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Motown legend Berry Gordy said: “He was awesome, the King of Pop was not big enough. I think he is simply the greatest entertainer that ever lived.

I heard this along with the other hero-worship claptrap and thought “huh”?

Greatest entertainer?

No fuckin’ way.

I remember a party back in ’82 or so (some of my readers may recall) when a certain chick brought Thriller to the scene. We were on an island somewhere outside of Peterborough, ON and we were all die hard rockers…

The MJ tape ended up in the bonfire while Zep II roared its mighty roar.

So in the interest of the public service, here are 50 entertainers I consider “greater” than the child molester.

1. George Carlin
2. The Clash
3. Led Zeppelin
4. Robin Williams
5. Jon Stewart
6. The Beatles
7. Bruce Springsteen
8. Madonna
9. My son Owen
10. Bart Simpson
11. The Police
12. The Canadian police forces who like using Tasers
13. RCMP (see above)
14. Frank Sinatra
15. Alex Ovechkin
16. Supertramp
17. Pink Floyd
18. Thierry Henry
19. David Bowie
20. My daughter Addy
21. My teenmonster T
22. The Eagles
23. Stephen Harper – in robot mode
24. Janis Joplin
25. Jim Morrison
26. Jimi Hendrix
27. Bob Marley
28. Queen
29. Kim il Jong
30. Kermit the Frog
31. Kaka
32. Vlad Putin
33. My 4th year Pol Sci Theory prof
34. Pierre Trudeau
35. Sir Richard Branson
36. Sir Paul McCartney
37. John Lennon
38. Lenin
39. The cast of Coronation Street
40. Che
41. Ronaldo
42. Johnny Ramone
43. Sid Vicious
44. Leonardo da Vinci
45. Anna Kournikova
46. Meagan Fox
47. Mike Tyson
48. The guy who asks for change at the corner of Holland and Scott
49. Peter Gzowski
50. Isaac Asimov

I could do another 100 or so, but am getting tired.

You get the point though, right? (771)

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

I noticed the other day that Fleetwood Mac was on the road again and belting out such classics as “Go your own way”, “Rhiannon”, and “Dreams”.  Stevie Nicks, while not the sultry songstress she once was, is yet quite admirably holding off the visual effects of aging – and still is pretty hot. She did turn 61 in May!

I saw the band once. Not during their heyday of the late-70′s but later on one of those reunion tours. I think it was in the early 1990′s at Molson Park or Ontario Place; I can’t remember which.

So I got to thinking about some of the great concerts I have had the pleasure of attending over the years.  My parents were pretty permissive with regards to curfews and going to T.O. to hit a concert. I think I first took the bus from Parry Sound to the Big Smoke when I was only 16. [aside to my family - no, I'm not worried about Torii reading this and saying "hey! why not me too!" She NEVER reads this blog!].

So, just because my creative juices aren’t flowing at the normal breakneck speed, and I can’t think of anything more interesting to scribble about, here is a comprehensive listing of the concerts that Trashy has attended -  at least those that I remember.

Maybe you were at one of these?

• First one – Johnny Cash – with my parents… musta been in the mid ’70′s sometime.
• First one on my own – Styx and Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. I thought these guys really rocked around the year 1978. I learned better later.
• Queen – same place in 1980. The world lost a great artist when Mercury died. “Sheer Heart Attack” is still one of the most energising tunes that I have ever had the pleasure of banging my head to!
• Canada World Music Festival – again at Exhibition Stadium. This was one of those 12 hour long rock and drunk fests that sprung up every now and then. Kinda like my version of Lollapalooza. Pretty good lineup: Edgar Winters, Nazareth, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Heart. I’m sure there were more… but I went through the rye hidden in the hollowed out radio pretty fast that day and that’s all I recall.
• Supertramp – c.1980 – again in T.O. Loved Rudy and the big screen behind the band showing the hands on the bars during “Crime of the Century”. These guys w3re HUGE back then and it was undoubtedly the BEST show I had seen to that point of my life.
• U2 – Zoo Station tour in T.O. Supertramp was eclipsed by Bono and the boyz. “Mysterious ways” – with Bono dancing with that chick from the audience that every other female in the crowd of 40,000 or so HATED – was the highlight of  the show.
• Pink Floyd – Division Bell tour in Toronto in 1994. Being a huge Floyd fan, I expected more. The tunes were good and the stage was whacked but I think the crowd ruined it for me. They just weren’t into it.
• Shift to Ottawa where I saw The Boss for the first time at the LoserDome (oops, I mean ScotiaBank Place). Amazing energy. Sliding across the stage like he had 10W 30ed his ass. Clarence was awesome. THIS ranks as the best evening I have spent watching a show.
• David Bowie – also an amazing show at the LoserDome. I think this happened in 2003. “Heroes” has always been one of my fave tunes and Bowie did not disappoint. I went to this show with my eldest daughter who, now that she is 16, wouldn’t be caught DEAD at a rock concert with her old man!
• Oh yeah – I took her to see Avril Lavigne as well… it was, uh, OK.

(537)

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario