Agent Palmer

Every year for as long as I can remember, I have listened to Arlo Guthrie’s classic “Alice’s Restaurant,” either on the day before or day of Thanksgiving. It’s something that my parents had started at some point and, more to the point, it’s a tradition I have continued since moving out of the house (to my father’s joy), even when I’m not spending Thanksgiving with them.

Now before I get into the song, and there’s a lot to get into, let’s talk about this tradition. As traditions go, it’s hardly odd, and there’s a part of me that wonders why I don’t encounter more people who share this tradition.

Recently, I was on the Our Liner Notes podcast talking about first concerts. Since mine was Aerosmith on their Nine Lives Tour, I thought it fitting to bring up another first concert I had. So in preparation I did some research on the first concert I watched online back in 1998…

That was the beginning of the rabbit hole. There’s isn’t much the internet has to say about this concert, leaving me to wonder why there isn’t more on this should-be-groundbreaking concert. In the wake of it’s absence, I’ve attempted to find out a little more about it and share that information and my thoughts.

I know, you’re not thinking, “Palmer was on another podcast,” but “what do Kiss, They Might Be Giants, and The Strokes have in common?”

Well, they all hail from New York, and that was the theme of Our Liner Notes Episode 6 “Agents of New York”, retroactively chosen by myself and hosts Chris and Paul Maier. And yes, all three bands hail from New York, but now you’re asking yourself, “what is Our Liner Notes?”