Greg Budell

I hate concerts (Welcome to the BOOM Bureau of Unpopular Opinions).

That’s just me. In my 20s and 30s I was willing to put up with parking hassles, crappy sound systems, shows that started late and lasted too long.

Plus, in my near 3 years as a PR liaison for Styx (75-77), I attended hundreds of shows.

Burnout!

As time passed, I became less tolerant of bad fan behavior, the worst being a Garth Brooks show in Miami in 1997 that set a record for Group BAL and arrests for physical violence (mostly men abusing women). That was the low point. Disgusting. illusion worked, he would have to “have us killed”. He was kidding. I think.

The most impressive single performance I’ve witnessed was here at the MPAC a few years back when the “Happy Together” tour came to the River Region. Gary Puckett. The Cowsills. Mark Lindsay of the Raiders. The Turtles, and finally Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night.

They all sounded great performing in their 70s. What blew me away was Chuck Negron announcing, (after blowing out ‘Eli’s Coming’) he was performing while connected to an oxygen tank!

Not that long ago they’d infer they were connected to a backstage bong!

took my daughter, then 13, to the show so she could be entertained and proud of Don’t get me wrong. I saw some amazing her old man when he was called to the shows. When I worked with Styx we stage for the finale. toured Florida with Kansas. They were great as a double-bill. We and they used So, Copperfield is on stage calling the same Holiday Inns and got drunk at names up. “And from LITE 101.5, their bars after the shows. The bands please welcome Greg BUNDLE!”. As I chose that because nobody thought approached the stage, I heard applause to look for their favorite rock star at and snickering and yes- I smilingly a Holiday Inn, so the bars were pretty corrected him when I got up there. My empty. The guys just wanted to relax, ego. Shameless. minus fans. For all its glitz, it’s a business. Now that we’re getting our lives back (don’t provoke me), we are planning to see our next every-five-year concert this month. Chicago is coming to MPAC the 25th this month. It’ll be interesting, my first concert in several years! I haven’t seen them in decades.

One of my favorite shows ever wasn’t even music! Not long before moving to Montgomery my radio station helped bring David Copperfield to Miami. By pre-arrangement, I was part of a group in his grand illusion (that sounds familiar). I The illusion was a great experience. He made our party of 13 vanish from the stage, then reappear in the crowd to a flourishing finish and a standing ovation.

Afterward, Copperfield told all 13 of us that if we spilled the beans on how his Chicago had 2 of the best debut albums ever. As a Windy City DJ on WLS-FM I had the privilege of playing full length cuts on deep dives into those debut albums. Chicago was among the Founding Fathers of FM classic rock radio, a cultural staple

Chicago toured the country all year but always scheduled a week of (sold out) shows in their hometown. When I lived in that (now) dive of a city, I’d learned early on how to finagle tickets to most any show.

Here’s what I remember about those 70s homecoming shows. They weren’t very good. Chicago’s incredible blend of rock and horns did not translate to the stage very well. I don’t blame Chicago. Their music was far more advanced than sound systems available then. Sound systems for live shows have moved eons beyond the barbaric 70s technology. A band that produced such a great studio wall of sound now has tools to bring a studio quality arrangement to the stage.

I guess I’ll see for myself.

When Chicago lost lead singer Terry Kath to what’s always been rumored (and denied) to be a game of Russian Roulette, they lost their rock and roll mojo. By the time the 80s rolled around, Peter Cetera was the lead singer and most of their hits were “wimpy” (by comparison) ballads. In fact, between death and old age I have no idea who’s still with the band post Terry Kath who passed in 1978. A quick Google search reveals 3 but very key original members still tour as Chicago- keyboard/vocalist Robert Lamm, trombonist Jimmy Pankow and trumpeter Lee Loughnane. They are accompanied by largely unknown but talented replacements.

Whatever the show delivers, I’ll surely review it with Rich Thomas and Jay Scott on our Newstalk 93.1FM morning show. I hope I’m wrong, but my expectations are on the low side.

Going to the concert may be the biggest challenge of all.

MPAC is an excellent concert venue but parking in downtown Montgomery sucks. Last time, the garage spaces were so narrow I put KY Jelly on the car doors to slide into a space (slight exaggeration there). The city has done a nice job revitalizing downtown except for parking.

When you have more attractions than available spaces that’s enough to keep me from visiting more then I do.

When they take the stage Chicago will receive a thunderous, loving welcome- which they’ll richly deserve. Bands like them, that made their best music 40-50 or more years ago and are still touring, The Rolling Stones, my buddies in Styx- heck, Bob Dylan was just here at age 80- they’re not doing it for the money. They’re doing what they’ve always loved- and doing it well enough that people pay good money to see a living legend. In a way, we’re re-living our 20s when we first cued up to see them live.

If I’m still doing what I love at 80, that’ll Make Me Smile.

See you in June!

(If you have a comment on this column, email me at gregbudell@aol.com. It's still fun to hear from new people!)

Greg Budell lives in Montgomery with his wife, Roz, Stepson, Sho, and dogs Hershey and Briscoe. He’s been in radio since 1970, and has marked 16 years in the River Region. He hosts the Newstalk 93.1FM Morning Show with Rich Thomas, Jay Scott & Jessie Lynn, 6-9 AM Monday-Friday. He returns weekday afternoons from 3-6 PM for Happy Hour with sidekick Rosie Brock. Greg can be reached at gregbudell@aol.com.

I rejoice when I see this pretty little plant covering large sections of our garden. For one, it’s free chicken food! You could have guessed by its common name – Chickweed, chickens absolutely love it and it’s full of flavor and nutrition for your feathered friends. I have to keep telling my landscaper to NOT weed whack it.

What you may not know however are its other uses, besides feeding chickens and being really pretty ground cover. For one, humans can also eat it! You can use it raw in salads or like water cress in soups – dropped in at the last minute to just wilt. It is also one of the ingredients in the symbolic dish consumed in the Japanese Springtime festival, Nanakusano-sekku. You can use it like any other leafy vegetable, like spinach or arugula. Think of it as free and easy to grow food.

It is also known to have medicinal properties and has been used for centuries in herbal medicine. It has a very high iron content (again, like spinach – think Popeye!) so it is often recommended for anemia.

Often known as Stellaria rather than Chickweed in medicinal or homeopathic circles, it is used for many treatments, such as skin diseases, itchy skin, bites, rashes, bronchitis and respiratory issues, rheumatic pains, arthritis, and period pains.

Many of these can be treated topically and you will find Stellaria lotions, creams, salves in your local herbalist shop, or possibly even in the drug store. Personally, I make up a batch every year. That way you know exactly what’s in it:

1) Collect your chickweed. 2) If you have a dehydrator, use that to dry it out, otherwise hang in a warm dry spot until the leaves are crispy. 3) Crush the leaves and put it a glass jar. Cover with olive oil, or whichever oil you prefer to use - grape seed, wheat germ, avocado would all be fine. NOT canola or vegetable! 4) Leave in a cool dark place for 4-6 weeks, turning occasionally. 5) Pour out the oil through a piece of muslin or cheesecloth to remove the plant matter. 6) Now you have Stellaria infused oil, which you can use on its own or you can mix with melted beeswax to form a salve (my preference).

Clients and I have had great success with this on insect bites and sunburn; wounds that don’t seem to want to heal will be cleared up in a few days after applying this. You could add a drop of Orange essential oil and use it as a lip balm, it would be very soothing for chapped lips.

Herbalists suggest wilting the leaves and stems in hot water and applying directly to the skin to heal a rash or wound, like a poultice. In this case you want to be sure that you have collected your chickweed from a place that does not use pesticides and was not near a road. You don’t want chemicals and exhaust fumes on your skin! If you do not have a choice, then you must ensure that you wash them thoroughly before use. Usually, I would recommend rinsing under cold water for 10 seconds or so, but if you think they are contaminated then first soak them for at least half an hour before rinsing and rinse for at least 30 seconds.

There has not been a significant amount of scientific research been done on the benefits of chickweed, but the historic documentation of its use over the past centuries would indicate that it does indeed work. Chickweed has significant concentrations of bioactive compounds, including flavonoids, phenolic acid, saponins, coumarins, and terpenoids. Alternative practitioners have long contended that these compounds are potent enough to render health benefits and scientist will tend to agree. As with all alternative or homeopathic remedies, it is not always enough to rely on scientific research alone as sometimes there just hasn’t been any done. That doesn’t mean that the remedy doesn’t work, it just means that the pharmaceutical companies have not spent the millions of dollars needed to carry out the research. That’s when hundreds or even thousands of years of homeopathic evidence needs to be studied and it is out there and much of it is available on the internet now, you just have to look.

email: nyrbhalla@gmail.com I web: us.nyrorganic.com/shop/tracybhalla I www. LogHouseAromatics.com

Tracy Bhalla, independent consultant with NYR Organics and founder of LogHouseAromatics.com; after 25 years of using homeopathic remedies, it was time to take charge and complete my Aromatherapy Certification, which I achieved April 2020 and since founded LogHouseAromatics.com as a source for useful essential oil and general natural health information and a place to purchase certain products. email: nyrbhalla@gmail.com I am here to answer any questions you may have. 60 BOOM! May 2022

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