Musicheads wonder...What's the first show you ever went to?

That's an easy one. KISS, The "Love Gun" Tour, 1977 St. Paul Civic Center with Michael Des Barre's crummy band "Detective" opening. We were sitting on stage left (Gene's side) in the side section, about halfway up. You could still feel the heat from the flame blasts that far away. I wasn't quite 12 yet. My brother-in-law took me and one of my best friends to the show. It was an amazing first concert experience. I saw them again a few years later on the "Dynasty" tour with a little known band called "Judas Priest".

The first show I ever went to that I could seriously consider a Show (in the more meaningful sense of the word) was Dylan at the Xcel, back when he was playing with Charlie Sexton and Larry Campbell. They did a version of "Forever Young" back then in three part harmony!

I'd say that really cemented my addiction to Dylan.

First show I paid good money for was Helmet, and The Melvins at First Avenue. I went to see The Melvins, and it was the first of maybe 10 or so times I've seen them since. It was around the time Stag came out, so I believe Mark D was still playing bass for them at the time.

I wasn't aware that Chuck Profit had been in Green on Red... what is it with the punk folks going country? Interesting stuff, I hear that he has also recorded a a cover of the Waylon Jenning's Dreaming My Dream album .... my first show? 1991, Cheap Trick at the Riverfest in Toledo. It was free and a couple of friends and I had driven down just to see them.

The first live rock show I ever attended?

Erm... I think it was [barely audible] murmble blurglrb...

Speak up, Auntie, I can't hear you. ;-)

The first concert I attended was my first year in college, 1981, I went with my roommate and several friends to see REO Speedwagon. I think it was at the old Met in Bloomington, Minnesota (which was torn down shortly afterward). We were in the last row.

For a small town girl, this was definitely a hallmark event.

*listening to the podcast now & replying*

Frick, that really is one kickin' intro to live rock-n-roll.

Must have been incredible, Ryan. Man. Can you elaborate on how you define show in the more meaningful sense?

Zach First Ave is a good space for a first show. That must have been mid-90s? Must have been good (or you must be an awesome fan!) if you kept on keepin' on with their shows. 10 shows = fan in my book.

Mmmm, haven't solidified how I feel about this emmm geee emmm teee... but that Electrical Feel is strangely attractive. Something tells me the people who queue music for The Gap are trying to get this on a compilation. Who called it a lost Prince song? *still listening ... you can too*

Therrrrrrrre's Eric. Hey! Thanks for chiming in with Cheap Trick (no shame in that, you'd best not get ribbed) and bigger thanks for the question: "what is it with the punk folks going country?" The floor is open to theories.

"[barely audible] murmble blurglrb"? I'd really like to tease you and ask if *coughcough* opened, but I really need you to know you're encouraged to come clean in this discussion Auntie. We don't point and laugh. Glad to see you surface again here on Gather.

*high five to Susan for mentioning the old Met Center* And big applause for the last-row seating. That's part of the history and pretty much perfect. Considering how much you love live music, how did the show hook you?

It isn't on the level of Weird Al, but to answer the question:

Growing up we saw a lot of polka & swing acts live, *clears throat thinking about the old Prom Ballroom* and I'm sure to have enjoyed America at some slightly hippie summer festival... but honestly, my first real no-guardians-in-attendance show was just wholesome as heck. It was a sort of date and he got tickets for Huey Lewis and the News at the Minnesota State Fair. Grandstand!

Come join me on the it-may-not-be-cool-but-its-what-I-gots bench, Auntie?

Hey Julia, sitting in for Bill today? :-)

I hardly remember the show. Well, I DON'T remember the show. It was the first, though. I think the second concert I attended was also while I was in college. My friend Patty and I went to Billy Joel's show at the um, some big place in St. Paul. Was there an old Civic Center before this new place was built? Anyway, that's where it was.

Now that I remember! Patty and I, being the good Catholic girls that we were, stood on our (main floor seating) folding chairs like a pair of drunks (which we also were not!) screaming the lyrics along with Joel:

Come out Virginia, don't make me wait, you Catholic girls start much too late...I'd rather laugh with the sinners than die with the saints, cuz sinners have much more fun and you know that ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG

That was sooo much fun. I need to call Patty up and reminisce. I think it was at that concert and with that friend that my concert-crazy wildness truly emerged.

Say Julia, guess who's playing at Trocaderos on February 22nd? They're guest musicians for Garrison's show the next night down in Winona. I might be at both shows, but definitely at Trocaderos. ;-)

If I remember my Auntie history correctly, I think her first show was some guy who's name rhymes with *cough* Larry Tanilow *cough*

Hey Susan , I was at that same REO Speedwagon concert at the Met Center. With .38 Special opening, right? The Met was pretty decent concert venue back in the day. Although the Civic Center was a little better, IMHO.

Here I am...wow this is fun!! From Billy Joel to Kiss to Huey "Hip to be Square" Lewis to Helmet (believe I was at that show) to Dylan to Reo & Cheap Trick.

Hey Susan...the band from the Catholic high school I attended was banned from playing that song because of the lyrics mentioned above!!

Yo Eric P, Chuck was not an original member of Green on Red. He had joined later when the band switched from that "paisley underground" style to more of an alt-country/americana sound. They were a GREAT band! Always dug their song, "Ain't No Free Lunch"!

Who else has MGMT's "Time to Pretend" stuck in their head?? How about them capes they were sporting on Letterman?!

That's funny, Frick, it's a small world after all snags my ear now. Yes, .38 Special. That was a long time ago. I'm glad I've moved on.

Something that occurs to me, Bill, is how I used to think concerts were sooo extravagant, something I'd do once or twice a year. Now I often attend a live, national act (outside of work) a couple times a month. Of course I have more disposable income than when I was younger, but even back in the early 80s, tickets were around $25 and now the shows I often see at the Cedar Cultural Center have prices in that range.

Someone's not making the money they deserve. That and these BubbleHead Pop Kids who take in hundreds of dollars per tix are paid way more than they could ever merit.

That's my two cents, if you're wondering. ;-)

My first concert was Nirvana at Roy Wilkins in December of 1994. I was fifteen. I bought tickets at the Gatlin Brothers' ticket outlet in the Mall of America for the 'Mosh Pit' designated zone, front and center.

I was so excited and so grunge that I wore two flannel shirts, some clever t-shirt underneath and ripped in the knee jeans. I didn't shower for two days to be convincingly grungier. I was fifteen.

Shonen Knife opened first, and they were very charming and little and Japanese and were followed by The Breeders. Kim Deal jumped in the crowd and I accidentally touched her boob (left). That moment right there eclipsed anything that had come before. Disneyland, you got nothing on inappropriate accidental celebrity action. Luckily Nirvana played after that so that wasn't all I came away with. Again, I was fifteen.

Kurt Cobain was dirtier than I was. I think he was wearing a really gross sweater, I don't totally remember. I crashed into people they crashed into me. I moshed on the heavy songs, drifted back and forth to the slower songs holding one of my two lighters (in case a hot girl with a cigarette needed a light, I wouldn't have to fumble with which pocket it was in (15)) in the air. I got knocked down one time by a guy with a Bud Light bottle cap pin with a blinking red LED that wound up being like a warning sign for him, as he was about 3 1/2 feet across at the shoulders, terrifying in black leather and long black Danzig hair. He pulled me right up, laughed and half hugged me, then ran off to terrorize the other side of the Moshing Pen. I was in awe and addicted to concerts after that. I work in them now, doing sound around town, so I still see a lot.

Bill, I am looking forward to the MGMT show and hoping it was nerves that made them give such a meek performance, being on national television before their record even came out. I don't know about the capes, either. I just love the synthesizers.

Whoa, Benjamin, that was a fabulous story. Euww, fifteen and no shower for *two* days?! ;-)

Thanks for the laugh-out-loud (lol has become trite) read.

Oh, sure, Susan, the old St. Paul Civic Center! Could barely remember what it looked like so I dug around and ended up with this page. you also wrote that at that concert, "...my concert-crazy wildness truly emerged." Do you have photographic proof? No? Okay ;-) To answer your other questions and quick mention a few items: I hang out here, BeauSoleil (hee!) , you make a good point about ticket prices, and here's a reminder to call Patty.

*cough* You mean the Mary Fanilow concert Frick?

"Time to Pretend" really is easy to lock into one's brain, Bill, but back to the capes. Okay, think about it. You're young. When you're growing up you want to be a rock star or a superhero. What if... just what if... you could be a rock star WEARING a superhero cape?! Or maybe it is a type of cloak used for an after-show secret ceremony. I'm no more or less amused/annoyed by it than any other musician affectation. Remember the good old days when an artist or band was gonna freak out for their art, they went all out? Here's to Bowie and even Nugent.

Benjamin A., your first show experience floored me. To think you went from getting knocked down by a dude with Danzig hair to working events. Ever think back to that first show and revisit the sound of the space?

heard 'musicheads' for the first time last night - loved it! i'm gonna go score the chuck prophet and MGMT discs on lunch break here. well, anyway, my first concert was 'spacehog' at first ave. - all told, it was a pretty introduction to my concert going career.

Wow, man. Does the Mahavishnu Orchestra With John McLaughlin count? middle late 20th c, dt minneapolis.

My first show was U2's "Elevation" tour show at Target Center in 2001. It was my 17th birthday, and the best gift I could have gotten. Was anyone else at that show? There had been tornado warnings earlier in the day and apparently U2's plane circled the Twin Cities for hours because of the nasty weather and they almost had to land the plane in Fargo and drive the equipment down I-94 (obviously not an ideal solution). Just in time, the clouds broke, their plane landed, and they got to the arena as PJ Harvey took the stage. Quite the story. But anyway, it was a cool show, even though Target Center's horrendous acoustics prevented us from hearing any of Bono's banter. I found a bootleg years later and I was like, "huh, that's what he was saying at that point". Maybe I should see the U2-3D show now to bring back those old memories.

My first concert was Micheal Jackson at the Met Center. It was the Bad Tour and he was huge! I was in the fouth grade and my cool dad took my sister and me for her 9th birthday. She slept through half the show somehow, but I was in awe for weeks. The noise and the lights and the crowd, oh my.
The first concert that I bought tickets for was either Soul Coughing or G. Love at First Ave. when I was 15.
B. DeVille, just wanted to say I Love Musicheads, always enjoyable!

Such a huge amount of activity!

Quite a concert memory Benjamin! Saw Nirvana and Urge Overkill at First Avenue on their Nevermind tour. Didn't see much as it was one of those all age shows when you had to stay upstairs if you wanted to drink. Sounds like you really embraced your grunginess! (no shower for 2 days)

"Does the Mahavishnu Orchestra With John McLaughlin count?" of course it counts John!

CJ...enjoy your CD's! Did you hear that MGMT's 7th Street Entry show sold out?

Mac, I was at that show but forgot about the tornado warning stuff. It was A great show!

Molly, Your dad is pretty cool for taking you to see the "Bad" tour!

So is Vampire Weekend going to be on the next Musicheads installment? i'm picking up my copy tonight.

The first concert I went to was Puff Daddy and the family at Target Center back in '96 or '97?? The opening acts were 112, Mase and Busta Rhymes. Busta Rhymes literally fell off the stage during his show. He was leaning forward rapping to some women in the front row, lost his balance, and just fell off lol. He got up a short time later (literally climbed back onto the stage), said "I'm aight... I'm aight", and then just kept rappin. Puffy was hot back then, and I was a little freshman in HS with no taste in music at the time, so I thought it was pretty entertaining.

My first, unless you count "The Osmond Brothers" in the late '60's(and I don't) was Rare Earth, at the Ohio State Fair in 1974. he opening act was The Association(Never My Love) ..and I still wonder who thought up that combo...Then again, it could have been anyone up there...the bunch of us had dropped acid before heading to the fair....it was'74..

As a side line...does anyone remember those fake dog leashes, with no dog attached...those were really popular at the fair that year...for some reason they were particularly hilarious to us stoned-assed kids.

We lived 100 miles away from London, which was a long way in those days. But when we were 15 I persuaded me Dad to take me and two mates to see Rod Stewart at Wembley. The amazing Phil Chen on guitar, Carmin Appice on drums, we got down close enough for my mate Steve to catch one of his drum sticks. On the way out we had to make way for a limo and peaked in the back to see Rod and Britt Eckland snuggling ...sweet!! Nice addition to Musicheads this question thingy huh?!

Bill thanks for the info.. so basically Chuck Prophet was to Green on Red, what Gram Parsons was to the Byrds... is what I hear you saying.. by the way, my second concert? Cheap Trick almost a year later at my little college in the UP...

Like many young girls, I started with the teen idols -- David Cassidy was my first concert. At Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), saw many a show there. Fortunately, my musical tastes quite rapidly expanded when I hit college.

Who else has MGMT's "Time to Pretend" stuck in their head?

[Waving hand wildly] I do! I do! Just ordered the CD from B&N today, after listening to the podcast last night.

Yes, my very first concert was a well known performer whose name rhymes with "Harry Panilow". Bring on the flogging!

Donna, Oddly enuf, I DO remember the fake invisible-dog-on-a-leash fad, and I can fully imagine you laughing your a$$es off at them.

It was seventh grade. My friend Jim and I talked his father into taking us to see an R&B show at the Oakland, CA Auditorium. The headliner was LaVern Baker who did a bang up version of her current hit, "Jim Dandy."

I saw Bob Dylan a couple of times before he had an electric band.

I saw Lightnin Hopkins in 1963 or so. For the second set he walked out with a flat top Gibson with a D'Armond pickup in the sound hole and shocked the folkie purists. They didn't know, me neither, that he'd been amplified since the late 40s. :)

Hey Bill, you really hit a cord on the first concert thing. Interesting but I must say the show was one of the better musicheads show I have heard and really enjoyed hearing your, Danny and Tony's comments on the 3 artists/bands. All 3 have caught my attention thanks to the daily podcasts. My only recollection of Chuck Profit was his "Summertime Thing" tune that got a lot of play on another station up the dial. (Mostly on the hottest days of summer by the way). Big Gomez fan and was excited to hear Ian Ball had a solo CD. Haven't heard a lot but would have to agree it's pretty pedestrian so far, but do want to hear the whole disk.

On MGMT I have to agree their "Time To Pretend" tune is an intriguing song and destined to be one of the best singles of 2008. Was thinking about trying to see the Feb 7 show and bummed to hear it's sold out. I like what I've heard of Yeasayer too. Thank god for David Letterman show and the steady stream of new or obscure indie bands!

Oh, and my first concert, The Who at Met Center in the early 70's touring for the "Who's Next album. Amazing show...

God, I was envious when Bill mentioned he saw Cheap Trick in 1979 with AC/DC!! It almost trumps my first show: KISS in 1979 with Judas Priest at the Met Center. This was at their "Unleashed In The East" period. Granted, it wasn't KISS' best period - what with it being Dynasty and all - but hey, there was a time when saying you saw KISS with their makeup actually meant something.

Kudos to Danny for the awesome KISS references, bytheway.

Depeche Mode, the Rose Bowl and all have paled since.....

In the spring of 1970 or '71, we cut school and went to the first Earth Day celebration at Belmont Plateau. A one hit wonder called "SeaTrain" performed.

The second one was my first semester of college, a double with Taj Mahal and the Mahavishnu Orchestra With John McLaughlin. A very strange pairing. Mahavishnu was just too loud for the small hall and all I really remember about it was the headache it gave me.

Two years ago I took my two daughters to see Paul McCartney. It was their first big concert and a truely wonderful experience.

Mine was Bruce Springsteen. I don't know what year for sure but not too long ago. Within the last 10 years. I'd say 2000. (I'm 24 so I missed his good years :P) I was a little disappointed because he chose to play all this new stuff instead of playing the good old stuff. He didn't play Dancin in the Dark at all and that's my favorite song by him so I was a bit upset.

After that, I've stuck with a little bit harder rock. Metallica, Godsmack, and Rammstein were my favorite shows so far. I also like the really small acoustic shows too though so I'm all over the place.

My first concert experience was at the National Guard Armory in Minot, North Dakota. I think it was 1962 and my boyfriend's mother dropped us off so we could see the Supremes (and other Detroit groups) in an "All-Star" presentation! I think the tickets were $5.50 each.

My first concert was in Rennes, France. I went to TransMusicales in December 2003. I saw !!!, The Thrills, and GangStar, as well as Ben Harper, who happened to be in town. I had a German gentleman pour an entire glass of Heinekin down my back, and then we were tear-gassed when rioters tried to break down the fences around the venue. It was an excellent concert.

Well, Nippy has me beat by a couple of years but my first concert was in 1965 when my aunt took me and my sister to the Illinois State Fair to see The Beach Boys and Sam The Sham and the Pharoahs. I can never thank or curse my aunt enough for that because I've been addicted to live music ever since. I'd much rather hear someone play their music live than to hear the studio stuff. I've been to thousands of concerts and clubs since then and have amassed a collection of music that is threatening to overtake my house. Interestingly enough, many years later the first concert experience for my 2 older kids was the Beach Boys when they played after an Atlanta Braves baseball game that I had taken them to.

My first concert was the Mighty Mighty Bosstones at the Worcester Centrum. Opening for them were Bim Skala Bim, The Amazing Royal Crowns, and a little-known punk rock band called the Dropkick Murphys - who have since gone on to incredible success in the Boston area. My girlfriend and I paid extra for the privilege of standing on the concrete floor rather than the seats around the arena and getting slammed by all the "punk" kids dancing around like retards. Excellent concert, horrible fans.

Wow Alan....just cranked up Sam the Sham's "Wooly Bully" the other night. Still sounds awesome!

Goodness...we are a diverse bunch aren't we?!

Cheap Trick, Bob Dylan & Mahavishnu Orchestra all getting multiple mentions.

If I could steal one of your 1st concert's....it would have to be Frick's KISS at St Paul Civic Center in 1977. I was even in the KISS ARMY then. They were my faves. That tour didn't come to my hometown. ):

Mark Wheat even chimes in with Rod Stewart at Wembley. Cool! Bet when you saw Rod and his blonde of the moment he was serenading her with, "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy"!

1968....Madison Square Garden....I was 12 yrs old, my 14 yr old friend John got tickets from his big brother to go see Creedence Clearwater Revival, so we jumped the bus to Port Authority, walked down the street to the Garden and saw the concert...This little know band named Golden Earring happen to be the opening act....Never forget that memory!

Ned Nugent 1979 - yeah, he swung onstage in a vine!

I saw Elvis in 1975 with my mom in Philly...I was 9! Saw him again in Binghamton 1977 right before he died.

I saw the Carpenters around the same time and then Neil Diamond.

That was before I had my own money! Ha!
My first real rock concert was Van Halen - their first album and they blew everyone away with David Lee Roth's splits and Eddie's licks!

My first experience of live music was on a family camping trip to South Dakota, age 9-? Went to a rodeo to escape a rainy day, and who should be the opening act for small children riding sheep? -Why, a very young and inexperienced Shania Twain (being pulled on a horse drawn wagon around the arena).
Ok, since that's really lame, I will trump everyone with my mom's first live show... she was 5 years old, and her tragically hip older sister took her to the Met to see the Beatles.
Speaking of MGMT, was anyone else at the Triple Rock a few years ago when they opened for Of Montreal? -It was just the two guys, each holding a drum stick, no band. They shared the snare drum that sat between them, and one had a small fake guitar. If my memory serves me right, I believe they ended the show with a strip tease as we all chanted "M-G-M-T"

Sha-Na-Na.....yeah....

Mom was going to all these cool concerts - she called me one night from the Deep Purple show - finally she bought me concert tickets for my 13th birthday....yup - Bowzer!! I was so bummed, I wouldn't even wear my t-shirt in public : (

Mac--I was at the U2 thunderstorm concert as well. It turned out to be quite a memorable night. Singing "Bad' at the top of our lungs in the car while looking at the black clouds ahead. Being pelted with huge hailstones on 94 the way there. Feeling just as much a part of the show in the 4th row to the top as the people down on the floor thanks to the amazing showmanship of Bono. Then heading back to school in River Falls and seeing that the storm had broken windows all over town, dented my car and sent a flash flood through campus.

Almost like the day I had a job interview, was diagnosed with strep throat, had my car completely destroyed by hail, and STILL made it to the Flaming Lips show at the State Fair. What is it with me, concerts and hail? But it shows what we will do for the bands we love.

My first real concert wasn't that exciting, but still great. Zone for the Holidays '97 featuring Garbage, Semisonic and Beck. (Of course I'm not counting all of those great county fair shows in Wisconsin with The Judds, The Oak Ridge Boys and Weird Al from when I was little:))

Prince, the Lovesexy Tour. In an uprecedented move, my dad read an enthusiatic review of the show and got tickets for our whole family. I think I was about 12 and my sister was 10. None of us actually knew anything about Prince, beyond that he was a pop musician of some kind. You'd think the name of the tour would have been a clue. Looking back, it was a great show, although my poor mother was horrified that she had taken her children to see a man hump a bed. Also the first time I ever smelled pot. Had to ask my parents why the couple behind us had such wierd smelling cigarettes. I haven't thought about this in a long time. I'll have to see if I can get a dvd of that tour and watch it again now that I actually understand the lyrics... : )

Cool Holly V...your Dad took you to Prince. My Dad never got closer than seeing him do the halftime show at the Super Bowl.

Renee, congrats on seeing Elvis! I could have went to see him that same era...but had no interest in seeing "old people's music"...I remember one of my classmates coming to school the day after an Elvis show and showing off one of the scarves he used to toss into the audience.

Monnie B...you saw Gonzo Ted before he killed all the animals!!

Let the 1st concert experiences continue...

My first show...Lollapalooza 1994 which was headlined by the Smashing Pumpkins. I saw the beastie boys as well as george clinton that day. It was amazing!

oh i just had to jump in here...this is a great question. my first show was they might be giants at first ave in 1992..i was 16 but didn't have my license yet so my parents had to drop us off and pick us up. i was just excited they let me go! also i went with a cute boy, so really, i could have been standing in an empty room staring at paint dry for 2 hours and i would have been happy. hee hee...we waited in line outside and actually SAW john and john get out of their bus. we felt so cool! looking back on it, i am rather impressed that we pushed our way up to the very front. thanks for reminding me of a great time. i'm glad i can say my first show was tmbg at first avenue---if my parents had been just a little more lenient, it would have been debbie gibson a few years before. ouch. thanks mom and dad!

My first concert was Woodstock in 1969. After that, everything else was anticlimactic.

Oh, Paula! Woodstock? The Mother of all concerts? GOOD FOR YOU!!

(in one way or another, those of us who are "baby boomers" were ALL at Woodstock; even if it was only in true spirit. Peace, Baby.)

Speaking of Prince/Lovesexy Tour, I've never seen him perform live, but me and a few co-workers got to hear the band rehearsing in a warehouse across the street from where we worked at the time. We'd go out and eat our lunch and listen to them play. I don' t think anyone dared to venture over there for fear of running into some of his goons.

Steve Miller Band at the Minnesota State Fair in 1992.

Sting @ the Target Center in 1993

Rush with Primus opening @ the Target Center in April 1994, the day it was announced Kurt Cobain died in fact.

Hey Bill, on the MGMT concert, don't know if you or anyone has seen reviews, but I ran accross one from the Bay area and it is not particularily positive. For those going this week at 7th street Entry will be interesting to see if the experience is different.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_8109664

It was a rock and roll review. I was about ten. Chuck Berry, Clyde McPhatter and the Platters, Little Richard, Little Stevie Wonder and a few more.

10 4 u

Little late to this conversation 'cause I just listened to the Podcast today but I'm really proud of this story...
In 1977, I had just finished 1st grade at the public school where I had been introduced, for the first time, to the slightly older kids "from the wrong side of the tracks", so to speak. Due to some minor juvenile-delinquent-type infractions my parents forbade me to hang out with these guys but I snuck off to their houses every chance I got. They were all "latchkey kids" who had no parental supervision after school until late in the evening. Which seemed like a life of bliss to me.
Up until this time I had been pretty satisfied with my mom's old 45's, mostly Bill Haley, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc. and a few of her college era LP's of Kingston Trio folky kind of stuff. My dad's records were just plain weird: Sounds Of The U.S. Airforce? Sounds In Space narrated by Ken Nordine? Johann Albrechtsberger, Concerto for Jew's Harp? This was the only kind of stuff I had access to at the time. These kids gave me my first introduction to Cable TV, Girly Mags, and KISS. I got way into KISS, joined the KISS Army and everything. These were the magical days of youth when it wasn't unreasonable to believe that Gene Simmons actually was a demon... When I excepted, without question, that KISS was an acronym for Knights In the Service os Satan.
By some wicked coincidence the Kiss - Love Gun Tour came to Buffalo that summer. My older, cooler, more delinquent friends were all going. There was no way my parents would let me go anywhere with these punks, let alone to the downtown arena to see some debauched rock and roll show. So we made up some elaborate lie involving a couple of my other, more clean cut, friends and someone's older sister who pretended to be some one else's mother. She called my mother and convinced her that I had been invited to a slumber party, I think.
I paid a friend's older brother to buy a ticket for me almost entirely with change I stole from my mother's collection of money she found in the bottom of the washing machine, a whole 13, 1977, dollars.
Truthfully, I don't remember much of the music, but I do remember the show... Gene Simmons breathing fire and spitting blood. Peter Criss' drums rising in the air. Ace's guitar catching fire and exploding. And Paul swinging out over the crown on a wire. But mostly what I remember is being honestly terrified the entire time.
Thankfully, the kids I went with and their older siblings weren't as bad as my parents believed. They took pretty good care of me. Most of the show I sat on some giant guy's shoulders, at least he seemed giant to me then, and he took me right up to the stage. Girls in tight denim outfits paid lots of attention to me and made sure no one offered me any alcohol, cigarettes or pot. They even escorted me to the bathroom, and snuck me in the laidies' room, when I needed to to go.
The next day the only question my parents had was, "why do you reek of cigarette smoke?" They never found out until I told them years and years later.

The next show I saw, with permission, was U2 in 1983, the War tour.

The first concert I ever attended was at 6 years old. It was CHICAGO live at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA. This event changed my life forever. To be just a kid and see 15,000 people all gathered in one place to celebrate music blew my little mind. I was up in the lawn dancing, eating mass amounts of Chipwiches and singing along to the few songs of theirs I knew at the time. It transformed me into a lifelong Chicago fan but more importantly let me know what it was I was going to do for the rest of my life. The next day I enrolled in piano lessons, a couple years later I picked up the trombone and ever since I've been writing songs and performing wherever I can get on a stage. I can remember just about every detail of that night..it's crazy...

Mine was the Go-Gos at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX. I was in the first grade--my mom came with me. I still love them.

But get this--my Dad's first show? Louie Armstrong. How cool is that?!

Nazareth/April Wine on Nazareth's Fool Circle tour.. (in LaCrosse, Wi)


to the perosn who said Kiss Love Gun tour, wow I envy you!!!!!

Oh yeah! Kiss with Uriah Heap opening at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in February 1977...a few days before my 12th Birthday. I think it was $6.50 and it was crazy for a kid. Of course, I followed that up with Steve Miller in 1977 but then had a few years of Cap'n & Tennielle, Melissa Manchester, Leo Sayer, Air Supply, and at least one Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. show...aaaahhhhhhhh

I love this question! My first concert that I actually chose to go to (my parents apparently brought me to Larry Tanilow and Billy Joel when I was a wee tot) was Soul Coughing and Low at First Avenue in 1995. It was incredible.

I just finished listening to the podcast of this episode, and my jaw dropped when someone (Danny or Tony) mentioned going to their first show at the Col Ballroom in Davenport, Iowa! My first concert was there, too -- but it was the Stray Cats, with Dave Edmonds opening. I think that was 1982, or 1983. I was 15, it was bloody hot and I got beer spilled on me. But it was awesome!

I saw the Police at the Met Center in 83 or so, before that I had seen the Suburbs in Loring Park twice. I was 17 at that time so could not get into bars. I did drink though. Mickeys for the Suburbs, and they lined their empty Heinekins up on the Amps. The park was packed ful of people dancing, and drinking, and having a blast. I need to go see a live band again soon. Maybe X at the Cabooze.