Cool Mark, thanks for the memories! I saw BOC in about '76 in a club in Peoria, Ill - it was noisy. I think my first concert was Wishbone Ash/Bruce Springsteen (can you picture an odder pair?) in 1972. I saw some other bands earlier at outdoor festivals and the like with my parents, but that was the first one my own. I also saw Deep Purple at some outdoor show around the same time, but I think it was after Wishbone Ash/Bruce.

the funny thing is that i got to see them again just a few years ago...in a small club near boston...except for eric bloom they all look like accountants now. especially buck dharma.

Mark, that's fantastic. I was a "good kid," and it fell to my kid sister to take off with a van full of freaks on Friday night and return Sunday morning worse for wear. My first big rock concert was Aerosmith at Blossom Music Center in Ohio, on the Pump tour (1991?). Blossom is a 600-acre park and natural ampitheatre, and I just sort of hung out on a blanket under the night sky smelling pot smoke (for the first time)while hundreds of yards away tiny figures in bright clothes played tiny intstruments. Aerosmith were awesome, but the sky was better.

My first rock concert was when I was in 8th grade in 1993 when a friend's dad drove us to see Soul Asylum, the Goo Goo Dolls and Vic Chestnutt at the Cleveland Agora. The Goo Goo Dolls were touring in support of Superstar Carwash well before they were really famous. Soul Asylum was on their first major tour for Grave Dancer's Union. Highlight of the night was the mosh pit breaking out before it was passe during Somebody to Shove.

What is the earliest concert anyone out there went to? Any from the '50s? I know we have people who went to shows in the '60s - when was it and who did you see?

yea...and no fibbing.

if it was Pat Boone, we wanna know!

My first concert by choice (having been to many non-choice concerts with my parents - Barry Manilow, the Pointer Sisters, Billy Joel, among others I forget now) was August 1987 - Def Leppard with Europe (Europe . . . yikes) opening. I went with my best friend Josh and another guy who had gotten us the tickets. We don't even know why, he wasn't really a friend, just someone I knew at school. We screamed our heads off for several hours and didn't realize how much damage we'd done until the next day. T-shirts were bought and worn until they couldn't be worn anymore. Good times.

hmmm, i didn't think about the choice part.

let's see...probably the first 'big' show i attended (this was at the age of 9) was the easy-listening combination of Floyd Cramer, Boots Randolph, and Chet Atkins.

dang, i saw Chet Atkins!

Hawkwind at the Top Rank suite in Reading in 1980. Strongly remember the loudness. My brother, four years younger than me, was quite scared.

And the awful support act, Vardis. Anyone remember them? Their entire set sounded like a thirty second long segment of Dave Edmund's "Sabre Dance" played in an endless loop.

They had Ginger Baker on drums, great drummer but completely wrong for Hawkwind.

I missed most of their encore too; I had to catch the last train home.

BTW, I though Buck Dharma has always looked like an accountant.

My first real concert was Yes in Long Beach CA, 1975, part of their Relayer tour. The band Ace, of "How Long Has This Been Goin' On?" fame, opened -- talk about your unlikely pairings. Ace did about four songs. Everybody ignored them. Beach balls were bouncing around the arena, and that seemed more fun than Ace. Then the lights went off except for the exit lights, and a low synthesized hum put everyone into a trance. This went on for 45 minutes (no shit! -- Yes had a big stage show going on then). Then the hum faded into Firebird Suite, although the arena, including the stage, was still in almost total darkness. The first sign of light occurred after Firebird. Alan White's drums lit up when they were struck in the opening sequence of Sound Chaser. When the vocal part came in, the stage was flooded with light (it almost hurt my eyes after being in the dark for so long) and that was the first time you could see the band and the stage props. Very effective opening.

This is swell, but isn't there anyone who saw a concert of his/her own free will prior to 1972?

Sorry, prior to '72 I was 3 years old, gramps. But I did see the Clash and English Beat for my first concert in ... oh my god ... '82.

I saw BOC at the Luxor in Las Vegas, if you're going to seen BOC it should be in a pyramid with a Xenon light beam shooting out of the top.

As for first big concert, I guess that would be either ELO at the Montreal Forum (but it was cancelled, and it was the tour with the UFO) so it was really (and here I have to cringe, but understand, I was a dumb 17 year old who didn't know anything about music and it was a date, and I would go see anything for a date) Al "Year of the Cat" Stewart.

Can I repeat she was voluptuous _and_ had a car? And it was the 70s, and I was stupid and had no taste. I made up for it a couple of months later by seeing The Clash, honest.

I liked Al Stewart - no shame there, young man.

Also, Montreal, and I don't know how many cities had this situation in the 70s and 80s had a liscencing situation for live music, where it was cheaper for clubs to play records than have bands. So there wasn't a thriving live music scene (exhibit A: Men Without Hats -- sorry I actually knew Ivan, and he really supported live bands including my own The Mighty Hojos and previous The Only True Sons of Lesbian Love). But really, there was nothing until the mid-80s.

So you had cover bands or shows at the arena. Neither of which could be considered top shelf.

My 1st rock show was the Adolescents and the Dickies Perkin's Palace in Pasadena, although I recall prior to that my parents taking me, on my request, to see Hubert Laws and Jean Pierre Rampal at the Hollywood Bowl and the Toshiko Akiyoshi Lew Tabackin big band at the Ford. Did I mention that I was a wierd kid? My first and last proper "rock concert" was the Who and the Clash and, I think, T-Bone Burnett at the L.A. Coliseum.

Van Halen, Diver Down Tour, 1982. Oh, yes my friends, it was righteous.

Brick Jr's 1st show: Sonic Youth, 2003.

First comment from a long-time reader.

Sigh...I almost can't believe it myself, but my first concert on my own was in 1965, to see the Rolling Stones. Two years later I saw Jim Morrison get arrested onstage at the New Haven Arena.

I'm happy to say that deep into middle age (and after a hiatus of several years), I'm still going to concerts, my interest having been re-kindled by my teenaged son. This past year I managed to see the Flaming Lips, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, Bruce Springsteen (twice, and from the pit both times!) and Steely Dan.

Lisa, you totally rock and that's one hell of a track record almost 40 years apart! I'm sure you were very young at the Stones. Thanks for reading and sharing - that's what I'm talking about, baby.

Why, thank you, Eric! As a matter of fact, I was a mere 13 at that Stones concert. Looking back, I can hardly believe my parents let me go. There were lots of shows in between then and now -- my husband and I made the usual rounds as we were going through our college/early adult years, and then, inexplicably, we stopped for a while. I'm glad to be back in the loop, live music is ever so good!

Having young children again, I've slowed way down myself, but I will return to the fold as well!

Bruce Springsteen (twice, and from the pit both times!)

dang, i'm jealous!

And, we're lucky there wasn't a concert riot that night or Mark wouldn't be here!

This entry got me to thinking about other music experience firsts. I think the first time I understood just how creative songwriting could be was when I listened to a Carole King album, Tapestries, all the way through and really paying attention. I don't have time to blog that first, but if some other bloggers want to do theirs, I think it would make interesting reading.

i actually had a chance to see Springsteen in the front row on the River tour. it was the second night after i saw him at the Richfield Col. in cleveland (the show where Southside Johnny came out to do "I Don't Want To Go Home"...man, i get goosebumps just thinking of it)...

anyway...somebody had two front row tickets for $400 bucks.

i really,really,really,really,really wanted to go...but couldn't convince myself to blow all of my college spending money for the next semester.

MD, your idea about "really paying attention" is interesting...i've gotta think about that one.

Has anyone seen Springsteen earlier than late-'72?

Mark, I have to admit that those pit tickets came at the cost of spending way more time online at Ticketmaster than is seemly for a grown-up. They were, however, worth it.

I did a search for "talk about sports" as I am looking for information on where Halifax Mooseheads players lived and the history about them and their culture. We have and have had hockey players from all over the world play with the local hockey team here in halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. I am researching anyone who has played in the past and the present for the Halifax Mooseheads hockey team. As I was web surfing, going from one topic to the next I came upon your website as I was researching "my first blog", as I thought about creating a blog on the Halifax Mooseheads hockey team. Anyways I read about this being your "first time" and thus I read your whole blog to see if you had any information on how to operate a blog. I did find some of your information usefull and I thank you.
I will be back, as you seem to know what you are talking about, to see if you added anything new that might help me.
Anyways, good luck with your website.
Take care and God Bless
Steve A Halifax Mooseheads Hockey Fan

And all this time I have been laboring under the misconception that this post was about first concerts.

gee, me too.

lessee...what can i say that's related to halifax?

uh...i know! when i was in high school i used to see ads on the tube for rock concerts at the Moncton Colliseum.

weak, but dat's all i got.

I can't believe I found this site. The first post being in Jan.04'. That was great reading. I was only 10 yrs old in 77' but the memories of the music back then are great. Im so sentimental it kinda bums me out it was so long ago. I am still enjoying 70's music today. Also read the post about Chet Atkins and Boots. I think my mom's husband knew Chet and knows Boots. He works with a bunch of music artist right now. He has become friends with most of them and goes to their house often for parties. Mark that was really great that your parents were nice enough to take you to the concert. I couldn't go in high school. I went to my first in 1986 when I was 18 and I believe it was either General Public or may have been Monsters of Rock concert in L.A. I use to have all my stubs but over the years they disappeared thru moving. I hate moving because of that. I also lost an awesome Kiss shirt I had Along with Oingo Boingo, David Bowie and who knows what else. The only thing at the Monsters of Rock concert I wasn't expecting was the food fight. I had to put my jacket over my head to keep from getting food in my face or hair. Well, I wish I had seen BOC they are great!!! Tina