Vibes
It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash while en route to Chicago.
One of my favorite songs by him is "Pride and Joy" and I always remember seeing his acoustic performance on MTV which was part of their unplugged series:
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I was also fortunate enough to catch SRV in concert — July 7, 1990, at the Garden State Arts Center (now the PNC Arts Center) in Holmdel, N.J. He was on a co-headlining tour with Joe Cocker and on that night, SRV opened for Cocker.
I remember Cocker putting on a strong set, but the entire time thinking that SRV should have been the closer and I didn't hear nearly enough of his music.
SRV had hit the stage and tore through song after song and I, at 15 years old, just sat staring and listening in awe. I remember we were sitting on the lawn of the amphitheatre and my brother kept asking if I could see him ok. "You have to see him — he's amazing to watch play," he said. "Are you sure you can see him?"
It was after that show that a stage rigging fell and broke the neck of his famed "Number One" guitar.
Little did we know that just more than a month later, he would be gone. We were shocked but also felt lucky to be able to say that we saw him perform.
Vaughan performed in Charlotte a few times — the first of which, there were only a handful of people on a snowy day at the Double Door Inn. Those who were there, remember it clearly — just ask Mike Martin, who works behind the bar there to this day.
The setlist from the July 7, 1990, concert in Holmdel, N.J.:
Collins Shuffle
House Is Rockin'
Tightrope
Things I Used To Do
Look At Little Sister
Let Me Love You Baby
Leave My Girl Alone
Riviera Paradise
Wall Of Denial
Superstition
Cold Shot
Couldn't Stand The Weather
Collins Shuffle
Crossfire
Voodoo Chile
