Add your voice to the sound of the crowd
This year, mylifeinconcert.com turns sweet 16. The actual date is June 4 when I first hit the Publish button and the old opensalon.com, and this year I was ready and rarin’ to put up this anniversary post on time. Sadly, my long-suffering computer up and died a while back, kiboshing that idea in the process.
You may—or may not have—noticed that my already-lessened postings have trickled to almost nowt over the past couple of months. A big part of the lessening had to do with my computer dying a slow death, becoming largely unusable and crazy-making in the process when I did try to accomplish anything graphical or advanced.
Enter my much-needed brand spanking new machine to put me back in the game. Joy to the world! Video editing capacity returns — Yes!!
For me, this feels like a modern, digital take on not having the adjust rabbit ears anymore.
I won’t rehash most of the usual info I provide in these anniversary posts as I want to focus on some overdue entries and getting the episodes rolling again.
But I need to say, for those of you who have been following for years, Thank You. I am glad we can make this connection, which is something at the heart of the live music experience. I’ve also come to know and communicate with so many amazing people, near and far, in the process.
For reasons that I am not sure of, there’s been a big spike in visitors to the blog since last fall. That’s always great to see but also frustrating as a variety of factors have limited what I have been able to do in the last year or so.
For those new folks discovering the blog and podcast: Howdy! Thanks for stopping by and, yes, more is coming.
As is my tradition of doing my own twist on a favourite album/cover for each anniversary, this year things are in an electro vein with The Human League’s classic, Dare, from 1981.
Time to get back to writing about live shows, and the sound of the crowd.
Here are all of my previous anniversary covers and their original inspiration:
One Year Anniversary … Crivens!
Original Album: Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977)
I went with the North American version of the cover as that is the one I own and played a 1,000 times. I had yet to start up the stand-alone blog so it was a strictly OpenSalon.com-based anniversary. Never Mind the Bollocks also appears on my Top 15 LPs list.
It Takes Two: My Second Anniversary
Original Album: The Beatles’ A Hard Days Night (1964)
I added my pen name to this one. Nice to see the back of the head of our much-missed cat, Thurston.
Three Is A Magic Number: My Third Anniversary
Original Album: Talking Heads’ Fear of Music (1979)
I also wrote about the Heads playing possibly the best set I have ever seen at Heatwave in 1980, and reflected back on the whole day/weekend in a 40th Anniversary podcast..
Four & (Hopefully) More: My Fourth Blogiversary
Original Album: Judy Garland’s Judy at Carnegie Hall (1961)
I was trying to remain upbeat about OpenSalon’s then-perilous future at the time of this post. Sadly, hope wasn’t enough and this turned out to be the last anniversary cover ever posted on the site as it went belly-up in late winter, 2015.
As for Judy, she is among the list of 20 (ok, 21) artists I wish I’d seen and never will.
Take Five: My 5th Anniversary
Original Album: Sonic Youth’s Daydream Nation (1988)
OS is gone and no longer mentioned. I posted this one entry and then it was largely siesta time for this project until this year (2020). As for Sonic Youth, this album is another one in my Top 15. They are also coming up many times in this series, down the road.
Blackstar: MLIC’s 6th Anniversary (Belated from 2016)
Original Album: David Bowie’s Blackstar (2016)
This graphic was created at the time but it never got published as I had too many fires to put out. And just like my life at the time, the graphic is fittingly upside down. I have also written and/or podcasted about seeing Bowie in 1983 and 2004. I’ll also be podcasting/writing about seeing him in 1987, 1990, and 2003.
Getting Better: MLIC’s 7th Anniversary
Original Album: The Beatles’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
I admit, it’s getting better. While the larger world was in its early dumpster-fire stages, my personal life took a massive swing in the opposite direction, something long overdue. I did manage to work on and publish this anniversary image at the time, also marking Pepper’s 50th.
In The Light: mylifeinconcert.com’s 8th Anniversary (Belated from 2018)
Original Album: Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti (1975)
While this was the time of a very sad event, the passing of my father, the rest of my life continued to throb sunshine, basking me in the positive light. Ah, balance! I thought I’d pick this cover as I went through a period during this year of replaying Physical Graffiti repeatedly. For months. I kind of haven’t stopped.
And with this title for the entry, I now celebrate the actual series rather than my anniversary as an blogger/podcaster, as that was OS-based to begin with.
The Things We Did & Didn’t Do: mylifeinconcert.com’s 9th Anniversary (Belated from 2019)
Original Album: The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs (1999)
I did try to restart the podcast in early 2019 but didn’t go ahead with it as I wasn’t satisfied with my initial results, and then got super-busy with school. It would take a second kick at the can a year later to get it right. And here we are.
Ceremony: mylifeinconcert.com’s 10th Anniversary (2020)
Original Album: New Order’s Substance (1987)
For my 10th, I thought the elegant austerity of New Order’s classic 1987 compilation would make a perfect ceremonial visual.
Rolling Right Along: mylifeinconcert.com’s 11th Anniversary (2021)
Original Album: The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers (1971)
I stuck with the Stones’ most iconic cover for my 11th anniversary. For the podcast’s first anniversary, I podcasted/wrote about seeing—and standing directly across from—Keith Richards in Detroit in 1988 in Episode 23/Concert no. 51, Connection: Keith Richards & the X-Pensive Winos, Fox Theatre, Detroit, Michigan, USA, Thursday, December 8, 1988.
The Stones themselves will be coming up with Concert no. 61, Start Me Up: The Rolling Stones with Living Color, CNE Stadium, Toronto, Ontario, Sunday September 3, 1989.
Miles Ahead: mylifeinconcert.com’s 12th Anniversary (2022)
Original Album: Miles Davis Sketches of Spain (1960)
Sadly, I never got to see Miles live, and he is one of the artists featured in Episode 11, You Won’t See Me: 20 Acts I Wish I’d Seen.
Songs Are Like Tattoos: mylifeinconcert.com’s 13th Anniversary (2023)
Original Album: Joni Mitchell Blue (1971)
There was nothing to feel blue about on my 13th anniversary. Joni will be coming up way down the line re: an incredible show I saw her play in Ottawa in 1998.
I’ll Be Your Mirror: mylifeinconcert.com’s 14th Anniversary (2024)
Original Album: The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
My all-time favourite album. I truly wish I could have seen them live.
As I continue my series, I’ll be your mirror from the past, reflecting what we all were. And are.
The Pursuit of Happiness: mylifeinconcert.com’s 15th Anniversary (2025)
Original Album: The Pursuit of Happiness Love Junk (1988)
One of the greatest power pop albums of all time: Canada’s The Pursuit of Happiness with their classic 1988 debut, Love Junk. A killer LP and live band.. The Pursuit of Happiness are coming up down the line in the mylifeinconcert.com series.
The Sound of the Crowd: mylifeinconcert.com’s 16th Anniversary (2026)
This year things are in an electro vein with The Human League’s classic, Dare, from 1981.
NEXT SNAPSHOT: The Grapes of Wrath’s two main songwriters come to Aeolian Hall and deliver a KO show, playing some of their best-known songs and the stories behind them.
SNAPSHOTS no. 221. Kevin Kane & Tom Hooper from The Grapes of Wrath, Aeolian Hall, London, Ontario, Canada, October 16, 2025.
NEXT ON STAGE: I’ll be selecting and looking back on my favourite London, Ontario shows that I’ve seen through the years, as well as those I missed that I would most like to have seen.
Stay tuned for EP 035A. REAL COOL TIME: MY TOP 10 LONDON, ONTARIO, CANADA LIVE SHOWS and EP 035B: MISS YOU: MY TOP 13 LONDON, ONTARIO, CANADA LIVE SHOWS I WISH I’D SEEN
© 2026 mylifeinconcert.com
