What was your first concert?

[Stapes]

The Jim Durrel hate-on began in full effect that day.

He can still sell the shit out of a ford though.

It was bound to happen sooner or later. This town loves it's laces straight.

[gentlemonkey]

I finally figured Del-Head out. ::

Not sure what you've figured out, but please let me in on it! ::

Probably that you have a diverse tastes! i would guess. ::

Didn't know you dug on IceT, Delhead, I loved Power and Iceberg. and Ice Cube- his NWA work and first two solo (ammerikkkas most wanted and Predator) will stand the test of time for me. I hardly listen to rap anymore, but a couple of those tracks still excite me. Also, Ministry was the shit. I always felt like Rob Zombie/ White Zombie kinda stole their thing somehow, or made a watered down version of it. I miss the good lollapaloozas too.. good times. Last one I attented was the Metallica/soundgarden/ramones reunion..

[Cosmic ChrisC]

My first concert: Bon Jovi and Cinderella, 14 July 1987, Civic Centre, Ottawa. I've been to other concerts before that (French-Canadian music with my parents) but this is the first one I stood in line to get tickets for.

Second concert: Helix and Haywire, 14 December 1987, Astralight, Ottawa

Third concert: Iron Maiden and Guns N'Roses, 18 May 1988, Civic Centre, Ottawa

[Cosmic ChrisC]

understand much of it. Then, a dream come true - the album was being toured and they were coming to Moncton! I begged and begged, offered up allowance for life and a promise to never have sex, but my mom wouldn't let me go, which is pretty clever -

I begged to go see Motley Crue in Ottawa in 1988. Wasn't allowed to. They had a bad reputation. My friend went and bought me a t-shirt that I still have. I cut off the sleeves and wore it the day after the show. It was for the Girls, Girls, Girls tour. I was such a rocker!

[TimmyB]

My first concert was Phil Collins at the Skydome's Skytent June 11, 1990.

The years have passed and those who know me know my tastes have expanded over and over again. But I still love every band I ever listened to.

So I'll be seeing Phil Collins again this fall on September 12, 2004 at the Air Canada Centre. Looking forward to it as it's called his First Final Farewell Tour. Some say it's Phil making fun of bands like The Eagles, Kiss and The Who. Others say that due to his hearing loss it might very well be his last tour.

[Uncle Reg]

Raffi...I think I was 4 or 5. Good stuff. Tight Jams. Lots of energy...in fact...I probably shit myself it was so good.

G

[Blane]

Corey Hart: 1985 or so, on his "Boy in the Box" tour. Went with my dad and sister.

[Jaimoe]

I'm pretty sure my first concert was Loverboy with Bryan Adams opening in 1981, at the Memorial Centre in Kingston - Adams actually stole the show ( he was a respected newcomer then ).

Although my first show could have easily been April Wine with Streetheart opening in and around the same time and place as the Loverboy show. I wish I could say my first show was April Wine and not Loverboy.

[kung]

correction: as much as I'd love it if Hall and Oates had been my first show I just realized it was Michael Jackson on the Thriller tour (I was maybe 8 or 9). My mom had to hook up ticks with a friend from CHUM and I remember the show starting much later then expected and that they sent out a juggler as the opening act- I also remember a bubble bath set up on stage (I think). My brother fell asleep before the show started but he was only 5. Loser.+

[Rob Not Bob]

Mine would probably be Tulipalooza in Ottawa 1992 or 1993. Line-up was Blinker The Star, Punchbuggy, Furnace Face, and a fourth band that's on the tip of my tongue but I can't remember... Punchbuggy kicked ass. I still have one of their tapes that I bought at the show.

The other band was Illegal Jazz Poets.

My first show ... Yes at the Ex Grandstand, 1984, the summer between public school and high school.

[Rob Not Bob]

Momentary Lapse of Reason World Tour

Pink Floyd with Richard Wright, Jon Carin, Scott Page, Guy Pratt, Tim Renwick, Gary Wallis, Rachel Fury and Margaret Taylor. Setlist: Pretty the same as in Delicate Sound of Thunder

Sept. 9 1987- Landsdown Park, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

I was 11

Key difference that they opened with Echoes, not Shine On You Crazy Diamond.

RnB

[Rob Not Bob]

Great thread!

The first 2 concerts that I attended with my friends were in 1980. I don't remember which one was first. One was BB Gabor at the Welland Arena (does anyone else know who this is?!?)

Wasn't his big song something called Soviet Juvies?

RnB

[meggo]

love your avatar!

i almost lost it last night when bubbles was calling his cat in that soft voice.... "shitrooock! shitroooock!"

hahahahahah o how i love the trailer park boys.

[Velvet]

I had tickets for that final Who concvert in '82, 21st row floors. It woulda been my first concert but I sold 'em for $250 which was awesome for a 14-year-old. I decided to sell as soon as I found out they were televising the show live.

Though I missed the concert, the 28 hour lineup for tickets was the biggest party I had ever imagined at the time.

[paisley]

I had tickets for that final Who concvert in '82, 21st row floors. It woulda been my first concert but I sold 'em for $250 which was awesome for a 14-year-old. I decided to sell as soon as I found out they were televising the show live.

Though I missed the concert, the 28 hour lineup for tickets was the biggest party I had ever imagined at the time.

I was in that ridiculous line-up too... pretty fun stuff, did you see the two cars that the line went right over that ended up flattened down to about half a foot thick? managed to get hit by a trans am who'd just scored their golds and stabbed by a drunk's broken bottle who thought I was trying to bud (was checking the length of the line) but got my seats (that I would've much rather sold for $250... found the show was more played for the cameras than the audience and was tragically predictable) went to an awesome underground new wave club with my Torontonian cousin after the show

[Cully]

Paul Simon, R. of the Saints Tour......Skydome!!! There were way over twenty people on stage...sick!!

[mark tonin]

Nyet Nyet Soviet (Soviet Jewellery) ... yep, that's the BB Gabor song that was a hit. I saw him again a year? later in a smaller place in Welland (The Rose Villa) and really enjoyed it ... lots of jazzy/bluesy songs mixed in with the poppy punk hit(s). His song "Hunger Poverty and Misery" is brilliant - at least that's how I remember it. I no longer have the album that I used to own and haven't heard it in ages. I just did a search of BB Gabor and wow, I found this info, including the tragic news about his death that I never knew:

-----

Born Gabor Hegedus in 1948, his family fled Hungary and the political revolution there to England when he was only 8. Music didn't become a factor in his life until moving to Toronto at age 23. Gabor became a staple of the local underground scene during the late 70's, where his industrial pop/punk sound was pretty much the 'norm'.

His self-titled debut was released by Anthem Records in the spring of 1980. Co-produced by Terry Brown, whose work included among others Stampeders, Max Webster, Klaatu and Rush, it showed an instant sense of maturity, backed by the success of the two singles, "Metropolitan Life" and "Soviet Jewelry". Gabor made two cross-Canada tours, and enoyed the success of other hits from his debut including a remake of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi", "Lazer Love" and the social commentary "Hunger Poverty and Misery". Gabor's youth in the middle of a communist regime was also made known in "Soviet Drug Club".

GIRLS OF THE FUTURE hit the stands a year later. Produced by Gene Martynec, who'd worked with such Canadian stars as Edward Bear and Rough Trade, it continued along the veins put forward by its predecessor. The only single released was "Jealous Girls", a cover of the Extras' hit. Also on the record was some of Gabor's most tightly-written music, including the upbeat "Keep On Dreaming" and "Shake", co-written by Jimi B.

After being cut from Anthem's roster in '83, Gabor's career came and went in spurts, but continued working in the industry the remainder of the decade. Some of his credits included production of The Extras, Ron Hedland and Jimi B, as well as doing session work with Todd Rundgren. Though he reformed a touring group in '87,he was finding the music scene had no room for his brand of pop. In 1990, Toronto Police found Gabor dead in his apartment, the victim of an apparent suicide at the age of 42.

BB Gabor's life was one marred with tragedy, from his childhood in war-torn Hungary, to his struggling just to survive in England, working as a cab driver and even dabbling as a broker in precious metals, to his humble beginnings in the Toronto music scene, to his untimely demise. Though he only recorded two records, he left his mark on the industry by working with some of the industry's best, as well as writting some of Canadian pop's most cutting-edge music.

-----

Peace, Mark

[mark tonin]

Was that Who concert in Toronto in 1982 the one where the fans threw stuff at Joe Jackson and his band and didn't stop until Joe Jackson cut his set really short and left in disgust? People can be obnoxious idiots at times! I remember talking about it with my buddies just after it happened and saying "great, now we get to hang out and wait for a long time, with no band, until the Who comes on."

I thought Joe Jackson was sounding really good. But not necessarily the best band to have open for the Who.

Peace, Mark

[paisley]

think the Joe Jackson fiasco was at the CNE... moron rock-heads suck... Joe did some cool stuff

one I'm talking about was at Maple Leaf Gardens I think (fore-score and many years ago)

[Velvet]

That's funny Paisley. It was a topsy-turvy 28 hours to be sure. When I sat down (#422 in line - they kept a list of the first 1000), the guy in front of me was alone with a twofour, and the guy that came behind me was alone with the biggest bag of pot I had ever seen (probably about a quarter or so!), and I got plastered. I remember sleeping in a car, making out with a girl, and dancing like a fool atop a 10 foot wall, among other things. One vivid memory is coming out of a haze crammed, and I mean crammed, together with a bunch of people. Looking around I noticed we were a bit higher up than most, and I ultimately realised I (and about 30 other people) was standing on a car. Honest to gawd, I don't have any recollection of getting there, and it's not like we were on a car, we were in line, and the line was partly on the car.

I feel bad for the car owner. Imagine explaining that to your insurance agent.

[MuleMomma]

Kept thinking I'd missed this thread, but I guess it's the thread that just won't die

Well, apparently being the oldest person alive, as a child, I was at Montreal Expo 1967 with my family for 3 or 4 days, so it's entirely possible that my first show was the Grateful Dead Montreal Expo Youth Pavilion 08/06/67 (Sunday), but that would probably be way too good to be true, and my parents won't confirm one way or the other that they are responsible for what has happened to me since ::

So...I guess it would have to be when my friend's dad took us to the O'Keefe Centre to see Mac Davis (whoever that is?) when we were about 10.

After that, I think the first show I actually purchased a ticket for was the Beach Boys at CNE Stadium in maybe 1975? My older sister had to be my chaperone (I'm sure she was impressed), and already being a seasoned concert-goer, she told me wild tales of major pot smoking at all the shows she'd been at. As a result, my recollections of the show are dim at best, reserving instead valuable brain cells for the memory of how terrified I was that someone would pass me a joint and I would humiliate myself trying to be cool and smoke it with no previous experience. Little did I know, the Beach Boys weren't really the "stoner" crowd that I was expecting. Anyway, things obviously went uphill from there.

And hey Velvet, I used to sing that song ("Rocks Off") and "Freaker's Ball" off Dr. Hook's "Sloppy Seconds" album. When my older brother first got the album, he used to get in shit from my mom for playing those songs (as well as Donovan's "The Intergalactic Laxative") to my sister and I, but soon after, when I became the rocker/stoner/troublemaker highschool teen, those obviously became my favourite songs, along with Max Webster's "The Party", "Waterline", and "Lip Service". Of course, all of Zappa's "Joe's Garage" was up there as well, but we didn't really sing that album.

[mark tonin]

MuleMomma, I was waiting for you to respond to this thread. Thanks for making me feel young again! ::

Of course, all of Zappa's "Joe's Garage" was up there as well, but we didn't really sing that album.

Definitely a favourite of mine, maybe even more so given that I went to a Catholic high school. Nothing like an album filled with sexual innuendos and commentary (along with some kick-ass music) to interest a teenage boy. My mom is pretty open-minded, but I don't think I ever played the album when she was around, and a friend of mine found his copy in the garbage after his mom heard it.

Oh the memories ...

Peace, Mark

[Jaimoe]

Was that Who concert in Toronto in 1982 the one where the fans threw stuff at Joe Jackson and his band and didn't stop until Joe Jackson cut his set really short and left in disgust? I thought Joe Jackson was sounding really good. But not necessarily the best band to have open for the Who.

Peace, Mark

I thought Joe got pelted at the CNE 1982 Who concert? Regardless, he was pelted and booed.

Anyway, Who fans are notorious for hating any opening act. The Clash were booed when they opened for The Who too. I've heard The Clash's live performances from that opening stint and they fucking smoked - some songs can be heard on The Clash's last live album compilation, Live: From Here To Eternity.

[MuleMomma]

Hey Mark, you're welcome...anytime ::

[MuleMomma]

As a footnote to my earlier post, I'm not sure why the Beach Boys were my first concert, as I was never really a BB fan. When I was really little, my oldest brother was hugely into the British invasion and subsequently played every Beatles, Stones, Who album for me as they came out. I would kick and scream (mostly because it was my big brother forcing me to do something), but finally couldn't get enough of "Honky Tonk Woman" and "Street Fighting Man", so he began bribing me to listen to every album he purchased after that. I guess, had my big brother been willing to take me to a show, it would've been something better than the Beach Boys. Unfortunately, my big bro' had moved out to B.C. by 1975, so BB it is ::