Your First Concert

[myhoneyhoney]

I was a kid, went to a New Kids On the Block concert at Great America (amusement park right next to Levi’s Stadium)

 

[PrincessLeppard]

Billy Squier, Omaha Civic Auditorium (which was torn down ), November 1982. I think my ticket was $8.25.

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

The Allman Brothers with Charlie Daniels opening for them in late summer/early fall 1973 at William & Mary Hall, right across the street from my freshman dorm.

I could have gone to see the Grateful Dead a few weeks earlier at the same venue, but I really didn't know who they were (I was into Motown and soul music as a teen).

 

[airgelaal]

It was a concert dedicated to the 200th anniversary of Odesa. I was with my parents and their friends. I remember how adults said that perhaps never in our lives we will see a better concert than this one. But thank God the Soviet Union collapsed and I was able to see much better concerts

 

[Kruss]

Shaun Cassidy, 1977, at the Chicago Coliseum. I was 13 years old.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

I went to see 10,000 Maniacs with my friends the night after our senior prom in 1993. Natalie Merchant’s voice live was amaazzing. That was also the night I first smelled marijuana.

 

[Bouffantrex]

Sharon, Lois & Bram, in 1980 or 1981.

 

[The Accordion]

Bryan Adams - Reckless Tour. My Mom took me and a friend and we were in pretty nosebleed seats - but I had some musical theatre connections who got me into a way better seat and almost backstage! But in the end Bryan Adams’ manager said “just your kids” and stopped me and my friend halfway there Still a great experience though!

 

[kwanfan1818]

to which I pointed out that the sleeping beauty was in fact still sleeping, so yeah, there's another act.

I laughed, too, but in his defense, she dances in the act before in the Vision Scene, and that might have been confusing. Little did he know that what was in store was a parade of fairy tale characters.

 

[Deleted member 1204]

My first concert ever was an English band named General Public, which I think was a spin-off from the English Beat. The first amazing concert I went to was Madonna, at The Spectrum in Philadelphia - 1985 maybe?

 

[Susan1]

Would you believe Cheech And Chong when I was 13?

I have the 45 - Basketball Jones. I don't know why. I just saw somebody's screen name somewhere that was Tyrone Shoelaces. I got the joke.

memories of lining up overnight to score concert tickets,

Did people really do that? Was it a 70s thing? Like I said, both times we went to Camelot Music in the mall to get line tickets to get in line to buy tickets at Camelot Music at a later date. Maybe the floor seats were the ones you had to grab when the box office opened first thing in the morning?

My first concert was The Turtles

We saw the Turtles in the 80s at a free 4th of July festival. I don't remember who all was there of the original members, but it wasn't a tribute band. Gosh, also Blood, Sweat and Tears, a different free 4th of July festival in the 90s. Also don't remember who all was original members.

I could have seen Styx in the 90s at Riverbend in Cincinnati (Riverbend, Riverfront Stadium, Riverfront Coliseum - guess where they all were - ha ha). Someone at work gave me the tickets because they had a season pass and couldn't use them. But...I got home and changed clothes three times and then it started pouring rain down there and wasn't supposed to stop. Outdoor concert on grass. Nope.

And I could have gone to see Elton John in the 90's. I forget where. Friend from the Paul concert and her boyfriend and her son were going. Her son was only a few years younger than me, and I didn't want to look like I was "with" him, so I didn't go. I had her get me a t-shirt though.

And....I could have gone to see the Goo Goo Dolls (Johnny Rzeznik - sigh!) with a bunch of other old ladies (40s-50s) when I worked at the mortgage company, but my car got rear ended at lunch (tailpipe was dragging on the ground) and I had to get that taken care of, plus I was stiff and sore that got worse.

But I saw Paul McCartney twice, so I'm good.

 

[taf2002]

The Carpenters, 1975, Hays Kansas. Later that year, Barry Manilow, Linda Rondstadt. We got the big-city pop concerts that year.

Great to see you Sam. DH still mentions you occasionally. But neither of us can remember the name of the fs fan you were with. I guess you made a bigger impression. Hugs!

 

[Judy]

Shaun Cassidy, 1977, at the Chicago Coliseum. I was 13 years old.

I saw him too! Not the U.S. in my city lol.

 

[once_upon]

Did people really do that?

People still wait in line - especially when tickets are general admission seating. When Billie Eilish was here, it was one of the days it was close to upper 90's. We live within blocks of the arena.

The night before people had tents set up across the seat to sleep over night, people had started setting up chairs across the street starting at 4 pm the night before. When the arena staff removed the barriers, people stood in line in the hot sun from 5 or 6 am until doors opened. Not as bizarre, but people stood in line for another one recently - maybe Machine Gun Kelley

The College World Series general admission tickets, same thing. Although in 2021, 2022 they changed how the GA tickets were sold. We live within blocks of Charles Schwab Stadium.

 

[HeatherC]

New Kids on the Block, summer of 1989, at Cinergy Field (the old Reds ballpark) when I was 13 years old. I went with three other friends and my one friend's dad drove us there. He stood near us with a book and wearing earplugs while we all went crazy for the NKOTB and danced around him, LOL

And for the record, we had to go stand in line for several hours to buy those tickets back then too so I definitely remember the days before Ticketmaster and online purchasing!

 

[Susan1]

New Kids on the Block, summer of 1989, at Cinergy Field (the old Reds ballpark

Concert-adjacent rant: Hey - it will always be Riverfront Stadium to me. They went through one of those "name the stadium after a corporate sponsor" things till they tore it down. The new one is Great American Ballpark. They better not name it after some corporation. I had to look - Riverfront Coliseum is now Heritage Bank Center. Riverbend Music Center is still the same name. But they have added a PNC Pavilion. Paul Brown Stadium (football) is now Paycor Stadium. They used to play in Riverfront Stadium. The Dayton Dragons stadium was Fifth/Third Field and is now Day Air Ballpark. Just irritating.

 

[gkelly]

Jackson Browne

Crosby, Stills, and Nash

I believe in that order, ca. 1977 or 78

 

[BaileyCatts]

Prince. The Purple Rain tour. 1985.

 

[Platypus]

Depeche Mode Music for the Masses tour at Maple Leaf Gardens (Toronto) in December 1987. I still have the tour book.

My 2nd concert was when they came back again at the end of tour and played Exhibition Stadium with Orchestral Manoevers in the Dark.

 

[A.H.Black]

My first concert, I think, was Jack Benny appearing with the symphony. He was quite an accomplished violinist. It would have been in the late 1950's.

 

[myhoneyhoney]

I remember standing in line at the old record store chain called “The Warehouse” to buy concert and show tickets. It was late 80’s early 90’s and the store was all decorated with those super skinny neon light tubes.

 

[PRlady]

I remember standing in line at the old record store chain called “The Warehouse” to buy concert and show tickets. It was late 80’s early 90’s and the store was all decorated with those super skinny neon light tubes.

Tower Records! Oh how I miss them.

It wasn’t that long ago, certainly in the 2000s, that I waited outside a Macys til 10:00 AM and sprinted up three flights of stairs for Springsteen tickets, which sold out at 10:10.

I don’t do anymore, though. The combination of incredibly high prices and crowds is not a good one. I think P!nk was my last major concert, maybe 8 years ago or so.

 

[Kasey]

My mom took me to Woodstock for a few hours. I was 2. Don't remember a thing about it except a crowd of people, but it was my first concert!

 

[emason]

James Taylor, Academy of Music in Philly, 1969. Carole King opened for him and we didn’t know who she was.

I saw Tom Rush at Mount Holyoke College circa 1968-1971. James Taylor was his opening act, before he was JAMES TAYLOR.

My first concert was classical, but I don’t remember what. I had relatives who shared a concert series at Smith Collrge every year and I got the tickets if no one else wanted to go; I was young, still in grammar school, and I saw all the great American symphony orchestras and conductors of the day.

 

[once_upon]

My mom took me to Woodstock for a few hours. I was 2. Don't remember a thing about it except a crowd of people, but it was my first concert!

That is so awesome

 

[moebius]

Ned's Atomic Dustbin was a small modern rock/indie British band of the early 90's. They were performing for free at a university where I was working for the summer. Don't know what became of them. Maybe they have normal jobs.

 

[Habs]

My first concert was Billy Joel, summer of 1989.

 

[KatieC]

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and the Band, in Toronto in '74 or '75. Think I threw out the ticket just last year. Went with a really cute older guy, I think he was 20.

 

[mattiecat13]

Either the Bee Gees or KISS. KISS concert was one of the last "festival seating" concerts at Riverfront Coliseum, meaning the seats were not assigned - it was first come-first served. Just a couple of months later The Who performed with festival seating and eleven people were killed/crushed when the Coliseum doors opened and the crowd starting pushing to get in. Having been through the same experience at the KISS concert, I can attest how scary it was to be at the front of the crowd near the doors when they were opened and the people behind me surged forward trying to get through to snag a prime seat.

 

[Badams]

Warrant at St. Bonaventure. They opened for Eddie Money. I was 12. I BEGGED my mom to let me go. In the end, she allowed me, my sister, and my friend to go as long as she was with us. My poor mother. Their language was off the charts naughty. But she accepted it and didn't complain. After Warrant, some turdy student called in a bomb threat and Eddie Money never went on. Bona's students are notoriously jerks at concerts.