Green Day - November 16, 1995 at the Cobo Arena in Detroit. Their opener was a “queercore” band (that means exactly what you think it means) named Pansy Division that, I just learned now, still exists.
I wore the Green Day shirt I bought that night to school the next day, which turns out wasn’t the cool thing to do. My first introduction to band apparel etiquette!
I couldn’t give you an exact count, but Radiohead, Arcade Fire and The White Stripes are the three bands I’ve seen the most. The New Pornographers are probably up there, too.
And there’s no reason you shouldn’t – seeing a band in a small club before they get huge gives you major cred! These shows not only count as concerts, but also, I think, should count more than seeing a band in some enormous arena, stadium or amphitheater.
First (non-volitional): Davy Jones, Steel Pier, Atlantic City NJ, 1971
First (volitional): Genesis, Philadelphia Spectrum, And Then There Were Three tour, 1978
Most recent: Pearl Jam, Madison Square Garden, 2010
I’m up there with you Biffy, but I’ve been a no-show since 2001. The vocal degradation just kills JT for me. I wish Ian would check if his son’s voice sounds anything like his own (they look alike so maybe..), and if so, then draft him to sing instead of occasionally being the drummer on the solo Ian tours.
Procol Harum at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh on 14th March '73.
I’ve hardly listened to them much since, but the last couple of years or so, I’ve gradually been picking up the remastered cardboard sleeve re-issue cds. Good stuff!
I was almost done with high school for my first concert. I saw Queensryche with Suicidal Tendencies opening. I knew who ST were, but had never heard them before. They blew me away.
The band I’ve seen most is Guided by Voices, who I’ve seen 9 times, I think.
Infamous as the concert that almost destroyed the mezzanine seating section. People were jumping up and down to the music and the section was visibly swaying. The Beach Boys had to keep announcing after every song “If you’re in the mezzanine, do NOT jump up and down!”
It didn’t work.
Oh yes - and Chicago also holds my record as most seen band. 5 times, latest was 1992 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
Heart, their Bad Animals tour from 1988. It was at Fiddler’s Green (now Comfort Dental Amphitheater or some such ridiculousness) in Denver; I’d been working two part-time jobs that equaled about 60 hours a week all summer long, and, even though I was a big fan of Heart (especially Nancy Wilson – yowza!) I fell asleep about three-quarters of the way through.
