Concert stories...

Dude, you saw some awesome shows!!! Myself, in JC Tennessee my first concert was the KING! thats right, Elvis, second, Kiss, followed by, in no certain order, Styx Grand Illusion tour, Nazarath, hair of the dog, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Outlaws, 38 Special, Ted Nugent, Ozzy, (after Randy Rhoads death, Night Rangers guitarist was filling in, Iron Maiden and Priest, Huey Lewis, Travis Tritt, Van Halen, Diver down tour, REO Speedwagon, Pat travers, Back oak Arkansas, More than I can re call!!

Lol, I am also a youngster it seems. But TonyKgull , Pink Floyd twice in two days!!! Man, that must have been amazing.

Anyway so my best concert story might be a bit arb. But it comes from 1998 when I was living in London. Dave Matthews Band was at the height of their fame, having just released their third album. They were playing at this small intimate venue, and there was no ways anyone was getting in there, due to tickets being sold out ages ago.

Myself and a buddy went to the venue, and made plackards saying "Will strip for tickets"! It was just as a joke. We wernt planning to whip our kit off for any man or beast. Anyway, as the show started and the crowds dispersed, we were about to go to the local pub to get a pint, when the Stage Manager rushes outside and hands us two comps. "Courtesy of Dave" he says.

We were so ablaze by that time, even if it was a bad concert, DMB could not have put a foot wrong in our minds. The venue was tiny, so even though we were at the back and it was packed, we could see and hear everything. It turned out to be an absolutely brilliant night, which I will not readily forget.

If I have to list mine, they look so different: Dr. Alban; Midnight Oil, DMB, Kula Shaker, The Sisters of Mercy; Goo Goo Dolls; The Cult; R.E.M.; Lenny Kravitz; The Smashing Pumpkins; James; Blur; Foo Fighters; Hothouse Flowers; The Lightning Seeds; Collective Soul; Jars of Clay...and a few others I cant recall.

The one I really regret turning down was "A night with Mark Knopfler" - My dad bought me a ticket, but I didnt want to go on my own. So I sold it and bought a photocopier (which I needed at the time) - What a clown I was!!!

none of those acts existed when i was a concert goer

I haven't seen any of the biggies from the 60's. I was only 1 when the Beatles first came to America.

My first concert was Chicago in 1975, "in the round" as they called it. The stage and concert arena were round and the stage slowly rotated back and forth so everyone had a head on view at some point.

Saw Rush many times in the 80's. The 80's was my era for concerts. Saw Van Halen with Sammy Hagar. It was nice to have a second guitar player. But they sucked!!! A girl band Private Life opened up for them and they were great!! We all went out and bought their CD the next day. Yes I said CD. I had plenty of records too but the 80's was the era of CD's. We saw solo David Lee Roth a few times. He was into rock climbing and so were we. He was great, with Steve Vai on guitar. Except for one concert that he was drunk out of his mind. He stumbled all over the stage and forgot half the words.

I forget how many other bands we saw in the 80's. We missed Journey!! One big regret. We did see Steve Smith (Journey's drummer), shortly after he got kicked out, at a drum clinic. He was very bitter about getting kicked out but he put on a great show.

Saw the Stones at the old Shea stadium in NYC in 1985. We were in the back of the upper deck. The front of the neck must have been going up and down 6 feet!!! We could wait to get out before the place fell down! Never went back!

Saw The Who a few years ago on the Tommy tour.  Maybe it was more than a few years ago, not sure.  I wasn't familiar with the album so I was lost.  That's ALL they played!

There has to be more but I can't remember.

In modern times we've seen Chicago a few more times, probably each of the last 3 years with another similar era band.  I've seen enough Chicago for a lifetime.  No more!  We did see the Doobie Brothers with them.  At the end both bands were on the stage playing each others songs.  That was great!  There must have been over 20 musicians.  Both bands are big!

We've seen a few Country artists too.

I've always wanted to see James Taylor.  Dan Fogelberg would have been nice to see if he hadn't died so young.  Many of the folk artists from the 60's would be great to see, but they aren't what they used to be.  At least the ones that are still alive.  

I missed Tommy Emmanuel again this year!!!  If anyone has ever seen his concert at Infinity Hall, that isn't too far from me.  I miss when the tickets go on sale and all the good ones are gone quickly.  There's no sense going if I can't see him play up close.

We've seen a few Beatles tribute bands.  About an hour from us there's a yearly (except for this year) Beatles festival with 10 Beatles bands!  The first time it was nearly 60 degrees and rained all day.  Last year had perfect weather.  Last year they had a special guest, the guitar player from The Animals, Hilton Valentine.  Later I find out he lives in my town!

I guess that's enough.  I'm tired from typing.  Spell check?  I don't need no stinking Spell Check!!

Back to our regularly scheduled program!!!!

I just remembered. I saw Stevie Ray Vaughan a month before he died. And we saw Jackson Browne during his acoustic tour 2 or 3 years ago.

Way back when I was in college, late 60's/early 70's, I got to see Johnny Cash and Glen Campbell. In 1974 I was in Dallas and got to see a regional entertainer who wasn't on the national scene, Willie Nelson. Was in a Hotel bar with about 60 people. Tickets were less than $5. Pretty intimate. Ray Wylie Hubbard showed up and did a couple numbers with him, as was typical of the Texas music scene back then. About a month later Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain came out and Willie began to get a national reputation. Saw him a year later in Minneapolis at a huge venue. Music was great at both events.

The most memorable concert I ever attended was in Minneapolis in 75/76 era. Michael Murphy had just released his first big hit - Wildfire - and hadn't begun to use the Martin middle name yet. He did the concert in a medium venue that had just been built. It was actually built for having plays. The acoustics were created so that the actors didn't need any electronic amplification and could be heard anywhere in the auditorium. Murphy came out with his "rocking" band and started up. It was horrible. The music was bouncing around all over the place with those acoustics. Due to the amplification, you couldn't make anything out as the musical notes folded in on each other. After the first awful number, the whole band left the stage. In a couple minutes Murphy came out with an unamplified acoustic guitar and no voice microphone. Sat on a stool and sang acoustically for about an hour and a half. Best concert I ever went to. Great guitar playing and terrific voice. 

Don't do big concerts anymore. For the price of one ticket I can buy most every album the entertainer has written. I still like to go to see the local bands that are good. Lots of talent there and don't have to take a loan out at the bank. Of course I am weird. I'd rather go to a minor league baseball game than a Major League game if given a choice. Something about the energy and effort put out by folks who are trying to get "noticed."

Steve