First Concerts (aka The Nostalgia Thread)

[VicAjax]

i was eating my turkey chili and reminiscing about the first concerts i ever went to, events that seeded my lifelong obsession with music, and i realized it was a pretty impressive collection.

what are the first concerts you ever attended?

mine, from when i was 13-14 years old (all chaperoned by good-sport parents):

Headliner: The Police
Opening Act: The Fixx
with 2 friends and my mom for my 13th birthday. it ended up being filmed for the Synchronicity concert video.

Headliner: U2
Opening Act: The Alarm
Unforgettable Fire tour. i went as a fan of The Alarm, left as a U2 fan.

Headliner: Adam Ant
Opening Act: The Romantics
Strip tour. the largest pile of ladies' underwear i'd ever seen.

Headliner: Prince
Opening Act: Sheila E
Purple Rain tour. damn, what a performer. Sheila E was no slouch, herself.

Headliner: The Jacksons
Opening Act: A juggler

Victory tour. at a football stadium. huge crowd. lots of pyrotechnics. and a juggler??

 

[Spyro]

Led Zeppelin...Summer of 1974...Chicago Amphitheater...I was 13 years old

And it was perhaps the worst concert I have ever been to. Jimmy Page was so stoned/drunk he could barely stand. After the 3rd song, Robert Plant stated that due to Jimmy having a bad case of the flu, the band could not continue on. Make up date was never scheduled so we got our money back....so in effect, I guess I got to see them for free. But that night, an LZ coverband would have blown them off the stage.

 

[Icehawk]

A bunch of folk stuff when I was little... but the first "real" concert I went to with a friend was Tom Petty when I was ~14. Fabulous concert, I think the Replacements opened. This was c1989, when Tom Petty broke back into the scene with Full Moon Fever - this was a tour concert as I recall. I still remember he was wearing his hat I'd seen in the videos.

Glad to say I've had a chance to see a lot of other great artists since

Still jealous of my parents though, they got to see stuff like Hendrix in small clubs and were at Woodstock (heck, they had tickets!).

 

[Bunnyears]

I went to my first classical music concert when I was in kindergarten (I think -- it could have been when I was younger), and I don't really remember what was on the program. I do remember how the sound just filled Carnegie hall as if it were a warm, snuggly blanket.

My first rock concerts were in Forest Hills, NY. My friends and I would get tickets and then travel by subway to the tennis club for the music festival. If you think this is insignificant, let me remind you that the Beatles' first stadium concert in NY was there (Carnegie Hall and Ed Sullivan were theater concerts) and Jackie de Shannon and the Righteous Brothers opened for them.

Btw, Barbra Streisand had headlined earlier that month. Other concerts that summer included the Loving Spoonful (very teeny-bopper) and Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. It was a great summer. My dad's only comment was that all of the people were going to ruin the grass for the tennis (US Open was scheduled to start back then after Labor Day).

I wish I could say that the Beatles were my first concert, but I had gone to the festival the previous year as well.

 

[Sladeophile]

U2 - pop. That was a great concert, then went to some Phish and some other great shows. Very good memories.
Slade

 

[tyrion]

November 28, 1974 - Elton John - Madison Square Garden. John Lennon came out a played some songs with Elton John. This turned out to be John Lennon's last live performance.

 

[grawk]

When I was 13, I saw styx on the mr roboto tour with my dad's girlfriend and a neighbor kid. Took me a few years to realize that every band didn't change costumes etc...

 

[ComfyCan]

First: Neil Diamond. In my defense, I was about 9 and only went because my Dad was taking my older sister, who was a "screaming teenie" in those days.

When I hit my teen years and began going to concerts on my own, my memory starts to get a bit fuzzy for some reason; must be second-hand smoke

The *Best* show I ever saw was Led Zepplin in 1976: Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Mind-Blowing performance.

Other notables included Bruce Springstein, Yes ("in the round", Boston, Psychedelic Furs, The Who. Styx was pretty cool too back when they were allowed to use all of their lazers and mirror balls; no telling how many retinas were fried in the pursuit of coolness.

Most aburd: "The Day of Rock & Roll" at the Superdome in New Orleans (1975??). It was the first event ever held in the dome, and they let tens of thousands of stoners into the building for a 16 hour concert. Every southern rock & roll band of note played. That was never my genre, but it was quite an experience. The point, however, is that it was sheer idiocy to hold that kind of event in a brand new stadium, with smoking and drinking permitted. The place was pretty much trashed. Not Katrina trashed, but serious depreciation none the less.

Shows I kick myself for missing:
U2 (Unforgettable Fire Tour); Smashing Pumpkins (Any tour).

 

[Icehawk]

Nothing wrong with Neil Diamond, in fact I hear he puts on a really great show. Oddly enough a friend in college who was a total metalhead swore up and down that Diamond's concerts were his all time favorites. Weird, huh?

I just asked my wife what her's was - REO Speedwagon c1984, with Survivor opening - and yes, they played Eye of the Tiger

Sweet deal.

 

[DobsOnly]

First: Yes ~1974
Noteables: Yes in the round, Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd (pre Plane Crash), J Giles Band, James Cotton Blues Band, Manford Man, Kiss, Humble Pie, Outlaws, Charlie Daniels, ZZ Top. Hmmmm???#@$%% Can't remember.....

Last Concert: Rolling Stones - Steel Wheels Tour

 

[Senn20]

Really good show.

 

[Head Creep]

Rob Halford and Queensryche opening for Iron Maiden on the "Brave New World" tour, 12 years old. Sure, I was in the very last row, but it was a great show. I'll never forget Bruce Dickinson stopping mid-song and yelling at some guy for punching a guy.

 

[seantx]

Yes in the round
Van Halen (not van hagar) 6-7 times
Rolling Stones/ZZ Top/Fabulous Thunderbirds on Tattoo You tour
Judas Priest/Iron Maiden on British Steel/Killers tour (before Bruce Dickinson)
The Police on Reggata De Blanc
New Order in Waco, TX of all places
The Cars
Devo
The Ramones
GWAR (shut up. you know you would go given the chance!)
Queen with Freddie Mercury, The Game tour I think. Best show I've seen w/o a doubt.
The Cure


Wish I could have seen The Clash, The Sex Pistols (I was in 6th grade when they played in TX at The Bronco Bowl), Alice In Chains, Metallica before they were phalli, Echo And The Bunnymen, Sublime and The Pretenders to name a few.

 

[HiFiRE]

AC/DC when I was in grade 7 or so. I didn't even like them (still don't) but my friend bought me a ticket.

I remember walking into the seating area and finding it so loud that I didn't even want to go inside. I still feel this way when going to concerts, they're way too loud and sound awful to my ears. Although I do love shoving people in moshpits...

 

[rhythmdevils]

Phish! At the Shoreline in Mountain view, California