But then, there is a part in that guitar solo where it hits a climax with a very high note bent a whole step - kind of the pinnacle moment of that solo. The song kept going and it got to the first guitar solo. This, of course, wasn’t lost on me, and I stared at Stevie Ray, watching for any reaction to the Hendrix music being blared over the PA, but he just talked to his friend, seemingly ignoring it. out front, the soundman was playing the Jimi Hendrix version of “Voodoo Chile,” which Stevie had recorded and used as a showstopper in his set for years. Coincidentally, as they were checking the P.A.
It was the first time I saw him, and I couldn’t help but stare. As I wandered around I turned a corner, and 10 feet away Stevie Ray was talking to a friend. There were trailers set up, and some catering, and we were feeling pretty excited to get out there and do our soundcheck. We had just arrived and were in the backstage area. It’s one of my favorite memories in my life, actually. Stepping out to a half-empty gargantuan amphitheater and watching it fill up as we did our 30 minutes.īut my favorite memory of that first day involved Stevie Ray Vaughan. 27.) On the first night I remember Jeff Healey coming out and playing with Clapton and absolutely killing the guitar solo on “Sunshine of Your Love.” I remember seeing Bonnie Raitt bouncing around backstage talking to everybody, but not going out to sing, which I had hoped would happen. (The accident occurred after the second show, at about 1 a.m. The good memories I have of these two concerts, on Aug. The cover of Janata’s self-titled 1990 album. I didn’t know him well, but it’s just one of those moments where you learn how unpredictable our lives can be. I talked to him minutes before he boarded, and remember him telling me he was exhausted and couldn’t wait to get to his bed in Chicago. Unfortunately, Bobby died that night in the same helicopter as Stevie Ray.
It was so last minute that our band’s name wasn’t on the ticket, or the posters, and nobody outside of our friends and fans in New Jersey knew we would be there. He basically gifted us this show, trying to help us out with yet another high profile appearance. I should say up front that the whole reason we got this show in the first place was that our booking agent was Bobby Brooks, who was also Clapton’s booking agent. Still, it was a giant show and I was thrilled to be a last-minute addition. So when my manager called me one day to tell me we’d be opening up for Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray in a couple weeks, I was excited, but not surprised. We had a song called “The River” getting played on the radio, and we had quickly grown accustomed to playing opening act slots on high profile shows. At this point, in August 1990, we already toured with Edie Brickell, The Kinks, Southside Johnny and Graham Parker, and played individual shows opening for legends like Lonnie Mack. We’d had a lot of success at such a young age. I had just turned 21 we were based in Bergen County and had had a record out for about five months on the Mercury label. However, discovering on Facebook this morning that today is the 25-year anniversary, I felt like writing about my memories of the event. Mostly, I see it as an ultimately sad story that I witnessed, and I don’t enjoy making light conversation about this kind of tragedy. It inevitably comes out sounding like bragging, and the listener usually either reacts with awe or indifference, both of which feel odd to me. Most times when it comes up, it is a friend who asks me to talk about it, to tell someone else the story. I don’t talk about it much, because I was at that concert, playing in the band that opened the show. Twenty five years ago today, Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter crash after a concert at Alpine Valley, a large amphitheater in Wisconsin. The “J” stands for Lustig’s band, Janata. 26, 1990, after which Stevie Ray Vaughan died. Mike Lustig’s backstage pass for the Eric Clapton concert at the Alpine Valley amphitheater in Wisconsin on Aug.
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