Fortunately I signed up to be the music editor for my high school newspaper, so had plenty of excuses to be heading off to concerts. The music scene in Philly in the late 60's / early 70's was pretty rich with venues, so a good concert was happening somewhere virtually every weekend. And the cost of admission was within the reach of most teenagers. While my kids give me a puzzled look when I tell them about some of the acts I saw, even they get the value of seeing live Hendrix (3 times) The Doors (3 times), Janis, The Who, and the Rolling Stones. While my kids nod their heads as if Dad has lost the plot, no less exciting were the Jefferson Airplane (and Starship), Moody Blues, Van Morrison, Joe Cocker, Bonnie Raitt and CSNY among others.

Several years ago, a friend who worked on the school paper with me showed me an edition he saved with my last column. I had spent 3 paragraphs castigating Jerry Jeff Walker for performing dead drunk at a small club outside of Philly (The Main Point). The last paragraph was a brief commentary on the opening act who I likened to Dylan - a scruffy young guy playing solo acoustic guitar with a harmonica around his neck - Bruce Springsteen... shades of Nebraska!

I have the SRV album I believe you are referring to ( In Session). Will dig it out for a listen this weekend.

If you ever decide to listen to Janis, today is the day - it is her birthday.