Live Performances Gone Awry

Joni Mitchell on acid at the Hollywood Bowl in the late 70's. She sang beautifully and had poetic lyrics. Unfortunately, the lyrics were not from any of her songs and came from whatever alternative reality her mind had drifted off to. She was seeing things and babbling. In the 80's at the Beacon theater in New York I saw Gene Loves Jezebel where one of the twin brothers (the lead singer) was so whacked out that he could not stand up. Really a cultural treat because at the time he was dressed in a diaphanous black dress with pearls.

A few years ago my wife and I saw Tony Bennett at Chastain here in Atlanta. Chastain is an outdoor amphitheater that allows you to bring in coolers, food, etc. Sometimes you see ice sculptures and ridiculous set ups. It can be one of the best places to see live acts as long as the crowd is not too noisy. The night we saw Tony Bennett, a fellow sitting in front of us was trying to impress his date by serving martinis with fancy shakers, stemware, and stuffed olives. I like martinis, but my experience has been that they are like breasts: two is perfect, three is kind of funny, and four is just a bad idea.This fellow's date was not too experienced and about half way through the show she was standing up, weaving, singing, and generally making a fool of herself. Everyone sitting around her knew that it was a matter of time before she blew. Sure enough, during Moon River, she stood up and booted all over the row in front of her.