Last night, we had some friends over for dinner. At one point, the conversation turned to music and concerts. It got especially animated when everyone shared their first concert experience.
I love hearing about people’s very first concert. In any given room, the answers can range from Rick Springfield to Poison to the Backstreet Boys to Pat Benatar.
My first concert was Michael Jackson. My older sister drove me and my best friend to the Capital Centre in Washington D.C. to see him. I remember so much about that night, it’s a little strange. I filled many pages in my diary the next day.
What was yours?
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Hey, it is so great to see that others also saw their first concert at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC)in my hometown.
My first concert was at SPAC around 1978 when I was 13. It was my love – Andy Gibb – “Love is higher than a mountain, love is thicker than water…” I even had an Andy Gibb locket, I was so cool!
Love this question and the answers.
Like Lisa, above, I saw Andy Gibb in the late ’70s in Miami. I was 12. When he sang “I just want to be your everything” I shouted “You are, you are!” Oh boy.
My first was Rush, the Moving Pictures tour. I had never heard of them, neither had most of the world, I think, except for my nerdy friends. At that show they played a song called “Tom Sawyer.” The rest, as they say, is history.
oh my … Adam Ant in 1983. i was a sophomore in HS and i had the biggest crush on him. (thank you MTV.) i was sooooooo sure he was going to fall in love with me after picking me out in the crowd. i can still remember the t-shirt i bought that night. too funny.
Amy Grant in the very early 80’s … after the concert she sat on the edge of the stage, drinking a Tab, and talking to anyone in the audience who wanted to visit.
Led Zepplin at Wembley stadium on their ‘Led Zep IV’ tour. It was a 15th birthday present from my (21 rear old, computer genius, hell’s angel) boyfriend. I didn’t even know who they were, but Stairway to Heaven was phenomenol.
Crosby Stills Nash & Young at the Philadelphia Spectrum in 1970, with both my parents. I was 13, and thrilled to be there in spite of my parents!
Well, the best thing about being #55 (I think) is that I get to read the other 54 comments beofre me first! All great fun!!!
My first was Santana in 1984 at Popular Creek Music Theatre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois (which is now bascially the Sears/Kmart headquarters).
I was 19, my parents bought the tickets if I took my younger brother. We on the lawn and had the best time ever! I didn’t even mind the hour wait it took me to get out of the parking lot!
My first concert should have been Led Zepplin when I was 15, but sadly John Bonham died and that was the end of that! We went to a monster truck rally instead!
Ahhh…the memories!
Late 70’s and it was The Steve Miller band. Front row tickets! It was great but soooooo loud because we were in front of a huge amp!
Bette Midler at Pine Knob outside of Detroit. It was my senior year in high school. I went with my best friend Wendy (still my best friend 28 years later!). My car was a ‘73 Pinto with a stick shift I hadn’t quite mastered and I remember nearly running us into a ditch because I couldn’t get it moving from second gear. Fun memories!
How fun to read all of the first concerts! I don’t remember mine. :
Mackie, I remember Tennessee Ernie Ford! I especially remember an “I Love Lucy” episode on which he played a country cousin who’d never seen
a roll-away-bed. He spent the night in it like a hotdog in a bun because he didn’t know it made into a single bed (:
These are great! Mine was Whitney Houston sometime in the mid 80s maybe. I wasn’t a huge fan, but my older sister bought me a ticket to go with her and her best friend. They were 10 years older and I thought I was pretty damn cool to be going with them!
My parents took me to see Elvis Presley in the early seventies when I was about six or seven years old. I was screaming and crying and just knew that I could bust through the security guards and get a scarf from the King. I couldn’t – but boy I tried. I also saw the Osmond Family (before Donny was a solo act and Marie even hit the scene) and the Brady Bunch. I am a bit envious of Mackie over the Bobby Sherman thing – I think the first record I owned was “Julie”. I cut it off of the back of a box of Honeycomb cereal. The other one I really wish I could have seen was David Cassidy and life would have been truly complete at the time. You know how Frances said that she thought that Adam Ant could see her in the crowd? I used to take a bath and put on my cutest nightgown every Friday night before the Partridge Family came on just in case David Cassidy could see me through the TV. First concert without parents was Foghat in the sixth grade. I went with my best friend and her older brother and his friend. My mother made me wear a dress and I fell alseep in my seat before the concert ended.
Odd… the first comment mentioned Thin Lizzy opening for the main event, and I think my first concert was Thin Lizzy… or Horslips … or Rory Gallagher(73/74?). Then Eric Clapton or Hawkwind… Such a long, long time ago!
I saw U2 on my 16th birthday at the Omni in Atlanta with my best friend, Adrienne. A memory I hold in my heart with such warmth…
Does anyone remember Little River Band ( Australian) way back in the late 70’s?
I saw them before thay became well-known and gave concerts in the US. I also saw Inxs at the same venue before they ‘took off’.
The hall wouldn’t have seated more than 300 people…Boy does that makes me sound old.
The Fixx at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago in 1984. Pretty awesome show. If the Fixx ever come to your town, be sure to check them out!
Tim
These are so great to read! Lots of John Denver concerts – which gets me a little teary.
I’m going to ban ANY MORE PEOPLE from talking about how OLD they are or how this DATES them, etc etc. Revel in your age! Who cares how old you are? You’ve lived and you have great memories!
(Tim – The Fixx actually went on BEFORE me at a festival where I performed a few years ago. Between that, and performing on a stage next to the Gap Band at another summer festival – I sometimes wish I could go back to my young self as she listened to those songs and say, “You’re not going to BELIEVE this, but someday, you’ll be on a stage with this band!”)
Wow, it was The Osmonds at the Hollywood Paladium. My friend’s mom drove us, I wore purple and my friend wore green and neither one of us had voices the following day.
Thanks Christine, that brought back a nice memory.
Alice Cooper, all by myself. Had to hitch a ride home after, over the bridge from Duluth back to Superior. Looking back I was incredibly independent and equally naive (stupid for hitching-I was 15!)
But in the end I am totally amazed and very proud of myself for pulling it off. I was such an unsure-of-myself person then and that was pretty gutsy.
Pat
OK, I’m showing the complete innocence of the time:
1965?
The Beatles in Cleveland.
I was 12. Went with my best friend. One set of parents drove us to the concert and dropped us off; the other set picked us up.
Last concert: Bruce Springsteen at the Oakland Arena. Main floor. I danced almost all night.
Joelle and Deb, you both mention Seals and Croft. Jimmy Seals has been touring with his brother Dan (of England Dan and John Ford Coley and later Dan Seals as a country artist). They perform lots of their old hits from back in the 70’s and throw in some new stuff, too. if you can catch one of their shows, you will not regret it. http://www.sealsandseals.com
technically, i guess it would be ‘the captain and tennille” (i don’t think i spelled that correctly) when i was about 8. my grandfather took me to a fair in indiana when we were visitng over the summer. i watched their TV show. i sang along with her. and i had her haircut. the cool part was….i got to meet them after the show.
after that, it’d have to be madonna….like a virgin….in dallas. (blush)
i LOVE hearing about all the people who got to see the beatles!!! (big fan here, but never got to see them.)
all the best!
deb
1967–The Association–absolutely fantastic!
An indie gig. And I moshed. Yeaah!!!
What a great topic of conversation. Well now, at the risk of blowing away all my street cred (haha) my first gig was…Brotherhood of Man when I was about 8 years old! They got me up on stage to sing with them. I went to see Bjork last week so let’s just say my tastes have significantly changed since then
1990-New Kids on the Block.
Tinley Park, Illinois, The World Theater.
Oddly enough, it was just a few years later that I saw the concert that has made the most impact (albeit, hugely negative) on my life in the same theater. Chicago.
I think my first concert was the Beach Boys in about 1982 in Chico, California, with Greg Khin opening… My big brother took me, (I was 12) and I still remember all the beach balls bouncing around the crowd.
My first concert without family chaperones was (wait for it…) Motley Crue/Whitesnake/Poison at the Oakland Colliseum when I was 15! My best friend and I had seats just above the first aid dugout and I vividly remember seeing casualties from the floor being carried in on stretchers before us…
1975. The mighty Grand Funk Railroad! Oh Yeah!! I was in 8th grade, my oldest brother took me and I’ve been a fan ever since. I still go to concerts but I can still remember that one like it was yesterday. I even remember that I had an orange parka with a white faux fur collar. I was rockin’ and stylin’! HAHAHA
thanks for the flashback, Christine!
I do have to say my all time favorite however was seeing Dan Fogelberg at the UI Assembly Hall. Seats were on the floor, 4th row from the stage. I was drooling. Husband at the time fell asleep. Never invited husband to go to concert again.
Sandra
Pink Floyd in 1987.
Best friend’s mom had he daughter skip school and camp for tickets. Amazing show – sound smell taste vision and feel – all senses hit on overload – and now, such a high bar to cross when deciding to go to a concert.
You’re first concert was Michael Jackson? That’s so cool!
My first concert was New Kids on the Block! I was 11 and we had to convince my friend’s parents to drive us a couple hours to get there. We were ridiculously far from the stage, but the experience was amazing anyway.
Now that I’m older, I plan to do anything within my power to get tickets closer to the stage on the reunion tour! And I’ll be going with the same friend to see them.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
What a fun question! As always, Christine, reading your blog makes me think about many a good time.
I was in 8th grade and had tickets to see Depeche Mode on June 16th (90? 91?)at Giants’ Stadium in New Jersey. My mother was not about to let me go alone, and so she came with my friend, Jill, and I. I was REALLY sick with strep throat but insisted I was fine. Totally worth it even if my throat was BLEEDING the next day. I remember so much of it but the best part was when Martin Gore did his two songs (as at EVERY dm show). He did two acoustic songs… world full of nothing, and I want you now.
Sooooo good. I would love to see them again even if I haven’t bought an album since Songs of Faith and Devotion.
Thanks for the memories!
1984 – Bruce Springsteen on the first round of the Born in the USA tour at the Byrne Arena (now the Izod Arena) in the Meadowlands. I was all of 15, and there with my mom and a group of people from her office.
Growing up in New Jersey, you really don’t get a whole lot better than that. =)
I love it! I was also at the Beatles Forest Hills concert in 1964. I was 12 and my old best friend who had moved to Forest Hills called and asked if I could go with her, her older sister and friend (who were 16). My mom said abslutely not. My new best friend told my mom if she didn’t let me go that I would never forgive her for the rest of my life, which was basically true. So my mom said yes – wonder of wonders! this is the first concert I went to without adults and was it exciting! I dreamed of John. And yes, the screaming was amazing and loud. I remember there were other acts – not just the Beatles. That was the way concerts were in the early days – not just one group/act and a warm-up. Lots of value for your ticket dollar. Thanks for the chance to remember this one!
My first non-classical concert was Simon & Garfunkel at an auditorium in St. Louis in 1967. It probably had a seating capacity of about 3000. I was 14 and my parents bought me the most expensive tickets–I think they were $6.50. I saw them several times over the years, the last time being the next-to-last concert on their world tour a couple of years ago. I joined 40,000 of my closest friends in Basel (Switzerland). The tickets cost 135 Swiss francs each (about $130). They had a great band, had actually rehearsed and brought the Everly Brothers along. All in all, darned good value. Most recent concert: last week I was in England and went to a concert featuring four sixties bands. It was terrific to see 16 musicians who were all older than I am. Highlights: who wouldn’t love hearing the Tremeloes doing a credible rendition of “Silence is Golden”? Personal favorite: Marmalade doing “Reflections of my life”. The average age of the audience was about 60 and they were on their feet throughout!
My first concert was Richie Havens in New Haven, CT. If I close my eyes, I can still hear his soulful voice as he strums his guitar to “Freedom”. Thanks for the memory (almost as good as being there)!
I haven’t read all of the comments, but at the risk of maybe outing myself as one of the oldest among them…The Association at Humboldt State…7th grade…1968. But it got better…2nd concert? Ry Cooder, same year, same venue.
My first concert was Guns ‘n Roses when I lived in Paris the summer of 1993 (during high school). Having trained in classical piano & opera growing up, it was the obvious choice, right? *LOL* Let me tell you – it’s a surreal experience to hear 30,000 French people screaming “welcome to the jungle”!
1983- The Police-Synchronicity Tour at “The Checkerdome” , which has since been torn down in St. Louis, Missouri. I was 13 and went with a friend and her “cool” older sister and her sister’s “cool” boyfriend.
I couldn’t stand The Police then, and I cannot stand them today….(very uncool of me)….but I couldn’t pass the opportunity up to go to a CONCERT!
I wore a pink Izod shirt, with the collar turned up! Very Uncool!
Billy Joel (1986) – my first huge venue show!
Beastie Boys (1987) – my first show with friends of driving age … so no parents involved!
Tiffany! This was the late 80s. My mom drove my older sister and I in to the city (we lived a couple hours away on a farm) to see our very first concert. And we got T-shirts! It was almost too much for my eight year old brain to take! I don’t really remember the concert as much as I remember the excitment of the whole experience and the utter shock that we got to experience it all!
My very first concert was Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes. Does anyone remember “White Buffalo”. Brownsville Station opened for Ted.
Saw this concert at the fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis. It claims to be acoustically perfect with not a bad seat in the house. All I know is this was the start of my lifelong love of hard rock.
It’s fun to note that the last concert I attended was with my daughter and her friends (as an escort for the three minors). We saw Green Day (American Idiot Tour) at the St. Louis Convention center, with My Chemical Romance as the opening act. Green Day put on a great show. At one point, they selected three rock wanna-be musicians from the audience. They played one of GDs older, 3-cord songs while Billy Joe sang. Very cool.
My first concert was Cat Stevens, in the early ’70’s; Madison WI.. I still love his music, and even have some of his newer music (as Yusuf)
My first concert was The Grateful Dead at the Spectrum in Philly. I think I was thirteen. The concert lasted for 6 hours and it was just The Dead. I have no idea how I got my parents to let me go to that without any supervision. I didn’t get home until almost 3 in the morning and it was a school night. I’ll be a Deadhead till I die! I have been going to all kinds of concerts ever since. Last night I did one of those Facebook quizzes about 50 bands you’ve seen in concert. I could have probably named twice that. And that doesn’t count the ones I’ve seen several times. (The ones I’ve seen most have been Loggins & Messina, seven times so far, soon to be number eight.) In my late teens/early twenties, I’d sometimes go to two or three a week. Now that I’m in my 50’s, I go to some sort of live performance just about every other week or so….guess I’m finally slowing down! Nah!
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