Hey, I saw the Hall and Oates H2O tour ( I think) too.
It was either that or Beach Boys.
I don’t remember specifically - my parents took my sisters and me to many Hollywood Bowl concerts when we were kids (and teenagers.) Probably something with Sibelius, since my dad loved anything compsed by him. I do remember being pretty young and seeing Arthur Fiedler guest conduct. And another time, I saw Aaron Copland conduct at the Hollywood Bowl.
We used to be volunteers answering the phones at LA’s old classical radio station, KFAC-FM’s annual “listener membership drive”. We got free tickets to the Bowl as a reward for helpiing out. Went to a lot of concerts that way.
Sarah McLachlan.
I was 16.
the Pet Shop Boys in 87 or 88? I was around 10- My friend’s older sister let us tagalong
the first one I bought tickets for, tho was… [whisper] Nelson [/whisper]
yes, the Nelson brothers, in all their blond glory - thank God my tastes have matured.
::shudder::
The first pop concert I remember was a performance by a group called The Japanese Beatles in Honolulu in early 1964.
The first one given by a group anybody else might’ve heard of was the Beach Boys on their “Sloop John B.” tour at the Houston Music Hall in 1965. Neal Ford and the Fanatics (a local group) opened. The Beach Boys had less equipment on stage than most garage bands had just a few years later and all you could really hear was the endless screaming of several thousand teenage girls.
Last one was the Houston Symphony about 6 weeks ago.
This would have been late May '95. It was one of those big, day-long, Pseudopalooza radio festivals at the World Music Theatre outside Chicago. The lineup:
[ul]
[li]The Lukins (local, plus the lead singer and bass player were, at the time, the morning team on said radio station)[/li][li]Phunk Junkeez[/li][li]Sponge[/li][li]Bush[/li][li]KMFDM (to this day, their set was the best show I’ve ever seen)[/li][li]Collective Soul[/li][li]The Flaming Lips (Lips forever!)[/li][li]Sheryl Crow[/li][li]The Stone Roses[/li][li]Faith No More, and[/li][li]Duran Duran[/li][/ul]
It was an interesting experience–it was the first time I came in contact with marijuana (it took me the better part of four acts to figure out what the hell that smell was).
Since most people are also mentioning what their most recent show was, I’ll let it be known that my most recent was Marilyn Manson (the second best show I’ve seen) on April 20, 1999–the day of the Columbine shootings. How’s that for a touch spooky?
FenixTx back in '97 up in Bean Town.
Greatest show I have ever seen.
Sinéad O’Connor, in 1990. I was 18. I wasn’t allowed to go to concerts when I was under my mom’s rule.
First concert: Crosby, Stills and Nash
First concert that I wanted to go to but was still chaperoned by parents: INXS
First concert with just friends: Siouxsie and The Banshees.
I must be the oldest to post so far (maybe yosemitebabe is older but hard to tell).
First concert - Elivs Presley at the Oakland (CA) Auditorium in the mid ‘50s. My best friend and I autographed one another’s programs (with Elvis’ name of course). I still have the program and have been offered money for it but don’t feel quite right about the ‘autograph.’ When I admit that it isn’t authentic, the same people have been interested but lower the price a little.
My folks were hauling me out to concerts since he git go, but the first one I went to on my own was the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Old Massey Hall. They had deeply discounted youth tickets which I could afford by saving my allowance. I was in grade 5 at the time, so my folks dropped me off and picked me up. By grade 8 I was taking the train in on my own, and by highschool had collected a gang of friends for the concert trips, and we sure had a blast!
I was well into highschool before I attended my first rock concert. Emerson Lake and Palmer with full orchestra. Emerson’s Piano Concerto #1, Palmer’s Tank, and Lake’s C’est la vie. Three virtuosos who supported each other. Wow!!! In a time where most popular music was either mush or mindless, they were a powerful and creative team.
But probably the most fun was the first time a bunch of us got together and put on a community concert ourselves – about half a dozen garage bands and as many soloists. Some were pretty good (actually, one even had an album out), and some were pretty bad, but we all had a hugely enjoyable time, for it gave everyone a chance to demonstrate their own compositions.
Unfortunately, my mother did no know that Deep Purple was a heavy rock band. All she knew was that one of her favouite schmaltzy songs from her youth was called “Deep Purple”. Had an interesting few moments the time she asked a house band to play deep purple:
“That’s not deep purple.”
“Yes it is lady.”
“No it’s not.”
“Look lady, everyone knows that’s deep purple.”
“No it isn’t. It’s awful. Please play deep purple.”
“Lady, it is deep purple.”
:eek: I’m old, but I was not around in the 50s! I should have mentioned, I saw Copland and Fiedler conduct when they were quite old. In fact, right before their deaths. I think this was in the 70s or 80s. (I’ll have to check when Copland and Fiedler died…it would be a few years before then.)
That is soooo cool!
Aerosmith and Golden Earring, 1974 in Baltimore at some small theater that has since been knocked down. “Radar Love” still makes me queasy.
Hmmm, don’t remember first concert, but the first one I went to without either parents or church group was Van Halen back in '86 (Sammy days…)
Metallica, Faith No More, and Guns and Roses at Rich Stadium in Orchard Park NY. As a young teenager it was so amazing to see so many people at one show. Still have yet to go to a larger concert…have been to better ones but nothing that big
The first show I saw was SNFU last year.
Oops. That was an unintentional lie. I totally forgot about the two Jimmy Buffett concerts I’ve been to since. Not that Mr. Buffett is forgettable, just that his shows tend to be “experiences” rather than “concerts.”
Damn, I even posted pictures of these shows on my website. How could I have forgotten so soon?
Aerosmith
New Year’s Eve
93/94
Boston Garden
R.E.M. Slane Castle, June 1995. Oasis, Luka Bloom, Spearhead, echobelly supporting.
R.E.M. rocked. I Crowd surfed for the first time to Drive. Cliche, but an amazing experience.
Best Gig I was at was RHCP in 1996.
last Gig I saw was Ian Brown 2 weeks ago.
and on the 23rd December, I will be in the Point Depot, Dublin, to see Primal Scream tear the place down. I cant wait.