, Black Crowes Tickets

I’m lucky to have a friend like Carl. We look out for each other, share countless laughs with each other, and refuse to grow up together.

Although we love to argue about the superiority of his favorite band (Queensryche) and mine (Extreme and Pearl Jam), there are many bands that we share a love for.

Six years ago, we went to one of the best concerts I’ve ever attended. The Black Crowes opened for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at Great Woods in Mansfield, MA. Two bands that know how to rock, brought it the whole night, and left the crowd satisfied.

Carl and I usually catch “The Crowes” whenever they are in the Boston area, and we went to see them two years ago as well. I have yet to see these guys live and left the show thinking I didn’t get my money’s worth.

I am a child of the 80s, and I played Cinderella tapes 328 times in the late 80s and into the early 90s. And when I met singer Tom Keifer in 1990, he did not get onto the tour bus until making sure everyone that wanted an autograph or picture got one. Even though they have gone from headlining Great Woods to playing at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, I’m glad these guys are still touring.

Looking forward to another Cinderella show this summer, and my first Queensryche show…

GO BRUNS!!!!!

Pearl Jam Tickets

I’m not the biggest fan of the warmer months.

My skin was not made for the Sun. I always get the highest SPF even though I know after a certain number it doesn’t matter. I actually want to come out with my own brand that just says “Irish”.

My Crohn’s doesn’t like hot and humid weather. Some days, my energy is so low that I just want to lie down with the A/C on full blast.

There’s no hockey. Every year, I wait between the last game of the Stanley Cup Finals and the first game of the next season. And no summer in my lifetime has included a Bruins Stanley Cup Parade (yet).

But, I always try to look on the bright side of things. Just about every summer, I go to PEI. It’s not nearly as hot and humid as Massachusetts and takes many of life’s stresses away. I also go to concerts during these warmer months. Even though less temporary than The Island, they also remove any worries that might be rattling around in my brain.

I’m not sure exactly how many concerts I’ve been to, but I know Pearl Jam is on the list of bands I’ve seen the most. Pearl Jam, Extreme, and Great Big Sea are my top 3, and of those I would have to say Pearl Jam is my favorite to see live. And I obviously love seeing Extreme and GBS concerts too, but there’s just something about a PJ show...

Even though I heard Pearl Jam on the radio when I was a senior in high school (Ten was released August 27, 1991), they really didn’t come into my life until I was battling cancer the following summer. My older brother Jon let me borrow his Discman whenever I was getting chemotherapy, and I listened to Ten as the VP-16, carboplatin, and bleomycin were killing my brain tumor and I liked it…a lot.

But it wasn’t until I was done chemo and moved on to alcohol that I really started loving Pearl Jam. Their anger at the world added to my drinking and anger at life proved to be a perfect and lethal combination (see more about that on my Pearl Jam T-shirt blog from last year). I knew I had to see them play live, and I went to my first Pearl Jam show my sophomore year of college. I was blown away, and have been going to see PJ play ever since.

One of the coolest things about the Pearl Jam website is they have pages for every song they’ve ever played and every set list for all of their shows since 1990. With a few tickets missing, here are all of the Pearl Jam shows I’ve seen…

Boston Garden, April 14^th 1994 – My first PJ show. Went with my friend Jay who lived across the hall from me at BC. His dad had some Budweiser connection, and that’s how we got the tickets.

Great Woods, August 29^th, 2000 – Went with my cousin Matt and friend Jenn. Matt was very happy we didn’t miss a Pedro Martinez no-hitter (He had a one-hitter against the Rays that night).

I

Hartford, CT, May 13^th, 2006 – Went with my buddy Ian, and saw my friends Glen and Mark there. I think it was Ian’s first time seeing PJ.

Fleet Center, May 24^th, 2006 – Took one of my best friends Andy to his first PJ show and it was awesome. We’ve played many of their songs together on guitar, and it was great to finally share a live show with him.

Hartford, CT, June 27^th, 2008 – Went with my awesome friend Glen to the first of back-to-back PJ shows, and Glen took a picture of me and Eddie Vedder (see with picture of me and Glen at show with Glen bravely ignoring the unwritten rule of wearing a t-shirt of the band you’re seeing).

Great Woods, June 28^th, 2008 – Eddie Vedder made a reference to Boston fans having endurance : “You waited 86 years to win a goddamn motherfuckin’ World Series, I think you got endurance…”

Fleet Center, May 17^th, 2010 – A year ago tonight, I went with my friend Sherry to the most recent of my PJ shows. Tonight, the building is rocking again, but for a different reason….hope the B’s finish strong and looking forward to my next PJ show!

Medical Records: First Round of Chemotherapy Summary (4/21/92-4/24/92)

It was on Good Friday in 1992 that I found out my brain tumor was cancerous, so I thought this would be a good scan for today.

Little did I know when I went to the Bruins/Habs game on April 21, 1990 that exactly two years later I would be starting my first round of chemotherapy…

I got a chuckle after reading my “CHIEF COMPLAINT” was being there for chemotherapy. But, I’m pretty sure when I walked in, I said, “Hi, I’m here for my chemotherapy.” I hope I didn’t sound like I was complaining. And FYI, my younger brother has asthma, not my sister (in case you're keeping score at home).

I really wasn’t scared when I started getting treated with the VP-16, carboplatin, and bleomycin. I was glad the doctors knew what I had and was confident the chemo meds were going to work. (By the way, if you look at all three of the medicines I was treated with, you’ll notice that all of them are used to treat testicular cancer. That is because even though I had a brain tumor, it was the same kind of cells as testicular cancer. Proving, without a doubt, that I was a dickhead.)

I stayed in the hospital a few days for that first round of chemo, and it went pretty well. I didn’t feel sick until the last morning I was there, and had enough family, friends, and movies to make me feel as normal as possible. I also had something to look forward to the day I got out.

On April 24, 1992, Skid Row and Pantera had a show at the Worcester Auditorium. Before I was discharged, my oncologist asked me about the show because one of my meds had the possible side effect of hearing loss. She asked me if they were “loud bands” and I just laughed. She told me she didn’t think I should go to the concert, but I assured her I was going no matter what she said. She even suggested I wear ear plugs, and I laughed again. I “promised” her I would leave if my ears started hurting, and I was discharged.

As my mother and I left the hospital and started walking to the car, I felt like I needed to lie down. I fell onto a nearby bench while my mom went to get the car. I remember lying there and seeing all of these doctors and nurses about ten feet away from me all smoking cigarettes. I wanted to yell at them and tell them they looked like idiots. I puked instead, and my mom pulled up with the car. She was wondering why I was laughing, and I told her to look at my semi-digested Fruity Pebbles on the sidewalk. It wouldn’t be the last time I threw up that year.

Even with my sidewalk spewing, I made it home and got ready for the concert. I was pumped. Then when I got to the show, my sister gave me her back stage pass. I got to meet everyone in Skid Row! I was wearing my Motley Crue “Decade of Decadence” t-shirt and when I said hi to Sebastian Bach, he said, “Cool shirt, man!” I had just seen Pantera and Skid Row rock the place, met the band, and the lead singer told me my t-shirt was cool.

Not once did I think about having cancer or the fact that I had just finished my first round of treatment. Cancer made me feel physically really crappy many times. But, it never took away my ability to enjoy my family, friends, music, movies, and sports. Going to see Skid Row and meeting the band that night after my first round of chemo helped set the stage for how I dealt with my cancer. Like heavy metal often preaches about life, I said “F- You!” to my cancer and kept having fun (whenever I wasn’t throwing up, which, I think heavy metal bands do often as well!).

By the way, I just found out this guy has a bootleg of this show and trades for other bootlegs. Maybe he’ll burn me one without a trade.

More on cancer later…

Tickets to Motley Crue and Foo Fighters at The Centrum in Worcester, MA (1987, 2008)

I have been going to concerts for almost 24 years. Thanks to my grandmother telling my mother she couldn’t see The Beatles because their “hair was too long”, my mother let me go to any concert I wanted to growing up. It all started back in the summer of 1987 when my older brother Jon took me to see “The Crue” at The Centrum, a story you can read at my Motley Crue T-shirt blog from last year.

The world has been through many changes since that August night, but a few things have remained the same…

I’m still going to see rock concerts in “Woostah”.

In between Motley Crue and Foo Fighters, I’ve also seen Stryper, Poison, Slaughter, Winger, Kiss, Extreme, Motley Crue (again), Deftones, White Zombie, Pantera, Bruce Springsteen, Korn, Van Halen, and Flogging Molly in Worcester (I’m sure there are others, but this is what I just came up with).

As you can see from the seating chart, I’m usually not seeing this bands from the front row.

But, a couple of things have also changed…

The first thing I notice us the “price” and “total” being the same for the Motley Crue ticket, only $17.50. The $8.25 convenience charge of my 2008 ticket is almost half of the 1987 price. Interestingly, when I used this Inflation Calculator, it says what cost $17.50 in 1987 would cost $32.75 in 2008 (This other one came up with $33.17).

Also, we wouldn’t have dared bring a camera into that Motley Crue show. Now, with just about every cell phone having a camera/video function, there’s not much security can do about taking pictures during a show (see my friend Glen and I at Foo Fighters along with a couple pics of the band).

As long as some band I like is still playing music and I can afford a ticket, I will keep going to concerts. More rock show ticket scans to come…