For me, it was an R.E.M./10,000 Maniacs show I saw in 1985; I was only able to get a ticket because my brother was a DJ, and I’d say that 90%-plus of the crowd was so trashed, they might as well not have even attended because they were too wasted to appreciate it, or remember any of it later. Other people who said they were there followed it with, “Was that the most wasted crowd you’ve ever seen, or what?”
Dopers, your experiences?
Phish at Fenway Park. The guy sitting in front of me was so wasted that he essentially missed two-thirds of the show passed out in the seat. Amazingly he rallied in the second set, I would never have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself. His girlfriend said this was his first show since his best friend died of an overdose so take it for what it’s worth.
I’m expecting a lot of Phish and/or Grateful Dead responses, and that’s OK.
Conversely, I went to a Scorpions concert in 1994 (I was actually there to see the opening act, King’s X) and don’t think I smelled weed smoke at all. 
The other thing I remember about the show is that I must have seen several hundred Metallica t-shirts, no two alike.
Pink Floyd at Tampa Stadium in 1987. The police had announced before the show that they would not be making marijuana arrests at the concert. They stated that they would be enforcing alcohol restrictions but that they weren’t worried about that issue with the Pink Floyd crowd. ( This was the same stadium that had the Led Zeppelin riot a few years earlier ) It was an enjoyable time and it was fun watching the police and the stoners interact and no one was indeed hassled that I could see.
I’ve had 2 other interesting tangential experiences regarding Pink Floyd. I went to college with a guy who was a roadie on the wall tour. Had nothing but the best things to say about the band but they didn’t hang out with the crew or something. Anyway, he said he’d worked 6 shows and they paid him enough that this was what covered his tuition. Thought that was cool.
In the 90’s I had the pleasure of being an ATC in southern California and would regularly work the Pink Floyd blimp. Their entire day consisted of flying around and being cool. They’d always ask if we wanted a fly by of the tower and would be good aerial neighbors. I remember asking them about what they did and saying they had the greatest job in the world with the greatest employers.
Both were especially amazing in the days of bad boy rockers.
Just thought I’d share.
the rolling stones voodoo lounge at the rose bowl… the dealers were out in force and biz was booming (mostly college students selling) … the not quite nosebleed seats we were in had people passing around pipes and bongs up and down the row …joints were just handed out … even if you didn’t partake you weren’t passing that months drug test just from the contact …
One guy on the way in had this pitch “save our science/chem club… buy our freshly made acid”…
The Red Sox at Fenway Park. Early 1970s, bleachers. One big cloud of smoke…
Aerosmith, with Guns 'N Roses opening, 1988. I saw several people passed out before the show even started. I liked to party as much as the next person back then, but I was sober that night. And after seeing all those people who clearly would remember nothing of the show, I determined that I would always remain sober for concerts, forevermore.
I’ve never heard of the band “The Red Sox.” What were their hits?
- j/k
Toronto, 1982, Exhibition Stadium, for The Who. We were in general admission, and got there early, as did many others. We got a great place, maybe fifty feet from the stage. All told, I guess the crowd had five or six hours to get wasted, though my friends and I did not partake. Not that we had much of a choice, since the weed smoke was thick.
Of course, there was booze too. Joe Jackson was the opening act, but his set had to be cut short when an empty liquor bottle hit one of his band members in the head. Then, The Who was late, so it continued to be teenage wasteland (;)).
Pretty well every gig I’ve attended or played in.
Corey Harris played a small blues venue years ago. I was at a pre-show party with the band. Corey had just returned from Mali and released his cd Memphis to Mali, and there was a Mali native at the party. The venue allowed cigarettes, and at some point everyone lit up joints. The night was magical.
AC/DC at the Omaha Civic, 1990. To steal a line from Dave Barry, I’d bet even the police dogs were stoned.
The Stereophonics at the O2 Arena in London about five years ago.
It was the last Saturday before Christmas and they didn’t come on til about 9pm, by which time the audience was trashed. I had (terrible) tickets right up in the gods - so high I actually had vertigo - and the drunk girl next to me threw up literally as the first song came on. The only saving grace was that I was next to her and not in front of her.
Pink Floyd September 9, 1987
Some background -
At the time, things were rough in Pink Floyd land. Fans were split between Waters and Gilmour/Mason who were also mired in a legal battle over the use of the name as well as who would continue as Pink Floyd.
Roger Waters had released 2 solo albums and was touring for his Radio KAOS album while the Gilmour/Mason Pink Floyd, hadn’t released anything of their own. In fact, Rogers had written almost all their material since the * Wish You Were Here* album in 1975.
Tickets went on sale months before the tour without their legal issues being resolved or what the Waters-less Pink Floyd would look like. Early reports said the anticipated album was more of a Gilmour solo album under the Pink Floyd banner, which ended up being pretty accurate. I remember there was a call to boycott the shows in support of Roger Waters but it was mostly ignored.
Anyway, I’m at first show of the tour in Ottawa, Canada and only 2 days after the release of* Momentary Lapse of Reason* and we’ve only had about a day to hear the new material.
It was a Wednesday, so everyone had ditched school or work or start drinking/smoking and head down to the football stadium. Then the most unique thing I’ve ever seen at a show happened… everyone who was headed to the General Admission area in front of the stage walked out, picked a spot and SAT DOWN! More drinking/smoking ensued.
I don’t remember (or believe) there was an opening act so they came on fairly early. They opened with “Shine On You Crazy Diamonds” which was promising but then they proceeded to plod through MLOR in its entirety. Since no one really knew any of these new songs, people tuned out and more drinking/smoking ensued.
There was a 20 minute intermission, people drank and smoked more, then they came out for their second set which was filled with their classics. It was awesome but by then people were unbelievable wasted.
The encore was “One Slip” form MLOR which was a downer but they segued into “Run Like Hell” which loud and aggressive. Luckily, everyone was so drunk and high that no riot ensued.
Definitely the Dead. Several times.
I once saw a young passed out woman being carried out at an early Bruce Springsteen concert.
Easy: Woodstock.
Buffet, in the 90’s some time. I’d scored 2nd row seats center. The 2 guys in front of me were passed out when we got there and never woke up. I have no idea how they got out of there. Security, right in front of them, never seemed to notice. Hell, the 2 guys may have been dead.
Conversely, I went to an Eagles concert about 10 years ago, and while the audience was full of 30-60 somethings and, for the most part, sober, there was one young man who obviously dropped… probably molly… prior to the concert because he didn’t stop dancing or saying how he just loved the music and everyone in the audience.
Ziggy Marley concert at a Chicago North Side concert hall ~'97. I literally got high from the 2nd hand marijuana smoke. The haze was so think in there that you could see swirls about the musicians and it looked like a fog machine at knee level. The first two cabs wouldn’t take us. The 3rd made us ride with the windows wide open. We got back to the dorm and left our clothes stashed in the bushes out front. So many many blunts and drugs… and such a good show! But as a technical non-partaker, 90+% of the audience was blasted out of their minds and could only rock back and forth by the end.
Back in the early 2000s I attended some sort of outdoor concert headlined by Charlie Daniels. Everyone at that concert was either drunk, stoned or both. I saw more fights in the crowd that day than any other concert ever. At one point some woman went up to security to complain about some people smoking pot and the security guard just said “good, at least that means they won’t be starting any fights”.