Top 5 Concerts Ever : #3The Beat Farmers - ca. 1990 (downtown Tempe)
The Beat Farmers were a San Diego-based band that gained considerable popularity in the SouthWest, but not much beyond that. They combined good Springsteen-esque rock-&-roll with a country-&-western flavor. They have an entry in Wikipedia, so refer there for a better history of them.
I first crossed paths with the BF's when a friend gave me a copy of the 1987 album pictured above, "The Pursuit of Happiness". It is awesome from beginning to end. "Viking Lullabies" is also a fantastic album, and if you want to get a feel for a BF concert, pick up "Live, Loud, and Plowed". All are available at Amazon.
We got to see them somewhere around 1990. They played outside, in downtown Tempe. If there was an admission fee, it was cheap - maybe $10 or so. For that price, we took 8-year-old Jason along. This may have been his first concert.
The heart & soul of the BF was Country Dick Montana, who played the drums and was one of the three lead singers in the band. You haven't heard Kenny Rogers' "Lucille" done full justice until you hear CDM's version (which can be found on the LL&P album).
HIGHLIGHTS : Any and all songs where Country Dick was the lead singer.
Also, in the middle of one of his songs (and he usually left his drums and came to the front of the stage when he sang lead vocals), Country Dick apparently got thirsty, so he hopped on the shoulders of someone in the front-row if the audience, who piggy-backed him over to the concession stand and bought him a beer. Meanwhile, the rest of the band just kept playing the song melody, and waited for him to get back, beer-in-hand, and still on piggy-back, to finish the vocals.
LOWLIGHTS : None at the concert. But on 08 November, 1995, Country Dick Montana died (onstage) of a massive heart attack at the age of 40, bringing to an end one of the best obscure rock-&-roll bands of all times.
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