Recommended: Gone Today, Here Tomorrow

Tim Van Schmidt

Oh, the sad story of the baby-boomer rocker.

More and more of them have become dust in the wind — and I’ve been lamenting that fact often in my columns.

Here are a few more who are gone today: “Musician’s musician” guitarist David Lindley, original Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington, punk producer Spot, Procol Harum lyricist Keith Reid, Japanese composer-producer Ryuichi Sakamoto, jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal, and singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot.

A whole generation of great musicians is becoming toast. And people like me who grew up with the stuff may be feeling that our time is over, there’s nobody left, the glory days are done.  

But wait, that really isn’t true. Looking at the upcoming Colorado concert schedule, there are still plenty of those “old” acts coming. They are truly here tomorrow.

For example, the premier guitarist of the rock era — and blues master — Eric Clapton will be playing Ball Arena in Denver on September 16.

I’ve got a ticket for Ringo Starr and His All Starrs at the Bellco Theater in Denver on June 6. I can only say what I said last time I went to see Ringo: “How many more times will I get to see one of the Beatles?”

Sure, Starr’s show features his Beatles stuff — and solo hits — but it also highlights top songs from the other band members. The selling point for me was seeing that keyboardist Edgar Winter had joined the group.

I’ve also got tickets for blues guitarist/soulful vocalist Robert Cray at the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley on September 15 and for WAR at the Gardens on Spring Creek on September 23.

More area baby-boomer gigs: Blue Oyster Cult at the Paramount in Denver on June 3, Leo Kottke at Chautauqua in Boulder on June 16, Dead & Company at Folsom Field on July 1-3, Al Green with the Colorado Symphony at Red Rocks on July 12, Little Feat at Fiddler’s Green on July 21, the Moody Blues’ John Lodge at the Paramount on July 23, and Buddy Guy at Fiddler’s on July 29.

Who else? Dave Mason is at the Boulder Theater on July 31, Rod Stewart with Cheap Trick at Ball Arena on August 1, Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top at Fiddler’s on August 7, and Chicago at the Pike’s Peak Center in Colorado Springs on August 10.

Steve Miller plays Red Rocks on September 11, Alice Cooper with Rob Zombie and Ministry at Fiddler’s on September 16, Sting at Red Rocks on September 20-21, Peter Gabriel at Ball Arena on October 16 and Aerosmith at Ball on November 19.

That sounds like a lot of music to me, even if you still prefer yours on the classic side. It’s sad to hear about the passing of so many of our old friends, but the calendar continues to flip forward, right?

And there’s always the idea that you can find new music by the many generations of musicians who have come after the classic rockers. It’s just a thought.

Recommended Lite: Just letting readers know that beginning next week, my Recommended-Afterword columns will be shrinking for the summer. Family duties call, but I can’t leave The New Scene Weekly totally cold, so I’ll continue contributing each week on a more limited basis.

I’m committed to NOCO journalism — that’s why I recently bought a full year’s subscription to the North Forty News. We’re trying to keep things local and lively and I’m totally on board with that!

Explore “Time Capsules by Tim Van Schmidt” on YouTube.