My first concert was Kiss and Lesley West in Providence, RI back in 1975. While Lesley was playing Mississippi Queen, someone threw a sparkler and it landed in his hair. He continued playing until a stage hand threw a towel on his head and put him out. He stopped playing and walked off the stage. The roadie said who ever threw it was a (insert nasty words here). I had heard later they caught the kid and cut half his long hair off. Left side I think. What a night

My first concert was Kiss and Lesley West in Providence, RI back in 1975. While Lesley was playing Mississippi Queen, someone threw a sparkler and it landed in his hair. He continued playing until a stage hand threw a towel on his head and put him out. He stopped playing and walked off the stage. The roadie said who ever threw it was a (insert nasty words here). I had heard later they caught the kid and cut half his long hair off. Left side I think. What a night

WOW that is quite a first concert. In the kid's defense, Leslie West's hair was probably going to catch anything thrown within a 25 foot radius on the stage :smoke::D

First concert - Linda Ronstadt and the Stone Ponies opened for the Doors (!) at the Eastman Theatre in Rochester NY. The first and last rock concert at the Eastman.

First concert - Beach Boys at the 1965 California State Fair


Steve

First concert...

Kansas at the Pine Knob Music Theater during the summer of 1978. It was during their Point Of Know Return tour. Dust In The Wind was a huge hit back then and I still remember that big dude with massive hair (Robby Steinhardt) playing that violin. And I also remember Kerry Livgren kicking some arse on guitar. I still enjoy Kansas to this day.

Cheers

Yeah, Leslie had some BIG hair.

My fisrt concert - 1978 Poplar Creek Music Theatre - Linda Ronstadt and I was 3 rows from the stage. She was high or bombed or something because she was wobbling all over the stage (although her voice was great).

6/8/1983 - John Denver at the Waikiki Shell. Heck I was 7 years old and my mom was a big fan.
Later when I grew up Janes Addiction - 2/12/1991 Kansas City

Chicago, Knoxville TN Collesium, 7/71

Three Dog Night - Greenville Memorial Auditorium (Greenville, SC) c. 1973

Three Dog Night - Corpus Christi Coliseum 1974'ish

Fleetwood Mac, NYC, on their Tusk tour in 1979/80. I was young, but distinctly remember being mesmerized by Lindsey Buckingham's playing and stage presence. I would meet him a couple of years later.

Trapeze at the City Auditorium in Beaumont, TX (now the Julie Rogers Theater) 1976 when they had Glenn Hughes... not a bad first concert.

Trapeze at the City Auditorium in Beaumont, TX (now the Julie Rogers Theater) 1976 when they had Glenn Hughes... not a bad first concert.

Lucky dawg! I still play 'Black Cloud' all the time. :yes:

My first concert was the Beach Boys also. Around 1977 or so at Pine Knob. Pavilion seats about 1/2 way back... I was just out of high school......... The drinking age was 18 so we carried several 6 packs of canned beer in with us....

The Mothers of Invention 1970. Cinderella Ballroom Appleton WI. I was 15, so Daddy drove me.

Yeah, my dad drove me also. He dropped me off, I met my friends there, saw the show, then my dad drove me home. Very cool. Once I got my license, my car was always full going to the shows. There were a lot of them

Rush baby!

'93 on Counterparts tour in the old St. Louis Arena before they tore it down. Bad acoustics, way up in the nosebleed section, but the place was packed and it was phenomenal.

Primus opened.

The Bee Gees - their Spirits Having Flown Tour (1980?) in Ames, Iowa. I was 16, and the laser light show blew me away....

Great, now I have to put on the record......:D

Rob

My first real concert was the Eagles, at the Capital Centre, on The Long Run tour. No idea what year that was, must have been around 1980 or so.

I saw Rick James, Funkadelic, Parliament, Parlet, Brides of Funkenstein, & the Gap Band all in one place during the course of a 12 hour concert. This was held in the Cotton Bowl Stadium & billed as the "Funk Festival."

I think this was in the late 1970's.

Rome

STYX! About as obscure a venue as you can get, the Lake Park Pavilion at the Lake of the Ozarks, MO. Basically they played in a picnic shelter. The most memorable thing was here I was standing between some long-haired dudes- of course, we all had long hair back then back then. These funny little cigarettes kept getting passed back and forth through the whole show. Right to twelve-year-old me. If I hadn't been with my mom :nerd: I probably would have tried it out of curiosity, maybe. I dont remember a whole lot about Styx, just their white suits. The scene itself was pretty overwhelming.

Grand Funk RR and Black Oak Arkansas at the International Ampitheater in Chicago (1971). Took the Halsted St. bus there and back as I was only 15.

My first concert was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers during their "Damn the Torpedos" Tour. Opening act was none other than Tommy Tutone and his 867-5309 song. Those were the days!!

Circa 1973 San Diego.
Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer and Bad Company.

83 US Festival, Metal Day--Van Halen-Priest-Quite Riot-Scorps. Taken by girlfreinds older brother, That was my first big name concert. Quite an introduction to live music!

Let's see... Had to be the Righteous Brothers back about 1964, Atlanta Auditorium. The warm up group was Nino Tempo and April Stephens. My buddy and I were on the front row. April asked me up on the stage and sang, "Teach Me Tiger" to me.

I don't want to know what she looks like today.

Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Canned Heat, and The Youngbloods at Filmore West in San Francisco.

Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Canned Heat, and The Youngbloods at Filmore West in San Francisco.

Wow. helluva first show.

My first was Steve Miller Blues Band, 1972, before his commercial (read boring) records. My dad drove, it was at Shady Grove in Maryland. The stage revolved during the concert.
Zappa was my next show, then the Who.

Circa 1973 San Diego.
Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer and Bad Company.

I bet that kicked ass.

I saw Derringer in a stadium show- Superjam '78 or something like that- with Styx, Steve Miller and Frampton. Derringer just about stole the show, but I think Miller edged him out with his over-the-top lasers and long, long rendition of "Fly Like an Eagle."

Fist real club or stadium show (not local all-ages punk or metal) was Smashing Pumpkins in 2000 at Hara Arena. Damn, I'm young.

Led Zeppelin - 1976. My next concert about a year later was the Sex Pistols at The Cains Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Who and Toots and the Maytalls at MTSU's Murphy Center in 1976 or so.

Led Zeppelin - 1976. My next concert about a year later was the Sex Pistols at The Cains Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

I heard the Sex pistols didn't go over real big out there. Was it a wild show?

I heard the Sex pistols didn't go over real big out there. Was it a wild show?

Yep. Sid cutting himself with a beer bottle thrown at him. Then he kept screaming for the rednecks to come get him. No one would.:banana:

Kiss and Motley spew at the coliseum in Phoenix. Must a been around 81 or 82. No one ( including me ) was digging their crappy music and kept pelting them with beer bottles until Kiss came on. Sucked that Peter Chris had all ready left the band but he was a drunken mess.

1976 across the bay it was Jethro Tull with Tullivision I was forever changed!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRo5whIbau4

-Mike

Yep. Sid cutting himself with a beer bottle thrown at him. Then he kept screaming for the rednecks to come get him. No one would.:banana:

I would have to say it doesn't get any crazier than that.
Something to cherish and tell your grandkids about.

White Trash .....(Edgar Winter and Johnny was there Too!)
Outside event maybe 1971 or 72 , a long time ago ....not sure of the year.
Great time until the downpour hit and made everything F***n muddy and they stopped the show!



Barney

I would have to say it doesn't get any crazier than that.
Something to cherish and tell your grandkids about.

My kids have seen the pics. They know whatever they come up with, it won't touch that. At one point Sid even played a few notes on his bass.

Paul McCartney 2001 was it?

the doobie brothers , 1975 , greensboro colosium . i kept smelling this funny odor in the air around me .

1976 across the bay it was Jethro Tull with Tullivision I was forever changed!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRo5whIbau4

-Mike

Also Tull, I think 1977, Songs From the Wood Tour. Ticket was $7.50. I remember my mother drove me to the New Haven Coliseum to buy the tickets. My friends father drove us to the show.

Joe Cocker- around 2004-2005 at the chicago auditorium

also saw Jethro Tull in 05... both are still awesome

Eagles / Steve Miller - circa 1978

I remember Joe Walsh stole the show with "Life's Been Good", he played it twice during the show (including the encore).

Rush Signals tour, Saginaw Civic center, MI 1983 or 84. Neil Pert did the absolute best drum solo I have ever seen.

Battle of the bands at Devonshire Downs. Cheesy, but fun with alot of awesome chicks. :D

Jethro Tull - War Child tour so 1974 I think, at the Spectrum, Philadelphia.

Getting into the Wayback Machine I seem to remember my Mom taking us kids to the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on May 14,1965 to help me celebrate my upcoming 10th birthday, and as she "knew" someone who worked there we got great seats to the Boss of the Bay KYA concert that consisted of....Rolling Stones, the Byrds, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Beau Brummels, the Turtles, and the Vejtables and I want to say that I remember Jefferson Airplane there too(too many lost brain cells in the interim). Seemed like all the opening bands only played a few songs and then it was time for the main show...made quite an impression on this young boy and siblings as we still talk about who we saw that night whenever we get together nowadays...

My first show was in 1976 at the Cleveland Coliseum--Queen was the headliner with Thin Lizzy as the opening band. Not a bad introduction to live rock.:smoke:

Getting into the Wayback Machine I seem to remember my Mom taking us kids to the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on May 14,1965 to help me celebrate my upcoming 10th birthday, and as she "knew" someone who worked there we got great seats to the Boss of the Bay KYA concert that consisted of....Rolling Stones, the Byrds, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Beau Brummels, the Turtles, and the Vejtables and I want to say that I remember Jefferson Airplane there too(too many lost brain cells in the interim). Seemed like all the opening bands only played a few songs and then it was time for the main show...made quite an impression on this young boy and siblings as we still talk about who we saw that night whenever we get together nowadays...


You win!!!

believe it or not my first concert was to see Steve Martin in LaCrosse Wisconsin back in 1977. A couple of months later I saw Gary Wright, doing Dream Weaver also in LaCrosse.

Back in 1976 my buddy called me and asked if I wanted to go to a concert because his date had stood him up... I said yes even if I was a "fair weather friend" and we went to see Gordon Lightfoot. The first concert I paid to see because I wanted to see them was the RUSH HEMISPHERES show

Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Canned Heat, and The Youngbloods at Filmore West in San Francisco.

Wow! Would've loved to be there for that one! My first concert was John Mayall with Elvin Bishop opening up. I think it was late 1971 or early 1972. Latest concert? John Mayall a couple of weeks ago, and Elvin Bishop last year. One of my favorites was a private concert for residents of Topanga Canyon at the old Topanga Corral. Canned Heat, shortly before Bob "the Bear" passed away. :smoke:

Battle of the bands at Devonshire Downs. Cheesy, but fun with alot of awesome chicks. :D

Devonshire Downs had some awesome concerts- Big Brother, Led Zeppelin, etc. etc. :smoke:

believe it or not my first concert was to see Steve Martin in LaCrosse Wisconsin back in 1977. A couple of months later I saw Gary Wright, doing Dream Weaver also in LaCrosse.

I remember my sisters talking about hanging around with some band in Griffith Park called Spooky Tooth. If I remember right, Gary Wright was in that band.

:smoke:

The first concert I paid to see because I wanted to see them was the RUSH HEMISPHERES show

My dad took me to that one. It was a great tour, wasn't it? There are a couple pretty amazing recordings making the rounds out there of this tour too. What a set list, the 2112 suite, Xanadu and Cygnus X1 followed promptly by Book II, Hemispheres. Among others. Awesome.

Foghat and Pat Travers...1980.. I think.

July of 1972: Black Sabbath & the Groundhogs, Arie Crown Theater, Chicago.

This one ranks as one of the top live performance experiences of my life & there have been hundreds. Sabbath were on the mark that night, but the Groundhogs - and Tony McPhee - were simply amazing. Laney & Ampeg amplification were moving air through the theater that night.

Haha, guess I'm pretty young, The first concert I saw was some home-town band (can't remember the name) back in summer of 98'.

July of 1972: Black Sabbath & the Groundhogs, Arie Crown Theater, Chicago.

This one ranks as one of the top live performance experiences of my life & there have been hundreds. Sabbath were on the mark that night, but the Groundhogs - and Tony McPhee - were simply amazing. Laney & Ampeg amplification were moving air through the theater that night.


Groundhogs- that is a band seldom mentioned. I have a few of their records but never seen them live. Wish I could of.

I'll bet that no-one else on AK can lay claim to seeing CONWAY TWITTY as their first ever concert. 1960 (I think) in Melbourne, Australia. I used to love his music then, remember I was only about 14 at the time, but he lost me the instant he crossed to the dark side....country music. :tears:

The Police * Ghost in the Machine Tour * 1981 * Denver, CO.

Smelled weird & funky way up where I was sittin'

Rush @ the Michigan Palace in Detroit. Their 1st American tour, Neil Peart hadn't even joined them yet. UFO & Status Quo opened. OUTSTANDING!!!!!!!!!!:thmbsp:That was my first arena show. My very 1st show was Bob Segar System, Ted Nugent & the Amboy Dukes , Frigid Pink @ the Motor city Roller Rink..... Cost $ 1.00:yikes:

Def Leppard at the Dane County Colliseum, 1983 or 1984. Whenever the Pyromania tour was.

Elton John in San Antonio, circa 1973.

The first "Big name" show I saw was Mahavishnu Orchestra at American University in 1973.This was the original line-up with Jan Hammer and Billy Cobham. It was a free show- some friends coaxed me to go. We were ingesting this powdery blue stuff that was marketed as Psylocybin- it was likely acid- but I will never forget that show!!:music:

Sad as this may seem, it was just a few hours ago: The Dandy Warhols were playing here. My wife got tix for us and my friends for my bday :) I've been to live music but no real, like, rock concerts... I'm a weirdo.

Michael

Sly & The Family Stone, 1967 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. My big sister and brother-in-law took me. I remember watching the crowd was way cooler than the band.

Fist real club or stadium show (not local all-ages punk or metal) was Smashing Pumpkins in 2000 at Hara Arena. Damn, I'm young.

Hey...I was at that show too.

My first concert was Huey Lewis and the News on his Sports tour back in '85. I must have been like 13 years old, I was happy to go to any show back then.

First Concert was the Beach Boys early 70's time frame.

Early 1969, Blood Sweat & Tears with opening act, London Bridge :rolleyes:.
BS&T didn't show, LB sucked.
The makeup show was my second concert. BS&T with Canned Heat as the opening act. Canned Heat blew the audience away. Bob Hite was in a T-Shirt, which he explained had a grape juice stain on it. BS&T were okay but with Al Kooper gone they were lacking. I've been a fan of Canned Heat ever since.

My first show I was 14 and we had 14th row center seats at the Kiel Auditorium on May 27th 1986

Aerosmith was headlining with Ted Nugent opening up.


I great first show. :music::banana:

The first "Big name" show I saw was Mahavishnu Orchestra at American University in 1973.This was the original line-up with Jan Hammer and Billy Cobham. ...!!:music:

I'm in awe!

The first "Big name" show I saw was Mahavishnu Orchestra at American University in 1973.This was the original line-up with Jan Hammer and Billy Cobham. It was a free show- some friends coaxed me to go. We were ingesting this powdery blue stuff that was marketed as Psylocybin- it was likely acid- but I will never forget that show!!:music:

I live in the DC area also. I saw Mahavishnu with Return to Forever, Santana, and Buddy Miles a few years later at the Cap Center. John McLaughlin, Carlos and Al DiMeola all jamming together was a real mind bender without the trips.

Classic show Grillebilly,

Rome

I saw Dimeola play with Carlos at a show that RTF opened & Santana headlined.This must have been 1977 or so. Al seemed to walk all over Carlos, though I don't think he was trying to show him up! Carlos seemed relieved when that duet was done & they got back to the usual set..

Crosby,& Nash acoustic,Masonic Temple, Detroit.I think it was 1972.

The first actual concert I attended was Black Sabbath, March 6, 1982 at Cobo arena in Detroit. My buddies said it was great but I spent the whole time throwing up on the guy in front of me.

The first concert I actually remember was The Who, September 30, 1982 at the Pontiac Silver dome with the Clash and Eddie Money. That was a great show however, a bunch of guys dressed in camo had a homemade “Combat Rock” banner and a bunch of other people were throwing half full beers at them. I remember the crowd was fairly hostile toward the clash.

Also, this is my first reply to Audiokarma.

Kiss, Roanoke (VA) Coliseum, 1976 IIRC...

Lynard Skynard in Milwaukee, winter of 1976/77 just before thier plane crash. Went in the ditch in a snowstorm on my way back to school in Stevens Point.

Uriah

these are awesome stories, you guys. Really interesting stuff. I feel a lot of envy for some of these shows!

and welcome tshoejohn.

KISS , 1976 or so.

POCO, around '71 at the Overton Park Shell in Memphis. After that it would have been Billy Joel who played at ASU in Jonesboro in '73.

I know this is off the OP, but is there any of you who went to the "Texas Pop Festival" in September of 1969?
The lineup included Johnny Winter, Canned Heat, Janis Joplin, James Cotton, B.B. King, Santana, Sam and Dave, Chicago, Led Zepplin, Ten Years After, and Sly and the Family Stone.
I was only 11 when the concert took place and would love to hear from someone who attended.
Woodstock got a lot of attention but I never hear this one being talked about.
It took place at Dallas International Motor Speedway.

The first actual concert I attended was Black Sabbath, March 6, 1982 at Cobo arena in Detroit. My buddies said it was great but I spent the whole time throwing up on the guy in front of me.


Now there's something to be really proud of. You sound like a real riot to go to shows with.

Three Dog Night, Bangor Auditorium, Bangor, Maine Maybe 1970? They where incredible, beautiful harmony, black drummer had a huge set of clear drums, had cymbals behind him that he used too, some of the cymbals where bent bad when he was done. Had a tube of sticks and a stack of white towels next to him and he used all of em. He had a real work out through the show. There was this guy behind us throwing up though, no kiddin', was that you tent?

Grillebilly, now that is a true concert lineup there!

I was only 12 at that time, but would have loved to have seen those guys have at it. They were in their prime too!

Rome

Bryan Adams, Montreal Forum, 1985

My first show was in 1976 at the Cleveland Coliseum--Queen was the headliner with Thin Lizzy as the opening band. Not a bad introduction to live rock.:smoke:

I saw this tour or at least Thin Lizzy opening up for Queen at the Lakeland Civic Center in Florida. I wasn't a Thin Lizzy fan much before but I think they upstaged Freddie and the band quite a bit. What a sound Lizzy had over Queen that night but I can attribute some of it to the Acoustics of the hall and Queen had slap all over the place due to the walls and ceiling design I suppose.

-Mike

My first concert was Black Sabbath in Omaha Civic Auditorium, 1980.
The music was good, the atmosphere was thick with smoke.

Bloodrock at Ravinia in the northern suburbs of Chicago in 1972. Didn't know much about the band but the setting was great for a concert. I believe shortly after that rock concerts became rare due to the surrounding neighborhoods not caring for the noise nor the kind of crowd. Understand they have relaxed again somewhat.

Outdoors, rock music, blankets on the grass, high school girlfriend, everything else was a blur.......

Led Zeppelin 1976

Kiss- Dynasty tour of 1979. I had just finished 6th grade. My friends mom took 3 of us to the Providence Civic Center. I still remember it pretty well. I hadn't seen anything as silly until I went to see Eminem, Limp Bizkit, and Poppa Roach on the Anger Management tour in Worcester, Mass in 2000.
:thmbsp:

Mountain, Humble Pie and Yes at Gaelic Park Amphitheater, New York. 1971

Now there's something to be really proud of. You sound like a real riot to go to shows with.

All the concerts after that I kept it together pretty well, however when I saw INXS at Pine Knob in ’87 I decided it would be a good idea to take a nap before driving home. That worked out great, when I woke up the sun was up and the parking lot was empty. That concert was a blast!

Three Dog Night - Greenville Memorial Auditorium (Greenville, SC) c. 1973

Same here, but in Teaneck NJ 1970.

Bob Marley- early 70's in Milwaukee. Great show!!

The Doors just before the became nationally known, Feb. 1966 at the Droog Club in San Frencisco. Pretty amazing show, some people were a little stunned - there were no other bands that performed like The Doors.

Rush, Angel and Max Webster 1976.