After seeing Hornisse comments about the stones being his first concert I had a flashback moment.
my first - early 1972 at Madison Sguare Garden, 14 years old. Jethro Tull - first night in the states to promote the i believe soon to be released or just released -Thick as a Brick. Most of the audience including me had not heard it yet. One of my favs at the time - Glenn Cornick (gibson man extroardinare-tremendously underrated) had left before the Aqualung album and i was somewhat disappointed in the commercialism (although i didn't know why i didn't love it at the time) of Aqualung.
Tull was great. they opened with thick as a brick for 45+ minutes and most of us didn't know what hit us. They had made it to the big time. i was hooked for life though i still miss(ed) Glenn.
Well, my first concert was Iron Butterfly, on the In-a-Gadda-da-Vida tour. It was a church group outing, believe it or not.
I saw Tull, with new bassist Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, on a tour between Benefit and Aqualung (remember the days when tours came out AHEAD of the new album?). They were outstanding.
cream, oct. 1968. opening act was terry reid. ticket price was a whopping 6 dollars.
My first two gigs were Slade, 1973 and 1974, I was coming up 12 for the first one, & the band were at the peak of their success in the UK. In '75 I saw Slade again and also Status Quo, both bands come to think of it who didn't crack the States at the time, or much since. The next year I saw Nazareth, who were supported by Snafu which featured a little known guitarist by the name of Micky Moody - later ones of the brains behind Whitesnake.
The Grateful Dead, in maybe 1979?. My friend's step sister was a Dead head, and she got sick and couldn't go. So we got the tickets, and I at that time had no idea who they were, and figured they must be like Black Sabbath, being dead and all. I was nauseated. I had no idea people like that still roamed the earth, as dirty hippies had gone the way of the rotary phone by the late 70s - meaning my grandmother had one and these people came out of whatever hovel they were living in. So to top off the freak show audience, they were - per usual - lame and lifeless, and the drum head solo - hitting a head to the cheers of the hallucinating - was beyond reality. I spent the show walking around and checking out the bra-less. Then they did an encore which was Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry stuff which I liked in comparison, but was also horrendous and made me appreciate Sha-Na-Na all the more. The Grateful Dead show sucked.
My first real concert (apart from the yearly party in town with Top 100 bands) was Bodine in Apollo in a small town called Helden. I think it must have been in 1983.
One of the first times I got really drunk too ;D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuZL37z_Qg8
It's a shame I never the saw the first line-up of Bodine. I actually liked them more (and still do)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_dDr4pl2TU
Slade in '74 and Alice Cooper in '75 - both at Wembley
Quote from: nofi on May 25, 2010, 01:41:53 PM
terry reid
Now there's a talented guy who has really been around, but still remains largely unknown. I only 'discovered' him in recent years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8RTGhe4nzU&feature=related
My first stadium concerts were Heart, Yes, and CSN, all circa early-to-mid-80s, tagging along with my pops.
Mine was Alice Cooper, 1980. Flush the Fashion tour. Never been the same since!
I, I cant remember....
Ah the 70's.....
Darned if I remember. Could have been any of the bands that toured colleges in the period 1968-70. I didn't go to concerts till I reached college.
(http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x31/dedgard/stones.jpg)
I saved my ticket stub. Sorry for the poor photo. I was 13 (almost 14) and we were in the cheap seats way up high. I do remember the star shaped stage which was cool, and Billy Preston's huge afro! (he was playing keys with them) There was also quite a bit of "fog" at the show..... 8)
the first concert i went to was led zeppelin 1971 at western springs stadium .they were very very good.i can remember that one clearly because i was 13 and unfamiliar with the average concert goers recreational pursuits. 8)
Status Quo, 1975, Hordern Pavillion in Sydney.
My first was in 72 or 73. I was in the 5th grade. The Guess Who, Jose Feliciano & the all girl group Fanny.
I think it was 1966, I wasn't yet old enough to drive, my mom took me and my sister, who was (and still is) a huge fan:
The Beatles - Chicago Amphitheater
My first concert was Kansas on the AudioVisions (1980?) tour in Nashville, Tenn. Seemed to think that it was cool at the time, but looking back.......... :-\
Quote from: Big_Stu on May 25, 2010, 01:47:11 PM
My first two gigs were Slade, 1973 and 1974, I was coming up 12 for the first one, & the band were at the peak of their success in the UK. In '75 I saw Slade again and also Status Quo, both bands come to think of it who didn't crack the States at the time, or much since. The next year I saw Nazareth, who were supported by Snafu which featured a little known guitarist by the name of Micky Moody - later ones of the brains behind Whitesnake.
I have a Snafu LP somewhere around here, they did a great version of Neil Youngs Ohio.
My dad took me to see KISS in '77 or 78. Still have my ticket stub, my tour book and the KISS belt buckle my dad bought!
1973
Seattle Coliseum, Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies tour
Flo and Eddie opened the show, which was also me first date. I was in 9th grade and took a lovely (chesty) or so I thought, girl named Barbie Kost.
I never thought of music the same after that show, no more AM radio pop for me! it was all glam and rock!
My first concert was an Australian affair in 1975 that included Hush, John Paul Young and Avalanche. Followed shortly thereafter by Status Quo. Same tour that Mark would have seen.
hush.theres a band i had forgotten about .i saw them supporting dragon.
My first one was BZN. A really cool band! Like the Dutch Beatles, but vocals shared by a woman and man.
Please, Rob, don't spoil this for me... I'm ashamed already.... I was taken by my parents... But I went to a lot of concert to make it better....
Quote from: Freuds_Cat on May 25, 2010, 05:54:58 PM
I have a Snafu LP somewhere around here, they did a great version of Neil Youngs Ohio.
Cool, they put a couple of reissue albums out on CD a few years ago; Snafu & Situation Normal. I still have a promo sticker from that gig which I got Micky Moody to sign when I met him at a gig recently.
Rainbow in autumn 1976. First Rainbow gig on German ground after Blackers had gone AWOL from ze Pürps. Dio/Powell/Bain/Carey line up, half of which are no longer with us. My dad took me and a friend, waiting patiently in the car park of the hall while the concert took place. A few years later he would at least grudgingly admit while forcibly co-listening to a Rainbow keyboard solo with classical influences I was treating myself with over our living room stereo "that this is not quite as bad as the noise you usually hear, it's actually listenable!"
(http://reocities.com/sunsetstrip/Palladium/9932/cpowe_r8.jpg)
Blackmore was at his peak back then as regards both his enigmatic Man in Black image and his jaw-dropping guitar playing ranging from the introspective to the dramatic. I had never seen Purple before (we were in Africa for most of the early seventies), so hearing Rainbow tear into Mistreated as the second song in the set, after Kill the King, was a revelation. Plus, they had this one of a kind rainbow shape lighting rig which was awesome when it worked (as it did that night).
They had an opening act. Some unknown Aussie band. Lead guitarist played in a schoolboy uniform and presented his naked pimply butt to the audience. How talent- and hopeless can you get me thought back then. Those guys and their screechy singer will never make it.
In hindsight, perhaps, I wasn't entirely correct in that last assessment! :mrgreen:
KISS - Destroyer tour, full stage set, August '76 at the old Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta. With guests Blue Oyster Cult (Reaper tour), and Johnnie and Edgar Winter, plus a bunch of other bands that we missed. I think Bob Seeger??? My mom ended up taking me. ;D Crazy night, and somewhat frightening at times. We parked in a pretty sketchy neighborhood. I was 12.
For my girls' first concert, I took the family to see Bruce Springsteen and the E street band a few years ago in Denver's Pepsi Center...and we were on the third level next to the stage. Unfortunately I've learned that the acoustics are incredibly bad on that level - the whole concert sounded muddy. Same problem when I went to see McCartney, and when I saw Bob Seeger (and with Seeger, there was the problem of the fat biker lady in the Harley T-shirt who was in my line of sight and decided to stand up and dance through much of the concert).
I took my wife to see Rascal Flatts last year at the Pepsi Center and sat on the first level - MUCH better. I've learned that if I'm going to spend the $ to attend a concert in the Pepsi Center, I'll spend enough to sit on the first level, or I won't go.
We had a great experience a couple of years ago when I took the whole family to see the Moody Blues in the Wells Fargo theater in the Denver convention center - excellent sound and gerat show, even without an orchestra backing then. I've seen the Moody Blues live four times dating back to the late 60's.
There's also a local theater in Fort Collins where Dick Dale appears - hopefully he'll be back now that he's feeling better. My girls had a BLAST seeing him.
my first show was Cheech & Chong with Steely Dan as the opening act in '72.
MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice. I was 14. :rolleyes:
My son's is much cooler. Los Lobos, free show in the park, Albany NY.
Quote from: kungfusheriff on May 26, 2010, 11:06:39 AM
MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice. I was 14. :rolleyes:
You're a brave man, Shawn, a very brave man. Outing yourself like this here. :rolleyes: There is not really that much than can be done about having witnessed a Vanilla Ice concert, the damage to a young boy's psyche is permanent. :-\ Alembics are just a symptom. ;D But to redeem yourself: Did you at least like MC Hammer better? :mrgreen:
Quote from: the mojo hobo on May 25, 2010, 05:51:05 PM
I think it was 1966, I wasn't yet old enough to drive, my mom took me and my sister, who was (and still is) a huge fan:
The Beatles - Chicago Amphitheater
Did you actually hear them?
I think that it could be said that my first concert was to see The Beach Boys a few years ago in San Diego. I was down there with my family and they just happened to be playing so we got to see them at a place called Humphrey's which has concerts right on the bay.
I did see a couple bands a few years before that but I would hardly call it a concert. We stayed after the X Games just to see Slash perform as he was a guest for the main band.
Quote from: TBird1958 on May 25, 2010, 06:15:42 PM
1973
Seattle Coliseum, Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies tour
AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!(Barbie...? ;D)
Only gig they played in the UK that year was in Glasgow, which was nowhere near me... :sad:
I considered myself to be lucky to have seen the Tommy Bolin line up of DP at around the time Uwe saw the first Rainbow tour... Also saw Skynyrd that year, and the Ozarks...
My daughters first was Emmylou Harris, but she was too tired and fell asleep (she was about 5 or 6) but her first LOUD gig was Rush on their 2007 tour...
My wife's was (she thinks) Lorretta Lynn... not many 60's - 70's country acts she hasn't seen though she hasn't been to a country show in about 25 years... Whilst away on hols a friend suggested we go and see a tribute act called "Ring Of Fire" as he's a big fan of Cash, but she wound him up (again) by reminding him that she'd, "Seen the real thing..." :mrgreen:
I know a family that took their kids to see the London Beatles shows in '66 (Hammersmith Odeon?) but one of them was 3 and has no "physical" memory - he just knows he "saw" them... :-\
Just an add-on... what about acts or artists you regret not going to see when you could have done...?
Black Sabbath ('78 iirc) cancelled their show one time when I was standing in the foyer waiting to get in (I saw them with Ozzy and RJD prior and post this point)... "Sound issues" was the official reason... the strong rumour was having trouble following their support - Van Halen, on their first UK tour... never did see them...
I gave away tickets to see Ozzys first solo tour as it turned out to be a friends 21st... never did get to see Randy... :sad:
Deeply regret never having seen Status Quo, although I had countless chances... never seen...
Grand Funk played London in '74, 2 months before I discovered them... never seen...
Black Oak Arkansas played a post Reading mini tour, one in London, one in Glasgow... I was in Scotland when they played London and back home for the Scottish gig... people really hated this band but I loved them... never seen...
I was *supposed* to see Queen, but they cancelled two days prior to the show in Chicago when Brian May got hepatitis. I got to see Kansas fill in for them, unannounced (really good, too).
I never saw Pink Floyd when they were touring.
At the rate it's going, I'll never see Muse.
I *did* finally see Todd last year. Good show, but not great. Added bonus of Prairie Prince on drums.
Missed Floyd and Queen, too... although my sister (first gig - Bay City Rollers, tartan and everything... :puke:) saw Queen on the new-years eve show in '75 and on another occasion came home with a piece of the pig (honest...!) that was in the cover shot - did any of you hear the story of what happened to the pig...? it broke loose and floated into the main flightpath for Heathrow - a pilot reported it and was arrested and breathalysed on touchdown... imagine the conversation... "Err Heathrow control...? Their is a large pink pig floating past us..." :o
kenny, how could you not see status quo. those guys must have played a show in every town on earth, twice! i saw them open for rory gallagher.
LOUD
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y247/lowend1/ZZSLtktlo.jpg)
1952, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans at the Houston Rodeo.
Trigger was there too but he didn't sing.
if you want to get technical i saw paul revere and the raiders four years before cream. they were at some kind of merchandising thing for "young america". the fire marshall shut them down after 3 songs. it was pandemonium i tell 'ya.
My first was Wishbone Ash in August of '73. They played outside of Buffalo NY at a old quarry, the venue was named The Hard Rock Quarry. I went with my twin brother (we were 13) and our older cousin she was 16. She told us whatever you do don't embaresse me. She quickly ditched us, we spent the day and evening hanging with some very cool hippies who kept a eye on us. At the end of the concert we found her at the aid station passed out with hickies all over her neck, Her dad was not happy. My biggest regret is never seeing Slade......................... those who have I am so f'ng jealous.
Quoteif you want to get technical i saw paul revere and the raiders
Now, that's f#ckin cool!
I think my first was Kiss about 1977 I can't remember if it was the Destroyer or the Rock and Roll over tour - I was a freshamn in highschool and couldn't drive - mom dropped us off at the Summit and picked us up - was she ever pissed - we didn't get home until 10:45 on a school night!
Buzz... I'm guessing
Quote from: nofi on May 26, 2010, 01:28:02 PM
kenny, how could you not see status quo. those guys must have played a show in every town on earth, twice! i saw them open for rory gallagher.
I guess it was because I thought I always could... now it's not worth the bother (SingalongaQuo)
I saw a number of really good bands that never really made it, Stray was probably the best of them... saw the Police before they released their first A&M single (supporting Spirit...?!?!), Def Leppard as a bunch of spotty oiks, and Iron Maiden as a bar-band in a pub around the time they released the first single, which I bought... I consider myself very lucky to have seen Max Webster in a bar/club in London (400 standing)
Did see Sabbath with Gillan (as well as Dio and Ozzy... Smoke for an encore was kind of wierd...) and so glad to have seen UFO with Schenker... Skynyrd was another band I am so glad to have had the opportunity to see, '76 and '77...
Quo.... I've seen them 3 times. Quo without Lancaster and Coglin is not Quo for me. With that rhythm section they were a bad ass hard drivin' seriously rockin' band. Without them they are just another rocky pop band to my ears. >:(
My first concert was in the mid 70s. The headliner was Moxy, and the opening act(so the first band I actually saw in concert) was AC/DC.
Quote from: Freuds_Cat on May 27, 2010, 06:52:16 PM
Quo.... I've seen them 3 times. Quo without Lancaster and Coglin is not Quo for me. With that rhythm section they were a bad ass hard drivin' seriously rockin' band. Without them they are just another rocky pop band to my ears. >:(
Amen!!! I still like Quo and the new guys aren't bad at all, but I miss Lancaster's vocals (he sang all the rockier, bluesier Quo stuff) and the tension of his hard-driving, yet sometimes cutely melodic bass playing so darn much! John "Rhino" Edwards, his successor, once said along the lines of: "I really like Alan's bass playing, but what most people don't realize is that he was always playing all the time to the best and at the limit of his abilities as a bass player. That is not to put him down. It's very hard to replicate." Maybe that is where the tension came from.
Quo (the album) is an icon of bluesy seventies hard rock and my favorite (also the one with the largest Lancaster songwriting input). On the Level and Blue for you follow closely. I was shattered when after the Live album they brought in that flimsy Pip Williams pop production on "Rocking all over the World", but it is what Rossi wanted. He always regarded calling Quo a metal band an insult, but for sheer no-holds-barred energy they actually were, just listen to this (sung and written by Lancaster):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjXD0NjZkww
That song is notable for some things not readily identified with Quo: The way the riff changes from D to A, Rossi's adamant major key playing in the solo of a song dominated by a minor key riff (Lancaster once said that Rossi did initially not know how to play minor scales anf that by the time he noticed that there was a difference :mrgreen: major key solos had become a Quo trademark so he stuck with them), the break at 3.01 and the ensuing synchronized riffing in odd meters before - after the pause - that riff returns in its original form like a dinosaur. Sheer bliss.
Quote from: uwe on May 26, 2010, 11:49:55 AM
You're a brave man, Shawn, a very brave man. Outing yourself like this here. :rolleyes: There is not really that much than can be done about having witnessed a Vanilla Ice concert, the damage to a young boy's psyche is permanent. :-\ Alembics are just a symptom. ;D But to redeem yourself: Did you at least like MC Hammer better? :mrgreen:
Believe me, I hesitated for quite a while before hitting the Post button. The Los Lobos story is what convinced me to go for it. And yes, I must admit that I enjoyed the MC Hammer portion of the evening most of all. Hindsight is a brutal, brutal thing.
FYI, I am in Alembic rehab -- sold them all -- and my current infatuation is a plywood German upright of indeterminate age. So dort!
Quote from: leftybass on May 28, 2010, 08:58:38 AM
My first concert was in the mid 70s. The headliner was Moxy, and the opening act(so the first band I actually saw in concert) was AC/DC.
That is cool Ronn. When I saw Santana the summer of '76 (Amigos tour) in San Antonio the opening band were Moxy. Their first LP is a classic!
(http://i49.tinypic.com/2ik83o1.gif)
First concert I ever attended was Aerosmith, Frank Marino and Mohogany Rush and a new band no one had ever heard of called AC/DC.
We didn't know what to make of AC/DC especially Angus, but we thought they were okay.
Frank Marino fractured his hand the day of the show and couldn't perform.
Aerosmith was terrible. It was a the height (depth) of their herion days and they were so sloppy it was sad.
I had a great time! :D
I saw Jethro Tull (one of my all time favorite bands) on the Stormwatch tour. John Glascock played bass, he died not long after.
Quote from: uwe on May 28, 2010, 09:19:03 AM
I was shattered when after the Live album they brought in that flimsy Pip Williams pop production on "Rocking all over the World",
Indubitably!
My favourite Quo album is Quo Live
(http://cover7.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/580/584633.jpg)
In particular Rain and Forty-Five Hundred Times
Quote from: uwe on May 26, 2010, 11:50:46 AM
Did you actually hear them?
Of course not! Bits here and there, enough to tell what song they were playing, , but mostly screaming girls. We were in row 52 on the ground floor so we didn't see much either.
Quote from: gweimer on May 26, 2010, 12:28:03 PM
I never saw Pink Floyd when they were touring.
Pink Floyd at Soldier Field was a great show. Flying Pig, Greek Columns, overcast with a yellow glow, and surround sound. One of the best.
One thing I remember was how thick the air was with smoke - the legal variety before the lights went down and the other variety when they did. Going to concert today is very different - you can see the stage clearly ;)
Doesn't do anything for the lighting... ;D
When I saw Spirit in '78 there was a guy "lighting up" next to me, which kindamellowedmymind, but they (Spirit) were hoping to beat their previous record of seven encores and by the time they came back on for the 3rd someone had put up the house lights, and California announced that they wanted to play more but there "was a curfew" someone in the audience (who, me...?) shouted at the top of their voice, "
F*CK THE CURFEW..." They then played Stone Free... when the record came out, there was my voice... oops...
Quote from: kungfusheriff on May 28, 2010, 02:32:27 PM
Believe me, I hesitated for quite a while before hitting the Post button.
I publicly outed myself here by admitting to having seen Gregg and Cher from the front row of the Rainbow Theatre back in '77... :o
Could anything top (bottom) that...? ;D
There was a club in St. Charles, Illinois we used to go to regularly and that one time there was Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart.
The first concert I saw was Jefferson Airplane in the New Haven Coliseum, 1968. I was taken there by my babysitter.
First show I went to by myself was Grand Funk Railroad at Yale Bowl in 1971. Their opening act was a band from England no one had heard of named Yes. I was 13, hitched home by myself after midnight. Those were different times.
Also the first of many shows where the opening act completely blew away the headliner, but nobody in the audience seemed to notice.
Quote from: Freuds_Cat on May 29, 2010, 06:52:27 AM
Indubitably!
My favourite Quo album is Quo Live
(http://cover7.cduniverse.com/MuzeAudioArt/580/584633.jpg)
In particular Rain and Forty-Five Hundred Times
Quo were awesome when they were still the original band, losing Alan Lancaster was the worst thing that ever happened to them. You only have to watch the film of them doing "Caroline" live to see that, the intro could go on for ages while they wandered the stage talking to the crowd before kicking into it.