Rockquiem for Rich

It's a sad day for all of us in the music industry as Kern (better known as "Rich on Rock") announced his decision today to quit the world of Rock 'n Roll. Yes folks, that forerunner of the New Wave of music criticism has decided not to renew his recording contract with Crimbo Records, Inc. Secluded in his country retreat, the "Dean of Rock" has refused to talk with the press, except me. And he has asked me to convey this very special message to all of his fans (especially those at Wellesley and WHRB): "Much Later." (He puts things so well.)

If you want to catch Kern one more time before he disappears forever, I suggest you hurry-up-and-buy-tickets to the Elvis Costello/Nick Lowe/Mink DeVille concert, which will be at the Orpheum on May 4. I'll be there, as will be 2000 other smart people, including Kern (who wasn't at the Patti Smith/Ian Dury concert, and boy was that a mistake).

Other concerts to look out for are: Bruce Springsteen at the Music Hall on May 29-31 (if it isn't already sold out); Bonnie Raitt at Bentley College on the 27 and Brown U. on the 29; Jefferson Starship at the Music Hall on May 19-20. I personally recommend all three of these great shows, although I've never seen any of them in concert except the Starship, and that was years ago in Central Park in the rain and mud with 100,000 other people. (Those crowd estimates are never quite accurate.)

Witty Warren Zevon will be at the Berklee Performance Center on May 5; Renaissance (a really fine group) is coming to the Music Hall on the 6; oh yeah, the Average White Band will be playing at Boston College on April 28. Borrow someone's BC I.D. and you can get in for $2.00 cheaper. The Paradise is offering Lou Reed on May 15, and no date set yet for the Talking Heads, but it should be sometime in Maymaymaybe this time I'll go.

Writing this rock column is a lot harder than it seems, so I'm going to stop now and put in a picture to fill up space. I took it last Sunday at the concert. Like it? You can have it.

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