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Your First Concerts & Other Influences

FFTT

FFTT

Mar 15, 2009
2,348
746
#1
I hit the growing up years at a rather special time in music history.

The Beatles debut just as I turned 11 years old.
Mom gave me a '66 Hofner 501 for my 14th B-Day July '67.
I started teaching myself bass wearing grooves in Sgt. Peppers, mastering most of Paul's tacks in about 6 months.

Of course there were the Stones, Kinks, Small Faces, Jeff Beck & Rod Stewart & Faces , Jimi Hendrix, Cream debut, all this while living in Germany.
Noel Redding & Jack Bruce became the new challenges.

I returned to VA Fall '67-68 first year of high school.
I was also 1st Chair Alto Sax in addition to playing bass.

March '68 I hear there's a concert and tell a few buds and budettes " You have got to see this guy!"
I think maybe one had even heard of him. Culture Shock after living in much hipper EU.

So this was the first rock concert I ever went to.

Jimi Hendrix & Soft Machine, Washington Hilton, International Ballroom.

Someone caught a few shots and there's a bootleg album out there too.

I knew who he was because I could already cover all of Noel Redding's bass parts
from endless hours jamming along with my Polydor EU release of Are You Experienced.
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http://ghostsofdc.org/2012/01/08/jimi-hendrix-washington-hilton-1968/

Later that year, I go to my 2nd concert.
Alexandria Roller Rink.

Rod Stewart, Jeff Beck Ron Wood Ron Lane, Kenny

opening for Janis Joplin w/ Big Brother & Holding Co.

Also at the Rink, Yes opening for Jethro Tull - YES Album- Aqualung Tour
Alice Cooper with Black Sabbath and later with Edgar Winter.
Beck Bogart and Appice.



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My father dropped me off for the 8:00 PM show.
Bands were drunk, everything ran WAY late.
My dad shows up at 11:00 and Joplin has just started, so he saw the whole
act. He actually thought it was cool, especially the sound system.

He missed Stewart hurling between song behind the PA tower.
He just tried to ignore Janis making it half way through a bottle of Southern Comfort
during her set.

Photos from related web pages.
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So by age 14 my future was sealed!

Look at the ticket prices!
 
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#2
Hmm, my post won't be as colorfull, but

first concert ever was The Jackson 5 (1976 - 1st grade)
first concert without parents was Iron Maiden/Judas Priest (1982 - 6th grade)
got to see Metallica with Cliff and Ozzy with Randy
was at the original Monsters of Metal tour with Slayer, Anthrax, Megatdeth and Alice In Chains(????)
Rush - Signals was the first Rush tour I saw, and have seen them on every tour since

grew up listening to old Motown, Jazz, early metal, and classical in the house. Mom was a hippy, dad was pretty conservative, but they were both into music so I was always surrounded with that.

Styx and Kansas were the first 2 rock bands that I remember being infatuated with

then came Rush...and my world changed. Along with them, I also was cutting my teeth as the NWOBHM came along, as well as the 1st DC era hardcore scene and the first wave of thrash metal and progressive metal.

I am definitely a child of the early and mid 80's when it comes to how I define my self. I always say that I identify with the generation who understands the "magic" of waiting for Pac Man to come out for the Atari 2600, the first days of MTV, and camping overnight for tickets to rock shows, as well as trading mix tapes in the lot at shows, white Nike Hi-tops, and the advent of pointy guitars.

I was always playing (drums and bass) along with: The Jackson 5, Dave Brubeck, Styx, Rush, Maiden, Minor Threat, Queensryche, Fates Warning, Def Leppard, Exodus, Miles Davis, The Police, Agent Orange, Anthrax, SOD, Bad Brains, Ratt, Dokken, Slayer, Faith No Ore, Jack Irons era RHCP....

played in school band, and became a music teacher as my 9-5. Now Iam corrupting the minds of today's youth with the "real" music of my childhood, and undoing the damage of the modern pop crap that they are all exposed to
 
#3
I was playing down in Georgetown at the Crazy Horse between '79 and '81 getting to be an old man at 28 before the band split .
Once in awhile national acts playing the Bayou would drop in to see what all the commotion was about.
We owned that place with the coeds from Georgetown & AU.

5/40's all medley sets.

We opened with the B side to Abbey Road, into CSNY for the 'dinner' set.
5 vocals.

From there, AC/DC, More Beatles, Stones, Cars, Cheap Trick, Queen, Genesis, Hendrix, Steppenwolf, Zep, DEVO, Vapors, Squeeze, Bad Company, Bowie, Elton, Who, Start to stop
Gold or Platinum all dance, or gone! 24 channel 4 way PA, Soundcraft Console, Crown DC300A's X 4. 4 way PA Towers.

I was a founding member of Brat and Artful Dodger '73-74, but the band and I split over contract and funding issues in dealings with Aerosmith's Management.
 
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#4
One of my first doom concerts was a buddy's band called Red Shield... the bassist was Mike Boyne (now in The Midnight Ghost Train, his picture has been posted in some of the doom rig threads) and the sound was immense. I remember just staring, open-mouthed, at their wall of amps and thinking "I want to be in a band like this one day." Amazing tone/writing and it is what inspired me to start taking bass seriously. If you like doom/sludge, it's worth checking out his rig shots and music. Super cool guy, too.
 
#5
I grew up in the same area..

My first show was Link Wray & The Wraymen in the basement of a church in Annandale, summer of 1963, JFK was President...

Saw some cool shows at the Roller Rink, too. Jethro Tull opening for The Jeff Beck Group was amazing.

Jimi @ The Ambassador a couple of times, snuck backstage and got to have a brief chat with him after I almost knocked him on his ass...

Beatles @RFK too.

I played a lot in some shithole bar next to the Crazy Horse that I disremember the name of.

My band "The Rokz" was downstairs in the basement with "The English Setters" upstairs.

Fun times...
 
#6
Actually it was YES doing their debut tour for The Yes Album opening for Jethro Tull on their Aqualung tour.

The Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart opened for Janis Joplin.

When Rod Stewart & The Faces played Shady Grove, with Jackson Brown opening act,
they had missed their flight and showed up more than 2 hours late.

Since I had plenty of band experience, I helped the rush to get set up and ended up sitting
on the stage the entire show.

After the show, they were worried they would miss yet another flight out of Dulles, so since I lived in Herndon, I told them Follow Me!

So I had their limo following me to the airport in my '67 Datsun Roadster.
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I hung out in the lounge with them until boarding time.

I was stunned that they were even able to walk upright much less play a killer set, totally
snockered!.

I remember The English Setters which morphed into The Cherry People, ending up with another morph later as The Nighthawks.

Punky Meadows went on to join this glam rock group, Angel and then some say foolishly turned down a $200K, hired gun gig with KISS.

Last I heard, Punky was running a tanning salon.

There was a club with a separate entrance located in the basement of The Crazy Horse called Beneath It All.

When we were playing upstairs, plaster would fall on top of the groups playing down there.

During the Brat/AD recording sessions we borrowed Nil Lofgren's Tele for the lead breaks.



claudel said:
I grew up in the same area..

My first show was Link Wray & The Wraymen in the basement of a church in Annandale, summer of 1963, JFK was President...

Saw some cool shows at the Roller Rink, too. Jethro Tull opening for The Jeff Beck Group was amazing.

Jimi @ The Ambassador a couple of times, snuck backstage and got to have a brief chat with him after I almost knocked him on his ass...

Beatles @RFK too.

I played a lot in some shithole bar next to the Crazy Horse that I disremember the name of.

My band "The Rokz" was downstairs in the basement with "The English Setters" upstairs.

Fun times...
Click to expand...
 
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#7
First concert was Chicago at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium in November 1977. I was 17.

First concert on home turf - NYC - was Aerosmith at MSG a year later. Too bad I don't remember most of the show, as one of the guys I was with thought it would be funny to dose me with LSD.

First time I saw the Who - my all-time favorite band - was also at MSG, in September 1979.
 
#9
I also caught Jimi Hendrix twice at The Baltimore Civic Center.

Me and a bunch of friends from high school drove up to MSG to catch both shows of The Concert For Bangladesh, George Harrison & Friends.

At RFK, I saw The Grateful Dead with Allman Bros.
Aerosmith
Stones with Stevie Wonder and Martha and Vandellas
Grand Funk Railroad with Bad Company
(There was a moment of silence called for Jimi at this show)

Annandale Campus of NOVA Cafeteria.
Alice Cooper and Emmit Rhodes
Bob Seger System
Ted Nugent

After Ted Nugent jumped off his Marshall stacks wearing nothing but a loin cloth right in front of the Dean, concerts there were banned.

Capitol Center

McCartney & Wings
Elton John Yellow Brick Road Tour
Stones with Chambers Bros
Aerosmith, REO Speedwagon & Slade
Rush
Who Quadrophenia Tour

I was 16 when Woodstock was announced that summer, so my parents said no.
After hearing how great it went, I went to the 8 day Celebration of Life Festival
outside of Baton Rouge LA the next summer.
Ended up working stage crew so I could eat.

Wild Times! :)
 
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#12
My first show was in '91 (I was 8 years old) at the AJ Palumbo Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Saigon Kick opened for Extreme and I was in rock n roll heaven. I got my first bass that Xmas. It was a jewel blue Ibanez CT 4 string if you're curious. I still have it.
 
#15
I can't complete with these stories, but they sure are fun to read.

My first arena concert was Tears For Fears in 1985. I had been to some smaller shows with prominent local bands before that, but this was the first biggie. Great experience, I remember the concert fondly. Until a few years ago I even still had my concert t-shirt! Who knows, it might even still be in a box in storage somewhere.

One of the neatest things for me is that it is only about 2 years away from when my oldest will be my age when I attended that show. I can't wait to see what her first concert will be! I can only hope it is as good of a quality as mine and some of the others listed here.
 
#17
I was always jealous of my 1st serious girlfriend because she got to see the Beatles live in D.C.

One thing that has haunted me for decades since I lost touch with her was that she gave me the authentic autographs of all the original Rolling Stones for my 21st B-Day.

I can't for the life of me remember where it is or if I gave the autographs back to her out of respect when we broke up.

In fact, I met her at the club where The Cherry People played all the time, The Act IV up on Wisconsin Ave.
 
#18
Cool concert experience for me, bummer for another guy...

My young-teen sister in law was in town so I got seats to see Journey - nosebleed was all I could afford. About 3 days before the concert the teenaged son of a coworker was caught drunk and his dad took the company tickets away from him as he was grounded for the rest of his life... Next day at work my coworker asked if I wanted to trade for better seats. I said sure and the ones I got were in a corporate box about 50 feet out and level with the stage. AMAZING seats. Totally ruined subsequent concert experiences for my sister in law, though!

At that time I was a drummer and a huge (still am!) Steve Smith fan.

Dan K
 

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