# What was the first concert you attended? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 28, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298 "2011-03-28T19:23:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/81 "2011-03-29T02:53:34Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The _second_ concert I attended was Motorhead, in Madison, WI, in December, 1985. They played in a gymnasium (I kid you not). We were no more than 25 feet from the amps. I suffered significant hearing loss that night. ☹ They were my second concert as well - The Warfield, San Francico, '84, with Mercyful Fate & Exciter opening. Artists I’ve seen the most would be either Bob Mould or Robyn Hitchcock (solo and with various bands they were in). ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/82 "2011-03-29T03:28:46Z")
I went to Woodstock in my dad and went home in my mom. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/83 "2011-03-29T03:30:43Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > They were my second concert as well - The Warfield, San Francico, '84, with Mercyful Fate & Exciter opening. Hey, I was at that show. It was pretty violent what with the punks and metalheads in close quarters. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/84 "2011-03-29T03:35:03Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > ETA: I saw the Dead Kennedys before that, circa 1983, but it was in a club in Manhattan and that probably doesn’t count as a “concert”. I was going to come in to say that probably the DK’s were the band I’ve seen the most. A couple of dozen times around the Bay Area - frankly it was tough not to see them a lot if you were into the hardcore scene. Although I think one of the better nights was when Jello got stripped buck naked at the Elite Club, and did a few songs in his birthday suit. And he still did his crowd diving thing just the same. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/85 "2011-03-29T03:44:09Z")
There was a large amusement park about a mile from my house that booked fairly big name musical acts to come and play in this little pavillion they had and kids could dance there while the bands played. This was around 1966. I don’t remember which came first but I saw _The Yardbirds_ (with Jeff Beck) there, and _Jan & Dean_, and _The Kingsmen_ (Louie, Louie), and _Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels_, and the _Four Tops_ there. I would have seen _Johnny Rivers_ there too but I met this girl there before the show who needed a ride home and, well, I never made it back. Anyway, I saw all those acts first but in a fairly small venue. My first bigtime arena concert was _Led Zeppelin_ in 1970. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/86 "2011-03-29T03:44:32Z")
First: Whitney Houston with special guest Kenny G, around 1987. I’ve pretty much spent the rest of my life trying to earn back the cool points I lost with this. Most: 19 Phish shows. Also up in the teens with the Reverend Horton Heat, the Asylum Street Spankers, and the Indigo Girls. Double digits with several others. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/87 "2011-03-29T04:03:14Z")
First concert ever: Seatrain, in Wildwood, New Jersey, summer of '72 or thereabouts. Most: well, I’ve hardly ever seen a musical act more than once. The only two that spring to mind are The Lounge Lizards, both in Paris, and the Replacements, once in Houston, Texas and once in California. Actually, for the latter it was more like ‘tried to see’: at the Texas show Paul Westerberg was too drunk to go on, the plug got pulled by the organizers, and a small riot broke out; in Cali the show was sold out by the time I got there, and I (and my date) ended up sitting outside, listening to a few songs through a partly-opened door before giving up and going home. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/88 "2011-03-29T08:01:37Z")
Mecano, in my hometown, their first tour (1982), with my cousin from Barcelona jumping and squeeing right beside me and my parents watching disapprovingly from the back. I was 14, Cousin D was 13 (both '68 vintages but she’s Autumn and I’m Spring). I was wearing a bought-for-the-occasion outfit which didn’t flatter my body type at all, but I think my mother was so surprised to see me in something with flounces that she wouldn’t have said a word if it was leopard print (flounces do look much better on Mecano’s singer than on me as she’s got to be like half my hip width, but anyway they were in that year). The skirt got discarded pretty fast, but the Harlequin-like top was worn through HS. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/89 "2011-03-29T10:27:11Z")
BeeGees “Spirit” tour circa 1980. Yes, I danced. Both times that I went. Loved the concert, but my ears rang for days. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/90 "2011-03-29T10:51:56Z")
[Extrabreit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extrabreit) (a German new wave/post punk band probably none of you has ever heard of, but they were big in Germany), 1982 in the Stadthalle in Attendorn (a venue most definitely none of you has ever heard of :)). I was 14, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. ---
**Author:** ![fubbleskag](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/91 "2011-03-29T11:09:26Z")
When I was 12, I won a radio contest that included two tickets to see MC Hammer. My mother insisted I take her, which was actually fine with me at the time (my mom was one of the ‘cool’ moms anyway). Two years later she went to see the Rolling Stones (Steel Wheels) and did not take me - I have never fully forgiven her for that. Said MC Hammer concert ended up becoming semi-famous as the root event of one of Canada’s top-ten riots: [http://www.sarahefron.com/stories/Riot.shtml](http://www.sarahefron.com/stories/Riot.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/92 "2011-03-29T11:24:43Z")
My first concert was the Animals at the Steele Pier in Atlantic City in the spring of 1968, when I was 14. The opening act was John Fred and His Playboy Band. Later that year I saw Cream at the Baltimore Civic Center, with opening acts Terry Reid and the Moody Blues. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/93 "2011-03-29T11:41:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > In addition to the first, which act have you seen live the most times? Cheryl Wheeler, seen her nine or ten times. She puts on a very funny show. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/94 "2011-03-29T12:47:23Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > In addition to the first, which act have you seen live the most times? The Rolling Stones (4) and ZZ Top (5). Twice it was The Rolling Stones _with_ ZZ Top… sweet! ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/95 "2011-03-29T13:05:44Z")
First concert I saw was Van Halen in either late 1979 or early 1980. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/96 "2011-03-29T13:15:07Z")
First concert for me was Styx on the Grand Illusion tour, which I think was about 1977. I was a freshman in high school. It was also in Louisville, **Superdude** , in Freedom Hall. I haven’t been to a great many concerts in my life, and there are only a couple that I’ve seen more than once — Lyle Lovett and Junior Brown. What can I say: I guess I’m a sucker for Texas men. 😃 The most awesome show I went to was INXS c. 1987— but that’s mostly because I was practically in the front row. Different concert experience all together, lemme tell you. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/97 "2011-03-29T13:22:34Z")
All day festival, 1972 Electric Light Orchestra, Aerosmith, Blue Oyster Cult, ZZ Top, James Cotton Blues Band. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/98 "2011-03-29T13:24:49Z")
U2, _Unforgettable Fire_ tour, Worcester Centrum. April 1985, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/99 "2011-03-29T13:41:09Z")
First w/parents: Mac Davis in around '80. First w/friends: Night Ranger at the Illinois State Fair in 83 or so. ---
**Author:** ![CornTheHead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@CornTheHead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CornTheHead)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298/100 "2011-03-29T13:47:43Z")
First concert I ever attended was Metallica/Queensryche in 1989 in Dallas, Texas. I was taken to the show by my babysitter as I was WAY to young to be at a Metallica concert. The first show I every went to “on my own” would be Willie Nelson also in Dallas. As far as the most times seeing one band, it would be a toss up between Metallica (12 times) and Pantera (if you count all the small local clubs before they really hit the national scene, then maybe 15-16 times). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-concert-you-attended/576298.md?page=6)