Hall and Oates at the Wittenberg University Field House in the mid-70's. Followed shortly afterward by AC/DC opening for Foreigner at Hara Arena in Dayton, followed shortly afterward by Kiss, and then Styx/Kansas (or was it the other way around?). So many bands, and a lot of idle time.
Your first concert was to see who and when?
I'll kick off with Pink Floyd at The Bay Hotel, Sunderland in February 1969.
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It was 1969, I believe. I was a freshman at Ga.Tech and had a friend going to Mercer in Macon, Ga. Led Zep was playing there (of all places) and I believe the venue was some auditorium on campus but maybe it was somewhere else in Macon. Anyway, I rode my motorcycle up there and stayed with my friend. They were promoting Zeppelin 2, it had just come out. LZ hadn't really "made it" yet and put on a terrific show. Later that year or maybe the next it cost me $1 to see the Allman Bros. and Janis Joplin on the GT campus. |
Liberace! At the Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh. I must have been about 12 years old. I loved music and I wanted to be in show business. My mother was...not entirely pleased, but she took me to see him. I was surely the only young man in an audience full of blue-haired ladies. I thought his garish outfits were a hoot. |
I was 15 years old. First out of town concert. My dad had to take me. I sat up front on bare floor, no seat, second row center, 5 ft from stage which was only 2 ft high. They were right there! It was in the casino that burned down soon after during a Zappa concert. That's where the Deep Purple song Smoke on the water came from. Very small venue, maybe a thousand people. Page had longer hair than Plant, that's how long ago it was. The Bonham solo was done mostly barehand and he started bleeding and keept going. I took a dozen pictures. To say it was memorable is an understatement. In September of that year, Hendrix was scheduled in the same casino. I had tickets. He died in August. Easily the biggest music disappointment in my life. I cried for a week, no shame in saying that. A long life has so many ups and downs, it's kind of a crazy roller-coaster ride when you look back. |
@baylinor Led Zepplin in Switzerland 1970 ! Wow , you’re my Hero. I only saw them once at Oakland Coliseum Day on the Green, the Saturday show. That was the day Peter Grants crew beat up Bill Grahams security. They played the next day and if I’m not mistaken that was their last concert here. But I could be mistaken as that was many brain cells ago. 😎 |
ELO at the Anaheim Convention Center in So.CA. I believe it was 1976 or maybe early 77. I was especially blown away when they did Roll Over Beethoven! Couldn’t believe when the cellist were laying on they’re backs playing using they’re feet to hold the cello up in the air. Was so good I can still see it. |
Wow, these are some amazing time machine fantasies. I was either not born yet or waaay too young for most of the classic rock ones. My first was Joan Jett, Ministry, Flock of Seagulls, and The Fixx all opening for The Police, Comisky Park, July 1983. I remember spending a lot of time trying to avoid pot smoke. How ironic. |
The Beach Boys in the Summer of 1964 at the San Jose Civic Auditorium, with Brian playing bass and singing falsetto. The opening act was The Tikis, a Surf band from Santa Cruz. A coupla years later they changed their name to Harpers Bizarre. Future Warner Brothers record producer Ted Templeman was a member.
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My first rock concert was The Doors, Fillmore East, March 22. 1968, 8PM show, as a 14 year old HS freshman with HS buddies. What an introduction to rock concerts. Jazz was before that. Probably at 8 years old. I can visualize to this day Guy Lombardo pulling up to the stage at the Jones Beach Theater in his stunning wood power boat and leading his orchestra. |
Wow some amazing concerts here! Mine was during a family visit to Phoenix in 1970. The headliner was Three Dog Night, but the opener was Blues Image, still one of my favorite bands. The following year, we visited Phoenix again and were eager to see another concert. Opened the paper and found the ad, Three Dog Night again! This time the opening act was little-known band, the Doobie Brothers. Two great concerts!
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Besides John Denver and Paul Winter when I was really young with my mom at St John the Divine in NYC, the first real show I was at was, Believe it or not, New kids on the block in 1989 when I took my high school girlfriend as a birthday present. I hung out in the back of the venue, Syracuse I think, and smoked and trash talked the band even as we hummed along with the melodies we all knew by heart. |
