A quick scan of my 2017 journal found over 30 instances of a entry like this: “what it means was on repeat”
Or this one: “that earworm will not go away….and I’m liking it.”
More than 30 songs “on repeat” in 2017. Several of them probably had Shelly cringing.

I like to see bands live multiple times too. There are several that I’d see back-to-back-to-back if the opportunity should present itself. Some of them are on the list of 6 bands that 1 saw multiple times in 2017.

I’m a lyrics guy. At least 2 songs from each of the 6 made the 2017 RPT list. Bands listed alphabtically.  Line or two of lyric from the song that was On Repeat.

Dawes
“Quit taking the jobs that rob you of your powers so you can buy more shit you don’t have time to use…” from Quitter.
“Things happen, that’s all they ever do…” from “Things happen.”

Drive by Truckers
“But don’t look to me for answers, Cause I don’t know what it means…” from “What it means.”
“When he reached the gates of heaven he didn’t understand…” from “Two daughters and a beautiful wife.”
The true story behind this song is so very, very sad.

Jason Isbell
“It’s knowing that this can’t go on forever, Likely one of us will have to spend some days alone…” from “If we were vampires.” (This is one sad love song.)
“If there’s two things that I hate, It’s having to cook and trying to date….” from “Codeine.”

Rainmakers
“If Heaven is guilt, no sex and no show, then I’m not sure if I really want to go…” from “Wages of sin.”
“Older than I used to be, younger than I’m gonna be…” from “Long gone long.”

Ryan Adams
“Come pick me up, Take me out, Fuck me up, Steal my records…” from “Come pick me up.”
“The lines on my face are like a map of my sins…” from “Trouble.”

Tedeschi Trucks
“I was running from the past, My heart was bleeding and it hurt my bones to laugh…” from “Midnight in Harlem.”
“You gotta feel the pain, you got to see the suffering, gotta hear the cause…” from “It’s so heavy.”
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That’s just over a third of the songs that I had On Repeat this year.
4 other RPTs stand out for me.

Band of Horses is still on one of my bucket lists. That particular list is “bands to see with Shelly.”
Lyric: “But no one is ever gonna love you more than I do...”
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Father John Misty writes some of the strangest lyrics. This under 3 minute song has a great title and some doozies.
Title: Chateau Lobby #4 (In C for Two Virgins)
Lyric 1: “I wanna take you in the kitchen, Lift up your wedding dress someone was probably murdered in…”
Lyric 2: “You left a note in your perfect script, Stay as long as you want, I haven’t left your bed since…”
He also wrote one of my all time favorite songs: “When you’re smiling and astride me.”
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And then is this one from a guy that I’ve wanted to see for over 40 years.
“…All that we have is each other and that’s all that I’ll ever need…” from “Family” by Joe Walsh. He was the opening act for Tom Petty in Little Rock back in March.

I had several Petty songs on repeat in 2017. And lots of others on RPT since picking up his first album in 1976.
We had only been in Corvallis for a few months. Money was tight. There are LOTS of stories from that Bi-centennial year…another time.
That first album had a couple of RPT tunes…not just for me…for millions of people: “Breakdown” and “American Girl.”

The Petty tune that I listened to the most in 2017 is one that he only played live a few times. He wrote it soon after his Mom died.
“What about the broken ones?
What about the lonely ones?
Oh honey I’m having trouble letting you go…”

Yes indeed.
Tom Petty died almost 3 months ago, and it’s still troubling me.  I am having trouble letting him go.  Glad I was able to see him 5 times.  I was hoping for half a dozen.

Let there be music.
Let some of it be on Repeat.
Be. Just Be.

On 3/9/17 it had a different meaning for me: “Ticket Buying Thursday.”

I’ve never been much on making resolutions, but last weekend I decided that 2017 should be the year of LOTS of live music. I already had tickets for 5 more 2017 concerts, but that was not enough to be truly committed, so on my March 9th TBT I added 4 more shows in 4 different cities to this year’s calendar.

First purchase was a show that is only 11 days and 200 miles away: Dawes at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa. I’ve never seen Dawes and I have never been to Cain’s, where Sid Vicious punched a hole in the wall in 1978. I’m told that the hole still remains. I’ll know for sure soon….

I hadn’t planned to buy any more concert tickets on what was to become my TBT, and then an e-mail popped into my in-box. It was an announcement of a per-sale of tickets at Ruth Eckerd in Clearwater to see Joe Jackson.
I’ve been a fan of his since I picked up “Look Sharp” in 1979, so I checked out the entire tour and landed some presale tickets closer to home.
We’ll be seeing him at the Uptown Theater in KC on June 23.

I was on a roll….plus tickets to the Ryan Adams concert at The Pageant in STL were delivered in Thursday’s mail, spurring me on.

Up next: Tom Petty’s 40th Anniversary Tour, with Joe Walsh opening. April 23rd in Little Rock. Like the Dawes show, I’ll be going solo and it’ll be a there-and-back. I’ve seen Petty a few times but have never seen Joe Walsh.

Last, but not least, tickets to see Tedeschi Trucks Band for the second time in 2017. Maybe this time I’ll hear “Midnight in Harlem.” The show is part of their Wheels of Soul Summer tour, with the Wood Brothers and Hot Tuna. Shelly and I will be seeing them at the Walmart AMP in Rogers on July 25.

So there you have it. Tickets to four shows in four different cities….Ticket Buying Thursday.
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I burn an annual CD with cuts from each band that I saw during the year. The “2017 shows” CD is gonna be jam-packed, as I already had tickets to five more shows…plus the CD will include cuts from folks playing at house concerts and the shows we’ve already seen.

Three of the upcoming touring acts are playing here in Springfield: Chicago, Jason Isbell and ZZ Top; The Avett Brothers with Shovels and Rope are at Red Rocks; and the August 1st Ryan Adams show is in STL.

Let there be Music!!!