First Concert Memories

[tommy p]

I saw a few country shows with my parents (Grand Ole Opry revue-style show, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner show taping) before my rock shows. Of course I hated it then, but now I have fond memories.

My first rock show was Pat Benatar on the Crimes of Passion tour. I remeber her drummer Myron Grombacher running all the way around his drums and jumping up on his stool or bass drums. Loved that guy!

My second show was a doozy (for me anyway): Blackfoot/Def Leppard/Johnny Van Zant. I think Blackfoot was touring Tomcattin' and Def Leppard was out for High n' Dry so Pete Willis was still with them. It was at James Madison University (which I was later to attend) and during the day my buddy who went there took us down to see where the show would be. Blackfoot was on stage doing their soundcheck and the guys from Leppard were milling around. Quite the experience!

[David B]

KISS 1979 in Greensboro was my first

Van Halen 1980 in Winston-Salem was my second

Not a bad start.

[elduave]

First (few) concert memories:

Beatlemania @ Warner Theater DC, '77. First live rock experience.

Kiss @ Capital Center, 79. Feeling the heat from the pyro on stage. The awe I felt watching a band in an arena (vividly remember opener New England and John Fannon's Goldtop under the spotlight).

Cheap Trick @ Georgetown University, '80. First concert my Mom dropped me off at. Moved down front. Vividly remember Tom Petersson playing in front of the PA stacks that where swaying ever so slightly back and forth as he leaned back into them. Remember Tom smiling at the crowd about it. Remember Rick's 3-guitar bit. "This one's not loud enough". Throwing them off towards the side of the stage. The tech catching them.

Scorpions between Def Leppard and Ted Nugent, Capital Center, '80. The Zoo live.

Rush Capital Centre, '80. Alex's intro to La Villa Strangiato.

Judas Priest Capital Centre, '80. The Point Of Entry Kabuki backline. Opening with Solar Angels. Halford's subtle way of "appearing" on stage.

[bondedbybrick]

Summer 1973. Baltimore Civic Center. Deep Purple. Ian Gillian and Ritchie Blackmore weren't talking to each other anymore but they put on one hell of a show. Space Truckin' had a new meaning for me as it was the first time I imbibed the evil weed............ The best part of the concert experience? Rory Gallagher opened for Deep Purple and blew them off the stage. I was forever a Rory fan from that day forward.......

Derek

[Turdus]

Artful Dodger opened and I remember after the first song the singer said something like "Hey Toronto, what do you say?" And I yelled out, "Very nice thanks, you can go home now" and he looked right down at me... I felt terrible afterwords.

Those guys were from the Washington DC area. I bought Steve Cooper's Rickenbacker bass 10 years ago. He told me a great story about it... said they were recording one of their albums. He pulls out the Ric, and the producer says "No Way!"

Honor Among Thieves is a great 70's rock record.... if you can find it.

[price33]

KISS Love Gun tour in 1977, with Styx opening. Styx had just released Grand Illusion. My bud's big sister and her boyfriend took us to Fort Worth and I'll never forget it being the first time I smelled marijuana LOL.

Styx was the first concert I saw as well at MSG in 1978. I was huge fan of the opening band ANGEL. Both bands were great.

[RkR]

January 1979-- Boston with Sammy Hagar opening. At the time Sammy's band was the same line-up as Montrose with Gary Pihl added to the band. That was the connection that later got Gary into Boston.

I saw that tour in St. Louis. Sammy's band was REALLY good and sounded great, Boston's mix sounded like ass. They were playing well but between that singer and the mix... uggh. They didn't have 14 guitar players in the band to cover everything and it was rough.

My first show was the Alice Cooper "Billion Dollar Babies" tour in '73, The only way my mom would let my older sister and her boyfriend go was if they took me. That was a life changing event to a 9 year old, I am here to tell you. I saw Aerosmith at Boston College in 73 or 74 on the same deal.

[elduave]

Boston's mix sounded like ass. They were playing well but between that singer and the mix... uggh.

Not a Brad Delp fan or was he just not getting it done? All the live stuff I've heard from him sounded good, and they got a support singer for some of the tougher parts later in their career, which I thought was commendable.

[RkR]

Boston's mix sounded like ass. They were playing well but between that singer and the mix... uggh.

Not a Brad Delp fan or was he just not getting it done? All the live stuff I've heard from him sounded good, and they got a support singer for some of the tougher parts later in their career, which I thought was commendable.

I'm a huge Boston fan but it was a very "off" night for Brad and the sound guys. It was just one of those nights. As a musician, we've ALL had one (or more) of those :-)

I saw them again on the 3rd Stage tour in '88 and they were dead ON.

[Sentinel]

Santana, in Stockholm 1972! Great gig!!

[Rhys]

Queen at Cardiff Castle on 10th September 1976, with Manfred Mann's Earth Band supporting.

It was an outdoor gig & the rain was torrential all the way through it. Awesome gig!

[chewie37]

Hmm, dates are a little fuzzy, but first concert I remember was the Beach Boys in the 1980's. Don't remember exactly where but it was a tennis stadium somewhere in New Hampshire. I'm from there and remember my Dad was very excited about going and I had a great time too.

First concert I went to with out parental supervision was with at the Lee County Civic Center in Ft. Myers with some friends from school - Ozzy Osbourne with Vandenberg as the opener. Didn't know it at the time, but it pretty sure it was the first tour after Randy's plane crash as Brad Gillis was on guitar.

[HSB0531]

Schaefer Music Festival 1974.

August 12: Marshall Tucker Band

Sept. 4th: Bad Company.

Jimmy Page walked on stage and jammed with 'em.

Tickets were $2.50 each!

That ain't no typo.

[Pieman]

Jan & Dean

Euclid Beach Park

Cleveland Ohio summer 1965

Two guys in striped shirts and white slacks. A large back-up band of union musicians in suits or tuxes that looked like Lawrence Welk. But it was a concert. $2.

[Hamerhack]

Jan & Dean

Euclid Beach Park

Cleveland Ohio summer 1965

Two guys in striped shirts and white slacks. A large back-up band of union musicians in suits or tuxes that looked like Lawrence Welk. But it was a concert. $2.

I saw them at the Minneapolis Mall of America in the '90's! Jan came out in a wheelchair, but stood to sing. The guitarist went up and down the escalators with a bunch of kids marching behind him.

[ecnal]

My first was Van Halen in Kansas City on the 1984 tour. From our limited view seats behind the stage, we all got to watch Roth snort coke off of a tray held by an assistant. (Fresh out of the "Just Say No" programs at school, I tried to deny that my hero would do such a thing, but it was hard to come up with another explanation.) Great concert!

[a.bandini]

Jefferson Starship, May 1978 in Hampton VA. Bought two tickets at $13.00 each, hoping that a young lady named Caroline (not so sweet) would go with me, but ended up selling it to my next door neighbor, Bill. Trying to tie this to another fairly recent thread, I well remember Grace singing "Up against the wall, Mother......." Mary Balin was still in the band, Craig Chaquico too, but I was there to watch Paul Kantner. I have no idea what anyone played, but a couple years later squirmed onto the stage to get the pick (which I still of have Fender Medium, tortoiseshell) that Kantner played Volunteers of America with, in Bangor ME.

Kind of funny, but the magic has worn off. I haven't seen a concert that was worth the $$, at least of a "big" name, in years. To me, the fun is seeing someone on their way up. I've had a couple conversations with people like that.

Me: "Did you capo the second fret? Is it all in D?"

Them: Yes!"

Me: "I knew it!"

I was as thrilled last February when that conversation happened as I was 32 years earlier, in poor seats, fantasizing of Caroline, wondering what that funny smell was, watching Balin, Kantner, Papa John Creech and Slick do their thing.

A.Bandini

[LostArt]

mott the hoople shubert theater in philly some time in the 70's

Nico and john cale at Alexander's in browns mills nj some time in the 80's

kraftwerk at emerald city cherry hill NJ 83 or 4

Lou reed NY tour tower theater upper darby PA

spinal tap 99 namm show in anaheim