> Townes Van Zandt
I saw Townes on stage (well, OK, about 6 inches higher than the rest of the place) in a little club called Bunky's in Madison around 1979 or 1980. He got really hammered on stage. Dropped his guitar and broke most of the strings. The 30 or so people in the place were chuckling, and he said "Aw, you f---ing yankees", picked up his guitar, pronounced "No wood broken!", and then added, "Aw hell, free beer for everybody!" Needless to say, the barkeep didn't quite agree, but everybody did end up with one free one. Townes kept on playing (pretty much better than he could stand), and soon everybody was dancing, across the floor and right onto the "stage" with the musicians. It was a great night that I'll never forget.
I passed on a chance to see Pat Benatar for 5 bucks at Bunky's. She had just released her first album. She's not my favorite rocker, but I still kick myself for passing on a chance to see her in a small club just beofre she made it big.
Scronch