I was 9 or 10 and my dad had gotten tickets. I think my mom was mad at him and didn’t want to go to the show. So, at the height of his popularity, at the apex of the whole “Urban Cowboy” movement, and at an age when I thought he must be the greatest musician ever, I got to see Ronnie Milsap.
This was in Knoxville, where I grew up. During “Smoky Mountain Rain” he mentions Knoxville, the crowd went nuts.
Styx in '73. In my high school gym. The principal was a real paranoid, and worried that the gym was going to get trashed. He jumped up on stage after the last song and said “Styx go bye-bye”. If I run into someone from the old days, that story usually comes up. I think Dr. S. had a hard time living that one down. He was basically a good guy, otherwise.
Lollapalooza II, 1992, although I wish I would have gone to the see the original tour in '91.
When I was 11 my Dad took me to see Donovan at Madison Square Garden.
The cool part was when he got up to use the bathroom (Dad not Donovan) and the guy next to me without ever looking directly at me passed a joint my way. My first concert, my first high 
Hail Atlantis!
The first concert I went to with friends was Led Zepplin in 1970. I think they only had one or two albums out and were taking requests after they’d played everything they’d recorded.
I kept thinking, “Dear God, not Ina Gota Da Vita, we’ll be here all night”
I wish I could say that my first concert was Billy Joel at the Checkerdome when I was 15 years old, but that would be a lie. I’m too honest. My first concert was Shawn Cassidy at the Checkerdome (or was it still called the Arena then) when I was 11. :o I’m pretty sure it was the Checkerdome. Anyway, they changed the name back to the Arena and then blew it up, so it’s not there anymore. Other concerts I saw at the Checkerdome included Loverboy and Journey (not together).
After the Loverboy concert some guys from the band pulled up in their limo next to my friend’s Firebird and rolled down the window and said, “Hi, there!” The guy saying, “Hi, there!” was Paul Dean and we couldn’t tell who the other two guys were. That’s my brush with greatness story. The news of the bassist bums me out, man! 
KISS, 1976 or early '77. It was the first time I’d ever seen people smoking weed.
I tried to go to Alice Cooper in '73, but my mother shot it down (I was 11 at the time.)
I went to a “Beatles” concert, which was actually a Battle of the Bands contest with an all-Beatles program. I was too young to enjoy it, though, and was feeling awkward the whold time and just wanted to leave.
Ha. I scoff at your so-called ‘embarassing’ first concerts. Styx? Loverboy? See, they have a certain cheesy nostalgic charm to them. I can top them all.
1978 or so. I was 8 or so. Merriweather Post Pavillion. With my dad.
Sha Na Na.
My first concert was Pousette Dart Band, Gary Wright, Peter Frampton (he came alive that year) and Yes at JFK stadium in Philadelphia. Bonfires in the doorways, empty juice cartons flying through the air, long lines for water, and Oh, Yeah! Music.
First concert was at the Sunrise Musical Center in Ft. Lauderdale spring of '85. My first real date and I saw Kansas live for their “Power” tour.
Most memorable memory: During the solo of “Carry On Wayward Son” keyboardist does a handstand while playing the hell out of those plastic-ivories. Wonderful!!!
I wish I could say the first was Jethro Tull or even Rod Stewart (missing lyrics and all) but no, my first unchaparoned concert had to be a Bobby Sherman concert.
:rolleyes:
Def Leppard. Pyromania tour, spring 1983. I was all of nine years old, but already a budding metalhead.
My first concert was the Big Day Out festival last year which had Australian and International bands like Nine Inch Nails, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Atari Teenage Riot and so forth. I can’t remember the actual line up. All I know is that I went specifically to see NIN, and it was great.
Um, the last one I went to was Slipknot, and that was pretty…well…surreal.
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?
Charlie Daniels…that was my first
He has gotta be one of the most underrated country music singers. He is freakin awesome! “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and “Uneasy Rider” are my favorites.
Renaissance and Al Dimeola in 1978. I went on a date. I’d never heard either of them before, and I never did become a fan, but it was a good show.
My first concert, other than the ones I performed in in a school choir was Ozzy Osborne on the “Ultimate Sin” tour.
It was in the Glens Falls Civic Center in NY. The opening act was Metallica. I think I was 14 or 15.
Humble Pie - Thirty Days in the Hole.
I was 15. 1973 or 74. They rocked!
I went to most of my concerts between '73 and '77.
I’ve seen Lynyrd Skynyrd, Doobie Brothers, Santana, ZZ Top, Van Halen, Fleetwood Mac, Jimmy Buffett, Elton John, Eagles, The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Chicago, and many more that I can’t even remember. The good old days, I wish I could remember them!
Fall 1973 - Rick Wakeman doing ‘Six Wives of Henry VIII’ at the Spectrum in Philly.
My two friends and I had 27 pencil thin joints between us. We smoked continually through that show.
Spring 1974 - James Taylor at the Academy of Music in Philly. He was married to Carly Simon at the time and she came out for the encore and they sang a duet called ‘Mockingbird’.
Chrome Spot - I was at the Yes/Frampton show at JFK. Twas a hot afternoon and the flying juice containers looks like so many little bugs in the sky. The laser show during Yes was pretty cool at the time. The summer of '76. What a great time to be high. Too bad they had to tear the place down.